[1] A War of Blood and Hearts | ✔️

CHAPTER NINE

LUCAS

          Lucas punches his best friend vigorously without caring where his fists are landing. An hour ago, both he and Nicholas needed a way to let their anger out without murdering anyone. And what a better way to do that other than unleash this toxic feeling on each other. He has lost count of the amount of times they had done this over the years; it has almost become a tradition for them.
           For the past few months, they have been tracking every move Ivan Fomenkov made, they went so far as to calculate when he wakes up at morning and sleeps at night. Nicholas made sure to have eyes on every Russian mafia warehouse, the ones they know of anyway. They know Ivan's daily routine up to the point when he wakes up at morning and when he sleeps at night. Alas, that didn't provide the information needed to know why Ivan would want Crystal so badly or what he is planning in order to catch her.
           Four months have passed, and yet, the location of the Russian mafia's main compound hasn't been disclosed, neither has Ivan's personal house. The bastard has been able to hide these two locations very well; he is being smart with every move he makes. It makes Lucas question if perhaps the Russian mafia leader has been orchestrating this whole thing for a long time, that maybe there is something huge that they are missing. But no matter how long they dig, and how many Russian men they torture, they still hadn't managed to find anything useful. No one in the bastard's mob knew anything which means he is being real quiet and careful even when it comes to his own men.
            Lucas' frustration had been building up, and it reached its peak when one of the Brazilian spies in the Russian mafia sent a word a little over an hour ago that his best friends' parents are actually complicit in whatever plans Ivan is plotting.
            Still, the Brazilian man is well aware that whatever he is feeling, his friend is feeling it ten times worse. And he hates that he can't do anything about it; he can't comfort Nicholas, he can't be useful because he is consumed by his emotions, he can't even go and visit Crystal because it is conceivable that Ivan is mirroring their actions by spying on them.  
           "At this rate, neither of you will be recognizable from the amount of bruises and cuts you have inflicted on each other." A familiar voice says; a voice Lucas has only heard over the phone for months. The two sweaty men turn around towards the gym's door to find their friend standing by the door with a smirk on his face.
           "What are you doing here Ignazio?" Nicholas asks as he takes long deep breaths. Only then does Lucas notice the damage that he had caused. The Brazilian mafia's face was almost unidentifiable; he has a black eye, his right eyebrow cannot be seen due to the dripping blood from the cut on his forehead, his nose is broken, his lips cut in multiple places, his left ear is bleeding, and there is a huge gash from on his chin. Lucas doesn't dare to examine the rest of his boss's body.
           "Is it Crystal? Is she alright? Did Ivan get her? Did she..." Lucas watches Nicholas's face turn from angry to concerned to terrified and back to angry again in a matter of seconds. If the situation was any different he would have made a joke how his friend is bipolar. 
           "She is perfectly fine. According to her guards the only places she goes to are the mall and the grocery store, not that I know why she needs to go there, I bring her everything she needs every week." The Italian man interrupts, and mumbles the last part to himself. Lucas relaxes slightly when her learns that Crystal is living a somewhat normal life; it is what she should have had a long time ago.
           Both Nicholas and Ignazio start a conversation as they make their way out of the gym. Lucas grabs his shirt off the floor, puts it on, and follows them.

          "Don't you think you should tend to your wounds before we talk?" Ignazio points out as he looks at the Brazilian men in disgust once they enter Nicholas' office.
           "I am sure you didn't come all the way here just to insult us Ignazio." Lucas speaks for the first time. He tries to sound annoyed, but he is actually really delighted to see Ignazio.
           "I am just saying, you two look like a truck ran over you, and then reversed." At this Lucas feels really tempted to run to a mirror and stare at the goblin that will surely stare back at him. He decides against it, though, when he regarded Nicholas' glare.
           "Okay, okay, I will get down to business." Ignazio chuckles as he pulls his arms up in the air in surrender. The Italian man observes Nicholas who sits behind his desk for a few moments before he reveals the reason he flew all the way to America.
           "Alonso wanted me to come and tell you this in person since it's the first real clue we had to actually figure out what the Russian asshole is up to. One of our men has actually managed to make it into Ivan's inner circle. He still wasn't told everything, but they did explain a few things about their 'operations.'" Ignazio does air quotes as he rolls his eyes.
           "Things like what?" Lucas takes a seat on the chair that is opposite to where Ignazio sits.
           "Well, Ivan is not interested in Crystal, he never was. But when your parents offered her for God knows what, I don't even remember, he saw an opportunity."
           "Opportunity to do what?" Nicholas almost jumps at Ignazio from the anticipation and the excitement; he finally has something that will help him safe his little sister. And Lucas can't say he doesn't feel the same way.
           "To claim revenge. Our guy hasn't figured out why Ivan is hell bent on claiming vengeance, but for what he gathered it has something to do with the Mafia war that occurred a few decades back."
           "So that must mean my parents told him that she is their daughter. After all Mafias always go to war for their family."
           "Fuck! That doesn't make any sense. This war ended when we were in the womb. What could the maniac remember it now? Besides, I thought when the war ended a treaty was signed that lucidly declares that whatever happened during that horrid period of time is to be forgiven from all sides." Lucas can feel his blood boil from irritation.
           "Well, that treaty was signed by the generation that ruled before us. And honestly, I wouldn't put it past Ivan to seek vengeance out of jealousy. I mean, it is no secret that his organization hasn't been doing well these past few years." Nicholas is alarmingly calm, but his voice is filled with venom. Lucas can only imagine what his friend will do to their enemy once he gets his hands on him; Nicholas has never been merciful to those who tried to harm Crystal.
           "Alonso has Alberto looking through the archives to see what could have happened during the years when the mafias didn't get along that makes Ivan want to declare war after all this years. You should do the same. Who knows, maybe you will find something that we won't or vice versa. And I am here to help; we figured with the amount of stress you have going through, you can use some help."
           "God, this keeps getting more complicated by the day." Lucas mutters under his breath.
           "Thank you Ignazio, I really appreciate it. I will have Ilya bring everything related to the war from the achieve building by tonight. And tomorrow morning we will start digging for the needle that is Ivan's motive." The tiredness is evident on Nicholas' face, but Lucas knows better than to tell him to rest because he himself can't bring himself to do it.
           "To go to a lighter topic, your sister is really a piece of work. I don't know how you handled her all these years." Ignazio says with a twinkle in his eyes.
           "Hey, don't even think about it, she is off limits." Nicholas immediately gets in Ignazio's face causing the Italian man to chuckle loudly.
           "Oh, don't worry my friend. I see her once or twice a week for a couple of hours and I feel like I have grown some white hair because of her. I can't imagine being in a relationship with her, she requires a lot of work." The atmosphere in the office shifts, it becomes much lighter. That is the effect Crystal has on people, even when she is not there physically.
           "What has she done?" Lucas asks as he imagines his best friend pulling a prank on Ignazio.
           "The list is too long, but she did throw a cup of toilet water on my head last week." Both Lucas and Nicholas burst out laughing at Crystal's typical behavior.
           "Yeah, you are laughing because it didn't happen to you. I literally had to take two showers to feel like I was clean. And I still until now feel like I smell like pee."
           "It is not just a feeling; I can smell you from here." Nicholas says between laughs.
           "Besides, we have been victims to Crystal's wicked sense of humor since we were kids. So, it is kind of refreshing to see someone else suffer because of it." Lucas points out with a shudder as he remembers all the things his best friend has done to him over the years.
           Still, he finds himself cherishing these memories. Crystal is his best friend, the sister he never had, and he loves her and all her pranks and flaws. And he will do anything in his power to save her because he will not allow her to lose herself and her personality because of the mafia.