Thieves Stealing from Thieves: Chapter 3 – Stealing and Rescuing

Chapter 3 – Stealing and Rescuing

“Given that Suzuki and Kelly picked the jobs last time, can I pick the job this time?” Al asks, to which everyone shrugs and agrees to let him.

He looks at the map, watches some jobs disappear, others appear, and doesn’t press anything until Kelly says to pick something, and he immediately picks a kidnapping criminals and rescue sex slaves operation with a secondary objective to collect any information, weapons, and hidden cash that the criminals may have.

“It’s a simple job with no question of the virtue in completing it. I think we need it after the job we just did,” Al says.

“Agreed, brother. There is no greater task for men of honor like us than to protect and save the weak and needy, brother,” Suzuki says with a rare smile.

Al smiles back and looks at Kelly and me.

“You don’t have to ask me about choosing this job. I’m all for it,” Kelly says.

“Same with me,” I say.

Al accepts the job and the help that the Hydra Roundtable will give us, and we go out to the location where we’re meant to be. The four of us stay in a house of a friend of the Hydra Roundtable, one that has a view of the seemingly normal Mediterranean marketplace in a city where this human trafficking ring is taking place. We sit around having home-cooked meals from Al, who said he was taught these recipes by his nonna.

“Your nonna knows how to cook better than that first bar restaurant we ate at if this is what her cooking tastes like,” Suzuki says.

“My nonna’s cooking is even better. No one cooks like her, not even my mom or dad,” Al says.

Al has a look on him as if his eyes are entranced by old memories, before he looks back up at us. Later in the day, as Al watches the neighborhood, we hear something going on down there, and Al runs down to the market with his mask on and rifle in his hands.

Running after him with one of my pistols in hand and mask on my face, I ask him, “What are you doing? We could get the cops called on us!”

“People need our help. I’m not going to let them suffer!” Al says.

Al and I go to the source of the noise and find a group of three robbers trying to rob a family-owned cheese and wine store.

“How about you put your hands up instead, drop your weapons, and get the Hell out of here?!” Al says to the robbers.

The robbers argue with him and don’t comply, so we shoot them dead. The store owners thank us, tell us that we should get out of here, and they’ll take care of this. Just as Kelly and Suzuki catch up to us and ask us what happened, Al and I tell them that the situation is taken care of and to go back to the house. We put our weapons and masks back in the house, Al goes back to watching the neighborhood, and Kelly and Suzuki go back to talking about whose culture is better while joking about their own.

Sitting next to Al, I ask, “Is this your neighborhood?”

“No. It just reminds me of my own,” Al says.

“Is that why you had to help its people?”

“I don’t need an excuse to help people who deserve it. It’s what I was taught, not only as a man of honor, but also from my family and faith.”

“What about the people we’re supposed to help? If we had the cops called on us, that could’ve made our job to rescue others harder.”

“I don’t really think about the wider picture. It’s always changing and based on what others and I view it as. I just keep my eyes and mind on the here and now. If God wants us to accomplish a task, then we’ll do it, but if he wants us to do something now, and we don’t because we think it might hinder our goals, then it’s held against us, and those who needed the help will suffer or die.”

“Huh. I never really thought of it like that.”

“I know you want to make a difference in the world as penance for your previous life. It’s written all over your face and the way you act. Just remember that we can only do so much in a day and that little actions add up to big ones.”

“I’ll do my best to remember. Thanks, Al.”

“You’re welcome, brother.”

Al and I go on to talk about our neighborhoods, families, and the kinds of food we can make. We also talk about the possibilities of having families after we’re done with Hydra Roundtable, and both of us agree that we’re married to this job of robbing and killing until God takes our lives in a different direction.

Al looks at me and says, “I think you’d make a good family man.”

“What makes you say that?” I ask.

“You look happy when we’re all talking and joking with one another.”

“If you say so. I think it goes without saying you’d be a good family man as well, given how ready you are to charge into danger for others.”

“Yeah. Both of my families think that, and this new family as well.”

“You consider the four of us a family?”

“What makes a family is two or more people who look out for one another and would put their lives on the line for one another. That’s us, is it not?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

We finish relaxing, and then the four of us go out in the dead of night, masks on and weapons in weapon bags that conceal them. We meet a local contact arranged by the Hydra Roundtable in the backroom of a nearby bar, a woman who “trains” and sells the women. We sit with her and ask where the “goods” are. The mistress is scantily dressed in a long pink see-through dress and red high heels. As she finishes her drink, she taps her feet on the floor and smiles at us. Getting the message, we finish our transaction. Al cuts the woman’s throat, and Kelly, Suzuki, and I quietly kill everyone else in the backroom with our knives, lock the backroom door, and block it with the bodies of the dead.

“That’s the only thing trash like you is good for,” Kelly says to the dead bodies.

“Remember to be as quiet as possible. We don’t want the roaches scurrying away. Alright, let’s get this done,” I say.

The four of us take our silenced guns out of our bags, find the door to the underground, and wander its winding tunnels with a map that we got from the Hydra Roundtable. If we didn’t have the map, we could wander these tunnels for hours since they all look the same with all the dirt, concrete, and lanterns that barely light them up. In our wanderings, we shoot down various guards and buyers who aren’t on our list to take in alive.

“These tunnels are a bit too tight. If we have to shoot someone ahead of us, the people around and behind them will notice,” I say.

“We’ll just have to deal with it when it happens,” Suzuki says.

“Remember. We deal with problems one at a time, Cowboy,” Al says.

“Roger, Cappuccino.”

Reaching the holding cells where both the people we need to free and to kidnap should be, we find it heavily guarded. To our disgust, some of the buyers are “testing” the “products”, and some of the bosses are forcing them to dance and do depraved acts for the pleasure of themselves and the buyers. We take cover and consider our options.

“Are we still going to be sneaky or is it time to get wild?” Kelly asks.

“They may eventually find out we’re here when they notice the room lacking as many people as it once did,” Suzuki says.

“Let’s take it one step at a time. We still have the element of surprise, and at least we have corners and shadows to hide in here,” I say.

I then direct Suzuki and Kelly to take one side of the room, while Al and I take the other. We use our knives to pull in nearby guards and buyers when they get close to us, hide their bodies, and move forward together when the coast is clear. Eventually, we find that there isn’t enough convenient cover to hide behind, so we use our silenced weapons to start clearing the room one after the other. The sound of the suppressed gunfire and bodies dropping catches the attention of the prisoners, who call out for us to help them, and the remaining guards and buyers notice us as well.

“Now it’s time to get crazy, Rosebud,” I say.

“Alleluia,” Rosebud says as she takes out her other submachine gun and dual-wields them.

With her, Suzuki dual-wields his revolvers, and Al attaches a short shotgun to the underbarrel of his rifle. We rush forward, taking out one guard after another. The buyers and bosses are now either fighting back with guns of their own or running away, and we deal with them properly, making sure that none escape alive, except for the ones we need. For the ones we need alive, we shoot their legs and hands so they can’t escape, fight back, or kill themselves in desperation. By the end, we start freeing the prisoners, who unfortunately start beating on the people we need alive, so Suzuki and Kelly have to hold them back and explain why they’re alive.

“Will they get the justice they deserve?” one of the slaves asks.

“Will they suffer?” another asks.

“Let me rip out one of their eyes, like how they did to me!”

“I want to pull out this one’s teeth just like how she did the same to my brother before having her way with him!”

“I promise you they’ll get what they deserve. We’re the real good guys. They’ll either get it legally or illegally,” Kelly says.

Seemingly satisfied with this answer, the slaves back off, some even offering their help. While looking in the office for information, I find files on the locations to which the slaves were meant to go, such as Slav clubs, porn shoots, a casino on the Golden Coast, and a Satanist church of all places. There’s no correlation between any of these places other than their godlessness. Hmm. Maybe I’ll think of one when I leave.

Continuing to follow the map we were given, we leave the tunnels and exit out of the basement of an Israeli church. Huh. It takes me a second to keep walking after the initial shock of seeing where we exited. Outside, a few ambulances and cop trucks aligned with the Hydra Roundtable take away the people we needed to kidnap and the rescue. They’re also here to take any weapons or caches of cash in the tunnels for us.

“We got it from here, fellas. Good work,” a police officer says before him and squads of officers go into the tunnels we were in.

“Godspeed, officers,” Al says.

Suzuki salutes the officers, and Kelly waves at them. My friends and I go back to the Hydra Roundtable hideout and are rewarded even more than the last job. Yet again, we go out to celebrate. This time, I bring my friends to my house. I prepare dinner for everyone, and they seem to enjoy it well enough, not as much as Al’s cooking, but well enough. We put on the news to see if they’ll talk about what we did, and sure enough, they do, leaving our part out of it, giving all the credit to the police force.

“Ah, I’d like at least a little credit,” Kelly says.

“Like what? You want them to say a bunch of gun-wielding masked vigilantes saved the innocent and punished the guilty?” I ask.

“Yes!”

“It would sound like the pulp novels and radio broadcasts I’ve been listening to,” Al says.

“Nevertheless, the purpose of our job is to get paid, kill those who deserve it, and save those who deserve better. We did what we had to and got rewarded accordingly, and I, for one, am more than satisfied,” Suzuki says.

“Alright, alright. I was joking. You didn’t need to sound so much like a high and mighty,” Kelly says.

“A man of honor always must be on his best behavior in terms of his actions and his words.”

“True that, brother,” Al says as he clinks glasses with Suzuki.

“I wish they talked more about what they found in the tunnels. Sure, we got all the good stuff, but the implications of where the tunnels are should be big news,” I say.

“It’ll be big news for the Vorfahren who’ll say they are proven right,” Kelly says.

“I’m sure the Israeli mafia and country have people in power and influence who will lessen the bad image they are being given,” Suzuki says.

“I’m sure they will,” Al and I say in unison.

Al then says, “You have a nice two-story house here in the suburbs. The garden outside is nice as well.”

“Yeah. I got a house out here because I was tired of being in the city, and I do some gardening in my spare time. It makes for better-tasting vegetables and fruits,” I say.

“Speaking of better-tasting food, I ought to teach you how to cook.”

“That’s true. I could teach you some recipes as well,” Suzuki says.

“What? I thought you said my food was good.”

“Eh, Al’s nonna’s recipes are noticeably better. I’m sorry to say it,” Kelly says.

“If we didn’t care about you, we wouldn’t mention our want for you to improve with better cooking,” Suzuki says.

“He’s right. We’ll all get together to cook and share meals all day,” Al says.

“You can count me in!” Kelly says.

I like the idea, but can’t help but feel a bit put down because my food isn’t viewed as good as Al’s, but then again, they are right. How can anyone compete with a Mediterranean grandma’s cooking that’s been passed down for generations? If anything, I’m glad that Al, Kelly, and Suzuki are offering to see me outside of our job to cook and hang out like normal friends rather than work associates. It’s truly a blessing from God.

Thieves Stealing From Thieves: Chapter 2 – For the Love of It

Chapter 2 – For the Love of It

Back in the dark room of the Hydra Roundtable, we are given an anonymous report stating that we were one of the most successful groups to go out during the week of the bank job. Other groups either had non-criminal casualties, didn’t fully complete the objective, or had members of their group killed or arrested.

“Guess that means we got providence on our side,” Kelly says.

“I hope we do. Still, I wonder why the Hydra Roundtable allows this kind of failure for jobs they want done,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Suzuki asks.

“If you’re offering people a job and allowing them to do it, why do you allow failure? This mysterious group must have a deeper reason for gathering people like us and giving us specific targets to go after. I mean, look at the TV. Those previous jobs that weren’t fulfilled completely or that others failed are back on the map. I hope that the more we do for them, the greater we’ll understand them. Maybe we’ll even meet its shadowy masters.”

“You gotta have a lot of hope then, my friend. Groups like this have us at arms' length and don’t directly interact with us for a reason,” Al says.

“Then I’m going to keep on hoping. To business. What should be our next job?”

“How about I give it a go since Suzuki picked last time?” Kelly asks.

We agree, and Kelly gets up and considers her selection before picking a purely loud, high-profile assignment. We’re meant to dress up as Vorfahren “extremists” and shoot up a gathering of Slav criminals to get the two groups fighting one another. The additional objects gathering intel about the plans of the Slavs, such as which political or business leaders they are influencing and any underworld dealings they have. Kelly looks over to Suzuki and me as if expecting a reaction.

“What? No reaction to my choice?” Kelly asks.

“Why would I? Like I said before, I have no loyalty or affection for the Vorfahren,” I say.

“I agree with Ace. Though they did much good for Tatsu, the evils they brought upon the world make me see them as the lesser of two evils. We’re also sparking an open conflict between them and the Slavs, so they’ll be hurt by this sudden attack as well,” Suzuki explains.

Kelly turns to Al, who shrugs and says, “All I see this as is us enforcing justice on unpunished criminals who the law can’t directly go after yet.”

“What do you think of the risk factor?” Kelly asks.

“Acceptable. I have heavy gear for false flag attacks such as this,” I say.

“Assignments like these are what I thrive in,” Al says.

“This won’t be the first time I’ve gone into a place, guns blazing, such as the time I entered a tea house and gunned down an entire crime family of sixteen people,” Suzuki says.

“Pfft. You think that’s badass? There was one time I had to defend a mansion against twenty people all on my own with just my assault rifle and its underbarrel grenade launcher,” Al says.

“Heh. Try fighting a bunch of armed guards in prison after assassinating a group of inmates your family sent you into jail to kill. I only managed to get out of it alive because of my family’s connections to people in the justice system.”

“Well, there was the one time-”

“Guys, we can share stories later,” I say. “Go ahead and sign us up for this job, Kelly.”

Kelly taps the screen and accepts the job for us. We consider the help the Hydra Roundtable can offer, choose what’s most appropriate and helpful, and make our final decision. We’re given two days to prepare this time. In the meantime, we stay at a nearby hotel and wait for the targets and our help to arrive. We also enjoy the rooftop pool, bar, and good weather. Al and Suzuki are having swim races with one another, while Kelly is sunbathing in a frilly black one-piece swimsuit and sunglasses.

“Mind if I sit with you?” I ask.

“I don’t see why not,” Kelly says. As I sit down, Kelly continues, saying, “What have you been up to since our last job?”

“Just preparing for the next. I really have nothing better to do.”

“What? No family, no other jobs or hobbies?”

“Nothing besides prayer and planning.”

“That sounds sad.”

“It’s what happens when you feel like you have a lot to make up for.”

“Because of what you were doing at that bank job for the Israelis?”

“Yup. I feel like if I make enough of an impact through these jobs we’re doing that I’ll somehow help the people I’ve wronged and others like them.”

“Take it from a woman who's seen what change brings. The world never changes, no matter what ideology is in charge or how fast countries change hands. There will always be people who take advantage of others and people like us who have to fix their mistakes, over and over again.”

“There’s nothing new under the sun.”

“Exactly, and this’ll keep going on until God comes again and puts an end to it.”

“…I know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. A never-ending penance until the day I die is what a guy like me deserves.”

“Oh, stop it with the pity party. You’re a good guy, despite what you do and what you’ve done, Ace. Not many people put their lives on the line for others as you do.”

Suzuki and Al invite Kelly and me over to eat and drink with them since the food we ordered is here.

“Now this is real food and drinks, not like that mix of good and bad foods from that bar we went to,” Suzuki says.

We’ve ordered a spread of food and drinks from different regions, such as Tatsu, Lupa, and the Slav Federation. We both criticize and compliment food from each of our native countries, except for me, since I didn’t order anything particular to me.

“I identify more with the United Chimaera States than anywhere else. You basically had the food and drink of my culture at the previous bar we were at,” I say.

“So, the quality of your country is mixed then. Huh. Makes sense given its politics and culture,” Suzuki says.

“Can’t argue with that.”

Eating, drinking, and joking around like this makes me feel like our group is more like a group of friends than business partners. It’s a feeling I haven’t had in a while, and I am thankful to God for feeling it once more. The next day is much of the same, with bar games and Kelly showing off how she and Suzuki can drink more than Al and I. The next day is the day of the job. The help we got from the Hydra Roundtable has given us an insider among the Slavs to carry their important receipts and records of activities to one of their secure locations, in fear of the Vorfahren, whom the Hydra Roundtable has anonymously paid to go after the Slavs as well, adding to the image that this is a real attack from them.

For this job, we wear suits with ballistic weave for minor protection, and given masks with the signature spiked golden cross on them, so we don’t have to use our usual masks. Still, Suzuki has fixed his up so he can fit one of his revolvers in the mask’s mouth.

Pointing this out, Kelly says, “I should’ve asked you earlier, but why do you carry a revolver in your mask’s mouth, two inside your suit, and another two at your hip?”

“It’s how my family taught me how to fight. It’s one of our many gun-fighting styles. This one with revolvers is inspired by one that the samurai came up with after seeing what the Western cowboys were capable of with their revolvers, and as one of the modern samurai, I thought I should carry on their legacy,” Suzuki explains.

“Sounds like they were just trying to be show-offs and that they can handle revolvers better than the Westerns,” Al says.

“Tell me, have you ever seen a gunslinger use pistols or revolvers as I do? Thought so. The Tatsu are second to none in all aspects of life.”

“You’re going to have to show him that you’re the actual better cowboy, Ace,” Kelly says.

“I’ll do my best.”

“As for me, my dual hot pink mini machine guns are the best in keeping people down and/or dead. My baby girls can outdo the both of you.”

“And for me,” Al says as he finishes putting together his light machine gun from the pieces he keeps in his suitcase, “This is my little friend. He doesn’t need to show off to outclass other guns. He just lets his actions speak for him.”

Al’s machine gun is comprised of the parts of many other assault rifles and light machine guns, including a red dot sight, drum mag, and grip to keep it under control.

“Now that a style challenge has been added to our job, are we ready to go?” I ask the others. They say they’re ready, so I say, “Let’s get this done.”

The Slavs get set up in their secure location, which is a series of apartments they own. It’s a poor house that they say they own and manage for the sake of the poor, but it’s also a meeting and safe house for them and a place to convert the poor to their side. If the poor who want to stay there reject their beliefs, they are kicked out due to “ideological violence” and “being unneighborly and inciting conflict”. The Vorfahren arrive on time in an alleyway, put on masks similar to ours to hide their identity, arm up, and head into the poor house. They hold up the workers there, telling them to bring them to their bosses. The workers do so, and the Vorfahren are brought to where the Slavs are.

As my friends and I are sneaking around and gathering the information we need for the bonus, we hear their conversation through the bugs placed in the poor house, thanks to the Hydra Roundtable’s help.

“Let the poor go from this brainwashing so-called poor house of yours,” one of the Vorfahren says.

“Is that what you’re after us for? Is that why you’ve been chasing after us? To make the poor, homeless? You people truly are monsters,” one of the Slavs says.

“We don’t want them to be homeless. We’re telling you that we’re taking over,” another of the Vorfahren says.

“Pfft. As if you people are known to treat the poor well,” another of the Slavs says, as different people from both sides start arguing with one another.

“You people this, you people that. You Slavs say you’re not racist, but demean whites, and say that blacks who aren’t on your side are race traitors. You say you treat the poor well, but kick out the poor who don’t embrace your cult and kill the unborn and disabled as a so-called act of kindness so they don’t suffer when suffering is what makes people strong.”

“Don’t go around quoting your leader in Adler because you aren’t as well spoken as him. He isn’t the saint that you think he is.”

“Yours in the Slav Federation is no saint either because of how he kills those closest to him who he thinks are becoming more famous or powerful than him. He’s just a glorified mob boss.”

“Those people were detractors, trying to become more powerful for their own sake.”

“We can say the same about you and your lavish lifestyles because of all the donations that go to your causes that you mostly spend on yourselves rather than the people you’re meant to help, this poor house being a prime example.”

“The funds go where they need to, and you’ll get this poor house over our dead bodies.”

“You don’t need to tell us twice.”

The Slavs and Vorfahren start shooting at one another as my friends and I finish gathering the info we need. The other Slavs in the building start heading up to help their friends, but my friends and I stop them in their tracks and attract some of the attention to us. Even some of the poor people they indoctrinated start firing on us, forcing us to kill them as well.

“What kind of scum forces the poor to fight? I pray for their souls,” Suzuki says.

“Focus, Byakko,” I say.

“I’m more than focused now, Cowboy.”

Suzuki advances on the Slavs, dancing in the gunfight as if he’s in a swordfight, each shot of his revolver landing in the chest or skull of his target. Instead of reloading, he switches to another revolver and doesn’t take cover to reload until they’re all empty. Not wanting him to get shot or take all the fame, Al and Kelly advance with Suzuki and cover his blind spots by clearing the nearby rooms of any shooters or people with knives or makeshift weapons. Meanwhile, I cover our rear where more Slavs come after us. My friends and I go up to where the Vorfahren are to help them out, and when all the Slavs are dead, we go to talk to them.

“Thank you for tipping us off to what the Slavs were doing here. Without you, we would’ve lost more good people,” one of the Vorfahren says.

“Thank you, but you being here was most valuable to us,” I say.

“Ah! We don’t deserve any credit. Now, we should care for the dead and get out of here.”

“We’ll take care of them, and you.”

Saying the code word, my friends and I gun down the Vorfahren. As part of the Vorfahren help, the Hydra Roundtable allowed us to kill our own help, using their dead bodies to prove to the Slavs and wider world that they were responsible for what happened here, rather than us marking the walls with Vorfahren marks and sayings.

“That was a bit cold, but necessary,” Kelly says.

“Now people will really think that the Vorfahren were the ones responsible for all this. Come on, let’s get out of here,” I say.

One of the poor people here who was our Slav insider guides us to a secret exit that we use to get out just as the police arrive. With another job done, we head back to the Hydra Roundtable hideout and give them what we found at the Slav poor house, and we are each given a payout of ten thousand. Celebrating our deed, we go to a Tatsu bar restaurant. We hear about our deeds on the news, and besides the Slav and Vorfahren fighting each other in public in our country, our own police force is going after both groups, and both groups are fighting each other on the other side of the world even more than usual.

As we are eating, I ask everyone, “Did you see anything that was in those documents and receipts we took?”

“Not at all. I didn’t care to,” Kelly says.

“Me neither,” Suzuki says.

“I think I glanced at something about the Israeli mafia and the Golden Coast, but that’s it. Why?” Al says.

“I wanted to know why our employers wanted the information. The bonus for getting it paid just as much as getting the job done. They obviously really wanted to know what the Slavs are up to,” I say.

“It’s really none of our business,” Kelly says as she finishes her drink and orders another.

“Kelly is right. We got our job done well and got a better paycheck than last time out of it. Don’t let it bother you,” Al says.

Turning to Suzuki, he nods in agreement. I guess I’m the only one that’s curious. I don’t even know what I would do with the information if I knew it. Maybe I should just keep my curiosities in the back of my head and just do the job I’m being paid for. We are just guns for hire after all, but I do feel like we can have a greater impact on the world, given what’s happening across the world.

Thieves Stealing from Thieves: Chapter 1 – A Posse of Virtuous Thieves

Chapter 1 – A Posse of Virtuous Thieves

Four of us sit quietly in a room with our masks on, rules of the shadowy organization printed on papers in front of the circular table in front of us, and a widescreen touch TV listing all the possible jobs for us to take, some of which are disappearing and slowly being replaced by new ones. I’m wearing a basic black-and-white suit, tie, and shoes, and a clown mask with the blue and red flag of the United Chimaera States on it with its golden cross and red X. A muscle man with a golden cross wears a similar suit to mine and wears an orange tiger mask. The only woman in the room wears a colorful, pink suit with golden tassels on it, a red tie, and an orange shirt underneath, a black skirt, and pink boots. She wears a clown mask like mine, except she has red hair in pigtails and a pink flower on it. Lastly, the other man in the room wears a frilly butler-type suit, and his mask has weird black strips near each eye and his mouth.

Not wanting to waste any time, I say, “We were all paired together for some reason. I assume you all said you wanted to be in a four-man group?”

They all nod their heads.

“I’m assuming they told you to wear a mask here. You spoke to a masked individual for your interview for this organization, and they told you not to stop wearing your mask or reveal your name until you met your group, so since no one else wants to move things along, I’ll go first.”  I take off my mask. “My name is Ace Argentum, and my codename is Cowboy.”

The well-dressed man with a creepy mask takes his off. He has long black hair and green eyes. His appearance reminds me a lot of myself when I didn’t have a goatee and graying black hair as I do now.

“My name is Al Jarrett, code name Cappuccino,” he says.

“Pfft. What a funny codename,” the girl says as she takes off her clown mask, revealing a young adult female’s face with half dark blue, half black hair, dark blue eyeshadow, dark blue eyes, and black lipstick. “You gave yourself a code name after your favorite coffee?”

“Yes,” Al says with a straight face.

Surprised by his unhumorous honesty, the girl shrugs her shoulders and then says, “The name’s Kelly McGhee. Code name is Rosebud. What’s yours, tiger?”

The man with a tiger mask takes it off, revealing a man with stubby facial hair, long black hair, and soft brown slanted eyes.

“Suzuki Koyama. You can call me Byakko in the field,” Suzuki says.

“Well, that’s what the codenames and masks are for. No one can know who is robbing or killing for this strange organization of thieves and mercenaries that we’ve joined, and if someone does find out, the organization cuts off all contact with us,” Kelly says.

“It’s called the Hydra Roundtable, and it’s not just another shadowy organization,” I say, pointing at the papers. “They don’t recruit just anyone off the streets. They’re looking for men and women of honor who want to do more than make money in less-than-legal ways. They want people with a good reason to risk their lives for a cause greater than themselves. Since we’re all supposed to get to know and trust each other, do you mind telling me your motives for joining?”

“I’m from the Slav Federation, and I’m just here to cause some good trouble. I don’t even care if we make a difference. All I want to do is make sure corrupt people in all areas of society get what they deserve,” Kelly says.

“The Slav Federation? Tch. Of course someone from there just wants to cause senseless chaos,” Suzuki scoffs.

“I know the reputation of my homeland, its people, and the primary ideology they worship, but I am not one of them. That’s why I’m here. If anything, I prefer we take the contracts that hurt the adherents of the Slavic political ideology.”

“Heh, sure. I just find it hard to believe because the Slavs say they overthrew their governments to help the people, particularly the poor and middle class, and distribute the riches of the wealthy to those who need it, but when they got into power, they only helped themselves, and either killed, jailed, or exiled everyone else.”

“If we’re talking about the hypocrisies of our countries, what about those that embrace the Von Menschen und Vorfahren? The two founding countries, Adler and Lupa, did much the same thing, saying they were using force and the powers of the state to return their countries to their former glory and bring them to greater heights. I’m assuming you’re from Tatsu, Suzuki?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then let’s not fail to mention how they put many of the people from the Loog Dynasty into camps like Adler did and committed unspeakable acts of rape, murder, and inhuman experimentation on an Asiatic people that they considered less than them.”

“The glory of the Tatsu Empire is restored. It’s a shame what happened to its detractors, but I’m glad that other nations take us seriously again and foreigners will no longer take advantage of us.”

“So, you’re saying your country is justified in the same atrocities that mine are guilty of?”

“No.”

“How about we agree to disagree?” I interject. “I said in my interview that I wanted to work with people of the same belief. Don’t we all worship the same suffering God?”

“I am part of the suffering Church, the Patiens Ecclesia,” Suzuki says, and the rest agree.

“Then let’s agree to disagree. I myself can attest to the evils of both sides. I used to work for a bank to help people with their finances, but I worked for some greedy Israeli bankers and was screwing over more people than anything. It’s why I’ve been mostly a bank robber ever since. As for the Slavs, I’ve been taking from their underground businesses and using it to actually help the poor.”

“It sounds like you might like the Vorfahren more than Slavs, given their hatred of Israelis,” Kelly says.

“Just because I might like one enemy more than the other doesn’t mean I’ll ever consider working for them. They’re both sides of the same wretched coin as far as I’m concerned.”

Al says, “I agree with Ace. Both sides are hunted by my family, and we’re trying to influence our country’s leaders to classify their beliefs as hateful and illegal.”

“Your family? The terminology is familiar to me. You must mean you’re part of a crime family,” Suzuki says.

“Do I?”

“Yes. I recognize it because I’m part of my own family in Tatsu, doing our own thing to influence the government and keeping it in our pocket.”

“That’s the only way to control the government: make sure it does the will of the right people.”

Suzuki and Al smile at one another as if instantly forming a brotherhood over shared experiences in crime families. I look over to Kelly, and she looks at me.

“I don’t care if I’m the odd one out. I know what it’s like in my own home,” she says.

“We’re all odd in our own way. You’re among like-minded people, whether you know it or not,” I say.

“Since introductions are out of the way, how about we get to work? I keep seeing jobs disappear from the TV screen.”

“Right. Which would you all like to take?”

“Since you mentioned banks, I think we can get the best payday and boost in reputation with the Hydra Roundtable if we hit one of those. No one is really taking any of them either,” Al says.

“It’s high risk, high reward,” I say.

“Just the way I like it,” Kelly says.

“Suzuki?”

“I agree with Kelly. Nothing easy is worth doing. May I pick the particular bank?” Suzuki says.

“Go ahead.”

Suzuki goes up to the TV and taps the bank job to accept it for us. The details spread out and tell us that the bank is held by members of the Israeli mafia to launder and keep their money in, and give needy people loans with high interest. It’s not the same place I worked at, but I recognize the names of the special targets who run the organization.

“Looks like we got some targets who we can get a bonus from if we take them out and confirm the kill. I’m surprised to see them, given that the Hydra Roundtable is strict on its killing rule,” I say.

“We can only kill criminals and special targets. Everyone else, from civilians to cops, greatly reduces our pay and reputation,” Al says.

“The Hydra Roundtable is also offering to provide us with more information and ways into the bank at the cost of a percentage of our score. What do you think we should take, if anything at all?”

“Hmm. Keycard, interference with the police to allow us more time to get out if things get hairy, insider assistance, special weapons and tools to get into the bank. It’s all very tempting,” Kelly says. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t take what we think is necessary. I’m not in this for the money. Just the fun and virtue of it.”

“I say we should,” Al says.

“Again, I have to agree with Kelly,” Suzuki says.

“I guess we do have more things in common than we think,” Kelly says.

“Yes. If you are truly a noble, then we should never seriously disagree on anything and work together well,” Suzuki says.

Kelly nods and smiles. With that set, we choose what the Hydra Roundtable can help us with and are given three days to prepare as our assets are gathered for us. During that time, my group and I take stock of what we need, study the blueprints of the bank, make a plan to get the requested amount of cash and to fulfill the secondary objectives, and take walks around the bank to become familiar with it and what happens in it. The day of the robbery arrives, and we all begin to play our parts.

Over the radio, I say, “How’s the floor look, Rosebud?”

“Busy and smelling of desperation and greed as always, Cowboy,” Kelly says. “Cappuccino. Is the coffee brewing?”

“Yes. We’re about to have a nice, rich drink soon,” Al says as he hacks into the bank doors thanks to the codes provided by the Hydra Roundtable. “How are our VIPs, Byakko?”

“Some are strapped, and others are none the wiser that they’re about to have their pictures taken with their new crowns,” Suzuki says, referring to the charges planted in the bank and the members of the Israeli mafia we’re meant to kill and take pictures of to confirm the kill. “I think it’s about time to act, Ace.”

“I think so too,” I say. “Is everyone ready?”

Everyone agrees, so I say, “Mask up. Let’s get this done.”

Putting on my mask and drawing my pistols, both long and capable of firing rifle rounds, and currently loaded with non-lethal rounds. We’re aided by five disgruntled workers and civilians who have been taken advantage of by the people who ran this bank, each of whom has their own mask and rifle loaded with non-lethal rubber bullets. We shout at everyone to get down, shoot the guards with the non-lethal rounds to knock them out, and make sure no one leaves the bank yet or hits any of the alarms. From below, we can see Suzuki kick in the doors of the office and gun down all our targets. Another group of five masked helpers comes in and goes down to the vault to help Al with a specialized drill to open parts of the vault we don’t have a key for.

While all this is happening, I’m saying to the crowds, “Stay down and stay calm! We want the bank’s money, not yours. Yours is insured by the government, so you’ll lose nothing. Don’t be a hero because it’d be wasted on the scum that runs this bank.”

None of the civilians move for the duration that it takes Al and our helpers to get the money. Suzuki comes down to help with the money, and before we set off the explosives, we yell at the civilians to leave and let them know what we’re doing. They all sprint out of the bank, screaming, not even stopping to carry out the unconscious guards as we tell them to, forcing us to carry the guards to a safe location on our way out. Once we’re far enough, Suzuki activates the explosives, leveling the bank and destroying everything else we didn’t take. Our ten helpers take the money in an armored car, while Suzuki, Kelly, Al, and I take a separate, unassuming four-door car.

Thanks to the Hydra Roundtable’s help, the police don’t arrive until after we start driving away, and by then, they don’t see us get into our separate cars, and don’t know that the people they’re looking for have already driven past them. We don’t celebrate until we’re back at the Hydra Roundtable’s hideout, where we’re paid a meager five thousand each for our work. None of us look bothered by our paycheck, but I still ask them if they are.

“Pfft. No. Why? How much did you usually make during bank robberies, Ace?” Kelly asks.

“Eh. About the same. I don’t like keeping dirty money with me, so I donate most of it either to Church or people in need,” I say.

“That’s what I’m planning to do with this,” Al says while waving the packet of money around.

“Agreed. I have plenty of money from my work with my family to get by for the next few years,” Suzuki says.

“I guess that means you’ll be the one buying for tonight’s celebration,” Kelly says.

Suzuki shrugs his shoulders and says, “I don’t see why not, especially after making some new friends.”

The four of us go out, changed into different suits, and go to a bar that’s outside the city where the bank was. We recommend each other our favorite drinks, some of which aren’t palatable to some of us, like Suzuki, who spits out a lot of what he drinks, and sticks to Sakae and Mediterranean red wine. News of what we did shows up on the bar’s TV, and we make a toast to it.

“To our future success,” I say.

The four of us clink our glasses and enjoy the fruits of our work, hoping that it continues for many jobs to come.

A collection of my mob-inspired stories is out today!

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Faith, Family, and Fortune

The Campione brothers aspire to be more than just car mechanics. Their chance comes when Great War veterans overturn a corrupt election, protected by dishonest cops. They put their lives on the line for the neighborhood and are inducted into Casa Della Notte, a clandestine brotherhood of men bound by honor, loyalty to God, and family. Together, they'll safeguard law enforcement, defend their homeland against foreign influences, run a casino, and plot against their rivals, including targeting a high-profile political figure.

This book includes: The Good Neighbor Boys Quartiere Cavalieri, To Be an Honest Man: Dedizione All'Amore, and Mobster's Bet: Lascia che sia Dio a Decidere, along with Behind the Story trivia for each story.

My latest book and last in my mobster trilogy is out today!

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Since taking over several casinos, the Campione brothers have successfully navigated a wealthy, legitimate business while simultaneously maintaining their underworld activities through their connections and people they command. The priority now is addressing a president whose failures threaten their nation and foreigners with corrupting ideologies, both of whom will be dealt with severely.

Mobster's Bet: Lascia che sia Dio a Decidere: Epilogue – A Rigged Result

Epilogue – A Rigged Result

A few weeks have passed since our major decision, and the country has changed as a result. The president was shot and killed, and there’s a civil conflict between the Vorfahren and adherents of the Slavs. For the first week, we staged murders to look like it was coming from the other side, and because both sides already hated one another, it wasn’t hard for them to completely turn their attention to them. In the second week, we arranged for them to meet one another, making them think they were going to get revenge on their ideological enemy through arresting or killing them, and during the meeting, we fired shots from both sides. Because of what was previously mentioned, the two sides had no problem killing one another, leaving us only the job of cleaning them up.

By the third week, our friends of the family in the media spin the story as rising tensions between both ideologies, and now both are focusing more on tearing each other down than on the country they reside in. The rest of our family cleaned up the other people of interest who didn’t show up at the meeting, and by now, it’s just chalked up as more violence between the two groups, and not looked into beyond that. The one bad thing that came about our plans is that the said violence between the two groups has engulfed the cities and towns where they chose to fight, but both James Sovrano and my brother see it as an opportunity to beat both sides up or outright kill them with the excuse being that they’re just defending the community, adding to the public’s view of the family as just being a collection of people who love their families and country and want to protect it.

It’s a huge win all around, and today, we’re celebrating in a private dining hall with all the members of the family and friends of  All the members of the public part of the family, Casa Della Luce, and the shadowy part, Casa Della Notte, that are here happily drinking, eating, joking around, and continue to scheme and make plans, but as for my related family and I, we simply enjoy each other’s company and the festivities.

Coming back with drinks and a cigar in his mouth, Cesare distributes the drinks and says, “What’s the serious face, Vincenzo? There’s nothing much left to scheme about.”

“There’s always something to plan for,” Marin says.

“But then there are times to party, let loose, and let God take care of the rest,” Okazaki says as she clinks glasses and drinks with Cesare, who agrees.

“I plan to become the next president,” I say.

Cesare and Okazaki spit out what they drank. Marin isn’t so surprised since I talked it over with her already in the days leading up to today.

Continuing, I say, “It’s the only way to solidify protection for our family for generations to come.”

“I figured that, but also, I have no idea why I’m so surprised. This is great, brother! I have to go get us more drinks!”

Cesare leaps up out of his seat and runs to the bar.

“What do you think the rest of the family thinks?” Marin asks.

“They approve of it, or at least are waiting to see what I’ll do. I’m sure they already know about it. I passed the idea by Russell, and he seemed proud of me and was approving,” I say.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t be. You’ve proven yourself to be loyal to God and the family, especially our own.”

“You’ve done your fair share to help as well. You too, Okazaki. I’m proud to call you a sister-in-law.”

“Aww, thanks! I can’t wait for the day I can say that my brother-in-law is the president of the United Chimera States. The future remains bright for us,” Okazaki says.

“God willing it is,” I say. “But what am I saying? I bet everyone on relying on God’s providence and have gotten richer in many ways because of it.”

Cesare brings us drinks, and with him are a bunch of people who congratulate me on my decision. Some of them even joke about rigging the election in my favor, something I won’t exactly argue with, unless I’m running against someone else whom I trust with the country.

With all our glasses raised high, I say, “To faith, family, and fortune.”

Everyone says the same, drinks, and goes back to celebrating even harder now because of what may happen in the future, but like I said, what am I saying? God is on our side, so the game is rigged in our favor, just how we like it.

 

The End