"So," her uncle spoke to Aefia. "Are you sure this will go as you had planned? What if they disapprove of our opinion? Worse, now that we don't have half our members, he might want to take advantage of our situation. How are you going to handle that?"
"Wait patiently, there is a high probability that they will be forced to work with us. At least think about Nada's fate without this plan being executed properly, won't you try again?" Aefia answered.
They were both standing in front of Mr. Robert's workplace. It had been two weeks since the office incident, and the one missing member was found hiding in the wreckage a few days later.
The member was living in that area, in fear that Aefia and the others had been arrested or fled due to the police. He stayed there day and night, only coming out to buy food with the little money left in one of the extra vaults. He had also stacked up on information that Mr. Robert's spies had told him before the destruction that day.
Due to this, Aefia got mad and wanted to request an in-depth analysis on that member, but a sudden realization hit, and she retreated. The realization was that he was one of the loyal members of her uncle's company, and it was slightly unlikely that he would do such a thing, but Aefia refused to let her guard down and silently observed him behind everyone's back.
I know it's wrong to stalk someone, but let's say it's for everyone's safety, right?
The Mafia group moved to later started operating in one of their sub-department building. Her uncle had bought a new piece of land a little closer to Aefia's home address and had already started prepping the land for construction. Since it was in the city, he planned to make it seem as if it were just an office.
In between their busy lifestyles, they managed to meet up at a secret location to host meetings every morning, which was also close to Aefia's home. In the morning, right before heading to school, she would attend the meeting for fifteen minutes before walking to the bus stop and waiting for Nada to appear.
I have accumulated over twenty kills that day, and I think I am a bit of a fearful figure to him by now.
Thinking about ways to confront him, she walked with her uncle to the inside of the building. It was mostly glass, with the inside looking like a normal office lobby. It was common to see secret organizations with this common lobby design. To Aefia, it was a bit boring already.
"Lead us to the boss's office, tell him we are his special guests." Her uncle told a servant.
"And the kid is?" The servant asked in return.
"My niece. Any other questions? Otherwise, I have other matters to attend to."
The servant ran to the boss's office and came back panting. "The boss is ready to attend to you. You may enter, but don't bring any weapons inside. Also, he asked if you would want a private meeting?"
"Yes. Make it a private meeting."
"Alright. Please follow me." The servant walked towards the staircase and to the entrance of the boss's room. The door was made of sandalwood and had a great smell coming from it. It was almost as if someone had lit up a fragrant candle from the other side.
On the door were hand-carved details. It represented a forest with animals. Some of them, mostly deer and lions, were drinking water from a running stream, and the other animals, mostly baboons and elephants, were walking around, and the baboons were jumping from tree to tree.
As nice as it smelled, the detailed picture made the door look as if it were taken from a palace and placed there. If she were ever able to visit an alien world, she would expect to see this exact door at the entrance of the houses.
With a knock, the servant went in and called for Aefia and her uncle to enter. Mr. Robert's bodyguards were already dismissed, and he was sitting on the sofa area of the room. In front of him, on a small round coffee table, were all sorts of delicacies that Aefia could eat all day and not get tired of.
"Have a seat. Have you thought about my proposal? Are you ready to merge your company with mine?" Mr. Robert asked.
"Before that, can we ask how you are feeling? How is the stab wound? I am truly sorry for that day, but I am a bit overprotective of my niece since she is just a twelve-year-old kid. Her parents would be very mad if something happened to her." Her uncle spoke.
"Oh, thank you for inquiring about my health, but I am fine. Now back to the question, are you looking forward to merging?" Mr. Robert asked again.
"Before that, don't you think we should discuss getting back our members?"
"So you are here for that? You are sincerely aware of how many high-ranking members you lost due to betrayal. That's why no wonder they were found dead that night. I was thinking if they were targets of another enemy group of yours."
"Well, if you say it like that, they did betray me, so they suffered their punishments. Also, my niece told me that it would be a good option to kill them since there was a high possibility that they work for a bigger, more frightening company. Imagine they told them about us meeting and talking about our business merging, it would have a chance of being sabotaged by their help."
"Just what are you trying to say?"
"Hmm...As a Mafia boss, I don't like repeating the same thing twice. But if you want, I can have Aefia shoot you and then repeat whatever I just said." Aefia got up as her uncle finished speaking.
"No..wait! Hold on. I am ready to hear what you have to say." Mr. Robert held out both of his hands in a surrendering position. "So why exactly are you here?"
"Let's work on a mission together, shall we?" Her uncle started explaining while signalling Aefia to sit down. Aefia acknowledged the sign and sat beside her uncle. She looked at the food items on the table but bit her tongue to resist.
"The mission is to first get back our members. Then, we will track down and hunt the boss of the corrupted political group who has them as hostages. After which, we will take over their group and contribute to society.
"Whatever compensation we get during the mission will be split in a sixty-fourty portion. And the reason is due to the damage you caused to my main building."
"Alright. After doing so, what benefit will you bring to my organization?"
"What sort of benefit do you desire?"
Mr. Robert thought for a while in silence. "I would want one of your members in my organization."
If my uncle has learned from his mistakes, he won't go for the option since it would only lead him to lose a very powerful member. Sometimes, it could be possible that he will use that member against my uncle's company. How do you want to reply, uncle?
"Who do you want exactly?"
No! You did the thing I feared you would do. Do you not learn from your mistakes? I feel like belonging to a world full of dumb people when this happens. Why is it so hard for people to understand me?!
"I want her to be part of my organization." Mr. Robert pointed at Aefia. "Don't worry, her position as a spy will stay as it is. With her in my company, we will be able to turn into a detective agency."
"Sir, I think you missed some points. To enslave me is to destroy my rights of freedom, and as a child, I won't stop fighting against it. If you choose to do that, I may as well kill you." Aefia spoke out. So this is what my uncle was probably thinking I would do. That's why he said that.
"Alright. Alright. I was only joking. I don't want to be in any sort of alliance with a group of the Mafia. They are criminals after all." Mr. Robert laughed.
"Sorry, sir, but I don't seem to find it funny anymore." Aefia pulled out her pistol.
"Alright. I will do whatever you ask for. When does the mission start then?"
"It will take some time." Her uncle replied. "We need to gather more tropes first. Maybe we both can raid more offices and form a small group of bosses who can help destroy the corrupted political group?"
"What do you mean? Sometimes Mr. Robert scratched his head roughly.
"Until Nada is of an age to marry. You probably heard of her nd you are probably aware that you will have to pay a huge price to her family, right?" Aefia spoke up.
"Yes. Her mother and father said that if we wanted her to get married to our son, we would have to pay them money worth as much as buying a penthouse in Burj Khalifa."
That much! Just how greedy is my entire family bloodline?! At this point, I don't think you can please them with a hundred million dollars or so!
"So you are really willing to pay that much?" Her uncle replied.
"We have no choice. They are forcing us. They didn't let us see the soon-to-be bride, nor did they tell us much about her educational status. They didn't even think about seeing or asking about our son in the first place!" Mr. Robert explained.
"Mr. Robert, I think it's time you find out our cursed family bloodline works." Aefia held out a hand to pause Mr. Robert midway in his explanation. "For starters, Nada is my uncle's daughter, and in fear of her finding out about her father being the boss of a Mafia, she was sent to be raised by her aunt."
Aefia spoke about the scheme they wanted to play with Nada and explained in detail why they really came to visit.
"I see. Is that why you all came to ally with me? To stop your precious Nada from being sold off to an enemy?" Mr. Robert asked while looking at her uncle.
"As a father, you would have done the same, would you not? I care for her future regardless of how far away my occupation sends me. I don't think any child should suffer the childhood we set up for them due to our greed." Her uncle explained.
Aefia didn't speak or intervene. She sat there as still as a statue with a dark face. Suddenly, she realized there were pleasantries in front of her and picked up a tart.
"That's a strawberry tart. It's handmade by our chef. He went into a LegendChef competition to win a medal for this tart, and I can tell you he came back with the thing he desired." Mr. Robert noticed.
Aefia bit down on the strawberry tart and couldn't help but look at the other desserts set out in front of her. "Are these also made by him?" She asked.
"Yes! Try it out. Give me a review, and I will pass it down to the chef who made them. He really enjoys taking feedback from others." Mr. Robert smiled. "While you enjoy your desserts, why not hear about your journey as a spy? I am interested in how you are such an expert in this gig at this young age. My son is twenty, and he still doesn't know how to hold a gun!"
Her uncle started speaking, Why not discuss it another day? We need to head back. Her mom wants her home by three in the afternoon sharp. She has to attend a wedding ceremony. Her eldest cousin is getting married."
"Speaking of which," Aefia interrupted. "You know I hate any gathering that involves meeting my toxic relatives. Yesterday was already the tumeric application event, which was intense enough. Today, the only enjoyable thing would be the food."
Both Mr. Robert and her uncle laughed. "But to eat the food, you need to attend the event." Mr. Robert said. "Don't worry, I will be attending it too. I got invited via one of your aunts."
My aunts know this guy?!
Without further wait, she got up and dusted off the crumbs from her navy-blue flock. "Then we will meet again, Mr. Robert." Saying that, she left. But when she did, she turned around to notice her uncle was still inside.
I wonder what last words they are sharing. But I am in no mood for eavesdropping.
***
"As a close friend, I would like to take your opinion on one of my decisions." Her uncle told Mr. Robert.
"Go ahead. But be fast since your niece is outside."
"What if I promoted Aefia's position? She is smart, and she is the reason why the company is still not fully collapsing."
"I think it would be a great idea. What position would that be?"
"Let's say..." Her uncle told Mr. Robert the position's name.
"That's going to be the best decision you'll ever make since your years in the military." Mr. Robert gave feedback.
Her uncle smiled.