Italy, Reggio Calabria.
In the dead of night at the port, Antonio D'Annieli quietly smoked as he stood surrounded by his subordinates. It wasn't until a cargo ship slowly approached the dock that he flicked his cigarette away and moved forward to meet it.
Giovanni D'Annieli, the third brother of the D'Annieli family, was the first to leap off the ship's gangplank. He greeted his older brother with a hug and, catching the strong smell of tobacco, couldn't help but advise, "Antonio, you really should smoke less."
Antonio simply patted his younger brother on the shoulder and asked, "How much did you bring this time?"
"Five tons," Giovanni replied. Seeing Antonio already walking toward the ship, he followed and added, "Also, I met Boris Orlevich from Ukraine in Albania. They've recently established a new cultivation base in the mountains south of Fier."
Albania, located directly west of southern Italy across the Adriatic Sea, is separated from Italy by a mere 80 kilometers at its closest point.
As one of the poorest countries in Europe and a former Soviet-aligned Warsaw Pact member, Albania's economy had been further devastated by the Bosnian War in recent years. Poverty breeds desperation, and Albania's strategic location along the Mediterranean's busy trade routes had enabled its criminal underworld to rise rapidly over the past few years.
But this was secondary.
What concerned the D'Annieli brothers more was the Ukrainian underground forces from Rivne, which had quickly established roots in Albania. While this made cooperation in drugs, arms, and other trades more convenient, the proximity also felt like a deliberate arrangement by a certain powerful tycoon.
Though the D'Annieli brothers had long resigned themselves to being puppets, Antonio still sensed that this particular someone was sending a message: "I'm still watching you."
When his brother mentioned Boris Orlevich, Antonio paused briefly before continuing forward. "How many men do you think they have?"
Giovanni, understanding his brother's meaning, instinctively glanced around before shaking his head slightly and replying in a low voice, "I can't be certain. But one thing's clear: most of the men they gather are like those from two years ago—former soldiers who've been to war, the kind who kill without hesitation."
Antonio fell silent at this.
Giovanni, less concerned, hesitated before saying, "Antonio, this doesn't really matter. As long as we don't betray... him, we'll be fine. We've never considered betrayal, have we?"
Antonio nodded almost instinctively this time.
Over the past two years, while expanding their own influence, the D'Annieli brothers had occasionally received indirect instructions from a certain someone. Even some of their business dealings were subject to cuts and commissions.
It was clear that they were being treated as subordinates.
Recognizing that resistance was futile, the D'Annieli brothers gradually came to accept their near-puppet status.
The two brothers continued talking as they boarded the ship. Most of Antonio's men spread out to maintain a perimeter, with only two following their leader closely. Anyone experienced could easily tell these men had undergone specialized training.
And indeed, that was the case.
Over the past two years, many of the D'Annieli brothers' core subordinates had been sent to Eastern Europe for professional training.
This only made the brothers more cautious.
After all, even a fool could guess that among these trained men, some were undoubtedly loyal to the other side. Should the brothers harbor any treacherous thoughts, they might be replaced overnight—just like the Stefano family two years ago.
It had been over two years since that particular event.
The small southern Italian town of Reggio Calabria, once dominated by the Stefano family under the 'Ndrangheta, had seen significant changes in just two short years.
After the Stefano family was wiped out overnight and Simon Westeros issued his chilling warning, the entire 'Ndrangheta network was on high alert for some time, terrified that they too might be eliminated overnight.
However, as things gradually calmed down, some began to stir restlessly again, especially factions that had been close to or even intermarried with the Stefano family. While they couldn't challenge the increasingly powerful Westeros system from across the ocean, they figured that exposing what had happened wouldn't be difficult. Surely, neither the Italian government nor the international community would stand idly by if dozens of citizens were slaughtered in a single night?
But just as these factions began to take action, another nightmare struck.
Though not as devastating as the eradication of the Stefano family, six key leaders from two other 'Ndrangheta factions were found dead overnight. This served as a grim reminder to all of Italy's criminal underworld: the shadow of Simon Westeros had not vanished from their land.
The Italian government's response to the Stefano family massacre had been notably indifferent. Most news outlets simply characterized it as a gang feud.
At one point, a young prosecutor with a strong sense of justice appeared on local television, calling for an investigation and even hinting at the involvement of a certain billionaire.
Clearly, this prosecutor had inside knowledge.
The result? The young prosecutor was removed from his position the very next day. Soon after, he was publicly criticized by the media, which argued that Italy's justice system should focus on cracking down on organized crime rather than defending it.
Memories of Judge Giovanni Falcone's assassination by the Mafia with a ton of explosives were still fresh in the public mind. Few people expressed sympathy for the Stefano family's demise; many even applauded it.
Regardless, the dark underworld continued to persist.
In just over two years, the D'Annieli brothers, once subordinates of the Stefano family, not only inherited their former masters' influence but also eliminated other rivals in Reggio, quickly rising to become the most powerful faction in southern Italy.
Of course, there were suspicions about their rapid ascent.
But in the face of overwhelming power, others could only remain silent. Some even sought to ally with the D'Annieli brothers due to their newfound dominance.
With secret support from the Westeros system, the D'Annieli brothers extended their influence beyond southern Italy. Their reach now spanned across the country and even into France, Germany, the UK, and Spain, establishing branches of their 'Ndrangheta faction in these regions.
Meanwhile, this growing Western European criminal network was increasingly aligned with another faction rooted in Ukraine, also controlled by the Westeros system. Together, these forces were steadily expanding their influence across Europe.
Ukraine, Rivne.
By mid-March, the weather was no longer frigid, and the city, as if awakening from a brief winter slumber, buzzed with renewed vitality.
Sergey Komarov spent his morning inspecting a resettlement community in the city's northeastern outskirts, which had resumed construction earlier that month. In the afternoon, he attended an important city government meeting as a corporate representative. The main topic was Rivne's impending population control legislation.
Situated in northwestern Ukraine, Rivne's population had officially surpassed one million—almost a fivefold increase in less than three years.
While still far from Kyiv's three million residents, the influx of people had begun to strain Rivne's resources, despite the city's economic miracle over the past two years.
To address this, Rivne planned to limit population growth through measures like residency permits, allowing only as many people as the city needed while prioritizing young and able-bodied workers.
Though necessary, these restrictions highlighted just how remarkable Rivne's growth had been.
The foundation of this success could be summed up in one word: money.
After the reunification of East and West Germany, the former West Germany had poured the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars into the East, spurring rapid economic recovery.
Similarly, the Westeros system had spared no expense in investing in Rivne and the broader Rivne region over the past two years. Combined with the Rivne faction's tight control over the area, which minimized resource waste, these investments had driven an economic miracle.
Today, Rivne was home to factories operated by Westeros-affiliated companies like Nokia, Cisco, Tinkerbell, and Melisandre, as well as global corporations like Dell, Mars, and IKEA, which had been brought in through Westeros connections. Alongside the Rivne faction's own businesses in furniture, food, alcohol, construction materials, and agriculture, these enterprises had created over 300,000 long-term jobs.
This figure didn't even include the indirect employment generated by these companies in areas like supply chains, services, and infrastructure.
For Ukraine, where many regions faced unemployment rates as high as 30% during an economic slump, a single job could support an entire family. As a result, Rivne had become the second-best destination for Ukrainians, after illegal migration to Western Europe.
The announcement of population restrictions in Rivne even drew attention from Kyiv, as everyone understood the importance of job creation in maintaining social stability. While Rivne's population represented only 1/50th of Ukraine's total, the city was seen as an unexpected boon.
A single straw can break a camel's back—or, in reverse, save it.
Rivne's success served as a critical buffer against Ukraine's internal strife.
Chechnya, Grozny.
Despite last year's ceasefire agreement, the city remained scarred by war.
Three days earlier, 27-year-old Frenchman Niels Veikko had arrived with his girlfriend Isabelle and a French humanitarian aid group in this devastated city.
Earlier this year, the organization had received a large donation and began providing aid to conflict zones in Eastern Europe, including Bosnia and Chechnya. They also lobbied the French government to accept more refugees from these regions.
Under mounting public pressure, the French government approved a proposal in early March to accept 10,000 refugees from Bosnia and Chechnya.
Niels' organization was tasked with helping select eligible refugees.
Inside a dilapidated building in Grozny, Niels watched impoverished families queue for relief supplies and registration. His heart ached at the sight. Isabelle, tears in her eyes, took photos of the long line of refugees, hoping to publish them in French media to rally more support.
To these volunteers, the 10,000 refugee slots felt woefully inadequate.
As for protests from the Russian government? Let the politicians deal with it. Those who started the wars couldn't expect the world to remain indifferent to its suffering.
Moscow.
In 1997, Vladimir's position in the Kremlin was elevated once again, though the increased workload made him feel like he was losing even more hair.
The morning's economic policy meeting felt like a farce to him.
The conflict stemmed from Boris Berezovsky losing his bid for control of the Russian Telecom Investment Corporation to Vladimir Potanin. Berezovsky, who considered himself the key to Yeltsin's reelection last year, had been venting his frustration at everyone, including the president, even using his media outlets to smear Potanin.
What should have been a serious meeting devolved into a shouting match between the two oligarchs. Berezovsky, a deputy secretary of the Security Council, and Potanin, the First Deputy Prime Minister, hurled insults at each other like fishwives, enraging Yeltsin so much that he stormed out.
When Vladimir attempted to mediate, Berezovsky shouted at him to shut up.
For a brief moment, Vladimir, usually unflappable, felt an almost overwhelming urge to throw a grenade into the room and rid Russia of its oligarchic parasites.
These men were dragging the country down.
Particularly infuriating was Berezovsky's response to France's acceptance of Chechen refugees. As the chief negotiator for Chechen affairs, he not only failed to mitigate the embarrassment to Russia but seemed to revel in it.
Damn oligarchs.
The meeting ended in chaos with no resolution.
After lunch, Yeltsin summoned Vladimir to his office. Clearly still fuming, the president was forced to make a decision: Potanin would be removed from his position as First Deputy Prime Minister.
The media frenzy had left the Kremlin with no choice but to make a concession.
Yeltsin wasn't naive—he knew Berezovsky was behind it all. But the Kremlin had no effective way to counter him. Yeltsin's primary concern was ensuring a safe and prosperous retirement for himself and his family in a few years.
The morning's fiasco only heightened Yeltsin's sense of urgency.
After months of observation, Yeltsin had grown increasingly confident in Vladimir's loyalty and reliability.
As for Simon Westeros? Yeltsin had no choice but to overlook his influence. Compared to the greed and chaos of domestic oligarchs, Simon Westeros, for all his power, seemed almost trustworthy.
In the end, Yeltsin decided to further promote Vladimir, appointing him as the head of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB.
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