A lonely street lamp flickered in the near distance.
Codi glanced at it in boredom. The scenery wasn't exactly something to admire. Just the same old dirty alleyway in the mafia’s typical hanging grounds.
Off to his side were two other soldiers, Archie and Dan, who had received the same orders to guard the door as himself while Andy and Thompson settled business inside.
Codi didn't envy the night’s victim. Taking loans from the mafia was hardly a healthy decision, after all. Given the lady was ‘invited’ to the base itself, he wouldn't count on her making it out unscathed.
As Archie yawned and tapped away idly at his phone, Codi continued to mull over the night’s task. It had been many, many years since Codi was assigned such a mundane job as door duty. The others were all older than him–all except Archie, that is–and yet every one of them was far newer to the family than himself. It felt as if he was being distanced from the main business, which worried him.
Why now, after all this time?
A recent discussion he had overheard only added to his concern. Whispers of traitors, furtive glances thrown by the capos and other higher ranking soldiers. People aren't as careful as they should be when they know that you can't speak.
Of course, many of them simply assumed Codi was deaf. The mask helped, concealed the physical evidence from prying eyes. Besides, only the higher ups truly knew what had been done to him, and he never bothered correcting anyone else.
In some ways it was a blessing he was known just as “Haystacks” and not “The Kid Who Disobeyed Direct Orders”–especially since he had never learned any better.
‘Strict parents raise sneaky kids,’ he mused, followed by an internal scoff and, ‘Some parent figure this lot is.’
He would have left long before rumors about traitors, but one thing made him stick around. More than anything in this world, Codi wanted to see the consigliere dead. He was far too cruel, had hurt far too many people–Codi included–to remain breathing.
Even that desire, however, fell victim to survival instinct. Staying would only get himself killed if they truly knew about his sabotage, which he was beginning to suspect was the case. Why else would he be appointed door duty, of all things?
Which left only one loose end. One task to accomplish before taking his bags and disappearing into the night.
See, Codi hadn't heard his name in the hushed speak of traitors, but there had been a name.
Arcade.
The man had to be warned. If he wasn't, he would surely be tortured and killed–possibly even by the consigliere himself.
Codi wasn't about to let a fellow traitor-in-arms fall victim to that kind of punishment, not when he could still help it. He could use an ally, anyways, if he ever hoped to deal any real damage.
All he had to do was find Arcade and warn him apart from the others. He had to be careful–any note he tried to write ran the risk of being seen by unwanted eyes. He had to warn Arcade in person, make sure the man believed him.
The difficult part would be finding an opportunity to do so, especially if the Mafia no longer trusted him. They would do their best to keep potential traitors apart, not to mention Codi knew nothing of Arcade’s schedule.
Codi sighed, the sound more akin to a hiss, and let his eyes drift to the sliver of street visible from his vantage point. To his surprise, he found eyes looking back at him–or at least, in his general direction–as a figure passed by the alley. For one brief second the street lamp illuminated the person beneath, and Codi’s eyes widened.
He was by no means familiar with Arcade, but being in the same gang he had, of course, seen the other man before. To his absolute bafflement, the figure was the very same Arcade he was looking for.
‘Think of the devil and he shall appear.’ Codi was never a believer in luck, but this felt nothing short of divine intervention. Like the universe itself was rewarding him for doing something good, for a change.
Glancing back at Archie and Dan, he pointed at himself and made a walking motion with his fingers, then indicated both of them remain where they were.
Neither of them looked particularly bothered by the prospect, and Dan gave a little nod. Even if they thought he was strange, that didn't change the fact that Codi still had superiority among them.
Besides, two people were more than enough to handle door duty for a bit.
Taking off down the alley, he waited until he'd passed the corner to pick up speed. To his delight, he spotted Arcade not too far ahead.
He knew from experience that sneaking up on a gangster was a dangerous game, but with no voice to call out with he instead raised his phone, flashing his flashlight in a few short bursts to catch the other man’s attention.
