Later that day….
Tony walked into the private booth of a famous club a few minutes away from his house, where he had agreed to meet with his guest. He was ushered in by a waiter who pointed to the guest who had been waiting, his back to Tony.
Tony thanked the waiter and headed to the couch where his guest was seated. As soon as he got there, the face of the guest lighted up and he leaned forward.
“I was shocked to learn that you wanted us to meet. I was convinced it was a prank but, seeing you here, It’s obvious I was wrong.” He said with a smirk on his lips.
“Like I said, this meeting is overdue. It has been on my mind for a while now.” Tony replied, his face as hard as stone. He then exhaled and leaned forward.
“I have an offer for you, Louis.” He said calmly and Louis’s eyes widened but he quickly composed himself and crossed his legs.
“You’re not going to give me money and tell me to stay away from Lily, are you? You should know that’s not going to work by now.” He laughed, his tone full of mockery.
Tony’s jaw ticked but, he remained calm, reminding himself that he was here for Lily’s sake and not his. “Of course not, Louis. I know you’re better than that.” He added, boosting Louis’s ego.
When he saw the satisfied smile on Louis’s face, he continued. “I know you want Lily back.” He started and Louis nodded.
“More than anything.” He answered and Tony suppressed a scowl.
“Well, I will give Lily back to you.” He paused, watching as Louis’s eyes widened with Joy and his lips broke out in a wide smile.
“Finally got bored of her, I see.” He joked.
“That’s not the case,” Tony said immediately. “I need your help and I know the only way I can get that is if I return…. what’s yours to you,” Tony said, the last part feeling like a rock in his throat.
By the time Tony was done with his sentence, there was a look of victory on Louis’s face. Hearing Tony call Lily ‘his’ felt like his biggest achievement.
A few minutes after enjoying his little victory, Louis looked up and nodded. “Alright then. What do you need my help with?” He asked and Tony released a breath.
The first step was successful. Now, he needed to construct his sentence properly to get a positive response from Louis.
“I’m sure you already know that Lily was kidnapped by Mehdi King.” He started and Louis’s face fell.
Of course, he knew that. He just couldn’t do anything about it when it happened.
“He has also made his plans about making Lily his very clear but I know you are not comfortable with that. I am not either. If anyone should be with Lily, it should be you because she was yours from the start.” Tony added, deliberately gassing him up.
Louis bit his lips and tapped his feet on the ground nervously. “I heard that you saved her. Why are you here then? She’s already safe.” He asked and Tony shook his head.
“It doesn’t just end there, you know. I know Mehdi and you do too. You know he’ll try to get back with her again if we don’t do something about it.” Tony said.
“What are you proposing then? What do you need my help with?” Louis asked, his mind racing. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy going up against Mehdi, especially with his power and influence but, he wasn’t going to sit and let him take what belonged to him.
He also didn’t quite enjoy the slap from the previous day and had been itching to return the gesture.
“I want to take him down,” Tony answered with a straight face.
“Take him down? Are you talking about exposing the gang? If that is what you’re trying to do, I won’t! be able to help.” Louis made it clear to Tony that he was not going to be the one to snitch after he had done many bad things to keep their identity hidden.
“Of course not. I won’t do anything to harm your gang. All I want is Mehdi. Maybe when I take him down, you can become the next boss. How nice does that sound?” Tony smirked deceitfully, watching how Louis’s eyes lit up at the sound of taking Mehdi’s place.
“I like the sound of that.” Louis licked his lips and adjusted his position on the chair.
“I’m in.” He said with a wide grin and Tony bit back a smile, his eyes filled with happiness.
“As long as you promise to let me have Lily once all of this is over. I’ll let you spend some time with her for now.” Louis said with a wink and a smirk.
“I know how enjoyable Lily is, especially in bed so, since we’re partners now, I’ll let you enjoy that for now.” He finished and Tony balled his fists at the side of the chair as anger cursed through his veins.
But, he needed Louis’s help since he would be able to get close to Mehdi without any suspicion so, he held himself back and smiled instead.
“Alright then.” He brought his hand forward for a handshake which Louis took gladly.
“I never thought this day would come, Tony Martinez,” Louis said with a smirk as they both shook hands.
*
*
Tony entered his car after the meeting with Louis and watched him get into his car and drive away. Then, he took out his phone and called Raphael.
“It’s done.” He said as soon as the line clicked. “It was a done deal as soon as I mentioned Lily. Somewhere in him, he feels he has a chance with Lily after everything he has done. Fucking joker!”
“So all we need now is a video recording of him confessing his crimes, yes? Do you think Louis would be able to do that? If Mehdi mentions anything relating to the gang, Louis might not want to tell you about it.” Raphael pointed out.
“That’s why I installed a tracker in his phone a few months ago. I just need him to make Mehdi talk and mention all the gang hideouts. I’ll give the voice note to a police friend of mine I know and he’ll take things from there. As for the video, I’ll get it myself. I’ll have a meeting with Mehdi and use the same trick I used for the commissioner.” Tony explained.
“This has to end now.” He added with a frown. “And yes, do you have any news on Oliver yet? Lily won’t let me rest until we find him. I can’t even tell her that he is a prime suspect in the kidnap case. She thinks he is her friend.” Tony said with a tired sigh.
“Ah! Yes! I was going to call you.” Raphael replied. “We know that he was shot at the venue but what we find odd is that he was also taken with Lily but, we didn’t find him in Mehdi’s house. I also ran another background check on him myself and discovered that he has a criminal record….” There was a pause on the line and Tony heard Raphael release a sigh.
“He was arrested for an involvement in gang activity,” Raphael revealed and Tony felt his heart skip. He didn’t want to believe that his suspicions were correct.
“What gang?” He asked, taking a deep breath and he heard Raphael sigh loudly.
“It’s the fucking Snakers, Man.”