Page 41 of A Game of Survival

At this, he laughs, he actually fucking laughs at me and I have to fight the urge not to ram him through the two way mirror. “Don’t be stupid, Mr Costello. You know as well as I do, that if somebody does notwantto be found. Then you will not find them.” He walks over to his chair and sits down, motioning for me to do the same but I remain silent and alert where I’m standing as he continues. “Vincent and I, we never got on, not since we were teenagers. His outlook on life was predominantly full of drugs, alcohol and women. Something that was very different to the life I led myself. I ended up moving away, cutting ties with him completely and leaving him for our parents to deal with. I was sick of bailing him out and I couldn’t stand to watch the things he did to the girls he managed to sink his claws into night after night. Always promising them a night of ecstasy but come morning, there was always someone's blood on the sheets.”

His words make my stomach churn at the thought of that blood being Lucille’s. I will never forget the bruises that covered her when she ran from him or the imprint of his hand across her neck. “You could have fucking stopped him.” I snap.

Marcus simply raises one eyebrow at me and tuts loudly. “Now, now, Mr Costello. Let’s not get into the blame game here. You left your sister all alone with him. Did you not?”

That's it, I’m going to kill him. I surge forward again, but the chair once again aids to his advantage as he’s able to dodge my body.

“That’s exactly what I thought, Mr Costello. You are as much to blame as I am for what happened. But I will let you in on a little secret.” Marcus taunts, his lips pulling into a devilishly evil grin. “I’m glad he’s dead. Because to me, he was merely one more piece of shit that I had left to wipe off this earth.”

“You’re fucking cracked,” I scoff. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

Marcus returns to his chair, holding his hands up in mock defeat. “I’m so glad you asked. You see, I’m here to offer you a deal. One I assure you, you won’t want to pass up.”

“Why should I trust you?” I laugh maniacally at his stupidity.

Marcus has a sense of calm about him that unnerves me while he casually drums his fingers against the table before once again smiling that animal-like grin at me, baring his teeth and narrowing his eyes. “Because I have the ability to put you behind bars for the rest of your life for a crime you didn’t even commit. Is that what you want? To never be able to see your sister and your nephew again? To leave them both in the hands of even more monsters? She was no match for one monster. Do you think she can handle three?”

I feel the air of the room become stiflingly hard to swallow as I drag my chair and sit across from his unyielding gaze. Marcus’s eyes darken. “Well done Mr Costello. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he chuckles again, which I’m beginning to lose my patience with.

“Just get on with it. You may not be Vinny but you look exactly like him and I can’t fucking stand the sight of you.” I spit, reveling in the way his jaw tightens at my insult.

“Very well. I need you to help me take down Ronan Costello,” he says, straight to the point, taking me completely off guard. I don’t know what I expected from this situation, or what he could possibly need my help with, but that sure as shit was not it.

“You want me to help take down my father?” I ask, scoffing in the process.

Marcus simply nods his head, pursing his lips as he carefully gauges my reaction. “Your father has been on the FBI’s radar for years and it hasn’t been an easy task to be granted access to his inner circle. I lost four good men at the beginning of this assignment who were all unable to gain his trust and be accepted into the underbelly of the criminal world. So it only seemed fair to take the task on myself when it was time to regroup. It has not been easy to get to the position I am at today with your father, but now I need your help to make my final move.” Marcus leans forward, planting his elbows on the table and linking his fingers together as he takes a deep breath.

“What do you need me to do?” I ask, genuinely curious as to what he thinks I can possibly do to help him. “If you’re so in with my father, you should know that I am as good as dead to him. He has already given the order to kill me and kidnapped my nephew in return to take over the business when the time comes.”

Marcus nods. “Who do you think got you out of that cellar, Mr Costello?” He asks with a one sided smirk.

My eyes grow wide in surprise as the recognition in his voice filters through. “That was you?” I gasp.

“I need information, Mr Costello. All of it. All of the drug transactions, the gun shipments, the names and locations of all of his properties and the name of his associates. I know this is information you have considering you both play big roles in the same organization.” Marcus roles off like we’re in some sort of business meeting. Not understanding that what he’s really asking of me, is that I rat on not only my father, but my men too.

I stay silent for a moment, thinking how I could possibly get out of this situation. Do I agree to do his dirty work and then disappear as soon as I get out of here? Would Lucille ever forgive me? Word will surely get out, and I’ll be better off dead than to let anybody from the outfit get their hands on me. “I can see your thoughts, Mr Costello. Your worry for your skin once word gets out that you’ve ratted out not only one of the largest mafia bosses in the game but also your own father. But listen to me when I say that you will in no way be associated with any of this. You have my word. I have bigger fish to fry. I will clear your name and ensure that you and your family are left alone.”

“Your word means nothing to me.” I snap.

Marcus assesses me for a long time as I battle back and forth on what to do and how best to ensure that whatever happens doesn’t affect Lucille or Teddy. How the fuck our lives got to this point I’ll never know, but here we are. Playing mind games and harboring secrets that will get you killed.

“Cole Salvatore seemed to trust me. He was able to look at the bigger picture.”

My eyes immediately widen. “You were with Cole?” I ask, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together in my mind.

“I have been with him since he decided to alienate himself from his brother. He understood what was at stake and you owe him for the safe return of your nephew.” Marcus reveals, narrowing his eyes slightly.

I swallow the dry lump in my throat before swiping my tongue out between my lips as the air from the room threatens to suffocate me.

“If I do this. If I fill in the missing pieces and inform you of everything you need to know to take down my father, you have to give me your word that Lucille and Teddy will be taken care of.”

Marcus smiles at me with his eyebrows shooting to his hairline. “You think you’re in a position to be making demands?” he laughs, throwing his head back but I ignore it. This will only be done on my terms.

“As far as I can see, yes, you need me. You are the one asking for my help, not the other way around Agent Holland.” I snap, wiping the smirk off his face at the formality of his name. And as he sits forward on his chair, intertwining his fingers on the table, I find it incredibly difficult to look past the face of Vinny staring straight back at me with his slick back hair and hardened features.

“They will have no involvement in any of this, you have my word,” he acquiesces.

“And both Salvatore brothers along with Lincoln Rossi are to have nothing to do with this either.” I demand, straightening my shoulders and lifting my chin. “They are to be redacted from any part of your investigation against Ronan Costello. Whatever crossovers you have, you are to remove them, make sure they never happened.” The room falls silent as his features remained unchanged. “Do we have a deal?” I urge my voice with a little more authority this time. Marcus and I both know that I’m the one with the upper hand now.

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