Unwelcome Gift

When it came to weddings, Gio had never really given them much thought. In fact in the beginning when he thought of what his future would look like he had always jumped straight to the being married part. It was only once he and Elle had started going steady that Gio had begun thinking of actual weddings. But each time he had such thoughts it was always with Elle as the bride and he had always shut the thoughts out. Unwilling to plan for things that would never come to be.

But somehow, it was happening. He wished it were under better circumstances. That their wedding was not being held with the hope of shielding her from assassins in the dark. But that was the reality and he would have to take what he could get.

He had just finished getting dressed when a knock came.

"Who is it?" He asked, there was no answer and Gio was instantly on edge. Could someone have snuck in without his people realizing? Had he missed something despite the lengths he had gone to, to make sure the venue was as secure as possible?

Pulling out his knife he made his way to the door on silent feet, his breaths calm and even. If there was just one intruder he would slit their throat and be done with it. He would get rid of the body after his wedding, absolutely nothing would keep him from marrying his Elle. If there was more than one, he would slit the throat of the first person to come in and then use them as a shield. A win-win either way.

The door opened slowly and Gio tensed, ready to strike.

"If you kill me after not inviting me to your wedding, I will haunt you for eternity," Gio froze for a second, then put the knife away as the door opened all the way.

Maria Hunt, his consigliere walked in. Her grey hair in its customary neat bun. Her dark suit sharp, her even darker heels gleaming. She looked ready to either kill or defend a client. Knowing Maria, both could be true.

"You said not to call you, unless someone tried to kill me again," Gio defended, and Maria scoffed, turning her head to the side.

Gio stepped forward, kissing both her cheeks in greeting. She allowed it, which told him she was not as angry as she was pretending to be.

"And that is the only reason I only expect a bottle of wine in apology," She told him, hands on her hips as she fixed him with a stern look.

Maria reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone.

"I reached out to out people in the police. I told them about the red cards, and this is what came back to me," It was his wedding day, a day for celebration. Gio did not want to do business, but if Maria was bringing it up, then it had to be important. So rather than brush her off, he took her phone, and looked at what she had for him.

Oh, oh, oh.

Gio looked at the pictures, closed his eyes and looked again. The red card was in each of the pictures, next to what could graciously be called human remains.

Though the bodies had been torn to pieces, and arranged as though for some sort of ritual, it was easy to see that it was just a cover-up. A way to try and throw off investigators. But Gio knew exactly what he was seeing.

"The police think it is either a serial killer or a cult," Maria said, her tone implying she saw the same thing he did

The victims of organ trafficking. 

When they had ambushed him, Gio had never given his attackers a chance to tell him what exactly their business was. Now he was glad, organ harvesters were bad news, no matter which way one looked at it.

"How long have these been going on?" As gruesome as the pictures were, if the killings had only been going on for a short while that would be a good thing. That would mean whoever was responsible for the killings was still new enough to catch. But if they had been going on longer, that would mean someone with experience who would be harder to catch.

"The first one was found six months ago, but their skill speaks of practice. My guess is they let the bodies be found. There are probably more out there that will likely never be discovered," Handing the phone back, Gio took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"As far as wedding presents go, this is one I could have done without," He told Maria, a shaky laugh escaping him. He would much rather she have given him a box full of cigars or a vintage bottle of wine. But his consigliere was never one to follow the norm.

She shrugged, tucking her phone back into her pocket.

"Work is work. But at least now we know a bit of what we are up against," Maria was right, this was something Gio was glad he knew beforehand. If anything it cemented his desire to want to keep Elle close. Adjusting his cufflinks he looked over at Maria, giving her a winning grin.

"I know I did not invite you and everything, but, will you be my best lady? " He would have said best consigliere but she was already that and then some.

"Idiot," She hissed, but her brown eyes were smiling as she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

"Let's go get you married. You had better treat that dancer of yours right Gio or I will shoot you in the kneecaps," She told him and Gio believed her.

"If I ever hurt her, I would be more upset if you did not shoot me," Her laugh echoed as Gio led them out, the two of them headed to a ceremony that mark a new beginning in his life. One that he hoped would last a lifetime.