"He was selling trade secrets to the enemy."
"Did he?"
"We think he got caught just in time."
"Have you interrogated him yet?"
Silvio grimaced. Again, that meant nothing good. I groaned, anticipating what he would tell me next.
"We could detain him, but before we could question him about it, he shot himself. The basement is a mess. Blood, bones and brains everywhere. We're taking care of it, but I still wanted to let you know about it."
I nodded, for a moment unable to speak. The rage boiled that fierce inside me. How much of a coward could one be? First, he had wanted to betray my secrets, to betrayme,and then he couldn't even stand by it like a man and admit the mistake in front of me?
Apparently, the guy grew no balls. "Do you know who he was selling to?"
Maybe I should pay the crime boss in question a quick visit tomorrow and make sure he wasn't further infiltrating my ranks or already had information he could use against me to ruin my business.
"We have a name, yes. But I'm almost afraid you won't like it."
I exhaled. Nothing about the whole affair pleased me, and I didn't expect it to get any better by mentioning the name.
"It is Aurelio Moretti."
Summoning up my remaining self-control, I made sure that my facial features remained free of any emotion. Inwardly, however, I wished I could bring the dealer back to life once more, so that I could kill him again. In a more cruel way.
Business with Moretti? What had gotten into him? Did he think the guy would pay him and kiss him goodbye to a new life? Stupid. He couldn't have beenthatstupid.
But apparently he was. After all, he had sealed his guilt with the shot in the head. No innocent man killed himself, especially since my people had nothing to fear from me.
"Wonderful. That's just what we were missing, isn't it? Let's hope he hasn't passed on any information yet. If he has, we'll have to take care of Aurelio Moretti tomorrow. And by take care, I mean pay a visit to his wife and his brat to make sure he understands the message."
Silvio raised an eyebrow. "You want to give the child-"
"No! I want to make it clear to him that he is not as smart as he thinks and that I can burn his little family to the ground with no remorse. Which doesn't mean I'll do it right away."
A bit more satisfied, he nodded, already closing the door again. I couldn't believe it, but I too had one or two limits. Just because I knew where his family lived it did not mean that I would take them away from him. It was just meant to be a kind warning. A sign of goodwill, because with his attempt of fucking me over I also had enough reasons to make his life a living hell.
To calm my strained nerves, I reopened the program that told me Gia's location and stared meditatively at the dot for a few minutes while taking deep breaths to calm myself.
It was like Aurelio Moretti to interfere in my affairs in this way. He tried to turn one of my men around in order to get information with which he could attack me. Whether or not he did it immediately or waited for six months, he never let on. I knew this approach. He always had it in for someone. Only this time, the target had been chosen with great ambitions.
In our business, it was far from a secret that I belonged to the mafia and that my brother was the boss. Everyone knew that– everyone respected it to a certain extent. Only Moretti wanted to step out of line, which I didn't like at all.
In fact, it meant, by implication, that he believed he was able to do me serious harm.
I had forgotten about the blue dot while my mind wandered, but now I remembered its existence and Gia. I had to put my plan for tonight into action. Sex. Drugs. A fight. Maybe I could fit in a good meal somewhere in between. As long as no more unpredictable things happened, the evening would be calm, which was good for my nerves.
I rose again from my place behind the desk, went to the glazed wall and looked down. The first bartenders and dancers had arrived, and the club was brimming with life.
The music still resounded powerfully and with full bass from the speakers, further soothing my battered nervous system.
I missed the adrenaline that had whipped through my veins the night I had freed Gia from the bomb.
Maybe I could find an adequate substitute for it tonight, if I just dug deep enough into the bag of tricks.
* * *
I didn't even botherto go in search of a woman or the drugs. The latter were discreetly brought to me by one dealer from the parking lot– breaking my rules, because drugs were officially forbidden inthe Tycheitself.