Chapter 27

Xavier who had been in Burgundy, France for over two weeks now climbed out of his car. A Mercedes Benz that was the envy of those around. He got it two months ago as a gift to himself for completing a million-dollar deal.

He was in France to strike a deal with a very influential drug Baron. For over a year, he had been chasing this deal and partnership and if it worked out, they would be able to export drugs from France to New York City.

The Baron was proving difficult to work with. The man was very stubborn and Xavier has no idea why this was so. As far as he was concerned, the terms of the deal were straightforward. There was no need to wrack your brain to try to understand the terms but apparently, the baron wanted to stretch the agreement for as long as he liked.

Patience was something Xavier didn’t have and he was already losing the last bit of it. The deal was already in its final stage and if it didn't work out, he would have no other option but to call it off and if he did that, the drug baron might pay with his life for wasting his time.

Xavier, now on his way to the building the Costello family family-owned waits to get to his bed. Already, he could feel the tell-tale sign of tiredness in his muscles and his joints. He needed to get some sleep. He had a feeling that the coming days would be filled with a whole lot of tension.

‘’Boss.’’ a voice called just as he stepped into the balcony heading towards his suite.

Xavier turned in the direction of the voice and discovered it was one of his most trusted men. The look on his face told him that something was going on. With the kind of activities they engaged in, Xavier wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they were probably threatened by an attack. It was something he was already used to.

‘’Yes?’’

‘’I just got some information that a trap has been set for you and you need to be careful boss,’’ he said.

His name was Juan and he was in the closest ring to Xavier. Whatever information he had gotten was bound to be true because he had his eyes and ears all over the city.

‘’This trap… is it from the drug Baron?’’ Xavier asked.

If it was from the bastard, he wanted to think about the best way he could deal with him. No one threatens the Costos and gets away with it.

‘’I’m not very sure about that boss. My sources didn’t specify. We have to be careful boss seeing that we’re about to close a major deal.’’ Juan sighed.

Xavier chuckled, opening the door into his room. He made his way to the high-backed chair that faced the window. Juan knew that since he hadn’t been dismissed yet, he had no right to leave when Xavier hadn’t told him so.

‘’No one dares threaten me, Juan, I want you to know that. If they do and I find out who is behind it, heads will roll. I don’t care whoever is behind the threats because I know that they dare not challenge me.’’ Xavier said, confidently.

Juan nodded. He was assured that whoever was behind those threats would never get away with it. Xavier was ruthless and he wouldn’t stop at anything until he got whoever was behind it.

‘’We need to map out a plan,’’ Xavier said.

‘’I’m all ears boss,’’ he said,d.

‘’I want to talk to all of you so I need everyone here,’’ Xavier said.

Through his walkie-talkie, Juan was able to summon ten of their most trusted men. Xavier’s suite was large enough to accommodate them all and they didn’t waste any more time before getting down to business.

‘’I called you all here because we have to map out another strategy in case any eventualities occurs.’’ Xavier began.

The men remained silent for a while before one of them spoke up. According to him, the best thing they could do was to get added security and firearms. The drug baron was known to have a lot of arms and ammunition at his disposal and the only way to beat him at his own game was by having more than he had.

‘’Thank you, Alessandro, that’s a good idea,’’ Xavier said.

The meeting ended soon and just before the men left, he gave an order that more arms and ammunition should be supplied from their base right there in France that very night. Xavier wasn’t taking any chances when it had to do with him dealing with his enemies.

They left soon and he was left alone with his thoughts. His mind worked furiously as she strategized on the best way he could take his enemy down. It was now clear to him that the drug Baron was trying to play games.

‘’I’ll get you and when I do, you’ll wish you’ve never been born.’’ Xavier smiled.

The day to sign the deal came like every other day. Tensions were high on as they left their base discreetly, heading towards the drug baron’s hideout. They had to be as secretive as possible and to do this, they travelled in unmarked cars.

Usually, the Costosos drove in marked cars with a big red ‘’C’’ printed on their black SUVs. This time around, they drove in unmarked cars, a very good disguise that was proving effective.

Soon, they got to a gated community. As they drove in, after being searched by the armed guards at the gates Xavier knew he had just driven into a dangerous environment. He could feel the tension radiating off him and his team and deep down, he prayed that all went well but if it didn’t he had no other option but to go through the next means which was a gun battle.

Despite the tension he was feeling, Xavier wasn’t scared because he was fully loaded with weapons. He was armed to the teeth with guns of different calibres strapped to his body. There was no telling that he was fully prepared to fight if worse comes to worst.

Asides from that, Xavier’s men had already surrounded the perimeter and the order was to shoot on sight. They weren’t going to take any chances when it came to the drug baron. He was very ruthless when he wanted to be and Xavier had a feeling that this was one of the cases.

Soon, they got to the warehouse where the meeting was to be held. Taking a deep breath, Xavier climbed out of the car with his most trusted aid, Juan by his side. He didn’t know what to expect and he wasn’t about to go in blindly.

He could very well handle them by himself but he needed another eye, someone that could see places where he couldn’t see and Juan was the best person for that.

‘’Do you see anything odd?’’ Xavier asked, his eyes moving everywhere.

‘’Not yet boss but don’t worry, I've got my eyes everywhere,’’ he said.

‘’Good.’’ Juan simply said.

They walked into the main area of the warehouse and upon getting in, they found the drug baron sitting on a high stool, flanked by two guards. The looks on their faces were menacing no doubt but Xavier wasn’t concerned about that. His main concern was on the drug baron who was staring at him with a devious look in his eyes.

‘’Welcome,’’ he said.

He had a deep baritone voice that shook the corners of the room where they were. His huge bulky frame filled the whole chair he was sitting on.

Unknown to Xavier, the drug baron has another plan. For a long time now, he had been planning payback for the money Antony Costello was owing him. Andrew might have forgotten all about it but the drug baron wasn’t one to forget.

He had been secretly planning on how to get back at him one way or the other and now that his beloved son was in his lair, he had just found the perfect opportunity to strike.

‘’The deal, that’s what I’m here for,’’ Xavier said.

The drug baron laughed. It was deep dry laughter that was devoid of any emotions whatsoever. It waspelledoom and bad things to come.

‘’Why so in a hurry daddy’s boy. Don’t you want to play first?’’ he grinned.

With the way he grinned, it reminded Xavier of a devil’s grin and the drug baron was indeed a devil. As Xavier stared at him, the drug baron’s mind went back to how Andrew Costello had tricked him and supplied incomplete goods to him even when he had paid in full.
It was something he would never forget in a hurry and now that his son was here, it was finally time to unleash the anger in him. The drug baron was assured that Xavier wouldn’t be leaving the warehouse alive and that was something he would make sure of.