Mafia's Red-Haired Temptation

PARIS.

Crackkkk.

The prolonged sound of a stick snapping underneath her feet stopped her heart.

The heavyset man just a few feet in front of her stopped in his tracks.

His five smaller friends didn’t seem to notice and kept walking forward, their silver Glock pistols glistening on their belts.

Paris didn’t dare move, she hoped that the cover of the night would hide her blunder. It was a dark straight alley and she was following some dangerous men.

With the closest cover three feet away, a smelly trash can that probably hadn’t been emptied in years, she couldn’t make a run for it.

“What’s the holdup, man? We need to check the other area.” One of the other five men circled back to talk to the big man. Luckily for her, the bigger man was blocking his view of her silhouette.

“The meet’s about to start, come on. You can’t be getting spooked by no fucking rats again. Took a while to clean that mess off my shirt, you should save your bullets for something other than rats.” The tall lanky man nudged the big man by his arm.

“Alright let’s go.” The big man said but his hands still went to his side and rested on his pistol. “I always find the rats.”

They walked away at a contemplative pace.

Paris stood still for a few more moments. It felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe and move.

She immediately ran behind the trash can she spotted earlier, she would hide there for a few moments to cool down her racing heart.

The alley was covered in way too much trash, it was dangerous to follow these deadly men.

Whose idea was this? Paris thought.

Oh, it was hers. In retrospect, Paris should have probably asked Joan and Ella before she pulled off a stunt like this.

It was too late for that though. She adjusted her camera, it was expensive tech that used special infrared light to get night vision snapshots- very useful in this situation where a flash of light could get her shot.

Paris slowly stood up from behind the trashcan, she didn’t even notice something as trivial as the smell at that point.

She followed the tracks that the men had left among the trash on the ground.

The city should really work on these abandoned apartment building complexes. Paris wondered where all the tax she paid as a reporter for two years went.

After working for a few, Paris finally arrived at a bottleneck junction at the end of the alley.

It opened to the front of an abandoned building, perfect for illegal operations.

Paris propped up her camera and zoomed in. She could see a bunch of things walking around and moving flour bags, she suspected that it contained something more nefarious.

Paris had a good vantage point hiding behind some more debris. She scanned the faces but didn’t see anyone fitting the description of the notorious Lion, leader of the Pride.

They were the most powerful mafia gang in New York.

If she could pull this off then she’ll finally get that promotion she definitely deserved for over two years now.

Damn, she’ll probably also win an award as investigative journalist of the year.

Paris noticed how the men were carrying the flour bags into the building.

It was a huge stash, probably cocaine or something.

What she got here is huge, moving tons of cocaine like this could only mean that there was a huge movement going on in the mafia, maybe even a war.

Paris began taking pictures of the men moving around in the dark with a few flashlights to guide them when she saw a huge black SUV drive to the venue.

It parked in front and some nondescript men in black suits came out, they all looked intimidating.

She thought that was all until the last man stepped out of the back seat.

He stepped out of the car in majesty. He also wore a black suit but it was obvious to any observer that he wore his differently, he made it seem like the other men were wearing damn t-shirts. He was really tall too.

Paris could feel his dangerous aura from a distance, this man could be none other than the Lion.

It was obvious how others parted before him.

Paris zoomed in on his face to take a picture and the thing that shocked her the most was how young he looked with his hands in his pockets and an unbothered expression on his face.

Damn, he’s handsome. Paris thought as he abruptly turned his head in her direction and his eyes pointed directly into her camera.

The sudden glaring eye contact jarred her and she dropped her camera on the floor.

Had he seen her?

His eyes remained fixed on her position for a few more seconds and he walked away after.

Paris felt instant relief before she remembered that she had just dropped her boss’ expensive camera on the floor. She bent down quickly.

“Oh no no no. He’ll fucking kill me!” She had stolen the camera from his office for this special unsanctioned operation.

It was definitely her worst idea, she hadn’t even told her friends where she was going. She may not be able to retrieve the priceless pictures she already took, but surely it can’t get worse than this.

“I found a rat.”

Paris froze.

The next thing she felt was a huge fist grabbing her red hair and pulling it back forcefully.

She screamed as she hit the floor underneath the heavy-set man she had seen earlier.

His face was half covered in tattoos and he looked like a vicious beast in the night.

“You think you could fool me? Leaving tracks like a fucking deer, it was too easy.”

She could smell his alcoholic breath from such a close distance.

“I’m going to fuck you up bitch.” The man said. He grabbed her shirt and ripped it off with one motion.

Paris screamed again as she covered her now exposed bra with her hand.

“Shut the fuck up, slut. You’re making a ratchet.” The thug said as he pulled out his pistol and shoved it in her mouth.

The last thing Paris heard from him was the deafening bang of a gunshot.

LEONARDO.

“And then she threw up all over my Italian suit!”

Laugher reverberated through the car.

“Seriously, the shit was everywhere! That was the last time I ever tried to get some cool-off time from a south-side stripper.” Adonis said mid-laughter.

“I’m surprised you haven’t caught every STD under the sun,” Peter said as he slapped Adonis on the back inside the cramped car.

“Collecting them like… whatcha call it Joey?”

“Pokémon.” Joey, the man driving the SUV in a suit that barely held his frame in said solemnly.

“Pokémon!” Everyone laughed again. Everyone except Leonardo.

“What the fuck are you guys even yapping about?” Leonardo said from the shotgun seat, as he put out his cigarette in his palm.

His mind finally came back from his short trip of contemplation and resumed unraveling the obscenities being discussed in his car.

“Never mind, if it’s about Adonis plague-infested girls I don’t want to know.”

“Hey, I only roll with clean girls!” Adonis, Leonardo’s third and youngest brother protested.

He was a beautiful young man who was never far from the next girl.

Out of the three Hatting brothers he was the prettiest.

Peter on the other hand was on the middle ground between them, but a lot more dependable.

“When is that old man’s gang showing up Peter?” Leonardo asked.

“We’ll be meeting Don Antonio at five before dawn. I checked and the stash is already getting arranged for the trade. It's all going smoothly.” Peter replied.

“That’s good news, can’t have the copy on our tails. Adonis won’t last five minutes in jail looking like a girl.” Leonardo replied.

“Fuck you Leo, it was just that one gay guy and I beat him up myself,” Adonis replied with his arms crossed.

“Yeah that’s not how I remember it, Joey had to pull that bitch off you otherwise he might have been your first time.” The fifth man in the car replied with a hearty laugh.

“Change the fucking subject!” Adonis protested as he punched cousin Greg so hard that his glasses fell from his face, most of them laughed at this.

The car slowed down to pass over a speed bump.

“Adonis is right, there are more serious matters. Like how I don’t trust that old bull.” Leo said in a more serious tone.

“The truce is a good idea. You’re much more powerful but if there’s a war it would still cost us and the other Dons would circle like sharks at the smell of blood.” Peter replied.

Tskkk. “I could handle the old man and any other pussies that come after. How did you guys convince me to do this again?” Leo said.

“Well, you get to steal the old man’s daughter.” Adonis cheerfully put in.

“For the price of making him your main distributor.” Cousin Greg added.

“We’ve already gone through this before. Antonio is perfect for that, it’s good business. This way we can focus on more profitable avenues. Leo always wanted to expand more even as the richest.” Peter interceded.

“Richest in this country. Mexico is selling us all those drugs and they are better off. I haven’t even seen the old man’s girl, for all I know she’s an acquaintance of Adonis’” Leo put in.

Adina laughed. “That will be a good sign because I only pick the best!”

Leo shot him a glare from the front seat and he shrunk into his seat. He laughed.

“Relax. No way I’m taking your leftovers though.”

“Pete start making the phone calls for tomorrow, we’ll have a busy day. Also, make sure those cops are still behaving like good little boys, they aren’t on my payroll for nothing.” Leo instructed.

“It’s done. I have the crew patrolling the deal site too.” Peter replied.

“That includes that fatso?” Adonis asked.

“Are you talking about Billy? Yeah, he’s there too.” Peter replied.

“He better behave then, I’m no longer in a good mood.” Leo proclaimed as the car came to a stop in front of an old abandoned building.

Members of The Pride walked in and out like ants carrying flour bags full of pure cocaine.

The Lion didn’t play a half-assed game. He was moving a few tons of the white stuff.

Four men in black suits stepped out of their car in the moonlight.

Leonardo came out. He stepped out and used his eyes for a quick but thoroughly cursory glance at the area.

His eyes caught a glint of metal as it passed over a certain dark alley.

“Move on boys I’ll be with you in a minute,” Leonardo told his men and walked past a roundabout way to get to the alley.

Leonardo tried to clear his mind as he walked quietly through the night. In truth, the entire arrangement put him off, he didn’t like being pushed to a disadvantageous position, that’s how paying Antonio a bride price for his daughter who Leonardo had never even met felt.

But his brothers had convinced him. He protected them at all costs and if a war could harm them then he’ll do everything in his power to prevent it.

Leo wondered if he was getting soft, his rise to power had been brutal and paved with blood but now that he was at the top he felt a strong need to protect what he had.

But if it came to war, he wouldn’t hold back even against an old geezer.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Leo heard the high-pitched scream as he was turning a corner into the alley.

He pulled out his golden pistol. It was named Fang.

He walked slowly with his pistol at his side till his eyes adjusted.

He saw a scene of the fatso Billy tearing up the clothes of a woman that he pinned under him.

Billy, not having noticed him, pulled out his pistol to threaten the girl into submission as she screamed.

Fucking disgusting pig.

Leo’s eyes darkened.

The Lion walked towards Billy without him noticing, such a degrading scene was beneath his pride.

He pulled the pistol and pushed the cold golden steel into the side of Billy’s head. He pulled the trigger and Billy’s head exploded.

His dead body fell on top of the girl that was to be his victim. Leo reached down with one hand pulled the body off the girl and tossed it to the curb.

He looked down at the terrified girl covered in blood.

It was a strange scene but he couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was and she had a nice curvy body too, especially noticeable with her shirt gone.

It was no wonder the pig had tried to rape her.

Leo took a deep breath to calm down, The Lion retreated into his mind and his eyes cleared.

The girl had a blank expression on her face like a deer in headlights, she looked like she was going into a kind of traumatic shock. Leo definitely couldn’t have that.

He reached his free arm down at the girl.

“You’ll be alright.” He stated.