Title: Jester's origin
Prompt: whatever you want to write.
Thanks for the prompt, Super Wench!
...
Jeslyn Terah Salvatore came into the world the same day her mother left it. Her father, Luciano Salvatore, became a widow and a single father in the same moment, grieving on what should have been a day of joy. When he saw his daughter in the hospital's nursery, smaller than the other babies due to the birthing complications that took his beloved Victoria, Luciano vowed to protect Jeslyn with all of his power.
He would keep her safe, ensure her happiness, and love her enough for two parents, even though she only had one now. The vow he made was one that widowed parents often make for their children, and he wasn't the first nor the last to make such a vow.
The only difference between those parents and Jeslyn's father was that Luciano was the head of the Maxville Mafia.
...
Three years later
"You stole from me, Chuck."
"N-no. No! I swear, I d-d-didn't!"
Jeslyn walked into the room, a pout on her face, and a toy phone in her hands. Her head tilted curiously, she watched as her Uncle Paolo whacked Chuck's knees with a metal baseball bat, then continued over to her father and tugged on Luciano's pants impatiently.
"You know you're not meant to be in here when Papa's working, patatina." (Little potato, Italian term of endearment.)
"But you said you'd play, Papa!" Jeslyn said, her eyes widening and lower lip trembling.
Luciano winced at his daughter's expression. Usually he'd only get one - puppy dog eyes or a wobbly lip - and to get both meant he'd really screwed up this time. "All right, patatina. Let's go play."
Jeslyn immediately brightened, a broad smile on her face, and she held up the phone receiver. "It's for you, Papa," she said firmly.
Luciano took the sticky handle and held it as close to his ear as he dared, smiling gently when Jeslyn started pretending to be the one calling him, and telling him all about her day and the tea party she'd hosted for all five hundred of her stuffed animals. Luciano had actually lost count of how many stuffed toys Jeslyn owned, so while he was almost sure that she was exaggerating about there being five hundred guests at her tea party, she honestly could have been telling the truth.
Despite his pain, Chuck groaned or possibly laughed. Luciano raised his chin at Paolo, his brother and consigliere. Paolo immediately turned and booted Chuck in the stomach.
"I want my... stuff, Chuck," Luciano said as firmly and dangerously as he could while holding a sticky toy phone and a toddler right next to him.
"I'll... I'll get it," Chuck wheezed.
"Good to hear. You have three hours. Paolo, get Rocco or his crew to go with him and make sure Chuck brings back every single thing he stole," Luciano said firmly, knowing the caporegime would have no trouble keeping wiry little Chuck in line.
Paolo nodded. "Sure thing, Luc." He grinned at Jeslyn, then frowned suddenly, stepping forward and reaching behind her ear. "You've been hiding money in your hair again, picola," he tutted. (Little one, Italian term of endearment.)
"Is that a Benjamin?" Luciano muttered, finally handing the phone back to his daughter, though - like her father - she was more interested in the money.
"Grant, don't worry, Luc. Two Grants, really; I can't let my niece go hungry," Paolo said with a grin.
"I ate crostata!" Jeslyn announced proudly.
The jam tart she was fond of explained the sticky phone, Luciano mused.
"Did you, now? Did you leave some for your favourite Uncle?" Paolo asked.
Jeslyn immediately looked around. "Did Uncle Domenico leave hospital?"
Luciano bit back a laugh at Paolo's betrayed expression, and picked his daughter up, holding her against his hip and leaving Paolo and Chuck behind them. "No, patatina, Domenico is still in the hospital. The Commander made sure he'd be there for a while. About five to ten years."
It wasn't entirely a lie, since Domenico really would be away for a few years, but he definitely wasn't in the hospital. Well, not anymore. The Commander had punched Domenico through a wall, and considering Dom was a citizen, the wall had won that round despite the hole he'd put in it. Dom had been in intensive care for weeks, handcuffed to the bed the whole time with cops outside his door 24/7 and no visitors allowed. They wouldn't even let Jeslyn visit him, the bastards.
Jeslyn sniffled, wiped her nose on her hand, then counted aloud, sticking each finger out. "Five, twelve, forty, ten, five... I'll be thirty-seven?" she asked, sounding appropriately horrified for a three-year old.
"We'll get you started on maths tomorrow, hey? You'll be eight, patatina. Or thirteen, depending on Dom's behaviour."
Jeslyn sniffled again, this time for longer and with sadness. "Thirteen's old!"
"Hmm, it is. What am I, then?"
Jeslyn frowned. "How old are you, Papa?"
Luciano had to stop walking to think of the number for himself, and wrinkled his nose, making Jeslyn giggle. "Your Papa is twenty-eight, patatina. What do you think of that, hmm?"
She was quiet for a few minutes as Luciano continued to carry her through their sprawling mansion, then declared, "You're a dinosaur, Papa."
Surprised by her response, Luciano grinned. "Si, a big one! A T-rex who will eat you up," he added, smacking kisses on her until Jeslyn's laughter filled the mansion around them.
"Papa! Eat crostata, not me!"
"If I must," he said with a dramatic sigh, Jeslyn giggling then kissing his cheek with a loud and sticky smack. "I love you, patatina."
"I know, Papa. You say it all the time," Jeslyn said, rolling her eyes and looking so like his own mother that Luciano couldn't help but laugh.
If Jeslyn grew up to be anything like the woman his mother had been, the world would bow before her whether it wanted to or not.
"I'll say it at least once more," he promised, kissing the crown of her head gently before settling Jeslyn on the floor of her nursery where possibly five hundred stuffed animals waited for more tea and tart.
...
Six years later...
"Uncle Dom!" Jeslyn called eagerly, running out to greet Domenico and hug him tightly.
Dom picked Jeslyn up easily, hugging her back gently for a man of his size. Clearly, his time in prison had resulted in his muscles getting muscles, and Luciano wondered if his brother (and underboss) could lift Jeslyn up with one hand. Maybe even his pinkie. Dom wasn't super-strong like the Commander, but he was at the limits of what a citizen's strength could be. It was likely the reason why the Commander had punched him through the wall in the first place: he'd probably thought Dom was a super and could heal without needing multiple life-saving surgeries.
"Luc, good to see you."
"You too, Dom. Come inside, we'll eat and talk, hey?"
"And drink?" Dom asked with a wry grin.
"You need to ask?" Luc asked, laughing. "Come inside. Patatina, get ready for school. Ricardo will drive you, okay?"
Jeslyn seemed to be contemplating whether to use her puppy dog eyes or wobbly lip on him so she could have the day off and spend it with her favourite Uncle. Before she could, Dom bounced her gently and winked. "Go on, bella. I'll pick you up from school with Ricardo today, hey?"
"Promise?" Jeslyn asked, shrewd and putting out her pinkie finger with all the seriousness of making a contract between them and the Westville Mafia.
Dom grinned and curved his pinkie around hers. "Pinkie swear, bella."
Jeslyn squirmed in his hold to get to the ground and ran inside as fast as Luciano had ever seen her, especially to go to school. Jeslyn liked school - she had her own little syndicate going there, according to the teachers who didn't actually call it that out loud, but Luc knew what they meant - and her grades were good, especially with the likes of Paolo tutoring her, but a day off school was a day off school and Luciano knew no child would turn that down.
Honestly, the school was lucky Jeslyn turned up at all with the way she could manipulate Luc, not to mention most of his men. She might not know exactly what the Mafia was, but she knew she was at the top of the food chain and used it to her advantage. Of course, Luc expected nothing less from his daughter and was proud of everything she did, even if it made some of the soldiers turn into absolute morons.
"She's grown so much," Dom murmured, as if he couldn't quite comprehend it.
Luc nodded. "Yeah, and she has an attitude to match."
Dom snorted at the obvious pride in Luciano's voice and words. "Just like you, hey?"
"Just like her mother. Or ours," Luc added, Dom wincing at the thought.
"All three of you rolled into one bella? Supers should be shaking in their spandex."
"One day. Now, I promised you food and drink. Paolo will want to talk your ears off later."
"He replaced me?" Dom asked curiously as he followed his brother inside, adjusting his shirt and the bag on his shoulder.
"No, never. You cannot be replaced, Dom, you know that. But your job... it had to be done by someone, and the capos weren't ready. Paolo and I shared it between us, and we are both glad to see you free for more than one reason," Luciano admitted, clapping his brother on the back with a laugh.
Domenico grinned back at him. "You were an underboss once."
"Too long ago, and not a position I want to return to. It is yours until I die," Luc promised.
Dom nodded. "Yes, I know."
...
Luciano was in the process of watching his brother get plastered on good food and better wine, amused at Dom's stories of his time in prison. Some were grossly exaggerated, as was Dom's way when food and wine mixed, while others were likely to be sugar coated to ensure Dom was always seen as the top dog, and whatever remained didn't matter during the light of his first free day. Dom was in the middle of one of his stories when Luciano's phone rang on the table between them, the caller ID displaying Jeslyn's school. The thought of Jeslyn being sick or hurt or even in trouble made Luc's mouth go dry and his blood run cold. Luciano answered the phone feeling as sober as the day he'd been born, as if he'd never had a drop of wine pass his lips in his life.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Salvatore, this is Principal Saunders from Maxville Grammar. Are you available to come to the school? Jeslyn - "
"Is she all right?" Luc asked, his desperation so evident in his voice that even while drunk, Domenico looked at him in concern.
"She's fine. Aston Bishop, however, is not. She used a broom to whack his knees, and his parents may press charges. They are on their way, I suggest you do the same."
Luc frowned. He didn't recognise the name. He was sure he knew all of Jeslyn's friends and other classmates. If not from her daily and lengthy descriptions of them, then from the reports provided by his men who checked the staff and students that Jeslyn regularly interacted with to ensure there were no potential threats. He wrote the name down on a piece of paper to follow up on the way to the school. "I'll be there right away."
He hung up before Principal Saunders could reply and called Paolo, standing up and waving for Dom to stay seated. Dom didn't protest, probably because he couldn't stand anyway.
"I thought you'd call later. Is Dom sober enough to deal with me, Luc?" Paolo asked jovially over the phone, clearly not knowing what had happened.
"No. Jeslyn's in trouble at the school. Come look after Dom while I go deal with it," Luc said, turning to slide a picture frame to reveal his safe.
"Trouble? What happened?"
"Not sure, but she whacked a kid's knees with a broom for it."
Paolo was clearly stunned at his response. "Ah, should I add the proper way to kneecap to her tutoring?"
Luc paused, his hand hovering over a small bundle of cash - should he take five thousand or ten thousand? Ten should be enough to make this whole thing go away if words or thinly-veiled threats couldn't - then grinned. "Yes. Maybe tell her how we deal with that so I don't get this call again?"
"Delegation tactics, done. I think she's teaching me manipulation later," Paolo muttered; she'd wheedled him out of his last biscotti just the day before and they'd been his favourite chocolate-dipped ones, too.
Luc snorted. "Just get up here to look after Dom, hey?"
"I'll call the car round for you on my way."
"Thanks," Luc said, ending the call. "I'll be back later, Dom. You keep eating and drinking, hey?"
Dom saluted with his wine glass and took a large bite of pizza in response. Luc stuffed the cash into an envelope, closed his safe and returned the painting to its proper position, then made his way out of the office to go to Jeslyn's school and deal with this.
...
Jeslyn scowled at the backseat as fiercely as a nine-year old could, which was pretty damn fierce where Jeslyn was concerned. If she had superpowers, she'd have laser eyes and the seat would be destroyed. Squinting and glaring harder, she wondered if she did have superpowers and they just hadn't turned up yet. Stupid Aston had got powers last week and he thought he was so cool and could do anything he wanted just because he had stupid superpowers and others didn't. He'd only been at their school for six days!
"Jeslyn, are you listening to me?"
Papa using her name meant she was probably in trouble and she stopped trying to destroy the seat with her eyes (or mind) and looked over to him. "I am now, Papa."
"Hmm. So, Aston has powers and used them to steal your pencils?"
"He always has Roseart pencils and you buy me the Faber Castell ones! My purple pencil was missing after lunch and Aston was drawing a unicorn with my purple Faber Castell pencil! He said he found it in the teacher's pencil box but I had the pencil before lunch! He stole it off my table when Miss Shah wasn't looking!"
Luciano knew how Jeslyn could get about her art supplies - he'd seen her delay food just to ensure her pencils were back in the metal container with each one in its own little section and in rainbow order, of course - and wasn't doubting his daughter in this at all. Unlike her uncle, Jeslyn would tell the truth even if it made her look bad. Thankfully, she knew the difference between telling a lie and keeping a secret, and both the Super Bureau and police regretted attempting to use his daughter to testify against him. Jeslyn had run circles around them, even while handcuffed and hooked up to a polygraph, which Luc's lawyers were still making sure those bastards regretted.
Jeslyn sniffled, pulling Luc from his thoughts, and he squeezed her hand. "I believe you, patatina," he said, as warm and firm as his grip, and he could see the relief on Jeslyn's face instantly because Principal Saunders certainly hadn't believed her. "I was saying that you shouldn't have gotten caught. There were lots of ways you could have dealt with this situation, hey?"
Jeslyn's face fell into an adorable pout. "Miss Shah says violence isn't the answer."
Luc snorted. "Yes, well, that all depends on the question, doesn't it, patatina?" he asked, winking when she grinned. "But in this case, violence cost me money. Paolo will start you on new lessons today so you can work out some other ways to deal with this - "
"But I know, Papa! I could've asked nicely or stolen it back or... or, uh... put pins on his seat?"
Luc snorted. "Ah, is Paolo teaching you already?"
Jeslyn frowned up at him, a picture of pure innocence and confusion. The latter wouldn't last long once they got home and she started asking Paolo what he'd meant, and while Luc could wish for his darling daughter to grow up innocent, he knew all too well what the world was like. Neither innocents nor innocence lasted long in Maxville.
"How about we stop for ice cream on the way home, hey?"
Jeslyn's frown deepened. "But I hit someone."
"Yes, but he stole your pencil. You used violence but it was justified, no?"
Luc could practically see her tasting and trying the word out in her mouth and mind. Justification trumped justice in the real world, not to mention in his own mind and beliefs, and it would be better for Jeslyn to come to the truth on her own terms rather than forced into them by the world around them.
"Okay. Ice cream, thank you, Papa!" Jeslyn said eagerly. "Can we play cards when we get home?"
"Ice cream and cards for hitting someone and getting caught?" Luc asked, raising an eyebrow.
Realising it would be one or the other and not even a wobbly lip would get her both, Jeslyn sighed dramatically. "Okay, just cards then."
Luc wondered if Jeslyn was sick and if he should take her -
"We have gelato at home," she added.
Ah, she was fine.
"You win at cards, you can have two scoops of gelato."
Jeslyn's eyes widened at Luc's offer and she held out her hand, pinkie extended. "Promise?"
"Pinkie promise, patatina. But first, your lessons with Paolo. We'll play after dinner," Luc said.
"Can Uncle Dom play cards with us?" Jeslyn asked.
"If he's awake then, you can ask," Luc said with a grin, wondering if Dom was even sober by this point.
Jeslyn nodded firmly, obviously determined to play cards with both of them, and even more importantly, win.
...
Chuck glared at the world from his position on a barstool. At least, he attempted to glare, but the shiner on his eye made it difficult. Ever since being demoted six years ago, he'd been treated by the rest of the Maxville Mafia like he was worth less than the dirt on their shoes. Even the associates got more respect than he did and they weren't even really in the Mafia. Fucking bastards, all he'd wanted was what he was owed, and if anyone else had done that, they probably would've been rewarded for their initiative or brass balls or whatever. Chuck, on the other hand, was beaten every other week and treated like shit by everyone. He couldn't even get a drink in the usual Mafia bar without being glared at, which is why he'd come to this shithole. He was sick of it and determined to get revenge on them all.
Chuck's plans of revenge and his glare were interrupted by someone sitting on the stool next to him, effectively blocking his good eye from the view outside.
"Rough day?" the man in a black suit asked.
His words were curious but his tone was indifferent, and it was that indifference that had Chuck replying honestly. If someone didn't care about the answer, then they weren't listening and wouldn't be able to repeat what he said. "More like a rough year. Being in the Mafia ain't like the movies, y'know."
The man in the black suit would have smiled if he could. "Really? Why's that?" he asked, indicating to the bartender for service.
"What can I get ya?"
"Two more of what he's having," he said, nodding to Chuck's almost empty glass, already surrounded by four empty ones.
As the bartender poured two glasses of beer, Chuck poured out his heart and soul.
...
Jeslyn glared at the back of Aston's head, schooling her expression when Miss Shah looked her way. Uncle Paolo had been teaching her how to deal with thieves like Aston and had promised she could get revenge after she had proper evidence that everyone would believe, not just her family. Jeslyn had come up with a plan all on her own, and she was going to implement it today and catch Aston red-handed.
In fact, with only five minutes left before recess, Jeslyn needed to start on her plan right now. As soon as Miss Shah returned her attention to the whiteboard, Jeslyn got to work. She had borrowed some of her Papa's industrial glue that morning and carefully applied a thin layer to her pencils. She didn't want to ruin them entirely, of course; she just wanted to make sure that whoever grabbed them would regret it and she'd get her evidence.
The bell for recess rang and Miss Shah soon lost the attention of her class, not to mention control of them. The classroom was empty in what felt like a second, and she watched as the last of the children left before she followed after them for her own break. Closing the door, Miss Shah saw that Jeslyn had been so excited to get outside for recess that she'd left her pencils on her desk, the metal tin wide open. Deciding to leave them where they were, Miss Shah locked the classroom door to keep the pencils safe.
"Did you do it?" Eddie, Jeslyn's best friend, asked around a mouthful of pastry.
"'Course I did. Tell Shirley to watch the classroom, okay?"
Eddie nodded firmly and hurried off to do his task.
Jeslyn bit into her apple, watching the playground like a Queen surveying her kingdom. Aston was on the roundabout with a small crowd around him, eager for the boy's attention and admiration now that he had a superpower. Jeslyn rolled her eyes at their behaviour; before finding out his powers last week, Aston had been the unpopular kid in class and no one wanted to be his friend. She'd taken him under her wing, and he had betrayed her by stealing her pencil.
Forcing herself to continue surveying the playground instead of trying to glare holes into his head again, Jeslyn saw Eddie talking to Shirley at the swings a moment before Shirley hurried back towards the building. Shirley had enough allergies that she could get away with being inside when they were meant to stay outside during recess, and so long as her eyes weren't watering, she'd see whoever got into the classroom to steal Jeslyn's pencils if her original plan failed.
In a shady corner on his own and away from the crowd, Matt was making his way across the monkey bars, as easy as if he really was a monkey. As Jeslyn watched, she saw his arm stretch beyond one or two rungs to reach four bars away instead, which definitely wasn't possible even if he'd swung and leapt. He dropped to the ground, landing on his feet, and looked around the playground to see if anyone had noticed. By the time his gaze reached Jeslyn, Matt was almost certain he hadn't been seen. Jeslyn grinned at him broadly, letting him know that she had seen and wouldn't be saying anything (Grace had seen Aston split into two Aston's, and immediately started yelling about it; she couldn't keep a secret to save her life), then returned her attention to her apple. Matt practically ran off the playground, his face pale, and Jeslyn wondered if she could blackmail him later without proper evidence. Uncle Paolo taught her so many interesting things, though he always seemed to mutter about how it could all be undone with a wobbly lip and big eyes.
Finishing her apple, Jeslyn looked at Olivia, who was still making her way through her lunchables. "Look after Eddie's food and don't eat it, okay?"
Her cheeks bulging and freckles on display, Olivia nodded in response.
Heading over to the swings, Jeslyn waited until Eddie slowed to a stop. "Can you see anything in the classroom?"
"No, the sun's too bright."
"All right, let me try. Go finish your food; Olivia's watching it," Jeslyn said, sitting on the swing once Eddie hopped off and hurried over to his food.
Disappointed to find out that Eddie was right with the glare from the sun blocking her view into the classroom, Jeslyn stayed on the swings, swinging hard and flinging herself forward to see how far she could land. Skidding to a stop, she looked behind to see the swings far behind her and two small ditches where her feet ended. Not bad.
"That was awesome, Jeslyn! I can't get that far; how'd you do it?" Olivia asked eagerly.
"I dunno, I just did... Is that Shirley? What's she doing outside?!"
"Miss Shah said she had to go outside again; she checked the pollen count."
Jeslyn let out a huff of breath at both of her backup plans being thwarted. Stupid sun and stupid pollen count. Clearly, she'd have to check it out for herself.
"Why don't you go on the swings, Olivia?"
"You're giving up the swing?"
"Yeah, I'm thirsty. I'll be right back," Jeslyn said with a distracted smile, already heading towards the classrooms.
"Oh. Okay," Olivia said, disappointed at her friend's departure for a second time.
Jeslyn slipped her shoes off, creeping silently through the school building to get to Miss Shah's classroom and check on the state of her pencils. She had to pass the teacher's lounge to get there, which is probably where Shirley had been caught, but Jeslyn knew how to be sneaky and quiet. She'd even snuck up on her Papa without him or Uncle Paolo noticing before, so she knew she was good at it.
At the doorway to the teacher's lounge, Jeslyn waited a moment to listen for footsteps, and was surprised to hear the television on. Miss Shah said too much TV was bad for you, so why were the teachers allowed to watch it at school?
" - just in, the Super Bureau have conducted a raid on a house in Maxville. An anonymous source worked with the Super Bureau to reveal the inner workings of the Salvatore empire, and... Oh, and it looks like we're live outside the Salvatore residence where the Commander and Jetstream are being interviewed by our reporter on the scene."
Jeslyn's curiosity got the better of her - her surname was Salvatore and she lived in Maxville, after all, so she couldn't help but be curious - and she stayed put, listening to the news rather than continuing on to find out the fate of her pencils.
"We've been working with the Super Bureau to bring this drug lord down. Drugs are, uh, bad and citizens shouldn't take them or... or be sold them," the Commander said.
Jetstream stepped up with a smile and hands on her hips. "We have been working with the Super Bureau to take down Luciano Salvatore, the infamous drug lord who has been polluting our fine city and Maxville's citizens with these toxic chemicals. Remember: citizens can be super by not doing drugs."
On hearing her Papa's name, Jeslyn didn't care who saw or caught her, and turned into the doorway so she could see what was going on properly. Was her Papa in trouble? Where were Uncle Paolo and Uncle Dom?!
There was a commotion on the screen behind the Commander and Jetstream, and Jeslyn saw her Papa being hauled between two men in black suits. He was struggling but losing, and Uncle Paolo was already cuffed and in a car, while her Uncle Domenico was being carried out by four men and cursing to the point the dialogue all became a series of beeps. Jeslyn could imagine what he was saying - he swore badly when he lost at cards, after all - but as he slipped into Italian and the news studio weren't sure whether to beep his words out anymore, she didn't have to imagine anymore. Uncle Dom was insulting Jetstream, the Commander, their parents, and the Commander's mother in particular. She almost giggled and gave herself away but stayed silent and kept watching, hoping her Papa and Uncles would escape.
The Commander had taken Spanish in high school and vaguely remembered the insults he'd learnt far more eagerly than the verbs and other boring stuff. Unfortunately, the insults he had learnt were close enough to the ones Domenico was hurling at him and Jetstream. The Commander's eyes narrowed when he realised what Domenico was saying about his mother, and stepped forward to pick the man up by the scruff of his shirt. Domenico was still too drunk to care or remember what had happened the last time the Commander had held him up aloft like this, and spat in his face.
Jeslyn stared at the sight of her muscle-bound Uncle being held up as easily as a feather, her eyes widening as he was thrown through the air and her poor Uncle Dom crashed into their house, large bricks falling on top of him.
Luciano cried out for his brother, hoping he was still alive even though he knew Dom wouldn't be lucky enough to survive the Commander a second time. Silence met his cries and when he couldn't get out of the suits' hold on him to check on Dom, he turned on the Commander to pick up his brother's tirade, insulting the superhuman gorilla.
The Commander was turning an ugly shade of red, just as red as her father's face, and as red as the blood starting to seep out from under the bricks where her Uncle Dom had been thrown. Before Jeslyn could cry or beg or even pretend to pray, the Commander punched her father for his insults. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his cheek became a crater, and his neck broke as his face was forced into an unnatural position by superhuman force.
Jeslyn heard someone screaming, and it wasn't until Miss Shah's face came into view that she realised she was the one making that awful noise. She couldn't stop. Her screams were louder than the bell and brought the rest of the school running. Jeslyn didn't even care that Aston's double had her pencils glued to his hand.
She needed to be sedated and taken to the hospital, and Jeslyn stayed there for the rest of the week, staring blankly at the TV that seemed to be showing the Commander's trial for her father's murder on repeat. Jeslyn didn't eat or talk. She ignored the police officers and the Super Bureau agents and the social care workers and the nurses and doctors. Every single person who came into her hospital room received the same blank stare and silent treatment.
The day of the trial's verdict, Jeslyn received yet another visitor: Hourglass. She received a blank stare and silent treatment, too, but it didn't seem to bother Hourglass like it did the others. She simply waited while they both waited and watched the TV for the verdict of the Commander's trial.
Her father and Uncle's lives were worth 150 hours of community service.
"Community service," Hourglass echoed the news anchor.
The news anchor had seemed happy with the verdict, Hourglass sounded scornful, but Jeslyn broke.
Why did her Papa and Uncle have to die just because they had bad jobs? They were nice people, they laughed, they ate and drank and they loved her, they were there for her, and even if her Papa had been busy, he'd always stop what he was doing if she'd wanted attention.
Hourglass waited while Jeslyn sobbed. She didn't offer words of comfort or pity, and later, Jeslyn would appreciate that. For now, she cried every single tear she could produce, and when she couldn't cry anymore, she gasped shuddering breaths that shook her whole body, every part of her grieving until she'd exhausted herself into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When Jeslyn woke up, she found a deck of playing cards and a postcard on her side table. The playing cards were an odd deck she hadn't seen before. She'd seen the usual red and black suits, the Italian cards with colourful swords, cups, coins, and batons, but this set had green spades, blue hearts, red diamonds, and black clubs. The joker cards were far more intricate than what she was used to, too. They looked more like tarot cards than anything else, and she eventually set them aside to look at the postcard instead.
The front of the postcard was generic with a beach and sunset and wish you were here! written in a cheery font. The back didn't even have a message, but it did include an address for a place in Westville. More importantly, the address was written in her Uncle Paolo's handwriting.
For the rest of the day, Jeslyn watched the TV again. She ignored the trial's verdict and instead focused on the channels that showed the so-called "fight" between her father, uncle, and the Commander. Uncle Domenico was thrown through the air, her Papa's face was turned into a human crater, and in the background, her Uncle Paolo had disappeared from the car that he'd been locked in only moments ago.
None of the news stories mentioned her Uncle Paolo or his fate and certainly hadn't mentioned the fact that he'd escaped, Jeslyn realised. Like the rest of the world, she'd been so focused on her Uncle Dom and Papa that she'd actually forgotten about her Uncle Paolo.
Memorising the address on the postcard, Jeslyn tore it up into tiny pieces and flushed it down the toilet. Despite the weird coloured suits and odd jokers, she decided to keep the playing cards.
Planning her escape didn't take long since there was a set routine to the hospital, nurses, and doctors. Emergencies could set those routines back, of course, but the very next day, Jeslyn changed into a spare set of clothes one of the social workers had brought, and walked out of the hospital after lunch (she didn't know how long it would be until she ate again, and even hospital food was better than nothing at all).
Jeslyn made her way to Westville carefully, trying not to make it seem like she was an orphaned and homeless child with no money, even if it was the truth. She walked in crowds to make herself look like she was with this adult or that teenager, following one person or another until the crowd thinned and she could get as far as possible without drawing attention to herself, nine years old and alone. She shivered as the wind tunnel between Maxville and Westville on 100th Street tore through her thin shirt and jeans, ducking into Westville to protect herself from the wind more than anything else.
After hours of walking, getting lost twice, running from a creep in the park when she'd tried to find a map, and hiding in a shop until Security noticed her, Jeslyn eventually found herself in front of the address from the postcard. She didn't even have to knock as the door opened and her Uncle Paolo was standing there, alive and safe. Jeslyn's legs moved before she truly registered it, then she was hugging Paolo tightly and sobbing against his legs.
"It is so good to see you, picola," Paolo murmured, lifting her into his arms and hugging her as though he was as distraught as she felt.
She hadn't just lost her Papa and Uncle; Uncle Paolo had lost two brothers, too.
Paolo pulled away from their hug and carried her inside before they could bring attention to themselves. "I'm sorry, picola. I should have stayed; I should have fought back. I... I could have done something, something more than run away," he said, guilt and anger in his expression and words.
Jeslyn immediately shook her head. "No! Uncle Paolo, you couldn't! The Commander would have killed you, too! I would have been all alone," she said, clutching at him tightly as though she could hold him back.
Paolo opened his mouth and then closed it again with a soft click. "I won't leave you alone, Jeslyn. I promise."
"Pinkie?" she asked with a brief smile, her eyes wet with tears and trying not to remember her Uncle Dom's pinkie promise; it was a promise he hadn't had the chance to keep thanks to the Commander.
"Pinkie promise, picola," he said, firm and serious, linking his pinkie with hers.
Jeslyn hugged him again, but this time she was the one that pulled away, and he set her on her feet gently. "Uncle Paolo?"
"Hmm?"
"I want revenge on the Commander for Papa and Uncle Dom."
Paolo blinked, not expecting her words or her fierce determination or utterly serious tone. "That... that will take a lot of time, picola. You are a child - "
"I know, but I'll grow up! I'll grow up and I'll get revenge on him, I promise. Will you help me, Uncle Paolo?"
Paolo couldn't say no. He wanted revenge just as much as his niece, but he knew he was getting too old to get it, especially against a super like the Commander. Jeslyn, however, was fearless. Unlike him, she would have stayed and fought the Commander with everything in her, even at nine years' old. Hell, she might have even won; Jeslyn was fierce and had nails that were sharp as fuck, which he'd found out the hard way.
"I'll help you, Jeslyn. Those bastards at the Super Bureau didn't find all of the accounts, so we'll get by fine. I'll get a job, if I have to."
Jeslyn frowned. "What about everyone else? Will they all be homeless and without jobs because the Commander killed Papa and Uncle Dom?"
Thinking of the men they had employed in the Mafia, even just as local muscle, Paolo sighed. "Yes, probably. Maybe not homeless, at least not straight away, but some of them weren't exactly the kind of people to save money."
"Then we can give them jobs."
Paolo frowned. "With what money? The accounts that are left aren't enough to hire everyone and feed all those mouths as well as ours. You're still a growing kid, Jeslyn."
She looked at him, tilting her head. "You were talking with Papa about a shipment at the end of the month. That can sell and get us money, right?"
"When did you hear... never mind, that's not the point. The point is the police and Super Bureau have the docks blocked and are checking everything that's coming in. We can't sell anything if we don't have it to sell."
Jeslyn slipped the deck of playing cards out from her pocket and started shuffling the cards, concentrating on the problem rather than the cards. A few cards slipped from her grasp, fluttering down to the floor, but they were ignored for the moment. Paolo stayed quiet, watching and wondering what on earth she was thinking. Could a nine year old really find a solution to this problem? Even biased as he was towards his niece, Paolo had his doubts. He was worried that he was putting too much pressure on her far too soon. It was true that Luc had wanted Jeslyn to take over as the boss when she was older, but that would be after far more lessons and schooling, and when her age was at least in double-digits!
"Does the boat have to go to the Maxville docks?" Jeslyn asked curiously.
"Well... They can change course if there's an emergency on board."
"They're watching the docks for our boats, not watching the state lines for trucks, are they?"
It was so simple. Too simple, maybe, but he didn't see any other solutions that even came close to working. Even if this didn't work - things could go wrong getting to another dock, hiring a truck, moving the products, just to mention a few issues he could think of right then and there - it was still a start.
"I'll make some phone calls and see what we can do, hey? You... This is good, picola. Your Papa would have been so proud," Paolo said, kissing the crown of her head.
"Uncle Paolo?"
"Hmm?"
"What is the shipment for?" she asked, worrying at her lip with her teeth.
Paolo was only surprised that she hadn't asked sooner. "Russian nesting dolls."
Jeslyn looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Is that all they are?"
He couldn't stop a laugh from escaping; she was paranoid and suspicious, but they weren't necessarily bad traits, especially for their lives and line of work. "This one is, yes. It was meant to distract from another shipment, but Jetstream and the Commander already stopped that one with the Super Bureau's help. The matryoshka dolls were one of a few decoy shipments, so it looks like it was missed or ignored. Thankfully, we already have a buyer for the dolls. I'll get one for you to prove it, if you'd like?"
Jeslyn smiled, a little more genuinely than before. "You don't have to prove it, Uncle Paolo, but I'd like one if it won't take away from the buyer."
Paolo grinned and winked at her, feeling like himself again for the first time in days. "I think one will fall off the back of the truck."
Jeslyn snorted a laugh. "Love you, Uncle Paolo."
"Love you, too, picola. Pick up those cards and we'll play a game after I get this shipment sorted, hey?"
Jeslyn nodded and started to pick up the fallen cards as Paolo started making the first of many phone calls.
...
Twelve years later...
Jeslyn shuffled a deck of cards between her hands, not looking or dropping a card, even with complicated spins and turns and arcs of cards in a wave. They weren't the cards that Hourglass had gifted to her, as those had been worn to the point that she could cheat at card games just by a quick glance at the tears, creases, and stains; that first deck of cards were tucked away beside her nesting dolls, both prized possessions, and Jeslyn had new card decks to go with her alter ego, Jester.
If superhumans could have alter egos just to wear tights and punch things, then why couldn't citizens? Her alter ego outfit was a darker version of the usually colourful jesters from royal courts, sans bells because no one could sneak around like that, and in a suit style to honour her father and Mafia heritage. Besides, purple and black looked damn good on her.
Paolo glanced at her from where he was sitting at his computer, and waited for his niece to speak her piece. He had more wrinkles and grey hairs than he had twelve years ago, but they were worth it to see another day and another of Jeslyn's plans come to life. Not only had she helped gather and lead what remained of the Maxville Mafia, but she'd even convinced the Westville Mafia to let her combine their forces with her as their leader. Jeslyn had done more than Luciano had ever planned to do, even without getting into drugs like Luc had - drugs were the other reason the Commander had gotten off lightly with community service for her father's death, and Jeslyn refused to make it so easy if she was the one he killed next time round - and there were days when he was so proud of her that he couldn't find the words to tell her.
"Did Earthstone hit any of them?" Jester asked, the cards stopping between her hands, a perfect rectangle deck once more.
Paolo looked at the news report on his screen once more. "Earthstone used Ricky like a damn bowling ball to knock them all down. Ricky's probably hurt the worst, but he's alive, as are the rest of the Red Diamonds. The news hasn't mentioned any fatalities, and you know they would be all over that, especially with Earthstone as a new super."
She nodded in agreement and sighed. "Airborne, we could handle, but having both Earthstone and Airborne patrolling Westville makes things difficult. Can you do the runaround with the new shipment?"
"Of course. What will you do?"
"I'm going to go talk to their families and make sure everyone's all right. Let me know as soon as I can bail them out, hey?"
Paolo didn't envy her the task, especially considering some of the Red Diamonds that had stayed at home had done so under protest, while others had done so out of necessity with children and other familial responsibilities and wouldn't be happy that their partners' had been arrested. Spying Jester's jewel-tipped cane leaning against the desk, he gave a short whistle and threw it her way. "I'll wire you the money and message you as soon as I know. Be careful, picola, ah, sorry, Jester," he amended.
Jester caught the cane easily with a grin, gave a flourishing bow, the desk of cards splayed in her other hand. "I always am, Uncle Paolo."
"Good to know. Love you."
"I know, Uncle Paolo; you tell me all the time."
"Let me tell you at least once more, hey?"
Jeslyn smiled fondly. "Yeah, at least once more. I love you, too."
"I know, picola. Now, go and make sure the rest of your Diamonds aren't doing something stupid for revenge."
Jester nodded, turned on her heel, and left with her cane tucked under her arm. She had several families and partners to console - or, more likely, talk down - as well as plants to water and pets to feed until she could get her Diamonds out of prison. Sending a message to the leaders of her Spades, Clubs, and Hearts, Jester warned them to be vigilant and careful. Airborne's patrol of Westville was predictable and easily avoided while indoors, but Earthstone was on the ground and harder to avoid, especially without knowing what his citizen alter ego looked like yet. Airborne and Earthstone were both insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but Jeslyn refused to let her plans be ruined by two teenage supers with egos taller than a skyscraper.
She reminded herself that it wouldn't be long now before her plans came to fruition, and she just needed to keep doing what she was doing by flying under the Commander and Jetstream's radar. Soon, she would come out to Maxville and the world as Jester and, as Hourglass had promised, she would have her revenge.
...
The end.
Thanks for reading!