CONTACTING KING

GABRIEL

Today I decided to drop Adam at his school. Lately, I was unable to spend some time with him. Though my boy was a very understanding person, I felt bad that when we just had begun to get closer, I couldn't find time for him.

So I took him for the breakfast at his favourite place, which used to be mine and Jessica's favourite place too. We talked so much that my throat felt strained.

After that, I took him to his school. I offered to walk to his classroom, and he was more than glad to accept. As soon as we reached his classroom, I saw his class teacher, a lady in her early thirties, walking our way to welcome us.

"Good morning Adam. Mr. Wilson. It's been many days you came to drop Adam here."

I returned her gesture with a smile. "Yes. I have been a little busy lately. How is Adam doing in school? Any complaints?" I asked the lady, politely.

"Oh, no-no. Adam is a sweet and smart boy. And now he has made many friends. Righ Adam?" She looked at Adam, and he smiled in reply.

"That's a good news then. Excuse me." I took out my phone and placed it on my ear.

"Hello. Yes. I will be there soon. Have you prepared the report? hello. Hello," I looked at the black screen of my phone.

"Oh no. My phone died on me. Uhh.. mam, if you don't mind can I use your phone for a minute? It's very urgent." I asked the lady sincerely.

"Oh, that's not a problem, Mr Wilson. Here." She gave me her phone, which I accepted with a thank you and my best smile.

To my luck, she excused herself, to meet another parent, and I found a quiet corner. As I expected, she had two sim cards on her phone. I carefully removed one and fixed the phone again. I inserted her card into another handset that I carried with me. It was my old phone which I quit using a long time back. I dialled Benjamin's number, and he picked it up after two rings.

"Hello"

"Bria is right. You are a smart man." I sensed him smiling...

"Where are they?" I asked without wasting time.

Benjamin told me about his conversation with King and Bria. My mind fell into peace, hearing that they were together and fine. He also gave me their number, which I memorised, not risking to note it down, in case anyone gets a hold of it.

After I ended my call with Benjamin Lachat, I glanced in the teacher's way to see her still busy speaking with other parents. Without wasting time, I dialled the number Benjamin gave me.

I waited before the call was received after two rings.

"Hello"

"King! Thank god you are safe! Where are you? What happened?" I couldn't describe how relieved I felt after hearing his voice though it was the same, murderous, cold, emotionless yet intimidating!

"Whose number is this?" He asked, without answering any of my questions.

"It's Adam's teacher's number. It's safe!" I assured.

"We were attacked that night but I don't think Angelo is the only one behind this. He was informed about us by someone." He came straight to the point.

"Yes, King. I have also some guesses. But I don't know exactly who is behind this. We have captured Matthew's brother. I am going to talk to him after some time." I informed.

"Hmm. We don't have any money with us. People are looking for us. It's not safe for us to stay in one place for a long time. We have to get back to the states secretly."

"Yes. But how?"

Though I was confused, King had it all figured out. "It's time to use some old connections. Contact Paulo and arrange everything. Now we only have to find Cameron and get to Paulo's place." That was the last option we had at the moment.

Wait, what?

"Find Cameron? Does that mean he is not with you?" I almost panicked.

"We had to separate that night to distract the attackers. We haven't contacted each other since then."

I cursed under my breath, careful that nobody listened to me cursing in my son's school.

"King, W-where is Bria? Is she ok? C-can I talk to her?" I asked a little nervously though I knew the dangers.

I heard a momentary pause before King said. "She is with me. Safe and sound. I don't think she is in a condition to talk right now. Maybe next time."

"Ohh. yeah. Ok. I will contact Paulo right away and get back to you in some time." I said in a serious tone.

Bria was safe, and that was enough for me!

"This is a stolen phone so I can't keep it with me for long. You have only an hour."

"Yes, King." With that, I cut the call.

I had so much work to do!

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*

*

KING

I sat beside Fire in silence as we both needed some time to clear up our heads. I was waiting for Gabriel's call and true to his words, the phone rang after twenty minutes.

"King. Paulo will be waiting for you at his place. He has some friend who can rent you a car but you have to arrange for the money. Paulo is already aware of Angelo looking for you so he can't help you directly. He has also promised to look for Cameron. I will take care of the rest of the things."

"Ok. I am going to break this phone now. We will not contact again until I reach Paulo's. If anything, just leave the message with Benjamin Lachat."

I was about to cut the call but then paused thoughtfully.

"Gabriel"

"Yes, King?"

"Ask Andrew about Benjamin Lachat" I cut the call and broke the phone into pieces after damaging the sim in it.

Ten minutes later, Fire was continuously looking at her necklace. She was lost in deep thought with a clenched jaw and creased brows. I had no idea what was going on in that pretty head of hers.

We were walking on the streets filled with shops, people of various professions and vehicles honking their horns. It was evening time, and people were returning to their homes after a tiring day at their respective work. Women were out on the streets with children for grocery shopping. Some were busy sharing the latest gossip of the town in their groups. Men were making plans for late-night drinks and talking about games.

In all the hustle and bustle, I could sense some eyes following us. The area was filled with spies. Some of these eyes worked for Mancini, and some of them worked against Mancini. But for us, both of them were dangerous.

I guided Fire through the crowd as subtly as I could, but that nagging feeling at the back of my mind was making me feel anxious. We couldn't afford to cause a scene in a public place. I was sure that the news about us must have spread like a wildfire throughout the mafia network of Europe.

Gabriel gave me the address of the man who was going to arrange a car for us. His place was a little far from here. We couldn't get there now as the Sun was on the brink of setting down.

"Miss Maxwell, be careful. There are some people following us. Don't react just keep walking." I told her in a low tone when I saw the reflection of three men following us in the side mirror of a car.

Her body tensed, but she maintained her calm face increasing her pace a little.

"What now?"

"Let's take them away from the crowd."

We took a left into an alley that leads to a maze of small alleys. We took another left when two men jumped out of the corner. The earlier three men blocked our way from the other side. We were trapped. I looked above, and a lady closed the window predicting the upcoming chaos.

"tu chi sei (who are you)?" I asked in an authoritative tone.

"Saprai quando ti porteremo al capo(you will get to know when we will take you to boss)" The man who I assumed was their main guy replied.

"Who are they?" Fire asked in a hushed tone.

"Fans" My eyes never left them.

"They look like they are here to finish us" She shrieked when a man charged at us and threw a punch at me, which I dodged swiftly, making him stumbled to his feet.

"Yes, they are die-hard fans!"

The fight broke out, and Fire kicked into action as well. She fought with all her might, but I knew there was not much she could do in her emotionally and physically exhausted state.

So I grabbed her wrist and sprinted out of there. While running, I hissed in pain when my already injured hand received a slash from the blade.

"Oh god," She screamed, looking at the blood gushing out of the wound. Suddenly she pulled me into a building, hiding us well. She grabbed my hand and gasped.

"Shit! It got worse than before. I told you to let me treat it. Now see what happened?" She scolded me like... my mother. But her eyes... they were saying another story.

"Dove sono loro (where are they?)" We heard shouting.

"Devono essere qui da qualche parte. Cerca ma non ucciderli. Il capo li vuole vivi.(They must be here somewhere. Search but don't kill them. Boss wants them alive.)"

"What are they saying?" She whispered.

"Their boss wants us alive. Now listen. Stay here and don't move. Take this knife and use it when you feel the need." I put a knife in her hand.

"What? But where are you going?" She whisper-yelled.

"I am going to take care of them." I looked outside to the six men discussing catching me, King.

"Why? We can hide here and they will leave." She argued.

"Miss Maxwell, they know that I am hiding with a girl. We can't let them know that I am with one man and 'a girl' instead of two men. It'll create more problems for me." I gave her a hard stare wiping the sweat on my forehead.

"I am not letting you go!" She was getting on my nerves, making me lose my composure.

"Don't act like an immature idiot for once!" I gritted my teeth when the pain shot through my hand. "This all has happened because of you! If I were alone or with Cameron we could have been in a better position than this. But now I don't only have to look for my safety but also have to take care of you. So shut up and follow my orders. Because I rule!"

GABRIEL

I was in King's chamber as that was the safest place for me to meet Andrew. As decided, he came at the right time and greeted me.

I had met the man a few times before, but we never got a chance to have a conversation. I didn't quite trust the man, but if King told me to talk to him, then he must be a trustworthy person.

"What do you know about Benjamin Lachat?" I asked directly looking him in the eyes.

He tried to mask his surprise, but I haven't spent all these years without learning anything about the mafia.

"I beg your pardon, Sir."

"King told me to ask about him to you. That's why I called you here. Andrew, we don't have much time. Please tell me what you know or we will be late to help King."

He considered my words for a minute, then kept a file in front of me on the table.

"King told me to give this to you or Cameron Sir when the time comes."

I looked at the black folder in confusion.

"What's this?"

"It will be better if you look inside yourself."

I took the file and opened it. My eyes hungrily took all the details and roamed over each and every word that was written in it.

Now everything made sense! Why King had always broken his rules for Bria? Why did King act and did the things he did for her? I have finally got the answers! But now, I had more new questions playing in my head.

I closed the file after finishing it and rubbed my face as it was too much for me to take. Who could have thought that fate would play such a twisted game with all of us?!

"Ok. Is this all?" I asked Andrew.

He hesitated but began telling me. "I don't know if it's useful for you or not. But I have some news for you. It's against my professional ethics so I didn't discuss it with King but now the situation is not the same."

My brows perked up, and I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the knees. "What is it? You can tell me anything and I give you my word that it will not cause you any loss."

One thing that made us the most powerful mafia family was our words. We never broke our word, even if it was given to the enemy.

"A few days back someone contacted me. They wanted me to look for a man in his late fifties and his daughter who is twenty years old. They are missing for more than two months. They didn't give me any details but whatever I have gathered till now I think..." He trailed off.

"You think they are looking for Bria Maxwell and Benjamin Lachat," I confirmed with a hard voice.

"Yes. And they are from Europe!"

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