A Different Side

The camp was oddly quiet for dinner time. Did someone spill the beans that my aunt was around or was everyone just that busy? Eh, didn't matter. It was better like that anyways.

We had an entourage of people with us walking through the camp. It was myself, Violet, Paolo, Rosalina, and several assistants following closely behind.

I had been going through all of the threats that we are currently facing. Fortunately, that useless Sigurd was able to put together a briefing that I was rambling off of. Without it, everything was mostly conjecture. I was sure that my Uncle was already aware of these things but I needed to be sure that my Aunt was on the same page.

I sighed. "Lastly, I'm sure you remember the disaster on Long Island."

Rosalina scoffed. "How could I forget? You nearly got my favorite executive's family killed!"

I shook my head. "You know what, it all turned out fine so let's just leave it in the past. That type of thing won't happen again if we take proper precautions."

She glanced at me as she continued walking. "What do you mean by precautions?"

I sighed, already irritated by her mood. "I want to relocate all level 3+ guild members to the compound immediately. It's the only way to keep everyone safe."

Rosalina immediately shook her head. "No way that's happening. Besides, it's utterly overkill. Your case was special because your dad's name is out there. Your uncle and I are untouchable due to our identities and the others are either protected or, for lack of a better term, nobodies. There's no good reason to take such drastic measures. Let's just get this interrogation over with so we can get back to business as usual. I would love to see some returns on this investment."

I shook my head. This was frustrating. "Fine, I'll be speaking with Galen about this."

She waved her hand dismissively. "If you must, feel free. Where is the prisoner?"

I gestured towards a single room building ahead of us on the right. "He's in there. ANV Alpha team is standing guard to ensure no mishaps."

She nodded. "Good. I've heard good things about Alpha team. Who's idea was it?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Mine. An army won't always do the job."

She paused and smiled at me. "Well done, sweetie. Sometimes a scalpel is more useful than a chainsaw."

I walked up to the building and greeted the guards. "Mahmud, it's good to see you. Have you gotten any rest?"

He nodded. "I have, sir. I slept for a few hours before this post."

I smiled. "Good. We'll be going in now."

Mahmud nodded and pulled a key ring from his belt. He grabbed one of the keys and put it in the door before turning it. He then removed the key and stepped to the side. "He's all yours."

I nodded and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, Mahmud."

I then reached over and opened the door before turning around and gesturing inside. Well, this is the asshole that was in charge of the whole operation. His name is-"

I suddenly lost the ability to speak as chilling waves of pure rage pulsed through the air. They were coming from my aunt. "JACOB YOU BASTARD!"

I shivered in fear as I felt a deep darkness swallowing me. I instinctively took a step back and gripped the hilt of my lightsaber.

Suddenly, the cold darkness dispersed. I looked at my aunt and found my uncle's hand on her shoulder. He was looking deep into her eyes.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll handle this, honey. I promised."

She sighed and clicked her tongue as she turned away. "Fine. Make it hurt."

Paolo nodded, turning back towards the open door. He started walking towards Malcom. Or Jacob? Maybe that's his real name.

As he walked, the air chilled rapidly. With each step, I felt more and more cold and was shivering once again. I could only take another step back as my eyes blurred slightly. I couldn't process what was happening and was zoning out.

Suddenly, there was a dull thud followed by a painful scream. My eyes refocused to see Malcom lying on the ground with blood gushing down his face. Paolo was standing over him while shaking his fist. Clearly, Paolo had punched him extremely hard. "Out with it. What the fuck is your slimy ass doing here?"

His rage wasn't concealed in the slightest. He was so angry that his accent came off thick and unadulterated.

Malcom groaned and clutched his face. "WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?"

Paolo twisted his torso and sent his foot flying into Malcom's side. There was an audible crack as his ribs broke. "ANSWER ME! DID ERIC SEND YOU?"

Malcom sneered, his face covered and his mouth filled with blood. He spit blood out, spraying Paolo's boots and pants. "Did you really think he'd let you be after all that's happened?"

Paolo shook his head and spit on Malcom. "Fucking scum bag. That's what I thought." He turned around, his emotions almost instantly calming and returning to normal. "Honey, we know enough now."

Suddenly, I felt that my belt was lighter. Before I could react, a red light flashed past me from the left. I looked over my shoulder to see my aunt holding my blaster. Quickly, I turned around to see Malcom dead as can be with a blaster wound on his forehead.

She casually held the blaster out and glared at me. I knew she wasn't angry at me but clearly there was something going on here. "Here, you can have this back."

I was stunned but managed to nod. "Uhh, thanks?" I took the blaster and holstered it.

There was complete silence as tension filled the air so thick that it was hard to breathe. No one dared to talk. Not even my uncle dared to interrupt the intense stare my aunt was directing towards the body on the floor in front of us.

Glancing towards Violet, she looked horrified. I hadn't even seen this side of my aunt and uncle so I can't even imagine how she felt.

Rosalina suddenly spoke without diverting her gaze from the body. "Do it."

I was completely lost. "Excuse me?"

She glanced back at me, clear pain in her eyes below the anger. "The move. Do it."

Paolo quickly cut in. "I'm organizing the extraction teams as we speak. I hope we aren't too late."

I shook my head, becoming frustrated with how clueless I was. "Wait wait wait, can someone tell me what the fuck is happening?"

She merely shook her head and turned to walk outside. "We have some business to take care of back home. Issue the relocation mandate and then join me. Your uncle will take care of the rest. We'll be flying to New York first thing in the morning."

-9:08 AM, July 8th, 2054-

-Manhattan, New York, United States of America, Earth-

I squeezed the Kevlar vest tucked under my button down as I processed what I had been told. While the money from Berkshire was great, it came with a great deal of trouble. Apparently, there's another investment bank known as Forest Group that is openly hostile towards Berkshire.

I heard quite the story on the flight to JFK. Apparently the CEO of Forest Group, Eric Sullivan, relentlessly harassed my aunt when they were younger. One night it exploded into full blown hostilities and they've been endlessly feuding ever since.

Susan did her best to keep things above board and legal. It was challenging but she had a clean record. Unfortunately, Eric didn't do the same. He often used illicit methods to screw her over. Now, his newest target was my guild.

I gazed out the window as we made a sharp right turn and slowed down. We had arrived at the JP Morgan Chase Building on Park Avenue, their global headquarters.