Six people entered the ice factory and were noticed by a man arranging large blocks of ice. The man looked at them and asked, “Boss, how can I help you? Are you here to get ice? Is it for a party or just a small gathering?” The man displaying the ice inquired.
“We’re looking for your boss,” Diego said bluntly.
“Bosses, our boss is currently inside with a big client. If you want, you can sit and wait,” the man replied.
“We don’t have time to wait. Take us to him,” Carlo demanded.
The man frowned, leaving what he was doing to look at the group. He realized they weren’t there for regular business. “What do you need from the boss?” the man asked cautiously in a slightly raised voice.
As he said this, other large workers approached, seemingly observing the six. Marco noticed the group of workers surrounding them and grinned. “Why so cautious? We were sent here by the Don of the Abate Family for a transaction,” Marco said, stepping closer to the man and continuing in a threatening tone, “Surely you’re familiar with the Abate Family. Now, if you don’t take us to your boss, I don’t know if you can handle the consequences!”
‘Abate Family!’ the man thought. “Oh, it’s you. You should have said so earlier. Come, I’ll lead you upstairs to meet the boss,” he said politely but secretly gave a command to the other workers, who dispersed as if nothing happened.
Diego noticed something was off in the workers’ eyes. “Stay alert,” he whispered to his three companions. Carlo and Marco knew something was amiss, so they remained vigilant as they followed the man to the second floor using the metal stairs leading to their boss’s office.
As they entered, the man approached and whispered to the boss, who understood the situation and nodded. In front of him was a man lighting a cigar, arrogantly placing his foot on the table. Carlo looked at him but was ignored. “So, it’s you, the Abate Family. I wonder what business the lowly mafia family brings,” the boss mocked, emphasizing the word “lowly.”
“What do you mean? Does Gallo want to start a fight with the Abate Family?” Marco asked.
The boss grinned, “What I mean is this,” he said, and from outside, they heard the sound of metal doors closing. They realized the factory workers had sealed the exits. Next, they heard dozens of people climbing the metal stairs. Within minutes, the door opened, and three large men entered carrying metal bats, with many more waiting outside, also armed with bats. They were the workers from earlier.
The boss laughed, “Your timing is perfect. We were just planning to clean out the Abate Family because it’s no longer useful, and we want to take its assets as ordered by the Don, as instructed by the Sicilian Familia. Don’t you know that your family’s situation is an embarrassment to the alliance?”
He stepped away from his desk and introduced the arrogant man sitting beside him, “This is Mr. Gray, one of the masterminds behind Gallo’s rise to where it is now, and the reason we’re almost on par with the Costa Family. Just a few more contraband supplies, and we’ll be equal to Costa, and today is that day… Who would have thought Gallo would achieve two victories in one day?” He laughed, “First, a successful transaction, and second, the sheep walked into the lion’s den to be slaughtered,” he added with a menacing smile.
“Shameless people!” Marco clenched his fist. “You really want to wipe out our Abate Family!” he said angrily.
“Indeed, this Sicilian Family is so treacherous! Don Jose was right; they really want to drain our Abate Family dry! Shameless!” Carlo added.
The boss laughed, unaware of what happened to the Abate Family that made the Sicilian want to eliminate them. Nevertheless, he didn’t dwell on it. All he thought about was that today was the day he could make a significant contribution to the Gallo Family. “Don’t be surprised. You’re the lowest in the alliance, and since the Sicilian said you’re useless, it means you’re useless and need to be cleaned out.”
“This Gallo Family has no rules either! They don’t follow the alliance’s guidelines!” Marco shouted angrily.
“Alliance rules? Perhaps you’ve forgotten that the Sicilian Family is the law and has been for a long time? We’re just following the orders of the boss,” the boss smirked.
Marco sighed in anger. Carlo looked around before speaking, “It seems you’ve prepared this place as our grave. If so, before you kill us, we want to know why the Sicilian Family is doing this to us and what their plan is?” he asked, desperate to know the truth before he died.
The boss grinned, “Since you’re about to die, I’ll let you know what’s happening and what you want to know,” he thought for a moment before continuing, “As far as I know, because the Sicilian Familia failed in their expedition to form an alliance outside Rome, they want to drain the Abate Family due to an incident that happened to your family. The Don thought your Abate Family’s assets were substantial, so he decided to use them to strengthen and solidify their position in Rome.”
“As for his plans, I’ll tell you since you’re going to die anyway, and there’s nothing you can do even if you know this information,” he smirked before continuing, “The Don’s first goal is to consolidate power by acquiring more assets and resources. He plans to use these to expand his influence over key territories in Rome, ensuring control over vital trade routes and establishing dominance in the black market. By doing so, he aims to eliminate any competition and position the Sicilian Family as the unrivaled leader in the city’s underworld. Additionally, these assets will be used to forge strategic alliances with other powerful families, further solidifying their supremacy and making it nearly impossible for any rival family to challenge their authority. Since I’ve mentioned it, perhaps you can die peacefully now.”
“So, the Sicilian Family’s plan is to grow their assets before attempting to form alliances outside of Rome again?” Carlo asked curiously.
“I think that’s the case since there’s no other stronger mafia left in Rome besides the Sicilian Family. They probably want to reach out to other families they missed in the last expedition,” the boss explained with a grin.
Carlo nodded, “The Sicilian Family is really ambitious. Besides this, do they have any other plans?” he asked again.
“Hey, hey, too many questions. Do you want to take all this information to your grave?” the boss asked with a smirk. “Oh, by the way, there’s something I don’t understand. The Don of the Sicilian wants to know what really happened to the downfall of the Abate Family,” he added, clueless.
Marco grinned, “This Sicilian Family really wants to paint black as white, even though they’re the reason half of us were wiped out.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Carlo added, “we’ve learned what we wanted to know. This is just extra info. We just need to complete the mission and get out of here quickly.”
“Mission? Get out quickly?” The boss laughed, “Do you really think you can leave here alive?”
The people surrounding them laughed too. “Hey, little boss, hurry up and finish this. I don’t like noise, and I don’t want blood to stain my Armani suit,” Mr. Gray said disinterestedly, having been impatient for a while.
“Yes, Mr. Gray,” the boss replied politely before looking at his men, “Take them out and kill them. Mr. Gray doesn’t want blood spilled here and risk staining his expensive suit,” he ordered.
“Enough talking, let’s start the mission,” Diego said, having been quietly watching the drama unfold.
Marco and Carlo nodded before stretching simultaneously. “Let’s finish this quickly so we can report the information and move on to our next destination,” Marco said.
“Honestly, I’ve been bored for a while. I knew the Sicilian Family had snake-like behavior. Don Jose was right; he saw the bigger picture. It’s a good thing we acted first, or they would have come knocking on our door,” Carlo added.
The boss laughed, “Hey, hey, what are you thinking? Just the six of you? Do you think you can do anything against my men?” he taunted.
“We’ll find out in the next moment,” Diego said before suddenly attacking.