LXI *NOT EDITED*
Vincenzo
"Ace man you need to eat something" Iggy sighs, I look up from my desk to him, concern was written across his face "I'm not hungry" I mumble in reply before staring back down at the desk, the same desk I've stared out for the past 4 days. My eyes wander to the photo of Karma I have as my background on my phone, I'd give anything to hear her voice one more time, to know she's okay and safe, to know I'll have her home soon. Lukas bursts through the office door with his laptop, he closes the door behind him and places the laptop down in front of me in a hurry "I've found this so far, the leader of the german mafia as multiple identities that's why he's hard to track down, he goes by Herman, David, Jacob and Henry. Henry is his real name, he uses his aliases to get into countries he's been banned from. He only owns a small per cent of the country he resides in so I suggest looking at that part first before the rest of Germany" He quickly spits out somewhat out of breath, I nod my head "Good job Lukas, keep looking around and try and find anything that could possibly lead us to where he lives, I'm guessing that's where she is" He nods his head yes while picking up his laptop and leaving to go back to his room.
Someone else knocks on the office door so Iggy stands up to open it, Nonna shuffles in with a plate full of food like she has every day since Karma went missing "Eat child, you'll get nowhere on an empty stomach" She hums placing it down in front of me "My stomachs not empty" I reply pushing the plate of food away from me, "Alcohol doesn't count" Iggy chuckles earning a death stare from me in return.
"First of all, stop drinking yourself to death" She begins, snatching the bottle of whiskey off of the desk "Secondly if you don't eat it I'll force-feed it to you, now are you going to be a big boy and feed yourself or should I go get a high chair and a bib?" She questions raising an eyebrow and placing her hands on her hip, I pick up the fork and scoop up some food shoving it in my mouth before giving her a half-assed smile. She smiles back at me sweetly "Thank you, Vincenzo, I promise things will work out in the end" Her voice cracking at the end of the sentence, "I know Nonna, thank you".
I watch as she leaves before having another mouthful of food, the office door swings open again shits like a revolving door. This time it's Arabella, I push my chair back and stare at her, her eyes are red and puffy, snot and tears running down her face too, "She told me she wasn't going to leave again, not without me" She cries before throwing herself into my arms, sobs wrack her fragile body and I can feel my heart breaking all over again. I try my hardest to hold my tears back but it's no use, they freely fall down my face landing on Arabella "She didn't do it on purpose princess, someone mean took her" Is all I can reply and I hope that's enough for some type of comfort for her.
"I miss her Vin, I want her back home, I want us to be a happy family again", I look to Iggy whose upper lip is trembling, out of everyone besides me and Hades he's taken it the hardest after all she's basically his sister, he's lost one and can't afford to lose another, who would have known that a tiny fierce woman would have made either of us cry like little babies "I know princess, I miss her too. She will come back home, I'll make sure she does".
Arabella nods her head before turning around and leaving the office, "You gonna finish that food?" Iggy asks obviously trying to change the subject. I shake my head no and push the plate towards him, man tends to eat his feelings. He digs in and I go back to thinking, thinking of where she is, how she is, if she's even still alive, the thought of her death brings a pain I've never experienced, It's stronger and more hurtful than anything I've ever experienced in my life. "I think I'll have to call Tommy in again, he's found her once he can do it again" I sigh reaching for my phone, Iggy stops mid-chew "Are you sure that's the best plan you can come up with?" He asks with a mouth full of food, "He's a bounty hunter, it's his job to track people down".
"VINCENZO!!!!!!!!" My mother screams from downstairs "Jesus Christ what now?" I mutter more to myself "VIN!" She screams again her voice getting closer by the second "VINCENZO!". She runs through the door and almost trips over the rug while holding her phone in her hand.
"She's alive!" She whisper yells making sure that no one else can hear besides us, for the first time in days I feel something over than heartbreak and despair "How do you know?" I ask watching as she hands me the phone in her hand with a large smile on her face. She grabs Iggy's ear and stands him up before dragging him out of the office and closing the door behind them. "Hello?" I speak into the phone, a woman's voice replies but it's not Karma which causes my stomach to drop a little, "Hello, you don't know me but I went to St. Judes with your mother, and Karma actually. My husband is a doctor who's currently working for Henry and Karma's mother, they have her in Germany" The woman quickly spits out, I want to believe her so badly but I can't bring myself to, "I don't trust anyone from that country, especially people claiming to know her or where she is. When you have solid evidence call me back" I reply.
I go to hang up but another voice stops me in my tracks, it's Karmas, a voice recording. I listen intensely to the message, it's defiantly her, and she sounds okay besides a croaky voice, what frightens me is the fighting she mentioned, if it's anything like the underground fights I've been to it's not going to be good.
The recording stops and I ask the woman to send it to me before giving her my number, "She told my husband that if she didn't receive a reply within 24 hours she was going to try and kill everything and everyone in the building she's at, but I fear that she won't make it out alive, can you please send me a voice memo back so my husband can pass it on to her? He also told me they have a radio in her room, some sort of torture method they're trying out, no silence just constant noise", I softly laugh, of course Karma's said that, that's my girl, an idea pops into my head for the radio problem, a problem only Lukas can solve. "Of course, can you please let your husband know that she needs medication for her withdrawals he will need to sneak them in for her, I don't want anyone finding out about it, I'm sure they will waste no time in shooting her up with shit. I'll send you the name of it soon. And tell me, what region of Germany does he work in?".
She confirms my suspicions "Baden Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the northern boundaries of Stuttgart in the city district of Stuttgart-Stammheim, there is a prison right between fields and apartment blocks on the fringes of Stammheim. My family lives in the apartment blocks, and there's a large castle just behind them, that's where he resides". I write the information down quickly. "One last thing, make sure he tells her that I won't be sending any more messages nor making any more contact, Just tell her to listen to the radio for a message from her family" I don't trust that no ones tapping the phone lines nor do I trust that he won't be caught passing on said messages, I also thank her before hanging up the phone.
I hate that I cant continue to talk to her to make sure she's okay and alive whenever I need to be sure of it but if I know anything about the enemy is that they play dirty, and if we're caught communicating I'm certain they will kill her before I get the chance to save her, I just hope she realises that I'm doing this for her safety. I sit eagerly awaiting the voice memo to be sent to me, shortly after my phone buzzes and the voice memo is sent through, my first glimmer of hope since she went missing.
I listen to the audio over and over and over again before summoning up the courage to send one back. "Mia leonessa, mi manchi più di ogni altra cosa, e prometto che verrò a prenderti presto. tutti stanno bene, ti vogliamo solo a casa. assicurati che il tuo medico ti dia il farmaco di cui hai bisogno. fai sapere Leon non appena scopri dove si svolgerà questa lotta e lascia il resto a me. ti amo Karma, non smetterò di cercarti finché non ti avrò di nuovo tra le mie braccia. a presto amore mio" 'My lioness, i miss you more than anything, and I promise I'm coming to get you soon. everyone's okay, we just want you home. make sure your doctor gives you the medication that you need. let Leon know as soon as you find out where this fight will take place and leave the rest up to me. i love you karma, I won't stop looking for you until I have you back in my arms. see you soon my love'.
I watch as the message sends through and sit back in my chair, I'll have my queen back soon, I just need to be smart about my plan. I send the voice recording from Karma and the woman's phone number to Lukas as well as the information she relayed to me, hopefully, he can pinpoint exactly the place were looking for, I also tell him to start working on finding a radio station close to her to start relaying messages and songs she will recognise. A quiet knock distracts me from my thoughts, my mother's head pokes out from behind the door with a gentle smile, I give her one back as she walks in and sits in the seat Iggy was in "Is everything okay with her? I didn't listen to the message but I trust the woman that called me".
I nod my head my smile slightly growing bigger "She sounds okay, she passed her love onto everyone. They want her to fight, but she doesn't know where it will happen. She also said not to storm the building she's in, so I'll have to do it wherever she's fighting" I watch as my mothers face drops when I speak about the fighting "You know something don't you?" I question trying to read her face, her eyes go down to her hands in her lap as she twiddles her fingers nervously " I know where the ring is...." She mumbles more to herself, "Well where is it?" I ask almost jumping out of my seat "Under the Stammheim prison in Stuttgart, but Vin... the fights... they aren't good".
My stomach drops looking at her facial expression I know exactly what she's going to say, "They're fight to the death ones aren't they?", She doesn't answer, only nods her head yes. I can tell she's nervous, fuck, I'm nervous. But I know my Karma, and she's a fucking fighter, a warrior. She will give it 100000% before backing down I just need to get to her in time. "We leave tonight, once we're in Germany we work from there. Tell everyone, and infrom the army" My mother looks at me confused "The Italian army?" She asks unsure.
"What other army would I pick? Of course the Italian one!" I reply standing up from my chair, "Vin I don't think bringing the army into enemy territory is a good idea" She admits while nervously rubbing the back of her neck "Well lucky you're not the Capo here, I want their best snipers, the best hand to hand combat soldiers. Explosive experts, the absolute best of the best. I want this done right, once and for all. I'll deal with the aftermath once my wife is back home, where she belongs. We leave in three hours, not a second later".
She nods her head and scurrys off to go and give the orders, I hate speaking to my mother like that but this is the one thing I won't mess around on, Karma will be back in my arms, safe, I promise that. I open my phone and pull up Tommy's number, the line rings a few times before he answers "This better be good you're interrupting an important moment" He huffs, "$3, 000, 000, you pack your bags and meet us at the airfield in 3 hours". The line goes quiet before Tommy begins to chuckle "And what exactly is my job this time?" He questions, "To help me bring my wife home, alive and well" I reply, he would be stupid to turn that type of money down and he won't be doing it alone this time "She's out partying again?".
"No she was taken, she's in Germany-" I begin but he cuts me off, "And she's fighting I take it?". "How did you know?" I ask confused, is he in on this shit too? "She wouldn't be the first person I've rescued from the ring, count me in Capo. There's just one small problem" He sighs, "And what would that be?"
"They will be out for your head, so you either don't come to the raid or you go in disguise and with a fake name"