Chapter 1 : New Beginnings

The first chapter of the Mafia Thriller 'Long Live the Val'Deloires.

Chapter One: New Beginnings

     Soft, murmured rumbles erupted from outside her door, a small groan sooned joined them. The noises were incessant, ones that would grow upon someone's nerves quickly. Cori turned over in her bed. The dark surrounded her now, it was only about three, maybe four in the morning. Her slender fingers slid back through her onyx locks of hair. She grumbled a bit more as she rolled out of bed, stumbling towards the door with an outreached hand, fumbling to find the handle.

     The rumbles became louder as she shuffled down the long hallway, to the stairs. Her hand wrapped around the tall, wooden railing upon the balcony, regaining her balance as she walked along lethargically. Peering over the balcony she saw Patrick. His muscular frame was thrusting a broom forward towards a male figure. She quirked a brow not sure of who it was that he was fighting. She couldn't see the mystery man's face from where she was at. She tiptoed quietly down the top couple of stairs to get a look.

     She raised her right hand in one fluid motion, squinting some as she wiped some sleep from her eyes, she was starlted as one of the stairs loudly creaked. She let out a rough sigh, watching Patrick as he continued to thrust the broom towards the man. She stepped back a little, waiting for a moment before she continued down the stairs. Her eyes followed Patrick as the broom flew towards the mystery man with tremendous speed. Cori rushed forward, just incase Patrick would need help fighting the masked hooligan off, but she noticed as she ran that the masked figure was a coat rack dressed up in a coat and hat.

     Patrick turned holding the broom out protectively towards her, his knuckles were white from the tight grip he held upon the handle of the broom, after being a bit spooked by Cori's sudden appearance. He slowly lowered it with a deep, resonating chuckle, "What are you doing down here?" His hand moved to his forehead, wiping away a bit of sweat that had formed from his early morning games with a coat rack.

     She grunted unhappily, regreting walking down stairs now. Her slightly bloodshot eyes stared up at his face. Her arms slowly rose to cross over her night shirt, an oversized t-shirt with Japanese symbols running down the front. She then began to speak, "I heard all the ruckus and came down here to see what was going on. At first I thought you were fighting someone, but now I see you were just beating up an innocent coat rack."

     Patrick stepped forward, his fingers coming to move through her hair lovingly, his deep, blue eyes staring down at her pale face. His hand then jerked, moving quickly it ruffled her hair, "There's no need to worry about me, kiddo." He smirked, largely. He knew his words would rile her up, which was most of his reason for saying it.

     She pushed his hand from her hair, roughly. Letting out a loud, gravely grunt as she turned, her feet rushing her up the stairs, disappearing towards her room. She was indeed riled up, there was no way to help it, he just made her mad. No, beyond mad. She called back to him, wanting to have the final word, or words, "Don't call me kiddo, Patrick," she paused for a moment, "you know I hate it." Her feet softly padded up the rest of the stairs, wanting to get away from him now. Right now.

     Patrick chuckled deeply once again, amused with himself for the moment. He stepped back to the coat rack, his fingers coiling around the wooden pole that made up the base. Pulling the rack back up into a standing position he waited for it balance and quit wobbling before he walked away. He then turned, resting the broom he carried against the wall before he walked tiredly towards the couch, plopping down onto the soft cushions. His mouth opened wide as she let out a yawn, his eyes softly drooping as he fell to sleep quite fast.

     Cori had stopped silently at the top of the stairs, watching Patrick as he finished up his fun. Her brightly colored, green eyes blinked slowly, she was tired again, but that was normal from what she had just left behind down stairs. Waking up at four in the morning. She gently ran up the last of the stairs, turning around the balcony easily. The hinges of her bedroom door squeaked quietly as she pushed upon the door, leaving it slightly ajar as she returned to her bed, falling upon with a yawn, quickly falling to sleep just like Patrick, barely awake for another moment.

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     Cori slowly turned over in her bed, her eyes flickering open, moving to the bright light that now fell upon her face. Her window was open, the pure white drapes blowing softly agains the soft morning breeze. Her lips parted into a small smile as a Bluejay came to rest upon the window sill, chirping a joyful tune. Her fingers grasped the edge of her thick, lavendar comforter, tossing it across her legs as she uncovered. As she turned to stand her feet fell upon the softly carpeted floor, her slender frame stretched upward, her arms raising high towards the ceiling. Htere were some soft pops and cracks as her joints loosened.

     She walked slowly towards her dressed, the large wooden structure held up a wide mirror that she looked into. Her was practically standing up on end from tossing and turning all night. Her hand clutched a maroon brush from atop the dresser, slowing pulling it through her hair with ease. Her lips parted in a soft yawn as she sat the brush back down upon the dresser. She turned slowly, trudging  towards her closet, pushing her hands through the various pairs of pants and shirts. Sighing she finally pulled a pair of faded jeans from the hand. She tossed them onto her bed before she began her search for the perfect shirt. Smiling bright her hands yanked upon a red, flanned shirt.

     She dressed herself in a matter of minutes, dancing to an unheard beat in her head. She turned to the mirror once again fixing her shirt. Her hand rose flashing a peace sign as she struck a pose, letting out a small giggle at herself. As she neared her bedroom door she slid on a pair of black flats, then rushing off into the hallway. Heading for the stairs she glanced towards a door at the end of the hall, Jack's. She rolled her eyes knowing he wouldn't be up for a while. She descended the stairs with ease, bouncing off the bottom step and making a swift turn into the kitchen. Humming an upbeat song to herself she pulled open the refrigerator door, it popping open, the bright light shining upon her eyes. She was partially blind for amoment as she searched for the carton of orange juice. Once she found it she pulled it out, resting it on the counter as she went to retrieve a glass from one of the small cupboards. Pulling out a tall, clear glass for her orance juice she sat it upon the granite counter top.

     After pouring her orange juice and replacing the carton into the refrigerator she walked towards the kitchen table. The chair made a noise as the legs slid across the wood floor, her body plopping down onto the seat. There was a soft thud that came from over head, something told her that Jack's butt had found the floor this morning. He'd surely be down soon now.

     The kitchen was peaceful for the moment, giving Cori time to think aout the situation she was in. Evicted from her last apartment Jack, her best friend since pre-school, took her in. She let out a content sigh, Jack was a sweetheart for his hospitality although is other room mate was another story. patrick was interesting, he'd been living with Jack for about three years now, ever since they had met at college. He kept Jack sage, because Jack was in dange at every moment.

     Jack was twentyfour and the newest Don of the Val'Deloires. Ever since his father, Peter Val'Deloire had dies he had been running the mafia. He was the only one in line for the job and the only one willing. It was dangerous for Cori to be here, for every moment that Jack was in danger, so was she. Jack was a dangerous roommate, or atleast a perilous one.

     There was a sudden bump at the door of the kitchen, Jack had achieved, yet again, running into the door frame. It had to have been the millionth time he had done it this month. She let out a musical giggle as she always did when he bumped his head.

     The disgruntled Jack stumbled forward, holding his forehead as she dropping his butt into the chair adjacent to Cori's. He groaned, his hand coming to land flatly upon thetable surface. Cori slowly spoke to him, trying not to let another giggle escape, "Are you okay?" She waited for his head to rise, like it usually did at this moment.

     Jack looked up, his eyes were completely bloodshot and looked scary this morning. He just stared at her for a few moments before he was able to speak, "I'm fine..." He then laid his head upon his arm, resting there for a moment. When he looked back up, Cori cracked a joke.

     "Morning, Sunshine." She giggle, standing slowly from her chair, she stepped towards the sink, where she began to rinse her glass. The clinking of the glass aginst the drying rack made Jack jump a bit, his ears sensitive this morning. She turned, leaning back against the counter, relaxed completely.

     Jack was in no mood this morning, letting off a sarcastic laugh before he stood, walking towards the coffee pot that sat in the corner. He pressed the 'on' button. He turned, his hand brushing the misplaced mess of hairs that fell in his face up over his forehead. Cori could now see the deeply impressed bags under his eyes. She tilted her head slightly, "Did you sleep okay last night?"

     His head just merely shook for a moment, watching the coffee pot intently, craving his morning fix-up. "Horrible." He spoke groggily and with a bit of a stutter. "Patrick kept me up all night with his broomstick skills." His eyes widened as pot filled to the point for one cup, he pulled it quickly from stand, his opposite hand jutting out to pull a small coffee mug off the counter. Pouring the coffee he glanced at her for a moment, then sitting the coffee pot back onto the stand.

     Cori pushed off the counter slowly, walking past him towards the table again. "I put a stop to that early this morning." She turned her head, her curly hair bouncing along with the movement, she looked out towards the living room, where Patrick had fallen asleep earlier, "I wonder if he's awake yet."

     Jack yawned loudly, also looking out into the living room, "He has probably already left for headquarters. He's an early riser." He took a long sip of his barely warm coffee, slowly walking with a steady pace towards the stairs. "We'll leave soon." He quickly ascended the stairs, disappearing into his room the door shutting behind him.

     Cori sat alone at the table now, her fingers mingling with her hair softly. She stood up walking towards the living room, her eyes falling upon the couch. Following the impression where Patrick had laid earlier. She scooped up one of the pillows that laid there, straightening it. She had at least a good fifteen minutes before Jack would back down. She followed the narrow hallway towards the front door, pulling her jacket off the hook. Her arms slid into the sleeves, the black fabric blending in with her outfit. She turned her head, looking into the hall mirror. She ran her fingers through her long, onyx curls, wanting to look good today, but for no apparent reason. She never knew when she'd run into a handsome man and fall in true love, but who was she kidding.

    She pulled open the front door witha quick twist to the door handle, reaching down she picked up the newspaper, scanning the headlines for anything interesting. Walking slowly back into the front hallway she shut the door, her eyes reading the small black print that was held before her. She heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Jack was ready. She laid the paper down upon a small table that sat in front of the hall mirror just as Jack rounded the corner. "Ready?"

     He was tugging at the lightly colored tie that hung around his neck. He hated wearing it but his father always had. She smiled towards him, "You look just like him." He knew what she meant and returned the smile as she retrieved his coat off the hook. He looked into the mirror for a moment, fixing his hair quickly before he began to push her out the door. "C'mon let's get a move on." He chuckled stepping out on the walkway behind Cori. Turning back to the door he pulled it shut, then locking it. He watched as Cori walked ahead of him towards the car, she instinctively went to the passenger door, knowing Jack would drive. He smiled, walking around the hood of the car, he tapped his hand upon it making her look up as she buckled her seat belt, she smiled waiting for him to get in the car.

     Jack turned the key in the ignition after he had buckled up, the roar of the engine rose as they steadily pulled out of the narrow driveway. The car  bounced a bit as they backed off the curb, Jack shifted gears speeding off down the street. Heading North bound towards the headquarters Jack flipped on the radio, a loud and techno like song began playing, his head starting to bob to the beat. He turned his head, smiling goofily at her with a chuckle.

     She followed his lead, her head moving to the beat now. Her musical giggle seemed to flow over the music now, filling the car with a gleeful feeling. Her hand tapped against the arm rest, her eyes following along with the speed of other cars passing them and the large buildings that lined the side of the road. The tires made a soft squeal as they turned a sharp corner, the large entrance of the Val'Deloires headquarters coming into view. The car came to a soft stop in Jack's parking space, the engine cutting off with a low rumble. She unhooked her seatbealt with ease, pushing her door open and stepping out. The morning air was still about, the fresh scent of coffee drifted towards her from the cafe down the street. "Mm..." She turned to shut the door of the car, walking around the tail end.

     Jack waited up for her so they could walk into the building together, his brown eyes scanning the sun rising upon the horizon. There were a few scattered people standing outside the headquarters, just mingling before they really had to start working. Cori walked easily up the cracking, concrete steps, the large archway over the door shielded the front doors from the sun this morning.

     Jack pulled the door open for her, waiting for to step into the lobby of the headquarters, where the bustling of people could be heard from even outside the doors. Cori moved, gracefully entering the lobby, some people's head lifted to see who it was then went back to there work. Jack stayed at her side as they both walked towards his office, as they did every morning.

     Cori was Jack's personal assistant, but mostly the two just sat around talking and gossiping, although usually Patrick interrupted their fun right when it got good. She glanced about the lobby, looking for Patrick, but there was no sign of him. Perhaps he was in his own office. She gave a light shrug before she stepped through the doorway of Jack's office. he was already resting in his large, leather chair, his feet propped up on the edge of the mahogany desk. He sighed looking down at the scattered papers that rested before him. "We still have a lot of work to do."

     Cori rested into a small armchair across the desk from him. Her legs crossed slowly and comfortably as she relaxed. "I suppose we do." She pulled at one of the many papers sticking out from the desk placing it into her lap. Surprisingly it was a picture, she raised a brow, holding it up for Jack to see. "Who's this?" The picture beheld a man, with black hair and grey eyes he was quite scary looking. She stared into his eyes, feeling the life of them, they sent her a vibe. Of hurt and sadness. Nothing more than that. This man must have gone through a lot in his time.

     Jack looked up, distracted from what he had just started writing. Looking the picture over, his face showed a bit of disgust, "That scum?" He muttered. "That's Erik Diamore. He's the biggest threat to the Val'Deloires and the newest Don to the Diamores as well." He sighed, reaching out a hand, pulling the picture from her hand, laying it back upon the desk.

     "I'd rather not talk about that at the moment." He tapped his hand upon the picture for a moment before turning to his laptop, lifting the lid and turning it on. He glanced at her, knowing she was a bit diappointed she wouldn't be learning much more about Erik. He typed the password to his computer in, now waiting for it to load. Cori gave the picture another look, one of her brows raising. There was something about this man that chilled her.

     There was a sudden knock at the door, she turned her head looking up. It was Patrick. He pushed the door open, stepping inside he spoke, "Good morning, Jack. Cori."

     Cori rolled her eyes a bit as Patrick came to sit down beside her, "Morning." She gently tapped her fingers bagainst the leather upon the arm of her chair. She wasn't very happy with Patrick after the whole 'kiddo' incident. She glanced at him, wrinkling her nose some.

     Patrick side glanced at her, smiling somewhat at her disgust with him, he then turned his head to look at Jack, "So, what are we doing today?" His foot tapped in a pattern upon the floor, out of boredom apparently.

     Jack sighed somewhat, "Nothing at the moment." He turned his chair, coming to stnad up he strolled towards the office door, "I'll be right back." He stepped out the door, disappearing.

     Patrick turned his head immediately, looking at Cori, "Did you get back to sleep last night?" He chuckled. "Or were you too worried about me, darling?" A smirk rose across his lips, just taunting Cori like crazy.

     Cori rolled her eyes once again, "As if I would care, I thought there was someone trying to get to the Don, Patrick." She turned her head away, not wanting to look at him. She hated him, why was he such a jerk to her? She hadn't done anything to him, but apparently, this was all fun and games.

     Patrick just stared at the back of her head, his smirk fading away. he knew that she was getting angry with him. He sighed turning to look away. He looked around, spotting the picture sitting upon Jack's desk. "So, you and Jack were talking about Diamore?"

     Cori nodded some, "Yeah, I think he's probably planning something. An attack of sorts." She sighed, her eyes never wandering from where she stared, still quited peeved. She could only think of one word that would describe him. A small three letter word that was also a name for a donkey.

     "Well yeah, he's planning something, he was to the destroy the Val'Deloires!" He grunted heavily, his face turning a light shade of red, he was in some sort of rage. His hand clenched onto arms of his chair, panting.

     "Whoa, calm down." She looked to him quickly, "What's wrong?" Her hand reached out, her fingers wrapping around his forearm softly. She gave it a light squeeze, desperately trying to calm him down before he got out of hand. Her green eyes staring directly into his blue, oceanic ones. Which at this moment seemed to mesmerize her.

     He turned his head, slowly looking down at her hand. The contrast of her white skin against his black suit jacket distracted him for the moment. He sighed softly, taking a moment to calm down completely. "I'm sorry... I just can't stand the thought of that scum bag shutting us down."

     Cori gave his arm another light squeeze befor her fingers released his coat. She smiled somewhat, her eyes shifting away from his face, "Well, I think I'm going to run down the street and get some coffee. Want to come along?" She slowly rose from her chair, looking down at him.

     He shook his head, staring at the floor. "No, I'm fine. You go ahead." He relaxed back into his chair, his hand coming to rest underneath his chin, thinking about random things. Including the Diamores. "I'll wait here till Jack gets back. He'll probably have some work for me to do."

     She nodded softly, "Alright. I'll be back soon." She turned stepping out of the office, she strolled through the lobby to the large entry doors. As she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the steps the sun shimmered gently against her shirt as she slowly walked down the steps to the sidewalk. A bright flash of light caught her attention, turning her head she saw a large, four door SUV driving past, slowly. The back window was partially rolled down, she could see the upper portion of a male's head. Black hair, grey eyes.

     Why did he look so familiar? She thought for a moment and then she remembered.

     ...Erik Diamore.

    

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Please be honest.

Reviews

[Ashley Holtzman]

I love you jade!!! LOL. But yeah, I love your story. YOU BETTER WRITE MORE! I swear, you're gonna be a millionaire when you publish this thing. It's gonna be the next Harry Potter or Twilight. Except, they have "mystical" creatures in theirs. Yours is more of the realistic type, like things that could really happen. It's amazing. I like how you describe everything, and you don't use the same wordsover and over again, which would make things repetative, and annoying. It's so good. You should write one on highschool life, Idon't know, it's just something you could relate to at the moment. Whatever works! It's amazing, keep it up!!

[Alex Isherwood Jones]

Don't like to be to outspoken,who am I? Any way here goes.
You have a good voice that draws you in and holds you there and so moves along easily with the flow of the story.However,just two small points occur to my feeble thought processes:the first is simply this type of story needs to get to a point of conflict,not so say actual violence a bit quicker to shock and set the tone for the dark side that is ever present for people living on the edge as people do in organized crime.I like your writing,but you have got to kick them in the balls now and again to make them sit up and take notice and the other point is nothing really much,it is just that maybe you need to go over this again and polish it up by being your own critic(which is if you choose to be ruthless with yourself much better than anyone else,since you are the only one how can know when you are there!) Chin-chin

[Syldor]

It sounds pretty interesting so far. A good start. ^^