Naples Mafia (1)
Crack!
A bullet punched straight through the table I’d knocked over.
Splinters exploded outward in every direction.
“Aaaah!”
“Help me!”
In an instant, the café turned into a madhouse.
Screams burst from the crowd, tangled up with the crash of falling chairs and the sharp, shattering sound of glass.
I threw my arms around Alessia and flattened myself against the wall near the back of the café.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunfire kept coming.
I quickly calculated the direction of the shots and the intervals between them in my head.
There were three shooters.
Judging by the timing, they were using pistols.
It was obvious enough that the guys who’d gotten out of the car were firing toward us from the entrance.
“Huff, huff...”
I could feel Alessia’s body stiffened in my arms.
She was trembling faintly, but she had clamped her mouth shut and hadn’t made a sound.
I pressed the top of her head firmly against my chest, then lifted my own just enough to look out.
On the street across from us, maybe thirty meters away, two new men were charging toward us like mad, both with their hands inside their jackets.
Of course.
I recognized those familiar faces at once.
They were Marco Conti’s men—the same ones who’d shoved me into a car and taken me away last time.
Since that day, I’d already sensed they’d been lingering around Alessia.
I hadn’t paid them much mind, since they felt more like bodyguards than watchers.
And sure enough, pistols came out from the men’s jackets as they drew near.
Bang! Bang! Ratatat!
Before long, fierce gunfire erupted across the café.
Marco’s men kept firing at the attackers while closing the distance without hesitation.
I didn’t move rashly. I only pulled Alessia closer and pressed myself harder against the wall.
Thud! Bang!
The number of shots coming back from the ambushers began to dwindle.
Then came the frantic sound of bodies scrambling into a car, followed by the squeal of tires.
Looks like they’d jumped into their vehicle and fled down the alley.
“......”
As if nothing had happened, the gunfire stopped.
Only the acrid stink of gunpowder lingered around my nose.
I slowly lifted my head.
The café that had been peaceful just moments ago was a wreck.
Bullet holes were gouged into the walls, and the floor was a mess of shattered glass and spilled coffee.
“Alessia, it’s over.”
When I tried to ease myself away, Alessia tightened her grip on my shirt.
She lifted her head slowly and looked up at me.
“Are you okay?”
At my question, she looked at me strangely for a moment.
Her face had gone pale, but her eyes were clear and steady.
“...Thanks. You saved my life.”
She whispered the words and leaned her forehead against my chest again.
I could feel the trembling in the fingers clutching my shirt beginning to settle.
“Segnorina!”
By then, Marco’s men had hurried over to us.
They were panting hard and shouting something urgent in Italian, then helped us both to our feet.
A car was already waiting outside, apparently theirs.
I supported Alessia by the waist and guided her toward it.
After they pushed her into the back seat, I got in as well—and the car pulled away the moment I was inside.
***
The car sped out of downtown Naples.
The scenery outside the window changed with every passing second.
Narrow alleys and aging apartment blocks gave way to thick olive trees and neatly stacked stone walls stretching on and on.
We were climbing higher and higher.
This was the hill country on the outskirts of Naples, where broad estates and sprawling mansions were usually set apart from the rest of the city.
I kept glancing between the rearview mirror and the window, quietly mapping the car’s route.
Before long, we entered a mansion with a huge gate.
A wide garden spread out before us. In the center stood an ornate fountain, and behind it rose a stately old stone building, grand and imposing.
A classic mansion on the outskirts of Naples.
Creaaak.
The car glided across the garden and came to a stop at the entrance of the building.
I got out calmly, keeping an eye on my surroundings.
“This way.”
The men waiting at the entrance began to guide us inside.
Alessia looked as if she’d been here many times before; there was a familiarity in her eyes.
Noticing that I seemed worried, she murmured beside me, low enough that only I could hear.
“It’s my uncle’s house. It’ll be fine.”
I gave a light nod and followed her into the mansion.
The place we were led to was a spacious reception room.
Marco was waiting there with his hands clasped behind his back.
When his eyes met mine, he gave a very slight nod of greeting.
“We meet again.”
One of the men who’d come with us stepped up to Marco and whispered in his ear.
A moment later, Marco’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, then he nodded once.
“Uncle.”
Before Marco could say anything else, Alessia stepped in front of me and asked sharply, almost accusingly, “What on earth is going on...?”
“Alessia.”
But before she could finish, Marco cut her off with firm authority.
Then he turned his gaze back to me and gave a brief nod.
“Jason Lee.”
Marco’s tone was far softer than it had been last time.
“I heard you threw yourself in the way and saved our Alessia.”
He thanked me with sober sincerity.
“That was a very brave thing to do. On behalf of our family, I thank you.”
Marco picked up a bottle of whiskey from one side of the reception room and began pouring us each a glass.
While he did, he explained the situation in a few concise sentences.
“Sigh... You and Alessia may not know this, but Naples is in a bad way right now. Several factions are colliding, and as a result, everyone’s on edge. What happened today is just part of that.”
He offered me a glass.
I accepted it readily and took a sip.
The harsh alcohol burned down my throat, leaving a sharp, searing heat in its wake.
Then a sweet honeyed aroma and a nutty, almond-like richness lingered on my tongue.
Even someone like me, who didn’t know much about whiskey, could tell it was expensive and excellent stuff.
Clink.
Marco set his glass down.
His expression had grown heavier.
“Things outside are extremely dangerous right now. Especially for Alessia.”
He paused for a moment.
Then, with a tired look, he glanced at his niece.
“But if I told this girl to stay here, she wouldn’t listen to me for a second. She never has.”
Alessia looked ready to protest, offended, but Marco cut her off again before she could even speak.
Then he looked back at me.
“So, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to stay here with Alessia.”
He added in a dry but unmistakable tone, “It won’t be long. A week or two at most, and this whole mess should be sorted out. Think of it as a chance to rest.”
I met Marco’s eyes quietly.
Obviously, he wasn’t making this offer because he was worried about my safety.
He simply wanted to keep his unruly niece trapped in the mansion and planned to use me as bait.
If I stayed here, Alessia wouldn’t be able to wander off on her own.
Lucky me.
Honestly, whatever his reasons, it wasn’t a bad deal for me.
I’d just been handed a legitimate reason to remain inside the Ferrante Clan’s inner circle.
I could already picture how dumbfounded McKinnon would be when he found out.
“Wait, Uncle...”
Alessia cut in, sounding exasperated.
But Marco’s firm voice swept right over her.
His tone made it clear he would allow no further argument.
“There. You have no complaints now, do you? This time, it isn’t a request, Alessia.”
Alessia looked back and forth between me and Marco.
She seemed on the verge of saying something else, then bit her lip and fell silent.
Her face was a tight mix of irritation and resignation.
I glanced at her once, giving no outward sign of what I was thinking.
Then I slowly nodded toward Marco.
“Understood.”
***
Following one of Marco’s men, I headed deeper into the mansion.
Even as I walked at an unhurried pace, I kept studying the interior naturally and without making it obvious.
The layout of the corridors, the guards’ weapons and positions, the location of the exits.
Eventually, we arrived at a fairly large and tidy guest room.
The door closed, and at last Alessia and I were left alone in the room.
“Haaah.”
Alessia dropped onto the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh.
It seemed the tension she’d been holding in front of Marco had finally slipped away.
She looked up at me and asked resentfully, “Jason, why on earth did you agree?”
At that, I answered with an expression of complete disbelief.
“Your uncle was terrifying. How was I supposed to say no there?”
That made Alessia snort a laugh.
“At least change your face before you say that.”
After laughing once, the heavy air in the room seemed to loosen a little.
Leaning back against the headboard, Alessia spoke with a calmness that suggested she had no more reason to hide anything.
“Anyway... you’ve seen it all now, haven’t you? My family’s a mafia family. The Ferrante Clan. My father used to be the boss who led these people.”
Her voice was matter-of-fact.
The rest of what followed was already information I’d heard through McKinnon: her family, the Ferrante Clan, her uncle Marco’s introduction...
I nodded quietly as if hearing it all for the first time.
“By the way, I’ve seen your uncle, but not your brother. Nicola, right?”
From there, the conversation naturally shifted to Nicola, her brother and the current head of the organization.
At my question, Alessia’s expression changed. Her distaste was plain as day.
“Nicola and I have different mothers. I call him my brother, but I’ve never once felt like he was family. It’s been that way since we were kids.”
She let out a small laugh after saying that.
“No, actually, I’m probably a thorn in his side. We share the same father, after all.”
“Still, he’s family.”
At that, Alessia shook her head.
“Even with what happened today, Nicola wouldn’t have lifted a finger if something had happened to me. My uncle looks after me more than he does.”
It was a self-mocking laugh.
“If anything, if I’d been killed or hurt, that bastard would’ve spent his time thinking about how he could use it to his advantage.”
I listened silently.
When Alessia saw my expression, she abruptly sprang up from the bed.
“Hah, what am I even saying?”
She steadied herself and changed the subject.
Then she pointed at my filthy clothes.
“Go take a shower first. I’ll figure out something for your clothes.”
Alessia had already turned toward the door when she paused and looked back.
“You know I hate apologizing, but I’ll say this one last time anyway. Sorry for dragging you into this.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“You’ll be able to leave soon enough. Until then, make yourself comfortable.”
Click.
After Alessia left, I did the first thing that came to mind and pulled out my phone.
Then I logged into the email account McKinnon and I shared.
I wrote a brief message about the situation and saved it as a draft.
That way, there’d be no record left behind, and I could pass along sensitive information securely.
It was a classic CIA electronic dead drop.
I sent McKinnon a short text:
That was about all I could do for the moment.
***
A safe house in downtown Naples.
McKinnon, sprawled lazily on the sofa, felt his phone vibrate.
I had to rush out and didn’t get a chance to check the gas. Could you take a look for me?
It was a mundane text from Dohyun.
McKinnon checked the message and immediately opened the laptop on the table.
“Gas” was one of the signals they’d agreed on in advance for checking email.
He logged into the shared account and clicked the message saved in the draft folder.
McKinnon’s eyes moved quickly across the screen.
It was a report saying that gunfire had broken out near Alessia, who was under surveillance.
It noted that after the shootout, they’d moved her to the mansion of her guardian, Marco Conti, and that Dohyun intended to stay there for a while to infiltrate the inner workings of the Ferrante Clan.
It also stated that a full-scale war between the clans was imminent, and ended with Dohyun saying he’d try to confirm Nicola’s whereabouts inside the clan.
“......”
McKinnon read the lines on the screen one more time.
Then he slowly scratched his chin and, at last, couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
“Hah.”
Spy games.
That had been a throwaway joke, said because Lee’s troubled expression had been so amusing.
From the start, a mafia organization like this was too closed-off to slip into from the outside.
The Ferrante Clan, especially, was notorious for being aggressive and vicious.
They had enough influence to make building any proper humint network near impossible, and because of that, both CIA Headquarters and the Rome station had repeatedly come away empty-handed.
And now Lee, the backup man, had sliced right through it in one go.
All by seducing a mafia boss’s family member, no less.
How classic. How audacious.
“Unbelievable. It feels like I’m watching some damn Bond movie.”
This lunatic’s moves always sailed far beyond the range of his expectations.
McKinnon placed both hands on the laptop keyboard and left a short reply in the draft.
A confirmation that he’d received the report, along with a brief warning to stay safe.
Clack.
McKinnon closed the laptop and let out another helpless laugh.
“Heh. What a crazy bastard. Hahaha!”
No matter how he thought about it, the laughter just kept coming.
Almost enough to make him wish he didn’t have to enjoy something this entertaining all alone.