Arakiss Renegade Social Expenditure
Rivalz gritted his teeth in frustration for the tenth time that morning. He and Cornelia were just finished cleaning the tables and walls of another office/dining sort of area and Rivalz was still going over everything that he heard since he was kidnapped and then handed to Alex Powers and his Facinus. Knowing full-well that what he was about to do was just plain stupid, especially since their chore was not exactly finished yet, Rivalz slammed down the wash rag he was using and stood up.
"What are you doing?" Cornelia inquired, the rag she was holding still in contact with the wall she was wiping dust and grime off of.
"I'm going to talk to Alex."
"Excuse me?"
"I know its stupid, but I'm still going to talk to him."
"Listen, you are just going to be beaten up and then sent back to work. He has the advantage over us in every way, so he's not going to agree with you on anything."
"I'm still going to talk to him," he nearly snapped, starting toward the door.
"Well at least take me with you for heaven's sake. I can't really get around anyway."
About five minutes later, the two of them ended up at the door of Alex Power's office. Rivalz raised a hand to knock only to have the door only to have it open in order to make way for some guy in a leather jacket flying through the air and calling out something in distress.
"For the hundredth time!" Alex's voice almost roared through the door, "we are not interested in the investment of kamikaze shrubs! Make yourself scarce and take your bloody ponzi schemes with you!" The unknown Facinus associate ran off and the two of them poked their heads in to see Alex, retaking his seat behind his desk in frustration while uttering something around the lines of: "Idioti! Idioti cruenti!" He then looked up and noticed them, doing little to conceal his mood. "One of the minor irritations about my position is having to deal with some of those guys," he gestured toward the door as the two of them came in and took seats, with Rivalz helping Cornelia down first. "Nicky there just happens to be one of the worst of my informants. He always ends up coming to me with made up ideas knowing full well that he won't get a single pay raise out of it." Then he muttered something about "creepy jihad lemmings that were descended from sheep" before rolling his eyes and slumped in his chair. "So, would you mind telling me why you may possibly want to speak with me?"
"You say you don't like Occulta right?" Rivalz asked, probably a little too strong Cornelia thought.
"Correct," Alex affirmed.
"And we're stuck here until someone apart from Occulta decides to buy us, right?"
"It certainly looks that way, doesn't it?"
"And you have no intention of giving us to Occulta?"
"First off: he gave you to me. Second: handing the princess over would do nothing except give the bastard something else to play around with before killing her via extreme torture. And finally: I already told you all of that!"
"So can we assume that you intend to sell us to someone who will fight against Occulta?" There was a long pause at this point. Cornelia was actually astounded by Rivalz's deduction, it made sense once you thought about it, but there was no way that was Alex Powers' intention. But to further her surprise and add to her bewilderment, Alex gave a smile and said simply:
"One can always hope for the best scenario, and that indeed is the best scenario for me."
So that meant that Alex and his Facinus wanted to fight Occulta and the Serpents. Now that Cornelia understood the young crime lord's overall plans, then she could come up with something to use against him, but that needed time. The best thing that could happen right now would be for Rivalz to say something along the lines of: well, sorry to bother you, we'll be on our way then. Then they can get out and Cornelia can come up with something.
"Where would we do the most damage to Occulta if we were given away?" What is this boy thinking? Cornelia almost broke her composure at this, but realized this was all in Rivalz hands anyway since she was half-blind and crippled, not exactly in an ideal condition to make decisions.
"Well there's a few places that come to mind," said the young criminal mastermind, withdrawing a different can of soda (Dr. Pepper this time) and popping it open. He took a quick swig before continuing. "The problem with world wide strategy is that it is so...unpredictable. I can easily tell where a nation's economy is headed, even if most experts correctly state that they have no idea how things will look this upcoming week; but that damn pezzonovante Daemon and his so-called utopian army, more like a horde of fascista in my opinion, make it so hard to predict their motives. The only thing I can be so certain about is Occulta's need to attack this world...sakuradite." Now this came as a surprise to them both.
"Sakuradite? But didn't that Daemon guy say that..?"
"Yes," Cornelia interjected, finally able to find the blood of a Britannian Princess that remained in her veins, "we both saw Daemon's broadcast, some of your thugs had it recorded, he said that the age of sakuradite was over because he had nuclear capabilities."
"Very true," said Alex, taking another swig, "but a truly smart man never reveals everything to everybody. It's like how we operate; the modus operandi of the Powers' Facinus if you prefer. But the difference between us and the damn vipers of the 'all great utopian army' is that they practice discreetness as a textbook. You go to a school or university, they give you all the information you need to succeed in the class, but nothing more. The clever ones end up figuring out stuff on their own, or get lucky, and the very clever ones pose the question of whether or not they have been given all the information. After all, there is only so much you can fit between the covers admist the pages; something is bound to be left out." After the brief monologue, Alex reached across his desk and adjusted a small wooden frame, revealing a picture of a group of young adults in fancy, old-fashioned suits, fedora hats, and trench coats. Rivalz quickly made out the image of perhaps a younger Alex Powers in the middle of the group, except that his hair in the picture was combed over and not spiked up.
"Those of the Facinus, on the other hand, see the management of information as a simple part of everyday life. Our way of living is guarded by two creeds; Omerta: the code of silence, and Atremo: the code of life that the Facinus uphold. One of the ways we do this is to do business through a third party; an old practice that is actually more of a hindrance as proven by our pure Sicilian counterparts. However, the importance of secrecy is known to all because of that and so trust becomes a vital component."
"Trust?" Cornelia questioned, "among criminals?"
"Well it's worked out so far," Alex answered plainly before continuing. "But as to knowing where would be the best place to send the two of you is a great pain. There is a strong possibility of resistance in a few places but its still basically a huge gamble no wonder how you look at it." Cornelia thought about the young criminal's words. From what she got, he was simply biding his time until the right opportunity came around. Given the circumstances, that was definitely the right action to take, but if she and Rivalz want to get out of there, then they would have to ask Alex for a favor of some sort. But this would be tricky.
As laid back as he appeared, Alex was not dull headed. He was highly intelligent and won't be susceptible to petty attempts to trick him. Rivalz spoke up, again, before Cornelia could stop him, again.
"What do you expect us to do about it then?"
"Pardon?"
"What do you expect us to do when we do end up in a position to do something about Occulta? We're not soldiers, we're not assassins. Her majesty Cornelia could've been at some point but she has a limp, crutch, and is half-blind! And what about me? What can I do? All I'm good for is study and managing a student council!" Cornelia saw the corner of Alex's mouth twitch. Rivalz had finally hit a nerve.
"Are you saying you are incapable of coming up with a plan on your own?"
"I'm saying, as a student of Ashford Academy, I'm incapable of fighting even if my life depended on it! Lelouch was always the fighter, how about you get your precious enemies to kidnap him for you?" Lelouch? No way, it couldn't be that Lelouch, he's dead afterall. However, Alex's eyebrows perked up at the mention of the name. He didn't say anything on the matter though, either he was merely taken aback by mild surprise or he was really good at concealing his motives.
"I didn't kidnap you, Occulta did; and we didn't kidnap your majesty either. A Britannian task force got itself destroyed by Occulta's mechanized division and we found her in the wreckage. Somehow she was still alive despite all the blood in the sand. Now do me a favor and get to the point, beating round the bush is my job and not yours!" Alex's voice was slowly and steadily rising, and Rivalz could tell he was losing his patience. Not knowing how else to approach the subject in the civilized Britannian manner he was trying for, he just blurted it out.
"I want to know how to fight!"
This brought about a real silence that lasted for several agonizing seconds...
...before Alex Powers stood up, Dr. Pepper in his hands. He placed the can to his lips and threw his head back, draining the contents before depositing the can in the garbage next to his desk. He then looked at Rivalz, with an unreadable gaze in his eyes.
"Do you realize what you're asking for, Britannian schoolboy?"
"Yes," Rivalz said in finality. Cornelia had doubts of course, what did Rivalz expect Alex to do about the matter? It's not like someone can just plug in somewhere and download Jujitsu. Alex was probably thinking the same thing, except that he didn't show it with his expression. Instead, he sighed and made a general gesture with his hands.
"Very well, come this way."
Rivalz and Cornelia hobbled after Alex Powers as he led the way to a different part of the building. Along the way, Alex took out a cellular device and made a quick call, speaking in what Cornelia was sure to be one of the European dialects; Italian, unless she was mistaken. Unlike the Holy Britannian Empire, the European Union did not administer a national language.
They soon came to a sort of bar area that was so dingy that it completely contrasted with the appearance of the rest of the Expenditure. There was a single "L" shaped bar manned by a guy in an old fashioned suit accented with a flower on the lapel, a gardenia. Also scattered around was a machine that the Facinus called a jukebox and a few shady Facinus members sitting at tables wearing jackets with raised hoods. Alex took a seat at the bar and gestured the others to do the same.
"Leggit," he addressed the member with the gardenia, "get me a Pepper and here's a two-bit piece for the jukebox." He passed a silver coin larger than the average Britannian quarter to the guy with the gardenia.
"Old school stuff I assume?" Leggit asked his employer.
"Not quite," Alex answered, "how 'bout something...ruvido?" Leggit nodded, poured a glass of soda for Alex, then made his way to the jukebox. "You just want to fight, is that it Rivalz?" Rivalz didn't answer, helping Cornelia to a bar stool before grabbing himself a seat. Alex continued. "Very well, instead of paying you to do menial chores, you will be paid as a Probate member of the Facinus, a position that we rarely bestow on anyone. You we be taught not only how to fight, but to also carry out minor Facinus tasks that all Facinus members are familiar with. I won't lie, it will be tough, but I can promise results. You will be able to fight, Britannian student body councilman, whether you want to or not."
"Um, thank you," said Rivalz, unsure how to respond as Leggit put the coin in the jukebox.
["Intro" - Get Rich or Die Tryin' (full 6 seconds)]
"Just one thing you should probably know before you officially begin as Probate," Alex added, raising the glass of soda to his lips.
"What's that?" Rivalz asked as the jukebox started up.
["What Up Gangsta" - Get Rich or Die Tryin']
"Mind your head."
["What Up Gangsta" - 0:05]
A hand took hold of Rivalz's hair and slammed his head into the counter. Mere moments after that, rough hands latched onto his arms, pulling him from the stool he was sitting on, and as two of the Facinus members held him up, the others took turns punching him in his gut. It wasn't long before Rivalz felt his legs give out, but what shocked him more than the increasing amount of never ending pain was that the ones beating him up were shouting things like: "Fight it!" or "Don't give up!" and "You can do it!" After a while Rivalz began mindlessly swinging his fists left and right, lightly impacting the ones around him as he dropped to his knees. All the while Cornelia sat at the bar, horrified by what little she was seeing.
"Even the most desperate peasant can wage a war on an entire nation," said Alex, sipping his drink like what was going on behind him was nothing out of the ordinary. "If that boy wants to make it home to heaven, then he must fight through hell; and the world is hell. Welcome to the Facinus Britannian schoolboy!"