THE MAFIA DON AND HIS NUN

(AT ALFRED’S MANSION) (1:09am)

Alfred laid bare chested on the bed with Theresa beside him. She was resting her head on his chest.

Alfred was stroking her hair gently while Theresa drew imaginary circles on his chest with her finger.

The light in the room was a bit dim but they could still see each other’s faces. The double split air-conditioner kept the room very cool.

“Theresa,” Alfred called.

“Yes, my Lord?” Theresa answered.

“How did you find our location when we went to get my shipment from Jeff and Rodrigo?” Alfred asked.

“I asked from one of the computers operators in the computer lab.” Rita replied.

Alfred chuckled lightly, “You sure you asked or you threatened?”

“Both,” Rita replied with a smile.

“I would dead by now if you didn’t take that shot for me,” Alfred said, “I owe you big time, Theresa.”

Theresa said nothing in response, instead she kept drawing imaginary circles on Alfred’s chest.

The room fell into to a brief silence

“My Lord,” Theresa called without raising her head up from his chest.

“Yes?” Alfred answered.

“When that doctor came to call you earlier,” Theresa paused to look at Alfred’s face, “He had a serious look on his face and he said he wanted to tell you something important.”

“You mean Antonio?” Alfred asked, even though he knew who Theresa was referring to.

“Yeah, him,” Theresa nodded, “I know whatever he told you was related to me and I wanna you to truthfully me what he told you.”

Alfred had been expecting that question from her but he didn’t know the answer he was gonna give her.

He couldn’t tell her that she was poisoned and she was gonna die within twenty-four hours. He wanted to keep it a secret from her till he finds the antidote for the poison.

But now that she asked him that question, he had no other choice than to tell her the truth.

Alfred let out a soft sigh, then he sat upright. Theresa also sat upright and she stared at his face, waiting for him to talk.

“When you took that shot for me, the bullet you were shot with,” Alfred paused.

“Yeah?” Theresa urged for him to continued.

“The bullet was poisoned.” Alfred

“Is that all?” Theresa asked.

“The poison will spread throughout your body within twenty-four hours and it will kill you if we don’t get the antidote.”

“I’m not gonna die,” Theresa said with a reassuring smile, “We are gonna get the antidote before twenty-four hours.”

“You are not coming with us.” Alfred said and a slight frown formed on Theresa’s face.

“Why?” Theresa asked with raised brows.

“Because it’s dangerous and I can’t out your life at risk.” Alfred replied.

“My life is at risk already,” Theresa retorted, “The poison in my body system is like a time bomb. It will eexplodewithin seventy hours. So tell me, what’s more riskier than that.”

Alfred remained quiet. Theresa had a point

“And moreover,” Theresa continued, “I’m still gonna if we don’t get the antidote. I’ll rather die trying to get the antidote than the poison killing me.”

The room fell silent and the both of them stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Seeing the determination and seriousness on Theresa’s face, Alfred had no other choice than to accept.

“Alright then, you’re coming with us,” Alfred said and Theresa’s lips curved into a smile, “But you’ll be by my side throughout the mission.” He added.

“Alright, my Lord.” Theresa replied with a smile, “Where are going?”

“Japan, Tokyo.” Alfred replied.

“And when are we leaving?” Theresa inquired.

“We’ll be leaving in five hours time.” Alfred replied.

“Okay, I c….

Theresa suddenly coughed out blood from her mouth.

“Jezz!” Alfred exclaimed andbhe quickly gas her an handkerchief, “Are you alright, Theresa?” Alfred asked, worriedly.

“Yes, I’m fine, my Lord,” Theresa replied, wiping the blood off her lips.

“Let me give Antonio a call.” Alfred said, then he picked up his phone which was on the bedstand table and he placed a call across to Antonio.

“What’s up, boss?” Antonio asked immediately he answered the answerd the call.

“I need you to come over right now.” Alfred said.

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Antonio replied.

“I give five minutes to get your fucking ass over here!” Alfred half-yelled, then he hung up.

“I am totally fine, my lord,” Theresa said with a smile, “You don’t have to be worried about me.”

“Antonio will soon be here, lay on the bed till he gets here.”

“Okay,” Theresa replied, then she laid on the bed.

Just then, they a heard a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Alfred replied.

The door opened and Antonio stepped in with his forehead covered in sweats.

The buttons of his shirt were fixed in the wrong holes and his hair was rough and unkept.

He looked like someone who just woke up from sleep. In his left hand was a briefcase.

“Why did you call me over?” He asked tiredly, stepping further into the room.

“Theresa coughed out blood some minutes ago,” Alfred said.

“It’s the effect of the poison.” Antonio replied, “it’s killing her slowly.”

“Fuck!” Alfred cursed, ruffling his hair. He picked up his phone and placed a call across to Caesar. Caesar picked the call on the third ring.

“Good morning, boss.” Caesar greeted.

“Gather the top members,” Alfred said, “We are leaving for Tokyo right now.”

“Alright boss.” Caesar replied, then Alfred hung up.

“Take,” Antonio said, stretching a wristwatch to Theresa, “Wear it around your wrist.”

“What does it do?” Theresa asked as she wore the wristwatch around her wrist.

“The rate of your heartbeat makes determines the effect of the speed at which the poison spreads throughout your body,” Antonio said, “If your heart is beating faster than normal, the poison will spread faster and you may even die before twenty four hours.”

“So, what’s the usefulness of this wristwatch?” Theresa asked.

“It counts down the time the poison will take to spread throughout your body. If the time counts down fast, that means your heart is beating faster than normal and the poison is spreading faster.”

“What you’re trying to say in essence is that this wristwatch monitors thr rate at which my heart beats and it also counts down the time I have left before the poison spreads throughout my body, right?” Theresa inquired.

“Yeah,” Antonio nodded, “The reason why you coughed out blood earlier is because your heart was beating faster than normal, making the poison spread to other parts of your body system,” Antonio paused, then he averted his gaze to Alfred, “Were the both of you engaged in an argument before she coughed out blood?”

“It was not really an argument.” Alfred replied, then AAntonio gazed back at Theresa.

“Try to desist from anything that might increase the rate of your heartbeat.” He said.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Okay.” Theresa nodded.

“Anything else?” Antonio asked Alfred.

“No, you’re free to leave.” Alfred replied.

“Time to go continue my peaceful sleep.” Antonio said, then he left the room.

Alfred walked to the window and he stood by it, staring outside.

‘What if Theresa never took that shot for me? I would be in the position that she is right now’ Alfred thought, gazing at the dark sky.

Theresa noticed Alfred’s mood. She climbed out of the king-sized bed, and she closer to him, hugging him from behind.

“I know you are having a second thought,” Theresa said, “You want me to sit this mission out. But I promise you, my Lord, I won’t get harmed during this mission.”

Alfred turned to face her and he cupped her cheeks with his palms.

“Make sure you fulfil your promise.” Alfred said.

“Alright, my Lord.” Theresa replied and Alfred placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Let’s go prepare,” Theresa said, “We’ve got a mission ahead of us.”

★

★

Alfred owned a Lear jet he named Theresa. He named the jet after his childhood lover. The jet was a beauty just like all Lear jets should be.

The jet had a golden eagle logo on it. The luxury and comfort of the jet was top notch.

The sky was still dark and studded with bright stars, and the moon also shone up ahead.

Theresa came along with Alfred, so did Jeff, Matilda, Douglas, Caesar, Stacy, Viper, Octavius and his twin brother, Xavier.

The rest of his men were to stay behind at Los Angeles and keep warch over the Empire and the Gilberto’s businesses.

Alfred poured a glassful of red wine in two glass cups before him, and he handed one over to Theresa and leaned back on his seat. Theresa was seated beside him.

Jeff sat opposite them with Caesar sitting beside him.

“Alright Jeff,” Alfred said, “Tell us what you know about Shikita.”

Jeff began. “Like I mentioned earlier, Shikita is one of Dante’s front men. She specialises in poison. She is also an assassin and a cold-blooded killer who sometimes kills for fun.”

Alfred exchanged looks with Caesar.

Jeff went on. “When Rodrigo and I left the Gilberto family years ago, we raomed the streets of Los Angeles in search of shelter and money. And one day, we ran into Shikita. We met her killing a group of men. She also wanted to kill us, but we begged her to spare our lives. We told her we needed a job that could earn us a living, so she hired us and ever since then, we done several assignments for her and she trusts me a l..

“Enough with the cock and bull story,” Alfred cut him off, “What else do you know about her?”

“There’s nothing much to be known abiut Shikita but here’s all I know about her,” Jeff said, “She is single, bisexual but she loves doing more with women than men, she is single, she travels around the globe and she always wears a mask.

Alfred lit up his cigarette and he drew in hard.

“Shikita is at Tokyo for the weekends but weekdays, she’s wherever Dante wants her to be. Dante has branches everywhere in the globe. He doesn’t have a permanent place and that’s why Shikita is always taking plane flights. Dante has a watertight and frequent communication with his three front men, especially Shikita. They are very organized and you’d never to when or where to strike them.”

Caesar took notes while Alfred kept smoking. The others remained quiet on their seats, paying close attention to the information Jeff was spilling.

“Anything else we need to know about her?” Alfred asked.

“Shikita has a nickname; the White Cobra, because poisons made by her are as dangerous as a cobra’s venom. She also has spies everywhere. Her spies are good at blending with their environment. You would never know even if one of her spies was sitting beside you.” Jeff replied with a broad smirk as he glanced at Theresa.

“Do you know anything about Dante’s other front men?”Alfred asked.

“Not much,” Jeff replied, “Like i said earlier, Dante has three front men of which Shikita is one if them. I don’t know the names of the other two but one is a man and the other is a woman. They also wear masks like Shikita.”

“Listen up everyone,” Alfred said, “Our mission in Tokyo is to capture Shikita alive. I’ll brief you all about the plan when we land in Tokyo. But for now, you all should get some sleep.”