Chapter 576: +Chapter 576+
Nikolai fought the temptation to tail Angelo’s car, driving instead to where he was needed. With the assassin’s choice of clothes that morning, there was no doubt that he would be joining him shortly.
As soon as he sat down in the unfamiliar office, Fallon made an appearance by his side, arm still in a cast.
Nikolai didn’t bring the injury up; the option for the injured to take as long as they needed off had been offered, and the Alpha had turned it down multiple times. The injury also didn’t affect his efficiency, so Nikolai would respect his wishes.
"Word just came in," The Alpha went right to his report, "The High Council blew up the casino a second time."
Nikolai’s jaw clenched, "It’s already wrecked, what do they hope to achieve?"
"Your attention," Fallon replied bluntly, "And hopefully your reaction."
Nikolai was unimpressed, "You’d think they would seize the chance they’ve gotten."
Fallon bit back the words that were about to spill out, still cautious despite the sudden laid-back nature of his Mafia King. It was almost like Mafia King Nikolai was unaware of just how terrifying his influence was; even the High Council knew better than to act rashly.
His Mafia King hadn’t been acting like himself recently, but Fallon respected him too much, and he liked all in body parts in the right place to point it out. Word had been going around the men that it had happened ever since an assassin tried to kill him and instead got captured.
Fallon had seen the assassin a handful of times, and just like he had no right to tell his Mafia King what to do, it also wasn’t his place to give his opinion about the assassin. So he went on to other matters.
"Downtown is getting rowdy with the recent happenings," He reported, "They’ve always had an eye on your turf, and now it’s rapidly becoming a free-for-all."
Nikolai’s cold eyes gleamed at that; he had backed out of his turf mostly because he hadn’t been eager to see what else the High Council would be fine with blowing up when he finally got Angelo to himself, but there were a variety of other reasons as well, and this was one of them.
"Ignore them unless they get in the way of the men carrying out their duties." He replied.
Fallon silently noted that, figuring out what that meant. "It’s not just the crime bosses downtown that are making moves. The High Council is reportedly buying out businesses downtown."
Nikolai sat up at that, laser-focused. "What businesses?"
"Most are still in the middle of talks, but a club has been bought out and properly handed over." Fallon went into details, in an increasingly good mood as he did.
He could see the familiar look in his Mafia King’s eyes again; there were going to be consequences pretty soon.
"Find who sold out," Nikolai leaned back in his seat, "Make an example of them. Leave the High Council’s club to me, I’ll deal with it."
Fallon took down more mental notes, his shaved head practically glowing with pride. His Mafia King’s recent actions had been surprising, but at the core, nothing had changed.
"Do you need me to assign men to clean up?" He asked casually.
"No need," Nikolai said dismissively, "The High Council can clean up their own mess."
The rest of the reports were mostly things that didn’t need his input, so Fallon went through them quickly, making himself scarce afterwards to carry out his Mafia King’s orders.
Nikolai glanced around at the empty, lavish room, sighing as he did. He rather missed his casino.
The High Council had been increasingly irritating with how many hits they kept sending his way. He wasn’t even retaliating yet, merely reminding them that they were still on his turf.
He glanced around the room one more time, his empty blue eyes settling on his phone. He wanted to call Angelo, but there was no reason to, so he was left sulking, a knock on the door attracting his attention.
-+-
Angelo watched closely as a man dressed in a black parka and jeans walked through the gates of the park. His fur-lined hood was put up, his choice of outfit obscuring most of his face.
He already palmed a combat knife, his breathing controlled as he waited perfectly still, waiting for the stalker to approach.
There was no doubt that the new addition to the park was the same person who had been tailing him ever since he got to the 3rd District, but he didn’t make any rash moves, watching as best as he could from behind the trunk of the tree he had ducked behind.
The stalker did a lap around the park, occasionally going out of Angelo’s line of sight, which he didn’t appreciate. There was no question that the hooded man was on the search for something, his path eventually leading him to the entrance to the wooded part of the park.
Angelo was incredibly calm as the man came closer, used to having the odds against him because mostly, dangerous people preferred trusty guns.
As soon as the man came into range, he moved lithely. In the span of a few seconds, he had the man in a chokehold, his knife hovering mere millimeters from his shaky eyeball.
The stalker still had his hands in his pockets, and as he made a minute movement to pull them out, the gleaming knife was now only a hairsbreadth from his eyeball. He closed his eye despite himself, even though that wouldn’t protect the delicate organ.
"I would rather not have this conversation while you’re screaming." Angelo said calmly, hisi voice steady despite their positions and the threat he posed.
The stalker gulped but said nothing, wracking his brains on the best move to take. He had followed the target into the park because his information was that he would be meeting with someone important.
The deserted park made him feel like he had hit jackpot, so he had gotten careless. Not realizing that it was a trap, one that he had walked right into.