Blade

Chapter 36 - Never give up

B L A D E

I step out of my car, the cold night air nips at my face as I brush off the cigarette ashes away from my long leather black coat and stare up at the gigantic manor right in front of me.

It looks a little more like a haunted house.

The annoying sound the crow makes does nothing to ease the eeriness hanging thick in the air like icicles on a cobweb. Not a suitable comparison but that's how it seems to me.

I knock hard on the wooden door, glancing around the stone building as a light footstep approach the door on the other side.

The door creaks open to reveal Elisa, Eduardo's wife, right after it makes a clicking sound.

"Welcome to our humble abode, Blade Armani. It's so nice to see you again." Elisa smiles, gesturing for me to come in, her slightly gray hairs tied into a very neat bun on top of her head.

"Same here, Elisa." I force a smile on my face which will definitely come out as a frown but I didn't care one bit. Just need to get this over with.

I stare at the ancient paintings on the wall as Elisa leads me down the long dark hallway. "He's been expecting you, Blade. Glad to see you could make it."

I ignore Elisa like the rude devil I am and continue to follow her as she comes to a stop in front of a long dining table that's next to the kitchen.

Eduardo seats at the head of the table, a plate of omelette and a cup of coffee is placed right in front of him as his eyes skims over the old newspaper in his hand.

He hasn't changed one bit.

He's still the bald old man from the 15th century. He's dressed in his usual attire. A white plain old shirt and a black suspenders attached to a brown dress pants.

Who the hell wears suspenders?

His shoes are nothing to write home about; a brown leather shoe with holes that shows off his white but dirty socks.

Eduardo is filthy rich but he dresses like a clown from the stone age.

"Nice to see you, Blade Armani. Why don't you take a seat." He gestures to the wooden chair three feet away from me, a smile on his wrinkled face.

"What will you like to drink? " Elisa politely asks as I settle down on the chair that made a creaking sound from how old it is.

I make sure that I don't put all my weight on the old furniture so I don't end up with my ass on the floor.

"Wine will just be fine." I mumble, drumming my fingers on the table as Elisa lets out a chuckle.

"That's nonsense, Blade. I'm going to bring you a cup of my famous green tea." She tells me and saunters off before I could make any objections. Crap.

"So Blade," Eduardo begins, stroking his gray mustache as he takes a forkful of the omelette. "Word got out that you want the head of my nephew? Why is that, if I may ask?"

I chuckle at his choice of words and interlace my fingers together on the table, keeping my eyes locked on his aging ones. "It seems that Matteo hasn't said a word to you, Eduardo."

Eduardo drops his fork back on the plate and takes a couple sips of his coffee. "What do you mean?"

I lean back on the chair but quickly lean forward when it makes another creaking sound. "Your nephew happens to be the one bombing the clubs and casinos in Italy. He takes orders from someone but I don't know his identity yet."