A Deal From Hell

NICOLÀS

The men that lined the entrance of the building bowed in respect as he made his way past the long line of people. He stepped into it and noise filled his ear immediately.

The building was separated into sections, each floor held a separate activity. One held the strip club, the other was the boxing ring and another was the gambling ring, the floor that was the most heavily guarded was reserved for the VIP guests that had any of the activity they chose privately held for their entertainment.

At the back of the main building was the warehouse, hidden and almost unnoticeable was where Nicolás held his favorite business activity.

He took the elevator and pressed the floor number for the VIPs, today he had pressing business matters to deal with.

For years, he'd run his underground business that was extremely popular but also one of the hardest buildings to get into, with a waiting list of long months and sometimes still getting canceled, he had lost count of the figures earned each night.

He was well aware of human nature and how well to use it to his benefit. Humans were inherently insecure and at the same time in possession of a huge sense of importance - the thought of being able to be somewhere as exclusive as his clubhouse fattened the ego of a lot of people. It was why they struggled and paid hugely to be members of the club, it was why they spent so much money in a night even if they were losing embarrassingly and it was why he had gotten richer than he'd have ever imagined.

Nicolás didn't care about anyone, or anything else. His head was constantly working out numbers and business, and like the devil he was thought to be, he fed on the greed of every single person who struggled their way to make it to this building. He didn't make it easy for himself, quite the contrary but as he said, humans always wanted what they couldn't have and they always brought themselves to him, ready and willing to be fed upon.

The elevator reached the building and he got out of it, he walked past the long corridors and took a turn to the other one that held a long seemingly endless hallway with closed doors on each of its sides, his VIP guests fully entertained. He made his way to the room labeled number 7 and with a small knock, he pushed it open and entered.

In the middle of the room was a boxing ring, the lights completely focused on it, and the rest of the room was covered in dim lighting.

In the boxing ring were two buff men, two of Nicolás's best boxers -evident that his guest was of extreme importance. The men fought with quick wit, landing blows on each other and equally evading with fast speed… He smiled at the sight, this was going to be fun because usually, the VIP guests who watched the boxing match requested a death fight.

"A great evening to you," Nicolás greeted as he reached the men.

The three older men sat at a round table, his oldest scotch on the center table and an ashtray as they took long drags from the cigars that had been provided.

Sir Enzo, Reginald, and Umberto - high-profile politicians and businessmen who ran the business world and were good enough connections to help him grant his business the expansion he had for long enough wanted.

"Nicolás," Sir Umberto said, providing his hand for a handshake, after shaking hands with the rest of them, he settled down on the lone couch opposite them and watched the match in silence while from his side-eye, he watched them intently.

If the business expansion was done, Nicolás would be richer than his father and even though that wasn't his original goal, making a fool out of Don Roberto was part of it.

He had run his underground business for the past five years now and his father had no idea about it, and Nicolás knew there were two things involved the day his father gets wind of it - One, was to slump and die which would be a very foolish cause of action and a great disappointment to Nicolás but Don Roberto did have a streak of cowardice that Nicolás had noticed over the years and so would likely choose the foolish pathway to evade embarrassment, and the other was to have Nicolás killed, now this option he looked forward to, greatly in fact.

"You wanted to discuss business." Sir Umberto spoke first, ever the impatient one.

"Have you enjoyed yourself so far?" Nicolás asked turning his full attention to them.

They shared a look and shrugged.

"It's alright," Sir Reginald spoke for the first time, his voice coming out throaty and he let out a dry cough before taking a drag from his cigar.

Nicolás smiled, of course, these old bastards were choosing to be stingy with compliments.

"I am well aware you run the North and I have no plans to come in there and taint your reputation or disrupt your business, but a setup over there would be great." He began, looking from face to face. "And trust me, having this exact business over there would soar more than our imagination, if you agree I am willing to offer a seven percent of our earnings to each of you."

Sir Enzo laughed, one that had Nicolás on the verge of strangling the little life left of the bastard.

"Black," He began. "Business like this should be discussed with the ones in full charge."

The other men nodded.

Sir Reginald took a swig of his drink. "Where is Don Roberto?" He asked.

"I run it," Nicolás replied coolly, taking in the shocked expression on their faces.

Sir Umberto nodded his head. "Maybe you really are as good as they claim, eh?"

Nicolás said nothing to that.

"Who are you betting on Nicolás?" Sir Enzo asked his eyes fixed on the ring, Nicolás spared the fighters a glance.

Paolo and Bass were still going strong at it, although he could see Paolo was getting exhausted, his punches weaker, and his movement no longer as fast as before.

"Paolo," He said, turning back to them.

They gave each other a look and Sir Reginald shook his head.

"Surely, you are not foolish enough to run this without knowing much about fighters eh?" He asked.

"A bet it is then," Nicolás announced. "If Paolo loses, I lose the merger I am requesting for, and if Bass dies, you grant it."

The three of them laughed together again, it was beginning to irritate Nicolàs, they were well in their seventies… Why the hell were their actions mirroring?

"You sure you want to bet a life-changing merger on this?" Sir Umberto asked, mirth dancing in his eyes.

Nicolás shrugged as he sank back into the couch and crossed his legs to watch the game properly. His heartbeat had accelerated, he knew how much he was risking by betting billions of dollars worth of merger on lousy Paolo, but his instincts told him to and if it failed him, he might just wake Paolo up from the dead just to kill him over and over again.

A few minutes later and the three fucking bastards were already looking at him with sheer glee on their faces. Nicolás remained in his comfort position even though back in the ring, Bass had Paolo on the floor and was on the verge of beating him to death.

Blood splattered all over as Bass kept on with blow after blow not pausing to grant Paolo a moment of respite, the other man had his hand covering his face in an attempt of self-defense.

"Coglione! - Moron!" Nicolás whispered under his breath when Paolo attempted a punch but missed.

"Aah Nicolás, we should be on our way now don't you think? Umberto has other business." Sir Reginald said smiling.

Sir Enzo gave him a pitiful look. "You should reconsider your business tactics son. It was obvious from the start who was going to win."

"I would actually like to see the death of the opponent." Sir Umberto said, chuckling. "The death of Paolo, I should say."

Sir Reginald stood up. "Other matters call for our attention, gentlemen." He looked to Nicolás, "maybe next time you'll learn to make reasonable bets."

Nicolás got up, his signature half-smile on his face. "Not so fast gentlemen."

And he turned towards the ring, in a second he had pulled out his gun from his inner jacket, and with a pull at the trigger, he fired it at Bass, the huge man fell in a huge heap and remained motionless.

The three older men looked at Nicolás in shock.

"Che cos 'era quest? - What was that?" Sir Umberto asked, his face reddening. "Is attempting foul now your last resort?"

Nicolás shook his head. "You see, I never explicitly said Paolo had to kill him. I said if Bass dies…" And he looked on to the dead body of Bass that laid in the boxing ring for effect.

Sir Reginald laughed heartily. "That's a good one."

"Then what was the use of betting if you were going to kill him?" Sir Enzo asked, his grey brows creased in confusion.

"I needed you to agree to it," He said, shrugging. "It was obvious the man who had your support, and from what I've noticed, you all agree on the same thing. I just needed to make an easy bet to hook you and then leave a loophole hanging."

Sir Reginald looked at him, respect in his eyes. "Nicolás Black Moreno." He said stretching his hand out for a handshake, and just before Nicolás took it, a loud voice interrupted.

"Not so fast," Sir Umberto said, his loud voice expressing anger. "You don't get to fool us and get away with it. I have a request."

Nicolás raised his brow in response, this old fucker!

Sir Umberto smiled slyly. "Word around town that you married one hell of a beautiful woman…"

Nicolás felt himself stiffen. Don Roberto might have just done him more harm than good by bringing that cursed woman into his life.

Sir Reginald laughed. "Still maintaining your fancy for her?"

Sir Umberto shrugged. "What can I say? I received pictures and I can't stop thinking about her." He turned to Nicolás. "What do you say, boy? A night with your wife and the merger is yours, you'll have our full support and protection, including extensive use of our lands."

Now that was a whole lot more than he'd planned for, Nicolás didn't waste a second before making his decision.