Chapter 67: Reciprocity

Location: Café Venosa – After the Smoke Attack

Visibility was blurred by the black smoke filling the place, and the sounds of coughing and cursing filled the air. Marco's men were trying to regain control, while the mysterious man sent by Valdiano stood at the entrance, flaunting his absolute confidence.

Marco (wiping his eyes, trying to see clearly): "Valdiano's messenger? That's a ridiculous name, don't you have a real name?"

Mysterious man (laughing sarcastically): "You're in no position to be sarcastic, Marco."

Salvo (trying to get up after falling from the smoke): "If you're Valdiano's messenger, can we file an official complaint? Because this smoke is so disgusting."

Rocco (laughing despite the situation): "Yes, and we should get compensation for the damages!"

Mysterious man (coldly): "Your words won't save you... Today is just a warning, tomorrow will be a death sentence."

Marco didn't intend to listen any longer, he quickly raised his gun and fired a shot directly at the mysterious man's head, but...

The bullet passed through his body without hitting him, as if it were just an illusion!

Franco (screaming in surprise): "Damn it! Is this a ghost?!"

Luca Ferri (readying his heavy weapon): "I don't care if it's a ghost or a monster... the bullets will solve everything!"

Colombo (trying to analyze the situation): "Wait... it's not a ghost, it's just a holographic show!"

Marco (angrily putting down his weapon): "Valdiano is messing with us... this is just a ridiculous show."

The mysterious man (smiling): "Smart as expected... but will you survive what's coming?"

Suddenly, the hologram disappeared, but before it disappeared, a screen on one of the tables lit up, and a new message appeared:

"I gave you a chance to escape... but you chose war. Prepare to die."

Regaining Control

Luca Ferri (screaming as he opens the windows for ventilation): "Damn this smoke! Someone bring me a gas mask or at least a strong coffee!"

Lucino (coughing violently): "I won't let anyone destroy my café"

Franco (joking as he coughs): "Luca, can you shoot the smoke? Maybe he will disappear?"

Luca (laughing): "If you want me to tear the whole place apart, of course!"

Finally, the smoke slowly began to clear, and everyone began to recover.

Marco (looking at everyone): "Valdiano sent us a clear message… but he doesn't know that we don't believe in messages, but in actions."

Salvo (smiling): "And I think the time for actions has come."

Colombo (sitting in front of his computer): "Let me return the favor… I'll hack their systems and send them a message from us."

Reciprocity

After minutes of typing and hacking, Colombo finally smiled.

Marco (curious): "What did you do?"

Colombo (laughing): "I sent a message to Valdiano… with a little gift."

Rocco (laughing): "Don't tell me you sent him a destructive virus?"

Colombo: "Oh, not just a virus… I made all his screens show a live video of us, drinking coffee and laughing On him!"

Franco (laughing): "Great! Imagine his face now!"

The final surprise

But, before they can enjoy their small victory, an alarm goes off on Colombo's device.

Colombo (looking at the screen in shock): "Wait... Something's wrong."

Marco (quickly approaching): "What's the matter?"

Colombo: "I tried to hack into their system, but it seems they were expecting it... There's a signal heading our way!"

Salvo (worried): "What do you mean?"

Colombo (looking at them with a grim face): "It means... Valdiano knows where we are now, and they're probably on their way!"

Everyone is silent for a second... Then Luca Ferri gets up and grabs his huge weapon.

Luca (smiles dangerously): "Well... Let's prepare our own welcoming party for them!"

End of chapter.