Complicated! ~ rewriting

II

2
Warehouse Worries

Dabria

The second I entered our house, I headed to my father's office. I take a deep breath before knocking once then entering without waiting. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Now take a seat." I sit in the leather, cushioned seat opposite his desk, making sure to keep an eye on the time. I have roughly half an hour maximum before I need to leave, preferably less. "I have had a look at your schedule and it seems awfully full at the moment. Why is that?"

"More than likely the Dal Santos mission." I reply wearily not knowing where this conversation is heading. "Which one was that?" He coughs, my father can pretend and hide all he wants but I can tell he's getting a lot worse. His brain and memory are foggier, he coughs persistently every time he speaks, he sleeps more than he used to, is always tired no matter the amount of sleep he has had, he's lost weight, is paler and is breathless most of the time. The doctors warned us this would happen although it seems more difficult to actually watch it happen. He could've received treatment but he was too worried about leaks to other mafias to go through with it. He had mentioned that it would put everything at risk and he couldn't do that, not even if it meant practically sacrificing his life for it. The last checkup we went to, he was said to have around 3-4 months remaining before the lung cancer would basically control him. Yet at the pace his symptoms are going I can't be sure of how true that is.

"It's the mission about the Dal Santos' shipment."

"Ah yes, I remember it vaguely now. Any updates?"

"The past few months I've been tracking their previous and current shipments, watching how they process them, who's involved, where they end up. I've managed to successfully intercept 4 out of 6 of their past shipments in the past month and I've gathered the information about their next shipment. I know exactly what is supposed to be in it, where it will be and when. All that needs to be done is to intercept it and destroy what can be destroyed."I ramble out to my father's emotionless face, eager to escape this awkward tension between us. Ever since she left things have never been the same with me and my father.

"Good. Well done, you have proved to be a worthy asset to this family," Asset? Are you fucking kidding me? "I knew you'd eventually show me why it was a reasonable decision appointing you as a leader, despite your age, instead of forcing one of your brothers or my more experienced men. All I need now is for you to make sure that you are free for the upcoming weekend in 3 weeks time as we have to attend the ball the Romanos are holding." He replies looking me dead in the eye, daring me to challenge his command.

"I'm not going to one of their stupid balls." I state confidently. "You are Dabria. All leaders have been demanded to attend." That's just asking for trouble.

"You're the leader as far as everyone else is aware, attend with Stefan or Carlos. I am not going."

"Dabria you are going! That is final!" He coughs again, gasping for air. I start to urge closer to him in case he needs help but he raises a hand to stop me. "The deal is you are going to attend with me. I'll pretend to be the leader but I need you by my side. It will give you a chance to introduce yourself to our allies and a chance to form new ones. And as much as I hate to admit it, I need you in case I have any kind of wave of illness." He utters breathlessly as I sigh. "Please Dabria."

"Fine. I'll free my schedule for that weekend but now if you excuse me I have something else to attend to." I mutter, holding back the remaining arguments about Romano's ball that are threatening to fall from my lips knowing this is important to him. And as I walk out of his office door, he mumbles "Thank you." It's not the same as it was between us anymore. Our conversations normally revolve around business and his health and then back to business. That's it.