Messina, Italy, 1992
The Vitale Estate
A ten year-old Angelo had just woken up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. He was walking down the quiet hall at twilight to get back to his room, when he heard his father and his uncle Tony in a heated argument in his father's office. He walked closer to the room to listen in. Though he didn't think much of eavesdropping, he just couldn't bring himself to go back to his own room.
"First of all, I am the eldest out of all of you and you are the youngest. Second of all, I've got a better head on my shoulders than you have. I don't have such terrible thoughts as you. And lastly, I am stronger than you and will always be stronger than you. You hear me? You don't hear Cesare complaining! You know why? Because he's not an evil son of a bitch like you! I can't believe you are my brother! You are not a true Vitale!" Don Maurizio Vitale spat out.
"How do you deserve this power? You barely even use it, unless something has to absolutely be done! You are weak!" Antonio Vitale yelled.
"But I am still stronger than you are. I am still better than you are."
"One day. One day I will come looking for revenge. And you will beg me for mercy."
Two weeks after their leaders' lip-lock, the Marciano and Vitale households were quiet. Neither made contact with each other since. No incidents happened over the two weeks and with nothing to do, Buffy decided to take Willow, Tara, Anya, Dawn, and Faith shopping. They came in and out of numerous stores, tried on the priciest clothes they could find, and walked out with outrageous receipts.
Now, a few hours later and several name-brand shopping bags at hand, the girls sat down for a moment to rest. Buffy was shoving a spoonful of gelato in her mouthy when her cell phone rung.
"Si," she answered.
"What store are you at?" Angel barked into the phone.
"Um... outside Versace. Why?" she said, wearing an expression of confusion.
"Get ready to leave, Bambina. I'm picking you up in five minutes. Don't worry about your girls being alone. They have Faith to protect them in case of emergency." And sure enough, he arrived outside Versace exactly five minutes later.
"Angel, this is insane! I can't just leave with a man I'm not even sure I can fully trust, to an unknown location, while my family is watching!" she protested.
He gave her a piercing glare and she just glared back, trying hard to overpower his glare.
"Fine, I'll go! But you have to give me a full explanation later," she relented.
"Great." He smiled quickly before turning to the other five girls. "Alright, ladies, I'm gonna steal your Dona for a bit. We'll be back in a few days, so ciao for now!" he said dismissively and dragged Buffy to his car.
"A few days? A FEW DAYS?" she exclaimed.
"Just shut up and smile, sweetheart," he told her. She huffed, then stopped dead in her tracks as she stood in front of his car.
"Wow, Angelo, you've outdone me yet again. I know you always have the best of things, but a Bugatti?" she said, amazed.
"Yup, this car is my baby. You know me; I have to have the best. Ain't she a thing of beauty?"
"No kidding," she muttered.
"And cost me a fortune too. I have the most expensive car in America. I usually keep it in Italy though," he explained.
"Now, you owe me an explanation."
Angel sighed loudly before speaking.
"We are off to Calabria, but first, we are dropping by your place to pick up your stuff," he stated bluntly.
"What? Why?" she wondered.
"My uncle left for Catanzaro in Calabria yesterday to meet some old friends," he said, emphasizing "old friends" in a sarcastic way.
"So? Why do we have to go too?" she asked.
"Well someone has to do the dirty work around here," he said with a frown. "Then again I don't want anyone else besides you to know about these affairs."
"Still not getting the point here!"
"The Calabrese 'Ndrangheta are shady people," he said.
"They're Calabrian mobsters. As if it wasn't obvious," she said in a sarcastic voice.
"My uncle's also a pretty shady guy."
"We're all pretty shady people. Just get on with the point already!" she growled.
"Let's just call it a business trip. I will tell you everything you need to know and do, and you will listen. OK?" he said calmly.
"Humph. Whatever you say," she said in boredom.
"Great. Now hurry up and pack a few days worth of necessities for the trip," he ordered as he pulled up in front of the large Marciano villa.
As soon as Buffy came back with a duffel bag full of clothes and hopped in the sports car, Angelo sped off to the airport.
"Angel why aren't we taking your jet?" she asked as he led her to the terminal.
"Don't you think it would look a bit suspicious if we suddenly land in Calabrese sporting a top of the line twelve-seater private jet?"
"Why can't we just drive to the place? You know how much I hate air travel," she complained.
"Babe, I'm a godfather, not a chauffeur. There is no way you're getting me to drive long distances, especially in this car. And for the record, don't even suggest driving yourself if I won't 'cos you know you can't drive for nuts," he deadpanned.
"Angel, it's not even that far! If you really don't want to drive, why didn't you just higher a driver? It's not like you can't afford it," she said.
"I don't want anyone but you and me to know where we're going. It would be taking a big risk if someone else were to know where we're heading."
After that, they sat in silence for the rest of the ride to the airport.
"Angel, I've never used the public airlines," Buffy commented as he backed into a parking spot.
"Just follow me," he said, leading her to a desk.
A young woman with dark wavy hair stood behind a desk and asked to check their passports in Italian. Buffy thought she seemed nice enough, but when the woman started to shamelessly flirt with Angel, she hated to admit it but she was slightly ticked off.
"Ragazza! This isn't a whorehouse! You should be checking our passports, not throwing yourself at men!" she snapped.
"Non parlo inglese," the woman said, slightly frightened by the tone of Buffy's voice.
"I said that you should be checking our passports and not fucking him with your eyes!" she yelled in Italian.
"Whoa! Easy there, Buff! No need to get jealous," Angel intervened.
"I was SO NOT jealous!"
"Really? Cos' from where I'm standing, all I can see is jealousy," he said, which Buffy growled at.
"Fuck you all! Just check our god damn passports and let us on the plane already!"
"Flight 72 Alitalia to Catanzaro will take off in 15 minutes" A man with and accent announced over the intercom.
"Oh shit! That's our flight! Let's go!" Angel panicked, grabbing hold of her hand.
They boarded the plane on time and sat down in their seats next to an American couple.
"So what's a couple like yourselves from San Diego doing in Italy?" Buffy asked.
"Oh we're on our honeymoon. We thought it'd be so romantic to travel around Italy. What about you two?"
"Uh...we are here because...the plane is taking us to...a place that is not here...?" Buffy answered nervously before a wave of nausea passed through her as the plane lifted off the ground.
"Oh god, Angel!"
"What's the matter?"
"And this brings us back to why you couldn't have just hired us a fucking driver to take us there! " she said through her teeth.
"Why don't we just make sure you throw up in the toilet and not on me."?
"Suits me." She ran to the bathroom holding her stomach.
And the rest of the plane ride went on the same way for the most part. -The American couple asking them why they're there, Buffy feeling motion sickness before they can answer, and Angel holding Buffy over the toilet bowl to throw up.
Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy
"So how was your first time on public air travel?" he asked once they landed.
She slapped him senseless for the horrible ride.
"Alright then," he said awkwardly, massaging the cheek in pain. "If my calculations are correct, the cab should be here in twenty minutes."
The ride to the little inn was a half hour away from the airport.
"Casa di Catanzaro. This is where we're staying? A run down inn?" Buffy scoffed.
"Yes. If we want to keep our cover, you just gotta suck it up and learn to live like your daddy never spoiled you," he replied.
"Ha! Like you can survive in a place that's much under your standards! You can't even go one day without wearing an outfit that costs less than five hundred!"
"Actually, in grade school I wore an outfit that cost me just under three hundred. And then in high school I once came dressed in only a pair of pink boxers to show Spike that I've got guts! Remember?"
"You're an idiot."
They walked into the inn and an aged man stood behind a high counter.
"Buon giorno," he said expressionlessly. Angel exchanged a few words with the man before the man assigned their room.
"The same room? Angel you have got to be joking! Why can't we stay in different rooms?" she exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"He claimed that there was only one room left," he answered, leading the way to their room.
"This can NOT be happening! Boy, I am so not bedding with you! Don't tell me there was only one bed available!" She stated. From the looks of it, he seemed shocked too.
"Ragazza! Venire!" He yelled at a girl dusting some furniture in the hall and demanded for an extra bed. The bewildered girl told him that there was no other bed.
"Okay then. I guess this is it. It seems somewhat...comfy," Buffy muttered.
They both decided to take a nap, an awkward tension in the air. After dinner, a cab drove them to a large estate just outside the city.
"Welcome to the Cassalia estate, home to the Cassalia family and their leader Alberto Cassalia," Angel stated once they reached.
"What are we even doing here?" She asked.
"Just checking up on my uncle Tony, who is apparently staying here." He walked quietly along the wall, hoping they were out of the security cameras' range. "Now keep as quiet as possible and stay hidden behind me."
"What, so we became spies now?"
"If that's what you wanna call it."
"Why are we spying on your uncle?" she wondered.
"Buffy I want you to listen very carefully. Don't go telling anyone this theory of mine," he said.
"Okay, go on," she prompted.
"I think it might have been my uncle. I think he's the one behind it all. –The letter, our fathers, the Cardinal, Fasola, you name it! I hate to say it and I hate to think about it, but it's the only thing that makes sense," he deadpanned, a sullen expression on his face. She listened intently as he went on.
"I don't know how I didn't figure it out earlier! There was this one time, when I was ten, and I had just woken up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, and I accidentally over heard an argument going on between my father and my uncle. It seemed like my uncle wanted more power. He said that he would come looking for revenge one day. And I didn't think much of that conversation back then."
"So say he really is our guy, what do we do about it?"
"Well, I guess we just have to keep a close eye on him and see what happens, and when or if the time comes, I'm gonna…I'm going have to slaughter my own uncle, whether I want to or not," he replied, as they crept towards the open window of the large house.
"So, my good friend, is everything set in place?" they heard Tony ask.
"Yes, I believe it is. Now all we have to do is wait for your beloved nephew to come to us," Alberto replied as Tony dialed a number on his phone. At this, Angel looked to Buffy with an expression of worry.
"Gerry? Yes. It's Tony. Did you do your job? Yes, well hurry up. I expect to be seeing you soon. Ciao." Tony snapped his phone shut.
"Alright Buffy I've heard enough to understand that this is all Tony's shit. Let's head back to the inn."
A few hours later, when all was dark inside and outside of the inn, Buffy found herself unable to fall asleep, so she stepped out onto the balcony to take in her surroundings and think for a while. Unbeknownst to her, Angel was awake too and was wondering why she was staring into open space on the balcony. He silently walked up to her.
"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked. She turned around, slightly surprised.
"Sorry if I woke you," she said.
"I was already awake," he stated. "What's wrong?" he asked sincerely.
"Nothing…Everything…I don't know." She looked sad and he hated seeing her like that.
"I miss my father. I miss not having all of this responsibility. I miss what we used to have. I miss it all," she said finally.
Then he wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her neck softly. She turns her head around and their lips meet. Their gentle kissing soon turns into intense making out as Angel slams her into the railing of the veranda, and she pushes him into the wall behind, still kissing him furiously. He then flips them around so that he has her against the wall instead.
Breathing hard, he places his hands on both sides of her face and smoothes back her golden tresses, and he looks her straight in the eye.
"I love you Buffy. I always have," he says, before leaning in to claim her lips with passion again.
He lifts her up and she wraps both of her legs around his waist.
"Angel," she breathes out softly, panting, as he carries her to the bed.
"Angel, Angel I love you. Please…god! Angel, touch me!"