Error 404

Chapter 7

** DANTE VINO POV **

Fucking Thanksgiving. I can't believe the Americans actually created a holiday centered around their unhealthy obsession with obesity... and I can't believe my aunt is forcing us to celebrate it in Italy. It always baffled me: showing gratitude in the form of eating far beyond your capacity until you pass out from over exerting your organs.

Fucking Americans.

In our household, gratitude for your family is expressed daily, not once a year. It is the core value that holds our entire Mafia together. Blood is thicker than water, and I personally take that to heart. My family may be filled with annoying assholes, but they were my annoying assholes, and I'd do anything to protect them.

I opened the thick wooden doors of my office and walked to the corner table, where bottles of liquor and tumblers were laid out. I poured myself a glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp. I refilled it before I walked to my black modern desk. I sat down and exhaled.

"What the fuck do you want?" I growled.

Angelo walked in, a nervous expression on his face. He's my right hand, my capo. A man I could trust with my life. He also happens to be my kid brother. He had light brown eyes and dark brown hair, the polar opposite of my dirty blonde hair and grey eyes. Angelo was the spitting image of our mother while I, my father.

He hasn't cut his hair in weeks, so it was messy and untamed. We had subtle similarities, but not many. Most people can't even tell we're related. He was lean, always a bit smaller than me. He wasn't the smartest, or the strongest, but what set him apart was his determination. You can never defeat a man that does not stop trying.

"Fratello." He spoke. I could immediately tell by his body language that something was off.

"What is it? I don't have all night Angelo." A snapped as I took another sip of my whiskey.

"Someone just stole $5 million from the main account." He spoke quickly. My hand clenched around my glass and it shattered, slashing my palm in the process.

"When and how the fuck did this shit happen, brother!?" I screamed. Someone had the nerve to steal from me... directly under our god damn noses.

"8:02 PM, so recently. It was wire transferred to an untraceable account." He spoke calmly. I pulled out my phone and immediately dialed Damon Ricci. He was our hacker, one of the best in the world. He answered on the second ring.

"My office. Now." I said before I hung up.

"Whoever did this must be extremely skilled. A professional. It couldn't have been a rival gang... they would have taken much more than a measly $5 million." I verbalized my thought aloud. It wasn't the $5 million I was concerned about. It was the fact that someone disrespected me enough to try and steal what is mine.

And no one takes what is mine.

"Well whoever it is fucked with the wrong family." Angelo spoke coldly.

Damon nearly sprinted into the office, struggling to catch his breath.

"You... you called... boss?" He said between breaths. Poor fucker must have ran across the damn mansion.

Now that's what I call commitment.

Damon was a childhood friend of mine. He's one of the smartest members in the entire Mafia. Give him a computer, and he can find information on anyone or anything. Motherfucker is a tech wizard.

"Someone hacked into our main bank account and wire transferred $5 million. Find them. NOW." I ordered.

He quickly took out his laptop from under his arm and started typing away as if his life depended on it... because in this circumstance... his life does depend on it.

"Woaaah. What the fuck. This guys good." Damon said in awe after a few minutes. "I've never seen this kind of cyber security. Hacking into the pentagon is a piece of cake compared to this." He stated as he raised his eyebrows.

"Well figure it out." I spat.

"Boss, this guy created an encryption on the bank account that randomizes every half second." Damon said while his eyes swiftly scanned the screen.

"In English please?" Angelo said rolling his eyes.

"I'm gonna need some time to figure this shit out." Damon huffed.

"Well it's a good thing we have all night, no?" I said smiling evilly as I leaned back into my chair. Damon gulped as he started typing faster.

After a few hours and an entire bottle of whiskey, I put my head down on the desk and let the darkness take over.

*************************************************

"I GOT IT! I FUCKING GOT IT!" Damon's voice echoed throughout the office.

Out of reflex, my head snapped up and grabbed my gun. I fired off in the direction of the annoying disturbance, still half asleep and still half drunk.

Damon scurried under the table to avoid the barrage of bullets. Angelo was asleep on a chair, and was startled from the gunshots. He jolted up, and stumbled face first onto the wooden floors.

And these are my most trusted men? I thought as I started to reevaluate my own decision making processes when it comes to picking friends.

"Boss," Damon exclaimed as he rolled out from under the table. "I figured it out. I got the fucker!" He yelled.

"Damon. Good work. But I'm still drunk and you're at a god damn 15. I need you at a fucking 2. Simmer down." I said as I rubbed my temples.

He flipped me off and placed the laptop on the desk. We all leaned in closer and we watched the codes rapidly move on the screen, awaiting a name. After a few moments, the numbers stopped.

ERROR 404

"Wait... what..." Damon whispered as his eyes widened.

"Damon. Translation please?" Angelo yawned.

"Page cannot be found." He frowned as he tried the algorithm again.

ERROR 404

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Damon yelled as he pulled on his blonde hair. "This is impossible!" He tried it again.

ERROR 404

Damon groaned in frustration as he pulled his hair harder.

"Boys, it's 6 in the morning. What's with the yelling?" My aunt said walking into the office with 4 cups of coffee.

"Ah, Zia. Just the woman I wanted to see." I smiled at her and thanked her for the coffee. She looked at me as if I grew two heads.

"Okay nipote, I know you well enough to know when you want something, so what is it?" She said as she took a drink of her coffee.

"I need you to look at something for me." I asked in my most charming voice.

She flicked my forehead and grabbed the computer. She evaluated the algorithm, and her eyebrows raised as a smirk appeared on her face.

"Interesting..." she spoke as her expression turned more serious. Zia has always been one to love a challenge.

She sat down, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard, a calm expression painted on her face. We watched her curiously as she paused for a moment to take another sip of her coffee.

"Done." She finally said as she took a sip of her coffee. It took her 30 minutes to solve what Damon was working on for 9 hours, making us all look at her with bewildered expression, especially Damon, who looked at her with a morose look.