The Story of Blood and Roses

"First you tell me why you suddenly had to call me up for the information. You could've just waited until Anthony called you."

"I'm getting utterly bored waiting for the call and I know nothing about who I'm supposed to work with! Hell, I was supposed to work closely with you but I didn't know you until that little celebration."

"Anthony told me that you'd be like this. You are a curious little thing," he commented.

"And the two of you gossip like old ladies, so what? I need the information as soon as possible," I demanded. He nodded at that.

"You did bribe me with food. And don't think for a second that I'm not wondering where the food is because I know you'll not cook."

"It will arrive in a while," I assured him. He nodded again and went back to drinking from the bottle.

"What do you want to know? I need to know where to start from."

"Start from how the mob functions. Who are the heads, what do they look after and who works under who; I need to know all of it."

"Mob functioning? I think I understand what you mean. So, okay..." he let out a breath and a look of concentration came over his face. "We are not like the mafia, so we don't have any names assigned to the positions we hold. But we do have this pyramid structure going on. The gang works in such a manner that the heads are always informed and actively take part in whatever happens. The heads are a group and everything is put under two norms: collective responsibility and isolated responsibility. So if one section totally collapses, the head is not the only one who gets caught or spared. There is a mass purging. But if it is one person causing all the problems then that person is discarded. I think that is how it normally functions, but Anthony is particular to remind everyone that anyone who makes a mistake is disposable. It works wonders. I've seen him doing away with a whole sector just because they were not doing their work." He shook his head, probably trying to forget about it. I would've asked about it but didn't want to stop him from saying what he wanted to.

"To be honest, even though they are scared of Anthony and his brutality, they can't help but respect him for his sense of justice." I might have narrowed my eyes at that, so he smiled at me and rephrased. "Of course, there is no doubt that he also believes in using people to their full capacity. That explains why he kept up with Scott despite knowing that the guy was a rat."

"He's a dangerous man, isn't he?" He nodded and it was answer enough for me.

"Make no mistake, he is a bad man, but he also takes in strays and gives them sources of income and protection. Take Sean for example. Anthony saved the boy from getting caught by the authorities and misled them. No, he didn't need to do it, but he did, anyway." His voice softened as he spoke of Anthony's kindness. The man obviously worshiped Anthony.

"But didn't he want to use Sean?"

"He does make use of Sean's talent, but he doesn't need to. We do have a very good team of people who handle what Sean does, but Sean's talent needed to be cultured and the boy needed saving from that mother of his. He is a luxury Anthony indulges in just to raise the demand for the boy, Sean is not a necessity. He loves the boy, nonetheless." The information stunned me.

"You are close to Anthony?" I asked him softly.

"Yes. The man saved me from dying years ago." And that was all he said. It piqued my curiosity, but I didn't ask him to elaborate. "I owe him everything." He waited for a few moments before he continued.

"So, that's how he keeps everything working." He took a deep breath before starting again. "Now, there are a few sectors that you need to know about. There is a spy sector. Their work is to search for information and infiltrate other organizations so that we have a perfect flow of information and an upper hand in anticipating any future gain or loss that may occur. Eric is the head of that sphere. You'll probably never meet him because he himself is a part of the programme and actively participates in the work. I think he is on a mission Anthony assigned him after Scott was exposed." I nodded for him to continue. "Then there is the computer and hacking section. It is a newer and smaller sector and we have about fifteen or so people working in it. Sean is one of them. Leo heads the group. The old loon learned these things late in his life, but manages all those teenagers and college kids wonderfully."

"We have Tanya Smith working for us. She has a wide contact base and a team across the world that ensure that Anthony's existence is kept under the wraps and any activity that might give away our activities, downplayed. You may have heard of her."

Yes, as a matter of fact, I had. She was an award-winning journalist and supposed to be one of the most honest of the lot. It seemed like that assumption was wrong.

"The team consists of publishing house editors, editors in newspapers, other journalists and on-field journalists. They even have a few freelance photographer and cameraman working under her. She also takes care of publicizing other gangs and providing bad publicity to all those who go against us." I gulped a lump in my throat.

They had it all figured out. Anthony didn't trust freelancers because they had the liberty to change teams. He worked with people who were loyal to him and him alone. It was a good way to go, I guessed. It was working out beautifully for him, anyway.

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