The Fire Unleashed ✔

35. The Final Showdown

"Missed me, little boy?"

As soon as I heard him speak that, my mind went blank. I couldn't focus on how his hair had turned undoubtedly grey over the years, or how he now walked with a limp. I couldn't pay the slightest of attention to how his voice now contained a rasp or how his twinkling, shiny evil eyes were surrounded with a bunch of wrinkles.

All I could see in front of me, was a man in his late thirties, with no wrinkles to support his vengeance filled eyes, or no stick to support his perfectly alright leg. His hair were a pitch black color in my version, and his voice still contained that booming quality, which fit his aggression like a glove.

I couldn't forget how he had spoken the same words to me eleven years ago, as I cowered under him inside the closet. The way he had flaunted his victory in front of me, how he wanted to celebrate his victory by raping my mother, but wasn't able to because Luca's dad came in between and saved us all with all that he had left. He sacrificed his life, my father had to die and all of this misfortune fell upon us because of this monster standing in front of me.

But, in this moment, all I could think were those memories. All I could do was writhe and squirm in pain whenever I was reminded of them. I could never put an end to them because I could never put my hands on him first. But, someday, I would have to let go of them and face the reality. The reality was that it had been eleven fucking years since dad died. Eleven years of suffering, and now, I had had the pleasure of meeting him again. And I couldn't let it go at any cost.

"Sei tu, maledetto bastardo."
(Its you, fucking bastard.)

He chuckled, seeing the look of absolute rage on my face.

"So you're still angry with me, I see. Non pensi che siamo destinati?"
(Don't you think we're destined?)

"Yes. Destined to kill." I ground out, to which he laughed, again.

"You have got some spunk, little boy. I'll say that. But, may I ask why you have been following me around like a little puppy?"

As soon as he said that, I stiffened. Did he come to know the trails I kept on him? That reminded me of the men I had set up to follow him, but they hadn't responded to me in the last four to five days. Could it be, that he got them? And I didn't even realize because I was too busy with Sophia to care?

But I had to keep a straight face. We could deal with the loss later, but right now I needed to be alive to be able to kill him later. I replied just as sharply, "I would have, if I didn't feel like ripping your head off everytime I see you."

Very soon, he turned serious. "I hope you understand that you're not in the position to say things like that to me. I hold your lifeline in my hands, little boy, and so, don't you dare go around threatening me and showing me my place. You don't know what I would do in the next minute. Hell, even I don't know it."

"Why? Are you going to kill me too? Just like you killed him all these years ago? Then, go ahead, because I'm not afraid. Do whatever the fuck you want." I sneered at him which only made him angrier.

In a flash, he was crouching in front of me with his hands in my hair, pulling it to the extent where it would be inarguably painful for the average man, but in my state of unbridled rage, I couldn't feel a thing.

"Don't test my fucking patience! I didn't call you here to sit there and order me around with a stupid smirk on your face. You don't get one fucking say in what I do from now on. Did you really think I wouldn't know about your surprise attack in Italy? You wanted to fuck me up based on what? That shrimpy scrawny guy and his little delicate sister? You think you can beat my army with those children on your side? Bastardo del cazzo! You think–"

He wanted to go on further and ramble for a few more minutes, which I found quite reasonable since I did in fact, fuck up half of his men, and him too. But I just couldn't sit still and let him make fun of the only people who have been there for me through all of that. They didn't deserve to be trashed by a guy like that.

So, I cut in and saved him from further embarrassment,
"Cut it Roberto, I think we both know how badly I fucked you up. I might have failed to get you, which is why I'm here like this tonight, but don't you dare undermine my gang's performance that night. I killed half of your men present there that night, and just admit that there were a lot of them. I just created a huge fucking dent in your perfect little empire and army, and you can't deny it, even if you want to."

His jaw was set in so deep that I thought he was going to break it, and he genuinely looked in pain on seeing the irresistible smirk on my face. But then, he laughed. He just laughed. He released his hold on my hair, and laughed uncontrollably, while slowly pacing around the ruined hall. Kicking through the stones and the rubble of what was once something quite spectacular, he revelled in the dust and destroyed sight of the place. And then, he turned to me with his signature sinister grin which has haunted me since the last eleven years, and spoke words which could be deemed worthy for the first time since he arrived here.

"You know that the Moshchnost gang wants to completely rip you and your men off? But I stopped them, because I wanted you all for myself. Why would I give up such an easy target in the middle of pursuing him, when I already had him in my hands? This is why my Sophie was with you, right babygirl?" He turned to shoot a sickly sweet smile to the bitch standing a few meters behind him, and she faltered for a millisecond, her eyes showing some sort of worry before she smiled confidently and nodded her head.

"And now that I've fully succeeded, whatever you've done in the past doesn't matter anymore. Because after I'm done with you, I will get all your father's fortune, and make it mine, pay with it for all the losses caused by you, and voila! I'll be invincible again! Now, that's a plan, isn't it?"

This time, he smirked at me while I just glared at him. "You won't ever be able to put your hands on what's mine, because I will never die. I cannot die until I kill you, so don't even dream of getting rid of me so easily. Maybe if you wanted that so earnestly, you could have tried to live the life of a saint and I would have reconsidered my decision. But you're still the same – filthy and malicious. So, no mercy for you, absolutely no mercy."

"Stop your useless rambling little boy, and goodbye!!" He said in a sing song voice, as he lit his cigarette lighter and threw it on the floor.

So that was what it was, the strange smell I got from when I entered.

It was fucking kerosene.

And he had lit the building on fire.