797 Uncharted Territory
“Marcelo Xavier, Son of Daniel Luciano, what an honor to finally meet you,” Richardo was the first to break the tensed silence between them.
Marcel smiled, “I didn’t know that I was this famous.” He added, “Although I can’t help but feel that my father is much more famous than I am, don’t you think so?”
No matter how tried Marcel tried to establish himself, Daniel was always a constant people recognized first and attribute his success to his father’s sacrifice. It was almost as if Daniel worked hard to make sure he could never bypass the glory of his name.
“No,” Richardo disagreed with that, “Sure your father is a force to be reckoned with, however, I find you more intriguing, honestly. There’s nothing more motivating than young people ruling the world.”
“Is that so?” Marcel hummed, playing with an invisible speck of dirt on his finger.
“Of course,”
“In that case, shouldn’t I speak formally to you, after all, you’re older than I am and I should pay my respect,” Marcel asked in an innocuous manner when in reality he was looking down on him.
Richardo’s expression shifted for a fraction of a time when he heard that, however, his lips curled up at the last minute as he covered his displeasure with a smile.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Come on, don’t be so serious. After all, you’re a legend, I should be honored to get the chance to speak with you. Look, we are even face-timing as real friends do. I say we put the decorum aside,” He laughed, even though inwardly his fists were clenched on his lap.
.....
Marcel had the natural talent of making someone feel inferior to him and if the both of them were to be voted and compared, Marcel Luciano was a prince, a royalty in the underworld, compared to him. He was a nobody trying to climb up the food chain with all means necessary – by bringing down the royalty.
“Is that so?” Marcel was having fun, “The pleasure is mine then,” Since the bastard wanted to play the game of pretense, he was in.
The thing about people like him who rose out of nowhere was that they don’t like to be reminded of their past. In their mind, they felt they’d made it and wanted that dark chapter of their life erased forever, if possible.
“Although I have my concerns about us being friends,” Marcel raised the matter, “You see, people I associate with always tend to end up trying to covet what belongs to me. By chance, you wouldn’t end up doing the same, would you?” He asked such an obvious question, with a straight face.
Richardo lowered his head, his body beginning to shake with the laughter that raked through him. When he lifted his face once again, it was obvious to Marcel that he finally decided to drop the act.
“Why don’t we cut to the chase and go straight to the point,” He sneered, his expression filled with disdain.
“I thought you were never going to say it,” Marcel said.
“And I never thought you were this shameless,” Richardo retorted.
Marcel told him, “You have what I want.”
Richardo answered, “You have what I have too.”
“Then why don’t we relieve our problems tonight?”
“Good with me, too,” Richardo said to Marcel who shared a brief look with Victor standing at the far end. He didn’t interfere with the call.
“We meet by nine.”
“And I’ll pick the location.”
Marcel lifted a brow when he heard that.
Richardo replied, “You have a larger organization and a lot of people on your side. What are the chances that you wouldn’t try to take me out.”
“If I wanted to take you out, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and I would send my people to end your pathetic life.”
“But you’d lose her.” Richardo reminded him. If his life was threatened in any form, he would make sure the girl doesn’t see the light of day. He would make sure to take away something precious to Marcel.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Exactly,” Marcel admitted bitterly, “I’ll lose her.”
“I’ll still pick out the location,” He insisted.
“Fine,” Marcel let him be, “However, you can only take two men with you in this exchange and I would do the same. Any number other than that, I’ll take it that you planned an ambush and Macy would not see the light of day either.” Marcel threatened him too. That bastard was too cocky and it was beginning to get on his nerves.
“Fine. Two men.” Richardo agreed through gritted teeth.
And just like that, both men spent a while negotiating their meeting place until they came to an agreement.
“I can’t wait to see you tonight, Marcel Luciano,”
“And I can’t wait to see you too, Richardo Santi,” There was a hint of promise in Marcel’s tone right before he ended the video call.
“What’s the plan?” Victor was by his side in a flash as soon as he stood up from his seat.
“Richardo dies tonight,” Marcel declared and Macy who heard it began to make a muffled protest, her eyes going wide.
The both of them looked in her direction but Marcel was the first to take his eyes off her. His heart hardened and whatever feelings or sympathy he had towards her had exhausted. Marcel could easily forgive her for what she did in the past, but the crime of plotting his death was unforgivable. To Marcel, Macy was dead in his heart.
“But you gave him your word,” Victor reminded him, knowing his cousin never goes back on his promises.
“Not when he intends to take me out. Richardo knows I won’t let him survive after tonight, so he would do everything possible to end me too. One of us has to die tonight for the other to survive and he already has an upper hand by choosing the location. I’m stepping into uncharted territory.” Marcel said causing his cousin Victor to gulp unconsciously. It seemed more serious than he thought.
“Should we tell Daniel?” He asked.
Marcel snorted, “As if he doesn’t know already.”