He sought rest but found none
Unblinking eyes from dusk to dawn
Awake like a sinner scared of his demons
But he wasn't scared
And he had no demons.
Perhaps it was because he knew, he was the demon that kept men awake.
"Don!"
"Don Ralph!!"
Ralph slipped back to reality, he was lost in thought for a moment, he wasn't thinking about the shot fired at him during the funeral rather he has been thinking about the mystery lady. "Who shows up at the funeral wearing red?" His mind has been drawn towards her since the funeral.
'Who was the lady in red?' He asked himself again.
He lay on his bed thinking while Dr. Frank examined him. He wasn't shot but Jack had insisted he got checked to be certain all was okay with his body.
"Thank you, Dr. Frank, that will be all". Ralph said as he nods slightly
Dr. Frank took a brief bow with his cap off before walking out of the room. Ralph watched as he walked away. Dr. Frank was the family doctor. He was over 60years and had been there even before Ralph was born. Rumor has it that he had taken a bullet to his ass while trying to save Ralph's late father. Ralph couldn't put his mind around how the old man used his ass as a shield rather than any other part of his body. The event had earned him the nickname 'Dr iron butt'. The thought of the nickname left a tiny smirk on Ralph's face.
"Don?"
Jack who had stood there watching closely as the doctor checked up on Ralph called out. He stood there quietly like a shadow, alongside Diane, Ralph's attendant who basically has been staring and shamelessly fantasizing about Ralph's shirtless body like someone who has been captured by one of Leonardo's art pieces.
"Leave us". Ralph commanded Diane, who instantly headed for the door.
"You don't have to stand Guard inside the house, Jack". Ralph said and picked up his black shirt sleeve and wore it.
Ralph hated being guarded generally, mainly because he felt he was being watched rather than being protected, and to make things worse for Ralph, Jack moved like a shadow. Jack started guarding Ralph ten years ago. He was a skinny guy around the same age as Ralph, although he constantly wore a frown which made him look way older than Ralph. Despite the great sense of brotherhood bond they both shared, Jack never took his job for granted. He has always been very professional with his job and had exceptional fighting and gun shooting skills, which were only second to Ralph's.
"The Interrogators are waiting for your instructions in the basement "
"Take me there". Ralph said with a frown on his face and followed Jack who led the way out of the room.
Ralph's men had caught the unfortunate fellow who had fired a shot at the funeral.
As they walked down the torture room Ralph could hear more clearly the screams of the prisoners who have been kept in the basement. It was fascinating how well the basement was built. Despite the screams coming from it, no hint of sound could be heard above. A gun battle could go down in the basement and no one upstairs will know about it. The screams of a young boy in the basement struck his heart.
"Welcome Don". The men in the basement said with a brief bow immediately as Ralph stepped into the Darkroom.
It was the way of The Wesleys. The Dons were treated as though they were gods and feared as though they were the devil.
Fox Hag Wesley the leader of the interrogation squad was here to handle this personally.
"He confessed already, he's just a pawn. He knows nothing." Fox said while cleaning his knife.
"The culprit is a 17year old high schooler who was paid to shoot at the funeral, he didn't know the names of the men who paid him and could not describe them properly. It was a scheme to send a message to you Don". Fox Hag Wesley the leader of the interrogators informed Ralph.
Fox was a short, muscular man who always wore a hat. How he manages to keep his hat on even during interrogations was a wonder.
Ralph moves toward the young man who was tied to a chair, in the middle of the room. He had an interrogation lamb over his head. He was covered in sweat and blood. Fox had dealt with him. Ralph lifts the boy's bloody head with his hand to look at his face properly. There were cuts all over his face, some will leave scars.
What is your name? Ralph asked.
"Bri...Brian". The boy replied fearfully.
Ralph could barely hear him, the lad was too weak to speak.
"Brian, I'll tell you a secret," Ralph said and bent over to whisper something to the boy's ear.
"Please forgive me. Please…" Brian said. You could see fear written across his face. Ralph pats his head gently as though trying to calm him down.
"You won't die today Brian".
"I hope no one is aware he got caught?" Ralph asked Fox who stood some distance away with the other interrogators watching.
"No. He was caught during his escape so no one knows yet". Fox replied while puffing his smoke.
"Good" Ralph nodded
"Take him upstairs and get Dr. Frank to fix him up, I'll decide what to do with him later."
Jack immediately swung the lad over his shoulder and walked away like he weighed nothing.
"And Fox, Nice job". Ralph said and without waiting for a reply or any sort of acknowledgment, he walked out of the room.
Ralph stood on the balcony of his room watching the reflection of the sunset in the pool of water. Then as a kid, he would wish that his life could be as calm and colorful as the water below him. His life has always been filled with so much darkness and slowly he became the darkness people feared. He inhaled from his tobacco pipe and reflected on his plans. Ralph would never have imagined coming back to London. He'd left the city ten years ago and hoped never to return as the city had taken everyone he loved and created a throne that has been sustained by the corpse of 'The Wesleys' enemies. He never wanted to be a part of any of this, only to be forced back by the death of his uncle and the thought that The Wesleys might be placed under unbearable hardship by those who wish to see them fall.
His uncle has always wanted him to marry 'The DeAngelis', a well-known mafia family. His uncle and the DeAngelis Don 'Phillip DeAngelis' were very good friends and had agreed amongst themselves to wed Ralph and one of Philip's daughters to expand their territory.
But Ralph wasn't ready for any of that. He had no interest in any arrangement, he was a man of his own will. He had other plans of his own, Rather than submit to this charade gentlemanly agreement between his uncle and the DeAngelis He would find a suitable match for Sophia from the DeAngelis Family who he could trust and then hand over the family business to her. Then he will have enough time to deal with his uncle's killers and put them down forever. In that way, Sophie will be safe and the soul of his uncle would find peace in hell.
First, Ralph needed to Find a good match for Sophie from the DeAngelis family so he could strike a bargain with them and what better event would there be to find Sophie such a mate than the next ball held by the DeAngelis family?
The DeAngelis family were regarded as Nobles amongst Mafians, They held balls, parties, and various art exhibitions like normal people. They also had affiliations with politicians and ran several legitimate businesses to cover for their underground businesses. The idea of Mafians acting like nobles was funny to Ralph. They were however among the three biggest Mafia families in East London. East London was ruled by three families. The DeAngelis, The Red Ravens, and The Sparrows. The families seem to possess equal powers and control, perhaps that was why the DeAngelis Don wanted a union with the Wesleys to tilt the scale of power.
The DeAngelis held the grandest of balls with both Mafians and high political figures in England in attendance and held a high moral compass which helped them avoid clashes in such balls. Guns or knives were never allowed in their balls. Going to the ball will also avail him the opportunity to meet with Uncle's right-hand man Johnny. He needed to collect Vadaly's ledger of accounts.
Ralph would attend as unnoticeably as a person can be, Get his eyes on potential mates for Sophia, pick up the ledger from Johnny and leave immediately.
He puffed out more smoke, and just in time, he noticed Jack lurking in the shadows of the balcony.
The thought of the lady in red crossed his mind again.
"Jack?" he called.
"Don Ralphael". Jack replied immediately.
"The lady in red at the funeral. Find out everything about her."
"Yes, Don". Jack replied.
Ralph walks into his bedroom followed closely by Jack. He picked up a glass of scotch from his bedside table. He took a sip and turned to Jack. "That'll be all for tonight, you may leave my presence".
"As you Wish, Don". Jack steps out immediately closing the door behind him. Ralph wanted to be left alone. He remembers the folded note his Late cousin, Thomas had handed over to him a few days ago before the young man fell off London's bridge.
He opens up his table locker and takes out the pendant and folded paper. He opened the pendant, it had the picture of Thomas's wife and daughter. The sight of the picture saddened him a bit.
"Those with people to protect should learn to make wiser decisions". He thought.
He unfolds the paper to read the content, and whatever he saw made his eyes open wide in shock.
"How dare they?" was the only words that came out of his mouth angrily as he clinched the paper tightly in his palm.