Orso d'oro (3)

We were supposed to be discussing business but… Enzo and I had a real bonding moment as we eagerly discussed the future of the gang and my aspirations.

"Hahaha! You are crazy!" Enzo screamed before taking a swig of alcohol.

"Hehehe" I could only laugh sheepishly. It was admittedly a bit embarrassing to share my dreams just like that.

"What kind of idiot believes they can actually go for world domination-a!? Pfft!" Ah, he went ahead and said it out loud so carelessly... Maybe sharing this dream of mine with him was a mistake.

"Well, life's a lot easier when everything is in the palm of your hands…" I said while looking at my hands, they looked weathered and torn from all of my recent battle and training. I then made a crushing motion. It would be that easy if I had the power.

"But don't worry, I won't forget you Enzo" I said before taking a gulp of my wine. I actually never drank before, but it was a necessary bonding ritual in the gang, Enzo told me to get used to it.

I savored the taste for a bit, even smacked my lips to get a feel for it. That gulp felt bitter. Was that just the taste of alcohol?

I made a wry smile knowing the bitter feeling came from my own delusions. World domination? I only said that to mask my total lack of direction.

As I drank I came to realize that I was directionless. What was I supposed to be working towards? It felt like I kept on forgetting my goal at each step.

Did I want to return to my previous life? I hated the very notion but… I wanted to find my brother and maybe learn whatever happened to this Dan's family. So I took another shot of alcohol.

"Hey, Enzo… Help me out, give me some missions" Maybe it was time to get back to business.

"Right, missions…" Enzo muttered.

Hiccup

"Erm…" The big boss looked a bit tipsy but he pulled out a drawer and grabbed a handful of files.

"Can you take care of dese deliveries?" Enzo told me as he tossed over a bundle of stapled papers.

"Umm… Not the type of mission I want…" I wasn't interested in delivering illegal goods to anyone. What I wanted was a bit more… stealth or combat oriented. I needed to cement my status as a hired hand.

This caused the tipsy Enzo to frown deeply.

"We don't get those type of requests ere..." The Termina middle class zone was only permitted to illegally deliver goods and the government would take a cut. Things like turf warfare was strictly prohibited.

That didn't mean there were none, simply put the wars were prohibited but silently allowed.

Any gang partaking in illegal activities that excluded the sale of contraband, would be persecuted per the law. That was assuming they were caught though as the government would not actively pursue them. As long as it was covert and no lines were crossed, it was as if nothing at all happened.

Another way to say it was things greatly depended on the whims of the upper echelons. Who would take the risk?

"But, I think our contact Russo might be able to hook you up" Enzo said to my pleasant surprise.

"Why would the government person have requests?" But I was also curious.

"Erm… We and de other gangs aven't been on very good terms with the gov as of late" Enzo replied with some reluctance. It seemed he didn't want to really talk about it.

"Hm… Are you sure you want to withhold information from me?" I said shooting him a murderous glance, Enzo flinched. We might have made too much merry forcing him to lose some fear.

"It's just… Russo is from the planetary faction. He is also the contact points of some other gangs and he wasn't happy by our silence regarding the library matter" Enzo said while I listened intently.

"Hmm… Just that?" Seemed like a pretty bad reason for the planetary party to sour connections with their gangs. It was such a small matter considering their party's situation. If nothing else, the gangs could serve as their eyes in the now stolen sector.

"I know-a! It's oonfair! Worst part is-a we didn't even know about de mission to attack it until a day before someone made it appen! It boils my blood!" Enzo said trying to reign in his anger. He was tempted to grab a wine bottle and smash it on something.

"Well, can you get in touch with Russo?" Thinking about it, even if the planetary faction had no intention to have spies, I could spy on them. Their intel might turn out useful. Scoring some points with Russo seemed like a good idea even without the spying.

"For sure! Give me a couple of hours and you'll have your mission!" Enzo was confident in getting this simple task done which was good. That meant I could finally meet the 3 loons that were to be my right hand, left hand, and third hand men?

"Noted, don't use 3rd hand man…" I muttered, maybe use ambidextrous hand man instead? Certainly was an option, as well as a rather awkward tittle to be bestowed. Not to mention it didn't really make much sense.

"Wha…?" Enzo's face was priceless at that moment so I decided not to explain myself. I got up and walked to the door.

"I'll be back in a few hours then, have your men let in my friends when the time comes" I said before opening the door and leaving.

Later that day, the 3 loons were given a full brief on my awesomeness.

"Wow, you really didn't need our help huh…"

Hawk was styling his mohawk when he shot me a doubtful side glance. A small bead of sweat formed naturally.

"You really did a flip, snapped that guy's neck, and saved our day the trouble?" Hawk asked.

"Maybe I embellished a little…" I said averting my eyes. But everything else was true.

"Just a little? So it wasn't 30 men you took down but 20 right?" Hawk was seriously laying on me!

"Just get off my back already!" I screamed. How could they not respect their boss!?!

"Hmph" Hawk's response was anything but relieving. He was definitely silently still on my back! That sneaky back climber!