Bounded to a chair, hands tied firmly behind her back, almost cutting off blood circulation, eyes blindfolded with a thick black tie plunging her vision into nothingness, and mouth firmly gagged with a piece of cloth; the blonde-haired lady with a stern face remained utterly calm for someone in such a position.
Beads of sweat broke all over her sweet, stern face, and she flinched, only slightly, at the sound of the metal clanking that could be heard within the room she was being held in as a captive. She wondered if Senna wanted her tortured first before canceling Christmas on her. Senna's eyes spitted fury as he gazed at the filthy bitch that had almost run down his entire mobster organization. Left to him, he would have loved to pluck her eyes out and feed them to his dogs, but he had more pressing issues to attend to in his nightclub."You almost had me, but now I own your life, bitch," Senna growled into her ears. He freed her blindfold and took away the cloth on her mouth.Amanda's eyes twitched to adjust to the electrical lights that lit up the room because of her prolonged period of being accustomed to the darkness by the blindfold. She counted four men in a blur, including Senna, and finally, her vision steadied.Senna wanted to kill the lady, partly because he had let himself be pulled into her trap, but currently, she was worth more to him, alive than dead. He'd learned that her name wasn't Candy Rivera but Amanda Peres, a trained spy for the Puppeteer.The Puppeteer was notoriously famous for taking out the highest-ranking criminal organizations. Nobody knew his motivation, how, and why he chose his targets, but Senna was now his target."Just go ahead and kill me already," Amanda said flatly. "Because I'd rather die than give up on any information about the Puppeteer.""Have no delusions. I will kill you, but before then, you'll tell me everything I need to know," Senna said. He looked at one of his Capo, which told the man all he needed to do–– torture, but don't kill her."You are the delusional one if you think I'm scared of you or of being tortured."Senna snorted. "Do you know why the Italians call me Ghost? It's because, just like a ghost, I inspire people to be afraid. I am the embodiment of fear.""In Afghanistan, I was buried alive in a cemetery full of ghosts. So, I love to disappoint you."Senna smiled at her words and replied, "Well then, I guess you're just a sucker for pain. I sincerely hope that you enjoy being tortured. I'll be back.""I know you will."As soon as Senna began exiting the room, he could hear the capo he'd earlier communicated with silently slap Amanda hard. He turned to see him punch her on her lower abdomen, but Amanda could take a beating, it seemed.Well, that was only the beginning, Senna thought to himself. He wondered what her threshold for pain would be after one hour. As he exited the room, the other two Capos followed him.The sound of music, strobing party lights, strippers dancing with cash being sprayed on them, people drinking or smoking, and the indistinct conversations were all the telltale signs of Senna's nightclub in action.He looked down at the people just looking to have a good time and then looked out for those who knew the actual business that the nightclub was migrating. He saw Batista, the pressing issue he needed to attend to, and walked down the stairs to meet him.Batista was older than Senna. He was a bulky man around his fifties, but he was still serving his purpose in the Mafia game. He had a fat cigar caught in between his thick black lips. Senna, on the other hand, was younger and had a far more prominent role as a Don, but he had some modicum of respect for Batista."Hey man, what's the word?" Senna said, offering a handshake."Hey man, I've got some serious weights coming in tomorrow night," Batista said, puffing on his cigar and shaking hands with Senna. "The Puppeteer took down my first connect, so I hoped to move these weights to a more secure location.""Say less, I've got you amigo," Senna said. "But in exchange for storing your weight, I'll need your favor.""What could I possibly do for the devil?""Diablo Metrakis, I need to clip a man in his organization, and I don't want to take the responsibility.""A'ight bet, consider it a done deal. The mother fucker you want to be clipped won't even know what hit him when he gets his due.""Just be careful," Senna said."So, who in Diablo's cartel do you want to take out of the picture?""Marchetti, his consigliere, and Diablo will not rest until he avenges the deed.""Diablo's consigliere?" Batista wasn't expecting such a high-ranking member to be Senna's target."Yes, any problem?""None," Batista replied after a moment's hesitation. "You scratch my back, and I scratch yours.""The arrival of the Puppeteer in our city is a real problem for us mobsters," Senna said."Indeed, have any of his puppets paid you a visit yet?"Senna thought about Amanda briefly as he responded, "No, I haven't been infiltrated.""Alright, that's good. But be less worried about infiltration.""What do you mean?""The Puppeteer doesn't only infiltrate. He knows how to compromise people, too. So watch everyone closely that's working with you.""Sick. Maybe we should set a trap for him and see if he baits.""What do you mean?""Which are you more concerned about, the safety of your weight or catching this bastard?""If you suggest using my drugs as bait, I can't take the risk. Those drugs not only have the potential of street values, but they are irreplaceable.""Do you trust me?""Almost with my life," Batista replied."Then, believe me, I won't risk your merchandise if I didn't think I could win against the Puppeteer."Batista took a deep breath. "I'll have to hear more about your plan.""Likewise, I want to hear how you'll handle the Marchetti situation."After conducting business with Batista, Senna went to the VIP room to attend to a more personal interaction."Bring in the girls one at a time," he ordered.After two minutes, a girl was brought in before Senna."Say Sorry!" he ordered. His voice was cold and electrifying from the dark shadows of the room.She responded to the given order immediately, despite not knowing what she'd done to apologize.Senna growled in anger. "Not her. Get her out of my sight!""Yes, sir," responded the capo.A few more minutes and another girl was brought to him from the selection. He was dazzled by her beautiful features."Say Sorry," Senna repeated in fury."And why should I do that?" The meek yet stubborn voice replied."When the devil tells you to do something, You do it," he sneered. "It's her, take her away."The door creaked open. Amanda's ears perked up instinctively, and she turned around to see which of Senna's men had come to torment her now or if it was Senna himself. No, it wasn't Senna, it was Placido."Hey, soldier, we've been through this before," Amanda said with a curly, nasty little smile. "I ain't telling you shit. And no offense, soldier, but your torturing skills are a little redundant. Can't you be a little more creative?""Silence bitch!" Placido thundered. "Why are you doing this? Why are you working for the Puppeteer?""Hmm, tell me something, soldier. Is that the question you were ordered to ask me?""Shut up. I'll ask the questions around here!""October thirty-first two thousand two, I went to present the evening news. I was to be back home in less than two hours, I assured my husband and my daughter, who was five years old. I kept to my promise. I got home and tried unlocking the door with my key, but it was already open. When I got home, it was eerily quiet even th
Amanda woke up to someone moving her around. She heard a gunshot and people screaming in response to the shot fired.She heard a threatening, raspy male voice say, "Everyone down on the floor! Lay the fuck on the ground now!""Welcome to the land of the living," Placido said as he moved Amanda, helplessly strapped to a wheelchair."How? What the fuck?" As Amanda spoke, she did so with difficulty because her jaw was slightly broken.Placido chuckled wryly. "We're going home sweetie. I can't believe your bad luck. Yuuno, it's funny how you jumped off a cliff to end right back in my hands."Amanda agreed with Placido inwardly.She felt hurt all over her body, but her mind was too distracted to focus on pain. She looked up in surprise as Placido rammed the wheelchair through the double swing door, and she frowned at the disrespect with which he pushed her around. She wondered if she just used the wheelchair for this particular moment or if she had broken her hips and spinal cord during t
"Placido, what the heck went on down here, man?" Senna said as he stormed into the basement of his nightclub with two security guards strolling behind him.Everyone quickly turned their attention to him."The Puppeteer happened," Placido responded."And Amanda?""Gone. He took her with him.""Damn! I don't get it. The Puppeteer is just one man. He should've been outmanned and outgunned.""Yes, and he was all those things, outnumbered and outgunned, but boss, I'm telling you, this guy's reflexes are out of this world. He's fast, like one of those guys in the matrix.""Did you get a look at his face? What'd he look like?" Senna looked at all the dead bodies just lying around and grimaced inwardly."No, I'm afraid not. He was putting on a mask."Senna sighed softly. "So why didn't you go after them?"Now, it was Placido who grimaced inwardly. "Boss, he knocked me out pretty bad.""Placido, I don't pay you to get knocked out like a bitch!"Placido gave a resigned sigh. "I'm sorry, it won'
Balia was still in that position for over thirty minutes. The ropes had done a number by sinking into her skin. It hurt like crazy, and she was sure it would leave an angry mark on her skin. Her ankles felt the same way.She looked up to the four-poster bed at each corner, where the rope was attached to curved brass rods, strong enough that even her weight couldn't pull off.She was wise enough not to try to swing. It wasn't going to be to her benefit. She imagined herself turning from left to right to get the rod off. It would only make the rope sink deeper into her skin and cause her more pain.When she couldn't take it anymore, she began to whimper. Hot tears ran down the side of her face as she sobbed and weakly called out for someone to get her out of there. She wondered where the vile man had gone.Was he going to leave her here for the rest of the night? Was he going to make her his prisoner? What the hell had she gotten into tonight? She beat herself up for not apologizing wh
“I didn't catch your name, red hair," Senna said as she caught the dress he tossed at her.Balia ignored him and walked towards the bathroom to get changed. If he wanted to know her name, he'd have done that politely over a drink or after asking her to strip for him.These were the perks of being a stripper. The bad perks. Men could make nasty comments about you, slap you in inappropriate places, and even ask for sex, and all you had to do to keep your job was grin like a fucking Cheshire cat and do whatever you were asked to.She wondered who this man was and where he had come from, making him feel he had authority over her. What had she gotten herself into?She hadn't. The universe was against her this evening because she had done nothing to warrant this harassment from this strange and devilishly handsome man. As hard as it was to admit, he was an attractive man. She knew he was older than she was, probably in his early forties. But she hated him still.When she got to the bathroom
The drive was a long one. They drove from the city to the more sophisticated part, which was less noisy and commercial. Here, there were large mansions, beautiful houses, and aesthetically pleasing stores. Balia distracted herself with this. She had only been to this part once when she had considered modeling as a career. Well, that didn't go as planned.All she knew about this Oriental part of the state was that it housed millionaires, billionaires, celebrities, and people who came from generational wealth, and from the looks of it, Senna belonged here. It made her wonder what he did for a living.Business tycoon? It looked like him. He looked like a rich, handsome Italian who had either come from old money or had built himself up over the years. But still, he screamed wealth.For most of the ride, he was on calls, speaking to different people and cussing them out, and this made Balia wonder what kind of working environment his employees had to survive.They finally got to a gated es
Senna kept pacing around his master bedroom as he waited for whoever the fuck was on the other side of the phone to pick up the call.He had tried calling a few times, but there was no answer. The call ended with an annoying beep, and he stifled the urge to toss his cutting-edge cell phone across the room to crash. He had been doing that lately and getting new phones every week. Now was the time to change and be fucking disciplined.Just as he was about to dial the same number, a call came in. It was from Diablo, and Senna hoped it wasn't bad news. He had been the bearer of bad news late, which wasn't what he needed on a night like this."Batista," Senna began in a terse voice. "I wasn't expecting your call.""I also wasn't planning on calling you tonight. Something's up.""And what could that be?" Senna asked as he stopped in front of his bay window. He stared down at the gardens, taking in the dusky colours as the lights surrounding the area shone warmth on them. "Marchetti. He s
He was gone as soon as he said those words, leaving Balia staring at the door in shock with her fork still hanging in the air."What the hell?" She muttered to herself. Things seemed to get worse as time went on. It was barely a day, and he was ordering her around.Dread filled her as she was taken back to earlier tonight. She remembered how he had possessed her like she was a plaything. He had rough-handled her like they were enemies in her past life.She let her fork clatter to her plate, not minding if it was going to chip the edge of the ceramic plate. The food in her mouth now tasted like chalk, and the beautiful walls of the dining room looked gloomy.Tina came into the dining room with a pitcher of water. She was smiling, but it soon faded when she noticed that the dining room was quite empty."Balia, why is Senna not here?" She asked as she placed the pitcher on the dining table and picked a cup to pour for Balia. "Did he go out to pick one of his weird calls again?"Balia had