Ask Me Anything

“I saw the reports this morning, Orlando. It was on the front page. Nightmare in beach house. Billionaire couple murdered.” He let out a pleased sigh. “My heart did a little leap.”

Orlando had an impassive look on his face.

Romano stopped in his tracks, almost immediately Orlando halted. He turned around to look at him, a wide pleased smile on his face. Orlando’s expression remained unchanged.

His smile widened. This was what he loved most about the boy, a mindless killer, his mindless killer. “Come here, boy,” he opened up his arms to him.

Orlando hesitated. It did not matter how many times Romano tried to be affectionate with him; it always caught him off guard.

“It is okay, Orlando,” he urged him.

He took hesitant steps until Romano closed the distance and pulled him in for a hug. Orlando stiffened.

“That was wonderful,” Romano pulled away from him. “You have done a wonderful thing tonight. Come here…”

Orlando followed him down the underground elevator until they got to the lounge area.

“Look what my boy has done!” Romano exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice.

It was a small gathering of men, soft music played in the background, and there were scantily clad girls dancing seductively. Some of the men were nursing a glass of wine in their hands until he walked in. The girls exited the lounge. They jumped on their feet and mumbled their greetings. “Respect, Don.” His hand was draped around Orlando’s shoulders. “Have you heard what my boy did?”

His face fell as he saw the look of confusion they shared. “Do you lots never read?”

He sat on the chair at the head of the table. “Get me the paper and pour me a glass of wine.”

Orlando proceeded to leave, but he stopped him.

“Not you, Orlando.”

A big burly man standing at the entrance of the door rushed out immediately. He returned not long after and handed him the paper. He poured Romano a glass of wine.

“See, it says here that Maximillian and his wife Celeste were found in the early hours of the morning in a pool of blood on their matrimonial bed. Reports have it that they were last spotted at the heart and sole fundraiser…” He moved the paper to the side and stared at their expression on his face. His lips curled into a sadistic smile.

“Don Russo,” a fat short man with a balding head extended his hand out to Romano. “May I?”

Romano handed it to him. He leaned backward and burst into laughter.

Colombano peered at the paper with keen eyes. “You killed the bastard,” he turned to Orlando, whose eyes were facing the ground and his hands behind him. It was not that he wasn’t used to the attention. He was, in all the years he had worked under Romano, he had received his fair share of attention. Sometimes it was before a man who was unable to do his job, moments before Romano killed him, other times it was before Romano’s son Ricci as he berated him for being a failure. Occasionally it was before a few members of the mafia but never before every member and not in a meeting…

“So, you did it as they were fucking, eh?” Colombano asked, amusement clear in his voice.

Everyone turned to look at him with keen eyes.

“Yes,” he answered in a flat tone.

“That’s brutal!” Colombano exclaimed and burst into loud laughter. His accent was thick and overbearing.

Romano and a few other men in the room burst into laughter.

“Why after they had sex?” Ricci asked, with a scowl on his face. “Did you like to watch them perv…”

“Oh, shut up, Ricci. What would you know about sex?” Romano cut him off.

Ricci opened his mouth to speak, but he knew better. Romano’s temper was no joke. He was convinced the only reason he was still alive was that he was Romano’s only son. He couldn’t push it any further.

Romano looked around the room at the smiling faces staring at him except one. His forehead creased. “Doc?”

Everyone turned to look in Doc’s direction.

“Does the news not excite you?” Romano questioned.

Doc’s thin lips curved into a small smile. “It does.” He cleared his throat dramatically. “Yes, it does…”

Romano shook his head. “Not convincing enough,” his face twitched. “Were you paying attention to anything I said?”

“Oh…oh,” Colombano whispered.

“Yes, of course, Don.”

Silence befell them.

Romano shrugged. “Get your head out of your ass, Doc. I really like you; you don’t want to annoy me.” He leaned backward on his chair. “I promise you whatever is on your fucking mind is not as important as what we are talking about right now. The bastard Maximillian is dead; he was the biggest competition, with him out of the way, it is big business…”

Doc ran his fingers through his silver hair and let out a sigh of relief when Romano looked away.

“You deserve a reward, Orlando. For what you have done today. You can ask me anything, and I will give it to you, of course that’s aside from my business…” He dryly chuckled. “and my life but…” he put a finger up. “If you ask for Ricci’s head, I will happily serve you on a platter…”

“Fa…Don,” Ricci interjected.

“Interrupt me again, Ricci, and I might just give him your head as a complementary gift because that’s all it is worth.”

There was something about the way the words were spoken that set Ricci on edge. It was calm yet laced with venom.

“What do you think about my offer, Orlando?”

“Can I think about what I want?”

Romano shot up to his feet. “Of course, Orlando, it is your gift after all,” he patted him on the back before leaving. He stopped halfway through the door. “You know my word is law; I’ll never break it.”