Jax buttoned up his suit for tonight. Finally after two weeks of waiting, he was going undercover to an assassin auction. Using some trusted contacts he was attending an auction of Marino's assassins under an alias. He passed a comb through his beard, attempting to groom it. He would kill for a clean shave but he decided the beard would prevent people from recognizing him. Even though the Boveri family were on good terms with other mafia families, he had one or two enemies who would love to spill his blood.

A honk from outside told him that his ride was here. He placed a fedora on his head, another part of his disguise, as he walked out the door. He nodded to the driver as he got into the car. The auctioneer provided transport so the location of the events wouldn't need to be broadcasted to the attendees. Jax leaned back against the leather seats as he lit a cigar, closed eyes and let the smoke calm his mind.

~

Jax sat in the centre of the underground pub at a small table. As far as everyone else in the room was concerned, he was a newbie to the mafia world, looking to buy men to start his own family. This made him an easy loss so he was placed in open area, leaving the corners and end tables for more influential mafia bosses. Jax thanked his lucky stars that none of his allies were present; he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces with women draped all over them. Jax chuckled, there was a time he would welcome and invite women to his company but all that stopped after his mother's death. He swallowed the lump in his throat, washing it down with the glass of whiskey he ordered. As he waited for the auction to start, his mind wandered to the place it always went when he got a reprieve.

Alianna. Instantly he recalled the last conversation he had with Evan. His fist clenched in anger at the thought of someone hurting Alianna. Evan told him that he tried to ask Alianna about it but got no reply. Jax shook his head; Alianna would never tell Evan the truth, despite their friendship. Nevertheless, he told Evan to keep an eye on her, especially as she left Libertà. He wondered who would hurt her? And more importantly, why?

A tap on the mic brought him out of his thoughts. One stage stood a guy in a white suit, he was around Jax's age and was built for combat. There was a shift in the room as all eyes trained on him, despite the number of mafia bosses in the room, this guy held all the power.

"Good evening, I thank you all for attending tonight," his voice was low, careful and calculated. Jax made note, he was dangerous. "Tonight is going to be extra special; this is the last batch of killers from Marino until further notice." Shocked whispers and calls for more money followed this statement; this was going to be a buy or die auction. Jax felt his pockets, one had his gun and multiple rounds of ammunition the other contain a wad of cash. He had no intentions of buying anyone, the idea of selling humans like a prized jewel made him sick, but he had as a precaution and for the sake of appearances.

The auctioneer nodded, effectively silencing the room and spoke into the mic again. "Let's begin."

Jax studied the men who stepped up to the auction block. Their names and statistics were read out, number of kills, rank in class, etc. before the bidding began. The stakes were high as the bosses around him dished out more and more money as they tried to covet these prizes. As the night wore on, Jax noticed a change in the men who were put on stage, from monsters to mice; they probably never completed the training program at Marino's school. He felt pity as fewer and fewer people bid on them, those who did probably felt pity as well.

Jax watched as a young red haired boy, barely a man, stepped into the spotlight. His statistics were not even comparable to his predecessor's and his knees were shaking. Jax figure that he joined Marino's twisted program because he was fed lies or out of desperation. The boy's eyes darted nervously around the room and Jax saw the absolute fear in them. The boy knew he wasn't going to be picked and he briefly wondered what became of those who weren't sold.

"Alright let's start the bidding at..." the auctioneer continued in his calculated voice.

"One thousand," Jax said clearly, manipulating his voice so it rang powerfully through the room.

"One thousand, going once...."

"Three thousand," another voice added. Jax lazily looked over to his competitor. The boss was surrounded by some of the bigger men who were auctioned earlier; clearly he wanted this boy as a punching bag. The boy seemed to recognise this and his shaking increased tenfold.

"Five thousand," Jax countered again.

"Six thousand."

"Seven thousand."

"Eight thousand."

"Ten thousand."

Jax paused for a second to consider his next move. Was he really going to risk this much? Was this boy really worth it?

"Ten thousand going once...twice..."

"Twenty thousand dollars," Jax said. 

The boy's eyes widened and the crowd went silent in shock. It was the highest bid for the evening, even the auctioneer looked briefly stunned. Jax looked at his opponent from under his hat, silently daring him to place another bid.

The boss recovered from his shock. "I concede, that puny thing isn't worth it." Jax smirked in victory as the boy stepped out of the spotlight and was escorted to his table by a guard. Jax handed over the money as the boy sat down. The auction continued and he noticed that the boy was still shaking. He smiled and ordered two glasses of whiskey, when it arrived; he pushed one towards the boy.

"Drink," he commanded as he lit a cigar. The boy nodded and slowly gulped down the alcohol and his shaking subsided. He kept looking over at Jax, trying to pluck the courage to speak to him but Jax shook his head. He had no intention of speaking until he was sure that they were away from Marino's ears. The night wore on and the last man was sold off. Jax stood up followed by his newest recruit. He gestured for the boy to walk first, as he did, he analysed him.

Surely he didn't have much going for him in terms of brawn but he was sure that with enough training, he would be a decent shot. He could tell that the boy had a good heart and was loyal. He made a good choice. He mused over how he was going to proceed from here on the silent ride back.

~

Jax sighed as he opened the door to run down house he purchased as his headquarters while he was undercover. He removed his hat and opened up a bottle of scotch. As he poured himself a glass, he noticed the boy standing unsure in doorway. Jax dropped his façade and gestured for the boy to sit on the couch.

"Thank you," he breathed as he sat down. Jax could tell that he was thanking him for more than just the invite.

"What's your name?" he asked as he leaned against the liquor cupboard.

"Patrick Devano," the boy answered. "I'm from Philadelphia."

"How did you get involved with Marino?" Jax asked. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Patrick's shoulders sag.

"My sister needs money to continue her cancer treatment, my mom is working three jobs and my dad is not in the picture. They promised me that they would give my mom the amount I was auctioned off for when I finished training....except I never finished training," Patrick said softly.

Jax considered this briefly and he wondered if Marino had a kind bone in his body. He poured another glass for Patrick.

"Thank you," Patrick hesitated before taking a gulp and asking, "Who are you?"

Jax looked up at Patrick with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "My name is Jax Boveri." He smirked as the knock out pill he slipped into Patrick's drink took effect and his eyes slammed shut. He pulled out his phone and dialed Rex's number.

"Yes?" Rex was handling the VIP section of Liberta tonight and he was bored out of his mind.

"I need a pick up, for two," Jax said as repacked his small suitcase.

"You bought someone?" Rex asked incredulously.

"Relax, he's a good man," Jax ran a hand through his hair. "Just arrange a pick up to Miami and get me information on the mother and sister of Patrick Devano from Philadelphia."

Rex jotted this down. "Pick up will be in an hour." He could practically see Jax nodding.

Jax hesitated a little. He didn't know how to phrase his next question or how to explain himself if Rex asked. Thankfully, Rex knew what was on Jax's mind.

"Alianna's fine," he said. "She's talking more but she's not the same girl who started working here."

"Has Evan found anything?" Jax asked softly.

"No, as far as our surveillance goes, Alianna is truly alone, nothing has happened to her but her injuries aren't from self harm," Rex spared a moment to glance at the girl in question through the cameras.

"She wouldn't do that to herself," Jax sighed, "and what injuries?" Evan clearly didn't keep him updated.

"Cut on her forehead, bruises on her arms and legs, she limited her movements earlier this week so I'm guessing she has bruises on her abdomen as well," Rex sighed, even he was becoming increasingly concerned for Alianna.

Jax swallowed his anger. He couldn't wait until he found out who was behind Alianna's injuries; he would make that person regret ever being born. "Keep me updated until I return to Libertà." He heard a click on the other line. He sighed as he waited for the pickup. He spared a glance at Patrick, maybe he'll bring some luck on to his Marino situation but with Alianna, he had no clue how to approach her about this.

"Well," he said to no one as he poured himself a drink, "I've just got to tackle one problem at a time."