Orso d'oro (1)

"I-" I was lost for words. As soon as I informed the others of Kaiser's decision. They assured me that I was in good hands. Well, Hawk scoffed at the idea, but the other two were rather agreeable.

Their attitude was not what left me speechless, however.

"Why the hell are they dressed like that?!?" Their current attire was NOT normal. Apart from Seamus himself who was dressed in what I presumed was another identity, Hawk and Colt were dressed in...

"Well, what- What's wrong?" Seamus asked with evident confusion. He did a good job, no?

"Why is his hair like that?! And why is Colt dressed like a goth?" I was exasperated.

"Really? Seamus said a mohawk would fit me…" Hawk muttered. Accentuated by a leather jacket and far too skinny pants, I couldn't with a sane mind say they wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Seamus looked like a man with messy long hair wearing a casual outfit, but the others were... They couldn't possibly make the cut.

"Seamus, I am not leaving this base until they get a new look…" I was not having it. Colt looked like a zombie and Hawk got a mohawk. No way.

"Oh come on, dude, I made sure their attire didn't fit their usual personalities. Hawk is pretty serious. But with a mohawk… Hehehe, it's a party" Seamus started to ramble about how much of a genius he was.

After about an hour of back and forth, I decided to give up. All I achieved was Hawk getting a smaller mohawk and a hooded jacket. As for Colt… Just removing the black eyeliner did wonders.

With an arguably normal group of people backing me, it was time to take over a gang.

The location of this gang was practically the opposite of the laboratory I once visited. Now, there were a couple of things to note about that place.

One, the last time I went there without following proper procedures. Strictly speaking, why did I run away from a security guard? Didn't the government want to hire people for the military?

The reality as I was recently informed was… yes and no. Military opportunities were mainly reserved for the middle class and high-class residents of Termina.

That was to say, the lower class ended up as experiments. Only if they were lucky enough to survive would they get to join Eden's military, a place that was… frankly not up to snuff. But that was probably my perspective of a person that lived in a non-apocalyptic world.

Regardless, to go into the middle class sector this time, we just needed to make sure we were scheduled online. This was one of the perks Kaiser got from Rook.

"Kaiser said he hooked us up already" Seamus told me as we exited the building.

We were now in the streets of the slums and our clean clothes, though lacking style, made us stick out more than usual. I was the only one that remained inconspicuous.

"Hey is there some sort of costume party…?" I heard someone whisper. I could only silently curse Seamus as we walked.

"F*ck Seamus"

"F*ck Seamus"

That was the tune I rang in my head but Seamus seemed to sense my curses as with every utterance, he was making a very awkward expression. How odd.

"Uhm… You are saying it out loud" Seamus said helplessly.

There was a silence.

"HAHAAHAHA!" There was until Hawk burst out laughing.

"Hehe" I let out a chuckle.

"Ha… Ha…" Colt let out a nervous laugh. He was clearly trying not to be left out of the writing.

As for Seamus, he could only feel aggrieved. When we eventually made it to the gate, I would still take a look at him, shake my head, and laugh.

"Ah damn it Dan! You've been getting real cocky!" Seamus shouted as lowly as possible. We were near the gates after all.

I ignored him.

"Do you three have permission to cross?" The guard spoke to us as soon as we approached. He did his routine and we provided some fake names. Well, not for me. I couldn't risk being noticed at all.

"All is good, go ahead" The guard opened the gate on the road. We were made to pay a small friendship fee, but there were otherwise no hitches.

Termina had many problems, but friendly folks were not lacking. In a post apocalyptic world, law and order was a privilege which we were fortunate enough to lack.

***

Much later, the sound of a violin inundated a classy-looking room. It appeared to be a very well decorated office.

There was a man sitting on an expensive looking leather chair smoking from a cigar.

"Cough cough" The grizzly old man coughed. He inhaled a bit too strongly.

Knock knock

"Boss" The voice of a middle-aged man said from behind a door.

"Tony, my son-a, come on in" The grizzly man said with an accent recognizing the voice.

The middle-aged man that came in, Tony, wore a black suit as well as a stern expression.

"They've got two of our men, boss! Those Silver Dagger bastards!" Tony reported in a shout.

"Ah, so those Dague d'argent bastards dared kill-a group of our men-a… bout time we handled them" The father of the Orso d'oro, Enzo mused.

"Joost because we laid low for de library assault doesn't mean we got no claws. Contact the sector manager, let's make some magic" Enzo commanded holding a youthful smile despite his old age.

"As you will it father" Tony bowed and said.

Just as Tony was about to leave, however, the door opened on its own.

"Hi, Hello" A young man no older than 20 appeared. He was wearing a simple hoodie and even did a small wave.

"I am Dan Owens, I heard this is the Boss's office" The young man said, causing the father and son duo to be left stunned. Who the hell did this guy think he was?!?

They both unholstered their weapons and aimed it at the unruly young man.