Mafia Connections

Two

Problem number one was that I had no clue where his office was and like the dipshit I am, I didn't ask anyone for the directions. So ten minutes turned into twelve, and then fifteen before I made peace with the unenviable death that would be the result of taking twenty minutes.

Maybe if this house wasn't so goddamn big then I wouldn't have a problem. I look around and spot the same door I had seen at least five times. I was literally walking in circles.

I glare at it as if it was it's fault I was hopelessly lost and then it opens. Viktor frowns at me from the doorway and I begin to laugh "I've walked past this door five fucking times and it was here the whole time"

He scowls at me and steps back to allow me access to his stereotypical office. Books line the wall and his desk is backed against a large window and it covered in papers. There must be thousands of books in this room alone. "Have you read all of these?" I ask.

He smirks "Not all of them. Some are in Greek"

My mouth drops open. "Did you just quote The Beauty and the Beast?" Who knew the big scary boss loved Disney.

"No" he denied and sat down "Now sit. We have a lot to cover" His expression is stony and he reminds me of my headteacher at school who never smiled. I sit down on the seat across from him and he pulls out a notebook and pen. He flips to a page and smiles "I've been doing my homework on you Bella. And I've found out a lot about who you used to be"

I slouch in the chair. Before I was taken, I was a nobody. I had a small friend group of about four and I never really spoke to anyone else. I was quite smart then but missing two years of school does make you feel a little bit inferior.

"An article from two years ago says that you and another girl were taken from your classroom and nobody knows where you went. Two days previous, an article was in the papers describing a similar case only with two boys in another school not far from yours. A month later it was published that ten children were now missing and it was believed you may have been together. Care to tell me your side?" He asks and taps his pen on the desk.

I swallow and try to bring up details of what happened. "I think I was in English when they came in. There was a woman and she had pictures of us so she knew who she was taking. It was me and Kat. We were thrown in the back of a car and blindfolded. I couldn't see until I was in a basement with Gus, Isaac, Rob and Angelica. Rose and Chris turned up about an hour later and then Freddie came. We thought that was it but then Elliott arrived. I was horrified because he was so young"

He notes down parts of my story and nods along. "What about the fact that your case was closed eighteen months ago? Can you explain that?"

I frown "What? Why would they do that?"

Viktor smirked "Eighteen months ago, Freddie, Gus, Isaac, Rose, Angelica, Rob and you were believed to be dead and your case was closed" he put down his pen "Chris and Kat turned up outside the police station and claimed to have seen you lined up and shot in the head before your bodies were burned"

My heart stops. Just for a second. "The little shits" I breathed.

"I want to hear about Elliott though. What happened to him?" He picks his pen back up and stares at me intensely.

I play with my hands "I can't. I can't relive that"

He shakes his head "I'm afraid you're going to have to. If you want help for your friend, I need details"

I shake my head violently "Please. No"

"Bella. Why can't you tell me what happened? He can't hurt you here" He almost sounded concerned. Almost.

"I was there" I said quickly. "When it happened. They made me watch"

Viktor sits back in his chair with a victorious smirk on his face. "How did they make you?"

I hold up my wrists to show the circular scars circling my wrists. "Barbed wire" I said quietly. "I screamed and screamed but they just laughed. He kept screaming at me to help and I couldn't stop crying. They tortured him. Cut off his fingers and slit his throat. Then Isaac broke the door down but he was too late. Elliott was dead. I didn't talk for weeks, I barely noticed Kat and Chris were gone"

I stop. I don't want to continue if I don't have to. He looks up as if for me to continue but I stay quiet. "Fine. If you are done then we will move on. Who's baby is it. If it is Sean's I'm afraid that we cannot help"

I nod "It's Rob's. What can I say? They were high-school sweethearts"

He grunts in response. We sit in silence as he copies something down in the notepad "Why were you in that bar?" He asks.

I sigh "We go in, dance, and steal whatever we can get our hands on. We give everything to him and he keeps us alive. Barely. But alive"

He nods "The plan is simple. You go back to him and we will collect you every night and train you so that you can protect yourself and your friends. We will give you whatever you need to cover up your tracks and you will gather information for us. Got it?"

I frown "You want to send me back? He'll kill me"

I shook my head "No. He won't. Not if he's smart he won't"

I bite my lip "Fine. But after two months you get us out of there. Got it?"

He smiles slightly "Got it"