Michael De-Santi's POV
My eyes were dizzy, the world spinning round me. As I tried to get a hold of myself, and opening my eyes, I saw a pretty lady in a police uniform, wielding a pistol to my head.
"Hey there, princess, what's with the threat? You don't want to shoot an unarmed man, do you?" I teased, trying to get a grip on the situation. Her expression was unhinged.
I tried to move a bit, recoiling at the pain I felt in my shoulder when I noticed the stitches on my body.
"If you move another inch, I will shoot. You will be answering all my questions," she demanded, her voice stable and cold.
"Easy there, princess. Do you seriously want to kill a man you just saved?" I said with a forced smirk on my face.
"The only words I should be hearing from you are answers to my questions. Your next bicker will lead to your death," the policewoman snapped as she cocked her gun at me.
I immediately knew this was not going to be a simple situation.
"Who are you?" she asked, still unhinged.
"My name is Michael," I answered, acknowledging the danger of my situation.
"What is your connection with the De-Santi family?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" I replied, trying not to give any wavering expressions.
The policewoman, in anger, shot the floor next to my feet and pointed her gun at the papers on the table.
"Okay, you got me. I am a regular soldier of the family. I take orders from the don (boss) and carry them out," I answered in a composed manner.
"Then why the hell are you bleeding so much? These marks don't look like mere bruises," she said, tilting her gun upward.
"Today was supposed to be the official coronation of our boss, but it ended up being a massacre as bullets came rushing in, from all directions, slaughtering all members present in the room. I hid among the dead bodies, barely escaping the slaughter. I immediately took documents that I could find before the place was burned to the ground," I responded, still keeping my cool.
"Who was responsible?" she asked.
"We were definitely betrayed by one of our own, but it was backed by the Bianchi family. They..." I stopped as I noticed a grin on her face. "Seems you have a personal vendetta against them."
Her grip tightened on the gun. "They killed my father, and I swear to God, I won't die until every single one of them is six feet under." Her voice was laced with pain and agony.
"Do you think your emotions mean anything? You will die before you even find out who the boss is," I implied with a smirk on my face.
"What makes you think I give a fuck about what you think?" she lashed out in anger, her stance remaining unhinged.
"Since we have a common goal, I just think we could help each other," I said with a sigh. "Not that I actually need you anyway," I thought to myself.
"What makes you think I will trust you?" she demanded, relaxing her grip a bit.
"Face reality, you are too pretty..." I stopped as I noticed her stare was not having any of my jokes. I sighed. "Currently, you are nothing but a child grieving over her father's death. You are like a traveler with no direction. You will definitely need as much information and manpower as you can get to reach your goal, but judging from the way I see you, I'm sure you have none of that."
She gave an expression agreeing to my statement. "Believe me when I say that having me on your side is like having a hundred men. Besides, I have enough knowledge about the mafia family. Since we both have the same goal, my injuries as proof, what's the worst that could happen?" I gave a convincing argument.
She considered my words for a while and tried searching my eyes for signs of deceit. "Alright," she finally said, slightly lowering the gun. "If I notice any foul play, it will be the grave for you," she added.
I nodded. "Fair enough. I look forward to working with you," I said, stretching my hand out. She rolled her eyes, dragged me up and helped me to a chair.
She sat across the table, directly opposite me. "So, what will be our first step?" she immediately asked. "Wow, we are starting off with a joint pronoun, that's a good start," I tried easing the tension, but her cold expression did not budge. I released another sigh.
"There are two important rules you must follow for this mission to be successful. Firstly, do not trust anyone, even the police. The Bianchi family has a strong connection with all the governing systems in New York and has its people functioning in them. You never know who is who," I said, trying to reach for a cigar in my pocket.
"True, that would explain why my father's case was closed off as a mere accident," she responded.
"And secondly, at least loosen up a little bit. We are partners, right?" I tried my luck again, trying to ease the atmosphere as I lit my cigar.
"Look, we are not partners, and I will never be a partner with a criminal. We are just two people working temporarily to achieve a goal!" she exclaimed. The scorn literally made me drop my cigarette.
"That's basically the same thing," I thought to myself. It seemed I failed and made her more pissed.
"Anyway, let me explain the hierarchy of the Bianchi mafia family, which you might already know." I leaned back as I picked up my cigarette.
"Wait, what made your two mafia families migrate from Italy to New York 20 years ago?" she asked.
"That's an unnecessary information," I implied as I immediately continued my previous discussion. "First, at the bottom of the chain, we have the soldiers. People like me carry out operations on orders from the captains. Next, we have the caporegime (translated as captain in English). They own individual groups within the family. The Bianchi family has prominent captains who are not foot soldiers. They take direct command from either the underboss or the boss," I paused to blow out smoke.
"How long are you going to keep staring at me like you are about to kill me?" I sighed, with the smoke curling around me.
"Just go on," she said, rolling her eyes.
I smirked and continued. "Then we have the sotto capo (translated to underboss in English). I don't know his name, but he was present during the shooting. He takes orders only from the boss. Next, we have the capofamiglia (translated to boss in English). All I know for now is that the boss is a man."
"A man?" she interrupted.
"Yes, a man. They most likely have a capo di tutti capi, which means boss of bosses. It is a myth and is not officially recognized. They are usually known only by the boss and give orders directly to her." I rested back, putting my legs on the table.
"What about the consigliere?" she asked with a sharp gaze.
"Well, the consigliere is just a strategist for the family," I responded.
"Oh, I haven't gotten your name, my queen" I asked with a smile.
"My name is Elena, and don't call me queen," Elena said reluctantly, still releasing cold vibes.
"Oh, okay, Elena. Nice name though," I said sarcastically.
Elena Moretti's POV
"I must not let my guard down around him. There are too many inconsistencies with him, and I feel he is hiding something... no,... a lot of things from me. I will have to go with the flow for now and watch my back," I thought to myself.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't see Micheal reach for his pistol.
"Drop your weapon!"He exclaimed, his gun pointed at me.
In the split of a second, before I could make a move, the whole room rotated around me, the last I saw was his face before I blacked out.