mafia king

chapter 14 - greenhorn

After I cleaned the messy kitchen I was tired after driving all over the city. So I slept in my old room and went to the main house the next morning. Tonight we had another drug run to do and somehow, showing Cassio the ropes of the business had become my responsibility. I hung my jacket in the closet and went to the kitchen. Marco gave me a quick smile before he went back to drinking his coffee. By the bitter sulky air, that grew stronger the closer you went to Mario, they hadn't made up yet. I put Mario's gym bag on the table. "You forgot this in my car." Marco leaned back in his chair and waited for Mario's reaction. He seemed to enjoy this spat eventhough I thought he hated conflicts. "Thanks." Mario said after a while. I sat down in the middle of the two. No need to make one of them feel like I was taking sides. I pulled out my phone and mindlessly scrolled through Instagram. The atmosphere was still tense when Sandrino entered the kitchen. "Are Mom and Dad still fighting?" He grinned and sat down next to me. Mario showed him his middle finger. "Bite me." He added for good measure. "Is Cassio already here? I want to go over a few things before I take him with me tonight." I asked before another fight could start. I didn't need the headache. "Gun range with his dad." Marco answered but was looking at Mario without a break. Probably to piss him off. By Mario's tense shoulders it was working. "We will all go on the run tonight. The club is too big for you to do it alone and watch Cassio at the same time." Marco said and we nodded. "Good, because I don't think he will be willing to listen to what I have to teach him." As if he knew we were talking about him he walked in, his gun in the back of his pants. Paired with his cocky smile he could not look more like a brat. "Hello boys." He plopped down next to Sandrino and I grinned when I saw their height difference. Cassio looked like a garden gnome. Because we had enough drama going on in our group I refrained from commenting on it. But I really wanted to.

The Sphinx club had been our groups territory since they opened. We sold our first weed and had our first clubbing experience in here. It was great. It had four dance floors and two huge bars in the middle. Above all of it hung an enormous chandelier. We had some wild nights here. Cassio tried to hide his nervousness from us but he was only seventeen years old. "Is this your first time in a club?" I asked as we finally got inside. He didn't answer but they way he hadn't abandoned us the first chance he got, told me that it was. He grimaced at a couple making out right beside him. "Is this like a sex club?" He asked disgusted. Sandrino snickered. " No, but the owner isn't that strict. If you want to have sex in the bathrooms you can." Cassio was silent after that and Sandrino's eyes gleamed mischievous. We went deeper into the club and split up. Cassio stayed with me. I was a bit impressed how he didn't seem to get cold feet or constantly touch the drugs he had on him. "Go get us a drink. We can start selling after." He rolled his eyes but trotted over to the bar. I wanted to see how he held himself on his own. He climbed on a bar stool and tried to get the attention of the bar tender. Shortness aside, he was pretty. Blue eyes, buzz cut and a small cut in his right eyebrow made a few woman turn his way. He didn't look or acted like he was seventeen. One of said woman leaned closer to him. His whole posture went rigid when she put a hand on his upper arm. I kinda felt bad for him but let it play out. They exchanged a few words and at the end the woman looked like a kicked dog. I could only image what Cassio said to her. I turned my head when I felt someone hoovering behind me. Sandrino pointed to the woman. "It's good to know he is an asshole to everyone and not just us." I snorted and watched Cassio make his way back. "What did you bring me?" I asked when he was in front of me. "You can get your own drink. I'm not your servant." "That's not how you are going to make friends." He sipped on his cocktail. "I don't want to be your friend." Sandrino's tone was sharp when he said: "And we do? You are an annoying little shit. Be grateful Matteo is helping you and we -." He broke off and tapped my shoulder and pointed to our side. "What the hell is going on over there?" All three of us turned our heads to see a guy pocket money and the buyer walking off with the drugs. "Is that guy mental? Everyone knows that the Sphinx belongs to us." Sandrino stormed over to him and we followed. Sandrino had the guy by the hem of his shirt, feet nearly dangling above the ground. That wasn't the first time we caught some loner dealing in our territory. Telling them our family name usually did the trick but not this time. The guy didn't care. He seemed to find our anger amusing. "Just take your shit and go." I was already fed up and I wanted to avoid a fight. Way too messy and crowded in clubs. As if I had jinxed us, seven other men surrounded us. I fought the fear that settled in my stomach. This wasn't just some loner dealing in the wrong place – they were organized. And more dangerous than the three of us could take out. People were still dancing around us, not realizing what was happening. The guy Sandrino was holding up managed to break free from his grasp. He swung but before his fist could touch Sandrino, Cassio was in front of him. He blocked the attack and pushed him back with a strength I didn't think he had in him. His friends tightened their circle around us, but there was one small gap where we could leave through. Maybe they weren't into fighting like we were. "Let's go." I pulled at Sandrino's shoulder. Cassio still standing in front of him, ready to fight 8 guys. "We can't win this. Not with all these other people around us!" Who knew if there were more of them we hadn't seen yet. Sandrino finally budged and he grabbed Cassio before we walked away. Cassio struggled a bit, still high strung and ready to fight. That would hopefully wear off after a few months. We didn't need a second hot head. My heart beat a bit faster and I sighed in relieve when we got outside. They didn't follow us. "I'll text Marco and Mario." Cassio glared at me. "Why didn't we fight them?! We could have won. Instead we ran away like cowards." I snapped. "Don't question my decision. You don't see Sandrino doing it and he has been my friend far longer than you." Irritation pricked at me, yet Cassio spat: "I am not your friend!" Before I could punch the kid Sandrino put his arms around him. "I know you wanted to protect us, but your feet didn't even touch the floor when you sat on the bar stool. So, you really couldn't have taken down even one of those guys." Cassio was twisting in Sandrino's hold. Fury written all over him. "See? You can't even get out of my arms." That didn't really help Cassio calm down. He bared his teeth and let out his pent up tension. Sandrino willing to fight him. I rubbed my temples, trying to ward of a headache. Marco and Mario came outside the club a few minutes later. Sandrino had let Cassio go and he seemed to play with the over eager kid. "That's enough." Marco said in a tone that didn't leave room for discussion. "What happened in there?" I told them about the group and he cursed. "It would have been too messy to fight them." I said, not because Cassio got to me but to make sure my leader agreed with my decision. Marco nodded. "It was the right call. But we should go home now. I'll tell Georgino and we will strike back when we can control the situation." Mario fell into step next to Marco when we walked to our cars parked a few streets away. He was his right hand in this group even if they were fighting.