Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.
I love Italy and opera and was very happy that I could use some of both in this chapter (even though I hate that I turned the only Italians that are into this story into criminals. It is kind of cliché , I know, but it works for this story.)
My Aro for this story is Andy Garcia (my Aro for Twilight is someone else actually...). Imagine him with a thick Italian accent sitting in a lavishly decorated office in the middle of his own empire and you have the scene in front of you that I saw when writing this chapter.
The violent conquest has a stronger flavor
(Aro Volturi)
"Send them in," I ordered, releasing the intercom button as soon as I finished speaking. I turned my seat so that I was facing the window. Looking down on the world from the 21st story of a building my building – would turn any man into a philosopher and I was no different.
I often wondered what my life would have been like if I had been born into a different family. Perhaps I would have become a lawyer instead of just pretending to be one on occasion like I did now. I might have become a highly regarded doctor, driving is medical students close to insanity, like my cousin in New York. Who knows? I might have even been the headmaster at some kind of prestigious school, molding the future of America.
America.
My family's adopted country.
We had come a long way since that day my father set foot on American soil on Ellis Island in 1920. A long and troublesome road, paved with blood and sweat lay behind me. To say that America had welcomed us with open arms would be a very ambiguous statement. Times were hard. Work may have been relatively easy to come by but for a young, ambitious man such as Carmine Volturi it was hard to move up in society.
The annoying sound of someone scraping their throat pulled me out of my thoughts and I turned to see who the intruder was, kissing the ring bearing my family's crest as my eyes flashed over the portrait of my father hanging proudly on the wall.
"Yes," I barked, perhaps a little more severe than the occasion warranted.
"Felix and Demetri are ready for you, sir," Renata, my assistant spoke, flinching slightly at the harsh tone of my voice.
"They had better be," I scowled before composing myself again. "Thank you, miss Vitelli, you can show them in."
"Subito," she nodded before stepping aside to let the two men walk into the inner office, their eyes cast downwards on their shoes.
"That will be all, miss Vitelli," I smiled, watching Renata retreat and close the door behind her before turning my attention on the two fools standing in front of me. "Come forward," I motioned, my tone severe again.
Knowing what was expected of them they shuffled forward, keeping their eyes on their shoes. When they reached my desk they leaned forward and kissed the signet ring on the little finger of my right hand, a ritual they had performed countless of times.
"Step back," I ordered. They did not deserve to stand close to my desk, a privilege only awarded to those in favor.
They slowly stepped backwards, careful not to make too much noise. Repent showing on their faces as clear as the daylight streaming into my office from the window behind me.
"I am going to tell you a story that I hope you will learn from," I started, my eyes once again lingering on my father's picture as I indicated for them to take a seat on the hard wooden bench near the door. It was the bench I reserved for those who were out of favor. "Do you know who this man is?" I asked, pointing at the portrait.
"Yes, boss," Demetri stated casting a quick glance at the picture before lowering his eyes again. "It is your father, don Carmine, God rest his soul."
"Good," I nodded. "What is not commonly known about my father is how he came to emigrate to America and what his life was like before he came here."
They both nodded, their heads still downcast, making for an amazing sight as the crowns of their hair bobbed up and down.
"Picture this, Sicily, 1901." I started, getting lost in my own thoughts as the images started playing in front of my eyes like a movie. "A beautiful young woman starts working as a kitchen maid for the infamous Sforza family who hold the village of Volturi and its surroundings in an iron grasp. Her family were lowly peasants who owed the Sforza's a lot of money, a debt that would be payed off by young Sofia Petrillo. The next morning she meets the village butcher's son for the first time and they fall in love almost as soon as they set eyes on each other." I looked up to see if my audience was still paying attention, which, fortunately for them, they still were. "They meet every day in the morning when the butcher's son delivers the meet over to the house and soon they start making plans for the future. However, don Vitale Sforza, has other ideas for the girl. He has fallen in love with her himself and refuses to grant his permission for a marriage in the hope la bella Sofia will end up in his bed."
"What happened?" Felix inquired eagerly.
"They started seeing each other in secret," I continued, letting his interruption slide for now, "meeting in a field halfway between the Sforza's home and the village. One thing lead to another and soon Sofia found herself in trouble. Even though they knew they had sinned against their beliefs they were both very happy, thinking this would allow them to finally get married."
"However...things didn't go exactly as planned," I went on. "Don Vitale was outrages when Sofia told him the truth and locked the poor girl away in a room in the basement."
"What did Salvatore do?" Felix asked eagerly. "Did he whisk her away in the night?"
"You really should stop reading your sister's romance novels," I smirked, shaking my head. "This isn't a story about love overcoming obstacles, this is a story about what happens when you don't listen to your superiors."
I leaned back, folding my hands behind my head as I continued. "Almost the moment Sofia left the office don Vitale ordered the death of Salvatore Volturi." Both heads snapped up for the tiniest moment, a look of surprise on both of them. "The next morning Salvatore's car was stopped at a field about halfway between the Sforza mansion and the village," I continued, ignoring their stares. "Romantics claim it's the same field as where Salvatore and Sofia met at night but I personally think that would be too much of a coincidence.....They cut Salvatore's throat and took him back to the mansion where they stripped him of everything he had, including his skin, in front of the male members of the Sforza family and all of the staff."
I took a breath, thinking about those brutal times. I send a silent prayer up to give thanks for the much more refined ways of dealing with one's enemy's of today. I didn't think I had the stomach to watch something like that myself.
"All of the staff?" Felix interrupted me, looking a little green himself.
"Don't interrupt me," I barked. "But yes....all of them, including my grandmother. It was a reminder to everyone of what happened when you disregarded an order from your betters."
I took another few minutes, pondering the death of my grandfather, before I continued. "Sofia was kept under lock and key in a shed on the premises until she delivered her child. She was shipped off to a convent almost as soon as her son was born and mother and child never saw each other again."
I looked at my father's face again as I concluded my story. He had grown up in the household of the man who killed his father and – in a way- his mother, working as an errant boy as soon as he was able to and as a soldier in Don Vitale's family later on. When he found out what happened, seventeen years later, he left the mansion without saying another word. Some say he fled but we preferred to think of it as retreating temporarily to fight another day, when the two parties were equally strong.
There had been no doubt in my fathers mind that that day would come. Sicilians never forgot, we had made waging a vendetta almost into a form of art.
"The two of you disobeyed an order," I mused, looking at the two men again. "I told you to dispose of the merchandise discreetly and quietly but no, you had to go driving around the city way above the speed limit in broad daylight, almost as if you wanted to get caught."
They shifted nervously, no doubt sensing where this conversation was headed. "Perhaps that was what you wanted...." I mused. "Perhaps you made a deal with the police and had yourself arrested to cover up your conversations."
"No," Demetri spoke, shaking his head furiously. He knew as well as anyone else that breaking the silence was the worst offense in our way of life, penalized with not only the death of the one who broke the 'omerta' but often also his family.
"No?"
"We were just fooling around boss," Felix apologized.
"Fooling around?" I barked, slamming my fist on the polished wood of my desk. "You were handling merchandise worth a hundred thousand dollars and you were 'fooling around' with it?"
The both thought it wise not to reply for which I thanked the heavens. They would only have made matters that much worse and at the moment I couldn't afford to loose two of my most loyal and – for the most part – trustworthy soldiers.
It had been a mistake to venture into the world of narcotics. For decades my family had shied away from the very lucrative market since it. For one because drugs turned the youth into apathetic, selfish creatures who made lousy soldiers and secondly because the drug scene was far too high profile for us. If my memory served me correctly the government was even waging a war on them at this moment.
High profile was something we were not. We were like the secret that everyone knew about. Everyone knew who Aro Volturi was and what he stood for, but no one had enough evidence of it to lock me or mine away.
Still...the chance had been to good to let pass by. To be offered the empire of my greatest competition in this town on a silver platter was something that would not happen a second time and to be honest, I would greatly prefer to have that Jacob Black character in a position where I could see him.
Of course everything had gone pear shaped the moment the Swan girl had started to meddle in their affairs and now I was left with an unholy amount of class A substances and no idea of how to sell them.
"Just remember the story," I huffed, sitting back again as I recomposed myself. "Next time I won't be so merciful."
"Thanks boss," Demetri sighed, visibly relieved to be let off the hook.
As if I would forgive them that easily. Perhaps if they could pull off this next assignment without attracting attention I would let them back in my favor. After all, they were almost perfect soldiers.
They had made me so proud until this foolish incident. They made a perfect team. Demetri was obviously the brains of the duo and his focus and concentration made him one of the best marksmen I could boast of. Teamed up with a muscular and brawny personality such as Felix, who could threaten almost any man into subordination just by looking at him, they were as good as invincible.
"Report to Caius as soon as you leave this office," I shrugged. "He has your next job for you.."
"We won't let you down sir," Felix smirked, his huge posture still hunched over and remorseful.
"You had better not," I warned. "Fail me again and you will be truly sorry."
I knew the job I was going to send them on would not be easy. Killing a police man was a difficult task and bound to draw attention to my family, killing the chief of police was like stepping into a mine field with nothing but an oven mitten to protect you.
Yet it had to be done. Alistair Trevelyan was turning into too big a liability to let him walk free. With the picture out in the open and a smart and unshakable man like Eleazar Denali so close to him I couldn't take the risk.
Trevelyan had been a useful asset but right now I could come to no other conclusion than that he had outlived his usefulness and had to be taken care off. We never left loose ends. Nothing that could trace back to us. We always kept out secret.
I had thought about killing Denali as well but that would be pushing my luck. I might be able to get away with killing Trevelyan when I send in the right guys to do the job, killing two of Forks finest in a short amount of time would be too obvious.
I would have to be patient and wait a couple of years to complete my task, though I hoped those years would not give that pesky detective the time to built up a case against me.
When I looked up again Felix and Demetri had left, making a silent retreat so as not to disturb me.
As soon as I established their absence I turned my chair again, reminiscing about the events of the past. My father had come to this country with literally nothing, scarping a living by executing brain numbing tasks at factories in New York and, after he had married my mother, Seattle for five years before his opportunity presented itself.
It was the roaring twenties and the golden age of the mafia. The United States of America were living on the edge of the most destructive economical crisis the country had even seen but most of the people in the streets didn't realize that yet, they were far too busy enjoying their new found liberty and the loosened morals.
The mafia made the most of this time as well, supplying all the liquor the youth craved for their new found partying ways, even though the government preached a strict policy of abstinence. If those solemn rule makers had know their decisions gave birth to a criminal organization that still ruled supreme, even seventy five years after the Prohibition had come to an end, would they have acted the same?
Not that I had resented them for their decision of course. Far from it. It had been the decision that had made my families fortune.
My father was working as a waiter in a fancy Seattle restaurant by the time, when he walked in on two aspiring members of the Gonzaga family killing a man in the alleyway behind the restaurant. It was his luck that made him walk in on this macabre initiation rite and not a random hit because he would not have walked away with a beating heart if it were the latter.
Before the two men could kill him a man stepped in. It was Peter Clemenza, the caporegime – on of the most trusted in the Gonzaga family – overseeing this brutal rite of passage. Clemenza knew a promising young man when he saw one and took my father back with him after the two aspiring wise guys had completed their mission and thus my fathers true life began.......
Most of the things that had happened to my father next had featured in my life as well, though it had been a lot easier for me to assume my place in the family, being the air apparent.
My father had been given a chance to prove himself as a soldier in the Gonzaga family, going through the same initiation rite he had witnessed in that alley no more than a month after it happened. When he came back to the Gonzaga mansion after his first successful hit he was formally 'made' into a member of the family, dripping his blood onto a painting of saint Adrian of Nicodemia, before holding the burning image in his hands until it had fully crumbled to ash.
In the years that followed my father had risen up in the ranks of the family to become one of their most trusted assets. When some small time crook, originating from the town of Forks had started causing trouble for the Gonzagi, the family had to act, wiping out the criminals and establishing Carmine Volturi as the new boss of Forks' criminal undertakings.
I remembered it clearly, being a boy on the edge of manhood at the time. My father had been so proud when he was able to present my poor, hardworking mother with a beautiful large house in a quiet and respectable neighborhood in an equally quiet and unassuming town. They had both been happy, my mother with her new life of luxury and my father with the growing success of his enterprises.
When I had been old enough to assume my position in the family it had grown into an empire of respectable proportions with branches both legitimate and illegitimate and a criminal organization that was feared and respected by all and had held this town without dispute for half a century.
I had added to its success over the years, that was true, but without my fathers hard work and dedication I would have been an insignificant spec of dust.
I nearly jumped from shock when the telephone on my desk started ringing, disrupting my pleasant trip down the lane of memories.
"Boss?" Heidi's voice sounded agitated. She was the only person, apart from my wife and children, allowed to call me directly.
"Yes, miss Hagen?" I knew I was regarded as somewhat of an oddity by my peers for not only employing women in the lower divisions of my family but even taking my legal advice from a woman.
To the outside world we were seen as very traditional, keeping our wives firmly locked up in the kitchen and seeing them either as the Madonna or the whore. I, however, had learned to see past those visions that had been ingrained in my being ever since I was born. I chose practicality over tradition if it meant having the best people at my disposal. And miss Heidi Hagen was the best consigliere a person could wish for.
"The Swan girl is in the building," Heidi announced. "It appears she has a meeting with one of my associates."
"Good," I mused, glad that finally that particular ball would start rolling. "What has been done?"
"We have eyes and ears on her, boss," Heidi answered.
"Tell them not to loose sight of her at any moment," I warned. "Those angels are a pesky breed. If you give them even the tiniest window of opportunity they will bring the whole house down."
"We have everything prepared boss," Heidi reassured me. "Security knows how important this is."
"I hope they do," I replied. "Report at my office as soon as you can get past the girl undetected."
"Of course," I heard her say, before I broke the connection.
I remembered the day Heidi came to us. All fresh and unspoiled, a German exchange student looking for a summer internship so that she could get extra credit with her professors. She had been smart, eager to learn and – to be honest – astoundingly ruthless for a woman.
A few days into her internship she had caught the eye of my consigliere at that time, a man going by the name of Silvio Dante. When he introduced her to me I was stricken, not only by her capability but also by her beauty and grace. The woman had a way of enthralling everyone around her, quite like the Lorelai, a feature which came in handy – very handy – in the legal trade which was still domineered by old and very often sexually frustrated men. Over the years she had grown into a trusted and reliable asset, my right hand even, sharing not only the secrets of my trade but also, on occasion, my bed.
"Miss Vitelli?" I asked, pushing down the little intercom button again. "Bring in Alec and Jane."
"Of course sir," Renata's soft voice sang back.
Alec and Jane.
Alessandro and Gianetta.
My prodigal children. So young and yet so tainted.
I had stumbled upon them almost by accident when two of my soldiers were send to take care of a gang of bag snatchers who were disrupting my business. Who could imagine their surprise when those bag snatchers turned out to be mere children, not even twelve years old?
Unable to kill them they had taken them back to the Tower to seek my counsel. The sight of them, two small children who had been able to unleash a reign of terror on a busy shopping street, melted my heart and I took them in, placing them in the care of one of my caporegime.
They proofed to be more valuable than I would ever have imagined.
They always worked together, Alec keeping their victim sedated and balanced on the edge between consciousness and unconsciousness while Jane unleashed the worst kind of physical pain on them I had ever seen a living soul inflict on another living soul without killing the victim. Most of the time their victims succumbed to their reign of terror within hours, the brave ones managing to hold on for perhaps as long as a day. However, I had heard of a few examples of how they could keep up their game for days, slowly torturing their prey without killing it and without even drawing blood or making a mess.
They had almost made inflicting pain and punishment into a form of art, making me wish my poor father, God rest his soul, was here to see them. He would have been thrilled with the prospects.
I had to admit that hearing about their brutal skills to me had initially disgusted me. They were so young, so innocent in their appearance and the thought of a woman, pure and unspoilt, the image of the virtuous Madonna, torturing a man to within an inch of his life was wrong, I still thought it was. But, once again, the benefits outweighed the moral aspects.
I had to admit: my empire would not be what it was today if not for the 'which twins' as they were dubbed by some.
"Padrino," Jane greeted in a sweet voice the moment she entered the room. Like Demetri and Felix both of them kept their eyes downcast but from them it was out of reverence, not guilt. Heaven forbid of those two angels should ever feel guilt.
"Ah, my dear Jane, Alec, come closer," I smiled, giving them permission to approach and be seated at the soft plush chairs at the opposite side of my desk. "I have work for the two of you."
Janes eyes light up the moment she heard my words. "Work?" From her youthful appearance no one would suspect that she had turned twenty two late last spring. She looked five years younger at least.
"Not the kind of work you'd enjoy," I warned, "you are not allowed to draw blood or break bones today."
Both of them pouted as I spoke but I wasn't going to give in to their pleas. We were dealing with a woman here. An annoying and particularly unwomanly example of her sex, but a woman none the less and therefore not to be tortured too severely.
"But we are allowed to kill?" Alec asked, his eyes lifting to mine as they scanned my face.
"Yes," I nodded, "but only if and when I tell you to."
"Of course," Jane smiled innocently, wrapping a strand of her long dark blond hair around her fingers. She looked like an angel. A very dangerous and bloodthirsty angel. "We will not let you down."
"I know you will not, my dear Jane," I smiled, patting her other hand which was resting on my desk. "I have every faith in you."
"What is the plan boss?" her brother asked, eager even in spite of the fact that their task would be relatively boring today.
"I have received reports that a woman is trying to break into my office to try and obtain some documents about her parents I keep in my vault. It goes without saying that I intend to have her stopped before she succeeds in her plan."
"So you're asking us to do what?" Jane asked. "Just kill her?"
I could understand her disappointment. Jane had always loved the chase better than the kill itself a character trait that already manifested itself when she was a mere child. I remembered the day when I watched her torture a dog, a sentient creature, to death in a slow, deliberate and very meticulous way. Even though I had been appalled by her cruelty I had known there and then that she would proof to be a very valuable asset to my family and she had proved herself to be just that ever since.
"No," I said. "I'm not asking for an easy kill. I would not insult your capabilities with such a request. I want information from her."
"Information?" Alec asked, sitting up a little straighter. I could see that both their interests were piqued.
"The woman works for Carlisle Cullen Investigations," I explained. "She is bound to know something that may lead to his elimination."
"Very well," Jane smiled, looking like a cat who had just spotted a very tasty and fat canary.
"Remember," I warned. "You will not do her too much harm. You may intimidate to your hearts content and play with her a little bit but you are not to draw blood or break bones."
"Yes, padrino," Jane sighed, looking a little peeved.
I prayed to God she would not give me any cause to be disappointed. I knew Jane too well. I had watched her tempestuous temper flare up too many times to know that it would not take much to have her snap. Usually that would not be so bad. In fact, her victim might prefer to be killed fast in a fit of rage than to be slowly tortured to death by a calm and composed version of Jane. Right now, however, it could proof to be a problem.
"May I ask you a question, padrino?" Alec asked politely.
"You may," I nodded, wondering what it would be that the boy had to say.
"How do you now this woman is going to break into your office?"
"A very smart question, my dear boy," I praised. "Not that long ago I received a visit from a woman who asked for my aid in destroying Carlisle Cullen and since I have wanted to do that same thing for quite some time now I agreed to help her."
It felt wrong, acting on the whims of a woman. I might have been modern enough to employ them and threat them with the same respect I treated my male subordinates, but that didn't mean I was ready to let them order me around.
Still.....what was that saying again? Never looking a gift horse in the mouth? If the dear woman was ready to hand me the offspring of one of my most worthy adversaries on a silver platter then who was I to refute her offer?
Not that I trusted the woman for even a single moment. Being in this business you learned to read faces and body language and even though she did a good job at hiding it, I knew she was up to something, something that didn't just concern the Swan girl. Something that made me make a mental note to get rid of her as soon as this situation was dealt with.
After all, she used to work for Carlisle Cullen, the man who had been a thorn in my side for almost as long as I could remember.
The way this man and his band of female soldiers had been pursuing me over the last few years reminded me of the vendetta my father had waged against the people who had killed his parents and even though Cullen had as yet been unsuccessful I knew better than not to expect a blow from him at any minute.
It was almost as if he was just biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. It made me think that maybe he and I had some dealings in the past, though neither my own personal records nor those miss Hagen kept didn't show anyone by the name of Cullen crossing my path.
I looked up to see both Alec and Jane looking expectantly at me, waiting for me to finish my explanation. "She thought it best to eliminate his employees before targeting Carlisle Cullen himself. With his precious angels out of the way he would be an easy target, or so she thought."
"Why didn't she just shoot them?" Alec asked. "Any fool with a gun can execute a hit."
"The woman in question used to be one of Carlisle's chosen ones herself and from what she said I got the distinct impression that she had some unfinished business with them," I explained. "She does not just want them dead, she wants them crushed."
"When her initial plan of having one of the girls murdered by The Pack fell through she turned to me, It turned out the girl in question was Isabella Swan."
"The daughter of the former chief?" Alec laughed.
"Yes," I nodded, "but what you may not know is that her mother had some dealings with the Volturi family as well."
This would be too convenient. Not only would I be able to give Carlisle Cullen a message of what it would be like when you messed with my family, I would also get rid of another potential troublemaker. I had come to know the Swan family well over the years and I knew none of them where to be underestimated. If this girl....this Isabella Swan, was anything like her parents she had the potential to be a danger to my family.
I could not let her live.
There was a knock at the door before Heidi made her appearance in my office, looking a little nervous still as her hand steadied the headset of her communication device in her ear. It was no secret that miss Hagen did not like these kind of situations.
"Has everything been arranged?" I asked.
"Yes," she stated. "All available soldiers are waiting next door to be summoned the moment you need them, security is keeping a close watch on the exits and a red BMW parked down the street."
"And the rest?"
"We have no reason to believe she won't go for the air conditioning system but if, for any reason, she decides not to we have a couple of men on backup to deal with her the moment she tries to leave the 20th floor."
"Good," I nodded. "Excellent work."
I had always known the airconditioning system was the buildings weak spot as far as security was concerned. Of course weak spot was a relative notion, seeing that one would have to gain access to a ventilation shaft first and that could only be done thought the roof or one of the ventilation grilles inside the building, but if someone could somehow bypass the camera's it would give them free reign to move through the building undetected.
The Swan girl would be a fool if she didn't go with that option.
I could hear the muffled sounds of a man speaking before Heidi spoke again. "Security says the Swan girl has just entered the restrooms on the twentieth floor," she said.
So it began.
"Then let us leave this office and wait outside," I suggested, getting up from my chair right before the fire alarm started blaring though the building.
She was smart, using the fire alarm to cover up her activities. In the confusion of the evacuation no one would notice the camera's going off line or the security system getting hacked into. Her plan would have been flawless were it not for the fact that her enemy was already waiting for her.
When we reached the outer office the confused faces of my most trusted soldiers looked up at me, wondering why they had been ordered to remain in the building when it was on fire.
"There is no fire, gentleman," I explained, "just a pesky wasp trying to break her way into my office."
Heidi quickly got them up to speed before the waiting in silence for the wasp to fly into its trap began. I had never been a very patient man, even though my trade dictated it, and being humiliated by having to evacuate your office didn't help this situation. It seemed like hours when a soft thump on the carpet told me the moment of action had finally arrived.
I signaled for my soldiers to stay behind me as I opened the door to my office, revealing a frail creature standing with her back to me in the middle of my office.
"Good morning miss Swan," I announced, amused with my own success. "I have been expecting you"
I heard the clicking of the guns of my soldiers as they filed into the room behind me, providing protection should the girl do something utterly stupid.
"Turn around," I ordered. "Slowly and with your hands where I can see them."
She did as she was told, slowly revealing herself to me as she turned, her hands stretched out to both sides, her hands open as if in surrender. The look on her face was a combination of anguish and anger.
She made an impression, this woman, like her mother had done before her. She reminded me of the women of my native country, a country I had visited only sporadically. She was strong, sensual and impetuous, a deadly combination in one so beautiful.
But I could not let my mind linger down this road. She was a nuisance and I would have to get rid of her.
"She will be bugged," I said. "see to it she won't be any longer."
"Of course boss," Jane nodded, curtsying as she stepped out of the line of soldiers behind me before she walked over to the woman who was still standing in the middle of my office.
"Kneel," she ordered.
"What?" the girl asked, looking from one face to another with a face that told me she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"I said kneel," Jane snarled, her left foot making contact with the girls kneecap, making the woman sink down on her knees regardless of whether she had been planning to comply with the order given to her or not.
I saw her wince in pain as her sore knee hit the ground but otherwise she kept quiet, plunging the entire office into an almost eerie silence.
"Open your mouth," Jane commanded next.
"Open you own damn mouth," the Swan girl snorted, pursing her lips tightly together.
"I SAID: OPEN YOUR MOUTH!" Jane yelled, her tense stance and strained voice betraying her particular hatred for this woman.
The girl kept her mouth shut, looking defiantly at the fuming little woman in front of her. I might have found this amusing if I hadn't been annoyed with the way the Swan girl was dragging this whole thing out.
It was almost as of she wanted to die.
"Alec," I ordered, nodding at the young man standing next to me. Jane was starting to loose her temper already and needed some time to cool off before she went too far.
He bowed his head in understanding before he walked forward, carefully pushing his sister out of the way before taking his own, proud and self assured, stance. He towered over the Swan girl as he rolled up his sleeves, a menacing look directed at his victim.
"You are going to wish you gave in to my sister when you had the chance," he snarled, his fingers tightening over the woman's nose to prevent her from breathing through it. "You can't keep this up for long. We are going to break you down whether you want to or not. The only thing you can decide is if you want to make it fast and painful or long and even more painful."
She managed to hold her breath for a long time, almost turning blue before she finally had to open her mouth and gasp for breath. The moment she did Alec pried her jaws apart so that his sister could enter a pair of forceps into her mouth and remove the microphone from her molar teeth.
The girl winced in pain as the device was extracted forcefully from her mouth and she looked at me accusingly, still trying to catch her breath again as she sagged down onto the carpet, her hands and knees holding up her weight.
I noticed a few drops of blood leaking onto the Persian rug and turned to Jane who was smiling at the sight of the woman in pain before her.
"I thought I was very clear in my instructions," I warned.
"She fought back," Jane pouted. "It could not be prevented."
"Very well," I sighed. "But calm yourself my dear one, no good will come of you loosing your temper."
"May I proceed?" she asked after taking a few deep breaths and calming herself.
"You may," I nodded before turning my attention back to the Swan girl. "We want some answers from you."
"Oh really?" she snorted, spitting a bloody stain on my rug. "As you can probably tell.....I'm not really in the mood for talking."
Before she had time to anticipate the blow Jane had slapped her on the cheek, the one on the side where the communication device had been, with the flat of her hand.
"That's not really helping sweetheart," she growled, taking Jane completely by surprise when she hit back.
"BITCH!"Jane shrieked, holding her hand over her reddening cheek. "You fucking hit me!"
"That will be enough Jane," I commanded, making her step back and compose herself once again. I did not allow course language to be uttered in my office and certainly not by a woman.
"But. She. Hit. Me," Jane hissed.
"Do not make me send you away," I warned before giving Alec the order to proceed where Jane had left off.
"Tell me about Carlisle Cullen," I said, taking Janes place in front of the Swan girl as Alec stood behind her, his hands around her neck.
"You killed my mother," she growled in response.
"Yes," I stated calmly. "An unfortunate incident but it had to be done."
"What?" she looked at me with an incredulous expression.
"We have an ancient rule miss Swan,' I explained. "No one who isn't part of our circle, is allowed to know how we operate. Unfortunately your mother did her job as a receptionist a little too well. She saw something that she shouldn't have seen and we had to take care of her."
"Take care of her?" she yelled, her pain and anger showing on her face. "You're talking about her as if she were some kind of dog. You fucking MURDERED her!
"Your employer," I repeated, changing the subject "tell me about him."
"I think you may know more about him than I do," she snorted. "Let's talk about my mom and how you killed a completely innocent woman."
"I do not believe that, my dear," I laughed, ignoring her last remark, nodding to Alec who immediately tightened his hold on the girls neck. . "Tell me what you know and I may make this a little....easier on you."
"I don't have anything to tell," she said, her voice sounding a little labored as Alec's hands drew tight around her neck.
I nodded at Alec again to make him tighten his choke hold yet again. "I do not believe you."
"Suit yourself," she gasped, her hands closing over Alec's to try and pry them away from her neck, her efforts utterly unsuccessful since Alec had dealt with this kind of situation a lot of times over the years.
He eyes grew bigger as she gasped for breath, panic overtaking her features for the smallest hint of a moment before she was in control again. The facade of snarky defiance firmly back in place as she spoke. "Do you think that if I knew something I would tell you, you fucking Italian piece of shit?"
The fact of the matter was: I did believe her. There was truth in her eyes underneath all her brawn and fake confidence. However, I could not let her insult me and my heritage in front of my soldiers. And I could not let her walk out of this office alive. Even though she might not be able to lead me to Carlisle Cullen, she still posed a threat to me.
"Jane," I said, nodding at her as both Alec and I stepped back again, leaving the girl to catch her breath.
Jane beamed at me with gratitude before she stepped forward, crouching so that she could bring her face flush with that of the Swan girl.
"No one talks to the boss of the Volturi family like that," she barked before she spat the woman in the face. "You'd better learn some respect if you want to be treated with it."
"Now," I interrupted. "I have some questions for you, which you will answer if you do not want to die and excruciating death."
"I plead the fifth," the Swan girl growled in response, glaring at me with those big chocolate eyes.
I nodded at Jane, allowing her to take this game to the next level, a task she was all too willing to execute.
"Now what shall we do with you?" she asked, pulling up the leg of her pants to pull a knife out of her boot. "Shall we cut off your ears to hear how hard you can scream? Or shall we tear your flesh to see how hard you can bleed?"
She crouched down in front of the Swan girl again, pulling the girls downcast head up. "I asked you question," she spat, bringing her face closer to that of the Swan girl. "It's impolite not to answer."
"It's also impolite to make someone bleed all over these nice Persian rugs," she Swan girl spat back.
I had to hand it to the girl. She had some nerve in her. Many before her had found themselves face to face with the magnificent Jane and very few had managed to do what this extraordinary woman was able to do: stare death in the face and laugh at it. I admired her for it, even though that would not change the outcome of this.
Jane and the Swan girl were still locked into a staring contest. I could not see the expression on Janes face which had me worried, especially since the Swan girl looked at her with a look of sarcastic defiance.
I saw Jane's body tense before she acted, drawing her arm back and slamming it against the side of the Swan girl's face, the blunt side of the blade making an awful noise as it made contact with the girls temple.
"That will be enough Jane," I ordered. "Step back."
The Swan girl seemed to enjoy this, even though she had to be in considerable pain from the sight of the gash the blade had left behind.
"Go back to your master Jane," she chuckled, taunting my poor girl even further, "playtime is over."
Fortunately Alec had the good sense to step in before his sister could act, looking at me for consent as he dragged his sister towards the exit, her body squirming to get free while she uttered profanities that were very unbecoming for a woman.
I sighed. I would have to speak with her about her behavior in this room soon and it pained me to have to scold her. She was as precious to me as my own children were and I hated to have to punish her but perhaps that behavior on my side had caused all of this.
"Do not make the mistake in believing this is over now," I warned the Swan girl. "You may meet with your end faster, but don't be mistaken: it will end here. Your time is running out fast."
"I have friends who will come looking for me," she smirked, a trail of blood drizzling down her cheek. "Friends who won't let you get away with all of this."
"You are nothing but an insignificant little wasp, waiting to be put to death," I said. "Some people might grieve your death but the world won't stop turning because you no longer walk its surface."
"My friends will come looking for me," she repeated, looking down now though I did catch the little flicker of doubt in her eyes before she turned away.
"Will they?" I mused. "Or will they be too angry with you for your actions? I wonder...."
"You don't know anything....." she yelled, despair and fear seeping into her voice. "I have people who love me and....."
"I have often found love and hate are two emotions that are very much alike and can fade into each other very easily."
"SHUT UP!" she yelled, her face shooting up again as her large brown eyes glared at me. Still defiant and strong but now with a fragility and sadness that made me a little sad. It meant she was giving up.
"Demetri, give me your gun," I ordered without taking my eyes off the girl. I had to deal with this woman and I had to do it fast before she would get to me. "I feel like dealing with this girl myself."
I heard Demetri come up behind me before I felt the cold steel of his gun against my hand, making me wince inwardly. I might me a man of violence, that didn't mean I was a violent man myself. Being the son of the boss had fortunately prevented me from having to kill too many men over the years and ever since I was in charge I made it my business to avoid using violence myself.
Except in cases such as this....this girl deserved to be killed by the hands of the boss himself. Having her shot like a dog by one of my inferiors would have been insulting to the bravery she had portrayed.
I took a firm hold of the gun brushing my hands over the barrel to familiarize myself with the cold steel before I turned my attention back to the Swan girl.
I noticed how her posture had changed during the last few moments. She no longer looked afraid, just determined and prepared. Her shoulders drawn back and her chin up, almost defying me.
"So courageous," I thought aloud, "almost as if she were eager to die."
"Shut up and do your worst," she spat at me, her eyes glistening with rage as they bored into mine accusingly.
"So feisty," I laughed, looking at the men behind me as I uttered the same words my father had spoken to Vitale Sforza, minutes before he put a bullet in the old man's brain. "Ha più forte sapore la conquista violenta." It was my family's secret motto, drawn from the last words that were spoken to my grandfather before he died.
"The violent conquest has a stronger flavor," The Swan girl translated, glaring at me.
I was surprised. It was not often one came across a woman with an understanding of my native language so deep withing the depths of the state of Washington. "And very erudite as well," he smiled. "It makes killing you such a waste."
I wondered what might have been if I had found this woman before Carlisle Cullen sank his teeth in her. She would have made a magnificent soldier, rivaled only by Alec and Jane.
"Then don't," she said with a humorless laugh.
"L'ora è vicina," I promised her, drawing from the opera of Tosca again. "Are you prepared?" I did not know if she was a religious person or wanted to perform some other ritual to prepare her for death.
"Just get this over with," she growled, closing her eyes as she sat up straight, chin up and shoulders back, like she had done before, her face relaxing as she prepared herself for the journey to the other side.
I looked at the gun in my hands, suddenly feeling regretful of my decision to kill this woman myself.
What was wrong with me?
I had never liked committing acts of violence but that had never made me doubt ordering them from my subordinates or even performing them myself. What was it with this woman that made me so reluctant to kill her? Was it the fact that she was a woman and I felt deep down inside that it was wrong to kill a member of the weaker sex?
"Boss?" I heard Felix said behind me.
"Hold your tongue," I barked. "Give the girl a few minutes to prepare."
Just when I raised the hand holding the gun, a hand which suddenly felt like it weighed tons, I head a rumbling noise behind me, moving towards the office fast. Before a moment had passed we could distinguish different noises, voices telling people to move their hands above their heads, boots running through the corridor, more voices making arrests, feet kicking in the doors.......
Almost the moment I heard them approach the door to my office was kicked open, and a SWAT- team started filing into the room with blazing guns. They were lead by a man with strange, almost bronze colored hair which looked like he had been running up the stairs to the 21st floor faster than the wind.
"FREEZE! FEDERAL AGENTS!" he shouted, his gun moved to my head almost instantaneously, though his eyes lingered on the Swan girl who was still kneeling in front of me with her eyes closed.
In that moment I realized that she had been right when she claimed she was loved dearly and that her friends would come looking for her.
I had not realized that moment would come so soon.
What to do now? Surrender and hope for the best or do what my forefathers had done for ages and take this girl with me to the other side?
- ducks back into hiding -
I know I'm starting to turn into the evil queen of cliffie's here and believe me...we haven't even reached the climax of this story yet.
I promise the next chapter will start with the outcome of all of this. It is in Bella's POV. I will be posting the chapter songs (yes, plural) and a teaser at the twilighted boards in the next couple of days. It also holds links to more information about the mafia, Tosca and a picture of the guy I picture as Aro in the books (Richard E Grant).
Please feed my addiction and review. It makes me a very happy evil bitch.;-)