This Thing of Ours

Chapter 2

3 days ago

Siena DiSuzzi walked into the wide room quietly. She saw the man her men had only recently caught acting as a spy against their family.

She sighed deeply. There was always the threat of that- soldiers being bought to the side of their enemies just to find out information to pull their family down; men who were inducted into the family not knowing they were spies. She was underboss to ensure this nonsense was curbed.

A family such as the DiSuzzi family needed this kind of cleansing to ensure that the legacy lived; her father's legacy.

She still remembered that day, when the armed men had come into their house and shot her father.

She was only eleven years old then. She had cried that day, but she had also shot the attacker. She would never forget that day- she had seen her father's body lying limp on the floor and the assassin had come in then, surprised that she was also in the house.

Siena had grabbed the discarded gun on the ground and fired a shot at the man's thigh which incapacitated him for a while.

Later on, her uncle had had the men beat the truth from the man and they found out that the man who had sent him to kill her father had been Alessio DiAmbrossi- all the way from Italy.

Now, her uncle was Boss- the don-of the family and she was underboss.

She was too young to have understood the politics of the mafia then or why an enemy from Italy would have ordered her father's death. But she had her own opinions.

Now, Siena breathed, removing the thoughts from her head. She had business to attend to.

At twenty-four, she had come a long way in the underworld than most women her age could have- and she was able to do that because of her perseverance, grits and guts and affiliation with one of the biggest families. And yes, her stubbornness which was legendary.

She had persevered those long years, waiting. Waiting as she proved herself. Waiting as she rose through the ranks. She was going to ascend her father's throne, she reminded herself everyday. She was underboss now. She would be Boss when the time came.

She now strolled to stand before the tied man. She looked utterly forbidding in dark pants and a dark hoodie. It's hood was drawn over her brown hair. Her soft brown eyes burned with concealed fire.

"Who sent you?" She asked the man- who was kept in check by ropes as well as her men-calmly.

The man was beaten-obvious from the swells on his face-and yet he was not broken, Siena noticed. He had short close-cropped hair and the wildest of looks. This was one of the stubborn ones, Siena thought to herself. One thing about being stubborn: she did not like others serving her a dose of it. It annoyed her.

Since the man did not reply, Siena asked again, almost quietly. "Who sent you? I don't want to have to ask you again."

Still the man did not reply.

One of Siena's men levelled the man's face with a punch.

"She asked you a question!"The underboss's man told the captive.

The captive whose face was mercilessly punched gave a sardonic laugh through the pain.

"I assume this is how unresponsive he has been?"Siena said turning to the guards.

They nodded reverently.

"If it isn't daddy's little girl," the spy spat through the blood that framed his mouth. "You're here to oversee daddy's business, aren't you? Where is the real Boss of the great DiSuzzi family? Certainly, it isn't goth barbie here? I would not answer to even the boss himself. Who do you think you are, woman, to make me talk?"

Siena looked at him a moment as another punch jarred him from his speech. The guard on his right had responded for Siena with the blow to the his face.

Siena's face was straight.

"That's it, girlie, isn't it?" The spy asked."Let daddy's goons do your dirty job for you. Wimp." The laugh came cracked and forced now.

The guards must have thought that the man was masochist- one who lived to suffer, a glutton for punishment- if not, he wouldn't have dared their underboss.

One of the guards was going to kick the man but Siena raised a hand to stop him.

She stretched her arms behind her to remove her hood and then tie her hair in a bun.

"We all know that the Lion is the king of the jungle, " she said crisply, loudly. "But the lioness is the one that does all the work. She kills most of the meat."And then she moved towards the man. "A strategic move. It's very simple. The Lion is too easy to spot. And the survival of the pride depends on him. At all costs he should be protected. It's like chess. The king's movement is limited for his protection. It is the queen that is given all the moves...in order to protect him. Do you play chess?"

The man looked at her in confusion and yet annoyance burned from his gaze.

"Tell you what, I'll let you go," Siena said. She took a gun from one of her men and threw it to a lit corner. "Get the gun amd shoot me before I reach it. If you can, I will let you go. If you don't, you had better started telling me what I need to know because my anger burns on a short fuse. Deal?"

The man looked doubtful as he spat some more blood. "Are you making a joke?"

"Is your pain and suffering a joke? You called me a wimp. Shouldn't you jump on this opportunity?"

"Sure," the man said. "Sure."

"In fact, because I am in a good mood, I will give you a five-second headstart." Siena turned to her men." Loose him up and stand back."

Siena's men let the man loose and they backed into the shadows of the room. Siena then stood in front of her captive who eyed the gun in the corner.

"Grab the gun," Siena told him. "One...Two.."

The spy quickly began to run to the corner to get the gun.

"Three...Four..Five."

The man had grabbed the gun and he lifted it to shoot at Siena but she was gone. She had moved so quickly, it came as a shock when she produced a fist and reset his face. The gun shot into the air as the man tried to retaliate, preparing his right fist for a punch. Siena evaded his punch easily. As the punch struck air, she lifted her self from the floor and struck him with a kick.The gun flew from his hand.

Siena watched the gun for two seconds; watching to see if the man would pick it up, prolong the fight. But no, he lay there groaning.

Siena picked the gun."Who sent you?" She asked loudly now, the physical exertion making her blood warm, feeding her temper.

"I am not telling you any-"

A shot rang out in the hall.

The spy held his right arm where Siena had shot him.

"Who sent you?" Siena asked again."I'm afraid you do not have so many limbs left."

The man groaned and then screamed:"b***h!"

Another shot rang out as Siena caressed her gun to the sound of the screams of the spy.

"Is the name of the person who sent you worth all this pain?" Siena asked."Is it? Because I am still interested in your other limbs."

"Arrrgggh!" The man's eyes reddened with pain watching where the bullet tore through his left leg.

Siena levelled the gun at the man again, aiming for his other leg. And then she shot.

"Arrrgggh! It was Nicolo! Nicolo sent me!"The spy screamed, realizing now that only his right arm was without a bullet."Nicolo sent me. He's been wanting to bring you DiSuzzis down. Don't shoot anymore."

Siena smiled then. Slightly." Was that so hard?"

Turning to her men, she said," He's almost unconscious, get him medical attention. Get the bullets out of him. I think he will be more cooperative from here on out."

The men nodded.

Siena's phone rang at that time. She briefly glanced at the caller ID and then picked up.

Her date was on the phone. She had only started going out with him a few months ago and he was a break from the usual men she met in the mafia world. And he was nothing near mafia. He was corporate elite, but otherwise innocent crime-wise. It was one of the things Siena considered in the relationship. She wanted different, but only for the thrill of pretending to live like normal people did.

She never told him who she was even then.

"Hello Dale," Siena said. Her voice was oddly calm for someone who had just done what she had now. Her hair was undone and spread over the side of her neck, fuzzy from movement. Perspiration glistened on her skin and her eyes were darker, sharper.

"I wanted to remind you of our date, " Dale said on the phone."Should I pick you up?"

"No. I'll drive. I'll see you in a few hours."

Siena got off the call.

"Get me on a call with Nicolo," she told the guard nearest to her. "It seems we need to remind him why our enemies do not cross us."

The guard nodded and disappeared.

"Take him away already," Siena said motioning to the half-concious man on the floor." I have a date to attend but I will be back to speak to him when he is more...coherent."

"Would you need security?" The Don's right-hand man asked her. He had stood to the side, reverently watching the underboss of the DiSuzzi family surprise unperceptive men like she had always done.

"No," Siena answered. "I'll drive myself."

No use appearing at her date with a troop of men on suit like the mafia underboss she was.