Five

The clock chimed in the living room at the same time Ricardo's alarm rang, it was the second day of the three days he had given to Luiz Sanchez and there was no news from him. Ricardo was growing impatient, he normally would have killed the man for his error but Luiz was a nice asset and the man served him well. Besides, this was his first mistake in the job but Ricardo was sure this was going to be his last.

"To be a leader is a huge responsibility, Ric" Ricardo could remember his uncle, Anthonio Lopez stroking his gun as he talked that Sunday evening. "You don't have to be loved by your subjects, you just have to be respected" he continued.

"Respect?" A 12 year old Ricardo asked with genuine interest in his features. "How do I get them to respect me?"

"By getting them to fear you" Anthonio had answered offhandedly.

Ricardo wasn't exactly getting it, "how do I get them to fear me?" He asked again and Anthonio gave a hearty laugh.

"By becoming their leader"

Anthonio Lopez moved from being the disowned cast out child to being the ruler of the greatest mob ever formed in Madrid. He had taken Ricardo under his wing after his sister, Monica had passed away from both sickness and the loss of her incompetent runaway husband which she never healed from. The Lopez siblings had just the two of themselves, their extended family weren't really keen on having anything to do with them and with Monica gone, Anthonio was all little Ricardo had in the world.

At age 13, Ricardo was undefeatedly one of Anthonio's best shooters and before he got to 15, he was already Anthonio's right hand man. Anthonio never had the chance to further his education and he knew Ricardo had a knack for management and business so he enrolled him into a school and a few years later, Ricardo Alvarez graduated with a degree in business management. From just existing in the Mafia world, Ricardo brought the mob into the business world and 6 years later as Anthonio Lopez lay on his deathbed dying from a gunshot wound to the chest, Ricardo Alvarez became the head of the Mafia.

Luiz Sanchez walked out of the Pedro mansion with his head hanging low, he was unsuccessful, again. From Salamanca to Centiro and then to Retiro, Luiz Sanchez was running out of options. The one person that could have helped him was the person he was indebted to. There wasn't much options outside the mob and noone would even make an attempt to help him for fear of being found out by the boss.

In the Mafia world, there was a strict "No involvement in the boss's affairs" policy and everyone obeyed it way more than anyone had ever obeyed the ten commandments. Anthonio had taught Ricardo how to instill fear into his subjects and Ricardo maximized it to the fullest. His men respected him way too much they wouldn't do anything without his consent. So, Ricardo was very surprised to find out Eric had applied for M.I.T behind his back.

Going to M.I.T had been Eric Matteo's dream ever since he was a child, his father was a tech guy and he wanted nothing more than to go to space. The two didn't really correspond but they were alike and Eric was content. M.I.T was the big guns of the technology world and it was going to take Eric one step closer to his dream of joining NASA and going to space, if he ever got in. Born and bred on the streets of Madrid, Eric found out at an early age that the way of life wasn't science but violence. He wasn't M.I.T material and after joining the mob while in college, he decided to give up on the dream. Giving all his savings to Luiz Sanchez was him way of saying goodbye to his childhood dream and Eric wasn't as traumatized as he thought he would be. M.I.T wasn't for him, Eric knew that much but he had applied in a moment of extreme excitement and as he waited for a response with anticipation and dread, he knew he had made a bad choice.

Diane sat at the porch of their little apartment waiting for her father, he had been gone most of the day and she had spent the day worrying about him. The previous day had passed in a blur, Luiz skipped both meals and returned home very late that night. He walked straight to his room and stayed indoors till the next morning, he was out of the house before Diane woke up. She was very worried about her father, she knew something was definitely going on with him but she didn't know how to bring up the topic. Whatever it was, it was eating him up badly and Diane decided she had to get the truth out of him anyway possible.

As the taxi dropped him off in front of his house, Luiz Sanchez was almost in tears. He had spoken to all his brothers, his sisters, infact, he had reached out to everyone he knew but he still wasn't able to raise half the money Ricardo demanded for.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Diane's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He stopped and stared at the door, his daughter was sitting in the cold and he was sure she had been there for quite awhile.

"Why are you out here so late?" He asked totally ignoring her question. The neighborhood wasn't safe enough for a young woman to live in not to talk of sit outside so late in the night.

Diane got up from her seated position, "I've been waiting for you" she said, "You usually don't stay out this late"

Luiz glanced at his watch, 10:12pm, it was way past the time he came home. He had been too busy pleading with his siblings to keep track of time. "It's quite late" he said walking past Diane into the house. She followed in toll.

"Talk to me, Dad" Diane pushed, "what's going on?"

Luiz plopped down on the couch and removed his shoes, he was exhausted he felt like passing out. "Diane, get me something to eat" he said, evading her question again.

An hour after they had finished their late night dinner, Diane sat on the floor in front of Luiz Sanchez and listened as he told her the story of the mob. She had heard about Ricardo Alvarez but as she sat and listened to the tales of the Mafia, it felt like she was hearing about a different person. Everyone in Madrid were in a love hate relationship with Ricardo Alvarez and the Mafia, they feared him but they also respected him. Some wanted to be like him, some wished he would just drop dead and some wanted to end up being either the wife of the Mafia boss or if they weren't so lucky, his mistress. All Diane wished for was his sudden death, how could anyone be so heartless? Her father didn't squander his money, he had lost it cause of her health condition.

Diane went to bed with a heavy heart that night, her father had a debt of a million to pay in three days and the three days were going to be over by tomorrow. Ricardo Alvarez had promised to kill him if he didn't meet up with the deadline and with everything she had heard from the public and now her father, Diane knew he wasn't someone to go back on his word. Ricardo was going to kill her father.

Morning came way faster than Luiz and Diane had prayed for, it was the third day and Luiz had left the house before 4am. If he could find a way to get half the amount, he could make a plea for the deadline of the payment to be shifted. Luiz knew his chances were slim but he had to try. Death wasn't really inviting and he was all Diane had.

"Luiz Sanchez!" A voice rang out with so much authority it got Diane on her feet in an instant. She glanced quickly at the clock, 5:00pm. Ricardo Alvarez had come for his money.