AINSE

Friday has come. The week is up.

Ainse arrives at the Verdonni estate a little after the hour of three. The weather has begun growing chilly, signaling the upcoming seasonal change. The sunrays are still active though, and Ainse takes it as good fortune. It shines down on him, as though he were some chosen entity. He may as well be. He's the underboss. Soon to be Don of the Verdonni family.

At least, some other day. The first person the underboss seeks out is Josi. She's in a parlor, staring out the window and into the vast stretches of greenery. The trees this time of year are always lively. Even the wind is persistent,  but it keeps the nature outside alive. The sounds of leaves' ruffles are calming. Only to Ainse, however. Josi is far from calm.

He comes to a stop behind her. "Fine weather today."

Josi agrees. She stares out the window a second longer, immersed in the scenery as much as Ainse is. Then she tells him, "This is the only view in this prison cell I enjoy."

The bitterness in her tone is clear. Ainse even begins feeling pity. He knows nothing of what sort of life she's been through. Knowing Idris, it wouldn't be far from hell. Now he has her trapped under his wing, all while she throws on some guise of a girl who's head over heels for him. If Idris were smarter, he would know that there's no one out there with the capability to truly love him. He should have seen right through Josi's farce. But he's too far gone.

"I had so much more planned, you know." Josi says. "Ramsey was just the beginning. I was going to take everything away from Idris and watch him crumble in the process."

This is the truth. Ainse knows this. He knows she would have succeeded. Taking down an Underboss is no easy feat, and doing it all under the family's nose is even more frightening. She would have ran the Verdonni family to the ground all while keeping herself out of sight as a suspect. She would have pried Idris's power out of his own hands, left him wretched with nothing to his name.

But that plan won't run its course. Because Ainse is there. And true to his title, he finds himself the hero who has come to save the day.

"You've done more than any enemy of the Verdonni family ever has."

From the window's reflection, Ainse can see her smile. She takes it as a compliment despite the cruel truth that lies underneath. Her plans failed.

Later that day when Idris is done with his meeting, Ainse asks to speak with him in the study room. He tells him he has something important to say and even invites Josi along. Once they all arrive, he closes the door calmy behind him and has the couple take a seat. He's finally going to put an end to all this madness.

"There's been a great deal of disorder in the family ever since Ramsey's arrest." Ainse begins. "Little trust between members paints a bad picture for us, don't you think?"

"Your point?" Idris asks.

"While I know this will hurt you, it can't be helped." Ainse brings his eyes to Josi. "I know who was truly behind Ramsey's arrest."

Idris lowers his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, she's sitting right next to you."

Nothing else happens. There are no movements, no sounds. A deafening silence. It crawls over the ceiling and leaves the three with a cruel truth to digest.

Idris looks at Josi who returns the stare. They seem to communicate this way, an act that leaves Ainse baffled. This is not the sort of reaction he was expecting. But perhaps Idris is simply taking a second to come to terms with the news. Perhaps it hasn't yet hit him.

Idris gives Josi a nod, sort of like a signal, and she pulls out her phone for the thing that puts an end to Ainse. An audio recording.

"I want Idris gone."

". . . huh?"

"How do I say this as kindly as possible . . . He's not fit to lead the Verdonni family. I want him out of the picture. Morto."

The color on Ainse's face diminishes. He grows a pasty white, eyes wide at the way the situation has developed.

"Who does Idris love more than anyone else currently? Who's always by his side even behind closed doors?"

Ainse looks to Josi.

"You're going to get rid of Idris Verdonni for me."

Then he shifts his eyes to Idris who just stares at him impassive. He doesn't react much, just looks him in the eye as the truth comes to light.

"This isn't really what it looks like." Ainse begins. He has to find some way to dig himself out of this predicament. He points to Josi with an accusing finger. "She had Ramsey captured!"

The tears fall from each eye at a time. They're slow at first, until they grow rapid, flowing in streams. Then she begins sobbing. She even tries wiping them away, but the tears are so great, she lets them flow through. Ainse's eyes widen. The pretentious vixen! She's actually crying.

"This is exactly how he threatened me." She turns to Idris. "I was so scared because you trusted him so much."

Idris looks at her, then turns to Ainse. "You tried to have her kill me."

This is something Ainse can't deny. There's solid proof. He's already been exposed. But perhaps if he argues enough, he'll be able to get through to Idris. He has to get through to him. "Idris, listen to me. I don't know what she told you, but it's all a lie! She's pinning this all on me!"

"So you don't want me dead."

Ainse's frustration doubles. He's not getting through. "You don't know what she's capable of!"

Idris has already stopped listening. He pulls out his silver pistol, and now Ainse knows he truly has met his end.

But Josi stops him. "Let me do it."

Ainse is only granted a second to brace himself, because as soon as Idris hands her the gun, she points at his leg and fires. He screams and falls to the ground, and from within that agony, Josi finds pleasure. She's smiling at him. She's laughing.

Meanwhile, Idris still hasn't said a thing. He looks at Ainse on the floor and remains blasé. Then he leaves his seat on his way towards the door. Ainse can't tell if that was the better option for him. Because now he's been left alone with Josi.

Now comes the moment of truth. Josi spends her time checking the gun for ammunition, and only when she's done does she head for where he is, still on the floor mourning his leg. Ainse stares at her with pure hatred. He doesn't miss the look in her eyes, the one used to witness his very own demise. The one used to mock him. She looks at him as if he's nothing, as if the person she was just a  few minutes ago never existed.

Ainse has now become the prey.

"Did you really think you just happened to come across Balty's diary?"

A solid pang of realization hits Ainse in the most grotesque way possible. "You . . . planted it . . ."

Josi grins. "Bingo."

He has been fooled. He has been beaten at his own game. The control he thought he had was never his. It was all Josi's idea. It was her idea to have him believe he'd cornered her. It was her idea to have him believe he was one step ahead when in reality, that was the furthest from the truth as it could get.

Ainse's mouth hangs open. He lost.

"You're a smart man, Ainse." Says Josi. "You would have cracked the code sooner rather than later. So I took matters into my own hands. And I knew you wouldn't go to Idris because you wanted what he had. The family."

The family. The wretched family that has consumed his life since the hour of his birth. The family he adored and worked so hard for. It is the very thing that led to his own tragedy.

"If you'd just been a tad bit more loyal to Idris, this wouldn't have happened."

This burns Ainse bright. "Me, be loyal to that incompetent bastard? Don't be fucking ridiculous! It was supposed to be me! Bruno would have wanted me to lead the family. I'm better suited than that disappointment he called a son. No one else knew his vision for the Verdonni family like I did!"

"And yet, he never once thought of you after he sent you off to Italy."

The words are stolen from Ainse's mouth. Josi's accusation has rendered him speechless. ". . . that's not true."

"Even when your accomplishments were notable, he never once acknowledged you."

This goes against everything Ainse stands for. The Bruno Verdonni in his head is a superhero. He's strong and capable, but doesn't need a cape to prove it. There are mountains of others who adore him, people who support him. He cares for that group of followers and accepts them as part of himself. He thinks of them as family.

But something in Ainse clicks. Bruno Verdonni wasn't simply a man he looked up to. He was a man he wanted to become.

"I don't care. I don't care about any of that." And despite himself, he smiles. "Bruno is the best thing that ever happened to this family. He's the greatest leader ever."

Josi has no response. She simply studies him. Ainse Vanetti, a man who sought refuge on the wrong doorstep. This is what Ainse sees in those eyes of hers. There's no pity in there either. She clicks the gun's safety back and points it at him.

"Any last words?"

Ainse clenches his fists. This truly is the end for him. "F–"

Josi, with no interest in his dying wish, pulls the trigger. The bullet pierces through Ainse's chest and coats itself in his blood. And now he lays there on the floor, eyes open and up at the ceiling. Waiting for his last few seconds to run out. Hatred and anger still so strong, he knows it will follow him to hell.

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