Plans, projects and dreams (Part 2)

"Who's willing to answer?"

However, his students were far from answering, unlike the previous questions. The simple fact of having to answer this question caused some confusion among them.

"I thought that question had been answered by stating that we were going to collect evidence"

They certainly weren't wrong. Implicitly, that question had already been answered a few moments ago, but not with all the precision that the demanding teacher Fred demanded of his students

"Yes, you're not wrong, but...

That would only happen if they take the bait and don't catch us...

Although I'm confident that they'll move as I expect, I don't like making such a big move without solid foundations and contingency plans.

I'm pleased to say that from the beginning it wasn't necessary to collect much evidence to be able to deal with the local [legal] powers" Said Professor Fred, who moved away from the blackboard to get closer to his students. "After all, we have the right to kill them right now."

Fred approached David and Perona and handed them a document. One of the many documents that Mr. Winchostor gave them before leaving his store.

"What's this?" Asked Perona somewhat puzzled "A list of premises, houses and land?"

The document was very easy to read and Perona and David also understood its meaning, but they couldn't understand what this paper had to do with Fred's plan. Unlike Stephen, who only needed to take a look in the same store to understand everything.

"That's how it is.

It's a list of premises, houses and land that previously belonged to Bege and his people and that now belong to us" Answered Assistant Professor Stephen "But...

In these last months after Bege's death the rest of the mafia families have claimed as their own..."

And that partially incomplete answer further increased the confusion among his companions. Unlike him, they still lacked enough instinct to complete the answer on their own.

"No… I don't understand," Perona asked. "Aren't we supposed to have signed today that they're legally ours?"

"How could they have claimed them?" David asked. "Are they being illegally occupied?"

Some questions that his teacher was willing to answer as accurately as he could.

"MUA HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yes, exactly! MUA HAHAHAHA!

MUA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

THAT'S HOW IT IS!

MUA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

But since Fred was somewhat unavailable due to being rejoicing in his own success, celebrating in an evilly cliché way and scaring the rest of the cast, the job of resolving doubts fell again to Stephen

"I had my suspicions... but today when I saw the document and Fred's sadistic face I was able to confirm it...

Fred was more than aware that in these months Bege's competitors would try to take over everything that previously belonged to him after his fall" Stephen said as he looked intermittently and with oblivious embarrassment at his brother, who was still laughing like a madman. "Well, even though it may not seem like it now, Fred is pretty smart and knew that would happen.

That's why with very specific rules, which include collective suicide to destroy evidence... and forced all of Bege's subordinates to quickly compile all the ownership documents for all the assets, appoint a person in charge, deliver them to Mr. Winchostor and grant him full powers until Fred arrived."

"The other mafia families tried to find those legal documents, but they never succeeded…" Fred took over, who finally spoke and acted relatively normally again to explain the consequences of his plan. "However, taking over a large part of the pie that previously belonged to Bege was something that had to be done by hook or by crook

And since they couldn't do it legally... well... they resorted to illegality... but legally..."

And after adding all that information, the entire context of this conspiracy plot was finally understood; even a small child would be able to understand it.

"I understand…" Perona exclaimed, raising her hand to respond like a good girl. "They bribed people from the government to create false property contracts for them!"

"Indeed, little Perona!

It doesn't necessarily have to be a bribe, but something happened and they were given false documents." Fred responded, trying with all his might not to laugh like a maniac once again during the course of the explanation. "We have the government by the balls without needing to do anything else

If we kill the gangsters under this pretext, the laws of Ballywood won't be able to do much against us! 

MUA HAHAHAHA!!!

If we go to trial to resolve who's the true owner, thanks to the power of my Pact Magic, the politicians and officials responsible for the illegality will be finished the moment they swear to tell the truth and only the truth in front of me!

MUA HAHAHAHA!

And the elections are in a less than two months!

MUA HAHAHAHA!

If I were necessary to reveal this, the government wouldn't dare to mess with us no matter how many favors they owe to the Dons!

This level of corruption has many implications! It would create a huge domino effect that I'll happily exploit!

MUA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MUA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Fred didn't achieve his goal of not laughing evilly... and somewhat narcissistically. But despite failing in this section, he unconditionally earned the admiration of his nakamas, especially among those who were already fully convinced.

"Sempai!! You're amazing!!!" David shouted, almost crying with joy seeing the legend in action once again that day "No wonder you're considered the smartest bounty hunter in the world!!"

"A great evil plan, as always" Stephen appreciated, but being a little more critical than the rest of the group "But isn't it possible that the gangster's ability to blackmail those politicians is greater than yours?

I'm sure they have to have worse things."

"Yes, that's true..." Fred answered soberly. He knew that although his plan was good, it wasn't 100% perfect. If it were, he wouldn't waste time taking countermeasures. "That's why finding more evidence during these days is necessary in addition to capture the mafia bosses during the meeting and other things…

We all need to work together with this goal!

With my wonderful plan we'll be able to achieve all our objectives in a masterful, intelligent and spectacular way!"

And to share that great plan with his entire team, Fred transformed another tooth from his pocket, which became a book seconds later.

"Oh no...

Too many pages…"

A huge book that detailed each and every one of the steps they had to follow in the coming days and that, to everyone's horror, Fred began to explain

"First of all we need to make our enemies believe that we're in this room having a good time... although really we're outside plotting against them.

With Perona there's no problem, since she's able to go throughout the country without leaving the room with her hollows.

With David almost the same, since he can shrink and not be seen easily.

Stephen, Hawky and I'll have to dress up and yes... I have methods to make Hawky look like an eagle."

A very detailed explanation that lasted several minutes

"Infiltrating for days among the ranks of the mafia, politics and police won't be a problem for me and neither will contacting each other.

Now that my control of Seimei Kikan has improved, I'm not so restricted by people's height and weight.

Impersonating them won't be easy, but I like a challenge!

I'll be able to physically collect evidence, force situations to create more evidence, antagonize certain motherfuckers and collect promises with my Pact Magic without anyone noticing… until it's too late

MUA HAHAHAHA!!!

Between pages 49 and 51 you'll find a list with well-placed people in those groups that I'll replace"

An absurdly complex explanation that lasted almost an hour!

"When you see Doña Solia's Chihuaha fuck Don Polpo's Saint Bernard, we'll activate the [Comedy of Entanglements] phase!

The conflict between the four families, the politicians to whom they owe favors, the police, the merchants and the actor's union that I'll incite will have reached the highest possible point.

You'll use my new [Grapes of Wrath] ammunition and you'll fire them with the biological bomb launcher cannon that you will make on the second day. You know, the one on page 221 and...

Oops no, not that one, I mean the one on the page 343, the other will be used later in…"

A plan so elaborate, long and ambitious that it had become impossible to follow!

So crazy, difficult and complicated that knocked out a bird, a girl and a giant due to information overload!

ONLY STEPHEN WAS LEFT STANDING AT THIS POINT!!

"Fred, Fred! "FREEED!!!" Stephen shouted, trying with all his might to stop his brother's practically endless explanation. "I understand...

I understand that you like to kill several birds with one stone, you need to get out of your comfort zone by doing unexpected things, you feel the need to set increasingly difficult and inventive challenges for yourself, you love defeating your enemies outside of combat because that makes you feel smarter, you have an insane obsession with impersonating other people and we both want to try our new products…

But, seriously...

With your infinite wisdom and kindness couldn't you make a small sacrifice and come up with a simpler and more practical plan that we can all follow?"

And Stephen wasn't alone in that initiative...

"Please..."

"We beg you"

"Kyahhh…"

Perona, David and even the incarnation of Hawky, all mentally and emotionally exhausted practically rose from their grave to beg for mercy. It was impossible for them to remember that complex plan in such a short time! Much less be able to execute it even if they took all the doping drugs that their boss had in his possession!

And for the first time in a long time that reasonable plea managed to pierce his boss's brain, ego, and heart...

"Well...

Yes... yes I could... make another plan..." Fred responded, visibly saddened and disheartened by this great general rejection of the plan that he felt so proud of. "You're right... I've gone crazy.

I had a creative streak, ideas arose in my head and... I didn't know when to stop..."

And he wasn't pretending!

Fred had poured many hours and a lot of love into this sociopathic and almost genocidal plan! Much more than he was willing to admit!

"And besides… this was our first big hit together and… I… I wanted it to be a special and memorable moment…" Fred said, fighting against his own body to keep his eyes from watering. "I don't… I don't normally work as a team on these cases and I wanted to do my best as a leader

That's why I had tried to give you all important roles so that you felt integrated and useful, but..."

"…"

"But yes…" Fred said, pretending that he was fine after a brief pause. "Now I look at it coldly and it wasn't such a good idea to overload you, especially on the first day...

I'm sorry..."

Apology accepted! Or that's what everyone wanted to say at first, but not now...

No one, not even Stephen, had imagined how much sentimental value this plan had for Fred!

In fact, they began to feel guilty for refusing to participate when they saw him like this, some for the first time...

"This... Fred... if you were so excited, we can..."

"No... no..." Fred said, interrupting the unnecessary act of compassion from his companions. "You're right...

I have to be more practical and less artistic..."

It wasn't entirely clear how Fred would optimize his great hyper-complex genocidal plan to make it accessible to all audiences, but there was little point in speculating right now.

Fred sat at a desk inside Hawky, visible to everyone. He wanted everyone to be able to see the number of pages he was writing so they could stop him the moment he overdid it again.

But while that didn't happen, his teammates took a well-deserved rest in which they weren't forced to train or study in any way; something strange since they joined FreedSteel.

"Well...

While Fred recovers his spirits and reformulates his plan, how about we chat among friends sharing things in common?" Stephen asked, starting the conversation with the rest of his friends. "What's your dream?"

A conversation that surprised David and Perona

"Our dream?"

Both were exhausted after a busy day and listening to a presentation that lasted more than two hours. Their energy, especially their mental energy, had been almost completely depleted and they could barely pay attention to a conversation or process their own thoughts efficiently.

They had little desire to answer such intimate questions like that right now.

However, Stephen was determined to spread his positive energy and not let his friends go to bed with such a bad taste in their mouths after having such a fun day!

So he insisted!

"Yeah! Your dream!" Shouted Stephen, who stopped supervising Fred for a moment to sit between his two friends to facilitate the transmission of positive energy. "It's important to have some crazy but more or less achievable aspirations in this life!

Something that gives purpose and meaning to our existence beyond waiting to die of old age within our comfort zone.

Do you really not have any?

Come on, you're cool people! Surely you have one or more than one!"

And almost instantly...

"Well..."

Mission accomplished!

Stephen managed to transmit his positive energy to David, giving him the strength and motivation necessary to continue talking.

"I went out to the sea in search of a place that had food in such abundance that even I could bathe in it." David said, looking at Fred in admiration, without even blinking. "But that dream has already come true!

In fact, better and faster than I ever dared to dream!

So I've considered a new dream..."

David learned many things from Fred since he joined him... and one of those things was to cut off an explanation to create anticipation and thus force the question from his impatient listeners.

"And which one is it?"

David created such an expectation that even Perona was resurrected to ask along with Stephen.

A question David answered after getting up from the table and walking over to Fred, who was still writing down his new ergonomic plan.

"My new dream is to become the first Giant Ninja in history!" David shouted, kneeling before Fred in the traditional Japanese way "Please Fred-sensei! Accept me as your disciple!"

"Ok, accepted... and I'll also teach you how to play basketball" Fred said without even thinking. He was somewhat excited to have a promising student that he could mold in his image, but also somewhat depressed knowing that no one would understand his Slam Dunk reference "But seriously, I'm not a ninja...

I think..."

But whatever...

"YAAAAIIIIII!!!"

With this affirmative answer David was a few steps away from fulfilling his new dream!

The only problem was that he would soon need to find a new dream... But that was a problem for the David of the future!

Now the happy David of the present only cared about knowing the dreams of his friends.

"And what about you, Perona-chan?"

Like David, little Perona was also resurrected, although with less enthusiasm than the first. She didn't have the same age, the same stamina, nor the same reasons to be so motivated. Still she shared her thoughts

"Living comfortably in a castle surrounded by cute servants and cute things" Perona said gracefully, although in her gracefulness she hid a great overdose of frustration. "I thought that would be an easy dream to fulfill with Fred's ability to make money and pets, but...

Even though I'm in a living flying castle and I can have all the pandas I want...

I'm condemned to study, train and work all day every day!

AT THIS RATE I'LL NEVER MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE!"

"STEEL-STEEL-STEEL!

Don't worry, I'll negotiate your training with Mr. Ogre to make it more enjoyable" Stephen said in the role of his good brother before sharing his dream. "My dream hasn't changed much since I was a kid.

Build and pilot the giant mecha of my dreams!

Although I also want to make many more things in the future that I couldn't imagine as a child and maybe not even now.

I love to construct and invent!

But if something else hasn't changed, it's that I want to do it with the people I love the most!

Moreover, as was customary, Stephen finished off his emotional speech with one of his famous hugs.

"I love you too! You're the best!"

"You're crushing me! And you're messing up my hair!"

"KYAHHH! KYAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Hugs that you could hate or love, but there was no middle ground!

However, regardless of whether you liked them or not, as soon as this blatant invasion of personal space ended everyone involved asked...

"And what's your dream boss?"

There was only one humanoid being in the room who hadn't answered that question and despite being reserved on this matter, Fred believed it was time to bring it to light before his new members.

"My dream?" Fred said rhetorically. Immediately afterwards, his hair grabbed the pencil to continue writing while he faced his audience again to present his next thesis "When I was Perona's age, my dream was to become extremely rich and retire young on an island away from the rest of the world and live in luxury for the rest of my life without worries."

A somewhat unexpected dream for Perona and David,

"And... that's not your dream anymore?"

They couldn't believe that the greedy and monstrous man with crazy plans had such a simple, innocent and easily achievable dream.

"Even if it surprises you, it's still my dream...

In fact, I could fulfill it right now" Fred responded while turning a piece of paper from his old plan into a grape that he ate "With the capabilities of my Akuma No Mi we would never lack anything anywhere.

We could travel in the Underworld until we reach an uninhabited sky island to settle there. We could create home automation homes and live a luxurious and peaceful life regardless of what's happening in the world.

Without pirates, without gangsters, without politicians, without kings, without World Government...

Just free people living in peace with each other, almost like our old home years ago"

This time they listened to the plan behind the dream in more detail, a simple plan that was easy to understand and even love.

"Sounds good! I'm in!"

However, a crucial question remained unresolved.

"But what prevents you from fulfilling that dream and plan?"

"A promise to my father... a promise I made to myself... reconsider the disadvantages of the hermit life... my sense of responsibility and... my obsession with making my plans more and more big and complicated" Fred responded in a more emotional way than he would have wanted to show. But it was impossible for him to separate his feelings from this matter. "At first I only thought about fulfilling this dream by and for myself, but...

I quickly realized that I would like to share this dream with those I consider family... and then I also realized that would be cruel not to include my friends... and then I also thought about my acquaintances...

And now..."

Dramatic pause...

"My dream has expanded to the point where I want to share it with everyone in this world!"

This one...

This was a dream worthy of being called as such!

"WOOOOOOOWWWWW!! THAT DREAM IS THE BEST!"

A dream that made the innocent and kind David get up from the couch to cheer again for his new sensei.

"DESPITE BEING SCARY SOMETIMES YOU'RE THE BEST PERSON I EV…"

But...

After a few seconds, both David and Perona interrupted their praise or questions to reflect on that dream beyond its simple good intentions...

"One… one moment…"

Despite not being experts both reflected on the meaning, implications and actions that could be required to bring that dream to reality on a global scale.

"If I've understood it to achieve that dream, so that all people can live like this...

You... we...

We should...

…

Nooohhh…!"

And finally...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAY!!!!"

They understood... they understood or at least they thought they understood...

And just thinking that maybe they were right, their body became progressively covered in cold sweat and their heartbeats became so loud that could be easily heard without needing to take their pulse.

"Yes…exactly that" Stephen said. He knew the plan and was aware that David and Perona hadn't even grasped the idea of everything it entailed despite understanding some of the context. "But multiply it by the largest number you can imagine."

Over and over...

[We would never lack anything anywhere]

[No pirates, no gangsters, no politicians, no kings, no World Government...]

[Only free people living in peace with each other]

Those phrases were repeated over and over again in the dazed and stressed minds of David and Perona. They would have fallen to the ground had it not been for the fact that they were already seated.

They couldn't even quantify or express the viability, danger and complexity of fulfilling that dream.

They were overwhelmed!

"If the plan I told you before has left you on the verge of fainting, my plan to achieve this dream would give you a nosebleed." Fred responded, turning his back on his stunned and frightened team to continue writing the week's plan. "And I'm sorry, but there's no plan B that will allow us to fulfill my dream

You still have time to abandon ship if this intimidates you, but you'll have to pay for everything you've consumed today, including the hotel room."

"YOU'RE EVIL!" David and Perona protested ""YOU'RE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR DREAM!"

"MUA HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Fred laughed psychopathically as ever "Possibly not, but there're others who do deserve it"

The meeting had come to an end and would be resumed once Fred designed his simplified plan, it seemed that there was nothing more to discuss.

However, there was still someone who hadn't explained what their dream is in that room..

"KYAHHHHH!!!"

Precisely the being that acted as the room itself!

"What did Hawky say?" Everyone asked the animal interpreter "Has he also shared his dream?"

"Yeah...

His dream is that we let him sleep, it's already late..." Fred responded as he took a remote control and pointed it at the large screen on one of the walls of the room "Sorry Hawky, but you'll have to wait...

We haven't seen what our enemies are doing yet!"

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You'll be able to see 8 chapters in advance in my Pa-treon

pa-treon.com/user?u=83938371