Snippet #2448135

As the hours passed by, the sound of the heavy rain hitting against the worn down buildings grew louder like the war drums. The strong scent of damped and muddy pavement mixed in with the chilly air of the night. Aineus and his group had scouted the area and had concealed themselves perfectly within nearby buildings and alleys as they prepared for their mission. Their objective was to eliminate the traitors under a pretense of negotiating a transaction for the recently developed weapons in the black market from a small local gang. As a Capo, the head of his group, he was responsible to be present and to make sure that the plan went smoothly. Aineus waited patiently in the black Porsche Panamera Turbo with a couple of his men as he smoked his favorite brand of cigar, Cohiba. Either it was because of the rain, which reminded him of bad memories, or the mission itself, Aineus was especially tense, although he was trying to hide it.

"Remain at your posts. Remember, DON'T fire the first shot. We want to have a legitimate reason for this," Aineus called out to his men through the transmitter attached on his left ear.

As the rain subsided, a couple of black cars arrived on the scene, and all the men from the other cars stepped out and quickly aligned themselves into two single file lines, awaiting for the driver from the middle black car to stepped out. As the driver opened the back car door, an old man, in his mid-50’s with a robust build, stepped out with an authoritative air. Aineus and the men in the car stepped out as he extinguished the cigar on the ground. Then, both leaders approached closer in silence, but one could feel the heavy dangerous atmosphere surrounding them like a violent storm. The old man, the boss of the small local gang, slowly took out a cigar from his jacket's pocket as one of his man lit it up. Within those moments, Aineus could feel his anger slowly boiling as he observed, in his casual calm composure, the arrogant old man taking his time enjoying smoking his cigar without even acknowledging Aineus who is a representative from a much larger and powerful gang.

"Mr. Boaz, we both are very busy men, so let's stop this childish game and let's hurry along with the business for tonight," Aineus spoke up with an authoritative, but respectful tone.

Mr. Boaz heaved a sigh and lazily diverted his eyes toward Aineus as he carefully dissecting him with his judgment.
"Shouldn't yah boss feel ashamed for sending a mere rookie to negotiate with his long-term partnah?"
"Our boss sends his apology for tonight as he has an important meeting to attend. However, he wishes for this transaction to go smoothly, and he will contact you when he's done with his business."
"Well then, why don't we git started with our business...?"

As Aineus and Mr. Boaz simultaneously pulled out their guns, the remaining soldiers* from both gangs quickly drew their weapons and prepared for attack.

"Yah'll regret going through with this, kid."
"Why don't you take your own advice, Mr. Boaz?"

As soon as Aineus finished, a shot violently rang from nowhere, and a painful cry soon followed as one of Mr. Boaz's soldiers fell to the ground. Aineus, bewildered from the event, instinctively spun toward the direction of the shooter, and it turned out to be one of his men. Without any time to explain, it was too late to stop the prevailing storm of animosity as both sides started shooting at their enemies. Bodies after bodies continue to drop like the rain which quickly followed afterward. But now, the damped air was wrapped with the stench of blood. As Mr. Boaz called for more back-ups, Aineus and his gang realized that they were outnumbered. Nevertheless, they continued to fight; not because it was their mission, but it was to avenge their fallen comrades. After several hours of fighting, the battle ended with the majority of Aienus's group killed. Barely surviving from all his wounds, one of Mr. Boaz's soldiers violently dragged Aineus' tattered body and tossed him down in front of Mr. Boaz.

As Mr. Boaz watched Aineus' suffering, he shook his head in pity, "Tsk tsk. Youths these days. Having no respect and such short tempah. Just because yah become a Capo, yah think yah all that. Yah know, maybe if yah be a bit more obedient, yah wouldn't get betrayed by othah membah in yah boss' gang hah?"

As Mr. Boaz burst into maniacal laughter, the ringing in Aineus grew louder. Laying there in the cold muddy puddle, he felt hot despite the fact that he was bleeding profusely and his breathing became quick and shallow. His comrades, the only real family he’d ever had, are dead – because he wasn’t strong enough to lead and protect them.

“Now… what shall we do with you –”

----------
Aineus’ eyes frantically shoot opened and he finds himself breaking in sweats. His lungs are gasping for air as he continues to breathe rapidly just like in his dream. Half daze, it takes him a short moment to recognize where he is – floating inside a clear, liquid-filled, cylinder container within the testing room of the lab. An oxygen mask is strapped on his face to transfer the oxygen to him as the scientists carry out their experiment. Aineus slowly tries to move his fingers, but there is no strength left in him. As he calms down, he tries to recollect the memories of before he wakes up in this room. It seems like one of the guards has knocked him out when he has refused to go before they drug him so he couldn’t fight.

“His condition has been stabilized, Doctor,” a short, slender female assistant in a white lab coat reports.
“Excellent. Take him out.”

In a few minutes, the liquid in the container quickly drains down, allowing Aineus to collapse onto the bottom of the container. With no strength to hold himself up, Aineus bitterly allows himself to be manhandled and dress by the guard who later tosses him back to his cell.

“Urgh – what a pain,” Aineus thought as he lies lifelessly on his bed, “it’s going to take a while for the drugs to wear off.”

It has been a week since he is transported here by the Government. Apparently after the bloody fight with Mr. Boaz’s gang, Mr. Boaz decides to “volunteer” Aineus to be a test subject for the Government’s project. “Be useful to the society” is what Mr. Boaz said jokingly before he left laughing.

“That bastard will pay when I get out of here,” Aineus mumbles angrily, fully aware of another presence mocking him from the other side of his cell.


*Soldiers: in the context of Mafia, soldiers belong to the first rank in the mafia hierarchy. In other word, they are underlings.