CHAPTER 35

Alice wasn't particularly known for being all that rebellious.

That is to say, she was never known for being caught being rebellious. She'd been a well-mannered child who listened to her father, unlike all her other siblings, which was a huge relief for Fergus. All his other four children had terrifying stages of rebellion, even Dylan, though that only lasted a month. The worst thing that Alice had ever (openly) done was refuse to eat a spinach omelet…

She generally listened to what Lovino said. He was a friend and she trusted him. But he was hiding something from her. Alice knew that it must've been a deadly secret and that she probably should listen to Lovino if she still wanted her hide at the end of all this bloody nonsense.

Alice couldn't care less about that.

It didn't matter whether she was alive or not at the end of this. The only thing that mattered to her was her siblings and justice. If she died, she'd die only after rescuing them and making the fucking bastard pay for what he did.

Elizabeta and Kiku sat across from her, sharing identical frowns. It was comical, really, as though she were a schoolgirl being scolded by her parents for pulling another girl's pigtails during recess. "Why are we here?" Elizabeta's voice cut through the tense silence, her accent covering her words thickly, like syrup.

"I just need to ask you a few questions concerning this…recent disturbance." Recent disturbance. That was a dramatically understated name for a psychotic, stalking serial killer.

"I thought you were taken off the case?" Kiku's eyebrow raised in question.

"Formally, yes." Alice's bright green eyes narrowed into slits. "But I haven't done this fucking job within the legal rules since I started. I don't plan on changing that now."

A small smile nearly crossed Elizabeta's face. "What do you need to know, elvtárs?"

There was really no easy way of putting this. "Who was Venziano Vargas?" The two Mafia members visibly flinched. Their eyes went wide and they froze in fear. Ah.

"Dono yō ni sono namae o shitte imasu ka?" Kiku was the first to speak, his dark eyes showing nothing but anger and distrust. Gold mine.

"It was in one of the files that Lovino gave me," shrugged Alice, trying to play it off. "It interested me. I think it might be connected to the case."

"How?" Elizabeta hissed, "He's dead. He has been for several years."

"It doesn't have to be him. Maybe someone who was close to him," Alice kept her voice level, even though it was hard. "Please. I need to know. Even just a little bit."

"We're not allowed to disclose zat information." The Hungarian glared, but it softened slightly. She understood the pains of losing and worrying over loved ones.

"I know that." Alice nodded, leaning in unconsciously. "I won't ask for much. Is there anything-anything at all that you can tell me. Something that won't get you in trouble with Lovino, but will still help me find this psycho bastard?"

They glanced at each other anxiously. Kiku turned back to Alice. "We can only terr you how he died, and that's it."

"That's all I need.'' Alice nodded vigorously, her chest filling up with fluttery excitement.

Elizabeta sighed. "He was on a mission, one that Lovino didn't approve of. Most of us didn't agree with it, but Venziano insisted. We couldn't stop him."

"He and a few others gathered in Itary," Kiku glared down at the cold tea in his cup. "They arr died. Venziano was shot in the head by an enemy sniper. It went straight through and he ferr onto the ground, riferess."

The Hungarian woman nodded. "It was terrible. A lot of people loved and respected the Vargas family, well, as much as us Mafia could love." She paused, "It took Lovino forever to establish his true power hold again. Venziano nearly destroyed the kingdom that the Vargas family took centuries to build all in a matter of days."

"That's why he doesn't like to talk about it?" Alice could feel her eyebrows raise.

"Hai," Kiku muttered. "After Venziano died, he was thrown into the Atrantic Ocean. He wasn't even given a proper buriar, Rovino was so angry. There is no way he's stirr arive today."

Alice felt a feeling of disappointment, but she didn't break her promise. That was all the information she was getting out of those two.

Translations:

Elvtárs? = Comerade?

Dono yō ni sono namae o shitte imasu ka? = How do you know his name?

Hai = Yes.