The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 22

Antonio Beaumont was finally in Italy. He was wearing a brown leather jacket that had a hoodie which made him uneasily identifiable to just anyone except the ones he was expecting. He wondered why his father asked him to carry a notepad and pen. Also, he wore glasses that made him look like a nerd. His father was a nerd, not him! He instinctively touched the glasses to balance them on his face and cringed.

After a moment of delay waiting idly on a bench in a park early in the morning, he spotted the headlight of a car. He cussed and shielded his eyes as the beam of the headlight dove into them. The engine was killed, and the driver stepped out. Omega Juno Lanfonsy came out looking all scrawny. He wondered what the hell was going on.

“Brother! I can’t believe your dad sent you here,” Juno said, offering him a hug. “I was expecting a more professional assistant, but it’s cool.”

“I never wanted to be here, to begin with,” Antonio said disgustingly and rose to accept the hug. “Do you know the reason why I’m here?”

“No, I don’t, but it’s not particularly a good one, I presume!”

“He said he’s sending someone else to meet us,” Antonio said, returning to his seat.

“You, he’s sending someone to meet with you. I’m just going to make sure that you handle it well.”

“But you just said you don’t know the reason I’m here!” Antonio said tersely. “I hate suspense, man. I’ve been waiting hours to know what things I’m meant to spice.”

“Again, I don’t know why your father sent you here. My role is to make sure you do the job he assigned to you, cover your tracks, and that would be all for now.”

Antonio remembered! Juno killed Bianco’s mate. He felt a little sickened to the bones. He was so anxious to be done and get things over with. Also, he was hoping they would not ask him to commit murder. Jeez, he had never taken a life.

His father had always told him that someday he had to prove himself worthy of the Beaumont name and a true pack mate of the culcasian pack.

“Did you have to kill her?” Antonio said, inhaling deeply.

“Of course I did! You ask shitty questions at times.”

“For God’s sake, Juno, she was human, and she was with child.”

“Mercy is for the weak,” Juno replied, bringing out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and offered it to Antonio, who accepted it.

“This grudge my father holds against the De Sina pack should’ve ended with the death of Alonso’s father.”

“Why? So that we can have the others avenge him. We can’t risk that.”

“It’s been years now; Alonso is living a simple life. He doesn’t even transform.”

“But he’s still the alpha!” Juno said, lighting up a cigarette for himself. “End the Markovic lineage, and your father will be the most powerful. It’s called ambition! This is why I would have preferred Laslow be here for you. You’re too shallow-minded and blinded to see the bigger picture.”

Antonio’s face turned dark with fury, and he said, “Know your place, boy! Don’t ever speak to me in such a manner again.”

“Someone’s getting riled up. I love it! See, that’s the mood you got to be in for what’s to come.”

—

“I could arrange for us to go over to Russia,” Mazza said to Taleela, sipping his tea. “Then we all might spend the weekend there and come back to Italy together.”

They were together in the living room. Bianco and Vincenzo were there too, but they did not mind that Taleela was there. They were getting accustomed to having her glued to Mazza. They were all watching the news. Taleela had just joined them some minutes ago after discussing business with Mazza.

“Hey, hey Boss, turn up the volume! Eureka is on screen!” Vincenzo said, snapping his finger.

Taleela’s gaze immediately swung to the screen. Indeed there she was, looking elegant and smiling. It was as if nothing had happened to make her cry the previous day. She looked like she was ready to take on the world that minute though. The volume increased, and the female reporter could be heard clearer now.

“… And so in other news, we have the daughter of Lucian Oriano, CEO Dorado chemicals, here with us this morning. Tell us why you’re here, Miss Eureka!”

The camera angled in her direction, and she waved, offering the most appealing smile anyone could contribute. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them up, the smile was gone. She was serious.

“La Corporation De Sina is what brings me out here today,” Eureka said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“What is it about La Corporation De Sina that the daughter of the rival company has to say to us?”

Eureka took a deep breath, ready to speak again.

“Everyone who knows about La Corporation De Sina knows they deal in chemicals as well as other things. However, let’s talk about the chemical aspect. La Corporation De Sina copied the chemical Zeta right after we were successful and produced it in masses, calling it by a different name, Izard.” She continued.

“You can check the chemical components and see for yourselves that there’s not even a slight alteration added to their chemical. Chemical Zeta is so good, so stable that the slightest alteration will spoil its goodness. We are talking about a chemical that speeds the growth of annual, perennial, and biennial growth ten times over.”

The stunned look on Taleela’s face was nothing compared to that of anyone else, even though the news shocked all of them. A lifetime of loving someone can not be shared the same measure as the day you start to hate them. When love turns sour, the feeling of hatred is like a response to the chemical Zeta, which sped the surface ten times over.

“Can you prove any of this?” The female reporter asked, and Eureka gave a firm nod.

“Chemical Zeta has one final ingredient that was not featured on the list,” Eureka said, producing two bottles from her bag. “This is chemical Zeta, and the other is chemical Izard. Now, remember I told you that the slightest alteration will spoil chemical Zeta goodness.”

“Yeah, you said that!”

“If you take these chemicals and test them in the lab, then you will replace that both are very identical. However, the secret ingredient is what speeds up the process of crop growth ten times over. We would have to test both chemicals to know the real deal. So let’s try an already fast-growing crop.”

“What is your aim for bringing all this to the limelight now?” the reporter asked, crossing her legs. “Are you thinking of pressing charges?”

Eureka laughed evilly, returning the chemicals into her bag, and said, “Hell no! I don’t even work with Dorado’s chemicals anymore. I want the public to be aware that they are too quick to believe that a brand is the best just because it has been around for longer.”

***

Meanwhile, Lucian Oriano had missed the morning news, but his secretary had called him to inform him that his daughter was stirring up the still waters at LA Corporation De Sina. Lucian smiled, finally appreciating that he had a brilliant daughter. He was driving to a park where he met with two men. He had gotten an anonymous call from someone willing to avenge the slap that Alonso had given to him.

He was late, but he had business to attend to this morning. He called the anonymous caller to inform him that he would be late, but he assured him that the men would wait for him. One of the men was a reporter in Brown jacket that he could see up ahead now.

“Finally, the man is here,” Laslow announced, tapping Antonio. Antonio raised his head slowly to see the black sedan pulling over behind Juno’s car.

“Gentlemen, I’m sorry for the wait!” Lucian said, greeting both men with his palm.

“It’s fine, and our boss pays us to wait!” Juno said. “Are you sure no one followed you?”

“Nobody would have followed me here because no one has a reason to,” Lucian said with confidence. “Though I still made sure I wasn’t being tailed.”

Several minutes ago, Callisto had called his men to tell them what to do. Antonio was to act like a reporter gathering information from various sources against Alonso. Meanwhile, Juno was to act as his bodyguard. That had been all he said. They were to await more instructions from him. Something told Antonio this was a low-critical kidnapping.

“Alright, if you were not followed, then I can call my boss and ask him to tell us the rendezvous,” Antonio said.

***

Back in Russia, things were beginning to take another form. Laslow had gone to meet with the Makarov family. He had gone to apply for the recruitment. He met with the man in charge who had failed to give him a name. The man had on a mask. He was given a three-fold test to prove his usefulness.

He established his Russian ties and convinced them to join the family. They also tested his smartness by asking him to hijack a car in broad daylight and get away with it. His final test was supposed to be the hardest. They wanted to test his obedience and readiness to spill b***d. The Russian recruiters had no smile on their faces.

“This man has offended our boss,” the man in charge of the test said. “He must be executed without question.”

“Please don’t kill me. I have got a wife and little children at home,” the man pleaded.

Laslow was given a gun which he aimed at the man who was held down in front of him by two soldiers. He knew that someone was holding a gun behind him, ready to shoot him if he made any funny move. He was not a God damn spy. Without hesitation, he fired five shots at the man kneeling.

“Take him to the boss,” the man in charge ordered.

After Laslow was gone, Nestor took off the mask. In his life, he had not seen anyone as talented as Laslow was. It was as if the lord had sent them an upgraded Dimitri. Now that his job was done, he had a meeting to attend. Till this day, investigations are still being made about the death of Ivan, his former boss. They had linked the death of Dimitri to that of Ivan, and the research had pointed that a confident Vladimir was responsible. Although, Vladimir was a ghost.

“Sir, the boss will see you at once,” said a soldier to him. He wondered what Olga Sidorova wanted with him now.

“Alright, tell her I’m on my way,” Nestor said, putting on back his mask.

Nestor made his way to where Sidorova was. She was in the living room of this enormous house. She acted so cruel to everyone. In the history of the underboss, she had to be the most fearsome underboss. She had a stern look on her face every time. She was the stepsister to both Alyona and Mariyanna.

“Nestor, you went against a direct order!” Sidorova said. It angered him that she had revealed his identity indirectly to the recruit. “Why are you still searching for the murderer of the former Don? Didn’t the new Don ask you to abort all that?”

“Respectfully, boss, your powers don’t extend down to me!” Nestor said, letting out all the anger he had. “I’m a consigliere, and I don’t take orders from anyone. I will do whatever I feel is fit for the family irrespective of what the don says.”

Nestor walked away confidently. He knew that Olga Sidorova knew better than to stand in his way. No one stood in the configuration of the consigliere. At least not in the Makarov family. With that assurance in his heart, he went on to replace out who Vladimir was.