V | Dial 'A' for Assassin

° Chapter 1 - The Overture °

♥ Roland POV ♥

Today was my first day back to Gotham, and I only have one thing on my agenda.

Gotham is a place of territories, dominance, gangs and alphas.

In order to live in a place like this, you have to bend down and kiss the ring.
Sometimes literally.

The Kings and Queens of Gotham are the ones who rule over everything.
Luckily for me, I already have some leverage with the criminal underworld.

I stop and stare at the address in my hands.

Power. The ability to control. The greater tbe power, the greater the control.

Gotham is a place of choices. Choices for protection of territory. And Gotham was not her territory. Rule #1, always ask for permission.

Making sure I had everything I needed, I left my apartment for the first time.
Locking up, I head to my car, and put the keys in the ignition.

-

Pulling up to my destination, I felt a wave of anxiety flush over me for the hundreth time since I left.

At first I thought I had the place all wrong. No visible security outside, no intercom gate, and no other cars in the driveway.
I wasn't sure until I got out of the car, though. As soon as I made it up to the porch, the front door swung wide open revealing a tiny woman inside.

She stood at 5'2" wearing a grey maids outfit, and barely looked at me before almost whispering a, "Who are you? What do you want?"

I mustered up the ability to take the address out and handed it to her. She took it without breaking eye contact.

"Right this way."

The inside was way more lavish than the outside. Intricate gothic archways with gold trim above, and rich, dark oak furniture sat around me. The display was impressive, but I had to be reminded of my place when I heard his voice.

"Lenore."

I smiled and turned around.

"Don Falcone."

He smiled back at me. "It is good to see you, my dear. Im afraid my security is out for the day, so you'll have to bear with not getting searched. No weapons, I hope."

"Goodness, no. That's not why Im here."

He led me into his office. Two chairs sat in front of his oval desk. He offered me a drink which I turned down as he poured his own.

"So tell me, why are you here? Not that Im complaining, but it has been... A decade or more since I've seen you, little one."

"I came back to ask for permission-"

He chuckled a hearty laugh.

"My dear, you don't need to ask me in order to come back here. Me and your family are on good terms."

I grimaced at that, and he noticed.

"I heard about that. I'm sorry my dear. Is that why you've come back?"

"To find my parents' killer. And because I have remaining family here. You're apart of that family. I couldn't come back without seeing you first."