Prologue (2)

"Good evening."

Guido emerged from his slumber and heard a stranger's voice greeting him. But he couldn't concentrate on that because he suddenly felt a strong headache that made him hiss in pain. His reflex was to massage his scalp but he quickly realized that he was tied to a chair.

Ignoring the pain that assaulted him, Guido looked up and saw a very young man leaning against the desk and facing him. He had a stern look on his face. His eyes were like two bottomless pits, both empty.

Guido opened his mouth to speak, resisting the pain. "Who are you ?"

"Me ? Your friend. Well, at least I can say that you are my friend. My only friend left, even. But it is perhaps a bit too early to say that you'll feel the same way." The young man, who did not look older than 18 years old, replied calmly.

"Do you realize what you're doing, you retard ? Who I am ?" Guido knew that the best course of action was to make the boy talk long enough for someone outside to notice what was happening. Besides, it wasn't the first time he encountered a situation like this one. You cannot make it to the top from the bottom without making a sh*tload of enemies, so he had been prepared for this for a very long time.

"Yes, I know who you are. I know what you do for a living, where your family lives. I even know things that your own wife and kids ignore about you."

"What do you mean ?"

"For example, I know that you hide something behind this mask of righteousness. Something darker. But I'm here to help you."

"You're nuts. Free me now or I'll show you what I'm capable of."

"Oh but I know very well what you can do. That's what I'm trying to explain to you. You should listen more to what people say."

"F**k off !" Guido was discreetly trying to untie his hands behind his back but it appeared that the young man knew his way around knots. "How did you get here ?"

"Well, it was a mixture of preparation and luck. But the main ingredient was your confidence. You've been stepping on everyone's heads for so long that you've become careless. And when the boss is careless, the employees too."

Guido realized that for this man to arrive this far, it meant that many of his security systems must have failed. 'I spent a fortune for this worthless crap. And those good-for-nothings, I swear I'll find a way to make them pay.' Cursing in his head, Guido knew that he needed to try something different. "Okay, tell me... What do you want ? Money ? You know I can make you the richest in the capital."

As the stranger kept silent, Guido felt that he had made the right guess, so he kept talking. "I'm sure we can make this work, you know. I have more money than I need anyway, so why not agree on a transaction and we both go our separate ways, huh ? No hard feelings."

The boy seemed to consider it for a brief instant, then asked : "What about your men that I killed ?"

"Don't worry about that. I can hire others. It doesn't matter to me."

"I believe you."

Guido felt that it was going well. Once again, money would prevail and comfort him in his beliefs. That anything can be bought. Even and above all, people. With a smile, he continued. "Perfect... friend. Untie me so we can write this down."

"I believe you misunderstood me. I don't want your money. I just meant that I can very well believe that people don't matter to you."

The smile on Guido's face faded away slowly. He suddenly had a strange feeling in his guts. "What's that supposed to mean ?"

"I told you. You need to listen more to what I say."

"Who are you ?"

"I was expecting that you wouldn't know me at all, but I must say, it hurts a little." Said the boy with a sigh.

Guido's confusion grew more and more. He didn't like the feeling of not controlling the conversation and he noticed a weird feeling growing. "Should I know you ? What's your name ?"

The boy's gaze quickly hardened. "My name ? I don't have one anymore. You made sure of that."

"What are talking about ?"

"I mean that you stripped me of everything that I had. I have nothing left in this world, except for you, my friend," said the boy by emphasizing the last word. "And now, I've come to you for solace."

The more the conversation went on, the more Guido could feel this strange feeling growing inside, alerting him. But when he saw the stranger straighten up and take a step towards him, the feeling transformed into a distress call, shooting adrenaline inside his vessels. Blood filled his brain and he only had two things in mind. Either fight, or flee. "Wait ! Wait ! I'm sure we can find an understanding." But as the boy didn't stop, Guido opted for his last resort.

"Help ! Help, Please ! Someone, Help me !"

"Don't bother. There is no one."

The boy took a knife out from his back. Guido had his vision narrow down to this simple but effective blade, coming his way.

"Wait, please ! I don't understand. Tell me what to do, I'll obey every command. You want me to apologize ? I'll beg you on my knees ! Please, give me a chance to make amends."

The young man stopped one step away from Guido, playing with his knife. "How will you apologize if you don't even know what you did wrong ?"

"Then, tell me ! Tell me so that I can make it right for you !" replied Guido, elated to see his sentence delayed.

The young man hesitated, but then he shrugged. "Oh, why not. I want you to know." He leaned forward to whisper a few words in Guido's ears and then took a step back to let the information sink in. At that moment, Guido's face was as white as a sheet.

"But that's impossible... They told me that..."

"They told you wrong," interrupted the young man. "But don't worry, they'll join you soon."

After that, the young man did his business with Guido.