Ultimate Mafia System

Chapter 23 - EHV

Matteo stood outside at the end of a quiet street, there was an old building with vines on the walls. It looks a bit worn but charming. You can't see much through the windows, and there's a playground that had a few children playing. On top, there was a weather vane pointing to nowhere.

He was looking at a piece of paper in his hand. It was the address of combat gym named 'BattleFit Arena' near the small market. I also had a name of a person - 'Luca Ricci'.

The St. Maria orphanage had changed ownership and caretakers over the years and didn't recognize the name 'Matteo'. The current manager gave him an address of a gym in the small market telling that the person there might know him. Apparently the gym owner was one of the kids at orphanage when the previous Matteo was around.

Matteo looked at the map, Small market was on the other end of the city so he decided to visit it later. He had his day planned out for today.

He then went to the Pilgrim again to see Lysander. Matteo entered and directly moved towards the wine cellar and sat at the table, fiddling with is phone while waiting for Lysander. After a while Lysander arrived.

"How may I be of service to you this time, Mr. Marchesi?"

Matteo looked at him and spoke a bit tentatively at the start "So you see, I am planning to join the Shadows and create my own organization." but then he cut to the chase as it felt a bit weird to him to talk like this "So I need people to join me and I need them fast. Looking for people with nothing to lose, you know the type."

"Sophie mentioned you might require assistance with a comparable task. Could you provide more details about the specific profiles you are in need of?"

'That greedy woman. She is very perceptive though, I will give her that.' Matteo lamented in his head. "Street kids, ex-military, rejects, those in debt or under threat. Those are the kind of people I need."

"Understood. I'll gather the information I can. Is there anything else you need assistance with?"

Matteo thought for a bit and then asked Lysander "Would you like to join me?"

Lysander's eyebrows raised a bit 'What a confident individual.' he thought "You flatter me, Mr. Marchesi and I appreciate the invitation. However, I must respectfully decline."

A straight-forward and firm rejection. Matteo had expected this though. Who was he? a nobody. Why would Lysander join him. There was no benefit in joining Matteo. 'Benefit....' Matteo's eyes lit up, a plan forming in his head.

"Alright then. That's all." He smiled at Lysander.

"Certainly, I will reach out to you once the information is ready. Wishing you a pleasant day, Mr. Marchesi."

"You too." and Matteo left the Pilgrim and started walking home but suddenly he remembered that he still needed a ride after the previous episode with Fritz. 'Might as well buy one now.' he thought and made his way towards a car dealership, a legal one this time.

Rows of shiny cars lined the showroom, each one vying for Matteo's attention. Salespeople in sharp suits greeted him with warm smiles. Matteo approached a sophisticated-looking sedan. The salesperson, named Carlo, immediately joined him.

"Good afternoon! My name is Carlo. Are you looking for something specific today?"

"Yes. I need a car. Fast and reliable."

"Well, This model here is one of our best sellers. It has all the features you could ever need," Carlo said, running through a list of impressive specifications.

Matteo listened nonchalantly, nodding occasionally as Carlo led him through the rows of cars, showcasing the latest models with all the bells and whistles. Suddenly his phone buzzed.