Quickly and quietly, he stalked in the darkness then paused just outside the closed door and listened for a moment. He heard the roar of people upstairs and wondered how many of his men were down. Then turning the doorknob, he opened the door just a fraction enough to peer through the crack at the gym outside. As the door opened the noise from upstairs attacked him. He stuck his head out and looked around. It was….empty. All seemed clear in the basement as he moved quietly into the next room.
He crept cautiously out of the room and through the gym area, then slowly up the winding stairs to where the show was unfolding. When his gaze reached the top of the stairs, he looked across to find that all hell had broken loose. Shots and chaos echoed around him. Six of his own men were there that he could count, and nearly double that amount of intruders wearing black balaclavas.
Bruno ground his teeth, holding back a fierce growl…...Their home was being overrun, and his men were letting it happen.
He tiptoed up the steps, gun held ready. He could hear the voice of the man in charge and moved slowly towards it.
They had all his guys bunched together like sheep. When he saw two of his men duck back into the shadows, his blood boiled.Seriously?
Suddenly, all fire halted. It was a stalemate. Both sides yelling at the other to put down their weapons...nobody was so foolish. One wrong move and it would be carnage, but Bruno knew he had the element of surprise on his side.
He spotted the man in charge once he ran across his line of sight, ordering the others around. As he stood calling the shots, Bruno crept up on the unsuspecting man from behind and held him in a choke-hold. “What’s your name, dumbass?” he fiercely questioned, rage growing by the second.
“What the hell do you want, Castillo scum? Do you have a death wish?” The balaclava covered boss-man snarled.
The whole room went silent.
Bruno didn’t fear the wrath of the intruders with their boss’ body as a human shield in front of his own. Tilting his head, Bruno stared him in the eyes. “I don’t want you here that’s for sure, you’re not welcome, but since you are, there’s something I need you to know.”
Everyone froze at the declaration.
Everyone but the ballsy boss, squirming and growling as his face turned pink-purple. “This place is ours now, we’re here to take what’s ours!” he interrupted. “Castillo is gone. His son is gone. Face it sucker, the Castillo crime family is not just weak, it’s finished.” He cackled manically through his teeth.
HELL-to-the-NO.Bruno ground his jaw, his anger at an all-time high. “The hell you will.”
“Fuck. You. Bitch!” The man choked out.
POW!
Bruno growled as a gunshot fired past his head. Tightening his grip on the boss’ neck, he looked up to see four guys with their guns aimed at his body. Instantly, his eyes hardened to iron and he knew what he had to do. Slowly, he looked up to meet the eyes of everyone in the room. “I only kill to protect what’s mine, this place is mine,” Bruno thundered. In one savage crack, he suddenly pistol-whipped the man across the head, then dropped the semi-conscious man to the ground.
On impact, the man’s head dropped sickeningly to the side.
Bruno opened fire with a semi-automatic in each hand.
In a succession of echoing booms, four rounds fired into the four men who had their guns aimed at his head. They were launched back several feet onto the ground.
Bruno reacted with a bored professionalism, watching their blood flow out onto the floor calmly and then stepping over, not around the man at his feet, he walked into the center of the room. He rotated his head, allowing his experienced eyes to take everything in. “My name is Bruno De Luca. And I have no problem, not one, with killing each and every one of you.” His eyes trailed across the faces of the men left standing, then down to the men sprawled out on the floor in front of him. Grunts, groans, and whimpers from all four of the men permeated the air as Bruno turned his attention away from them to those with their feet still on the ground.
Bruno stared down each man individually and then announced to everyone. “If you want them, come and claim them. Clean up and disappear before the cops show,” he demanded. “You can take ‘em all buthim,” Bruno growled, glaring at the boss.
For a moment, nobody moved.
At his word, those left standing took hold of their men by the arms and legs then hauled them away from Bruno, gunning it towards the door.
The last man out the door ? tall, skinny, with all the confidence of youth ? stopped in the open doorway and turned around, gazing back at his boss who was being tied to a chair. He stepped back into the room then locked eyes with Bruno.
Bruno gave a slow, reproachful nod of his head and gave him raised eyebrows as if to saygive it a try.
The man halted. Blade, who was standing by the door, shoved the kid outside.
When the door slammed shut, Bruno dropped his guns but kept them at the ready. He glanced to his left at two of his men pulled the man up and set him down on a wooden chair. Scanning the area for anyone that could be hiding, he moved cautiously around the room and confirmed the area was secure. Clicking on the safety, he slid the guns back into his belt and went back into the main room where his mob brothers were gathered. He went over to the man they’d taken prisoner, hands, and feet tied to a chair. For a moment, Bruno just stared at the unconscious man. Then, slowly, methodically, he began to search him. He turned all his pockets inside out, looked at his clothing labels, then stared long and very hard at a California driver’s license with Lucia’s picture on it. He expertly examined the machine gun when a clunking sound coming from somewhere behind him, downstairs attracted his attention and he spun, already reaching for his revolver.
Crossing the room, he went down the stairs and into the study. The only light was coming from the main room, so Bruno clicked on the light switch. The light came on to reveal a mess. The filing cabinet was flung across the floor, drawers pulled out, papers everywhere.
Bruno felt his blood pressure rise. They had done this.
On closer inspection, he saw that the safe was open. That’s when he saw that the boss’ picture was out of place, smashed on the ground. Taking himself over to the safe, he opened the door and reached inside. Castillo’s money was gone, and an ace of diamonds playing card was in its place. He grasped the card tightly in his hand, crunching it into a ball. The culprits were mafia for sure. His senses told him that much.
