IDRIS

Idris drops his cigarette to the ground and squashes it out. This is only his first for the day, and he saved it for this moment when the moon has tagged the sun out and is now keeping watch above. He scratches his chin with his pistol - the silver one, the only one remaining of the two - while scanning the bridge above him. Calm as the water below may seem, it certainly does not match the indignation within Idris.

Not too far away is a damaged car, and within that damaged car is the true reason behind Idris's visit under that bridge. His men ransack the vehicle and pull from within none other than Kasper Morton. He'd tried bolting as soon as Idris's silver pistol was found in police custody. He didn't get very far, though. He was caught only after hours.

Now he won't stop trying to prove some make-believe innocence. He begs and pleads and tries to give his side of the story. But Idris will not listen. How can he listen when the evidence is this concrete?

"What's my gun doing with the police, Kasper?"

Kasper, now on his knees, begins crying, which just upsets Idris even more. "You have to believe me. I have nothing to do with this!"

Idris sighs. Even if Kasper were right - which he thinks he isn't - all suspects must be dealt with. They must all be extinguished, rather than waiting around to find out the legitimate truth. Idris doesn't really care about justice and innocence at this point. He's vexed. Furious. His underboss is in police custody as he stands there in front of the culprit, and it was all carried out with the help of his gun. His gun that was probably used as credibility for the authorities to arrest Ramsey.

Idris aims at Kasper's forehead and pulls the trigger. His death may not be enough to right the wrongs he committed, but it's a start. Idris's men dispose of the body by tossing it into the water. As for his car, let it be discovered. There's nothing anyone can do anyway.

Idris meets with the rest of his family back at the estate. A meeting at this hour is unusual, but the situation this time around is dire. Idris still can't calm his anger. What makes it even worse is the fact that he never saw it coming. Not even Rand, the consigliere, the brain behind the Verdonni family, saw it coming. The deed had been done right under his nose, and he'd failed to suspect a thing. And now the news has made it places far and wide. Ramsey Di'Marino, first of the Verdonnis to fall. The beginning of the end, they say.

But Idris will get to the bottom of it. Rand passes to him a folder full of papers. "The list of everyone who went in and out of Kasper's house the past couple months."

There's a good total of fifty-four, some recognizable and others not. Idris comes across a middle aged man with an overgrown goatee. There's a nasty burn on his forehead, with brows that probably shrunk due to that same burn. This man is unrecognizable, but so are some of the others.

The next person he sees is a girl with copper hair. He fixates on her nose ring, studying her in great detail. But that's all he does. He stares until there's no meaning left and he has to look away. Any one of these people could be a suspect.

"Kasper couldn't have conjured up that scheme by himself." Says Seven. "Which means someone helped him."

"Or maybe he was set up." Says Rand.

Five shakes his head. "That's likely. But what's even more likely is the fact that the Toulour family may have a hand in this."

"That couldn't be possible." Six chimes in.

But Five is dead set on his theory. He leans forward. "Couldn't it? Who's to say one of us isn't secretly working for them? Who's to say there aren't spies planted everywhere? We've had some of our men betray us for their sake." He looks Seven in the eye, his dark eyes glimmering. "Those hooligans have wanted us gone for years now. Who's to say this wasn't all part of their plan?"

Idris remains mute. This could be the case. Kasper could have been bribed like the rest of those men who switched sides. And Seven seems to think the same. "I agree with Five, Idris. The fact that Ramsey's appearance at the church was leaked shouldn't be taken lightly."

Idris knows he's right. None of this should be taken lightly. If only he'd seen it coming. "What about Ramsey's lawyer?"

"He says there's no way to defend Ramsey with all the tax evasion evidence." Rand tells him. "We're looking at a five year sentence."

"But it could be reduced." Says Six.

Five grows puzzled. "How?"

"If he confesses to some of the Verdonni family's crimes."

Silence washes over the room, like a splash from a puddle. This is not a conflict either men thought they'd be dealing with any time soon. It would put the family in great jeopardy should Ramsey open his mouth. And what's even more troubling is the fact that no one is certain if Ramsey will break omertà.

Idris steers the conversation somewhere else. If there's one thing he despises, it's the Toulour family. Now that he's certain they're the ones behind Ramsey's arrest, he will make them pay for the damages. He will take his anger out on them.

"I want some damage done to the Toulours. I don't care how or how long."

Something all men present agree with. They will see to it that it happens.

"There's still one problem left." Rand states.
"Ramsey is in police custody."

Idris pulls out a cigar, lights it up, and puffs a smoke. "Get rid of him."

~《¤》~

JOSI

Josi's next plan is already in the works. The target this time is Rand Vero, the consigliere. The only one with minimal information. She knows he's been serving under the family even before Idris's birth - since the days of Bruno Verdonni, Idris's father. She knows he's sharp, which is why she's made him her next target, because with him around things could grow complicated.

Josi also knows he once had a family. A wife she knows little about, a daughter who was around her age, and a son who just arrived at the early stages of puberty. But they died some years back due to some unclear circumstances. Making clear those unclear circumstances is today's mission.

She turns to Croff who is in the book study, a place she's come to find he enjoys. Probably due to its tranquil atmosphere. He's there that afternoon on a couch with some book in his hands. But when he sees her, his calm demeanor becomes tense.

"Calm down, I'm not here to kill you." Josi tells him. She shuts the door close and takes a seat across from him, to let him know she means no harm. How comical that he treats her like one of the enemies he engages in battle. "I'm just here for answers."

Croff sets his book down, still wary. "Answers to what questions?"

"Rand Vero. I heard he once had a family, but they disappeared."

"What do you want with him?"

Josi shrugs. "Just curious. He rarely speaks, unlike the rest of Idris's men."

Croff still doesn't say a thing. He's probably trying to derive some other meaning for Josi's visit. She sighs. "The quicker you tell me, the quicker I leave."

A deal appealing enough for Croff. He starts from the beginning. "His wife died much earlier from some illness. And his kids were caught in the middle of a dispute three years ago, which led to their death."

Josi didn't expect this. "What happened?"

"It was during the conflict with the Cardona family. Long story short: Rand tried his best to protect his children in the midst of it, but it didn't end well. He kept them safe as long as he could, but on the last shootout, the Cardonas captured and tried using them as a shield in front of Idris."

Josi listens intently, because this is all news to her. It'll probably be news to anyone else other than Croff and Idris. They were present during the fiasco.

"Rand thinks Idris participated in the shootout not caring about his kids in the way. Can't really blame him. It sounds like the kind of man Idris is."

"So he thinks Idris murdered his children."

"Who knows?" Says Croff, his attention back to his book. "I'm sure he has his doubts. But he can't exactly pin the blame on Idris without knowing exactly how things went down."

A grim story it all is. But why Rand would choose to stick to the very world that stole his source of joy is above Josi. Surely, a tragic experience such as this would give anyone enough reason to quit everything mafia related.

"Why is he still here?"

"He and Idris's father were good friends. I'm sure there's a deeper reason." Croff then pauses, looks to the side, and says, "But if he were certain Idris was behind the murder of his children, then Rand wouldn't be waltzing around him so casually."

Josi nods, considering the array of plans she could construct from this gold mine she's just hit. But her curiosity in the story persists. "Was Idris truly behind their deaths?"

Croff looks at her this time. "He wasn't. Someone else from our side started the shootout in a haste. But Idris didn't say a word to Rand. The damage had already been done."

Now it has all come full circle. A real pity that Rand lost his children this way. And yet he aids the very family that could or could not be the reason behind his children's deaths. How truly odd.

"Are we done?" Croff asks.

"Yes. Thank you." Josi gives him a smile, then heads for the exit.

They say the brain processes thoughts faster than the speed of light. Josi has already come up with ideas in the short minute since she left the study. This is all too good. She could milk this and produce from it a plan better than the one with Ramsey. In fact, she has already constructed a plan. A plan that will leave Idris far more distraught than just losing an underboss.

Josi smiles once again. Didn't Rand have a daughter?

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