Sacrifice Gone By

"Marnie!" My father's thick, Italian accent pulled me out of my dream. I rolled over.
"What?" I yelled at my open bedroom door. Dad didn't reply, so I groaned and swung my legs over the side of the bed, pushing my gold blanket off of me.

My dad was the boss of the east side of town, it was like the Mafia.
He wasn't my biological father, but he had adopted me when his close friend, my real father, and his wife had been killed in a drive-by shooting. We lived in the biggest house in the city, along with most of the guys in dad's operation.

"Jay! Why the fuck is my door open?" I yelled. Jay's room was across the hall from mine. There was no reply, so I quickly got dressed and ran my fingers through my hair. The boss was my dad, but I still didn't want to keep him waiting. I shut my door behind me and took notice of the hallway as I walked to the end.

The carpet, like most of the house, was red. Dad said it was a symbol of our wealth and power, an idea which I had always relished. The walls didn't have pictures or mirrors like any normal household, instead they were covered in a cream colored wallpaper, with an intricate pattern made up of black swirls and leaves. There were cone shaped wall lights every three feet.

I turned the corner at the end and closed the short distance between me and the wide, ornate staircase that was the centerpiece of the entrance hall below. My dad could be anywhere in the house; his voice was loud enough to hear from anywhere in the building.

"You." I said sharply, pointing to a guy at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at me with wide eyes; not scared, but cautious. He probably thought he was in trouble, I wasn't the friendliest person. "Where's the boss?" I asked, arching an eyebrow to look intimidating.

The man flustered about, turning his head both ways as if searching for him. I rolled my eyes and began to descend the stairs. The man got his act together then.
"B-b-basement." He stuttered, before scampering off towards the kitchen.

I chuckled to myself as I hopped off the bottom step and turned towards the back of the house. I loved being able to scare people like that. There was only one person in the house, besides my father, that I couldn't intimidate and that was because he'd known me since birth.

I reached the back door and faced away from it, grimacing at the blackness of the staircase leading towards the basement. My father only ever went down there when he had 'business'. Where business was involved, death usually followed.

I sighed and pulled the band on my wrist, then let it go and felt it snap against my skin. I wondered what might have happened now as I gathered up my orange hair in a tight ponytail on the back of my head, tying it securely with the band. I grabbed my leather jacket from the hook by the door and threw it over my shoulders as I began to step down into the imposing darkness of the basement.

When I reached the third step from the bottom, I swiveled my head and scanned the scene in front of me. Dad was stood at the far side of the room, drawn to his full height, a scowl plastered on his face.

George, his second in command, was stood next to my dad on his left side, Jordan next to him. George had his hand by his side and his gun was visible in his belt holster. Jorel was on my dad's other side, Matt next to him. The room was dimly lit with a few standing lamps here and there. There was a girl kneeling on the floor in the center of the room and a dozen or so of Dad's guys stood at intervals along the walls.

I hastily made my way to the other side where Dad was, skirting around the girl and realizing it was Harper. She had tear tracks down her face and as I passed by she made a grab for my leg. I hopped out of the way and noticed that George's fingers flexed near his gun.

I moved to stand next to Jay, who looked at me with an 'I'll explain later' expression. I nodded once and turned to face Harper, crossing my arms over my chest and putting on a controlled expression. I was so confused, but I didn't let it show. That's one thing I had learned in this business; never let anyone know when you're confused, sad or angry. They were weaknesses.

"You have betrayed our operation, Harper." Dad said, sounding like those guys in the movies. I glanced at Matt. He was Harper's boyfriend, so this had to be tough on him. He kept his expression blank, chewing on the inside of his lip.

I looked back to Harper, sniffling in the middle of the room. She opened her mouth to speak; bad move.
"P-please!" She cried, fear and desperation tainting her usually bubbly voice. "I h-had to d-do it!" She tried to wriggle her arms behind her back and only then did I realize she was tied up with rope.

My dad's expression stayed blank, and he interrupted her.
"Forced or not." He began, his voice taking on an air of authority and making the surrounding silence chill the air. "You betrayed us." He said.

Harper just cried harder, trying and failing to loosen her restraints.
"Please don't kill me!" She wailed. I felt sorry for her, but things like this had to be done. If there was one betrayal from our side, Eagle Eyes could get a foothold, and that would mean a civil war in the city.

"I won't." Dad said, but before she could sigh a breath of relief, he added, "But Matt will."

Matt's face went white as the blood drained away and he turned to my father. I thought he was going to argue or protest, but he knew better than that, surely. My dad did what needed to be done, but sometimes he was unreasonably cruel.

Matt drew his gun and stepped forward, never taking his eyes off of Harper's. He stopped when he was about three feet away and cocked the gun.
"I'm sorry." He said in a low voice.

Harper began to protest, but the gunshot rang out before the first word left her mouth.