Chapter 19: Settling In Part 5

Seeing the look of concern on Don's face, Gary decided to reassure him. "Don't worry, sir. This happens at least once every week. You'll grow used to it."

Hearing this, Don couldn't help but narrow his eyes in disbelief. "You mean to tell me she gets chased around with a fork and knife for an hour once every week?"

Gary immediately shook his head. "No, the manner of weaponry that madame Elle uses varies every now and then. If my memory serves right, last week's weapon was a slipper, and thus the assault was long-range. Just think of it as nothing more than a familiar and her master settling their differences."

Don still had no idea what the hell Gary meant, but he felt that questioning it further was going to change nothing. So, he simply accepted it for what it was. After all, this was no longer his world, so why use his definition for what's considered normal? 'When in Rome, I guess,' he thought.

Following his agreement, Gary showed a warm smile. "Splendid. We can begin as soon as you're done eating."

Don simply wiped his mouth and moved aside his platter, keeping only the bowl of nuts, which he intended to eat as Gary began the briefing.

"As you wish, sir," Gary started before picking up one of the documents and placing it in front of Don. "As I was preparing your plan of insertion into the city, I thought what better way to return than to your family, the Brights."

'I have a family?' Don thought to himself, but wasn't so surprised that his unfazed demeanor would falter.

Seeing the look on Don's face, Gary immediately interpreted it differently. "Before you reject this plan, sir, I understand that you may not have left the household under the best of terms, but if you truly want an easier time in the city, I honestly see no better option. Besides, even if you hate them, I believe the current situation may play into your hands very well."

'Hate them? What's going on?' Don maintained a neutral expression while trying to understand the situation, deciding to go along with it. "I'm listening," he said, trying to pretend that he was more upset than surprised at the news.

"Thank you, sir," Gary politely thanked before explaining. "I'm not sure if you kept up to date on news of your family, but shortly after your father kicked you out, he and your mother went through a messy divorce after she learned of his infidelity and the fact that he possessed an ulterior motive."

"That does sound messy," Don commented as Gary continued to explain.

"Quite. And it only got worse when during court proceedings regarding the splitting of wealth, your father denied claim to both you and your younger sister, stating that since you were both lab-born through artificial insemination, he need not pay child support. It was only after months of court proceedings that it was learned that your father had no real interest in your mother at all."

"Quite frankly, he didn't like her to the point that he denied her even the basic intimacy, and was only using her due to her position as a senior tech innovator at Macrosoft. He confessed that the end goal was to try and convince her to move to Europe and join RevosTech, but her stubbornness and dedication to Macrosoft broke down all talks of potential family relocation and employment under RevosTech. So, he saw no more reason to be with her."

'Wow, corporate scandals here are even more diabolical,' Don thought as he took in the comically absurd plot. He remained unfazed, simply replying, "I always did say that he was no good."

Gary nodded in agreement. "Yes, in the weeks following the breakup, I believe your mother very much regretted allowing your father to kick you out. From what Lady Noir gathered about your family, the event left a very big mark on your mother. She still takes counseling and has absolutely no trust for men anymore. This has led to an increase in her love for wine and attempts at trying to repair the relationship between her and your sister."

"Because of the same thing, or did something else happen?" Don asked.

Gary pushed aside the current folder and brought another one forward. "Your sister Summer is more of a unique and complicated case. We couldn't gather much information on her due to her incredibly well-secured digital presence, but from what we know from your mother's messages regarding your family, your younger sister blames her mother for the family falling apart." 

"She was struck, perhaps even harder, by your father's betrayal due to how much she looked up to him. With him being the sole reason she had an interest in the tech industry to begin with, all those coding competitions he took her to, and other such events probably made her think he was the ideal role model. I can only imagine what pain she must have felt when he notably decided to leave the family, revealing they were nothing more than a means to an end."

Gary explained, showing a pained look while shaking his head. From the tone he was taking, it was clear Gary was trying to paint a sad picture of the family so as to make Don, who he thought was angry at them, feel sorry. 

Inwardly, Gary was thinking, 'It is a gamble, but since Sir Don was able to finally recognize Lady Noir's sacrifice, he may understand the suffering his family has been through and the current tough times they are experiencing.'

'Well, that's quite the tragic backstory,' Don thought, though he didn't feel any genuine emotional break. 'But, since I was kicked out, I can come back and act differently around them, and maybe they won't suspect me. After all, people do change, especially after a fucked-up piece of family drama like that. It's definitely worth trying.'

After thinking that, Don gave an immediate nod. "I think you're right. They've clearly suffered enough. And to be quite honest, during my time in jail, my hate for them just seemed to go away. The family may be in shambles, but if it helps on our path to world domination, then I'll do what I must."

Gary immediately showed a warm smile and nodded. "Brilliant reasoning, sir. You truly have grown into such a great forward thinker. I am starting to understand more and more why the young madam had such faith in you."

'Her faith was definitely misplaced,' Don thought. 'The old Don had both daddy and mommy issues. Well, I'm just glad he decided not to solve them by wearing a dress and starting an Onlysupporters. I've seen too many men go down a very dark path just so they can secure some money.'

Just as Don finished thinking that, Gary proceeded to remove a few more folders from the stack he had brought, then put them to his left-hand side rather than closer to Don. "I had thought that I would need a lot more evidence on the matter to convince you, but I'm pleasantly surprised that won't be the case."

Gary continued, "The place of residence, now out of the way. The next element I thought you would need was an ally you can count on. The city has changed quite a lot since you left, and it would be helpful to have someone to help you navigate. Better yet, someone who will also be attending Santos Hero University."

"Thus, we reached out to your internet best friend at the time, back from your days of playing Call Of Responsibility. They also have quite the secured digital profile, so we couldn't get much information on their life, but we could narrow down that they live in Santos City. Through a fake account pretending to be you, we reached out to them on Thiscord, claiming we had been hacked on multiple social platforms. They were a bit surprised at first, but quickly accepted the explanation. After the question of, and I quote, 'What are you up to these days?' was brought up, I mentioned you were moving back to Santos City after years away and that you were going to attend Santos Hero University. He quickly revealed he was doing the same and said you should meet up."

Don couldn't help but be surprised during this. "You managed to do all this in that little time?"

Gary nodded. "Yes. Thankfully for me, he is almost ever online. I take it you have no problems with this?"

Don shook his head, "No. Anything else?"

To Don's surprise, Gary shook his head as well. "I had prepared some other potential people you could ally with, but those can be revisited if this one should fail. Since I've gotten your blessing, I will proceed to send your mother an email saying you're returning to the city and plan to attend Santos Hero University as you got accepted, and that while you're looking for accommodation, you need a place to stay for a few days, so you're wondering if you could ask your father if he could allow that. Hopefully, by wording it this way, your mother will think you're unaware of everything that happened, making her more susceptible."

Don couldn't personally see any problems with the plan and so he nodded in agreement. "Wow, Gary, you really thought of everything. But are you sure it will work?"

Gary gave a confident nod. "I'm more than sure, sir, I am HIV-positive—"

Gary immediately caught his slip-up and corrected himself. "Apologies, sir, I meant I am more than sure this will work. You have my word."