*Elio*
Franky didn’t even look up from the laptop. He was typing away at a supersonic speed, even ignoring my greeting as Cat and I walked into the warehouse casually. I let Cat take her pick of the seats as her gaze naturally fell to the room, which had been completely remodeled since the last ti she’d been here.
No longer was the room filled with just so tal chairs and an empty table with a range of monitors up in the corner. No, the whole place had been renovated after Leo and Franky had demanded a nicer working area. And since they spent most of their ti here working for the family, I allowed them to do what they pleased.
They had turned the old boring room into what I could only describe as a futuristic movie set, or maybe a room for the big guy in the chair trope in superhero movies.
Full luxury computer chairs and a nice soft carpet were under our feet. The walls were painted a nice shade of blue with tiling, and even the ceiling had been decked out with a brand-new lamp that hung over our state-of-the-art twelve-seater table.
She turned to with a raised eyebrow, looking way too amused for my comfort. I coughed, pointing at Franky to throw the lit dynamite that was my future wife anywhere but at .
“Leo and he did it, to be more comfortable in a workplace,” I said, knowing that when she got that little glint in her eyes, sobody’s self-esteem was about to be destroyed.
“To be specific, Leo picked it all out. I simply chose the colors and steered him away from less extravagant things,” Franky replied without even looking up.
“And none of this is extravagant?” Cat snorted, staring at the luxury brand of chairs spanning the overly massive finely-crafted table in the middle of the room and then the full tech set all across the back wall with colorful LED lights implanted. It looked like sothing from a sci-fi movie, which was probably the effect Leo had been going for.
“He had wanted a disco ball.”
“Point taken,” Cat nodded. But then glancing over at , she smirked as she said, “It does look nice, Like any twelve-year-old boy’s wet dream.”
Franky snorted, the closest I’ve ever heard him co to laughter, and I winced for Leo as they practically raked him over the coals. It was a little unfair seeing as he wasn’t here to defend himself, but then again, they were partially right.
My twelve-year-old angsty self would’ve killed for this to be my bedroom.
“Anyway.” I changed the subject, sparing Leo more embarrassnt as I turned to Franky with a more serious attitude. “Now that the treaty with MS13 is broken and they’re going after our guys again, I’m tired of all this back and forth with them. We have to end this once and for all.”
“And what do you suggest?” Franky looked up, shutting his laptop with a bored look. It was surprising to how he even glanced over at Cat but didn’t say a word like he wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see her here and being included again. “We’ve been in this spot before. Or the last firefight didn’t end so well, and we’ve only just recovered the n we lost in that fight. Do you suggest we throw more of our n to the slaughter for a chance to catch him again?”
“No,” I said firmly, staring Franky in the eye. “It’s not enough. If we want to kill the snake, we need to cut off its head. I want Ignacio dead. MS13 hasn’t established any farther their little territory here, unlike us. They don’t have any big connections outside, so all we have to do is cut off their escape route and supplies and Ignacio will be forced to show himself.”
“He could be expecting that,” Franky said, crossing his arms. “They’ve been much more careful since you punched him in the face, switching safehouses nightly. They’ve been all across the city in a matter of a week. There’s no way we can hit all of his n at once.”
“That’s why we force them out,” I said confidently. “We know the timing of their shipnts. We intercept and leave them with nothing. Surround the city and then wait for Ignacio to co sniffing. He’s an arrogant bastard–there’s no way he’ll be able to resist taunting . He’s a man who loves to have the last word, after all.”
Franky’s eyes sparked with interest as he caught onto my plan, his brows furrowing as he thought about it.
“Without Ignacio’s funding and direction, MS13 won’t survive a day. According to our reports, there is zero loyalty within the organization. He runs on fear mainly, which is why his n caved in prison and ours didn’t.” Franky pondered his thoughts aloud, then a slow smirk spread across his face as he opened up his laptop, typing away before swiveling his chair away from the table and toward the monitors.
“What’s that?” Cat asked as a location popped up on the screen, surveillance caras clearly planted there from a nice luxurious apartnt building across town, way off from where MS13 operated and in the heart of our territory.
He’d fucking set himself up a highrise with a view in my own backyard.
“We’ve been tailing Ignacio since the–” He coughed, sending a wary glance over to Cat then choosing so nicer words, “Since the last encounter. He switched to this location early this morning. You’re right about him being arrogant. He thinks he’s untouchable, which is why he chose such a highly trafficked place. We’d never have thought to look for him within our own territory. It’s either genius or stupid. I can’t decide.”
Cat snorted. “No wonder he found so quickly. This place is ten minutes from our house and from the beach we’d been at. He’d been watching the house most likely.”
“Then we learn his patterns and take him,” I said determinedly. “We’ll learn the best ti, when he’s away from all his guards and get away cleanly. Take no one else but if there’s witnesses, leave them.”
I smirked darkly at the thought–see what happens when his poorly trained n watch us snatch their boss straight from under their noses. Once that happened and word spread to the whole organization, it would be over for them.
No doubt they’d try to run or just like their boss, sell out and try to cut a deal. But I didn’t care about any of those small fries. My aim was on Ignacio.
I had a personal grudge to settle with him.
“Should we advance our guys then?” Franky tilted his head at the monitor, glancing at for acknowledgnt.
But I pursed my lips thinking deeply about this. If I was this arrogant bastard if I saw my enemy advancing....
“No,” I said calmly, giving Franky a aningful look. “Pull all of our guys back, fifty miles at least.”
“Isn’t that a bad idea?” Cat asked with a frown. “Generals don’t retreat their troops in a battle unless they’re losing or giving up.”
“Not necessarily,” I smiled at her, “There are other ways to win a war than just with physical violence. Calling our guys back gives us two advantages. One, it’ll make Ignacio think exactly what you did–that we’re retreating. If he’s smart, he’ll think it’s a trap and spread out his own n out of paranoia, avoiding our territory. If not, then he’ll send his n straight in to take what we give them. Either way, his n won’t be guarding him as tightly, which makes taking him easier for us.”
“And the other advantage?”
“Our n will be safe,” I explained. “They can’t kidnap and attack our n if they’re not there. Once he thinks he’s won, he won’t bother going after our n at that point and they’ll be safe while we take out Ignacio.”
“Let him think he’s won so he’ll get a big head and make more mistakes,” Cat summarized. “Smart.”
“Extrely,” Franky said, a note of pride shining through his normally icy exterior. I could almost see a sort of respect in his eyes as he glanced at . I didn’t say a word, just grinned at him and then Cat.
We spent a little more ti planning the details and making sure everything was ready. Cat helped make calls, much more attentive and excited than I’d seen her in a while. Franky was busy sending mass texts and watching surveillance to ensure all of our orders were followed through.
Leo, of course, complained about not being invited to the ‘party’ in his words, but I assured him he didn’t miss anything interesting. Though just to be petty, I smirked as I sent him a text of what Cat had said about his decorating skills.
It was sure to piss him off.
Once everything was set and in place, Cat and I got up to head out and back ho. Before we left though, Franky called out with a hesitant, “Cat....”
Cat froze and I did as well.
Franky never called Cat by her nickna, instead usually choosing to call her by the full ‘Caterina.’ He said it was more polite and dignified than calling her after a furry pet once that he just so happened to have allergies to.
But as shocked as I was that Franky was using her nickna, I was even more shocked when Franky got his feet, clearing his throat as he approached Cat and nodded at her in respect.
“It’s good to see you back.”
Then he just stiffly walked away.
I glanced at Cat with my mouth wide open in shock and she had a surprised look as well before a rush of playful rage rose up and I yelled after him, “Oi! You didn’t even say to that after I got shot. What the fuck, Frank?”
He just flipped off without missing a beat and Cat burst into laughter as she wrangled out of there and back to the car.
The mont of humor aside, as we headed to the car, I left feeling more confident and relaxed than ever. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to take down Ignacio, but I was ready to put an end to all of this and finally focus on what was important.
Or at least, I was relaxed until the mont we got into the car and Cat sent a sultry look.
“Have I ever told you how sexy I find it when you get so fired up?” She smirked, knowing exactly what she was doing as her hands wandered across my chest and down lower.
Well, fuck.
I didn’t think I’d ever driven faster in my life.
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