Rolf Nagel - The End of the World Mafia

He had to compose himself and develop a plan of action. Looking at his new, luxury watch, he noticed that he had only two hours left.

That was much too short a time to develop a plan with appropriate countermeasures. And he couldn’t call any of his few friends. They would never have believed his story, even though he was regarded as being absolutely worthy of belief. Therefore, he set off quickly in the direction of his apartment.

On the first floor he unlocked his door and entered the apartment quickly. After closing the door he was in his most familiar surroundings. Here he felt safe and secure once again. Security - that was his life motto. However, in what unforeseeable adventure had he got himself into?

Shower and shave, do your hair and find a shirt, tie and a matching suit in a hurry. Pure stress! The phone rang and he raced out of the bathroom to answer the call. "Mother, I am very sorry, I have no time. No, mother, everything is fine! Yeah, sure. Yes, definitely. It’s only I have a date with a lady. What? No, no, no wedding. What put that idea into your head? You will definitely get her to know first, if necessary! I will tell you tomorrow. See you then."

Dear God, his mother was already thinking about marriage. But that wasn’t something he could think about now.

He talked to himself, "I’m in a hurry! The clock is ticking!" What can a man do in the remaining hour? Ah! Socks, but where are they? Yes, of course, in the closet! One? But there are always two! A breast pocket handkerchief to match the suit and a matching tie. The sock! Where is that damn sock? One black and one gray.

This is not something that usually happens to him. He normally always has everything in order. Everything had its place. But what now? Today of all days everything was chaotic. Now the entire apartment seemed to be the epitome of disorder. Shoes! Yes, there! Wonderful. Put them on. There are two of the same, therefore one pair. The best thing is a pair. Stop! First the socks. But still two different ones. Only a cognac could help here. He called himself to order, "Karl, cognac in the afternoon? No, that will not do, that will never do!" So he put the bottle back.

Karl thought, “I am never going to manage like this. I have to start things systematically - as always. First the underwear, then the socks, then the shirt and finally knot the tie.”

There were still a whole 30 minutes left. It was an apparently impossible task in this short time. The second sock and it’s exactly the same color, two matching shoes, a pair. Wonderful!

Karl was actually ready to take part in the Olympics. Now go to the mirror! He knotted his tie skillfully around his neck, in the collar intended for it. Perfect! Next! Pants! A man needs a belt for his pants. Jacket. Ready!

Awesome! Everything in a record time of just 50 minutes. His inner voice reminded him just in time about flowers. What? That too? Yes, flowers. But first the cufflinks. Where do you get flowers? But a gentleman has to have flowers, at least for a first date. It was clear to him already that from now on everything in his life would be chaos.

Nevertheless, he still had to go to work as usual the next day. The best thing would be for him to go to a doctor tomorrow to get a sick note. He could not possibly work in the condition he is in at the moment. Until now, he hadn’t been absent one single hour during his entire working life.

Only 15 minutes left. His world was close to ruins. Only a tsunami could bring him salvation. But this would probably not happen in Germany before 8 o’clock. No use moaning about it.

He rushed down the stairs. A florist - his rescue! It was as if everyone was rushing to get flowers. He had never seen anything like it. At the same time, he realized that he had probably not entered a flower shop during the last 20 years. Mother always got chocolates, the ones with the liquid centers. He finally made it to the head of the queue. The florist put together the most beautiful bouquet of flowers he had ever seen. He had the feeling that it cost more than the overall costs for the German reunification. Oh dear, he had to pay! His wallet was at home. He had never seen the shop clerk before in his life, yet she said, "No problem. Pay tomorrow, I know you. "

He raced back to his apartment. Everything was going well, nothing could go wrong anymore. His apartment door bell rang. He jumped to the window. He saw a white limousine on the road, a Rolls Royce. “This is my car for tonight? Middle-class Karl in a Rolls Royce?”, he thought skeptically and hoped no-one from the neighborhood would see him entering the swanky limousine. If that happened, they would think he had won in the lottery.

He crept quietly down the stairs, opening and closing the front door without making a noise.

"Mr. Karl Grosser?", he heard the chauffeur in a gray suit ask. At the same time, the chauffeur opened the rear door of the car. Karl looked around to see if anyone in the neighborhood had heard anything and got into the car quickly.

White leather seats. The vehicle doors closed with the same sound as the armored safe doors in his bank. Was this soft humming the road noise of the limo? A prince could not be rushed through the streets better. Expensive cars like this were not common in Karl’s city. It was just as well that the car windows reflected so that nobody could see him. It would be unthinkable if his colleagues saw him in this limo. The bank would probably drag him in front of the anti-corruption committee and suspend him.

Im only, as an exception, he hadn’t gone for a walk that terrible day, or at least scurried past the park bench. Then he would have been spared all this fuss. Nevertheless, he wanted to meet the requirements of his new position in society.

Marian had been sitting in the private room of the restaurant for quite a while already thinking about the encounter with Karl that she and her father had been planning meticulously for several weeks. She actually already knew more about Karl than anybody else in his life.

Together with her father, the daughter had found out about all of Karl’s habits. What shoes he wore on which days, what food he preferred etc. Marion even knew about Karl’s prostitute who he kept very secret and who he visited now and again. Despite this, she had to play her continued role of ignorance. Only by doing this was the success of the activity planned for the coming weeks ensured.

With Marian’s 24 thbirthday laying ahead, her father Don Serjo Rosso began to think about a future husband for his daughter. The provocative Marian had been receiving numerous advances from quite attractive men since her early youth, however except for a few brief and insignificant affairs these remained unsuccessful.

Don Serjo Rosso, the boss ("capo di tutti capi") of the international Mafia, was known to the public only as a serious and impeccable businessman. Don was not the right term for a boss, more the term "capo". He was given the nickname Don, which was actually only entitled for heads of churches, at an early stage. He liked it and that’s the way it stayed.

The Don had never come to the attention of the legal system. There were no vague speculations anywhere in the world that he ruled over a global Mafia network. In addition to his Mafia organization, Don Rosso had a vast network of interlaced company investments at his disposal. As head of the criminal organization – of the so-called honorable family - he remained unchallenged at the top of the hierarchical structure. The subordinate bosses formed the three ranks, ranks 1-3, behind him.

Just like the members of the first rank, the Don had inherited his position from his father. It was only possible to be included in the organization’s first rank and inner circle through inheritance. If someone died without a male heir, the seat was closed and the tasks were distributed to the others. This security measure ensured that possible betrayers in the inner circle could be ruled out permanently. This had already been the top priority of the forefathers. Don Rosso was only personally known to the members of the inner circle, and he made sure that it stayed like this.