Giovanni said: "We will begin the work, and each of us will have a role in the gang."
Everyone asked in unison: "And what is each of our roles?!"
Giovanni replied: "I will be the mastermind and will tell you the next step. Matteo will be the operations supervisor and group leader. Leonardo will be the financier of the gang since he is from the nobility and owns a vast fortune. Finally, Marco will be responsible for recruiting soldiers and expanding the gang's circle, as he has great communication and persuasion skills."
Giovanni continued, asking: "Does anyone object to these positions?"
Matteo responded: "I don't think so. Everything is arranged."
Leonardo and Marco agreed as well. Giovanni then said proudly: "That's excellent. We are getting closer to the dream."
Matteo smiled and said: "But there's something missing to complete this alliance we need a secret, abandoned place, far from prying eyes."
Giovanni admired Matteo's wisdom and said: "That's right. I know the place."
Leonardo asked: "Where is it?"
Giovanni motioned for them to follow him, and they went to an abandoned warehouse showing signs of fire damage. Giovanni felt sorrow remembering that incident. Marco asked: "Why this place, Father?"
Giovanni sighed and said: "Because the dream ended here and will return here!"
Matteo and Leonardo realized this was Lorenzo's old warehouse, which used to be the gang's headquarters. Matteo said with some sadness, looking around the warehouse: "Is this my father's warehouse?"
Giovanni confirmed: "Yes."
Leonardo placed his hand on Matteo's shoulder and tried to lighten the mood, saying: "This is not the time for sorrow. We came here to revive the dream, not to mourn the past."
Giovanni looked at Leonardo proudly and said: "Do you know why I chose you specifically, despite being Antonio's son? Because I know your character. You are truly noble, Leonardo, and even though you are wealthy and privileged, you have never forgotten the weak."
Leonardo asked in surprise: "How did you know my character?"
Giovanni replied: "Is that a question you ask me? It's easy for someone who brought you all here."
Marco broke the mood firmly: "No time for all this talk. We came here to work, not waste time in conversations and memories. It seems the warehouse needs some repairs, cleaning, and organizing to be ready for meetings."
Matteo enthusiastically said: "Then let's get started."
Matteo, Leonardo, and Marco began cleaning and organizing, while Giovanni sat quietly in a corner, contemplating the gang's future.
After a while, they finished their work, and Matteo and Leonardo exclaimed in shock: "Work!"
Leonardo said: "There's no more time. We must go home and prepare for the work."
Giovanni said: "Alright, go and we will meet later."
Matteo and Leonardo left the place and headed to their homes. Leonardo entered the palace quietly so his parents wouldn't notice, took a cold shower to relax, changed clothes, then went down to breakfast. After finishing, he left for the shop without paying attention to his parents.
Antonio sensed Leonardo's recent change but didn't know why, so he decided to ignore it.
Matteo went up to his room unnoticed, changed clothes, ate a light meal, then hurried to the shop.
At the shop, Matteo and Leonardo worked sleepily, as both hadn't slept well the previous night. After work ended, each returned home and fell into a deep sleep.
Giovanni kept thinking about the rapid developments since that meeting, and about the gang's future and the next step.
The next day, our heroes woke with the sunrise, every action accompanied by thoughts about the gang's future.
Leonardo had breakfast with his family, then went to the mailbox and found a message from Giovanni: "Come, you and Matteo, to the headquarters at 4 PM so I can tell you the next mission."
Leonardo went to the shop, met Matteo, told him about Giovanni's message, and that there would be a meeting at headquarters. They sat thinking about how to get there until Matteo said: "I have an idea we can sneak out before work ends by bribing one of the security guards."
Leonardo replied: "Alright, let's go now so we won't be late."
They carried out the plan successfully and headed to the headquarters...
To be continued...