10HRS BEFORE THE CURRENT DAY…
"Welcome boss, how was your flight?"
Maurice asked just as Jordan stepped off the private jet. Clad in a tailored, black three-piece suit with a crisp, white dress shirt and a black patterned tie, finished with a black dr. marten's boot.
"It was fine, Maurice. Now, pray tell, what am I walking into?"
Jordan replied his right-hand man who matched his quick long strides as they made their way into the black matte Lamborghini Urus, armed men all around them.
In the sequence of events of Francesco's assassination by the hollow, Jordan had established a global presence, with branches of his mafia operating in nearly every corner of the world, doubling the numbers of all his spies and informants. Everything had been quiet for a while, so much so that he almost thought Francesco's death was after all the result of his personal beef with an opposition.
Marcello Bianchi and his family, were at Brentwood, they've been for 18 days now. Things were once again running smoothly Italy, leading Jordan to believe that the hollow had finished their job there, he knew that whoever hired the hollow to disrupt his network would do it again, he just didn't know the angle in which they'd strike next.
His intuition was right, when he got a call from one of his bases in the UK that, someone had hired the hollow. Jordan had first sent his right-hand man, Maurice, to the UK, to investigate deeper before coming down himself, accompanied by his sister.
Ever since the Francesco incident, Jordan has been on edge, especially when it came to his sister, Alyssa. He wouldn't survive it, if anything happened to her, hence, why she goes everywhere goes. Everyone in the mafia knew not to mess with her, although he remained the same towards her in public, but in private, he'd become a poodle for her. To him, she was the only light that remained in his world of darkness. She was involved in the mafia, but not too much. The less she knew, the safer it is for her.
He wasn't always this cold and unfeeling. His view on life changed when his father forced him to do something no eleven-year-old should be forced to do. That day reduced his heart into a hollow shell, his emotions were brutally murdered. Jordan made a promise to himself, to protect his younger sister from that obscurity, that vast loneliness.
He had varieties of women at his beck and call, women that loved him deeply, but he couldn't give that back, couldn't love anyone save for his sister, Jordan didn't really mind, who gives a fuck about love, he'd always say, he was only ever in it for the sex, and he never failed to remind his whores of that simple fact.
"We were only able to uncover the target's identity, nothing on the hirer or the hollow"
Maurice began, from the passenger seat of Lamborghini, earning a nod from Jordan who was situated at the back seat.
"The target is a top judge here in the UK, but that's not the most interesting thing" Maurice continued, taking a pause to gauge his boss's reaction.
"What? Is he someone I should care about?"
Jordan replied ready to pounce on whoever was foolish enough to cross him again. If his enemies thought they could attack him again the way they did in Italy, then they were in for a vast surprise. This time, he was fully prepared.
"Well, that depends. He is not just a judge, but he's also the heir of the Dushane mafia. In fact, he run things now, still under his father's supervision of course."
The Dushane mafia, the biggest mafia in the UK, and the most ruthless.
"How the fuck will the hollow assassinate him? the Dushane's are no joke!" Alyssa chipped in from beside her brother in the backseat.
His sister was right, Jordan thought. This might be the hardest job for the hollow yet.
"So boss, what do you say, should we just sit on the sideline and observe?" Maurice asked.
Jordan was baffled. He had thought the hollow and their hirer were out to get him, he's had sleepless nights ever since Marcello broke that unpleasant news to him. Now he couldn't help but wonder, what the fuck is actually going on? The logical thing would be to sweep Francesco's death under the rug, tag it a personal beef between he and whoever put a bounty on his head. the logical thing would be to believe that no one was out to get him, that all of these just amounts to a skilled personnel, executing their job for the right pay, but Jordan was no fool, his paranoia would never allow him such peace of mind, so instead of being logical, he chose the other option.
"This is the plan, we take a detour now and go to the Dushane's base, and share this piece of information with them, and offer them a deal." Jordan spoke, voice low and calm.
"What deal could we possibly offer them?" Alyssa butted in again.
Jordan looked towards his sister briefly.
"Protection" he said simply.
Maurice almost laughed out loud, but quickly caught himself with a cough, Alyssa on the other hand, couldn't hold it in.
"Brother, this is their base, their city, they know it like the back of their hand… in a rational world, we'd be the ones asking for their protection for as long as we're in their home"
Alyssa said slowly, as if talking to a child, Maurice nodded in agreement.
"We'll offer them protection against the hollow, we know the time and place the hollow will strike, so we use that to our advantage"
To say Maurice was puzzled would be an understatement, at this point, he was completely lost. What the hell was his boss talking about?
"D.. Don we.. d…don't have all of that information sir" he stuttered in fear.
He knew how much his boss hated being disappointed. Jordan sighed, was he the only one doing the thinking here?
"Maurice, I know that, we all know that, but the Dushane's don't, and that's all we need" he calmly stated.
The dots were beginning to click for Maurice, until they suddenly stopped again.
"Boss, but we also know that there's a 100% chance that the hollow is going to have a successful mission"
Alyssa nodded, also completely confused about her brother's plan. Jordan clenched his jaw in annoyance, part of him knew his right-hand man was right, but that irrational part just wouldn't concur.
"There's a first for everything" he forced out, his voice, stiff.
Maurice and Alyssa nodded, although they were far from convinced, he knew they weren't convinced, even he wasn't either.
"So how do we protect the callous mafia heir?" Alyssa asked, directing her question to no one in particular.
They had reached their destination, after passing all the security tests and checks of the Dushane's mansion, they were finally allowed in. All three of them highlighted, leaving the diver to go park properly. As they walked to the huge double doors coated in brown, Jordan answered his sister's question.
"Simple, we take him back home".
The Dushane mansion, a masterpiece of opulent architecture. The estate spanned several acres, surrounded by meticulous lawns, and a dense forest of ancient trees. With a façade of honey colored stone, and attired with ornate carvings and imposing pillars, the roof glimmered in the sunlight, while chimneys stretched towards the sky, the mansion stood tall and grand as a three-story structure.
"This way"
One of the Dushane's men led them away from the front door they were headed to an intricate garden around the back. Jordan had ordered the rest of his men to head home, and had only came to the Dushane's with his sister, his right-hand man, and his driver. After walking for what felt like hours, they finally got to their destination, over twenty men surrounded them, all armed and focused on the outsiders.
Lewis Dushane, built like a UFC fighter, stood up to welcome his esteemed guests. He was no stranger to the tales of the young don of the US mafia, and even right now, standing in front of him, he knew all them were true.
"Greetings mate, I hope the journey wasn't too stressful" he said as he shook hands with all of them, one after the other, but kissed the back of Alyssa's hand, his eyes danced with a hint of enchantment in them.
"My my…. You look exquisite m'lady" Alyssa smiled, she was well aware of the effect she had on men, her reply was cut short by her brother's annoyed voice.
"We're here for serious matters don Dushane, not pleasantries"
Lewis Dushane quickly caught himself, he wasn't one to quickly fall under the spell of women in such manner, he was way too calculative for his own good, Jordan's paranoia pales in comparison to his. Taking one quicker glance at Alyssa, Lewis straightened his posture.
"My apologies, you're absolutely right, here have a seat please" he responded.
They all sat down on the woven chairs placed around a large woven table, that had a glass top. The maids brought wine, and appetizers, meticulously arranged on the large woven table.
"So, what brings you to my ends eh?" Lewis asked, taking a sip of his wine, eyes as calculative as ever.
"Your son has been marked."