Alessio
“Just look around the place real quick, we have two more to go,” I instructed, turning to the guys.
“Levi and Donni, you’re with me. You two take the other side.”
We walked inside, and the first thing I noticed were the flickering, dimmed lights. The warehouse had a smell of a musty scent, and the only noise was the sound of dripping water, probably from a leak.
“Where were you guys yesterday?” I attempted to lead a conversation, trying to remain as casual as I could as we looked through the warehouse.
“I took a jet, flew this hot babe to a hotel,” Donni boasted proudly. “At the beginning of the day, her mouth worked like a damn machine, at the end of the day-she couldn’t talk anymore.”
“Good for you,” I said, expecting nothing less from Donni. Women and work, that’s what his life was-and what my life used to be.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Levi bending down to grab something from the floor. As he was about to put it in his jacket, I grabbed his arm to stop him. “What is that?”
“Candy wrapper, probably nothing.”
I took the wrapper from him, turning it over in my hands to look at the unfamiliar, strange language. “I’ll keep it. Might be something,” I said, pushing it into my pocket.
“Keep looking.”
We pushed further into the warehouse. The deeper we went, the colder it seemed to get-and it had nothing to do with the bad weather outside.
“Am I imagining things, or is it fucking freezing in here?” Donni pointed out, blowing a breath.
“No, you’re not imagining it. Looks like the AC is on,” I replied, as a cold chill passed through me, strong enough to make me shiver. Just then, Jay and Sal made their way back to us.
“Found anything?” I asked, hoping for a clue, any clue, that could lead us to Gian and Uncle.
Sal shook his head. “No, not a sign of Gian or Uncle.”
It was disappointing, but there was nothing else we could do about it. “Okay, let’s get out of here,” I breathed, already dreading the thought of checking a few more warehouses. “Let me just first find out where this cold is coming from. This shit is so crazy it might kill someone.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Donni laughed, hugging himself to keep warm.
I went deeper into the warehouse, the guys following closely behind. After some time I had finally discovered the main source. It appeared to be coming from the cold storage room.
The large door in front of us was completely frosted. The ice crept along the edges, and the door was shut.
In the door there were several bullet holes as if someone attempted to break through.
I reached out, trying to pull the door open-but it was impossible.
“What the fuck,” I stepped back just in time as something red dripped down from above, landing with a soft splat on the ground. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced back at the guys with only one thought going through me, and then we all looked up.
As if it couldn’t have come at a better time, a hand, lifeless and pale, fell down from the ceiling, landing to the floor with a loud thud.
No…
My eyes snapped to the watch around the wrist, a watch I knew all too well because I had given it to my Uncle. It was the same watch I had admired around his wrist yesterday.
I stood frozen in my spot, unable to think, speak or react. This wasn’t the first time I had seen something like this, I had seen way worse-but this was different. It was personal.
The sight of that watch, dangling from the lifeless wrist of Uncle’s hand was devastating.
“Uncle…” Jay gasped, “Is that…”
My hands trembled as I reached for the letter attached to the hand.
‘Alessio Fanucci. The head is mine, the rest of whatever’s left of your brother and Uncle you get to keep. Should’ve made the shot when you had the chance to.’
There was no time to get angry because at That moment the only thing that went through me was my brother.
In an hopeless attempt to open that door, I stepped over the hand and reached for the door’s handle, my muscles straining with every pull as I used every ounce of strength. Sensing the situation, the guys joined in and together we opened the door.
A rush of vapor came out, clouding the warehouse with air.
I didn’t hesitate and ran into the cold storage, feeling the freezing sensation at every inch of my skin. “Gian!” I called out, hoping he would somehow appear and alive above all.
I was horrified as my eyes found Gian, his body stretched out on the cold floor. My emotions were in full chaos. I was torn between fear, joy, and anger. There he was, right before my eyes, yet the state he was in left me questioning whether he was still alive.
Preparing myself for the worst, I knelt beside him. A soft groan escaped his lips, and that’s when I knew my brother was still with us. “He’s still alive, move!” I shouted, making way as I carefully lifted him in my arms and carried him outside of the storage.
Unsure of what to do next, I laid him down on the ground again. I didn’t want to do the wrong thing and make it any worse. Carefully, I lifted Gian and carried him out. Laying him down outside, I finally saw his face. His cheeks were red, his usual tan skin pale, almost blue, the same as his lips-he looked like a ghost, yet he was shockingly enough alive.
I was supposed to be relieved, but somehow that relief got overshadowed by the reality. He was breathing, but he was nowhere near fine.
He looked as if he had already received a visit from the Grim Reaper himself, and if he hadn’t, he would very soon.