Uninvited guests (1)

Don Gregorio was feeling quite pleased with himself. He had successfully rid himself of his competitors and would soon consolidate his power. Without any more rivals, his rise would be swift and aggressive. There might be a few that still need to be killed to ensure things went smoothly but he could already taste the wealth and power that would soon come into his hands. He had dreamed of this day for a long time and only now had been successful in pulling it off.

Of course, without the unexpected ally that had seemingly fallen from the sky, none of this would have been possible.

"Hehe, too bad he won't last past this night. I don't know how he was able to get rid of Don Jesef with such ease and even find his secret vault." Don Gregorio muttered to himself as he walked down the dim lit hallway leading towards his personal office.

Two of his elite guards were posted near the end of the hall where the door leading to his office was located. They were clad in heavy leather trench coats and wore wide brimmed hats. They were two of his most powerful men, both being level 60 and of an intermediate class. Their basic class was a thief and the intermediate classes they had advanced to were nightstalkers. It was a more powerful version of a thief with a specialty in stealth and sneak attacks. They weren't as proficient as assassins but had a more wide variety of skills which were useful in other situations.

"Jerrick, I see your lounging against the wall again. Got nothing better to do with yourself?" Don Gregorio called out to his man as he drew near, clearly annoyed by his subordinates careless behavior.

"Ah, don't worry boss! Ain't nobody round 'ere at this hour but us."

"No one gonna get past us boss, we got this place on lock."

Don Gregorio snorted angrily at the two but decided to ignore their bad behavior. They were always like this but he couldn't say that they were ever not diligent. If anything, they had always successfully completed whatever tasks he had for them.

"Make sure the two of you take care of matters as I instructed you, we got a lot of loot to pack up and move from those dead twits! We gonna be rich boys! Hahaha."

The thought of the wealth he was going to acquire from the dead Dons instantly cheered him up and he patted Jerrick on the shoulder fondly.

"Just a shame we couldn't get Don Jesef's wealth, seems like he was cleared out. Dunno how Aleks did it though… Wonder where it all went. No matter, the others should be packed to the gil with all kinds of loot!"

"Aye boss, should be quite a lot! I plan to get me a few days over at the Crimson house if ya know what I mean."

The other subordinate chuckled while making a lewd smile.

"Haha, Freddy, you can enjoy yourself as much as ya like! With all the money I'm getting I don't mind letting you boys have some fun with the girls on the house!"

"Really!? Ah boss, you're the best! Heard that Jerrick? Looks like we gonna have ourselves a nice little vacation! Hahaha, can't remember the last time we 'ad one of those!"

The two subordinates laughed loudly while bragging about how long and how many prostitutes they could satisfy.

Don Gregorio shook his head and sneered while opening the door to his office, "The two of you idiots would be lucky if ya lasted a couple of minutes. Bunch of buffoons!"

After closing the door, the Don could still hear the two idiots bragging to each other but he quickly shut out their voices while he walked to light the lamps which were near the door of his office. There was very little light in the office at that time since it was well into the night. It had been quite a long night and he hadn't yet gone to bed despite the late hour.

After cleaning up some of the after effects of the events at the theatre, there was quite a few things that he needed to do. There were officials to pay off and there was the organizing of his men to move in on the other Don's bases of operation. He needed to move quickly so that their wealth could be secured before it disappeared.

The Dons may have been dead but many of their men were still alive and they might loot the vaults of the other Dons themselves before escaping the city. His men had already secured each location and many of the former subordinates of the other Dons had already surrendered and joined his organization. He would need to spend the next day or so moving the wealth into a more secure location.

'A lot of work but well worth the effort! I'm going to be filthy rich haha. Only I will rule the underside of this city!'

The thought of all that money and power definitely put a spring in his step. After lighting the lamps, he turned to walk over to his desk but a familiar sight caused him to feel shocked and anxious.

"Aleksandros!? What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be leaving the city, didn't my men go with you? What's going on?"

Sitting in the Don's chair at his desk was none other than Aleks who had been quietly waiting for the Don's return.

"I've been waiting here for you for some time."

"How did you even get in here? What the hell are my boys outside doing let you in here to my office!?"

Don Gregorio turned around angrily to open the door to berate his men outside but he found Lenia standing in front of the door. She may have been a woman but he she was sending out a murderous aura that even made the Don feel a sense of danger.

"What's going on here, what do you want?"

Seeing that his retreat was blocked, he turned around again to face Aleks.

"My boys are right outside, aren't ya boys!?"

Gregorio shouted while addressing Aleks so that his men could hear him but they didn't respond. The silence left Gregorio feeling somewhat unsettled.

"What the fuck is going on!? Did they betray me!?"

Aleks reclined back into the Don's chair and smiled beneath his mask. Gregorio couldn't see his expression but if he could he would feel even more unnerved. Lenia behind him had already removed her daggers and were playing with them as if the situation before her were none of her concern.

The Don could only look at both of them cautiously.

"Relax Gregorio, I'm just here to talk."

"Talk about what? Didn't we already talk? You turned down my offer if I remember.."

"Let's just say that I changed my mind. I thought about it long and hard and decided that your offer appealed to me. There is much we could accomplish working together."

Don Gregorio slightly calmed down at his words and looked at Aleks suspiciously but with a hint of curiosity.

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

Aleks leaned forward in the chair and put his elbows on the office desk while clasping the fingers of his hands together in a sinister fashion.

"It's simple really. You are going to complete some tasks for me and I will take all that immense wealth off your hands. You won't be needing it anyway, but I have quite a bit of use for it."

"What the fuck are you talking about!? This here is my fucking office and you dare come in here and play jokes with me!? Fuck you! You think that I'm a fish on a chopping block but I'll tell you right now, ya little miss here ain't gonna do jack shit to me."

Don Gregorio shouted with spit flying from his mouth. He threw off the heavy wool cloak that was on his back and pulled out a sword from the cane he had been using to walk. The walking cane was more for fashion than it was for necessity and was quite popular among the gentry.

"I will kill the both of you right here and now! Did you think your little bitch here could hurt me? Does every fucking asshole that wanders into my town think I'm just a pushover they can spit on? Jerrick! Freddy! Get ya asses in here, what the fuck are the two of you doing!?"

He couldn't believe his men had betrayed him and thought there must be some other explanation. Lenia smiled mockingly and opened the door letting the two subordinates enter. They each had already drawn their rapiers and were sneering.

"Ah boss, sorry but ya see we decided that it would be best to work for someone else. Ya understand right?"

"Yeah, it's not like we don't like ya, it's more along the lines of we ain't got a choice."

"What the fuck are the two of you saying? We been working together for years, I always treated you boys good. This is how you repay me? Fucking bastards, I'll gut every last one of you!"

Aleks had still yet to move from the chair and was watching the show unfold before his eyes with interest. He was finding the Don's actions and words to be humorous but when the Don released his aura of power, Aleks was slightly surprised.