Chapter 21: Invitation to Hell

Marco sat in the Venosa Cafe, looking at the paper he had received after their escape from Luca Ferri's headquarters. The address on it was unfamiliar, and there was no signature, just a cryptic sentence: "If you want to know the truth… come alone."

Franco and Salvo were sitting in front of him, looking at him expectantly.

"You're not going, are you?" Franco said as he placed the coffee cup on the table.

Marco didn't reply, just twirled the paper between his fingers.

"Marco!" Salvo said sharply. "Anyone who goes on a mysterious date alone ends up in a hole, or inside a wooden box!"

"That is, if they don't end up in the sea with cement on their feet." Franco added, raising his eyebrows.

Marco smiled sarcastically. "You're great at reassuring me, thank you."

Colombo, who was sitting in the corner of the café drinking his coffee very slowly, said without looking at them: "Go, but put a tracking device on your clothes. If you fall into a trap, we will know where to find your body."

Marco sighed. "How positive you are!"

Luca Ferri, the dangerous arms dealer, already had a wide network of contacts, and now they discovered that he was probably connected to the police themselves. The question is: who sent this message? Is it one of Luca's men? Or is there a third party at play?

Marco decided that he could not ignore the message.

"I'll go." Marco finally said as he stood up.

Franco and Salvo exchanged glances.

"Okay, but if you don't return within two hours, we will consider you a ghost." Franco said as he pointed to his watch.

"Or turned into a pile of bones in a dark basement." Salvo added with a sarcastic smile.

"What wonderful friends you are." Marco said as he walked out of the café.

The Mysterious Date

Marco arrived at the address written in the letter. It was an old warehouse on the outskirts of town, looking abandoned but not.

He stood in front of the iron door, then knocked twice.

He waited for a few moments, then the door slowly opened, as if someone was already waiting for him. He walked inside, where there was only one table in the middle of the room, and a person sitting in front of it, smoking a cigarette quietly.

He was a man in his mid-forties, wearing a gray suit, and his black glasses hid his gaze.

"Marco, I knew you would come." The man said in a deep voice.

Marco did not sit down. "Who are you?"

The man smiled, then slowly put out his cigarette.

"My name is Valerio Rossi."

Marco narrowed his eyes. The name was unfamiliar, but the way the man pronounced it indicated that he was not just an ordinary person.

"Why did you call me?"

"Because I want to offer you something... something that could change the game completely."

Marco did not move. "What game?"

"The Mafia game, Marco." Valerio said, leaning forward. "I know everything about you. I know that you and your friend Franco are looking for a way to win the game. I know that you robbed a bank. I know that you work with Colombo and now have an arms dealer on your team."

Marco showed no emotion, but he felt a twinge of anxiety. How did this man know everything?

"I'm working with a party that wants to turn the tables on everyone." Valerio continued. "We don't just want to win the game… we want to end it completely."

Marco frowned. "You mean…?"

"We want to eliminate all ten gang leaders." Valerio said in a low voice.

The silence in the room was thick.

Marco felt that this man was playing a very dangerous game.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked cautiously.

"Because we need someone inside the game." Valerio said, looking at him steadily. "And you, Marco, have the determination, ambition, and madness to fight this war."

Marco looked at him for a long time.

"You're asking me to betray the game itself."

Valerio nodded. "I'm offering you a chance to be part of something bigger than just a mafia game."

Marco took a deep breath. He knew that if he agreed, there would be no going back. But he also knew that if he refused, he might not get another chance to understand what was really going on in the shadows.

"I'll think about it." He finally said.

Valerio smiled. "But don't take too long, Marco. The clock is ticking… and the game is coming to an end."

Marco walked out of the warehouse, his head buzzing with thoughts. He knew he couldn't make such a decision alone.

When he returned to the café, he found Franco and Salvo waiting impatiently for him.

"You're back alive? Oh my!" Salvo said with a laugh.

Marco sat silently, then looked at Franco and said, "We have a problem."