Sorry if anyone had an update for the last chapter. As promised I'm posting 53 instantly afterwards anyway so people aren't disappointed. I have loads of versions of chapters on my laptop sometimes and for some reason I picked the wrong one for 52s upload. I'm surprised no one noticed and said anything! I'd recommend reading it again as Feliciano's bit is a little different (not massively though)
Anyway onto the next update below!
oOo
Vash was acting infuriatingly out of character even for himself. He was never usually this forgetful, his body was a well-oiled machine and he ran it like clockwork. He was predictable to a fault. It was completely unlike him to make it all the way into the office without grabbing his lunch (because there was no way he could afford to buy a deli-sandwich if there was going to be bread wasted at home) or the folder of work he had been reading the evening before. He had been catching up on his case notes before bed, and like an idiot he'd left the damned thing on the side of the coffee table. He didn't know what he had been thinking.
"Don't worry about it," Anri was exceptionally bright as always and the only other occupant of the car, being Vash's partner for the day. Of course, at her words he did exactly the opposite: he knew he shouldn't have done something so stupid which was now leading them halfway back across the city before they could even start the work of the day.
Inspector Kirkland was going to kill them for being late to the rendezvous, even by a few minutes. He'd understand but...
Vash couldn't quite let himself off the hook, not when he knew the reason his mind was elsewhere was because he was agonising over his agreement with the Russians. Last night when Heidi was asleep he had made up yet another report for Ivan, explaining exactly where they were in the case, what they were working on, and the Inspector's observations. Each word had made his skin crawl and by the time he had headed to bed he itched, scratching himself at the non-existent scales on his skin. He had dreamt of snakes and other reptiles scrambling through the floorboards of his room and he had slept fitfully, half imagining their beady eyes staring at him under his oversized furniture. The eyes looking back at him in the wing mirror were dark rimmed.
"I won't be long." Vash rushed as he pulled up to a stop outside his apartment. Anri nodded, and if he hadn't been in such a hurry Vash might have noticed the concerned look she cast after him and the closing door.
Taking two steps at a time, Vash hurtled down the stairs, fumbled with the lock in his haste and burst through into the kitchen.
"Heidi! It's only me!" He had to announce himself or his poor sister would be scared to death by the noise. Vash threw his keys on the side next to his forgotten lunch so he'd remember it this time and stomped through the small apartment to the living room. Nothing had changed since he had left that morning, and his sister was nowhere in sight, her chair unusually empty. He felt all his speed leave him. "Heidi?"
He snatched up the dossier from the coffee table and pushed his way back into the hallway in confusion. He had what he came for, but where was she? Still in bed? It was unlike her to sleep in...
"Heidi?" Vash poked his head tentatively around her bedroom door. The little twee room with its large furniture was vacant also, but neat and tidy. Nothing was out of place. If he wasn't so meticulous normally Vash might have thought something was wrong with the pristine state of the flat.
He stood in the doorway a few moments before the worry really started to gnaw on him. It wasn't Heidi's usual morning for seeing the neighbours...
"Vash?" A quiet, dull voice sounded at him from across the hall and his heart, that had been starting to chomp like a horse at its bit, suddenly ground to a normal pace. He let out a breathless laugh. Of course- the bathroom.
"Yes, it's me-"
"What are you doing back?"
"I'm just picking up some work and my lunch, I forgot them if you can believe that." He soothed, because he was sure he had heard a note of concern in her voice. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes!" Was it the doorway or did she sound breathless? "I didn't think you would be home now, you startled me."
Startled her? Was Vash not loud enough when he entered, or was her usually fantastic hearing out of order? If it hadn't been the bathroom he might have opened the door to check on her. His detective sense was piqued so he leant against the wood instead.
"Are you sure you're okay in there?"
There was a lot of shuffling behind the door, including the sound of the waste bin moving with a clatter. Vash was torn between thinking something was off and that he might just be intruding on some sort of well- female thing. As a man he was bemused, but as a brother he cringed at the thought.
"Yes!" Heidi replied, too quickly. Through the door there was a loud bang as something fell and a small gasp. "I'm fine Vash, no don't come in-"
But at the sound of something falling Vash was already pushing down the door handle and stomping his way into the room, ready to right any wrong and-
He stopped dead in his tracks. Whatever he had been expecting to be met with, whatever his mind's eye had created in his concern, what he got was completely off the scale. There was nothing immediately wrong with the room, everything was as it should be except for the large quantities of straw like hair littering the floor and his sister, his sister...
"Oh Heidi," Vash let out in a breath. "What have you done?"
Heidi self-consciously fingered the blunt, uneven ends of hair cut short by her ears. Her eyes wandered aimlessly but were clearly downcast.
"I thought it would look nice," she said in a small voice. Perhaps Vash's silence or some of his disturbed features were visible to her and displayed what he truly felt. Perhaps it was just the reality about what she had done, but his baby sister's eyes suddenly filled wetly and her bottom lip wobbled dangerously.
"Oh no," Vash was not good with crying, even when it was his own sibling. Awkwardly, he closed his arms around the girl to let her sob onto his shoulder. He touched her hair where it looked almost shorn from her scalp in places, feeling completely lost. There were small pieces of the stuff littered all over the floor and on her clothes. But her beautiful blonde tresses themselves hung in their braids, intact, again the tub like herbs out to dry.
"Why did you even do this to yourself?" Because never in all her young years had she once been concerned with her looks. Or done anything this... strange.
"I- I thought we could sell it." She hiccupped, turning Vash's insides suddenly cold, all thoughts awash in the mire. She... "The neighbours said l-loads of young ladies wo-would pay lots of money for hair like mine. I- I wanted to help-"
His mouth was suddenly dry. "Heidi..."
She pushed against his chest so she could look up at him, determined.
"I don't want you to have to work for those people anymore!" Her voice, which had been breathless and weepy was nonetheless sad, but it was suddenly much stronger. "I thought if you had the money you might not want to deal with those bad people anymore. You can't do this to yourself!"
How did she even know about any of this? "I didn't-"
Her fists were balled into his shirt desperately.
"Think I knew? Want me to be involved?" Heidi shook her head. No, he had tried so hard to keep her away from this for exactly this reason- "Vash, I might struggle to see but I'm your sister and I know when you're hurting. I'm not a child anymore. If we are struggling with money then I should help you- not leave you to suffer alone."
Despite the steel in her tone, she regressed back into tears on the last few words and held Vash close. He would have tugged her even closer if he hadn't heard the polite noise of someone trying to be noticed in the hallway. He swivelled, behind him Anri stood at some distance looking curious. His blood ran cold- how much had she heard? How much had she seen?
The sight must have been a strange one, one that had the tables been turned Vash might have retreated from, but Anri was made of much sterner stuff than that. She came closer in a tentative fashion and spoke calmly.
"I was just wondering where you were, Vash." She spoke loud enough to disturb Heidi's tears and his sister gulped to a sharp stop. "I thought you were just grabbing your lunch, but instead I find you hugging a pretty young lady. Should I be jealous?"
Jealous? Ah- she had to be joking. He coughed. "This is my sister, Anri. Heidi, this is one of the other officers on my team."
Heidi sniffled and took in the lady in question directly, her clouded eyes apparent. Vash glared defensively awaiting comments. He had them all his life after all, enough now that he only mentioned his sister if asked directly about his home life, and he never about her condition. They were all pretty private in the office and Vash was dedicated to his work, so Heidi had yet to come up in the tea and biscuits chatter.
He was not ashamed of Heidi, there was just no need to open her up to a line of misunderstanding if it could be avoided.
He needn't have worried. Anri's eyes widened but the next second the surprise softened into a smile.
"A pleasure sweetheart." she said, coming closer so she could be seen better. "I've known old Vash here a few years now."
Heidi was understandably suspicious. The two women who had also claimed to work with him had been criminals. But Vash's lack of anxiety must have been evident and it helped that Anri's friendly nature was infectious.
"You must be about the same age as my little brother," she continued. Vash jumped as her hand found its way on to his arm in a familial manner. Anri (clearly) feigned surprise. "Vash you didn't tell me Heidi had such lovely hair. Now what have you been doing with it, mmh? Did you fancy a bit of a trim?"
Self-consciously Heidi's hand moved to her scalp. "Y-yes..."
"It's a good thing I'm here then," Anri said brightly, clapping her hands and moving forward with the feminine tinkle of jewellery to take his sister's unrelenting hand. "I always cut my own hair, I'm quite a pro if I do say so myself! Vash and I have enough time for us to play hairdresser, don't we?"
Anri looked at him imploringly, the small smile he was so accustomed to on her face marred by a strange look in her eye. He couldn't help but think they didn't have time for this, but it was his sister and she was so upset, all because of him...
He swallowed his fidelity to the forces like a bitter pill. "Of course."
"Great!" Anri cheered, grabbing Heidi's cane which was leaning nearby and putting it into her hand. "Why don't you head to the kitchen, put a towel down and make yourself comfortable while we clean up here?"
"Okay!" Heidi visibly perked up at the promise of getting her hair sorted and began to make her slow way down the hallway towards the kitchen, leaving Vash alone with his colleague. He could barely look her in the eye as a tense quiet fell between them.
"How much of that did you hear?" He needed to hear it from her own mouth. Vash wanted to know how much trouble he was in.
"Enough to wonder. Enough to worry about what on earth you've done." Anri's voice was sharp like stone, but not as harsh as he deserved. "Vash, who-?"
This was it. He had the choice to brush it off, to lie. It was tempting, but this was his home, that was his sister, and he had made a mistake he regretted.
A shaky breath. "...Braginski. He... he threatened Heidi."
Anri was silent and there was only the sound of his sister getting ready in the other room. The domestic sounds were so far away right now, and he was all too aware of Anri's furrowed brow and pinched lips. She was angry.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"About Braginski?" Wasn't that obvious? They'd been working in the forces long enough to know-
"About your sister." Anri corrected, surprising him. She forced Vash around with a gentle hand on his shoulder. There was a queer gleam in her eyes that made Vash's mouth go even drier. "Why didn't you tell us about Heidi? We could have helped you-"
He did not want sympathy. He made to move but her hand stopped him.
"Don't look like that, I didn't mean it in that way." She was so very gentle to him which he didn't deserve, but there was a hint of a scold under her kind words. He felt like he was being handled with care, like a family heirloom. "I meant that if we'd known she'd existed we might have been able to safeguard her from Braginski or worse. She could have been under protection like my little brother. Lars and I did something for him as soon as we heard about Peter."
Vash didn't know much about the sibling in question, but he felt bewildered at the information. Had his pride meant that Heidi was in more peril? He had really messed up.
Roderich first, now his sister...
Anri sighed and let him go. "Why don't you clean up this mess while I sort her hair out."
He blinked, watching her retreat to the kitchen, seemingly without another word on the matter.
"Wait," he said numbly, half shocked that the words came out of his mouth and weren't just thought. "Aren't you going to chew me out?"
He'd sold them all out after all. He'd put the case, all of them, in danger. He deserved have his badge force-fed to him for what he'd done. He most certainly didn't deserve her to turn and look at him so contemplative. In the half light and the tat of his home she looked positively glamorous in her simple work dress and glittering earrings.
How had he never noticed that before?
"Vash, you stupid man." She said softly. "You did it for her. It was irresponsible and it's probably affected the case. I wouldn't be surprised if the Inspector beats you within an inch of your life- but she's your little sister. Now tidy up that mess and get Kirkland on the phone and explain why we'll be late to the job."
And with that she was gone, taking with her the weight that had settled itself onto his shoulders. It took him a moment, with his sister and Anri's bright chatter a murmur in the background to gather himself up enough to clean the bathroom.
His eyes lighted on the two pigtails hanging limply from the rim of the bath, the sacrifice of his sister's innocence and the sign he had failed as her brother and an officer. He turned from them abashed, and did as he was told, all the while worrying about how he would breach the subject of this mess with the Inspector.
oOo
The chime of coins rattling down chutes, the symphony of the rich and poor alike, was a pleasant sound to Mathias' ear. Admittedly, he'd never really been one for casinos. At his darkest time if he'd had any money it had gone straight to booze. He'd never seen the point in throwing money away on the off chance of getting a payoff when there were things you could buy there and then, but being there inside the casino he had to admit it was very tempting. It was a light, energetic space even without windows. Players could be here for hours before realising they've missed dinner with their wives, and on those occasions, there were beautiful, scantily clad women ready to bring you any form of food or drink off the menu. And hey, who needed to eat when you could practically chomp down on all the thick cigar smoke filling the air in the place.
It didn't have any of the class from the boss's joints, Mathias mused, jabbing a coin into the slot, but personally he quite liked the cheap and cheerful atmosphere, dark walls and bright lighting. For a Braginski-owned place it wasn't half bad; it was a shame they were going to shut it down.
Mathias glanced sidelong down the row of chairs at other slots to check Lukas was still in position. He looked like a regular. Sleepless, intent on the game, enough so that the staff gave him a wide berth and drink top ups. He was sleepless, but it wasn't money and they weren't to know that. Mathias turned back to his own game, satisfied that Lukas was quiet and following his instructions to blend in.
All things considered, Mathias had been more than a little concerned with having involved Lukas in any of the day's plan. After everything that had happened, he was still suspicious of the other man and his intentions. Things had been very difficult for them since Peter had gone missing right from under their noses. When Lukas wasn't staring wide eyed at the ceiling all day he wrote furtively in his diary or went out for hours on end walking alone. He wandered around at night too, creaking around the living room like he was pacing a cage. Mathias knew he should feel glad for the break from him when he did head out, but he spent the whole time twitching curtains and watching the clock like the anxious wife of a cheating husband. It was becoming a habit.
He had no idea where he went, and he couldn't quite bring himself to see what it was he was writing in that book of his. Multiple times in the past few days when the boss' plans were mentioned, the boy would get a look on his face that chilled him to the bone. In conversation, Lukas spoke about the whole Vargas clan in a negative. He stared intently at nothing and sometimes cocked his head to the side as if listening to a sound only he could hear.
Mathias was spooked. He had stopped inviting Lukas on missions, even if they needed the manpower. He couldn't risk him engaging with another mobster and being found out as the harbourer of this... creation.
He knew it was high time he kicked Lukas out of his flat, off his sofa and back to his own place. Lukas was erratic, irritable, vacant at times and then seeming unable to stop moving. The boy might have been here in body, but in spirit? In mind?
Mathias selfishly knew that if Lukas was no longer one of the team then he couldn't drag Mathias down with him to whatever depths his grief was trying to pull him. He had tried to help. He'd tried but it hadn't been enough.
He planned to speak with him about moving out after this job. Mathias had promised himself to cut all ties. It was something he could do easily enough; he'd done it before after all.
A coin in the slot thudded down and toppled its partner. It sent a cascade of silver hammering down into the trough beside Mathias knees.
His position was optimal to see the reflection of the doors outside open behind him. They were actually underneath a small factory where the noise of the machines cloaked the trill of money and any chatter during the day and the night time provided privacy. It meant that the doors did not open to bright outdoor light but the gloom of another dimly lit room. In the chrome plating of the slot before him Mathias caught Heracles' eyes as the other mobster wandered in.
It was unusual for Heracles to be involved in so many of their activities as he was regularly privileged with guarding the family home, but recently he had been sent away more and more. Heracles had always looked soft and sleepy in the face, but his tall broad body was surprisingly capable of awful things which was why when he stormed past the attendants, they and everyone else got out of his way very quickly. Mathias marked his movement in the reflection as he stomped up to the cash desk, his own heartbeat starting to pick up in anticipation of what was to come. The poor desk attendant, bless them, hid their fear well behind a welcoming grimace. Mathias saw Heracles' mouth move, but they were too far away for the conversation to reach him. He adjusted his feet and body on his stool, ready to move, perching like a runner at the mark.
Sadiq appeared in the reflection too, emerging from the other side of the chrome from the direction of the bar. His swagger was fake, he would never drink on the job, but still really obnoxious in any case. Matthias heart pumped, and he daren't look at Lukas in case he too was tense. They couldn't give it away...
Sadiq and Heracles' reflections met with a barging of shoulders and raised angry words that grew in volume from a mumble to actual voices as those closest to them grew quiet to watch. People were turning in their seats to look, and the two security guards from the door were soldiering their way over.
It was ridiculous really that this place would only have two guards on duty at one time.
As one of the beefy fellows tried to go past him, Mathias stood. He had the advantage, he came down from the height of the stool and had the element of surprise, not to mention the pistol which he clapped the guy on the head with. With a grunt to rival a pig, the guard went down and his partner was soon to follow. Lukas might have been small but there was a crazed look in his eye as he stood over the other man's prone figure. Sadiq and Heracles stopped fighting and drew their weapons. The rest of the room, in the usual sluggish confusion which proceeded a hold up, broke into scattered panic and screams. People might have run then, if Mathias hadn't shot up into the roof sending a splash of plaster down. His head pounded.
"Everyone on the floor, this is a robbery! No funny moves or we start firing at bodies!" On shaky legs, people dropped to the floor with their hands over their heads. Good, good. Mathias nodded at Heracles when he was certain everyone was still, and he started raiding the register. "We don't want to hurt anyone, keep nice and-"
And that's when things went to shit.
There was a bang, running feet and the next moment there were bullets pinging off machines dangerously close to Mathias' head. Instinctively he drove down for cover, meeting Lukas around the back of the slots.
"Yeah- you better run!" More bullets rained down in quick succession.
No- god damn-! Of all days- how could Ivan's goons be here?! He hadn't seen who they were or how many there were but they were firing and now the civilians were crying out in fear, caught in the middle of a stand off. It was just him and Lukas on their row, crouched in hiding. He couldn't see Sadiq or Heracles and had no way to move without getting a new hole between his eyes.
Lukas was frightened, his face even paler than normal. "Now what?"
With them cowering like this it was only a matter of time before they started hunting for their clean shot. And they wouldn't miss with them as such clear targets. A nearby machine copped it and coins littered the floor in a golden wave.
"We need to move." Damn, if they had any chance at all of getting out of here alive Mathias needed to be able to make a shot too. He made to shift but Lukas grabbed him looking panicked.
"Wait-!" He would not he held back-
"These people killed Emil." Mathias snapped, no time for feeling as another machine, much closer this time, took a hit. It was life or death and he would always pick life. "Now you either join him or avenge him. I know which one I'd prefer to do."
And with that said he, half crouched-half sprinted to a better spot, firing randomly in the direction the bullets were coming from. There was an alarmed yell but little else and somehow he avoided being killed in the process. Mathias 1- Russians- 0.
Breathing like an athlete he dipped his head around the post to see what he was dealing with. Two women, and a handful of men and definitely some familiar faces. They'd had enough run-ins before, and not always on the battle field for Matthias to know them at a glance.
He also knew that the women were fantastic shots and deadly as hell. Damn it.
"Shit," How could they be here?! They'd walked themselves into a gun fight when they should have been taking this place easy. Had their information been wrong?
Mathias found Heracles and Sadiq easily. They were close by, one behind the cash desk and the other crouched behind the slots like Lukas was, just a few lanes over. Heracles was clutching his chest but Sadiq was attempting to fire back despite the shots that were landing dangerously close to him.
"Circle around," the daintier woman ordered the others fiercely. There was no need to keep their plans quiet when they had so much of an upper hand. The men moved to follow the order, snaking around the outside of the isles. All of these Russian goons to their four- what sort of odds were these?!
Mathias had to act. He wasn't a bad shot, years of training in the forces were to thank for that. He aimed easily at one of the men (pale and sharp- the one that had been at the party), and it pinged off a machine inches from him with a whistle. It was intentional, Mathias didn't want to hit him, only halt their advance.
"That was the first and last warning." His voice might have sounded threatening but his knees quaked and his bravado was all he could properly hold on to. "Take another step and it'll be in your head."
There was a pause.
"You are outnumbered." This was a different speaker, male this time and in another life it might have been friendly, but Matthias saw Sadiq ground his teeth at the words. His own heart was like a snare in his chest. "Why don't you come out of hiding so you can die like men, not dogs?"
"Fuck you," Mathias hissed, taking the opportunity to fire out at random in response. He didn't expect it to hit but there was a scream and voices speaking rapidly. It could have been a mobster or a civilian for all he knew, either way there were bullets hailing his spot in response, forcing him to dive to Heracles' side.
"We need to get out of here!" they were outnumbered and now baying for blood too. They seemed to have got some, Heracles had the stuff all down his front.
"Mr Vargas wanted chaos and he got it." Heracles wheezed, emotionless as he sent off a shot. Mathias ducked as a bullet pierced the wall by his head, he swore and dove to Sadiq's spot where the other man was still. The sight caught in his throat. They were being picked off all too easily. He couldn't stop the shake in his hand. There were civilians and enemies all around. Limited ammo. No way out.
Without warning a door burst open for a second time in the middle of all the fighting. There were whistles, shouted commands that Matthias, in all the confusion didn't understand. Fresh gunfire followed immediately. Friend- foe-?
Worse, he realised at a glimpse of uniform over the top of a fruit machine. The police.
Uniformed and plain-clothed officers stormed the room, at the helm of the charge was a familiar dirty blond who led in the shouting hierarchy. Shit and double shit. Mathias sucked in a breath around his constricted throat; he needed to leg it and quick, but between him and the door was a vengeful army. He only had one gun. There was no choice though, he could not be arrested.
He needed to make a run for it; he darted into the middle of the action.
He hopped over a prone civilian, dodged a pockmarked machine spitting sparks and narrowly missed the explosive tear of a shotgun bullet. He flung himself on the sticky carpet. The gun was gone from him in the madness, but his only thought was on survival. He would crawl towards the exit if he had to. There were shouts, orders and cries of pain, but Mathias blocked the worst of this out. He focused on the rasp of his own desperate breath and the gaudy pattern on the carpet. He didn't think of the innocents, he didn't even think of Lukas or his team. He most certainly didn't think of Roma Vargas. He had to escape, he had to get out. He was almost there. The door he'd scoped before the botched robbery was just closing on two of the Russians right in front of him when a booted foot came down in front of him and a regulation pistol was aimed at the spot between his eyes.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he knew the person the moment their eyes met from behind square, harsh spectacles. Berwald hadn't changed one bit. "Mathias..."
Mathias could hit him, knock him down and charge past to the exit- but the shock was starting to override the situation. The sound of the room was coming back, the shouted orders swapped for quick authoritative words, female civvies crying (pathetic, barely there weeps) and the haunting sound of someone breathing their last floated up from close by. Matthias faltered, and then- just stopped. His pulse faltered and his hands went to his head. He submitted.
It was all over.
oOo
Today was a good day, not great but good.
The grotty casino had been an easy find once they'd bullied the staff enough upstairs. The room had already been in the midst of a shoot-out when they'd stormed it, but now there was only the cool down of the fight. Scared civilians were blabbering their statements, calm officers continued clearing up mess, and the team picked out evidence with camera flashes; it was what Arthur lived for. He could even ignore the ringing of gunshots in his ears if he tried hard enough.
"Report," Arthur ordered as Vash trotted up to him, pink in the face from the fight. He'd sent the Captain to gather a report from around the room as Arthur busied himself with the call back to the station for a proper clean-up crew.
The downgrade from a great day to a good day came from Vash and the chat they'd had before the fight, which had made the mission later than intended. Arthur was still reeling and would need to deal with the information later, but for now he was keeping a slightly wider distance from his subordinate than normal.
"Three dead before we could give them aid, sir. No civs in the casualty list but plenty injured along with the perps." Dead was also a 'not good' outcome. Unavoidable in the situation but having blood on his hands was never a desired result. "Four escaped and four in custody- two from each faction if you'd believe those odds."
"Which four got out?" And how- but Vash knew what he meant.
"Ivan's men, sir. Some service corridor we didn't have covered. None of Vargas' men made it out. Either dead or with an officer."
Arthur was already walking in the direction he knew was right. "Who?"
"Oxensternia-"
Arthur zeroed in on the tall man easily over the room, and came up behind him as he read the rights to two blond men Arthur. He realised with a sharp feeling in his windpipe that this meant the two men who had harassed him in his office, both dark haired, had probably ended up on the wrong end of a smoking gun today. He'd find out later when forensics crawled out of their office come cave.
A loss, but not a great one.
"I'll take over here, Lieutenant Colonel." For a moment, Berwald looked like he would refuse, but then he moved to allow Arthur better access.
The younger of the two men was pale and shaking with his bloodshot eyes locked onto the far distance; he looked too young to be involved with this sort of thing. Pity wasn't on the list of emotions Arthur had for criminals, but he surveyed him with a cold remorse. He didn't know his name. The older of the two was more familiar and his picture was sat in a pile on Arthur's desk. The one and only Mathias Kohler, one of Roma's top lap dogs. It was a fantastic catch and Arthur couldn't resist leaning in, a wide smile cracking onto his face.
For all he knew, Mathias had been there the night Peter was taken, hell he could have been the one to hit Matthew or Alfred. It felt good to not only have got so close to Roma and steal one of his knights, but perhaps to have in his custody one of the men that had tried to hurt his family. Perhaps today was a better day after all.
"Nice of you to join us boys," He sneered as Matthias looked away. "Not looking so clever now are we?"
oOo
Ivan hated his sisters.
"There were too many officers." It was excuses, upon excuses from Natalya as usual. She simpered and gasped next to him. Katyusha's sobs were nearly as grating, and right in his ear. "Gilbert and his boy were the first to defect-"
Whine, whine, cry, cry.
"He is not loyal to your cause, my dearest." Ivan cringed and leaned away from her endearment and intense gaze, but that only brought him closer to sobbing, squishy Katyusha on his other arm. He was, as the American's said caught between a rock and a hard place. "He did not help us when we needed it, he doesn't have the heart."
Why? Why wouldn't they shut up?
"Eduard and the others captured, Toris dead- shut up you pitiful creature-" at least someone said it, but that didn't stop the oldest of them from shedding her tears. If anything, she wailed more.
Ivan felt sad. At least he thought he might do; it wasn't something he was used to feeling. Toris had been a useful tool to him, he'd liked him more than some of the other ineffectual ones. They had played chess together. He spoke nice and soft and did as he was told. Toris had died serving his purpose, but there was still annoyance in Ivan. Not just at his silly sisters; Natalya thrusting herself him or Katyusha wet and sobbing, and both clinging to his arms. No, he was annoyed at Eduard for being too wounded to run. Furious that none of his other men had thought to end their lives rather than allowing the police to take them. He hated that Gilbert and his little bird had run away- his sisters-!
"Shut up." When he used his Sweet Voice people tended to follow instructions, quickly. They instantly hushed. "You have failed me- all of you."
His toys were gone.
Stupid Katyusha looked at him with her pink, wet eyes. "Brother, it is not our fault. The police came without call, they must have followed Vargas' men to us."
"Or maybe we have a leak- Gilbert-"
Ivan held up a hand to stop Natalya, even though he really wanted to wrap it around her neck. He thought quietly.
Gilbert had been working for him for a long time, he had helped him get a foothold in this city when Ivan's father had passed on. He had been so useful. He'd made him a lot of money. But... even after all this time...
"I do not trust that scrawny man one bit."
Natalya stood up straight like a soldier, her doll-like face a sudden rapt mask of attention. Ivan paused to think his next move through. He loathed to throw away anything that had value and Gilbert was one of the only useful things he had left after today's awful end. He could get more, but there was something about that man he had never liked but needed...
Gilbert was as sneaky as Ivan himself, he wouldn't put it past him to expect an attack coming. They had been tightrope walkers for a long time now. Sometimes he shot at Gilbert just to see what his reaction would be. He threw knives at him, threatened violence. The pawn had never once left, and he barely reacted apart from with that smug smile of his which made Ivan hate him just so. He was dangerous. It would be risky for Ivan to go himself as much as he wanted to, he needed someone expendable.
He caught Natalya's eager gaze. Yes... expendable.
"Gilbert has outlived his purpose-" but maybe, just maybe he might serve one final one if Ivan was lucky. "My darling sister, will you do the honour-?"
She threw herself at him before he could finish. Ivan endured her touch even though it repulsed him, catching his older sister's tear stained gaze from beside him. He thought his pathetic sister might cry again, but her face was surprisingly blank as Natalya uncurled herself from his lap, which somehow was even worse than her tears. Natalya blabbered her adoration for him and the cause, but Ivan was more concerned with getting them to leave him alone so he could plan for the next step with Vargas.
Oh, how he hated his sisters...
oOo
ACTUAL MASSIVE NEWS!
So as you may know I've been writing this story for ages and around chapter 45 I started handwriting it. I used to handwrite all of my works at one stage, and I find I can actually just get on with it. ANYWAY- although it isn't on here yet, Duty of an Elder Son is finally a finished work! I reached chapter 58 and wrote the end and everything a week or so ago.
What that means for you guys- this story will be done by the end of the year for certain. I've set myself the challenge of having it done before it reaches the official 6 year mark which is a fair few weeks away yet. My typing process isn't that draining, it's just the editing that takes ages. Each chapter probably takes me a week to get it how I like it (as I also work full time and I am not always in the mood). I am working on this, I want it to be done.
What this means for me is that I have finally done what I planned and finished! I was so happy I was shaking. It's only a fanfiction but you spend so long doing these things, DoaES has meant a lot to me. I also indulged yesterday in some planning for my original stuff which I haven't allowed myself to do since I started trying to get this finished.
I will say now it's been a great priviledge to write this story and I'm looking forward to getting to the end of it. Thank you to reviews/comments etc. that I haven't had time to acknowledge but you guys are great and I appreciate every word!
See you next update!
