Mercenary's War

Cesare looked sorrowful, glancing at the entrance of the operating room, and whispered, "Can I go see Mario first?"

Frank whispered back, "No, we have more important things to do. Come with me."

Frank reached out and nudged Cesare, then went directly to a small room nearby, opened the door with one hand, pushed Cesare inside, casually shut the door, and then pulled out Cesare’s phone, saying in a low voice, "Here’s your phone. Call everyone important and have them come to the house for a meeting today at six o’clock, telling them Mario is calling them."

Cesare took his phone, turned it on, and asked softly, "Can I ask what you plan to do?"

Frank hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, "I’ve already called Claudio; his plane has taken off and he’ll be back soon. I’ve told him not to come to the hospital but to wait at home."

Cesare was shocked, stunned for a moment, and then raised his voice, "You’ve brought Claudio back? Damn it, you want him to take over as Head of the Cicero Family!"

Frank squinted his eyes slightly, saying in a low voice, "Is there a problem?"

Cesare gritted his teeth and said, "Of course there’s a problem! Claudio can’t take over as Head of the Cicero Family; you’ll get him killed! Look at the situation now, we’re under attack, even Mario is dead! Claudio is still just a big kid, and having him take over as Head of the Cicero Family at a time like this will get him killed! Frank! Listen, if you care about Claudio, you should keep him away from Italy, away from danger!"

Frank quietly watched Cesare and said softly, "Aren’t you going to help me?"

Cesare grabbed Frank’s collar, lowered his voice, and gritted his teeth, "Bastard! You can’t bring Mario’s son back here to die; what can he do? Claudio is just a child who hasn’t grown up, a playboy, who could live comfortably with billions of dollars for life, but you’re bringing him back to die! The right thing to do is to contact Lorenzo immediately!"

If Frank wanted to, he could break Cesare into pieces with his bare hands, let alone being grabbed by the collar, but Frank didn’t do that; he just said in a low voice, "This is Mario’s will."

Cesare let go, stepping back in shock, saying quietly, "No, that’s impossible, Mario wouldn’t be so foolish. You and I both know what Claudio is like, Frank, you and I both know he doesn’t understand how to lead the Cicero Family. Mario tried, but Claudio is still a playboy; Mario wouldn’t ask Claudio to take over, he wouldn’t."

Frank sighed deeply and said in a low voice, "Claudio is Mario’s son, his only son, Cesare."

Cesare was dazed, and Frank said softly, "Mario told me a long time ago, in case of any accident, Claudio should take over everything. He said so long ago. You have to help me now; make the calls and say Mario is calling everyone for a meeting. Just do as I say. I know what I’m doing."

Cesare took a long breath, picked up the phone, dialed out, and in a calm voice said, "Meeting at the house today at six."

His tone was as usual, and after making over a dozen important calls, Cesare hung up the phone and sighed, "They’ll definitely come. What do we do next, what’s your plan?"

After speaking, Cesare laughed self-deprecatingly, waved his hand, and said, "Never mind, you don’t need to tell me. I don’t need to know."

Frank spoke in a calm tone: "No, you need to know. My plan is to gather the important people, have them swear allegiance to Claudio, and those who oppose will be eliminated. Then comes the internal cleansing, removing anyone uncertain and replacing them with our people, those loyal to Claudio."

Cesare was shocked again, saying, "You’re crazy! At this time, you’re going to cleanse the important members of the Cicero Family? The Cicero Family can’t handle such turmoil."

Frank coldly said, "How do we know without trying? Maybe it will cost some, maybe we’ll lose some power, but it’s better than handing everything over."

Cesare was sweating, wiping the sweat with his hand, and said in a trembling voice, "Frank, doing this might lead to complete ruin, you know we have many enemies, a lot, and if internally unstable..."

Frank quietly said, "With both of us helping Claudio, I believe we can succeed."

Cesare laughed self-deprecatingly again, saying in a low voice, "Us two?"

Frank replied confidently, "Yes, us two. I handle the force; you handle the intelligence. Claudio is indeed a child who hasn’t grown up, but that’s because he didn’t need to bear pressure before. It’s different now; his father is dead, so he must bear it all. Give him time to learn, and he’ll manage."

After speaking, Frank patted Cesare’s shoulder, saying in a low voice, "You’re worried I’ll kill you? You’re overthinking. Mario never thought that, never."

Cesare was petrified, saying softly, "He didn’t?"

"He didn’t, never did. Don’t forget, you’re Mario’s best friend. How could Mario kill his own friend? He thought you could take care of Claudio after his death, Cesare. Mario trusted you, always did, so you’re overthinking."

Frank finished speaking lightly, patted Cesare’s shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Calm down, think about what to do next. I’m good at action, not thinking; Mario said so, so I’ll follow your lead."

Cesare took several deep breaths and said in a trembling voice, "Alright, I’ll go see Mario now."

Frank shook his head and said softly, "Not letting you see him, just wait. Wait for the doctor to stitch him up; you need to calm down. Don’t be too sad, we have too much to do. I’ll call you later."

Frank left, closing the door behind him, leaving only Cesare.

Tears streamed down Cesare’s face; he covered his face and sobbed uncontrollably.

Cesare wasn’t just sad; he felt more shame, the shame brought by betrayal. It turns out, Mario truly considered him a friend, not just words, but shown through action, enabling him to work with Frank to support Claudio’s rise, making him the delegate of Mario’s trust.

But Cesare had more important duties.

After crying silently for a while, Cesare murmured to himself, "I’m sorry, Mario, I’m sorry, but I can’t watch the Cicero Family be destroyed, truly can’t. I’m sorry..."