The Investigation...

**…and the real boss.**

SOME DAYS BEFORE:

6:00 PM - Palermo, Italy

It is no exaggeration to say that everyone hid in stores and locked themselves inside their house when they heard the noise of that motorcycle. Where in the world do citizens know the sound of a particular vehicle? The people in that alleyway in downtown Palermo certainly did. They all shivered just hearing him arrive. They panicked at the view of the six-foot-tall man getting out of his black Ducati. That motorcycle could buy the bills of every stallholder on that street for 10 years. But for some reason, a sunflower pendant caught his eye's attention.

"S-Signore Blaze?" said the grandma behind the stall.

"I want that," said Thiago Blaze. Half of his face was hidden by a black mask.

The grandma wondered if that was why people in Palermo called him the Lupo, a breed that is half wolf and half dog. People of the small town in southern Italy saw him as a predator.

"Sorry, b-but this is a special order for a wedding t-today."

Thiago Blaze took the gun out of his suit. Without taking his eyes off the sunflower pendant, he pointed at the old woman.

Grandma whimpered.

"I can make you another one... I can... Please don't kill me."

Thiago Blaze pointed the gun at the sunflower pendant.

"That," he said, empty.

The grandma gave the pendant to him for free. She was new to that part of town. She didn't know that Thiago Blaze always gets what he wants.

Always.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

01:00 AM — Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy

Sunny Hirsch passed with her backpack and sunglasses at the biggest and main airport in Milan. She had bought a ticket to Los Angeles online. She hoped she'd been quick enough that no one would recognize or track her.

Sunny Hirsch followed the signs to Terminal 1, where most airlines departed. She checked in at one of the automated totems and checked in her suitcase. She made it through security without a hitch and headed to the departure area. She looked at the electronic board and saw that her flight was scheduled to leave in 1 hour. Sunny started to feel more relaxed.

*Almost there. I'm almost there*, she thought.

Once she got to Los Angeles, none of the Blazes could find her. She was going to disappear from the map. Hide in some remote place. It was definitely better than becoming a slave.

Sunny Hirsch walked nervously to the information desk. There she saw two men dressed in Italian police uniforms. The two policemen had steady steps and watchful eyes. They were very different from each other, but both drew attention to their beauty. The taller one had wavy brown hair that fell over his forehead, piercing green eyes, and full lips. A typical model. The shorter one was blond with blue eyes, an angular face, and a serious expression. They wore well-fitting uniforms that enhanced their athletic bodies.

Sunny Hirsch felt her mouth drop open.

Damn it.

Even the police officers in Italy are hot.

"Sunny Hirsch?" asked one of them, with a thick Italian accent.

"Yes, that's me," Sunny Hirsch replied, trying to sound calm.

"We need to talk to you," said the other man, taking his arm.

"What is happening?" Sunny Hirsch asked this time, unable to hide her fear.

"You are being accused of fraud and forgery of documents," said a police officer.

"What? That's a mistake! I didn't do any of that!" protested Sunny Hirsch. "I am innocent."

"Of course you are," said the brunette policeman sarcastically.

"You will have to accompany us to an interrogation room," said the second officer. The blond.

"But I have a flight! I can't miss my flight!" said Sunny Hirsch desperately. "Please let me go!"

"I'm really sorry, but you're going to have to come with us," said the dark-haired policeman, pulling her by the arm. "Don't resist."

The hot cops led her down the aisle, ignoring the curious stares from the other passengers. They entered a door with a "Restricted" sign and descended a staircase to a basement level. There they went through another door with an "Interrogation" sign and into a small, dark room.

In the room, there was a table, two chairs, a mirror on the wall, and a camera on the ceiling. They made Sunny Hirsch sit in one of the chairs and sat in the other. Her hands were quickly cuffed and placed on the table.

"Please, let me go, sir. I'm innocent!"

"What's your real name?" asked the dark-haired policeman.

“M-My name is Sunshine Hirsch, sir,” she replied.

“Is that the name on your passport?” asked the other cop, the hot blond one.

“Y-Y-Yes” stammered Sunny Hirsch. She took a deep, steadying breath and added aloud, "Yes, sir."

“And where were you born?” asked the policeman.

“I was born in Berkley. It's in California, sir,” she replied.

“And what is your profession?”

“I'm… a maid” lied Sunny Hirsch.

“Maid, huh? And who do you work for?”

Sunny Hirsch bit her lip. Apparently, she would never escape Italy.

“Miss Hirsch, I asked you a question. Who is your boss?” asked the hot black-haired cop.

Sunny Hirsch didn't answer.

The cops looked at each other suspiciously.

“We know you're lying, Miss Hirsch,” said the hot blonde.

“We know you're a spy,” said the first cop, the dark-haired guy.

"What?! Me? Spy? I'm not anyone's spy, sir. I'm just trying to get back home!"

"We know you stole your boss's secret files."

“What files?” Sunny Hirsch asked in a panic. “What are you talking about, sir?”

“We know that you are trying to escape to the United States with these files,” said the first policeman, showing a black pen drive.

Sunny Hirsch felt her eyes almost pop out of her face when she saw the pen drive. It was the first time she had seen that. It wasn't even one of the cute ones, to be honest. No Pikachu or Darth Vader draws. Just a black and boring pen drive.

Sunny Hirsch emphatically denied it.

“Sir, I'm from Gen-Z. I don't even use a pen drive, I use Google Drive. For God's sake. Who uses a pen drive these days? I don't even remember the last time I tried to turn on a computer. I haven't heard *ta-da* from Windows or *boing-boing* from MAC in years. I do everything from my cell phone.”

"We know who your real boss is," said the hot blond cop, interrupting Sunny Hirsch's nervous chatter.

Sunny felt herself go pale. She realized she was cornered. She had fallen into a trap. She was in her enemy's hands and now she was going to become a slave to the Blaze clan forever.

"Who is he?" asked Sunny Hirsch, trembling. “Who is my real boss?”

At that moment, the light behind the mirror came on. Sunny Hirsch could finally see the face of the one who had been watching her all this time. The face of whoever had stopped her from coming back home.

“Hello, Sunshine,” said the boss.

Enzo Blaze.