Chapter 8 - 'Even walls have ears.'

"Is it complete?" I asked him.

The man standing before me looked uncomfortable. I picked up the thin file that sat on the desk before me.

He confirmed saying, "Yes, Boss." It better be, you were given an entire week to bring in this report. I read the file in silence, flipping the pages nonchalantly.

"So you're trying to tell me that he didn't exist until five years ago? Not even his 'close friend' existed beyond five years ago?"

"Yes, Boss." Leaning back into the chair, I propped my chin atop my hand. Who are you Damien Dagasse?

"Boss." My gaze turned to him.

"Yes?"

He swallowed thickly before continuing, "It was recorded that his mother and father came into the UK with the help of Abioye's people." I leaned forward.

"If what you're saying is true. We might've hit a dead end."

The man before me agreed. "Abioye is extremely good at what he does. He has several camps based throughout the African continent. Although guns and drugs are his forte; he also trains child soldiers to be sold to the highest bidder. His hands stretch far and wide around the world so he could tell us what we want to know," said the informant.

"True, but I'm afraid it would take years before we can find him. Months before he decides to respond and that is if he wants to play nice. Then there is the price of the information. I've heard he's pretty vicious with outsiders, so I'm not sure if that is the best route to be taken."

What a pile of mess! The Ackerman name may not be one to laugh at, but we still can't touch him.

"Leave." He got up quickly and exited the office.

Placing the phone to my ear, I listened to the ringing tone.

"Hello?" A flustered voice answered the phone. The noisy voices in the background came through to my end.

"Hey, I need you to do something for me."

"Depends..." He replied. My face turned ugly.

"I'm not fucking playing!" The line went silent.

"What is it? I'm all ears." The noisy background quieted at the shutting of a door.

"Get me everything you can on a Damien Dagasse. Do you need me to spell that?"

"No." What do you mean no?

"Ace if it wasn't for the years behind us I wouldn't be telling you this." He sighed heavily. "Give up."

What! Before I could respond he continued, "You aren't the first to ask and you're probably not going to be the last either. All I can say is he has a very powerful person backing him. All information concerning his life is heavily guarded. Whoever is safeguarding him tends to get trigger happy, if you know what I mean, when people go around asking questions." I ran my tongue along my top teeth.

"I want a referral."

"Ace weren't you listening? What is he to you anyway? Does he owe you money or something?" It was my turn to sigh.

"Yes I was listening, as for the rest that isn't any of your business Caesar!"

"For petes' sake! Calm down! Geez! I feel like the longer you sit on your golden throne, the further from your good graces I fall!" Caesar spoke in a rushed tongue.

I softened my tone. "I'm sorry. Things haven't been running smoothly of late." I confessed.

"Want to talk about it over ... dinner ... tonight? If you're not busy of course! I understand if you can't, being a head myself." I could hear the anxiety behind his words. A smile came to my lips.

"Rain check." I ran my fingers through my silver-grey hair.

"Is it because of him... the same Dagasse guy from earlier?" said Caesar. I stayed silent. You are too sharp for your own good! We both remained silent for some time.

"I still want that referral." I reminded him.

"Ah! Ace don't do anything stupid!" His spanish accent pulled through.

"The referral!" I growled into the phone.

"I'm sending it now. And if you ever want to see me. You have my number. See you around Ackerman."

"Good bye." I hung up the call. Less than a minute later a message came through. I wrote down the name and number. Who are you Damien?

Knocking on the door jarred me out of my thoughts. It opened without my approval. The moment his face came into view, I felt disgusted.

"Hello. What brings you here?" I welcomed the man through clenched teeth. The fine lines on his face pulled as he smiled pleasantly at me. Hurry up and talk! I felt the sudden urge to bury a man alive. Specifically the one standing before me. My eyes followed him as he walked from corner to corner of the room.

"Do I need a reason to visit my son?" He asked while looking through the blinds.

"How are things of late?" I said. I inhaled slowly, trying my best to bridge the gap between myself and the man before me.

"It's pretty good. Hey! Did you know Camilla got married?" He turned to me suddenly.

Catching on quickly to the message within his words I coughed. "No. When?" I crossed my legs listening intently to his words as he rambled on. My mind slowly drifted away from his words.

"You understand right?" Hmn?

"Ah yes, yes." I agreed, not sure what I was agreeing to. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You... do?" I fixed the paraphernalia on my desk.

"Your point?"

"I was just ensuring you weren't saying yes to get me out of the way." said Aaron. I feigned shock to his face.

"I would never do that! What type of person do you take me for!" He chuckled at my response, though his dark eyes lacked any form of humor.

"I take you as the Head of the Ackerman family and the leader of the Regalia Syndicate!"

"So you take me for a black faced demon?" I asked in a soft voice.

"Exactly." A look of disgust flashed across my face for a split second.

"What can I say. I was taught by the best." I smiled warmly at him.

Instead of taking the bait he changed the topic.

"So you will follow my instructions?"

"No." I deadpanned rising up from my chair. I walked past him. Uh? A sturdy hand gripped my chest.

"Ace inactive does not equal, deaf or ignorant. Word tends to travel to my ears really fast." I looked at him.

"I'm listening."

"No one cares whose bed you choose to romp in at night. However a lot of important people are showing concern about your low... well, non-existent progeny rate." I shook myself out of his grasp. I knew where this was going and I wasn't having it.

"I've already decided who I want to spend my life with." His face loosened into an approving smile. I laughed on the inside at my ability to feed him false hopes. "Unfortunately for you all, he cannot birth children for me." The scowl on his face was equal in intensity, yet opposite to the smirk I wore on my face. "Goodbye Aaron! Tell mom I said, 'Hello!' okay."

I walked out the office leaving him with my words to keep him company.

"Everything is ready. Boss." The first genuine smile to grace my lips for the day was witnessed by Number four.

"Let's go! We're on the clock people!" I quickened my footsteps and entered one of the eight s.u.v.'s lined off in front of the building. The drive to the outskirts of the city felt short, with the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

"Location confirmed!" said Number three without looking up from his computer.

I gave them the signal to go ahead. Twenty pairs of boots pounded on the ground. Gunshots and shouts could be heard coming from inside the warehouse as my men stormed each level.

"Time?"

"Fourteen minutes left," said Number Three. I took the M16 offered to me and jumped out the vehicle with Number One and Two on my heels.

Not bothering to hide my face I walked down the path cleared, killing off any stray dogs that struggled to live. Filth!

"We need to start moving out our people!"

"Seven minutes left." Three's voice buzzed in my ear.

"Hurry up people!" I shouted. They carried out our people, as I walked through the red pools that covered the floor.

"Boss this one is the leader." They dragged a haggard looking man before me. I pulled a chair and sat down.

"Thirty shots, avoid the vitals, I want a good show."

The two men that stood next to me carried out my orders. I watched as he fell to his knees with blood pouring out of his mouth in streams. I reached into my back pocket. The sound of the shutter echoed in the now silent room. This should serve as a nice warning message.

"Boss, get out now. The L.P.D. are on their way!" I flew out of the chair and recalled all the men that came with me. In less than three minutes the desolate warehouse was behind us.

"Mission completed."

"Take the injured to A Hospital. The rest of you return to base. Four, take me to the mansion!" I instructed him.

"Yes, Boss!"

My mind remained in a state of unease. What does Tendom want? What is the purpose of carrying out such a large scale operation only to put it on hold after starting?

I need a second opinion. Taking out my phone, I typed in a message and sent it. Things can't keep going the same way between us. I passed my fingers through my hair. Dinner means, only dinner. Fuck, I should have written that! Not willing to waste more time on idle thoughts, I put down the phone only for a new message came through.

C – 4:25 : Your place or mine?

I bit my lip.

A – 4:26 : Mine @ 8.

Having sent my response, I stared out the window for the rest of the ride. We arrived at the mansion with time to spare. The things I had to do in preparation for his arrival, caused time to fly on wings. I glanced at my watch. Twelve minutes to the hour of eight. I ran to the bathroom and took a hurried shower. I threw on a pair of fitted white jeans, a white oversized sweater and a pair of socks.

Fixing my hair in the hall mirror, I stared at my reflection. It's just dinner. It's just dinner. It's just... Do I smell ok? I walked back into the bedroom. Happy with the subtle scent I chose. I placed one spray of cologne on myself. I sighed in my heart. It's not, just dinner. I walked downstairs.

A slightly sweet smell permeated the air. So light and almost non-existent I struggled to hold onto it as I walked. I knew better than anyone else who that scent could belong to. The folding doors that connected the living room to the patio were open. I stared at the back of the man formally dressed, before me.

Leaning in a relaxed manner on a pillar, he looked out to the pools and trees. He formed a picturesque scene that tugged at my chest. I walked up to him quietly and stood behind him.

"Goodnight Ace." He looked over his shoulder smiling at me.

"Goodnight Caesar." I smiled at him. "Enjoying the view?" The longer he stayed in my line of sight the softer my feelings became.

"Yes. It's calming." We both shared a laugh.

"Come inside." I motioned inside with my head. He followed me.

"What do you want for dinner?" said Caesar.

"You have something in mind?" I raised my eyebrow. His hazel eyes showed a hint of mischief in the dull kitchen lights.

"Not really."

"In that case, I'm craving garlic butter steak. And... scalloped potatoes!"

"Alright then let's get started." He walked across to the kitchen audio hub and connected his phone. The melodious voice of Alejandro Sanz soon wrapped around us.

"No me Compares?" He nodded in acknowledgement as he danced around the kitchen.

We washed our hands and took on the job at hand. Between our seasoned movements in the kitchen and the occasional sexy moments. The kitchen soon smelled of cooked meat.

"That looks really good." He commented as he turned off the stove. I looked across to him after setting down the baking dish that held the scalloped potatoes.

"Yeah." I agreed. He covered his pot and started to clean up. The kitchen was spotless in under fifteen minutes time.

"Take out mine, will you?"

"Sure." He removed two servings and placed them on their respective plates. I pulled a bottle of Malbec out of the fridge and removed two wine glasses from storage.

The small party of two was moved to the outdoor lounge area. After settling ourselves on the couch. Wine was poured and the food eaten with music playing softly in the background.

"What's going on?" said Caesar, as he set down his plate. I looked at him over the rim of the wine glass. I summarized my current problems into one word.

"Tendom." Caesar paused his actions.

"Isn't he inactive?" I shook my head.

"I thought so as well, but it seems his newest pass time is interfering with us. First he overran our territories. Then he kidnapped several of my men and women. Which by the way out of fifty nine only eight were recovered!"

"That's a bit bold. Did you do something to warrant that?" A look of concern covered his face.

"No!" I exploded.

"You either did something unknowingly or you have something he wants." Although what Caesar said made sense, I shook my head negatively.

"Nothing major has happened of late."

"When he started to make his moves, did anything happen? Did you talk to anyone? Did you go anywhere?"

"It was the same as always..." My mouth closed itself as I fell into deep thought. Didn't things become more busy after I met... No, that's too much of a coincidence. There is no way Tendom could have planned things to that extent. No one knew I was going there that day. Cool fingers passed along my forehead.

"Don't do that. You'll age faster," said Caesar. He turned my head to face him.

The space that was between us no longer existed. He continued to smooth out the lines that had formed on my face. I frowned, raising my head a fraction, I bit down on his unsuspecting fingers. His eyes narrowed in anger.

He sent the two fingers further into my mouth. I held his hand tightly as his fingers searched for that trigger. The smiles that decorated his face were long gone. Fuck. In the moonlight his pale skin looked sickly. For a second I saw Caesar's father before me. His exotic Spanish features showed through more than ever on Caesar's face.

We've really changed over the years I noted. With a serious expression he continued his quest to upset me. The pressure of his hand pushing against my mouth caused me to slide into a horizontal position.

The second before my head touched the cushions, I wrapped my leg around his changing our positions. He chuckled.

"Still won't take it lying down will you?" The defiance in my eyes spoke for me. He removed his fingers from my mouth.

"Never."

"Thought you'd say that." 

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