Hollywood Zenith

" Thank you, I will see you in few days then, for our meeting?" Samuel said.

" Yes, that too. Very well, I will get going then." They shook hands, but there was some tension between them, as Liliana noticed. Something was going on that Samuel was not telling her.

They parted ways, and the hotel manager was waiting for them when they reached the lobby.

" Young master Samuel, our hotel sincerely apologizes for this incident. We never thought there were such huge loopholes in our security. For this reason, in order to express our regret for this incident, the President of the Carlton especially ordered to exempt Miss Liliana's expenses of being here. Not only that, the hotel management have already processed the refund."

He went on and informed him about the five other 'gifts' the hotel presented as a sign of their apology.

" I don't know if you are satisfied with this?" He said after giving them the exclusive card. If it happened to someone else, Ritz-Carlton wouldn't make such a fuss about it, but they feared Samuel, specifically the Rothschild Consortium.

They couldn't afford this to come back at them. They would crumble like bread if Rothschild started to pressure them for this.

" Please rest assured, it's fine. This matter is not related to the hotel and due convey my gratitude toward your President for such kindness." Samuel was well-versed in adapting to the situation and instantly switched from his angry self to his milder version.

The apology from the Carlton group was also satisfactory, considering Liliana was only here for the meeting.

On the other hand, Liliana was dumbfounded seeing their attitude; it was too scary, right? Carlton was a famous Resort chain, but they were bending their knees to appease Samuel.

She simply pouted her lips and thought about the evil capitalistic society, hehe.

" Also, can you help me prepare a table for lunch? After all this I am famished." Samuel asked. It was half past two already; they had been here for hours at this point.

" Of course, it will be our honour." the manager was thankful to see Samuel return to normal again. He was responsible for convincing Samuel and reporting back to the Headquarters. At least, it would not be as stressful as an earlier event.

" That's a good idea. I will take the call about the meeting." Liliana said from the side.

" Call, Daniel and his men too. They must be hungry too. Steve please go with her." He said and walked up toward the elevator with Arthur.

" Young master, I am sorry about calling Mr Mason earlier, he seemed like the most suitable-" Arthur said as they walked together.

" It's okay. We had to meet sometime. It's just a feeling, but we can rule him out as the mastermind. 

" Yes, I will ask Miss Jane to look more into it. He has to be connected somehow." Arthur suggested.

"Hmm." Samuel had a lot on his mind.

...

...

...

Everything happened when Mason received that phone call.

It was right after the gang incident as he was at his wits trying to understand what suddenly hit his city. Many people were expecting another 'Castellammarese War', a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia in New York City.

In 1930 for a year, many bodies were put to the grave, which led to the creation of five families which ruled the city with one at the helm of things.

But here, Mason needed to find out who the opposing force was? The 89th Street was dismantled in one evening with one man at the centre, Samuel Rothschild. But how could he process a young man who forms a witness account was not even there?

He wouldn't even know he was there if he didn't tail Samuel because of safety concerns when he visited the Reyes family!

Some of them who talked told unbelievable fairy tales; Samuel went in alone, unarmed against an army of rifles and came back unharmed? Who would believe that!?

While pacing back and forth, his cell phone rang; he looked at the number, but it was listed as blocked. What was that about? He left it ringing, seemingly lost in thought.

There was an influx of hackers around the States, and most of the time, they would target law enforcement, trying to get a kick out of it. Last year alone, he had received a dozen such calls, some pretending to be United States president while others over benign things that were too far-fetched to mention.

It rang again and again, every time disturbing his train of thought. Getting frustrated, he picked up the call, trying to curse whoever was on the other side of it. 

" Hello?"

" Hello, Good evening Mr Mason-"

" Who is this?" Mason asked directly.

" I just wanted to say, you have a beautiful secretary but the coffee she makes is terrible which makes it understandable that you are letting it rot on your table." It sounded like a young man on the other side of the phone.

Mason looked at his table to see that there, indeed, was a cup of coffee sitting there. He didn't even notice when his secretary put it there, but how did he know?

" What? Who is this?" He asked again, a little paranoid.

" Just a friend." Mason could practically feel him smiling over the phone.

" Buddy, listen to me very carefully. If you don't tell me who you are and how you are doing this, just trust me I will have my guys at your house in an hour! You don't even know-" Mason began to threaten him. It was against the law to spy on a police officer, much less on some of his stature. 

" Calm down, Mr Mason. I just told you I am a friend, I see that you have hit a dead end in the 89th street gang investigation." He calmly told Mason.

" Do you know something? We can provide you security-" Mason's interest was piqued. He didn't know how the voice over the phone knew it, but he was grasping at straws at this point.

The governor was already hounding him to close the case and bring whoever was responsible to justice. After all, it was a matter of the state's security.

" I have enough of that, what I need now is your assurance that you would pursue this case to the end. You are up against a giant but with my information and support it would be a piece of cake." he assured him.

" How? I mean is that even possible? Do you even know who you are talking about?"

" Samuel Rothschild? Don't worry about him."

His work phone rang, and his secretary called, but he ignored it. He was on the most important call of his life.

" How can I trust you? It's me who is risking my career on the line." Mason asked as the phone rang again.

" Do you have a choice? Your career is practically over when you come empty-handed by the end of it no?" He made a sound assumption which was absolutely right, as Mason was fucked either way.

" After convicting a person of his caliber your popularity will sky rocket and believe me when I say this the senator seat will not be out of option. I have many connections." The phone rang again.

" Do you know if he is innocent or not? What is his connection with the perpetrators? Is there some rival gang?" Mason asked first; he needed to get his facts straight. 

" Hahahaha.." the young man laughed maniacally before saying anything.

" Innocent? Rival gang? Does that matter as long as he is found guilty? And you never wondered why this country's closing percentage is so low. You are practically letting a madman roam around freely." He sounded convincing, but the court needed evidence over some fairy tale story.

" Can you prove it? What benefit is it to you?" Mason's question was met with complete silence while his phone was still ringing. It was already in its third round.

" Answer the phone Mr Mason, answer the phone." the call was cut suddenly, Mason was left speechless. It was the most bizarre experience he had in his life, an opportunity presented itself, but it was whisked away abruptly.

" What!" Mason picked up the phone and asked loudly.

" S-sir, someone is here asking for you. They said it's about the case you are working on?"  His secretary was flustered hearing his roaring, but she informed him about visitors?

" Let them through!" Mason didn't know what was happening, but somehow it was connected to the young man on the phone. He began doubting there was some hidden bug in the ceiling; how did he time it?

His office door opened, and two men entered his office; one of them was bulky. Even though he was wearing baggy clothes,. One could see his strong frame while the other was hunching over, looking around nervously. The burly man was practically dragging the scrawny man around.

" You are?"

" My master, send me to deliver you a present." The bulky man pushed the other man motioning him to sit down. Then, Mason sealed his fate for good; after hearing them, he decided to join them on this crusade!