CJ glanced out of the front window of the cramped van as the stone path crunched under the tyres of the six vehicles.
"Aiden, you copy?" she checked, speaking into the comm in her ear.
"Loud and clear, boss lady," he chirped.
She shook her head, smiling slightly. How was everyone so calm right now? From what they had found out, Antonio Romano was the leader of one of the most powerful gangs on this side of the Atlantic.
"Check security cameras,"
"On it." After waiting for around a minute, the reply came through.
"There are at least a hundred men in there, no women that I can see. Romano just disappeared through a door behind a painting in the office on the second floor." The gang grimaced. They were outnumbered, two to one, not to mention, Philip de Luca likely already warned him that they would come.
Contemplating the likelihood of their success, she stepped out onto the street behind the warehouse. On her command, the rest of the men followed suit. Letting out a shrill whistle, she turned her back on the crowd. She motioned forward with her index and middle finger, leading the group to a back entrance of the warehouse.
"Two guards, middle-aged. Unarmed from what I can tell," Aiden informed. CJ and Leo locked eyes, nodding simultaneously. As though they had practised a hundred times, they smoothly opened the door. Silently, they slipped into the building alone taking out both guards with syringes filled with a powerful drug.
Dropping the bodies on the floor, they reopened the doors, allowing the rest to file in. The fifty or so people who stood there were the only ones able to get to California on such short notice. Wordlessly, they fanned out, each group reaching a different door.
Leo, Adrian, Mike, Iago, and Paulo were in charge of the groups assigned to take out or capture Romano's men. Aiden had set the cameras on a loop and Dennis was with him back at the house.
"On my signal," CJ whispered into the comm, alerting the other six, creeping up the stairs to Antonio's office. Once outside, she placed her palm on the handle of the glass door.
"Now."
☆☆☆
All hell broke loose. Gunfire echoed through the big halls of the house. Screams and yells filled the air as men rushed to their weapons, prioritising their own safety.
When she heard the distraction, CJ slammed her shoulder into the wooden barrier, pushing it open. Reaching the painting, which seemed to be a cheap knock-off Mona Lisa, she pushed it aside, revealing a dark hall.
Grabbing her torch, she heard Aiden's worrying warning.
"You're going in blind, CJ. Are you sure you want to go in alone?"
"Don't underestimate me, Aiden. That's the last mistake many have made."
"You can't go in! You don't know how many are in there," Leo grunted, clearly mid-fight.
"I have to. I can use their misjudgment of me to take them by surprise,"
"At least wait for me!" CJ took a deep breath, ignoring the protests of her peers, stepped into what looked like a tight, man-made cave. Lowering herself down the damp slope, she soon reached what seemed to be a hollowed-out room.
The stench of weed and sweat assaulted her nose as she looked around for Antonio. Cackles bounced off the walls; vulgar language filled the cave. Treading carefully, she moved on, barely making a sound.
Upon hearing footsteps, CJ pinned herself to the wall, hiding under the cover of the thick smoke. As soon as they passed, she continued on, checking every room for the boss. Each contained a small group of large men drinking beer, smoking, and gambling.
Finally, she heard his voice. Sneering and making jokes, he was perched on the edge of an almost throne-like seat.
"Bring in the next!" he called out, forcing CJ to cover her ears. Slipping into the room, she saw what they were cheering and hooting for.
A young girl dressed in jeans and a dirty, white shirt was chained to the wall. Her head was hung low and she could barely stand straight.
"That son of a bitch," CJ seethed, resisting the urge to wring his neck then and there.
"What?" Iago replied, seemingly not fighting.
"Sex-trafficking." CJ didn't need to say much more as she heard multiple growls on the other side of the comm. Looking back, she took a good look at the girl.
She was Hispanic, her long, bloodied, dark hair hung low at her waist. Momentarily she looked up at CJ, making eye contact. Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
"This is the last, boss," an unknown man stated. Romano nodded.
"Has anyone had their way with her already?" CJ fought against the bile in her throat.
"No, sir, we know how you like them," came the reply.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," she whispered to the gang. Suddenly, the whole room was filled by every man that had been in the cave.
"There's been an attack upstairs, sir. We will protect you with our lives," someone shouted.
"They'll never find us here, boys, don't worry!" Romano reassured.
"Brave last words," CJ muttered to herself, attaching a silencer to her handgun. Carefully, she took out two men with shots to the head, dragging their bodies into the corner.
Coming up behind the next, she slit his throat wordlessly. The man next to him watched, his eyes wide in horror. She took care of him before he had a chance to speak, dumping their bodies in the same place.
"Did anyone hear that?" a man yelled.
"What?" came the reply.
"It sounded like a silenced gunshot!"
"You're hearing things!"
"Am not!"
At that, Romano's gang descended into chaos, giving CJ the perfect distraction to take out more. Blood dripped from her forehead and stained her clothes. The pile in the corner grew gradually bigger as she killed more.
The trapped girl watched her in silence, her face filled with a mixture of awe and fear.
"Where did half of my men go?" At the sound of Antonio's voice, CJ backed into the opposite corner.
"They appear to be... dead in the corner, sir."
"Who dares attack my men in my warehouse?" Stepping out of the shadows, she smiled at the boss.
"I did."
YOU ARE READING
The Mafia Queens
Action"I came because your father passed two days ago. Drew is dead. You know what this means, right? You're next in line." - - - CJ Dickson is pulled out of her life in England and thrust into the USA, where she is supposed to assume her father's positio...
