Chapter 4 — The Price of Blood
The day was calm in warehouse 47 — calm, at least for those who were already accustomed to screams of pain and the smell of dried blood on the walls.
There, sitting in an old leather chair, Gabino, a young man of 22, watched the scene with empty eyes. His purple skin glistened under the light of the hanging lamps. His purple hair, as well as his intense eyes, contrasted with the dark and dirty environment. He was shirtless, exposing the tribal tattoo on his right arm. He wore only white pants, and in his hand, a silver Glock rested familiarly. A true mafioso, born and shaped by chaos.
Ekila Vanez, heiress of the powerful rival Vanez family, was tied to a chair, bloodied, with her body covered in cuts and bruises. Still, she resisted. Her mouth was torn, but her eyes burned with fury.
Gabino walked over and sat down in front of her, crossing his legs. With a nod, he ordered the surrounding soldiers to continue the torture. They obeyed with cruel pleasure, slowly cutting off the girl's arms as she screamed in agony.
Coldly, Gabino stood up and punched Ekila square in the face, who fell to the side, spitting blood and breaking a tooth on the cement floor.
"I never thought you were important in your family, you know, Ekila?" he said, with a twisted smile. "For a woman who loved cutting off men's dicks as punishment... you seem pretty weak." He raised the Glock, aimed it at her head, and smiled.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you, you fucking purple freak?"
Silence. He slowly lowered the gun.
Ekila spat blood and laughed, albeit weakly.
— My father, Fiumu Vanez, and my mother, Fuikuna Vanez, will want your head if you kill me. I'm worth more alive than dead, you piece of shit. Hahahahah...
Gabino didn't answer. His eyes remained empty, emotionless.
He just gestured.
Two soldiers brought a black wooden box and placed it on the table in front of her. Ekila stopped laughing. Her face paled.
"What is this?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"Your country," Gabino replied, as if reciting the weather.
"You liar!" she shouted. "You're not only a purple freak, you're also weak! You're a piece of trash!"
Without patience, Gabino shoved the Glock in her mouth.
"How about this proof here?"
With his other hand, he took the lid off the box.
Inside... the heads of Fiumu and Fuikuna Vanez, severed and stacked. Their dead eyes still open. The horror there was not just physical. It was psychological.
Ekila screamed, biting the gun, tears mixed with blood. Despair took over.
"Killing women... is sport for me," Gabino said, now in a mournful tone. "Especially women from rival mafias. And you... managed to awaken my wildest side. I never kill family men. But if they get in my way... I will kill them. Without mercy."
Gabino looked at her one last time.
"You brought your family into your feud with me. Here is your punishment."
And he fired.
The sound of the shot echoed like a final sentence. Blood splattered on Gabino's face, who didn't even blink. Ekila died instantly, her head thrown back, the Glock still between her teeth.
"Throw them in the acid," he ordered.
The soldiers obeyed. The body was dragged away, and Gabino lit a cigarette, inhaling slowly as the smell of death permeated the place.
But then, one of the soldiers came running in, panting, his eyes wide.
— Boss! Gabino! We have a big problem!
— Speak. — Gabino said, without taking the cigarette out of his mouth.
— He's back.
— Who?
— The pyromaniac... Brenner Souka. The one wanted for killing his own father. For murdering a teenage girl at school. The same one who burned half of your brother's face... He's back.
Gabino stopped. Silence.
— He burned three of our men today. Without mercy. — said the soldier. — And he left this for you.
The soldier held out a black envelope.
Gabino took it, opened it calmly. Read it.
> "Gabino... your place as leader of the mafia will be mine."
[End of Chapter 4]