Chapter 52: Book 1: Chapter 20 (Part 2 of 2) Claudia Gattosi

Luca was surrounded by a green nimbus of energy as the transfer completed. He stood there with the smuggest grin imaginable and then roared to the heavens.

Carla jumped up and down clapping her hands with joy.

“Threatening kids, my brother, what a prince among men,” I muttered under my breath.

Papa would never have stood for it. He was ruthless, yes, he’d cut your balls or tits off if you disrespected him, but he would never touch your kids.

The mayor, no longer needed, had slumped to her knees, vacant-eyed.

“What shall we do with her,” the goon who’d been holding onto Susan Trilby asked my brother.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I promised that she and her squealing runts could live. Take them to the city limits and kick them out. They can take their chances with the wandering monsters,” he answered and dismissed the former mayor with a wave.

His men moved into action and dragged the three of them away, while a few cowed and collared civilians were forced to clean up the dead husband and forgotten heads of my brother’s victims.

Trust my brother to figure out you could buy collars that really enslaved people from the podium. Not figurative, but literal enslavement, which the Framework recognised and assisted in enforcing.

When I found out, I started doing some surreptitious research on a podium tablet Luca had left for Carla to use. I hadn’t got very far yet, as I needed to do so behind her back.

The tablet had been loaded with a lot of information on products, species, and classes. More than what was available from the character sheets. Apparently, the collars weren’t foolproof, but you needed to be a strong-willed individual to overcome the Framework’s insistence to obey your recognised master.

“Now, time to make some changes,” Luca said, as he rubbed his paw-like hands together and approached the podium.

He was distracted by a screech of joy from Carla beside me. Her excitement had reached fever pitch and I think she’d actually lost control of her physical movements as she bounced up and down on the balcony with Luca-mania.

I saw the sneer of disdain on Luca’s lips even if Carla didn’t. “Carla, honey. Why don’t you grab us a bottle of bubbly from the hotel bar, and we can celebrate,” he called up to us. “And Claudia, why don’t you come down as well.”

He phrased it as a request, but I felt the tug of command through our twin bond when he said it, and that prevented me from ignoring his request.

Carla was off and running from the balcony before he’d finished his command to me. I walked down to the lobby and then out onto the street at the most sedate pace I could physically manage.

Carla had reached him well ahead of me and the bottle of champagne had already been opened. Luca, the pig that he was, drank directly from the bottle.

Then he spotted me as I sauntered out of the hotel lobby doors and rested up against the railings outside. I wasn’t forced to go any farther, having obeyed his orders. He grunted in my direction and was undoubtedly about to give me a piece of his mind when one of his scouts came haring down the road.

“Boss, I’ve just come from Northlands Drive. We’ve wiped out the cops that retreated that way, but Tommy spotted something on the river,” he gasped, almost out of breath.

“Why the fuck didn’t Tommy use the fucking walkie-talkies. That’s why I fucking gave them to you,” Luca snapped.

“Tommy’s walkie got hit by a bullet. Sent me instead,” the mook answered, recovering his breath.

“Then why didn’t you find another of the groups between here and there and use theirs?” Luca snarled.

I laugh-snorted at the look on the mook’s face as he realised what a dumbass he’d been and cringed at Luca’s angry gesturing.

“Never mind,” my brother growled as he regained his composure. “What did Tommy see that was so important he sent a dumb fuck like you to find me.”

“A black ship coming down the river from the east,” the mook answered nervously.

“A boat! A fucking boat on the river. Why the fuck should I care about a fucking boat. We’ve fucking dozens of them now,” Luca exploded.

Damn, but my brother was as dumb as the fuckwits he had working for him. He said ship, not boat, and coming from the inland stretch of the Grand River. Something the size of a ship shouldn’t be able to traverse the section of the river. This had to be something special.

“One of Tommy’s boys has a class that lets him see descriptions of stuff. He said it was a Mark One Corsair Class ship and the details he read said it was powered by a dungeon core,” the cringing mook fessed up as Luca appeared ready to claw him.

Luca showed him the back of his paw instead. “You shoulda’ lead with that, ya’ dumb fuck” he sneered. “Larry, get on the podium. Tell me what one of these Corsair ship thingies is worth.”

Larry bobbed his head and played with the podium for a moment. “Umm, it’s priceless, sir,” the odious fellow rasped excitedly.

“What do you mean priceless?” Luca asked his full attention on the obsequious pen-pusher.

“I mean you literally can’t buy or sell ships like this on the podium, for any price. Wait a moment I want to try something,” Larry gasped breathlessly with anticipation.

He must have been excited if he risked telling my brother to wait.

“Fuck me,” Larry rasped as his eyes widened like saucers.

“What is it? What have you found?” Luca demanded impatiently.

“I’ve checked the records on the Auctioning function for items like this. There haven’t been many but the closest I found was a Mark Two Corsair Class Dungeon ship that sold seventy years ago for a cool billion,” Larry explained, with a little drool on his lips.

“A billion?” Luca yelped. “A billion Gold,” he said again in disbelief.

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“No, sir,” Larry corrected. “A billion Platinum.”

“How long ago did the ship pass Northlands,” Luca barked at the scout.

“Well, uh, I had to run all the way here after we finished the cops. Forty-five minutes, maybe an hour,” he said and shrank back from Luca’s thundercloud expression.

“Fuck. Give me a walkie,” Luca ordered to the crowd, waggling his fingers.

As his order wasn’t to anybody in particular, nobody responded immediately.

“One of you give me your motherfucking walkie-talkie!” Luca screamed at the top of his voice.

Twelve guys stumbled forward, grabbing at their sides and Luca was offered several and he snatched the nearest device out of one of their hands.

“What frequency is Marco’s team on?” Luca directed this question at Maurice.

“Nine,” the cold-eyed killer replied simply.

Luca adjusted the knob, pressed the button and spoke into the handset. “Marco, come in,” and then after a second. “Over.”

The walkie crackled and then Marco’s voice crackled over the line. “Hey, Luca. I already reported that we’ve secured Swan on the other side of the bridge.”

“Yeah, I know, Marco,” Luca responded. “I’ve got another job for you. I need you to intercept a black ship that’s making its way down the river…Over.”

“Did I hear you right? Did you say a ship?” Marco’s voice crackled back.

“Yeah, a ship and I can’t stress just how badly you need to capture it. I’ll be sending a few more of the boys to join you, but we’re in Garfield Park and it could sail through before they get there. Over,” Luca said, more comfortable with using the walkie.

“Luca, how the fuck are we supposed to capture a ship,” Marco whined on the walkie.

“For fuck’s sake, do I have to explain everything? Get as many of our people as you can. Take them to Blue Bridge, keep out of sight and when the ship gets to the bridge jump over and onto the fucking ship. Fucking over,” Luca snarled.

“Jesus, Luca, you want us to jump off a fucking bridge,” Marco complained further.

“Marco, you either get me that fucking ship or I drown you in the fucking river, you hear me. Over and out,” Luca threw the walkie to the lackey he’d taken it from earlier who juggled it for a few seconds before it clattered onto the street.

“Johnboy, take your people and meet up with Marco at the Blue Bridge. You should pass, Miguel I think his name is, and his branch of the Bandito’s in South Hill along the way. You can tell the Mexicans to expect you while you’re on the move,” Luca ordered.

Johnboy and his crew headed northward.

Luca rolled his head and motioned for Carla to hand him the bottle of champagne, which he took a big swig of.

“Thank fuck for these battery-operated walkies, eh, boys. It’s made this whole conquest business in the dark ages so much easier,” Luca joked, his good humour returning. “I really ought to give the guy who got me these a bonus.”

I should have kept my mouth shut.

Luca had largely forgotten me in the excitement, but I couldn’t help myself. “Not much good that would do him. He’s at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Right where you left him after his tip about a shipment of communication devices netted you a dozen boxes of ‘children’s toys’ to quote you, instead of iPhones,” I snarked.

Luca stalked over to me his hackles raised, his leonine features pulled back with his fangs on display, and he puffed out his chest.

“I should fucking kill you, you mouthy whore,” he spat in my face.

He radiated intimidation and I could tell he had tried to use the abilities of his class, that he was so very proud of, but to no avail. I was immune to anything he tried barring his direct commands, and in his anger, he’d forgotten.

The effect on everyone else on the street was obvious, all but Maurice had dropped to their knees in deference. The dispassionate killer just blinked owlishly.

“But you won’t though, will you. And we both know why. You’ve got to keep me safe from harm,” I taunted my twin brother.

His arm raised to strike me, but I just smiled with glee. “Go on, do it. I can take it, you on the other hand, never had much of a tolerance for pain.”

He lowered his closed fist, rage forcing spittle from his mouth. “Maybe I can’t hurt you without hurting myself. But you must follow my orders. Go back to your room and don’t leave until I say you can.”

I put my face up to his, glaring at him eyeball to eyeball. “With pleasure,” I growled and turned on my heel and stormed off.

Goading Luca was dangerous even if what he did to me happened to him as well. He had many more Hit Points than I had and could absorb a lot more damage.

But my gutsy display had earned me some time to myself, and Carla had left her Darkwyrlds podium tablet in the hotel room when she rushed to join Luca earlier. I wanted to research what this Dungeon Ship was without a minder watching over my shoulder to report on my activities.

Luca would remember when he calmed down that any order he gave me would lose its efficacy over time and Carla or someone else would be sent to ‘accompany’ me once more.

Until then, I had research to do.

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