The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 58

The day could have turned out gorgeously, with spectators cheering or booing at their favorite or hated jockeys and horses.

Instead, the mafia came and destroyed such a picture. Alonzo’s men asked the spectators to turn back at the entry point. The mafia unofficially canceled the horse racing.

As if that wasn’t adequate, the death of Mazza’s horse led to the demise of several other horses as Bianco went about shooting horses from one stall to another.

It was a gruesome thing to watch. Nonetheless, their actions served a greater purpose, which was to inspire fear in the people’s hearts so that in the future, nobody would make the mistake of killing a mafia jockey’s horse.

Piccolo and another man carried Mazza’s dead horse onto the bed of a pickup truck. Piccolo knocked on the vehicle’s body, indicating that it was time for the driver to start riding. The horse was sent to a veterinary pathologist to carry out a necropsy.

Not so long ago, Alonzo’s men gathered a group of likely suspects and hauled them inside one of the stalls with a dead horse. The suspect included those who possibly would have turned up first and second runner up; the stable boy and the veterinarian.

Alonzo was sitting in a corner. He was interviewing the stable boy who couldn’t look directly into his eyes, not because he was guilty, but because of the gruesome act he had witnessed.

Alonzo and his men were frightening, no doubt. Who would have believed the mafia would go this far, all for a dead horse?

Alonzo sighed and said to the stable boy, “Would you care to explain how a perfectly healthy horse which I saw yesterday when I came in to check turns out dead on the day of the horse racing?”

The boy gulped.

“I. I. I don’t know,” said the boy, “It’s just as you said, boss, the horse was in good health one minute and the next moment I. I saw she was dead.”

“So uh, you didn’t see anyone come around and do something to my horse?”

“No, Don, I swear it on my mother’s grave.!”

“How much were you paid to do it yourself then?”

“Wh- what? I’ll never do such a thing; I’ve never hurt a fly! If I could, I would probably be working as a hitman or something else but not as a stable boy.”

Alonzo looked towards Mazza, and he nodded to signify that he believed the boy. It was a rare sight to see Mazza frowning, and so Alonzo was determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

“Take him away and bring the veterinarian!” Alonzo said to one of his capos.

“Move!” the capo said, hauling the stable boy out of his boss’s sight. Not long after, the same capo reappeared with the veterinarian whom he forced to kneel before Alonzo.

“Doctor, forgive my sheer use of force; I’m in a foul mood! What do you know about the dead horse?”

“I’m a veterinarian, not a murderer; I treat animals okay, not kill them!”

“Indeed, but maybe for a few extra Euro-“

“Don Marcovic,” he said, almost yelling. “I’m innocent! You are wasting time; I’ve been taking care of Don Palumba’s horse treatment since God knows when; why would I suddenly want to kill the horse?”

“Alright,” Alonzo said, swallowing the truth like a hard pill. “Alright, but until we figure out the killer, don’t you disappear on me. Take him away.”

The man wriggled his body free from the capo trying to haul him and said, “Don’t touch me! I can move on my own! Stolte!”

Alonzo stood up as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. His hand dropped to his side, making a slapping sound. He rolled up his sleeve to check the time.

“Granddad, who could have done this?” Alonzo said. “We’ve interviewed almost everyone, but they all seem to be telling the truth.”

Mazza growled softly before replying, “Yeah, it seems everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”

“Yeah, so let’s wait till we know the cause of death.”

Alonzo and his grandfather were sure that the cause of death was not natural. It was part of what gave credence to their obstructiveness.

However, nothing could justify the killings of the other horses but come on; they were mafias, and anyone who knew how they operated should have anticipated something like that.

Piccolo came to meet Alonzo and his grandfather with a solemn look.

“What is the matter, Pico?” Alonzo asked.

Piccolo answered with his voice breaking, “My mother is dead.”

Alonzo shut his eyes, hoping it was a bad dream, but he heard Piccolo sob bitterly. His heart broke. He opened his eyes, caught Piccolo by his left arm, and pulled him into an embrace as friends do. He had learned that hugging a person could reduce their pain.

“Sorry, my dear friend,” Alonzo said, hugging him tighter. Alonzo felt bad for Piccolo, who, while he was serving him, didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to his mother.

Mazza placed his hand on Piccolo’s shoulder and squeezed gently. Piccolo’s mother was a friend to him, and it hurt him so much to hear she was gone. Piccolo pulled away from the hug and wiped away his tears.

“I need to go back to Greece,” Piccolo said, and Alonzo nodded.

“Sure, I’ll come and join you tomorrow!” Alonzo said.

“Yeah, me too,” Mazza added.

***

It was almost five p.m. when Alonzo went to an abandoned garage to meet with Don Draper Cooper, a black American man. The place had many broken cars, and it was secluded for these kinds of operations.

Ordinarily, Alonzo wouldn’t have come in person, but he chose to go so that he could see the legendary DC for the first time. The man was a big name in the arms world. There were many claims to his perpetual flourishing smuggling of rare arms into world power countries.

Draper had a fat cigar nestled between his thick black full lips. He wore a big chain around his neck, and he didn’t bother concealing his gun, which was strapped to his waist. His bodyguards were tough-looking and all black men too.

Draper was also known to be a very tricky and ruthless man. That was why Alonzo didn’t go with cash. The man agreed that the money could be wired to one of his offshore accounts.

The rest of Alonzo’s men were not allowed into the garage, but Alonzo insisted that Bianco must go in with him.

“I’m Don Alonzo De Sina Marcovic. Do you have my guns?” Alonzo and Bianco approached cautiously as they eyed the mean-looking bodyguards carrying big AK-19 assault rifles. Bianco counted at least eight men on the inside and six others outside.

“Yes, I have them all in this truck,” Cooper gestured. One of his men opened up the truck, which revealed guns of several kinds and boxes of cartridges. Bianco took a moment to go into the truck and check the weapons.

“Come, Don, let’s have a drink while your man inspects the goods,” said Cooper.

“Can I respectfully decline?” Alonzo asked, but he followed the man and sat opposite him.

Cooper shrugged and answered, “Your choice.”

After a while, Bianco returned to them, and he nodded approvingly.

“Okay, great,” said Alonzo, dialing Alyona’s number. “Give me five minutes.”

Alonzo’s initial five minutes had elapsed, and he spent the time calling Alyona, but she didn’t answer the call. Draper was starting to run out of patience, and Alonzo could tell.

“What’s happening? No tricky business with me, okay,” Cooper said.

“Please be patient,” Alonzo said. He continued trying Alyona’s number, and after the second ring this time, she answered the call.

“Hello, please make the transfer,” said Alonzo coolly. He didn’t have time to talk about anything else.

“Okay,” Alyona said.

Ten more minutes slipped by, and Draper hadn’t received the money. The air started to grow tense. Alonzo wondered if Alyona must not have heard him, so he called her again, and she rejected the call.

“F**k this,” Alonzo heard Draper say.

Draper’s men began shooting at him and Bianco, who, from the shock, fell. Alonzo spoke to Bianco through their telepathic connection, asking him to stay calm. Outside, they could hear rapid bullets fired, and Alonzo knew lives had been lost.

Draper and his men got into their vehicles and sped off before Alonzo and Bianco got up. Thanks to their healing abilities, they were fine. Alonzo looked around to see their bloodstain on the wall and floor.

It was quiet outside. Alonzo and Bianco stepped out to see the dead bodies of the fallen capos. There wasn’t one man left alive.

Draper had lost a few men, but Alonzo had suffered a more significant loss. The sheer thought that he and Bianco would have been the first to die brought a new wave of anger. Alonzo called for additional men to come and clean up the garage.