Kingpin's Gambit: Shadows of the Syndicate

“Dad! Look what I made”, six-year-old Tessa Smith squealed and ran excitedly to her father’s study.

It was large and antique, with its huge mahogany shelf reaching the top of the room like hands outstretched to the sky. There was a big oak desk seated in the middle with sheets of papers sprawled all over the surface of the desk.

There, her father sat down, his head down to the work on his desk.

Upon hearing Tessa’s tiny voice, he looked up and smiled broadly; a smile that was found on a man who had just met his lover after so long. With a wave of hands, he motioned her to come further into the study.

“This must be an amazing work of art that made my little princess so excited. Now, what do we have here?” he remarked, peaking into what she was holding in her hands.

She giggled, showing off a few missing teeth. “I created an invoice for a business transaction”, she responded, proudly showing the sheet of paper in her hands.

James left his seat and crouched to her level, taking the paper and examining it closely.

Most of the invoice’s arrangements were messy with the wordings out of place, it couldn’t even be called an invoice but he still stared at her with a look of surprise and unexplainable joy.

“Don’t go with your usual words of appraisal, just let me know if it’s good or not” she pouted.

“Okay fine”, he surrendered. “Most wordings are not placed in the right manner but I’m proud of you. Where’d you learn this?” There was no form of amusement or mockery in his eyes.

“I want to be a businesswoman like my father so, I learnt from the best!”

James burst into laughter and ruffled her hair, “of course, you’re daddy’s best girl”

“Oh common, dad! I’m a lady, you can’t mess up my hair” she protested.

“My apologies, milady” he bowed and arranged her hair.

A figure appeared at the door; it was Kiera Smith, Tessa’s mother, who looked on lovingly with satisfaction as the father and daughter duo played and chatted happily.

She wanted to interrupt but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, she had come to increasing love her child more and would do anything for her; as a matter of fact, Tessa was her miracle baby.

~~

Kiera Smith formerly known as Kiera Jade Stones, a strikingly, beautiful influential model fell in love with James Smith, a business mogul whose success kick started when he just clocked twenty.

Their wedding was like a dream vacation spot filled with pomp and pageantry, it was a luxurious wedding filled with wealthy influential people including the president.

It made the headlines and paparazzi as much as the sands of time were present to show the world the beauty of luxury, opulence and class.

After the ceremony, everyone had expected a baby bump photo on their timeline and subsequently, a baby or two from the affluent couple. But months turned into years and no sign of little feet around their home.

They consulted the best doctors who assured them of their fertility and there was no cause for alarm. But Kiera was still bothered, what exactly seemed to be the problem? She would ask endlessly, her mind drowned in a myriad of thoughts.

Finally their big break came; in the seventh year of their marriage, Kiera delivered the beautiful witty Tessa. But Tessa was the only child they could own as parent, the doctors had warned Kiera on the complications that would arise if she makes any attempt to conceive.

She could even lose her life.

With this heartbreaking news, Kiera took a surprising decision; she retired from her career, her sole responsibility would be her baby girl.

~~

“Hi mommy” Tessa turned to the direction her mother stood.

“I see you’ve finally paid attention to me. For a moment I thought my husband have been completely stolen from me” she joked.

“Eww, gross mom. Daddy’s too old for me, and no one is taking your man away from you”, she spoke with sass.

James chuckled and strolled to meet his wife, he held her tenderly on her waist, “you heard that right my love, no is taking you away from me, neither will I be snatched from your beautiful hands”.

He took Kiera’s hands in his and kissed it; moving up to her lips and lingered, claiming it passionately in his. Kiera’s heart warmed up at the gesture, she couldn’t ask for another man as her husband.

“Uhhh, do you guys realize you have a toddler here?” Tessa spoke at the top of her voice; she was way smarter than her age. “What’s for lunch?” she said innocently with a cheesy smile.

James chuckled and Kiera glared at her; she didn’t want this moment to end as it seemed James would be in the arms of their daughter any minute.

They sat at their humongous table with the servants placing food after food; they ate in silence with a classic tune playing from the radio.

James loved classical tunes and they would be played whenever they were having a meal or performing a serious task or the other; he believed playing tunes of such manner would bring relaxation to the mind.

Suddenly, there was a huge sound like a missile was thrown to the ground. Everyone was alert, thinking of the next line of action. It was very unusual for anyone to infiltrate their home.

“Impossible!” James was more was flagger basted.

“What’s going on?” Tessa and Kiera asked at the same time, fear rising on their voice.

Their house was a manor located on the top of a hill. It was considered a villa as the manor had an expanse land with well trimmed hedges and garden, a lovely fountain at the centre, they had neighbors’ who lived far away from their environs and they had a collection of the best high-end security in the country.

Whoever must have gone past the long line of tight security personnel’s was no ordinary person and must definitely bear ulterior motives towards them.

“Go to somewhere safe in the house. And don’t come out till I give the signal” he turned towards the guards, “make sure everyone is safe”

“Daddy, will you be alright?” Tessa asked in fear.

“Of course my princess, daddy would be safe. Now go”

Kiera’s thoughts were messed up; so was Tessa. She wondered why a bunch of thugs would come to their manor of all places.

Who amongst them was their target?

How were the thugs able to break into their house despite the excellent security they had

Would they survive this?

She was scared that by the time they policemen would arrive, something would happen to them.

She prayed that they would be safe; she was clearly frightened and was almost wetting her panties with sweat and urine. Never in her life had she witnessed a robbery attack.

Or was it something else?

Tessa was terrified; she was only six and feared she might lose her life and cause grief to her parents. Worse, she feared for her father who was standing in the face of the danger.

She fought back tears and looked at her mother. Kiera held her closer and ran upstairs to their room. They hid in a secret room behind the wardrobe, it was small but enough to contain them both.

Downstairs, James took out his gun, pointing to the thugs who had infiltrated his home and causing chaos. He used both his hands and the pistol alternatively; it was a bloody fight.

After hours of listening to the deafening sounds of bullets in the air, the slash of knives and the cries of those taken down, everywhere seemed to be deathly calm. It was as if the fight had ended with no winning side and Kiera’s heart skipped a bit.

She looked through the crack from in the center of the wardrobe; she left the secret room door ajar so as to see if they were any danger around.

Soon the bedroom door was opened and a figure like James entered the room. Without a second thought, Tessa ran out innocently with excitement before Kiera could stop her.

“Dad! I’m so glad you’re safe….” The last word trailed off as she realized the man standing before her was not her father, but one of the thugs.

“No Tessa!” Kiera screamed and bolted out. Immediately, the man cocked his gun and pointed it towards them. They both closed their eyes expecting the worst.

Soon a gunshot was heard but they were too scared to open their eyes. They didn’t want know who had taken the fatal blow. Kiera prayed desperately it wasn’t Tessa as she could not feel any form of pain.

A body hit the floor with a dull thud, and as Kiera peered with an eye, James hugged them tightly. She opened her eyes properly to find out it was the thug, his life lying lifeless. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I thought I had lost you both”, he said with a muffled tone.

“Me too” Kiera whispered. This was going to be an experienced that wouldn’t be forgotten easily.

Tessa opened her eyes as well but she could neither move her body nor speak; she was visibly shaken. Kiera dashed to the bathroom to get a cloth and a bowl of water while James held her in his arms rubbing her back gently. Such experience was gruesome for a child to witness.

Kiera dabbed the Tessa’s body, saying soothing words to her to calm her nerves. They equally administered water to her, and then finally she motioned to them.

“I saw them…… I saw the thugs in the uniform of our guards” she spoke and fainted.

Kiera was on the verge of bursting into tears, she looked up at James and his look of assurance steadied her. He checked Tessa’s pulse and motioned the servants to prepare the car.

“She’s still breathing. This incident has shaken her to the core. We have to take her to the hospital”

“There’s no need for that” she objected. “We should call the family doctor instead, Tessa’s pediatrician” she suggested.

James nodded and took Tessa to her bedroom, laying her on her bed. Kiera’s heart sank at the pitiable sight of her daughter. Her skin pale like a ghost; her hair disheveled and visible lines of tears running down her cheeks.

Soon, the pediatrician arrived after what seemed like forever and while he was examining Tessa, James seemed to be lost in thoughts. The words Tessa spilled from her mouth before she collapsed held deep meaning.

This can only mean one thing: someone amongst his guards had given these thugs access!

Each and every one of the security personnel had IDs; they were registered, so access to the gate included scanning and ID cards. It was almost impossible to break into their home unless given access.

Immediately Tessa treatment ends, he swore to fish out the betrayer.

His phone rang, prompting him to step outside as the doctor gave Kiera instructions on what to do. She still had the same questions about the thug attack, she decided to discuss with her husband after they had been properly settled.

For now, it was time to fix all attention on their daughter. When James came back, the doctor was still giving out instructions in a low voice to Kiera, while all she did was nod her head and ask a dew questions.

The doctor walked towards the door, and stopped directly opposite him. “You did a great job today and I’m glad nothing went wrong, please take care of yourself and your family”

“Alright, thank you Doc.” He walked to the bed where Kiera was seated. “Are you okay?” His eyes were filled with compassion and guilt. “I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent you or Tessa from witnessing such event”

Her brows were furrowed, what did he mean by preventing us? She thought. She felt she was getting paranoid and waved off the thoughts.

Kiera shook her head vigorously. “None of this was your fault. You did your best and fought for us, nobody lost their lives. I’m proud of you” she smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“By the way, while I was running, I saw you holding a gun. Where did you learn how to handle a gun and where did you get it from, Mr. Smith?” she teased.

“Self-defense is a virtue. You don’t have to bother yourself or develop fear because I got you, every step of the way” he said with pride, showing off his abs and muscles.

“Oh really?” She chuckled.

Outside, there were sounds of sirens with agitated and excited voices filling the air. The policemen and paparazzi had crowded the manor.