~~ Sinveer's POV ~~
"Ugh! Merak, get me some water."
He moves swiftly as he exists the room ordering someone outside the room.
"You! Go get the doctor now!" he barks.
After drinking the water Marek hands me, I see that even with his calm and composed temperament, he looks really bad. "How long am I out?"
"Five days, Boss."
I see he doesn't take me to the hospital; a smart decision.
"What is the status of my killer?"
He responds with hesitation in his tone: "We are still...searching for her."
"Still searching?" If Marek still hasn't found her till now after what happened that night, then the circumstance is more challenging than I thought.
"What is the status?"
"The—."
"What do you two think you are doing?" Zen's voice comes echoing across the room, laced with anger. "You just woke up and you are talking about work already. What makes you think you are not in the afterlife right now?"
"If I'm there, I know I won't be seeing you, since you love your life so much," I reply.
"Lay back down, don't go breaking the stitches now. How are you feeling?"
"Doctor Z, I'm fine...as strong as a horse."
"Shut the fuck up. Are you the surgeon that did the surgery? You are not to leave this bed for another week."
Enzo walks in, leaning against the wall, also looking like shit. Staring at me but saying nothing.
"Why are all of you looking as if a train ran through you?"
"Of course it did. Are you not the one who went looking for death's hole, acting recklessly?" Zen interrupts with irritation in his voice.
"I act the way I do for a reason, and letting my guard down is the only mistake."
"You letting your guard down alone has rendered whatever reason you made that decision useless," Z resorts.
"I get that you're all scared. But it was a calculated risk." I glance at each of their faces, my gaze settling on Enzo to see if he would say something. But he still remains silent.
I may be their Don, but they are my family before they're my men.
"Marek, have the birds that were sent to my home been taken care of?"
"Yes Boss, I took care of them the moment we arrived at the estate."
"Good. Is Rigo still not back?"
"No, Boss."
"Boss, did you have to take the hit just to fish out which family was after you?" Enzo speaks, his voice trembling with concern, face distorted with wrinkles of pain and worry masking his once handsome face —like he's holding back tears. "Did you?" he asks again.
"Enzo, it is necessary. There's no other choice."
"YOU COULD HAVE DIED," he roars.
"Enzo, you can't speak to the Boss in that manner, no matter how you feel. Know your place. "Marek walks towards him in two strides, almost pinning him to the wall.
"Marek, it's okay." Marek stops on his tracks, turning to me.
"Enzo, control yourself. It is a necessary move, and your commendable passion is not going to matter if you keep acting like this. Your assistance will be needed to make the next move."
"I'll do my best. Please forgive my rudeness earlier, Boss."
"Don't break a sweat."
"Hahahahaha!" Zen bursts out laughing for a reason I can't find.
What's making this fucker laugh.
"Seriously? What kind of show is this? Being all bossy already. Jeez, I can't stop laughing."
"Can't I speak heart to heart with my men?"
"You? Heart to heart?" he says, pointing at me with a look of disbelief. "Am I hearing things now? A ruthless bastard, like you?"
"Z, don't go there."
"Yes Don," he says, placing his hands on his forehead, standing at attention like a soldier greeting his commander.
I shake my head with a smile cracking on my face as I brush him off. "Ah… I've nothing to say to you." I shift my gaze to Marek.
"Marek! Continue with your reports."
Marek relays the information he and Enzo gather and what they discover.
"Hmmm. Butterfly. And disguising, huh? Do you notice any pattern she kills with, or how long she has been in the market?"
"Yes. These are the people that disappeared around the time she appeared."
Marek lists thirty people, and surprisingly, they are either brokers, Capos of minor families, or even suppliers. How do I not notice this sooner?
"Since we don't know who she's with or working for, we have to wait until Rigo comes then."
"What's Rigo doing?" Z asks.
I remain silent. Wondering how much I should say in Zen's presence, even if he's my closest and only friend for more than a decade. But I decide against it. Zen is the only person more cautious about my life after me. And he was the only person that was ready give up one of his kidneys for me, when mine got damaged because of the long-term poison I took consistently while growing up. Suspected to have been instigated by one of the five families, through a spy when I was fifteen.
"Tailing that bitch. Last week I noticed that we were being watched and my schedule was leaking out. So I asked Rigo for a full radar watch. And he discovered the ten names I gave you to take care of," I say to Marek. "But it didn't stop, there were some external forces we couldn't locate no matter how thoroughly we proceeded. That was why I started to act recklessly, leaving some trail behind and letting my guard down."
"But that only puts you in danger, Boss," Enzo adds.
"It is to see the family that will act up when I'm in this state."
"Boss, the Pitt and the Ian family acted out while you were unconscious." Marek reports, almost immediately.
"They are not the real catch here. They are just pawns in someone's game of chess."
"Are you saying they were influenced?" Enzo questions.
"Yes. The Pitt and Ian are just minor families, which only deal on small blackmail networks, small arms dealing and digital extortion, but not assassination, infiltration and spy, they are not that ambitious. Which comes down to the five major families—Cisco, Morreti, Ravello and De Santi. When Rigo comes back, his report will determine our next move."
I promise you, little wolf. I will find you. You can run but you won't be hiding for long, because your work is not done.
Author's Note
Z - is the name only Sinveer calls Doc Zen, since childhood.
Rigo and Enzo are Sinveer's Capos.
Marek is Sinveer's (De Luna) Underboss.