Episode 10: The Bell of the Ball (Part 1)

The interrogation was over. The results were in. Steve broke down three days after the Fantasia Central Intelligence took him away and gave us some information on The Miracleworker's next move.

For a goon, he was competent in the rumor department. He told us that the underworld was beginning to form alliances in the chaos of Chakob's feeding frenzy. More specifically, a person named Mikail Bietep has been in the whispers of The Miracleworker's pawns and their former clients.

Information on this man was scarce. All the FCI could verify was his face and that he was a Fantasia Native who migrated to Russia during the first stages of integration. With only the intel that we gathered, we couldn't figure out why The Miracleworker would try to align themselves with Mikail. However, Chakob offered insight that we law-enforcement officers couldn't glean.

Legally, he was a clean owner of a steel company. That's why we couldn't find any criminal activity in his history. But Chakob showed us the thinnest trail that connected him to hundreds of drug farms all over the world. He was effectively one of the biggest suppliers of Fantasia and Earth narcotic flora without having to dirty his name.

We traced the money he made from these farms and discovered that he used his ill-gotten gains to build up impoverished areas and donate anonymously to charities. Because of this, Chakob called him: the worst two-faced bastard he'd ever met. But he had integrity, and that made him a trustworthy business partner for the Rodriguez Cartel.

Chakob also revealed that during the one time they met, Mikail mentioned that he wanted a specific relic from Fantasia. It was a bell that belonged to the "Floating Coffin", the flagship of a legendary pirate named, Keane "The Undying". He suggested that if we wanted to attract Mikail and effectively bait The Miracleworker to show their hand, we should get this bell and host an event.

But lo and behold, a few days after my assassination attempt, this same item was unveiled recently as the main auction item in a Charity Ball. No one knew what the host looked like, but the invitation that Chakob received said that the host's name was Milagro, as in "miracle" in Spanish. This obvious act of challenge made it clear that The Miracleworker intended to use this event as a stepping stone to get in Mikail's graces. When Chakob saw this brazen move, he laughed his ass off before announcing that the entire family will attend this event.

And so here we are. Sanctioned by the SPD, we slipped into our most formal outfits and marched into the belly of the beast: Hotel D'Oro.

There were seven of us in total: all impressively dressed for the occasion. I wore a tuxedo that was provided by the SPD. For a simple attire, it's price tag sure made me stagger. Maria, who wore a simple yet beautiful red ball gown, linked arms with me while Christina, who was in her frilly blue dress held my hand.

"Dad, I'm itchy," Christina complained as she scratched her neck.

"Me too, Christina, but we gotta bear with it, ok?" I replied.

Mateo, Alejandro, and Rosemary were walking together. The boys were Maria's usual security detail. They wore custom-tailored tuxedos that accentuated their bulging muscles.

Meanwhile, Rosemary was our SPD liason for this mission and was responsible for quick evacuation should things go sour. She wore a strapless black dress that hugged her curves.

She stuck close to Alejandro and tried many times to link arms with him, but Mateo ran interference everytime she did. I sure would like to know the story there.

"Oy bruja, stop clinging onto him like a leech," Mateo grumbled as he lodged himself between them.

"Mateo, that's not how you talk to a lady," Alejandro said with a gentle, fatherly tone.

"Aww you jealous Mr. Mohawk?" she teased. "That hairstyle's older than my grandma."

"Why you!" Mateo said as he lunged at her.

Alejandro immediately went in the middle to stop them while wearing a tired smile on his face.

These were two adults, ladies and gentlemen. But Alejandro had to parent them both.

"Hahaha! Great energy, everyone!" And finally, the man who was proudly leading us towards the entrance, Chakob Rodriguez.

Unlike us, he wasn't content with just wearing a normal tuxedo for the event. For all intensive purposes he dressed like royalty. He had a suit custom-made and had it decorated with intricate purple filigree. He also bought a smooth, wooden cane made out of a branch of the World Tree. The Elves at the entrance sure gave us sour looks because of that.

We approached the hotel and I was immediately blown away by everything my eyes could see.

This elite-class establishment was the 1% of the 1% when it came to luxury. Outside, the building looked like it came from a fantasy children's book. The entire structure was illuminated with various-colored lights that reflected on its pristine gold coating. Cars that were ten times my salary lined the entrance as the valet staff took them away one by one. And the jewelry on these people glittered like stars. It was at that moment that my poverty smacked me on the face for the first time.

"Ah, good evening, Mr. Rodriguez," the Elven Maitre D greeted us with his professional smile as we approached. "I see you've brought your entire family?"

"Gustave! Good to see you," Chakob said as he gave him a firm handshake. "How many bastards are here tonight?"

Gustave cleared his throat before he answered. "If you're asking how many of your 'coworkers' are here, I'm not in the liberty to say," he whispered. "But... if I were to 'guess', I'd say there's three big fish swimming with us tonight."

"Haha! Thanks buddy!" Chakob shook his hand again, but this time, a little bit of green changed hands.

"Welp, I'll pretend I didn't see that," I murmured.

We promptly headed inside and joined the sea of high-class elites. And as we did, the interior took my breath. The walls were lined with highly expensive paintings from various countries. Some, I noticed, were actually works that were reported stolen. I made sure to take a mental note of that for the Arts and Culture Department.

The entire place was colored by the soothing lights of the chandelier. And every corner of the place sparkled.

I was superbly distracted, to say the least. So much so that It was not until I felt Maria's sharp jab on my side that I realized that the entire room has gone quiet and all eyes were glued on us. Old, Young, Earthling, Fantasian, everyone gave us their undivided gaze.

My first instinct was to recoil and hide somewhere, but a swift tug and a slap on the butt from my wife was enough to force my head high. Chakob also sauntered towards the center of venue without a care in the world. In fact, when he had everyone's attention, he raised his hands in the air and addressed them.

"It's good to see you all, ladies and gentlemen," he theatrically announced. "I'm sure none of you expected me to be here. However, I just can't miss the opportunity to introduce my new family members to all of you."

Then at the snap of his fingers, the entire room suddenly got dark. Everyone gasped in confusion. My ears even picked up on some guns being cocked.

But before long, a single spotlight shone. And of course, it was trained on us.

"So why don't you give an applause to my son-in-law, Andrew, my daughter, Maria, and my granddaughter, Christina!"

Then, dead silence.

At that moment, I wanted to die. Disappear into nothingness. I even tried to hide my face in the shadows.

But then, a single soul clapped from the darkness. Another spotlight lit up and revealed a well-dressed man on the second floor. From where I was, his race was unclear, but he was what people would call, a "silver fox". He had grey hair, a chiseled jaw-line and dark, ebony skin. He walked down the stairs with an air of gentleness that matched his soft smile. No one followed his clapping, but he contiued it anyway. And before long, he was face to face with Chakob.

"It's good to see that your family is growing, my friend," he said.

"Mikail, puta madre," Chakob exclaimed. "You've grown old as shit."