The Don and His Diva

Maril stared at the sleek building in front of her. The well-guarded place was impossible to penetrate. She would be hauled out of the building in a few seconds and Maril wasn't keen on getting defamed in such an embarrassing way. After all, she had a name for herself in the gangster world and people did look up to her.

'I cannot lose my reputation like that. Otherwise, what will my underlings say?' Maril thought as she placed her hands on her waist while she continued to survey the place.

"Yoda, is the prey still in the building?" she asked her underling.

"Positive, Diva. I have been keeping an eye on the building since Rambo sent me the man's details," Yoda replied instantly.

"I see." Maril nodded and nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Going inside is out of the question. I don't want to be thrown out. It would be utterly shameful," she mumbled, not realizing how her words had triggered a distant memory in Yoda's mind.

"I can only wait for him to come out." She sighed and pulled her hair in frustration.

"By the way, Diva, why are we even waiting for this man?" Rambo stared at the picture of the man they were there for. The records showed his age to be thirty four. But he seemed older than that, almost around fifty.

'Must have wasted all his hard earned money on alcohol and gambling dens,' he thought as he went through his colorful records. 'Drugs, alcohol addiction, smoking, gambling. Aren't you a gem? Who knew you were desperate to die?' Rambo's lips twitched when he saw the job the man did in the building. 'Janitor. For the pay you receive, you sure are a spendthrift.'

"Let's just say he did something no one has ever done before."

'Here she goes again,' Rambo thought and shook his head helplessly. 'Why can't she answer directly? Is it fun to maintain a suspense?'

"Diva!" Yoda screamed immediately, and the two other people connected to the call cringed in dismay.

"Yoda, if you are going to shout, warn us first. I don't want to be deaf," Maril chided the man who had sent her ears ringing with his shrill scream.

"Diva, don't tell me the man has captured your heart?" Yoda ignored her scolding and put forth the unbelievable notion that had sprouted in his mind all of a sudden.

Rambo's eyes instantly went to the man in the picture and his lips twitched. 'Does Diva like this kind of man?' he wondered and tried to imagine them together.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I will take a liking to such a kind of man?" Her tone was laced with disgust and Rambo snapped out of his imagination instantly.

"I don't have such a terrible taste."

Neither man spoke this time as they recalled how vivid and out of the world her likes were. It was evident from the names she had given them after she took them as her underlings.

'Yoda and Rambo?' Rambo grimaced. 'I should feel better. At least, I am not Yoda.'

"Diva, you cannot blame us. You like unusual things like Yoda, Dobby, Groot, and whatnot. It's not unusual if you like this man as well," Yoda argued, and Rambo nodded even though no one could see it.

Maril huffed in anger, her attention diverting from her mission momentarily. "I like cute stuff. Yoda, Dobby, and Groot are cute. And this man is anything but cute. There is no way I would like such a man. My man will be hot, sexy, and handsome."

"Then, what are we doing here, Diva?" Rambo opened a bag of chips and started munching on them, not caring that his listeners would hear it.

"That jerk insulted my Godfather. I am here to teach him a lesson. How dare he!" Maril clenched her fists as flames of anger erupted in her eyes. If she had the power, she wanted to burn the man to ash through her eyes. 'That would be an amazing ability.' She thought, her mind diverting for a moment.

As soon as the two men heard her words, their expressions changed. With hardened gazes, they glared into space, hoping to kill the man who had dared to insult the man they respected the most. To them, their Godfather was their savior and any kind of disrespect to him was intolerable.

"Are you going to kill him? We should have brought a machine gun with us." Yoda punched his fist into his free palm.

"Yoda, I think my fists are enough for him. Do you think he can escape from my punches?"

That shut the two men up. It was undeniable that the lady who seemed all ditzy and unhinged was actually a punch master. Nobody knew where she got her mighty strength from. She could send a man tumbling with a thwack. With her around, there was no need for any other weapons.

Yoda and Rambo prayed for the man. Maril's punches hurt like hell, and she was skilled enough to make sure that he would be in pain for a long time to come.

"How long is he going to stay inside? My hands are itching to beat him up as soon as possible." Maril cracked her knuckles and loosened her muscles as she prepared for a fight. "It's not like he is the CEO or something for him to keep working here at this time of the night."

Rambo rolled his eyes when he looked at the time. It was only seven and most people only clocked out of work after six, sometimes even later. It was not surprising that their prey was still inside; after all, he was a janitor.

"Patience, Diva. Patience," Yoda pacified her. "His job should be done soon. Even if he isn't done, he must leave the building sometime soon. He can't be staying inside forever."

"You are right." Maril sighed and rubbed her tummy. "I don't think I can sustain myself until then. I am going to eat something in the meantime. Inform me once the man leaves the building," Maril instructed, without caring that someone was still starving, someone who hadn't budged from his place for a few hours now.

"Diva, you can't do this to me," Yoda cried out instantly as expected, and once again, the other two squinted their eyes, unable to tolerate his ear-bursting wail. "Take me with you. I am hungry as well."

"Who is going to keep a lookout for our prey?"

"Ask Rambo. Anyway, all he has to do is hack into the CCTV cameras and find our target. He can intimate us once the prey is about to leave," Yoda replied as if he was waiting for her to ask the question.

"Not happening. Even if Rambo keeps an eye, we need someone to capture him when he leaves." Maril rejected his suggestion outright. "What if we are late?"

"Diva..." Yoda wailed, but his objections fell on deaf ears.

"It's decided then and don't worry, Yoda. I will buy you a scrumptious dinner once we are done."

"I am not at all looking forward to it." Yoda knew what her scrumptious dinner would be. A burger and coke. How amazing!

"You can look forward to it today. It will not be burger today," Maril promised, igniting Yoda's dwindled hope.

'And he caught the bait.' Rambo clicked his tongue when he didn't hear any complaints from Yoda. 'Fool, if it's not a burger, it will be some pizza place. I guess pizza is better to some extent.' He didn't reveal the truth to Yoda, allowing the poor man to build his hopes.

"Rambo, is the man still inside?" Yoda asked defeatedly while Maril looked for a place to have her dinner.

"Yes. Didn't you keep an eye on the building all this while? You should know better."

"Hey, what if he has left already? Maybe he drove a car today. We might be wasting time here if that's the case."

Maril stopped the moment she heard his words. "Rambo?"

Rambo understood that it was his cue to find the truth."

"Nope, not possible. The man doesn't have a car."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she continued towards the burrito place she had found on the internet.

While Yoda kept surveillance on the company, Maril filled her stomach with delicious burritos and coke. It took her no more than a few minutes to fill her stomach until she was satisfied. Downing her coke swiftly, she threw the can into the bin. Burping softly, she returned to her previous spot, not caring that her antics were making someone lose his mind.

"Diva, I am going to..."

"He's out," Rambo intervened before Yoda started to lash out.

"Great." Maril narrowed her eyes as she fixed her gaze on the target. "Yoda, are you ready?"

Yoda sucked in a deep and suppressed his hunger. "I'm ready."

"Good. Rambo, take care of everything else."

"On it."

"Are we going to..."

"Kidnap him? Of course. I can't punch him here. What if the police are around?" Maril replied as a matter of fact. "Yoda, get the car ready. I will bring him."

"Okay."

Neither Yoda nor Rambo stopped her from doing what she wanted. The woman was their boss anyway and her punches should be reserved for their target, not them.

Maril assigned the men their jobs as she stalked her prey who seemed oblivious to her presence. Luckily for her, the man moved to a secluded place, making it easier for her to attack him. With great agility and experience, she rushed forward. Before the man could react, she used her great technique, her biggest strength. Her karate chop did the job and the man dropped to the floor instantly.

"Yoda, now."

Hearing her order, Yoda drove to where she was.

Maril pushed the pudgy man inside and entered after him.

"To our place?" Yoda questioned while Maril took care of everything else.

"Yep."

Maril tied the man's hands and legs and blindfolded him before she leaned back. "Make sure to get the car washed, and the seats sanitized later."

"Will do."

Yoda nodded and glanced at the man who now seemed to be oblivious to what was happening to him and what would happen to him in a few hours.

"That was easy," Rambo commented while he prepared a bowl of noodles for himself.

"I know." Maril smiled victoriously, not realizing that all her words were being transmitted through the mini-listening bug in her captive's pocket.

"Did you see the lady's skills, Don?" the driver asked as he followed the car ahead of him from a distance. "The karate chop was awesome. I haven't seen many people executing it as brilliantly as she did."

The man in the back seat remained silent. Half of his face was hidden in the darkness. Only his lips and jaws were visible. But it was enough to create a sense of mystery and allure around him.

"But why did she render him unconscious?"

"Do you think the lady is with him?" the man finally spoke, his voice filled with amusement and interest.

"Isn't she, Don? Why would she take him with her then?" The driver glanced at the man through the rearview mirror while he waited for a response. But he didn't get any for quite some time. Just when he was about to lose his mind, he heard a chuckle from behind.

"Luca, would you knock someone out if you were working with that person?" he questioned and Luca snuck out his tongue when the realization hit him.

"What do we do now, Don?"

"Follow them. Let's see where this is going. I have a feeling that whatever will be happening soon is going to be quite entertaining."

"What about the documents that bastard stole?" Luca questioned, suppressing his desire to fire all the questions in his mind.

"You don't have to worry about them. They are all fabricated."

"But.."

"Luca."

"Yes, Don?"

"Drive. We will talk about everything else later."

"Yes, Don."