14. Bear

Chapter 14

The days after Bear and Olivier went all the way together were full of work, fun, and plenty of action underneath the sheets. Bear might not have given Dante an answer yet on whether he was going to leave the academy, but there was no denying the fact that his decision was being more complicated by the day.

And it was all down to one special boy.

Olivier was working hard to master the arts of surveillance, tracking, and the other bodyguard skillsets. In fact, had Olivier not been such a talented hockey player, Bear would have said that there could have been a future as an elite bodyguard for the boy. Olivier might have been smaller than most who worked in security, but there were plenty of times where that would be an advantage too. Moving stealthily was a lot easier when you weren't a man mountain, that was for sure.

In fact, after providing plenty of very positive feedback about Olivier to Danilo and the other Doni family members, Bear knew that his time training the boy was probably coming to an end very soon. And with this in mind, Bear and Olivier were sent by Danilo to New York City on a surveillance mission.

The three day trip would be high stakes, albeit with a preference for zero engagement. This was all about studying the movements of a gangster who had been making moves that went in direct contravention of the inter-family agreement that had seen a fairly peaceful few months play out.

In brief, Danilo had received intelligence saying that this renegade mobster was planning a coup in his own family – and part of that was recruiting other disloyal members from other families. Danilo had long suspected that there had been a mole in the Doni family, and this was a belief held by his predecessor Antonio too.

Bear knew that if he and the boy could follow and observe the mobster, he might lead them to the mole who had caused some serious death and disruption for the Doni family since before the academy was even established. And if they could do that, then both Bear and Olivier would be very much in the Doni family's good books.

But before they could start thinking about the outcomes of a successful mission, Bear and Olivier needed to fuel up ahead of a busy day ahead…

‘Come on, let's grab a coffee,' Bear said, furrowing his brow as he crossed the busy New York street with Olivier a few steps behind him. ‘And keep your distance until we're seated. This might be a live mission, but I want you to use all your training.'

‘Yes, Bear,' Olivier replied, a steely focus in his voice.

Bear nodded and the two of them crossed the road and made their way toward the large coffee spot. With the sun in the sky and the hustle and bustle of the city around them, Bear and Olivier were like two ordinary guys out grabbing a coffee together. Of course, the reality was very different – and Bear's choice of coffee spot was far from a coincidence…

‘Check out the apartment block across the road,' Bear said, taking his seat in the outdoor seating area. ‘Black metal entrance doors, two security guards on it.'

‘Got it,' Olivier replied, his eyes immediately darting to the door. ‘They're not regular door staff, are they?'

‘Nope,' Bear replied, sipping on his double espresso. ‘And what do you notice about their appearance?'

‘Loose overcoats,' Olivier replied. ‘A regular doorman would be in something more formal, buttoned up. They're both carrying guns.'

‘Yup,' Bear said, his mind already doing the calculations. ‘And believe it or not, those two sonsofbitches wouldn't hesitate to open fire, even in broad daylight. If our man gives them the signal, they'll start spraying bullets like they're in a firing range. We need to tread carefully.'

Bear looked to Olivier and gave him a look to emphasize just how serious this situation was. Bear knew that Olivier had come a long way in his training, but this was a whole other level. The boy had never been through anything like this before.

This was real.

This was live.

And if the wrong moves were made, it could be deadly.

‘His name's Joey Trocco,' Bear said, his voice cold and his eyes still fixed on the apartment entrance. ‘Danilo told me that this is a guy who rose up the ranks quickly, but was never destined to make it all the way to the top. And that's where the trouble is. Some guys just can't accept that they're not going to be one of the senior bosses. It hurts their ego too much, and it leads them to trying crazy shit like going up against their own families. It never works out too well for them in the end. Well, almost never.'

‘So why would someone from the Doni family join with them?' Olivier asked, curiosity in his voice. ‘If they're going to lose anyway, what's the point?'

‘Greed, ego, the foolishness of pride,' Bear said. ‘Trust me, I've seen it all over the years. You don't work with the men I've worked with and not come across more than your fair share of usurpers and disloyal rats.'

Bear chuckled as he remembered the tricky situations he'd been in alongside Dante Chiellini. Navigating the perils of the mafia life was tough, but no day was the same and there was always more than enough intrigue to keep him mentally motivated in a way that just wasn't possible as an academy instructor.

‘You loved your old life, didn't you?' Olivier asked, clearly picking up on Bear's nostalgia for his days as a Mafia Daddies NYC bodyguard. ‘It's okay, you can tell me.'

Bear nodded. He didn't want to give too much away or get into a deep discussion as the pair of them were meant to be focusing solely on the task at hand. Plus of course there was the fact of Dante's job offer that Bear still hadn't revealed to Olivier. Now simply wasn't the time to be getting into that.

‘Life is what you make of it,' Bear replied, finally. ‘And right now, all that we should be thinking about is the here and now. Tell me, boy. What do you see when you look at the entrance to the building?'

Bear looked at Olivier and could see that the boy was taking his time to assess the apartment block before giving an answer. This was a good sign. It showed that Olivier was able to temper his impulses and think before diving in with a response. It was this kind of behavior that Olivier had struggled with when they first met, and it made Bear happy to see how far he had come.

But that didn't mean that Bear was going to give Olivier all day to respond.

‘Come on, we're time sensitive here,' Bear said, his voice calm but full of quiet authority. ‘What do you see?'

‘I see… two men on the front door. Both armed,' Olivier said. ‘I see a side alley that almost certainly has an emergency exit. And I see… a blacked out SUV pulling up.'

‘Fuck. It's go time,' Bear said, finishing off his espresso as he saw Trocco stepping out from the building's front door. ‘We'll trail them on the bike.'

With that, Bear and Olivier sprung up from their seats and hopped onto the motorcycle that Bear had sourced for the visit. Riding on two wheels meant that weaving in and out of busy city traffic was much easier, and it also meant that they could hide behind other larger vehicles if there was any danger of being spotted.

And the fact that Bear got to ride with his boy's perfect body all cozied up behind him was an added bonus that hadn't gone unnoticed…

‘Hold on tight,' Bear said, putting the blacked out visor of his helmet down.

‘Yes, Daddy,' Olivier giggled, pressing his crotch up against Bear's butt. ‘I'm never letting go of you.'

‘Good. Now let's find out where Trocco is going,' Bear growled, is voice audible above the motorcycle's roar. ‘I've got a feeling he's going to lead us directly to the rat that's been doing the Doni family dirty.'

With that, Bear revved up the engine once more and the pulled away in pursuit of the SUV. Bear knew that they might be heading into dangerous waters. But Bear had been there and done that many times before. Bear feared no man. And now that he had his boy with him, he was determined to be more ferocious than ever should the situation demand it…

After tailing the SUV for several blocks, Bear slowed down the motorcycle and watched as the blacked out vehicle pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an old warehouse.

‘We need to get close,' Bear said, his voice low as he turned to Olivier. ‘You can stay here if you want. I'm not going to make you come with me. Don't worry, it's cool.'

‘No, I want to come,' Olivier said, a look of focus and determination in his eyes. ‘This is what I'm here for. And I'm loving it. It's maybe even better than being on the ice.'

‘Okay, good,' Bear replied, ‘But stay close to me. Keep your eyes and ears open. And do not engage unless I give an order otherwise.'

Bear took his spare pistol out of his jacket and handed it to Olivier. The boy had been through firearms training with Paolo back at the academy, so was well versed in what he needed to do should the situation call for it.

With that, Bear and Olivier carefully approached the warehouse and climbed up the fire exit stairs so that they could get a bird's eye view of what was happening. With any luck, Trocco would be with the rat already and Bear and the boy could grab some photographic evidence and then bounce without being seen or heard.

However as Bear treaded as softly as his huge frame would allow him across the metal concourse, he saw that this was far from being a simple meet-up between Trocco and a solo rat. As Bear and Olivier photographed each of the mob bosses and gangsters in attendance, it became clear that this was something way bigger than either Bear or Danilo had imagined.

‘We're good, let's make our exit,' Bear whispered, confident that he had photographed every man in the run down warehouse ground floor.

‘Okay,' Olivier replied, his voice so quiet that even a dormouse wouldn't have heard it.

However just as Bear and Olivier were making their way back toward the first floor fire exit, a round of bullets let rip through the air. They'd been spotted. It was time to forget about going under the radar and simply leave as quickly and loudly as possible.

‘Fucking move!' Bear hollered, crouching and taking his pistol out, returning fire to buy a second longer for Olivier to get in front of him. ‘Don't look back. I'll be following you, boy.'

‘Daddy, no, I'm not leaving you!'

‘I said move!' Bear roared, adjusting his position so that he could aim a couple more shots while still mostly under cover. ‘We don't have time. Just move that fucking ass.'

With that, Olivier duly followed orders and scurried toward the exit.

Bear fired off a couple more shots, with plenty more headed his way in return.

As Bear ran down the fire exit with Olivier a few steps ahead, he realized that their only real hope of making it out alive was to get to the motorcycle. The mafia thugs wouldn't necessarily know where they'd parked, and as long as Bear could get to the motorcycle in time, he felt confident he could power away before taking any bullets.

But it was a big if.

As the pair of them ran toward the jet-black motorcycle, time seemed to slow down. Bear's mind was filled with images of Olivier. He was a sweet, party-loving boy. Was it really the right thing to bring him into this ruthless, violent world? Was the whole idea of the academy a misstep on the part of Danilo? Whatever the answers to those questions, Bear knew that he simply had to focus all his energy on the escape.

This is it. This is my whole life.

I can't let Olivier down.

I have to get us the hell out of here in one piece…