Rose and Thorns

Chapter 10

Alberto

He stared out of the window of his office room, rubbing his temple to get rid of the throbbing pain.

It was a beautiful sunny morning but he couldn’t seem to enjoy it like he used to do before.

He couldn’t believe it had been two months since he came to stay here as Victor. What once was a lovely and peaceful life had become a roller coaster for him.

His family was always under some sort of threat. Enemies kept coming one after the other like there was no end to them. Every single day someone from their gang was either attacked or killed and Ricardo who always preferred to have the upper hand gave orders to attack their rivals back. Alberto being the current in charge of the greatest Mafia group in the continent was left to scheme the counterattack plans.

Even if he hadn’t killed anyone yet, each passing day he had to scheme someone’s death, and that according to him, didn’t make him any less guilty of taking away a human life.

He knew what is right and wrong.

He sure knew what good and evil were.

His mother made sure to inculcate moral principles and the fear of karma in his head right from a young age. What he was doing right now was definitely taking him to hell after death but what could he possibly do when everyone he was ever concerned about was at risk?

Could he be labeled as an evil person when he was trying so desperately to save everyone’s life around him?

Was it wrong to care for people he loved and do everything in his power to protect them?

If so, then he should soon learn to not give a f**k about his conscience. He couldn’t manoeuver matters of concern if he held on to his humanity that was only going to get him killed one day. 

However, all these were not the reason for his hammering headache. He was given one task by his father, which was to find his twin brother’s murderers but he was giving no fruitful results till now. What could he certainly achieve with no one but just Nikolai to assist him? He was repeatedly proving to be unsuccessful in each of his attempts. It stung him like b***h that he was being a constant disappointment in the eyes of his father. His male pride was getting wounded which each failure. 

Staring through the window mindlessly for so long, his eyes suddenly caught sight of Jazmine who sat under a huge banyan tree in the far end of the yard.  

She was surrounded by around twelve to fifteen kids, including Miguel.  She looked so vibrant between lots of that greenery around her. She was oblivious to the pair of black eyes on her and was busy interacting with one of the kids. She said something to the boy which made him, along with the others kids giggle loudly.

Alberto suddenly got curious about what Jazmine was doing there in the early hours of the day. He quickly pulled out his binoculars from his drawer and observed them from above.

Jazmine had a small notebook and a pencil in her hands. From the way the kid was nodding his head in understanding, it looked like she was teaching him something.

They had been living in the same room for months now yet he had no idea what this woman truly was like. Jazmine was unpredictable in every sense. She was like a mystery. One minute she was like a raging storm, trashing and destroying anything that came in her way, and the next minute she was like a breeze, soft and gentle just like now.

Being under the same roof, Alberto hadn’t missed noticing the bruises on her exposed honey-like skin, the prominent one being the deep scar running down her cheek. He wondered how a woman like her had got them in the first place.  He got to know that Jazmine being born in an equally powerful family was raised with all the luxury and comfort in the world.

Then what had caused her these everlasting scars?

He was never affected by a woman before but Jazmine’s unusual personality always stirred an unfamiliar feeling in his heart. He was always a void when it came to women but here he was, completely engrossing himself into his brother’s wife. He felt a strange squeeze at his heart as he focused the binocs on her cheek.

Who could have hurt her so badly?

Was it Victor?

Is that why she hated him so much?

If that was the reason for her attempt to murder him then could he be wrong to judge her so soon?

He couldn’t explain how badly he wanted to know what had happened with her but he was interrupted from his trance when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in..” He hurriedly lowered the binocular and turned to have a seat. 

Nikolai walked in carrying a file in his hand, “Good morning, Boss..”

He had to remind himself that he was Victor and fought the natural urge to greet him back by simply staring at the file that Nikolai had placed on the table in front of him.

“Boss, we have information about the nuke that was used to bomb ‘your’ car..” He emphasized the word in place of using Victor’s name.

Everything that Alberto needed to know was summarized in the file that he held. His eyes ran through each and every word carefully.

Micro-Nuke

Football sized

Shot from a distance of ten meters away from the target. 

Traces of Niobium superalloys found in the Debris.

“Niobium superalloys? Aren’t they unique to Brazil?” Alberto asked keeping his eyes fixed onto the page. “Could it be the Brazilian rivals?”

Nikolai was shocked by Alberto’s knowledge about ammunition combinations and their origins, Such information was new to even Nikolai but he maintained his composure with an unwavering expression, “Could be but there is a high chance that the ammunition was bought from Brazil and used by someone else..”

“Hmm..” He nodded, “Then we could get the information about the one who purchased them from the Brazilian dealers. Hack into their bank accounts to check for the details of their customers and related transactions.” 

“Yes boss..” Nikolai had to admit, though his ways of handling matters were different and less harsh from Victor's, Alberto was smarter than he thought. 

Nikolai was preparing to leave when he heard his name.

“Nikolai, get me in contact with the Chief General of the Intelligence Directorate as early as possible.” Alberto got up to his feet buttoning up his suit jacket and strutted back near the window.

His words stunned Nikolai. He looked at his boss as if he had lost his mind but his solemn expression told him that he was damn serious about what he was demanding. Why in the hell would he want to get in touch with the head of the Columbian Intelligence agency when they were desperately chasing their tail?

“Boss, may I know why?” He asked carefully. Ricardo’s order to keep a close watch on him, after all, turned out to be wise.

“Do I have to necessarily tell you everything?” He growled back, his tar-like black eyes staring holes on his head.

“N-No boss b-but we cannot do it without consulting the Patron..”

“I don’t care who you consult with but I need it to be done no matter what..” He commanded looking at Nikolai with utmost seriousness in his eyes.

“Yes sir..” He nodded in submission to his boss's commands. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“What is happening over there?” Alberto asked without trying to beat around the bush. Nikolai swiftly trailed behind him to the window and followed his gaze. He didn’t have to look twice to tell what was going on there.

“Jazmine teaches those local kids to read and write..” Nikolai answered in monotone and that caught Alberto’s immediate attention.

So he guessed it right. She was indeed trying to educate the kids. It was a rare sight to witness but the one to behold in the Gonzalez territory. As far as he knew, the children were put through vigorous physical training from a very young age. They were brought up to become killing machines and education was the least of their concern.

What was more confounding to him was the fact that Jazmine was teaching them. Alberto was quiet and concealed the spark of happiness inside his heart, “From how long had she been doing this?”

“Right after ‘your’ disappearance..” Nikolai tried to read Alberto’s stoic expression which was giving away no hint of what was going inside his head. “Patron allowed it in return for her permanent stay here..” 

Alberto’s head snapped in his direction, looking genuinely confused about it,” What does that mean?”

Nikolai resisted the urge to sign in annoyance. He was in no position to talk about his former boss’s wife but he was in a twisted situation. The person in front of him was his boss too and he couldn’t do anything to disobey him.

“Jazmine had always wanted to leave this place and as soon as..” He stopped from uttering those words. “..she wanted to leave with Miguel but Patron promised protection and anything else she wanted if she agreed to stay here.”

“Does my father know she teaches them?”

“Yes, and he is completely okay with it as long as she dropped the thought of leaving this place forever..”

“Why did she want to leave?” Alberto didn’t know why but he was full of curiosity when it came to Jazmine. She reminded him of his own mother to have wanted to leave this place with her young son.

“I am not supposed to say anything more than this boss. I’m sorry..” Nikolai had great respect for Jazmine. Everyone in the mansion knew of the physical abuse that the woman had endured all these years but no one was bold enough to stop it from happening, not even Ricardo.

“You may leave now..” He dismissed him with his whip-like tone and without another word, Nikolai left the room.

Jasmine teaches those local kids to read and write.

Patron promised protection and anything else she wanted if she agreed to stay here.

“And all she wanted was to teach the kids?” The thought alone gave him goosebumps. He was mesmerized by her.

Even now as he stood near the window and stared at her, he noted her features. He had seen her so many times before but never in this perspective. All he knew was that he had begun to respect her for what she was. She seemed like a woman who was trying to cover her soft heart with her bold outer appearance.

Isn’t that something we all humans do to survive? He was nothing different from her. He himself was trying to mask his true self behind a different person’s identity just for the sake of survival.

He sighed as he raked his hand through his disheveled hair. He had to remind himself that she was his brother’s wife and averted his eyes off her. He had to stop himself from indulging too much in to her.

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“What did you have to talk to the Chief General of the Intelligence Agency?” Ricardo's hands rolled into fists on both his sides and his shoulder shook with fury. He was fuming with rage since the moment he got to know about it from Nikolai.

“I need to make few negotiations with him. We cannot go on fighting our demons each passing day.” Alberto took a swig of his drink trying to maintain his cool demeanor.

“What f*****g negotiations do you think you can make with your enemy? That man is just waiting for a chance to kill us all..” He shouted and banged his fist on the table.

“Calm down father. The Intelligence service is not our enemy and I’m sure we don’t have to fear them. We just need to make some friends with the army by assuring them that we aren’t a threat to the nation.”

“And how the f**k are you going to do that?” Ricardo growled, his face showing waves of anger.

“By putting an end to our smuggling and trafficking business..” Alberto replied calmly.

“Have you lost your mind? Do you have an idea of how much we will be at a loss if we stop the top two of our businesses? Our rivals will be handed over with our dealings. We will not only lose money but also power eventually and that is enough to get us all killed..” He barked as he strode towards his son and held at the scruff of his collar.

Alberto held his hand and pulled it away with one firm tug. “We won’t let that happen. We will promise to help them to keep a check in the underworld, which they have certainly failed to do. And in return, we will ask for their favor to strengthen our power among our rivals..”

“You have certainly lost your bloody marbles. I regret bringing you back..” He spat turning away. “I’m not going to submit to anyone, make that clear in your head. I would rather die than making peace with the Intelligence service. They have been my enemy and will always remain one..”

Alberto walked in front of his father to maintain eye contact with him, “And what have you achieved from it father? You have lost a son and might lose another one soon. Don’t you see how many people we lose each f*****g day? Is that not enough for you?”

“Victor is not dead. f*****g find him and leave the hell out of here..” Ricardo shouted as his frustration was getting out of control. In his opinion, Victor was far better than Alberto. He at least didn’t question or suggest anything stupid like this. He might have been cruel and merciless but he always obeyed Ricardo’s commands without another word.

Alberto scoffed mockingly, “Victor is dead. Try to accept it and move on. I will try to get you out of this mess that you have put every one of us in and after that, I’m done with you for good..” He whisper yelled at his father’s face, his voice having the usual in-built authority in it. He gave a hard glare before waking out of the room.

“f*****g bastard..” Ricardo muttered under his breath. Though he couldn’t deny that Alberto’s idea of negotiation with the Intelligence service seemed sensible, he was not going to make it happen under any circumstance. Making peace with them meant, sacrificing all his power and dominance that he had worked so hard his entire life.

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After their heated conversation, Alberto hadn’t approached his father in days. He was stubborn in his stance of making peace with the Columbian Army in contrast to his father.

This death for death game cannot go on forever. He had to put a stop to it and save the remaining generations of his people.

He absentmindedly kept twisting and turning the Rubik's cube in his hands that he failed to notice Miguel staring at him from the door silently. When he looked up, his eyes widened to see the little guy standing there with a curious look on his face. He immediately understood what Miguel was so fascinated about. 

“Hi, buddy! You want this?” He stretched his hand out which held the cube. He observed how Miguel’s eyes twinkled as his tiny legs took small steps to reach forward and grab it from him.  

Alberto wanted to mingle with the boy but he was always hesitant that he might make him cry. He didn’t want to think of what the mama bear would do to him if she got to know that he was the one to make her son cry.

Alberto lured him so that Miguel was just a hand away from reach. Gently pulling him, Alberto brought him to stand closer. “Do you know what this is?”

Miguel was surprisingly being a bit bold today as he began to shake his head slowly in response but curious to know the answer.

“No?” Alberto asked and lifted him up to place him on his thigh. “This is called a Rubik’s cube and do you want to know what is done with it?”

Miguel nodded anxiously.

“Alright, let me show you..” He began to work his fingers to solve it while Miguel watched him patiently. He let out a soft gasp of joy to see all the faces of the cube uniformly colored.

Alberto smirked on seeing the little fellow’s wholehearted and carefree smile for the very first time.

“Do you want to have it?” Alberto offered but Miguel didn’t answer right away yet his eyes were full of want. “You can have it if you want. I can also teach you to solve it one day.”

His father’s last sentence seemed to capture his interest. “Really father?” He asked in a soft tone.

“Absolutely.”

As the kid curiously explored it, Alberto bent down and pressed his lips against the top of his head.

“Migu, I have been searching for you in the whole mans..” Jazmine froze in place upon seeing her son seated comfortably on his father’s lap. Her breath hitched at her throat. This was impossible. Victor had never touched Miguel with love since the day he was born then what was it that she was witnessing right now. She must be definitely hallucinating, she thought.

“Mama, see this. Father gave me this to play with..” He flashed the fancy cube in front of her enthusiastically. With a fake smile, she nodded at him. When she was sure his son’s attention was back on to his hands, she narrowed her eyes at Victor in a frenzy of suspicion. He wouldn’t have done it without an ulterior motive behind it. What did he want from her son to have bribed him with a toy when he himself had restricted Miguel from playing with toys?

“Miguel, can you go play in your room?” She asked her son. She was once again shocked to see how Victor carefully placed him down from his lap and let him go after smiling at him sweetly.

She cleared her throat and looked away. The moment Miguel left the room, her eyes charged at Victor. “What the hell are you trying to do?”

“What did I do?” With his hands outstretched in confusion, he looked genuinely oblivious to the reason for her anger 

“What do you want from Miguel?”

“What do you mean, Jazmine?”

“You want him to continue with his shooting lessons, don’t you? Isn’t that why you gave him that freaking toy? So that he will obey you blindly?”

Her accusations shocked him. Was Victor giving shooting lessons to his three-year-old son? Had he lost his f*****g brain to hand a weapon to such a small kid?

“I-I. N-No..” He stammered with the new piece of information.

"Keep your distance from Miguel. I wouldn’t let you turn my son into a person like you. That would be possible only over my dead body..” She spat venom before striding out of the room furiously.

 "What the f**k Victor? What else did you do to them?' Alberto cursed under his breath in disbelief. 

A/N: 

Hey guys! I hope you liked the update. 

Please leave your comments. I haven't been getting your feedback and that really demotivates me. 

So cheer me up, guys!!

SwaRam