My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 2 Discovered by Marita A. Hansen Page B

gotten off scot-free, no one
being able to prove anything against them.
    A taller man came up to flank the don,
just twenty years younger, at a guess his son. The elderly don said
something to him, then headed for the table, while Frano, the
perfect host, ushered more men to their seats, the prick looking
pleased with himself.
    My eyes went to the man
at the end
of the line, a priest dressed in a black garb. He looked like the
elderly man, but considerably younger, in his late forties at a
guess. His hair was completely grey, while his pale eyes were the
same blue as Mario’s. He stopped and looked around the room as
though he was searching for someone. His expression turned to shock
when his gaze landed on me. He stared at me openly, the man saying
what sounded like a pray in Latin. Alberto, who was dressed in a
tuxedo, came up behind him. He placed a hand on the priest’s
shoulder and leaned over, whispering something into the man’s ear.
The priest looked uncertain, then a smile surfaced. He nodded, and
headed for the seat next to the elderly don.
    Frano walked to the other end of
the table and placed his hands on the back of his chair. “I am very
humbled that you, the esteemed Donatelli, have graced my household
with your presence. You are famiglia , but like all famiglie we quarrel.” He looked at Alberto, who
frowned back. “But we shouldn’t let our quarrels tear us apart;
instead we must move past them, which I hope we can accomplish
tonight.”
    “ Only giving us Jagger
will allow
this to happen,” the priest spoke up, his Italian accent
thick.
    “ I’m afraid, Padre , that is an impossibility, and your
don has agreed to something else. But, I would like to give
your famiglia more.” Frano pointed to me and the slaves. “With the
exception of the brunette, who is new to us and is destined for the
Black Russian, you may choose any two of Mario’s slaves to
keep.”
    The priest banged the table. “Offering us
the Devil’s whores will not appease what was done to me. Now, put
Gabriel in their place and I will gladly take him as a slave,” the
man said, using Jagger’s real name.
    Don Donatelli placed a hand on
the priest’s arm, whispering something to him.
    The priest’s jaw clenched. “If he had done
the same to you, you would demand his head. All I demand is for him
to be handed over. I will not kill or maim him—that is not my
intent.”
    Don Donatelli turned his gaze to
Frano. “What Gabriel did to my brother does need to be met with
more than what you have offered.”
    “ You were the one who suggested
the whipping,” Frano said, looking worried. “I am just giving you
more out of courtesy.”
    “ I understand that, but on
reflection it appears that I was being unfair on my brother by
going easy on you.”
    “ You haven’t been going easy on
me; you’ve been running my famiglia into the ground.”
    “ Then hand us Gabriel, so we can build your
business back to what it was like in your father’s
prime.”
    “ I cannot hand over
blood , and
you gave me your word that Jagger’s whipping would be the end of
this matter.”
    The priest stood. “The crime
was done to me; therefore it is my word you must adhere to, ragazzo .”
    Frano straightened. “I am not a
boy! I am the don of my famiglia .”
    “ If you want to be respected as
one, hand Gabriel over.”
    “ My father was respected and he
never curtailed to your demands.”
    “ You, Frano, are not your
father. You cannot command or strike fear into me or my famiglia like he did. You
are just a boy playing in his father’s shoes.”
    “ How dare you!”
    “ I will dare all I please,
godson, and if you truly believe I am innocent of the crimes that
Gabriel used as an excuse to mutilate me, then you must hand him
over.” The priest cocked his head to the side. “Do you believe I am
innocent or do you want a holy war on your hands for smiting
me?”
    Frano looked over at the Donatelli don,
then back at the priest, his