Author's Note:

Truth be told, this was one of the more difficult ones to nail down, especially after how the previous chapter ended. After much contemplation I finally decided which direction I was gonna steer towards. It'll be a strong chapter in displaying a facet of Amato that not many people, not even his friends, are aware of...

Chapter 81: Omerta

When Adele came into sights, laying there on the ground motionless, I found myself overtaken by emotions as my weak steps grind to to a halt right in front of her! The dead eyes amidst her walnut hair were devoid of any light. Only after catching sight of a few red stains did I traced them to this gaping wound by the side of her abdomen, blood all but drenched the areas that weren't torn up.

"Hugh!" All of a sudden, as I bent down on my knees to get a closer look, Adele moaned out painfully as she roused into consciousness.

She's still alive! She's-!

Gently holding her by her shoulders, I realized it was only short-lived. She was hurt in more places than I thought. It wasn't just the side of the abdomen, but the side of her face, her torso and her left leg were all messed up as well. Tiny little metal ridges popped up amidst the crimson blood washed over broken skin. Adele was trying to breathe, but every time she did she coughed out a small puddle of blood on the floor. The puddles were growing bigger.

"A-Adele, I'm-" I couldn't finish my sentence. Apologizing doesn't seem to be the most appropriate thing to do right now.

"Ugh...A-Amato?" The frail girl called out my name, despite the pain it seemed to take. She seemed really out of it, her eyes barely being kept open. "W-What...h-happened? I-I remember heading for the m-main entrance...b-before the rest of the c-class...ack!" Desperately trying to figure out what had occurred, she was suddenly assaulted by pain, her right arm clamping down on her abdomen.

What is this? Is she trying to say she got hurt because she was doing her job as class president? She got caught in the blast radius because she got to the doors first?!

"Ngh...A-Amato, it's...g-getting colder..."

Badump.

"N-No, Adele! Stay with me, you hear me?!" There and then I'm snapped out of my shock, reminded of the fact that I'm laundering what precious moments Adele had left! "C'mon, you're gonna be okay." With my hands holding her up on her back, I tried giving her some words of comfort. Even amidst the pained groans and the blood pools still growing. "Somebody, anybody! Call for help!" I screamed as my eyes looked up and to all sides. Everyone else was still in shock, and they only stood there watching with hopelessness in their expressions.

Forget it!

Annoyed by the lack of response, my mind raced for an alternative as my friends gathered around me. "Sergio, get Kiera on the line, right now! Tell her what's happening, bring Vito, and get in touch with Doctor Rosalind!"

"...S-So loud...ugh..." Just as I finished yelling out the order, Adele spoke out weakly as she brought her bloodied index finger to my lips. "I'm...g-glad you started c-calling me by m-my name, A-Amato...I've always l-l-liked...y-y-" Before she could finish her sentence with a smile, the struggling for air stopped as her eyelids slowly drooped down to a close.

"..."

Just like that, she stopped moving. I could scarcely believe what was happening before my eyes. With trembling hands I checked for breathing or a pulse, and found nothing.

"No..." I couldn't but mutter out in despair, holding back the surge of tears welling up in my eyes. At my side, Gina and the others gasped out in horror when they realized. Sergio was just screaming what I said into his phone when his eyes widened at the many reactions.

"She's dead!"

"I-It's a joke, right?"

"Aaahhh!"

A myriad of reactions from the dozens of people watching. A few girls shrieked at the top of their voices, some went into denial while others seemed to have been frozen stiff into yet another state of shock. Most of my classmates were saddened by the horrible sight.

Badump.

"I told you guys to run! I told all of you to get out of this damned museum!" Overcome by frustration I couldn't help lashing out at everyone still watching around me, berating them into silence!

"Crack!"

"Why couldn't you all just listened?! Why couldn't you all just played it safe?!" I continued yelling, punching my bloodstained fist into the ground beside me as I glared at them all, particularly Mister Russo. My homeroom teacher could only hang his head in shame.

"Amato..." Gina muttered from my back, as she placed her hand on my shoulder for concern. When the knowledge that I still had that damned bomb around me surfaced again to haunt me, reflex drove me to shrug my shoulders and move away from her touch. "Huh?" Confused, Gina could only squeeze out a cry, meeting my distraught eyes with hers. I regretted what I did almost immediately after.

Damn it all! It's not like that! I'm just trying to keep you safe! I'm just trying to keep everyone safe!

"...and if being nice is just gonna get people killed then..." Mumbling out to myself, I did something unbelievably reckless. Getting up on my own two feet, I drew out my Legacy Arm from my satchel while everyone still had their eyes on me.

"Fenris!"

In front of everyone, the name was invoked as I raised the gun, pointing the barrel towards the ceiling. Energy pulsed from where I stood as the familiar letters formed within the jewel that was the Tear of the Fang. As strength came over me and senses sharpened, the crowd only grew that much more restless.

"Is...is that kid carrying a gun?!" Some of the public patrons of the museum exclaimed when he caught sight of Fenris.

"N-No way, first a bombing, now this?" A girl from my class in the far corner cried out in despair, once again driven into shock.

"Amato, what the heck are you trying to do?!" Sergio finally objected, calling me out from my back. It seemed as though he had enough of trying to follow what I was doing, and had instead grew restless like everyone else. He was glaring at me. Glaring at me as he would at a madman with a dangerous weapon in his hands.

"Hrongh!"

Pushing away all thoughts I pulled down on the trigger, firing a short, concentrated burst of concussive force. The shot, blasting forth in a sound reminiscent to a wolf's howl, tore a hole in the ceiling, sending tiny pieces of wood and stone raining down!

"Gah!"

"Whoa!"

"H-He's for real!"

With just that one action, everyone snapped, giving into panic as they started scrambling for the door! A few people from the crowds were scared stiff, but the others shoved and pushed, trampling over each other at the despair of everything that's happened!

"That's right, run! Get out of here, everyone of you, before I start gunning you down one by one!" Waving Fenris around as menacingly as I could, I started threatening them. If words couldn't drive them out then maybe fear would be a better choice.

"Screw this, I'm calling the police!"

"Hrongh!" As soon as I heard that I lost it, letting another shot off in the direction of the guy who said that. Of course, I wasn't planning to take his life, the force flying past the crowd and smashing into the walls past him.

"No! No police!" In my surprise I yelled out the order at the top of my voice and pointed the barrel of my gun right at him, glaring down at the poor guy as his trembling hands dropped his phone onto the ground.

I can't believe I'm doing this. No. It has to be done.

"Listen up, as Decimo of the Zanna Famiglia. I hereby invoke 'Omerta'."

With shaking fists I finally tossed out the declaration that had been on my mind ever since Adele stopped moving.

"Nobody, and I repeat, nobody, is to contact the local authorities. You understand me?!" Staring down those left, including Sergio and the others, I made sure everyone understood what I meant. Though some of my classmates remained confused, most of the adults gave me their silent consent, nodding reluctantly. "I'll take care of this myself." Finishing with those words, the people finally emptied the main halls. Those youths still frozen in fear were ushered out by the adults. Except Sergio and the others, of course.

As my emotions simmered, I started walking towards my friends, all of whom had this grim look in their eyes. My best friend had his eyes on the floor, gritting his teeth at the current predicament. Gina got startled when I reached out for her.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted before, Gina. You and the others should just get out of here and head straight home." I muttered, deciding not to press her after that reaction, turning towards Sergio instead. "Sergio, get this sorted out." I instructed, pointing towards Adele's lifeless body. "Make the necessary arrangements and...contact her family." I continued, before tightening my grip around Fenris and heading my way back into the museum.

"That's it? You're just gonna walk away after what's happened, without as much as a simple explanation?" Sergio accused, stopping me in my tracks. As I turned back to rebut, he flashed me a pair of conflicted eyes. It all but robbed me of what I wanted to say, which only made him that much more agitated. "Why the hell did you do that, Amato? I'm asking about why was there a need for you to point your gun and threaten those people?!"

"Because it's my fault that Adele died, all right?!" The sheer fault in Sergio's words struck a nerve and all I had to answer was the one sentence that kept pounding itself into my thoughts. "She had to die because I wasn't forceful enough with getting everyone to evacuate the museum even though there was a bomb set to go off! She had to die because I was gullible enough to believe that bomber's lies, which ended up triggering the fail-safe, setting off every other bomb he had set in the museum!" The ranting just kept going and going.

It ended up being more of a way for me to vent out my frustrations rather than a coherent explanation to my best friend.

"They weren't moving, even after they saw Adele die right there! I don't care if I have to do things like threaten people if it meant getting them out of the Palace safe and sound!" Slightly drained by the outburst, I nonetheless yelled out the words right until the end. It's as if I was trying to convince myself, to justify what I did despite knowing deep inside that it was no excuse.

"That's horrible..." Gina muttered out in after hearing all that I said, as if reiterating my deepest thoughts. She still wasn't looking at me, whether it was out of fear or disdain I couldn't tell.

Sergio and the others were overwhelmed by what I said. Their looks of disappointment grew into empathy, but the disbelief was always in there.

"B-But it wasn't your fault, Amato...it was that madman's." Yoko reasoned, as if she was trying to find some light to brighten my sullen mood. "You couldn't have possibly prepared for every dastardly scheme he had in store..."

"You're right. That's why I invoked the code. I'll hunt him down and kill him myself. Can't have him pulling anything else. He alone has to pay for all the blood he spilled today." Agreeing with Yoko's words, the seething emotions came back stronger than ever as I made the declaration with the bloodcurdling smile of a beast's. The power of the Awakening was barely being kept in check, spilling out energy and intent in waves. The expression was so shocking it drove the eyes of my friends to the sides. A few of the kids dodged behind their partners, which prompted Gina, Yoko and Johann to pull them away from me in an attempt to calm them down.

"Hold on a minute, isn't it reckless to go alone? I'll take care of this, but shouldn't you take Johann or Yoko with you?" Sergio suggested in a toned down voice, still too disturbed to look up.

"I didn't ask for their help." Reminding myself of the code, I gave my reply tersely, emphasizing on the point and surprising everyone present. "You know the rules, Sergio. I'm sure you do." That was all I deemed to say, despite the confused and uncertain looks. When Sergio realized my point, he looked as though he bit his own tongue for saying something necessary, before taking back the suggestion.

"Rules? What rules? What exactly are you talking about?" This time, Yoko was the one asking out the question, growing more and more restless by the second.

"'Omerta' refers to the code of silence and secrecy in which the Mafia operates under. You're not to rely on others, especially official authorities for an injustice. You're to fix the problem yourself, lest you're seen as a fool, a coward and being weak and incapable." Sergio explained as he recalled.

"Wait, he's rejecting our help because of pride? That's ridiculous!" Johann cried out when he saw how Sergio backed down, not really knowing how he should react to something so absurd.

"How can I bear the title of 'Boss' if I can't even handle a single man alone? People died because that one man's perverted actions. My People, the ones I was supposed to protect! I demand retribution. I don't need your help to achieve it. When I need it, when I have no choice but to call for reinforcements, I'll call you guys for support." I calmly explained. Nevertheless, laying it out didn't diminish how much I want to do this by myself in the slightest.

"Enough, Johann. The penalty for breaking the code is death. It is one of the many Mafia laws, and as long as you're part of the Zanna Famiglia, you have to abide by it." Sergio exclaimed, before bending down and collecting Adele's body, prepping it for transport out of the museum. Yoko and Johann had no choice but to relent, though they sorely disapproved of it.

"Sigh, nobody else will lose their lives today...especially any of you." I tossed out, distracting myself away from my vendetta for a split second as I pulled back my overshirt, revealing the damn thing still tied around my chest.

"What's that?" Zoe asked out, being the first to catch sight of it.

"A bomb, apparently made out of 'high explosives'. Stronger than any of the bombs that had already went off." I replied, relieved that I could finally get that fact off of my chest and out into the open. "The trigger is in that man's hands. You can't just go prying it off either." I continued amidst the questioning looks. Even Gina finally looked up, her eyes looking scared and tired.

"You had that thing around you all this while, even when everything was happening?" She muttered out in disbelief, before shutting her eyes to the sides and shaking her head as if she was stricken with worry. Everyone else seemed to share her same reaction. It brought down the mood of the situation a notch lower than it already was.

"Yes." I gave them the one word for an answer, before I turned back towards the corridors. Back into the palace. "Now you know why I must do this alone." I continued, before the sight of Gina's worried look locked me in my steps.

"Gina, I'm sorry you had to see all of this. How I acted today. Go home, and I promise, tomorrow I'll go back to being the guy you remember. Who always wears a smile on his face." Giving her what assurance I could, a final glance showed me her uncertain nod to my words.

"I give you my word." I ended the promise with an affirmation as my friends headed out the door, with Adele's body in Sergio's hands. The word of a Mafioso is a powerful thing, and about all I can give to my girlfriend right now. I could only hope she accepts it.

The wolf empowering my every step, I lunged straight for the room with the many monitors, thirsting for vengeance.

When my steps took me to the same room hidden in the upper floors, a series of cries from the beyond the door threw me into silence. My senses were screaming, homing in on the sound of brawling, the cracking of bones and the cries of pain. Not to mention, the air was slowly growing thick with the scent of blood and sweat. Gently twisting open the door into the room, the first thing I saw was numerous bodies, lifeless and sprawled across the floor.

Wary because of the sight, I sneak into the room only to come face-to-face with Flint, who was leaning against the corner of the console for support. A dagger in hand and blood trickling down the side of his mouth. I walked into the room expecting an ambush, but the sea of bodies boggles the mind.

What the heck happened in here, In-fighting? Was there fallout amongst the group?

Whatever it was, it made everything that much easier. Stomping my way towards the madman, Flint's eyes lid up as soon as he caught sight of me, and a creepy smile appeared on his face. Despite my intent to kill him staring him down, Flint only had this to say.

"Hah...hah...hah...showtime."

Well there you guys have it. It seems Amato is more accustomed to the Mafia ways than some of you might have thought. Can you guys accept Amato's behavior? Or do you reject and hate him for acting like that? Give me your thoughts in your reviews below, and I'll read them as I craft out the next chapter for this arc! As usual, keep your eyes out for the next chapter update!