The Mob Boss

When I stepped into the food court of the mall, the sounds hit me all at once. I could hear the constant chatter, and movement of everyone. Sounds echoed off the walls, and within two minutes; I had a headache.

I sat down at a table that seated six. Four other people were going to meet me here, and not a single one of them was here yet. I scanned the mall for any sign of familiar faces, but there were none to be had. So I sat back, relaxed, and tried to block out the deafening noises of the mall.

I saw a man in the crowd. He had brown hair, was tall, and was wearing a trench coat. A hat covered his eyes. I knew that underneath, his eyes were black, but not blacker than his soul. Nothing could be more black than his soul. This man's name was Shane Alloway. He is the man that killed my father just a few months ago. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to show up after what he did.

My father had been a mob boss. The highest ranking boss in our family. I was his daughter, which made me his successor. We took money from those who wanted anything as simple as protection; or as complicated as a smuggling. Being the daughter of a mob boss was tough. Especially when my Uncle Giovani died. Two years later, my father was killed in a bombing. This man, Shane Alloway, was responsible for it. The mob council, my father's remaining four siblings, were meeting with me that day. We were going to try to develop a plan to get revenge on Alloway, and eliminate him.

Shane spotted my face. He smirked and walked over. There was confidence in his stride, and I knew that he had found out about the meeting. I checked my watch. My Aunt and Uncles were late. They were never late. They had always said tardiness was bad for business. Something was horribly wrong. I gritted my teeth, and tried to look menacing. Judging by his expression; I wasn't doing a great job.

"Hello, Caterina. How very nice to see you so soon after your father's death," He said smugly. "Oh, and you're still mourning. How adorable." I did my best to not glance down at my plain, black dress.

"Well Shane, I can't say I'm glad to see you. Your hair is just as greasy as ever. It's good to see you haven't taken the liberty to wash it just because my father died." I pursued my lips and watched his face turn red in anger. Satisfaction coursed through my veins. The corners of my mouth twitched slightly into a smile.

"That just cost your Uncle Alfonso his life. Care to go any further?" I wasn't sure if he was bluffing, but I wasn't willing to take that chance. If he hadn't already, I couldn't let him harm my Uncles or my Aunt. The rest of the family would blame me, and overthrow me as mob boss. Sure, I wasn't thrilled about my title. However, I still owed it to my father to run things the way he wanted them run.

"What do you want?" I asked. He said nothing in response. At first I was unsure if he had heard me, until I felt something cold and hard press against my stomach. I slowly glanced down. It was a gun. A small handgun, but still deadly. Shane's cold, black eyes glittered with blood lust when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I want you dead." And he pulled the trigger.

My body slumped against the back of the chair. People were screaming as he got up, and swiftly folded himself into the crowd. The bang had alerted mall security, and they were closing in. My vision went blurry. My breaths became quick and shallow. Blood spilled from my gut, and I cursed myself for not wearing a bulletproof vest before I went into shock. People were still screaming, and phone calls were being made. My head was pounding from the noise, but before long; everything began to fade.

I blinked sleepily. All I wanted was to go to sleep. Somebody was holding my hand, and shaking me.

"Stay with me. Just stay with me. You're going to be okay, we will get you help. But you have to stay conscious or you will die."

I wanted to listen to this nice man who was speaking so calmly. However, I wanted sleep. I wanted sleep more badly than anything I've ever wanted in my life. I looked at the bandages being held against my wound. I watched as they turned red from my blood. My eyes focused on the red. Until gradually, everything went black.