Three Years Ago
The day after Miles was disowned by his father, he was in the Grand Royal Infirmary for the whole day, but during the whole day the Council was shut off from the public to discuss another "private matter". Of course, Rosemary and Amadeus both attended the meeting despite their domestic arguments the night before, and that was the reason for the shutting off.
"I believe I was justified in my actions," Amadeus explained calmly. "I am a Catholic, and no son of mine is going about spreading a plague my religion has been trying to eradicate for many generations. Of course, my agnostic wife disagrees, but what do you expect of a doubter of the one true Lord?"
"You beat our son to a pulp," Rosemary retaliated. "Just because he was gay! Freedom and Equality are both things we stand for, and if we have this hate-preacher on our Council deciding the rules, nobody will have the right to choose anything!"
"Of course, my dear. But just remember our son knows Ninjitsu. If I didn't beat him, no policeman would have the power to if he went and attacked someone. Of course, Satan's follower would have no guilt from attacking someone, would they?"
"You prejudiced bastard! You can't see outside of the old days before the Council! And even then, King Elias didn't preach physical punishment for being different! You make my sick, you piece of-"
"Let us decide on the matter," Elias interrupted quickly. "Like the civilised adults we are! Of course, the laws regarding the Council states that Councillor Amadeus may not be kicked from the Council until he resigns, that not being a priority for him, he can remain on the Council and vote as a Councillor."
Amadeus smiled at Rosemary, who gave back a look of shocked anger.
"This meeting is adjourned," Elias announced, and everyone began to walk outside. Before Rosemary could begin for the door, Elias muttered: "Rosemary, can I just ask you a favour?"
Rosemary nodded sadly. She didn't want to do anything for Elias, but she was the one keeping people like her husband from running her country as radicals.
"Will Miles be OK?" he asked worriedly.
"The doctors say he'll be out tomorrow," she muttered.
"Can you bring him here tomorrow night?" he whispered. "At eleven?"
"Of course...but may I just ask why?"
"Between the three of us," he paused, and scanned the room. No-one was listening. "I have another assassination contract for him."
"You want me...to kill my father?"
Miles looked in disbelief on the contract. The name of the target? Amadeus Prower. He, Elias and Rosemary were his office of the Hat, and barely anyone else was in all of Freedom Towers.
Elias smiled as he began to explain. "This assignment is one hundred percent optional, Miles, and I know that cold hard cash isn't going to tempt you to kill your own father, is it?"
"I guess you do know me."
"But there'll be four rewards for his murder – but only if you make it look like he went missing and we didn't kill him."
"The first is all the scholarship you'll need for a Doctorate."
Miles gave him a look of confusion.
"I'm closely tied to Commander Abrams of the Governments of the United Nations. He can get you into GUN Central University with the lift of a finger. Wouldn't you want that?"
"What's the second reward?"
"We'll fund you with a hundred thousand pounds a week while you're studying there. We'll even pay for standard student accommodation."
Miles paused. He couldn't help thinking about it. "Third?"
"Revenge, Miles," Elias grinned at him. "Your father outmatched you in martial arts, and humiliated you by beating you half to death, to the point you had to go to the Infirmary, and just for being gay. He disowned you and openly called you a violent offender who can't be trusted...just for being gay...don't you want that scumbag to rot? Your mother does."
Miles didn't respond to that.
"And finally," Elias explained. "You're paying Knothole a debt. According to the law, we can't kick your father off the Council, but if he were to disappear to the point of having to declare him dead, then we'll have no choice but to replace him with my sister...and wouldn't Sally be a much better leader than your father? Much better than an homophobic extremist?"
As one could see in his eyes, Miles refused to accept it.
"Come on, Miles. Your father disowned you as a member of his family, don't you want to disown him as a member of our free kingdom? You know you want to do this, and so does your mother. Be the anonymous hero of Knothole's diverse community..."
Miles brusquely signed the paperwork. "There, I'll do it. Just make sure mother lures him so that he's in the fields, there's easier access to the Outlands by there."
Elias nodded, and Miles began to leave, just as Elias stopped him.
"Tomorrow," he whispered. "Same time, in the swamp area of the fields."
Tails nodded, half-happily. He knew only the third reward mattered to him.
"Have you brought me here so I can apologize, or are you apologizing to me?" Amadeus calmly followed his wife's brusque walk into the dark cluster of trees in the New Mobotropolis Field. "What is it you want to say to me, Rosemary?"
"You'll find out when we get there," Rosemary answered. "The message is so important, I can't tell you anywhere else," then she muttered to herself. "A very important message indeed."
By the time they were deep in the swamp, Amadeus began to feel a bit nervous of his surroundings, and the fact he could barely see them. He remembered the severe marriage-ruining argument they had two nights ago, and the following night she spent away from him.
"Rosemary?" he called, but Rosemary had long fled. Then he saw a familiar shape run across the very dim moonlight, covered by the trees. "Miles? Is that you?"
"Yes, Amadeus," his son's voice called back. "It's me."
Soon a flashlight's beam was in Amadeus' eyes, and then a fist reached the same area. The flashlight was then turned off as Miles' night vision goggles were switched on. In the deepest of the darkness, Miles' fist hitting Amadeus' face was the only sound, followed by the sound of booted feet shattering already dented bones, that and the muffled cries of an aged army captain finally meeting his superior.
"Stop, Miles," was some of the few words that came out. "I'm. I'm your. Your father!"
"Funny," Miles spat passionately. "For I said something pretty similar when you did the same to me. The only difference is that I didn't see it coming, but you should have!"
He only needed three more stamps onto the head to hear a loud cracking sound, and his father's body was completely motionless. He packed the body into a black bin bag, and then ran for his car, which was just outside the swamp, where he met his mother, holding a roll of Duck Tape.
"Miles," she asked. "Is the job done? Is he really...?"
"Yes. I definitely heard his neck break, and the blood won't show in the swamp waters. If you will..."
Rosemary covered the bag, especially the top, with Duck Tape, to make sure nothing fell out, and then drove for the Outlands.
The Outlands was a huge, almost deserted area which was the separation between Knothole, the GUN continent, and the Eggman Empire. This is a lawless area where anything could happen and anyone could attack at any moment. Anything that happened here was no-one's business. The perfect place to dump a body.
Throwing it on a cluster of bin bags containing unknown objects, Miles soon ran for the car and he and his mother drove quickly back into the safety of Knothole's walls.
They didn't have time to notice the men in hoods that came to see the new arrival, led by two teenagers in suits and hats, the sort worn by those from the 1930's Mafia. Opening the bag with a Bowie Knife, they took the contents out and dragged it into an armoured vehicle of their own, and drove into the darkness of the night.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I hope this explains a lot of why the last chapter wasn't just a cheap plot twist! And it has sort of a message, too, don't you think? I think it spreads the message of homophobia being wrong...and Tails has serious daddy issues...
As always, please leave a comment, but things have updated a bit since yesterday! Because this project is a FAN UNIVERSE, I'm shoving polls all over my profile, starting with basic stuff, so be sure to to have your say on what's happening in the R-Cat-Fan-Verse!
See you soon,
Ioan "R-Cat" Davies-John
(P.S. If you're wondering, my name's pronounced "Yo-Ann". Damn Welsh names!)