Author's Note : Sonya's not moving from her Italian castle. For one, it's a damn castle and it holds so many more people. For another, half her castle staff would not be comfortable moving to a criminally held island in the middle of international waters.
Sonya's moving her island residence. The sisters are splitting up, Tatiana's got a fiancé and Sonya has a new place that doesn't require her to work a set number of jobs for a certain amount of space. Neither of them needs the three-bedroom apartment anymore. When Tatiana comes back, temporarily or not she has to for the surgery proposal almost ready to be attempted, the Sun will likely end up living in Vongola accommodations instead of a personal residence.
Or keep on crashing at her sister's stupidly oversized, luxuriant places. I mean, why not?
The end POV of last chapter was Bjǫrn's.
Russian Roulette : Second Chamber
Chapter 70
(Wednesday the 10th of November, 1971. Sonya & Tatiana's Apartment, Mafia Land.)
Not appreciating Verde's pointed observation on how surprised he was that she wasn't going to spend two full hours napping on his chest since the opportunity was there, Sonya poked him in the ribs in revenge and continued getting up for the day with a huff.
He was the one that didn't want to spend the night in her sister's room instead, and this was not her lazy day. She had shit to do, she would be getting up to take care of it. Even if he made her bed even more comfortable than usual.
Silently, Mingxia was still sleeping.
There was a perfectly good bed going unused, why the girl opted to sleep on the couch was… stupid.
Yes, it was Tatiana's. It wasn't like her sister needed it right now, she wasn't even on the island.
Whatever.
It wouldn't hurt anything. The Rain was still young enough she could sleep on less than adequate beds without paying for it in pain or stiffness. Since she had a fit of social awareness and looked alarmed at the possibility of violating Tatiana's privacy like that… which was equally as stupid because despite the fact the sisters lived here while on the island this was still an island full of criminals.
Nothing was irreplaceable here except for Sonya's ancient and/or illegal books she couldn't have with her in a civilian place.
Alek poked his nose out of the tight ball he was on the armchair, quivering it at the movement and deciding that no. He didn't want to get up yet. Retucking himself back away, her dog kept on snoozing between all the people inside the apartment and the door.
Sonya rolled her eyes at all of them, even dickish Lightning moving around her bedroom to dress for the day too, and snuck into the bathroom first.
The sharp knock on the door caught her in the middle of brushing her teeth, rousing Alek who had a low growl for the unknown person, and Verde from contemplating if he wanted to do more for breakfast than just put coffee grinds into the maker for a pot of the black stuff.
…it wasn't Bjǫrn. Her Lackey still had a set of keys for the apartment and while he'd knock, he'd also open the door after doing so. It couldn't be Ward, who very obviously wanted little to nothing to do with her even if he was working for her Lackey for some reason. Viper wouldn't bother to knock.
Maybe Fon?
Did he get done with his Tournament already?
Reborn had been here yesterday, she doubted he'd come back publicly until they could re-establish any kind of relationship in the public eye. Once he was done 'reestablishing' himself, personal visits could happen more than once a month at best.
Verde kept in place with a single stern look, Sonya also waved Mingxia's messy bedhead back down cautiously at the next sharp set of knocks.
"Young lady, I know full well you're awake. We need to talk."
…Lisa?
Clenching the toothbrush between her teeth to hold it in place, the thief obediently went to go let her mother in.
With a pinched and somewhat strained expression, the older brunette stepped barely inside to allow the door to be closed behind her. "Good, I caught you in. Sonya, sweetie… what the hell are you thinking?"
She held up a finger to buy herself a minute, since her mouth was full of foam right now. While she was dealing with the mouthful of pasty grit, Mingxia woke up enough to realize Verde was in the tiny kitchen area and freaked out about the possibility of the Frenchman cooking for all of them.
"Oh, no, no, no. Master Verde, please. Allow me!"
"I am adequate at the basics." Grumpily defended the man from the main room with an edge of irritability.
"Yes." The little Rain agreed immediately and in that false way of Chinese children attempting to not insult their elders everywhere, scrambling to neatly fold the lightweight bedding she was using to go over there without leaving a mess behind her. "I am much better. Please, I would like to cook. Leave it for me."
"Go walk Alek, Verde." Sonya chipped in very dryly as she cleaned up the sink.
Adrik made all meals in their little household. Every time she stayed over, any meal she was in time for was made by the other man. She had no doubt Verde knew the recipes just as well as he knew anecdotal happenings in the scientific community about how certain things came to light… he just didn't have the patience to tend to whatever he was cooking as he would to crafting a specific chemical compound.
It might be culinary sciences, but edible science experiments did not hold the Lightning's attention long enough. Once he got the idea of how they worked.
If it was the first time, Verde could make a damn five-course meal perfectly to the exact recipe. If it was a repeat, he'd burn it all the moment he got distracted. His quirkiness about how he was in the kitchen made her feel better about her own shit cooking skills, at least. She could make something twice, even if it rarely turned out uniformly edible both times.
"Alright." Mouth clean and faintly minty, Sonya stepped out of the bathroom and patted Verde's shoulder in thanks on his and dog's way out to deal with the canine's tiny bladder capacity. "What did you want, Lisa?"
Lisa uncomfortably attempted a smile, which was strained and still not particularly happy. "Sonya. I… we, don't understand why you did this. I do understand you disliked Gedeon greatly, to an unreasonable degree. But you-"
"Gedeon was convinced he already knew everything he'd ever need. Before I met him, he knew three main things. Women were useless to him, nothing outside of Moscow would ever touch him, and his father taught him everything he could ever need and no one else but vory would have anything he would need to know ever." Sonya interrupted her own mother in exasperation, kind of really done with Gedeon or what he was as a topic. "It wouldn't matter what I said or did, I was a woman therefore useless and probably making a mess. That's why I started to dislike him. Real unreasonable, Lisa."
Her mother's features went tight and paler. She likely got little to no sleep last night, and she was sorry if so. More likely, she had a couple shit days feeling guilty for revealing what Gedeon had done and starting the entire shit fest then having to spend the time in close quarters with other Zolotov vory.
Regardless, here she was.
"You cannot teach the unwilling to learn. I could try until I was blue in the face, I could stand by his shoulder forcibly correcting what he fucks up, I could and did give him the chance to work it out himself using a couple of young Flame users structured to his 'ideals'. Gedeon wasn't just unwilling to change his mind, he would not no matter what was shoved in his face. I've got better shit to do, I went to go do them." Sonya pointedly eyed her mother and her strained features, hand on her hip and ignoring that Mingxia's shoulders were up around her ears as she pretended to give them privacy while busying herself with the kitchen tools. "You have better shit to do than clean up after an asshole that will not adapt. Valera does not deserve to have to shovel his shit when he's ready. Under Arseniy, fuck under any other vor, the clan will recover. Probably not keep the lead I gave you, but it'll survive. I hold no anger against the clansmen or the clan, Lisa."
She sighed heavily, raising one hand to cradle her forehead in her palm. "And then he went and proved you right. While you sat there doing nothing. You've practically killed him yourself, Sonya."
"I am not responsible for Gedeon's choices or actions." Shot back the Storm-Cloud a little more bitterly than her foster mother warranted. "He made them, he can live with them."
Lisa's features tinged with frustration, and something smacking heavily of regret, as she dropped both arms from the uncertain body language radiating her discomfort. "I'm afraid to say Gedeon's opinions on women aren't… wrong. In Soviet Russia, sweetie. The vory are the ones that make or break political or territorial dealings, women aren't vory. In a way, I can see Gedeon's opinion. Not agree, don't get me wrong, I will have never agreed with him on how little half the damn race can contribute to our lifestyle."
"There are women-only prisons. That exclusion is stupid petty bullshit I don't have to deal with. I won't."
She tilted her head in the vague direction of the condo floor the younger thief now owned outright. "I already know all this, Sonya. And I will never regret giving you the full range you needed to become better than me. To tell you the truth… I bought the clan that floor of a condominium. After… after Arseniy came back to me with a solution and a compromise, I didn't need my 'retirement' money anymore and had little to nothing to show for my eight-and-some years hiatus. So I bought the Zolotov Clan a whole floor of a condo and gave it and the rest of my money to them on my return. Could you imagine my frustration when no one, not even my own father, understood what it was? They were more 'disappointed' in how little I had left over…"
…exactly.
Back in the early-to-mid-fifties, about when Lisa retired to be a foster mother in time to pick up Tatiana and Sonya, the physical Mafia Land Island could've been fully built but not nearly as fleshed out in population. If the island's residential space wasn't so cramped and overflowing as it was now, to the point an apartment was a 'set bonus' for doing a set number of contractual jobs for them, condominium space might not be quite so expensive as it was now.
Even still, seven to eight years of revenue on a middling to effective thief?
Aside from inflation and the exchange rate between now and then, that was still expensive enough Sonya wasn't even sure if she had the finances to buy the condo floor today. That her own mother got the clan that residential space made the fact she now had it all the sweeter.
"The vory have semi-intentionally blinded themselves, so focused they are on what's inside a jail cell more than out of it. I can understand your frustration. Anything we women or non-vory do is either petty crimes, homemaking stuff, or international and out of sight so therefore not important." Here Lisa sighed, finally loosening her body language, and just looking really tired overall instead of uncertain or defensive. "I left it behind for a while, I didn't doubt you girls would do the same. More you than Tatiana, but the moment she got a taste of that non-dismissive consideration we get more outside the Soviet Union of course she'd want more of it. They didn't understand what a prize a Mafia Land residential floor was when I was your ages, they wouldn't understand what a prize you were to have."
"I've given them a rude wakeup call. The less the Iron Curtain catches, the more it'll be echoed." Sonya pointed out fairly, shrugging absently after another moment of thought to give the whole situation. "I can't do more than that. If they don't want to learn, I won't force anyone. I'll just rob them blind as they come after me for 'not' conforming to their petty expectations."
A ghost of a smirk crossed Lisa's tired features. "I understand this was your plan, in the end?"
"That dumbass moved it up five to seven years early. About the time Valera could at least watch it go down and understand, I would've done something to 'encourage' Gedeon to re-fixate on me." She wandered over to her couch, now the conversation left the 'why' and got into 'how'. "He's a Sun, with an equally hard headed view on what is important that he has to keep an eye on as his views on women or what goes on outside of the Iron Curtain. I didn't mean to catch you in a Mafia Land incident, but it was possible."
"…this whole situation doesn't have anything to do with Flame users and how they interact with one another?"
"That rumor was to save Gedeon's pride when I left. A final sop to old man Zolotov, I wouldn't start the situation that'd get rid of his son… I was always just going to finish it."
"Is it all just a rumor, Nya?" Lisa questioned very pointedly, something pinched and unhappy coming back into her features. "I need the truth here, please. You've got most of what you want, will it hurt your future goals to tell me?"
"…maybe, there's a small sliver of 'the pretty young daughter of another vor would not sleep with me' in Gedeon's bullshit. Then I went on a smashed every fucked-up limitation he'd rather I'd obey and wouldn't heel to or mind my fucking manners to the 'next' Pahkan. He hates me because I don't nicely fit his world views… but it became rabid because he's a Sun. His views need 'fixing', so he became more stubborn in them and proving me wrong instead of changing."
A single highly unimpressed eyebrow rose glacially slowly. "Did he ever try anything with you, Nya?"
"He didn't have the time to say, suggest, or try. I got put over him before he could really understand what was going on, and by then… I probably couldn't tell you if he had. I didn't notice."
Lisa smiled prettily now, her polished politician's smile, every tired or uncomfortable emotion tucked deeply away. "Well. I appreciate you making time for me, sweetie. It was a nice chat. I need to go have a word with your father quickly before the convention reconvenes."
Sonya waggled her fingers at the older woman in farewell. "Ganauche got Don Superbi to stand by, if you do get thrown off the island stay put together in the water. He'll pick you all up and get you back to land, probably once the island's out of sight. Send Verde back in when you pass him and Alek, he'll probably not gone far from the apartment's entranceway."
(ooo000ooo)
(Wednesday the 10th of November, 1971 continued. CEDEF Armored Council Hall, Mafia Land.)
"Right, let's try this again. Hopefully, we'll get somewhere today."
Ganauche totally ignored the break was requested and agreed to, and Coyote's elbow to his side for being flippant.
…and they skipped Sunday, for religious but mainly Catholic reasons. A small temporary break for their own reasons too wasn't all that questionable.
Quite frankly, he couldn't think of a better punishment than for one's own men to depose you and replace you with the father of one of your biggest detractors. The man now stepping up to stand in the place for the Pahkan of the Zolotov Thieves Clan was indeed one wildly colorful if subduedly dressed vor Arseniy.
A very annoyed looking, slightly uncomfortable with a massive scowl painted across his features and tight shoulders, father of his girlfriend.
…who was also the father of the woman seated dead center across from where he was standing.
Someone in the background cracked off an entirely evil-sounding laugh, something also as hysterical as it sounded like hilarity.
"SHUT UP, REBORN!" Barked Bazanova without twitching any other damn muscle.
"YOU STOLE an ENTIRE, bloody SYNDICATE!" Bellowed the other Mafioso back from a far wall, looking supremely unconcerned at all the attention redirecting to him instead of the now more comfortable vor silently taking a seat across from his own daughter.
"Why are you surprised?" Sneered the damn sister of his own girlfriend.
The evil, broad grin that was all anyone could make out of the freelance hitman's features widened a few degrees. It made the other men standing at the back of the room with him for just in case edge away from the darkly suited but highly if maliciously amused Mafioso. "Surprised? Moi? No, no, no… not surprised, Bazanova. I'm impressed. Anyone can kill a syndicate, murder enough of them and they break up. Stealing one? Without lifting a finger… you're a dangerous little thief."
"Let's get on with this." Growled Bazanov irritably.
The oldest of the three lawyers working for Mafia Land sniffed in his face but turned to the woman that wasted an entire day to probably make this whole meeting go down in infamy, by 'beheading' the syndicate at fault. "We will need you to move now, Miss."
Sonya kicked up her boots over her head for a handstand on the chair arms, rolling right on over the high-back of the chairs brought in without unstabilizing or unbalancing the relatively light furniture. Ending up behind it, she politely pulled it out so the old man could seat himself quickly.
She rounded the group to seat herself back down on the other side of her young Rain girl here expressly to be her Lackey's secretary.
Vor Arseniy's expression went completely flat and iron-like at the shuffle. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, the Russian made man tilted his head up slightly to await what demands Mafia Land had for him.
Ganauche contemplated the issue of why the Chinese girl wasn't being given an even temporary understanding of English for right now, when Viper that Esper was lurking in a meeting no one invited the Mist to.
…security instead?
Maybe. Would that explain why no magical sudden translating was going on?
The girl couldn't speak unbroken English yesterday and even if she could get away with pretending ignorance… there were a lot of ways someone that young might betray herself or those watching over her by accident. That Mist lurking around was then an ace in the hole, for just in case.
They could've brought on a more visible Mist if de Mort wanted to keep the more powerful one in reserve. She already had two men guarding the girl obviously.
Leaning forward under the illusion of paying attention, mostly just to put his elbows on the table, he settled in for a completely boring day of legal jargon being interrupted by impatiently annoyed and now shortly worded Russians.
Five days now. Possibly another two or so to go, maybe one if Arseniy just wanted this over with already to go start on fixing his new syndicate. A little over a week left to try his best to convince his girlfriend to finish jumping ship and becoming Vongola, instead of sticking around the Zolotovs now her dad was the head of it.
Fucking torture… but Tatiana practically did everything but agree to get married. He'd suffer, and suffer happily for that chance, and meanwhile he'll put in some thought about what he'd propose with and how.
Because that was a kind of hard hump to surmount. What got her to leave her syndicate was the actions of the last Pahkan on the blessing of her parents. With her parents now controlling said syndicate, he had to sweeten the pot a lot to convince her not to go back.
(ooo000ooo)
(Wednesday the 10th of November, 1971 continued. International Waters, Atlantic Ocean.)
Arseniy treaded seawater uneasily, made rougher by the massive ships that were slowing but not stopped. Cold and irritable and not particularly happy he didn't know this man. "And you are?"
"Don Superbi. Silvino Superbi. I'm a friend of vor Dimitri's. Need a lift?"
At least he was smart enough to not say which daughter of his he also knew to the Zolotov vory.
Equally nice to know Tatiana's man didn't leave them stranded in the middle of an ocean… Lisa said Sonya told her this man would be picking them up, sure. Until now, when it happened, that was when Arseniy liked to take things for granted. Not while spending several hours treading ice cold water while the only landmass around left them behind. "Yes."
With the agreement of the Pahkan, 'his' men swarmed the ropes and few actual ladders thrown down from three ships to clamber aboard after some numbing hours of simply treading water.
The elderly Sovintnik was helped to the ladder to 'Don Superbi's' ship, Arseniy gripped a rope and ensured Lisa was firmly clinging to his neck securely before pulling them out of the sea.
Despite what would be 'politically' advantageous on the surface, the ship captain went straight for old Pyotr to assist instead of extending a hand to his woman. Lisa didn't require more assistance than him, somehow this Italian Mafioso seemed to know that. Once he had a grip on the ship railing, she lithely slithered off him and up onto the ship herself without issue.
Lisa immediately adjusted to the rocking motion of the ship, able to stand on her own power after spending half the time they were in the ocean clinging to him for both an easier time of it and warmth. While he remained half on the metal bar tiredly, she went straight to her old man.
"Now, I would like that wool sweater."
"It would've drowned you, father." Lisa grimaced lightly, obviously worried about the old vor's health after their dip and some hours of physical exertion to remain mostly together until this 'rescue'. "Saltwater is buoyant, sure… but the more you wear, the more it soaks in and drags you down. Anything heavier than linen or cotton, and you might not have survived the dip."
Dimitri was part of the second wave of vory clambering up into this ship, obviously shoved there for it was one of his associates they were being picked up by. "Silvino, do you have our shit?"
"Of course. And the personal effects Miss Bazanova decided she 'didn't want' from your old condo. Which apparently was most of it." With an easy shrug, the Italian made man shaded his eyes and peered across the waters to another of his three ships while extending his other forearm to clasp with the Russian Rain. "Hopefully you all are quick learners. I had to reduce the crew accompaniment to take you all on without issue, so you'll be expected to pitch in if we hit rough waters."
"Of course." It was the least they could do in exchange for being rescued out of the sea. "Tsitnikov, spread that to the others. And have someone sit on Gedeon's fucking ass before he opens his damn mouth again."
Silvino glanced over at him with wry amusement as one Russian shouted across that distance so the other vory knew what was expected of them now, squeezing Dimitri's forearm one more time before dropping it and turning fully to address him. "Speaking of, where am I dropping your syndicate off at?"
"Don't suppose you're willing to brave some of the Arctic Ocean, are you?" Lisa inquired for him, which as it was probably unlikely her interjection could be excused as only slightly toeing out of line out for concern of an elderly criminal still trying to recover his breath and some warmth drenched to the skin in seawater.
"These three aren't winterized for ice studded seas. The North Sea, and maybe the Baltic depending on weather, are as far north as we can get you."
"France. Or East Germany." Arseniy decided for them all firmly. "If you can get us further north, then we'll appreciate it. We'll deal with what you can do gratefully even if you can't."
"Go below and warm up." Offered the ship captain instead of promising them shit. "We'll swing around and see how far north we can get these girls. First, before we get underway, we need to transfer some of our cargo around so none of your men end up hypothermic from your dip in the Atlantic in the middle of winter. Of course, later on, I wouldn't say no to getting an introduction to whomever you may know in the docksides of the Baltic Sea or anything north from there…"
The vor, now Pahkan, sighed heavily. He didn't know any dockside workers or thugs in said docksides… which left…
Lisa beamed at the younger man politely, stepping in with her own connections as she usually did when he needed more than they could handle themselves. "I'll take care of that myself, perhaps in the new year?"
"Delightful."
Yeah… delightful.
Down two daughters and his older son, now Arseniy had to step very carefully not to lose his own lover and biological son to more accommodating foreign interests too. While dealing with all the higher-level bullshit that needed to be dealt with as what the Zolotovs lost reached Moscow before they could.
He could always get them back later, sure. Tatiana, Cherep, and Sonya all had their own responsibilities and lives to navigate, and they wouldn't mind a few years of severely curated visitation. They were busy getting on with their separate shit and would be perfectly fine with his limited freedom to see it go on, his kids would help each other until he could pitch in again if and where they needed it.
Clan or no clan, he was not giving up Lisa too. He did that once because he had to, that could fuck right off because he was aware he very nearly didn't get her back.
If it was a choice between Lisa and the Zolotovs, Arseniy would pick Lisa. Time to go ensure everyone else understood that full well too. He'll willingly shovel them out of this shit, sure.
That was it.
(Friday the 12th of November, 1971. De Mort Castle, Moneglia, Province of Genoa, Liguria, Italian Republic.)
"In my defense… I didn't know any of this when I brought mom a guy to investigate a weird thing."
Tatiana attempted to muffle her laughter into a canvas cushion the patio furniture had to be pretty, and Sonya rolled her eyes at him as she sank lower in her own lawn chair thingy.
Skull sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, kind of aghast at the real depth of what he got flung into with Fon on Checkerface's behalf. "We're not… going to be required to do anything now the old man's the Pahkan, right?"
"No. It'll fall squarely on Valera's shoulders. All three of us are no longer Zolotov clansmen, so whatever's leftover for us will be regarded more as just 'close associates of the Pahkan' than 'in the line of fire' for political bullshit." Blowing out a billowing lungful of smoke, the thief settled in for the now rare opportunity she had to smoke in without a kid or dog at her knee.
Honestly, she had reduced her addiction to a bit every few days instead of a bit every few hours. Even the nurse of their immediate family no longer wrinkled her nose at the crime of impacting her own health because Sonya was trying to cut back.
Speaking of nurses… "Tats? Isn't this your year to be a school nurse?"
"Not anymore. Stella, one of the Rain nurses, decided she'd rather be the school nurse instead of a Mafia Land nurse. She went back to Moscow earlier in the year to free up me and Avdotya from trading it off. Speaking of my fellow Flame nurses…?"
"The Zolotovs lost all of them." Reported their little sister simply, wagging the hot end of her pipe in the air absently. "They had the choice, stay in and be kicked off or renounce the clan and stay. That all of them decided to stay made what Mafia Land demanded in return for Gedeon's bullshit slightly lighter, but not by much. The usual reparations for all damages caused, inflated to high hell of course, to be paid back before Mafia Land will touch any of their members or lend them logistical assistance ever again. They also got a ten year ban, for revealing information they shouldn't have on top of the invasion done on their behalf. Eleven total."
Skull folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the backyard railing between the patio area and that kitchen garden, which they still didn't have anyone to take care of it. "That kind of shitty, more for mom and those like her than the rest of them. Lisa still had connections there, or through there… she and the other non-vory that made a life there either previously or up to now got robbed more than the vory."
His point earned a somewhat tired wry smirk from his younger sister. "Yeah. But… well. Who cares? The vory are too focused on their immediate area or the jails they get sent to, not what goes on internationally. Gedeon cost them all their connections there, a whole lot of what Lisa managed as a freelance thief before going home with Arseniy, and any chance for the clan to have physical property there again. The prices these days… I can't afford it on my own. When the clan can get back to Mafia Land, the prices will be even higher."
"Dicks. Absolute, utter, assholes." He grumpily announced aloud, much to the amusement of his own sisters. "Any way you can think to spring mom from that sexist bullshit, Nya?"
Sonya, who successfully stole the clan to give their foster father, shook her head. "Mom doesn't want to leave. I won't do that to her. She knows perfectly well what kind of shit end of the stick she gets there, she's known since we were kids, but… Arseniy's there. Her baby boy lives there. Lisa will never be happy anywhere but where her lover and son are. With the Academy, and teaching Lady Fiorella, she has more than enough influence to mitigate a whole lot of the bullshit shoved at her."
Tatiana tossed her loose wild red curls over a shoulder, grinning slightly less now but still with that weird bubbly giddy she arrived here with. "So in the end, what's the damage? Not just what happened, what is the rest of the island going to be told?"
"The Zolotov clan lost all properties and responsibilities, the eleven-year ban means we won't see them there for a long while so they can't really defend themselves against or correct the rumors. With Gedeon's bullshit… I also suspect the whole 'the clansmen suddenly picked a new head mid-meeting' will turn into 'Mafia Land gutted the syndicate so badly that the leader either committed suicide or was mutinied against'. To make the stakes for repeating what they did too high for anything but the most stupid syndicates. If it 'happened' once, it might just happen again and all that."
Skull rolled his eyes, wholly unimpressed. That was his sister's work, thank you. "Tat-ti-ana… you want to tell me why you're here now? I've been a patient boy, Nya's here too, and apparently now you're not a Zolotov anymore?"
"…are you going to go back? Now it's Arseniy, not Gedeon, in the hot seat?" Sonya chipped in curiously, pulling herself more upright again to peer at their older sister.
Tatiana at least took their questions seriously this time, when the entire time she had been here without their younger sister was just a teasing 'wait for Nya' refusal.
"No." Eventually the nurse concluded sadly. "The Zolotovs got gutted of everything but their Moscow personnel and holdings, eleven years before they can go back to Mafia Land? I've… I've done my time, they're too small for me now. I could, but it'd make me miserable to stick it out for another decade spinning my wheels being the clan's most trained healer. Instead… well. We'll have to see, won't we?"
Not in the mood to tease out the Sun's mysterious secret alternative, he instead looked at Sonya pointedly. "And for those of us that don't go to a moving island in the middle of the oceans regularly? Do you know what's going on in Tats' life right now, Nya?"
"She propositioned Ganauche the Vongola Lightning Guardian. For marriage, defecting to Vongola, and whatever else he wants to try to convince her to do."
Skull's eyebrows flew up, moderately surprised… but then again, it was Tatiana. "So… more negotiations in your future, huh? Good luck."
"Ah… no. You're our older brother, and Arseniy can't weigh in on this right now." Sonya gave him a supremely smug little smirk around the stem of that pipe of hers. "There's more negotiations in our future. We three, because like fuck we're going to let Tatiana go into this shit from a position of disadvantage. Right, Skull?"
"Ganauche has a week left, so early next week we can expect some heavy courting efforts to show up on our doorstep." Tatiana beamed at the two of them wickedly, equally as smug and now with her nose pointed up in the air. "I'm still on vacation so I feel like sitting on my pert, sexy ass and being treated like a princess. Only let the really good offers reach me."
Both Clouds rolled their eyes at the exact same time, but Skull was damn sure what their older sister wanted would indeed be what they let happen. "Sure Tats."
(Monday the 15th of November, 1971. De Mort Castle, Moneglia, Province of Genoa, Liguria, Italian Republic.)
Given how limitedly Sonya had patience for bullshit, how badly Skull could hold a serious face when he was itching to mess with criminals that took themselves too seriously, and the fact Palaemon Arcaro was a fucking teenager even if he was the butler… Lal Mirch was the one that ended up answering the continual fucking ringing of the damn doorbell.
She didn't even fucking live here.
Normally.
Bjǫrn regarded her with limited, but there, sympathy when the door opened for the tenth time that morning by her instead of Arcaro or Ruslana. "Would you like me to-"
"All yours." She had better shit to do than answering the door.
Her doing it instead of the teenager startled and panicking at all the traffic they were getting today… rather firmly put her in the 'background' to all these 'high ranking' criminal types.
This circus also gave Lal a nice, up close and personal, view of Italian 'hot-shots' criminals. Maybe not to the specific region or groups that she wanted a good idea of to investigate came calling first thing Monday morning, but important ones that might say something interesting while they were distracted by whatever this shit was.
Vongola, the CEDEF, the Nardone, some fucks called Bertesca, a brand-new syndicate called Estraneo, and the Varia Assassination Squads. Everyone that might have any interest in Ganauche the Ninth Generation Vongola Lightning Guardian's serious Sun Flame using girlfriend/fiancée that was suddenly shopping for a new group had sent something over the weekend. Even if it was only a bouquet of flowers in 'token' efforts.
The Bovino Famiglia sent flowers, all the fucking flowers, as apparently a 'rival' old Lightning-producing criminal syndicate in the Vongola Alliance. Just to say they'd like to put in to have Tatiana and whatever children she might have later… but they knew the Nardone had a better claim being the possible future daddy's original syndicate.
Fucking. Creepy.
Likewise, the 'legacy Famiglias' of the current generations' Vongola Guardians also sent in little gifts of varying value and importance. If they didn't have a man present to maybe argue the case that Tatiana might want to join them.
The Visconti sent in some small charm bracelet bit of a pair of ballerina slippers in emeralds and yellow topaz with a note that made Tatiana laugh herself sick. A 'we would be interested but you'll be part of our exclusive group soon anyway. There's not a point to piss off Ganauche or your sister so we're opting out, have fun and welcome to the extended family' kind of note.
Schnitten Brabanters' old syndicate sent in a tastefully informed if creepy collection of surgeon's tools, all the steel polished to a mirror high gloss and the scalpels brand new. It was more a surgeon's field kit empty of all but the basic hardware, complete with a black leather-backed canvas carrying case and more than enough room and pockets to customize as the Sun might want to. Apparently the Pesca Famiglia were assassins… which made the unassuming looking Rain Guardian significantly creepier without visible cause.
Coyote Nougat's former syndicate, the Gospellas, sent in not a bunch of perishable flowers but an entire fucking jewelry set of antique jeweled flowers. Two pins, four sets of earrings, nine rings, three necklaces, and a fucking tiara.
The diamond tiara earned a sideways look by her Mafia Home Tutor when it was revealed. Which Lal would put money on being less greed and more recognition…
…but it was apparently part of the whole flowery set made by some old dead guy, so maybe it was something else she remembered it from than just the 'world trotting thief' bit.
It came with a note that made specifically clear the legacy Storm-producing syndicate was aware that thieves found less value in gaudy shit than others. That by gifting the antique set the expectation was they'd get invitations to the wedding and please have an open bar for it.
Just that. A 'hi, welcome to the family, have fun' plus 'we want booze for your eventual wedding'. Expressed in the contents of a jewelry box worth millions from an apparent syndicate of art smugglers to a freelance Sun almost-surgeon girlfriend of one of their old member's better friends.
Also a, tiny bit as the hastily scrawled postscript made clear, 'tweak your sister's nose for us, she's rude' set of antiques.
Tatiana set about tweaking Sonya's nose with a vengeance and totally inappropriate amounts of glee the moment she got through the note that arrived with the gift. Skull immediately abandoned his sisters to that wrestling match and went to go see what was for brunch instead, just in time to be caught flat footed to play host for the people that also showed up once it was an appropriate time to call on them.
Brow Nie's syndicate was here with the Nardone Don, the Bertesca a heavily producing Sun syndicate putting in the token effort just in case Tatiana didn't want to join a 'legacy Lightning' syndicate or Don Nardone fucked it up somehow. Also for just in case, they brought a half-n-half tea and coffee serving set in hammered silver to give too.
The Estraneo were another 'just here to smile and chip in' group, but the Don was here more for chatting up the Bertesca when they could get a word in.
Don Vulmaro Bertesca was a lot more interested in Cesare's cooking than he was in trying to get in Don Athos Nardone's way. The two elderly Dons chatted away like old familiar associates given two seconds to fill themselves whatever the younger and newer Don might want, saving Skull from having to mediate arguments or do more than provide embarrassing tidbits of Tatiana's childhood he knew of because he was a little asshole himself at heart.
The 'Master Assassin' Tyr kicked out the current head of the CEDEF upon his arrival, pointedly overriding the protests with a reminder that the Lightning Guardian had ordered him not to approach any of the de Mort/Zolotov influences without him there to prevent it going even more sour. The Head of the Varia Assassination Squads then tipped Lal Mirch her own nod, sketched a bow for the utterly charmed Tatiana, and admitted he was just here for coffee with Sonya and boost the profile of the nurse's recruitment effort.
Not that he didn't want a cutting-edge Sun surgeon in his Squads, he was just aware he had a hilariously inadequate bid in the pot. Regardless, if Tatiana so wished he would also be interested to speak on if she'd like a place with his group.
Only if she wished.
Otherwise, yes he would just like a cup of coffee please.
Lal Mirch didn't get six steps into the foyer of the castle when the brisk knocking happened again, and she glanced over a shoulder to see that Bjǫrn the Lackey had let Don Vongola and his men inside. With all six Guardians who were all now finally here, a mildly exasperated wife giving one of the men she couldn't tell apart a not happy eyeballing.
She rolled her eyes and went to go find her Tutor for the background unspoken details practically flying thickly overhead or under the apparent. Stepping firmly around Skull pointedly heading straight for Ganauche with intent, a clear enough intent the Vongola party shoved the Lightning Guardian forward to the mercy of Tatiana's younger brother.
"Ganauche! The Defective! I don't believe we've had the chance to chat just yet ourselves, right? Not recently, anyway. Not since you lost an eye…"
"…ah, ha… Skull de Mort. Fancy seeing you here." Tucking something in a fist safely away in a slack pocket of his suit, the cycloptic Lightning grimaced a polite expression at the stuntman. "Uh… I'm-"
"Since I'm currently standing in for the old man," Skull talked right on over the Mafioso pointedly and with unhealthy amounts of unfriendly glee himself, "for reasons you know full well… let's have a quick chat outside. Right? Yes? Excuse us, gentlemen… Lady Fiorella."
Lal didn't bother to look back as she scaled the staircase to find the sisters.
The recently replaced front door closed without a word interjected edgewise, she could easily guess.
(ooo000ooo)
(Monday the 15th of November, 1971 continued. De Mort Castle, Moneglia, Province of Genoa, Liguria, Italian Republic.)
"I can-"
"Palaemon. You are not a Rain, even if you come from a Rain-heavy famigila. We all know this. You can't instantly reset what pressure you feel at a moment's notice." Sonya ruthlessly interrupted pointedly. "These people are a hell of a lot more important to your social understanding than our own. If you're panicking, then panic out of the way. Stepping aside and letting Lal or Bjǫrn handle things when it's beyond you or you can't right now is alright. I understand this happening with inadequate warning is more than you can handle or were trained for right now. We expected the Vongola party, the rest of these bastards were unexpected."
Her butler wheezed a strained laugh around the arms he had wrapped around his chest and with his chin very nearly tucked into them too. "And you say that like 'the Vongola party' wasn't enough to cause panic."
…they were a bunch of idiotic assholes. They weren't worth it to panic about.
Looking around her own kitchen at the people tucked away in a much quieter corner of her castle netted her a whole lot of nothing.
Cesare didn't greatly care for anything outside his busy counter space right now. The assassin suddenly pulling a whole five-course meal for breakfast, lunch, and now dinner for so many people, plus more just in case, out of his ass alone was worth his weight in gold. She was going to ensure he knew she was grateful for him doing this on a coin drop.
Ruslana was sympathetic… but her housekeeper was up to her elbow in dishwater trying to keep up with the Mafioso chef's frantic cooking and the freeloaders eating all the food. She had already run out to the local stores three times and it wasn't even dinner time yet, buying whatever the chef deemed he required to pull off a minor miracle when he demanded it so she needed a bonus too.
Larion glanced between his 'master' and his mother, at her, one of the maids coming by to add yet more dishes to the load in need of being washed, then he rolled his eyes as he came over just to smack Palaemon upside the back of his head. "Calm, down. I've said so."
Their butler snorted into his own chest, waiting a full moment before unbending from his panic-knot as the loaned Tranquility blunted the edges of his overwhelming emotions. "…there's going to be a second round, Dama."
"Oh for fuck's sake."
"Initial and immediate response is from friends and family when someone… of note, goes up for grabs and lets it be known around. If nothing's decided today, depending on what answer Miss Primakova gives the Lightning Guardian Ganauche, then those who have the connections but not the blood relations will try Wednesday."
She thought about that suspiciously. "Then why is that fuck Estraneo here? I don't think he's related to anyone in that cesspit Tatiana's currently hip deep with."
"Don Estraneo was likely talking to Don Vulmaro Bertesca when he was told Ganauche's girlfriend was looking for a new syndicate, they both are head of… well, now known Sun lineages." Palaemon grimaced and gingerly rubbed at his own forehead. "If it was just Miss Primakova, the Alliance Famiglias that would be interested in having another Sun would be the only ones coming here to see how they might acquire her Flames for themselves. But… she's either about to be or is engaged to one of Don Vongola's Guardians. The pair of them, their kids, whatever your sister is up to, and a solid connection to a brand-new Cloud heavy syndicate?"
Sonya made a rude noise in her own defense. She didn't have a syndicate, thank you very much. "Fuck… what a mess. No one warned us this shit would happen if Tatiana did this crap."
The teenager shuffled in place sheepishly. "…ah, the way it was announced and Miss Primakova demanding to be courted 'by your best recruitment pitch'… actually yes. You technically did ask for this, Dama. Everyone interested is bringing their best recruitment pitches, the deadline was set for a week from now."
"…motherfucker." Her sister was a brat. A bratty, spoiled, bitchy, bouncy Sun about to be spoiled even more.
Yes, Tatiana deserved every bell and whistle. It could've come at a better time, but fuck.
Whatever. "What happens if she makes a decision today?"
"Nothing that will really stop, aside from the visitation. There's the engagement party that everyone will be expecting invitations to in order to congratulate the couple… done by the bride's family. We could put that off for a couple weeks, but not too much longer."
"Okay, fine. This is what we're going to do. You, call up Don Visconti or whomever it was that gave you advice on how to deal with me. Tell his butler or whoever that you need a more senior man able to deal with this on demand, because I surprised the fuck out of you with it and you have had no prep time. I'll talk to Maximillian about hiring catering for some of the meals tomorrow so we can restock, and temporary staff to help out the rest of the week. We'll see if Costa will agree to coordinate the engagement party, since he already did Galina and Peter's wedding. Cesare, are you still good for some days of this?"
The Mafioso scoffed arrogantly, not taking his attention away from whatever dish was forming up under his hands. "Of course, Lovely Bossy Dragoness. I'll do the entire week, and I'll do it flawlessly. Just watch me. Larion! Get to chopping already, boy. A whole onion diced, red and yellow bell peppers sliced, and the rest of the spinach chopped to bite sized."
The young Rain hopped to, wielding a chef's knife a hell of a lot better than the last time she saw him using one. Admittedly that was back when he attempted to kill her with a glass, homemade one.
"…ah… Dama… how would I pay back that kind of favor?"
"Half a million in euros, or something of equal value I can steal. Either or."
Palaemon gaped at her. "…what?"
"It's my reward for doing me a favor. I hate owing people favors."
"Right… right." He echoed himself weakly. "Half a million in euros… for a few days of assistance…"
Sonya gestured to the dinning hall right outside the kitchen. "If you want it, go deal with that yourself."
The teenager peered out the empty doorway, pulled back before Don Vongola or his wife could glance back at him for it, and gave her a wooden smile that was so obviously fake it was painful. "No. I'll go make that call now, Dama."
"Usov should finish reassimilating himself sometime tomorrow, and Anna will be awake here shortly. You're not alone in this, Palaemon. If you can't handle all this alone, go fucking get Galina to take the brunt of the attention for you."
He just nodded, sneaking right out the French doors to likely knock on Maximillian's office window instead of brave the public areas of the castle.
She sighed heavily, turning around to go deal with the 'social' necessities. She pressed two fingers to Cesare's right shoulder in thanks on her way, sharing a dry glance with her brother so he'd know she had more information on this outpouring of attention on Tatiana.
Skull gave her a perfectly wry if charming smirk from across their dining hall, tiling his head back to indicate to Don Nardone he wasn't ignoring the old man and he was still listening to him.
"Dinner will be another fifteen or so minutes." Sonya obligingly informed the Vongola Guardians and related personnel that hadn't stolen the woman all this attention was for. "Any specific requests and allergies should be given to my head chef… if you're brave enough."
Timoteo snorted into his glass of wine as she continued on to spread the same news around to the other groups, not reacting when Fiorella backhanded him in the gut in revenge.
(ooo000ooo)
(Monday the 15th of November, 1971 continued. De Mort Castle, Moneglia, Province of Genoa, Liguria, Italian Republic.)
"Ganauche, you silly man. This wasn't what I meant!"
The utterly unrepentant Mafioso and Tatiana's brand-new fiancé shrugged, mostly undressed and very distracting, cocking a wry little grin in her face as he made himself comfortable on the bed. "You said 'your best recruitment pitches', I'll ensure that happens. The best of the best. Options, babe."
She had to laugh, brush stuck halfway in her tangled long hair and strands tangled on her new shiny ring. It was either laugh more or get as exasperated as her siblings.
Sonya and Skull were being so sweet to let this go on in their home, with little warning or time to prepare since they hadn't understood what Tatiana kicked off… she loved her siblings. Her little sister did stick all the mostly unknown assholes on the second floor in her guest rooms, the Vongola personnel got the empty rooms on the third, and Skull offered his other guest room on the fifth for them to get away as far from the others as it was possible while still being in the same property.
Gripping the heft of her hair, the Sun finished straightening out and untangling the mass to braid for bed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered. I'm so beyond flattered, and charmed, and I really appreciate this… outpouring. Little weird, and by 'little' I totally mean really weird…"
"The guys are sending in their engagement presents early, because… it's not guaranteed we can at the exact right time. Depending on a whole lot of details and what we're going to be doing around that time it's formally announced. Also, just so you know, Croquant Bouche's engagement gift is still in the mail." Shrugging that off, as if what his fellow Guardians were doing wasn't expensive as hell or appreciated but totally over the top, the Lightning waggled his eyebrows at her raunchily. "But… yeah, we do need to talk about syndicates. Because, as much as I'm Vongola right now as Timoteo's Lightning Guardian… I'm as much a Nardone boy. When I retire, and not considering anything else that might happen in the future or you and your influences, I'd go back to being Nardone solely instead of Vongola."
Tatiana dipped her head down to get a better angle to braid from, humming as she quickly made short work of her hair. "Will what I pick affect you?"
"Totally. Like hell I'm leaving you on your own now you've agreed to get hitched, so where you go I'll go once Timoteo and his wife are… gone." Uncomfortably hunching up at even talking about his admittedly older than him Sky dying from old age, the Lightning Guardian rotated his wrist in the air dismissively. "I don't care where, babe. I'm more familiar with the Nardone and Vongola Famiglias, I know Brow Nie's legacy syndicate pretty well by this point, more offers are on the horizon if you don't like any of them, but I don't care what you pick for yourself. Shop around, find what you like or would help your aims the most while you have the chance. I can't exactly get out of Vongola right now so no matter what we'll be half Vongola for now anyway."
Tying off the red strands in a bunch with a hair tie so how much her hair unwound would be limited, she turned fully around in the tiny included personal bathroom in Skull's guest rooms. "Okay, so. Starting from the top. I've had both the head of the CEDEF and Master Tyr come by, one bodily throwing out the other and everything. Is Vongola on the table too?"
"Yep, but I'm responsible for advocating for a place in Vongola's main Famiglia. Timoteo's perfectly aware you and your siblings don't think much of them, and therefore his offer won't be as highly regarded, but it's there too if you want it." Quick, but not quick enough for her to miss her man making a specific metal note about the CEDEF guy being here without permission. His remaining eye wasn't exactly on her for a moment, that was all she needed to know it. "As for the Varia and the CEDEF… well, it's up to you babe. I'd advise against the CEDEF, a spy is not what you want in charge of other spies. Right now, they're a little too fast and loose with their agents and assets so long as the ends meet what they 'need' to do. Please, don't go with them."
"Sure, babe. You are better informed than me in this, I can agree the CEDEF won't be a good fit." Shrugging that off easily, and because it made him look so relieved and that made her feel good, the Sun bounced out of the bathroom to join him on the bed. "Master Tyr really just came for coffee with Nya, he said he wouldn't mind my joining him but he's aware he had an 'inadequate bid' for me. Don't think I want to be an assassin, or the one responsible for patching up assassins. So we can easily strike the Varia off the table."
Ganauche gave her a silly, slightly infatuated, raunchy grin as she perched on the bed next to him. "So… can I set about 'convincing' you for or against Vongola now?"
"Save that for ten minutes, I kind of need the background information on these 'legacy' syndicates of you Italians."
"Instead of 'stealing' people from other Famiglias to become Guardians, Vongola, the Giglio Nero, and the Cavallone Skies 'borrows' them for the lifetime of the Sky in question if they have a Famiglia. Croquant's not from one, the only one out of our Generation. All it means is he'll be freelance with high-placed friends when he retires, and he could be recruited then. During the time we're Guardians, we're technically part of our Sky's Famiglia more than representatives from our originating one. A 'legacy' Famiglia means they've produced a Guardian and have one currently in service to a Sky. We give the legacy Famiglia a straight and solid pipeline to and from said Sky we serve, which makes it a title of note in the Alliance and Italia."
Tatiana pondered that, noting and appreciating her fiancé was allowing her all the time without expecting her to remain on his attention span and speed of thought no matter what occurred to him in the pauses.
"The Visconti Famiglia's been a 'legacy' Famiglia since nearly the start of the Vongola Famiglia. Alaudi, the First Cloud Guardian, wasn't Visconti… but Secondo had a Visconti Cloud for a Guardian." He rambled on about how and where certain syndicates got or lost the 'legacy' title, which was all historical and pointedly not anything about the current generations' spread of influences.
A hand placed on his forearm got him to shut up about dusty history her sister would appreciate more. "Ganauche, babe? Two seconds. Does the Flame they're known for matter at all? Do I, or rather should I, pick a syndicate with a 'legacy Sun' reputation over another just for that?"
"That doesn't matter a damn bit. That just means that Famiglia produced a Sun strong enough to be a Guardian for this generations' Skies, not that they're all Suns. It won't mean they'd instinctually know the quirks of your Flame in and out without issue ever. They got an early heads up there's a powerful and smart Sun looking for a new group, a Sun aiming to become a surgeon and a full doctor and about already there, because they're legacy. Not because you'd fit best with them."
Tapping her lower lip with her fingertips thoughtfully, which made the glittery green emerald of her engagement ring flash distractingly, Tatiana tilted her head to the side curiously. "So… where do you want to retire?"
"Ha… no, babe. We'll be able to retire wherever the fuck we want to retire to, so long as we're not wanted for known crimes in whatever place. That shouldn't be a consideration for what you want here and now."
"I'm torn between waiting a few more days to see what else might be available and picking immediately to derail the circus entirely." A sheepish grin slipped out at his utterly smug smirk. "Nya and Skull will put up with it because they love me and are entirely overprotective in their own ways, but they'll never shut up about how much a hassle it'll all be for the rest of our lives. Even if it goes smoothly from this point on. I… probably need to wait to see the whole spread, right?"
Ganauche merely shrugged his barred shoulders again, relaxing back against the piled pillows she loved he asked Ruslana for. Just for her to cuddle with if she wanted something softer than him tonight. "I'd be polite, sure. Your siblings are Clouds, no one will raise an eyebrow if they're getting fed up and you call it all off suddenly to spare their nerves. Or change the venue. You can declare a restaurant or café you can be 'courted' at rather than Death Castle itself instead. They'll all accommodate you, just to not suddenly come face-to-face with an annoyed, highly destructive Clouds in their own territory and keep me, therefore Timoteo, from becoming annoyed with them on top of that."
"We should 'shove off' a little." Decided the Sun with a light laugh, leaning back on an arm as she imagined what would happen if someone 'accidentally' insulted Skull to the point Sonya would go after their fingerbones suddenly and without warning. "At least a little. Would Tyr mind if we move this circus to his backyard? It'll be far enough out of the way Nya will be less pissy about all the unknowns convening on her home, and far enough Skull won't internalize her irritation and be an absolute asshole to encourage ill-thought-out reactions to him and otherwise run people off to protect 'his' place."
"Master Tyr won't mind. We'll have to 'adjust' the security arrangement a little if your little sister won't be the ultimate security oversight on everything that could happen…"
"You, and the Vongola party, are welcome to remain here for the entire time I've got left to decide." Tatiana conveyed, because she had asked her little sister and Sonya did agree to allow it when she asked about distancing her unintentional recruiting party a little. "It might just take until Friday for me to decide, because reputation is all well and good… I'd rather be recruited because I'm wanted, not the reputation I've got or will earn in the future."
"Sounds good to me, babe. Now… can I put forth the 'can we please fully join Vongola' argument for your consideration?"