Chapter 29: Bad News That Ruins A Good Day

"What did I say about revealing your identity, Barko?" Carl, the ringmaster of the 'Freak Show' yelled at a dog who was visibly frowned.

"It's bad for business-"

"IT'S BAD FOR BUSINESS!" Carl seemingly repeated Barko's words but in a louder voice as Barko sighed helplessly.

"You're even lucky I even took in a freak like you, yet with all my graciousness all I get is this attitude." Carl scoffed before storming away from Barko whose ears drooped downwards.

"Psst, hey Barko." Ricky whispered in just a high enough tone that Barko's ears raised back up.

"What are yo-"

"Shhhhhhh, come here." Ricky placed a finger on his lips before beckoning him over.

Barko raised an eyebrow but walked around the corner to see not only Ricky but Maria as well.

"You'll get in trouble if Carl finds you here." Barko warned but Ricky waved him off.

"Who cares and anyways, my interest in you far outweighs my fear of getting caught." Ricky informed him as Barko titled his head but nodded since it did make sense.

"Then what do you want anyways-please don't pet me without permission." Barko had a deadpan expression as Maria started unconsciously petting his fur.

"Oh, sorry." Maria let out in an apologetic tone as Barko nodded, adjusting his goggles with one of his paws.

"You're forgiven." Barko curtly accepted her apology before looking back at a frowning Ricky.

"Don't be a square, let her pet ya." Ricky's words made Barko frown as he looked back to Maria puppy dog eyes.

*SIGH*

"Fine but not the ears." Barko gave out his conditions and Maria squealed out in excitement while immediately petting his soft black furs.

"Alright, what is it you desire from me?" Barko asked and Ricky nodded with a smile.

"Are you a mutant?" Ricky asked and Barko thought for a while before eventually nodding.

"If you're asking if I have the inherent genes most humans possess, then yes." Barko informed Ricky, who bent down with a look of intrigue.

"Elaborate." Ricky asked while Barko frowned at this demanding tone of his.

"Most humans carry a gene that typically remains dormant throughout their lives." Barko explained while Ricky patiently listened.

"However during special circumstances like extreme strain or stress, this inherent gene can awaken or some people are simply born with it awakened." Barko explained, Ricky immediately confirming his suspicions of others knowing about this X-Gene.

"The X-gene, right?" Ricky suddenly spoke out words that made Barko raise an eyebrow in intrigue.

"It doesn't have a scientific classification yet, but if you want then yes, the X-gene." Barko waved his paw, gesturing that they could classify it as such. 

"How did yours awaken?" Ricky asked, thinking there was a madness behind his scientific goggles, yet his words forced the dog into silence.

"Before I became this lowly mut before you, I was a researcher at the Atomic Research Center and had been trying to decipher this complex gene, it was my life's work." Barko then looked down, recalling that fateful day before gazing back up at the tilted head Ricky.

"The X-Gene, my X-Gene, awoke from the sudden shock of one of my experiments causing my X-Gene to manifest into the permanent appearance you see before you." Barko explained but this only made Ricky immediately confused.

"But if they were researching how to awaken the gene then-"

"Child, our experiments weren't simply theoretical but used in a practical sense." Barko shamefully said, his research taking him past the more ethical approach and Ricky immediately understood.

"Does that guy named Chores also have our gene?" Ricky suddenly asked, his question not only getting a response but a scoff.

"Good luck with-wait, did you say 'ours'." Barko suddenly realized something and turned back to Ricky who simply smiled.

"Maria stop petting Barko, we have one more pit stop before we go." Ricky looked around before he started walking in a certain direction.

Maria gave Barko one more head patt before catching up to him as the medium sized black lab stood there in shock.

"Wait!" Barko dashed after Ricky, weaving through the tents that housed the various freaks with his eyes catching Ricky entering a medium-sized tent up ahead.

"There you are-move Barko." Ricky was about to walk into the tent until a panting Barko blocked his path.

"Kid you need to leave, this isn't a friendly space for our kind-"

"Move." Ricky didn't even care to heed Barko's warning, easily pushing past the dog as Maria curiously followed.

"Hey Chores." Ricky boisterously walked into the tent to see Chores sitting down while reading a book.

Chores presumed it was a fellow member of the freak show until he raised an eyebrow when he saw Ricky.

"How did you get back here?" Chores calmly asked, closing the book in his humongous hands while setting it aside.

"I have a lucrative proposal for you if you'd care to listen." Ricky tried to entice but Chores simply shook his head.

"You should leave, Carl will be very angry-"

"That small fry? Yeah, I'd like to see him do anything to me." Ricky scoffed, seeing Carl only as a short and stubby man, whose only redeeming quality was how entertaining he was in making himself a laughing stock.

"Anyways, I want you to come work for me?" Ricky flashed a cheeky smile, his forwardness resulting in Chores sighing lightly before shaking his head.

"Please leave." Chores held out his hand in a gesture for him to leave however Ricky scratched chin.

"Yeah, I guessed you wouldn't come around that easily." Ricky then started thinking about how to intrigue Chores as the latter scrunched his eyebrows.

"What about money, you like money? No? What about women, I can set you up with an all paid pass to any brothel owned by the Luciano family?" Ricky raised his eyebrows constantly, trying to entice the brute before him but Chores only pursed his lips.

"Leave." Chores once again pointed for him to leave but Ricky bluntly refused to take up the hint as Barko started getting nervous.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" Barko quickly turned to Maria who was too focused on petting him once again.

"Me doggy? I'm Maria." Maria joyfully answered as Barko let out an instinctive sigh.

"Listen Maria, your boyfriend is about to get in a lot of-"

"Boyfriend?!" Maria clasped her red cheeks in embarrassment, Barko becoming stunned at the sudden sight in front of him.

"Huh-"

"S-S-So do you think we look like a couple?" Maria started drawing circles on the ground as Barko was baffled at this love struck girl.

"This isn't-"

"I don't want to hurt you but you need to leave!" Chores raised his voice but Ricky simply shook his head.

"Can't do that champ, not until you at least hear me out." Ricky shrugged without paying his threatening glare only mind, receiving a scrutinizing as he reached out for him.

"Fine I warned-"

*Dink*

"Huh?" Chores tried to reach out for Ricky only for his hand to bounce off by an invincible barrier.

"What the-"

"Told you we were one of the same." Ricky looked back and winked at the slack jawed Barko.

"Your a freak-"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like the term mutant better." Ricky shrugged, interrupting the surprised Chores.

"I-I see." Chores showed actual surprise since people like him weren't too common inside the circus however outside was a different story.

There were two reasons that he stayed in this circus and public perception was one of them, he always received scared and hateful glares which made him feel very isolated.

This place might be a place where he was ridiculed for being himself on a daily basis, but it was the safest place he could think of that would accept him without trying to tie him to a stake and set him ablaze.

"See Chores, we're one of the same." Ricky gestured to Chores who visibly calmed down while sitting back down.

"Before we converse, may I know your name?" Chores asked politely, and Ricky nodded, though he was a little surprised.

Despite his intimidating appearance, Chores was surprisingly well-spoken and composed, a breath of fresh air in the midst of the carnival chaos.

"Ricky Luciano, but you can call me Slick." Ricky held out his hand, and Chores chuckled before shaking it.

"I'm surprised you asked for a handshake, weren't you afraid I'd crush it?" Chores asked, releasing Ricky's hand as the latter waved him off.

"Oh come on, you might look like a brute but you sure as hell don't act like one." Ricky's nonchalant words caused a genuine smile to form on Chores face.

"Rick-"

"Slick."

"My apologies, Slick, you seem like a very nice man but I'd have to once again kindly reject your offer." Chores showed a sad smile which only served to make Ricky frown.

"Can I at least know the-"

"Where is he!" Carl suddenly burst into the tent as Ricky turned back to see Chores second reason for staying.

"Only authorized personnel are allowed to tour my freak show-oh pardon me." Carl furiously marched at Ricky until a hundred dollar bill appeared in his sights which made him immediately change his tone.

"I didn't mean to intrude but I couldn't help my curiosity and wanted to meet the man who could actually juggle three refrigerators." Ricky put the hundred dollar bill in Carl's pocket as he almost started drooling.

"And this is for your troubles." Ricky put another hundred dollar bill in his pocket as Carl let out a dry gasp.

"Let's go Maria." Ricky beckoned to Maria who patted Barko's head with a wide smile.

"Good doggy." Maria whispered with a wink, only for Barko to nod in a weird daze though his gaze was still locked on Ricky.

"If you ever change your mind, then come to Brooklyn and ask for Slick." Ricky nodded, slinking his arm around the cheerful Maria, the two love drunk kids walked back to their car while leaving three figures in the tent.

"Hey Carl, about my the raise-"

*SIGH*

"After everything I've done for you and all the money I send your mother, do you really have any shame?" Carl showed a scowl as Chores simply lowered his gaze in a heart aching expression.

"Can I at least know how she's doing?" Chores asked but Carl simply scoffed while pocketing the hundred dollar bill.

"She's fine." Carl left those two words but it still made Chores smile as Barko flicked his head to the side.

"CHORES, HE'S ONE OF US-"

"Enough Karl, he's different from us." Chores sighed, picking up the book as the excited Barko, better known to his friends as also Karl but with a K, drooped his ears.

However, Carl didn't like how similar their names were and ordered everyone to call him Barko, turning his stage name into his real name.

"But he's-"

"He's not a freak." Chores plainly said, putting on his absurdly small reading glasses in order to continue where he left off.

"..." Barko's tail slowly stopped wagging before he eventually nodded, slowly walking toward the exit.

"Yeah I guess you're right, he's not a freak like us."

The drive home was a pleasant one filled to the brim with laughs until they pulled up to Maria's mansion to see a sadden Profaci.

"Who died?" Ricky joked, opening the door as Profaci completely ignored Maria and walked over to him.

Ricky had a foreboding feeling as Profaci stopped in front of him before he could open the door for Maria.

"Slick, it's about Rocco and Edward." Profaci got straight to the point as Ricky's body slowly started to freeze in realization.

"There was an accident, a gruesome one at that." Profaci took off his hat to pay his respect, watching Ricky's sleazy smile slowly fade from his face.

"Rocco didn't make it and Edward's in critical condition." Profaci completely broke the news to Ricky who stumbled back while putting his hand on his head.

"B-But they were just-" Ricky's words were cut short, as if the air had been abruptly sucked out of him.

"Oh no." Maria covered her mouth in shock, her eyes fixed on Ricky, her heart beginning to ache. 

Ricky's smile had completely faltered, breaking into a look of complete denial as he shook his head.

"I-I need to go." Ricky quickly went into his car as Profaci tried to stop him.

"Slick don't do anything hasty-"

But Ricky didn't listen; his car spun around recklessly as he left Maria without even saying goodbye.

"Uncle will he-"

"He'll be fine Princess, but he needs a day or two to regain his bearings." Profaci hugged Maria while leading her back into the mansion.

Turning his head to see the car recklessly leave the Profaci family compound, he closed his eyes knowing the sight Ricky was about to see was a gruesome one.

'Stay strong kid.'

Ricky was in a full-blown panic, driving recklessly with no regard for public safety, his eyes darting frantically around.

Then, upon spotting Brooklyn Medical, he slammed on the brakes and bolted out of the car. 

Ricky didn't even stop to take the keys out of the ignition as he burst into the hospital, only to find members of the Luciano family in the lobby.

"Slick-"

"WHERE IS HE!" Ricky demanded answers from the men with a fury, his face contorted into a bloodthirsty expression that made them all flinch.

"Slick, you can't see him, he's in surgery." Jake walked up in front of him, trying to calm him down with subtle hand motions.

*CRASH*

"F*CK!" Ricky roared in anger, kicking a nearby chair and huffing loudly with Jake, standing nearby, patiently waiting for him to calm down.

"Where's Rocco-"

"Slick that's not a good idea-"

"DAMMIT JAKE, TAKE ME TO HIM NOW!" Ricky saw the hesitance on Jake's face and outright used his authority to make him comply.

Jake opened his mouth, but then slowly closed it, nodding instead as he gestured for Ricky to follow and led him to the morgue located below the hospital. 

Ricky's expression slowly crumbled, consumed by guilt and regret, as Jake led them to a covered body.

Earlier today, Ricky had seen Rocco's stupid smile, his voice full of excitement as he begged Ricky to come out and have some fun. 

But Ricky had just given him the cold shoulder, dismissing him with a casual shrug and now, the weight of that moment crushed him with a brutal intensity. 

Every glance of Rocco's eager face replayed in his mind, a cruel reminder of the opportunity that he could have used to be there. 

The agony of loss gnawed at him, the regret searing deeper with every thought of how he had brushed off Rocco's last request continued to replay in his mind. 

The sting of realizing he'd never hear Rocco beg him to help him pick up chicks, never able to get his back whenever he did something reckless, never getting to say goodbye, left him in unbearable torment.

"Now Slick-" Jake tried to give him a warning but Ricky didn't want to wait as he unveiled the mangled body of Rocco.

Ricky's eyes widened in horror, his pupils shaking violently at the sight of Rocco's drained husk, a large portion of his neck bitten off with a gruesome expression still eclipsing Rocco's face.

"Who-......….who would do something like this?" Ricky's breaths came in ragged, exasperated gasps, each word escaping his lips carrying a heavy burden of disbelief. 

'How could something like this be possible?' Ricky thought while Jake remained silent, his own grief palpable, as he mourned the fate of his childhood friend. 

In their line of work, they had seen their share of sickness, but this was a whole new level, even for the mob.

Ricky's hand trembled as he reached out, grabbing the side of the table holding onto Rocco's lifeless body. 

The knuckles of his hand turned white, the effort to maintain his grip showing in the strained muscles of his arm. 

The reality of the situation weighed heavily on him, and the pain of loss and guilt threatened to overwhelm him.

Blood trickled from his palms as sadness was slowly devoured by unbridled rage that threatened to break all reason within him.

"Who was it?" Ricky's voice was dangerous when asking as Jake closed his eyes with a small breath.

"We think it's the jewish mafia sending a message." Jake spoke while biting his lip since although he was in the Luciano, he's jewish.

"Those f*cking jews-" Ricky hatefully uttered until he saw Jake rubbing the back of his neck.

*Ahem*

"I mean those particular jews-"

"Slick, it's fine." Jake let out a small chuckle after seeing Ricky correct himself after remembering he was also jewish.

Both of them shared a brief, bitter laugh, a feeble attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere. 

However, the weight of their friend's death quickly snuffed out the laughter, plunging them into an awkward silence. 

The reality of the situation settled in, casting a somber shadow over their thoughts and words.

"Where's pops-"

*BAM*

"EDDY!" A heart breaking screech made both Ricky and Jake turn their heads to the side before they rushed to the lobby.

"Franky calm down-" Lucky tried to ease his long time friend only to be pushed back a little by the giant.

"LET ME SEE MY LITTLE BROTHER, LET ME F*CKING SEE HIM!" Frank roared, having to be held back by ten guys though he was still making headway.

Tears streamed down his face as he gazed at the operating room, catching a glimpse of Eddy, only for his knees to give way.

"EDDY!" Frank collapsed to his knees, the weight of two assailants bearing down on his back. 

Despite the physical strain, it was the heart-wrenching screams escaping his lips that echoed the loudest, reverberating through the hospital.

"He's just a kid." Frank collapsed to the ground, but none of the men dared to risk Edward's surgery to calm his anger. 

*Sniff*

"He's just a kid."

Despite their own pain and anguish, they knew that family came first as Ricky, seeing Frank, the usually invincible man with his trademark confident smile, breaking down, felt a surge of realization. 

Edward and Rocco meant a lot to him, but they meant even more to others and it was a stark reminder of the bonds between brothers and the depth of loss felt by all.

"Slick." Lucky walked over and took his son into a hug while patting his back.

"You ok?" Lucky asked, separating and looking him dead in the eye but Ricky was still enshrouded by a haunting silence.

"We'll talk about it later, don't worry." Lucky understood Ricky's desires and tried to calm him down for the moment, but he knew it wouldn't hold Ricky back for long.

"I already sent Meyer to the Jewish mob as we speak." Lucky patted Ricky's shoulder though he could tell that it wasn't enough to pacify him.

"I know you, I know what you're thinking but right now, revenge can wait." Lucky urged Ricky, knowing his next words would seal the deal.

"For Eddy."

Hours passed in the waiting room until the light flickered off and a doctor walked out as the Lucaino family stood up.

"Doc, how is he?!?!?!" Frank rushed to the Doctor who showed an apprehensive look.

"He's going to pull through but-"

"But?" Frank interrupted after seeing how apprehensive the Doctor was when talking.

"He'll never walk again."

*Thump*

"Oh god." Frank fell to his knees, his fist banging on the floor as he let out roars of grievance.

"I'LL KILL WHOEVER DID THIS TO MY BABY BROTHER, MARK MY WORDS I'LL MAKE WISH YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN, NEVER F*CKING BORN YA HEAR ME!"

Meanwhile In The Jewish Mob's headquarters,

*BAM*

"Pep, tell me it isn't true, tell me your guys didn't kill Rocco and Edward!" Meyer slammed his fist on the table, while Pep stood silently on the other side of the desk.

"Ain't it funny how you're already taking their side, WE'RE YOUR PEOPLE NOT THEM MEYER!" Pep stood up, his tone escalating into a full-blown shout.

"Pep don't say things l like that, if someone thinks you did it then-"

"THEN WHAT? THEN YOUR LUCIANO 'FAMILY' WILL COME AND KILL ME!" Pep laughed incredulously as Meyer's expression slowly started morphing into a ugly one.

"Just because they're my family doesn't mean I forgot where I came from, forgot my roots." Meyer knocked on the desk, turning around as he understood Pep's underlining answer.

"YEAH LEAVE, DO WHAT YOU ALWAYS DO WHEN YOUR PEOPLE ARE IN NEED, LEAVE!" Pep screeched, his hair disheveled as Meyer stopped at the doorway while stopping at the doorway.

"Today I would've had your back, but tomorrow I'll come for your head." Meyer's face showed no remorse as Pep's hysterical laugh roared out.

"YOU THINK I'M SCARED, DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE POWER I HOLD NOW-MEYER, DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME, MEYER!"

Meyer continued to walk away, closing his eyes with a shred of warmth, before opening them to reveal cold, hollow eyes that knew only one thing.

'This is war.'