The silence of that morning was broken by the distant sound of crashing followed by loud shouts that made the brunette sitting at his desk raise an eyebrow at his assistant. "America," he said smoothly putting down the latest reports and picking up his coffee, "That was…?"
America tilted his head, bright eyes watching out the window. "I think that trap you had set caught someone."
Italy hummed and took a long sip of his drink. "What are the chances that it is my brother?"
"Highly unlikely."
"Pity." He murmured and set the cup aside. "I can always hope, si?" The other nodded, but as the yelling refused to die down he sighed and put away what he was working on to investigate. The American nation on his heels, he strolled down the road in the direction that they were coming from, groaning as he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
Romano was busy peering into the pit trap that currently contained its victim, who by now was resorting to various threats at being detained, and gasping at a particularly lewd remark made by that individual. "That mouth of yours is terrible!" The blonde hissed from behind his hands, "And what you said about my mother…"
"Romano," Italy called flatly, grimacing further as the blonde grinned and wiggled his fingers cheerfully at them. "Who is making all the noise?"
"Canada!" he replied, waving them over and pointing into the hole in his excitement. Sure enough, angrily pacing back and forth was the Canadian and his polar bear. The bear growled at them as they approached the edge, alerting his owner to their presence and throwing a few hate-filled glares in their direction. America crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at the sight.
"Veneziano!" the elder brother squealed and grabbed hold of his arm. "Can we keep him? I promise to look after him and make him pretty again."
"We are keeping him!" Italy hissed, ripping his arm away and face setting into a scowl. "He is the leader of the Allies and we've captured him, scemo." He glanced into the hole and back to his assistant. "Do we have a cell ready that can hold him?"
America made sure his brother caught him snickering before focusing his attention back on his boss. "We have several places that might work, though they would still require a little outfitting to hold him considering he's strong enough to break out of most places." He flexed his arms a little as he though it over and a lopsided grin appeared on his face. "I could have something ready in a few hours. It won't be complex, but then again I'd be surprised if he figured out how to escape."
"You asshole, traitor…" Canada stamped his foot when insulting words failed him and resorted to growling in his brother's general direction. Romano kneeled by the edge and tilted his head. "Don't be so upset, cutie. I will personally take care of setting you right. I cannot believe you haven't taken care of that wonderful hair as much as you should." He teased the end of his own and sighed softly. "If only mine had that wonderful little bounce like yours does."
"Are you finished?" Italy spat at him, turning to address America's plan. "Let me know when you are finished." The red-eyed nation nodded and set off at a jog back towards their offices and Italy once again glared at his elder brother. "Keep an eye on him." He ordered, setting his own brisk pace to leave the two to get to know each other better. He couldn't think of a torture technique more sinister than having to spend several hours in Romano's company and maybe by this evening the Canadian would be willing to share some of his secrets.
Until then, he needed to make a few phone calls. Catching Canada was big and he couldn't let this opportunity pass him by as he sorted through his mental checklist. France had been out a while and there was no indication he would put up any resistance. Russia had surrendered and he held several documents that stated their agreements. America was with them. Japan had been keeping China busy which left him only England now to deal with.
He was on his phone as soon as he set foot back into his office. "Japan." He smiled when the familiar nation answered. "There is something I would like to discuss with you."
Japan remained silent for a moment as he thought over how to reply. "What would you like to speak to me about?"
"I have a mission for you; something that requires your expertise." He wound the cord of the phone around his finger as he spoke.
"I still do not understand… What do you wish for me to do?"
"Let's just say developments have been made without your help and I am looking for you to pull your own weight with this." He allowed a short pause after his statement for the other to comprehend it and continued on without giving him a chance to reply. "So I want you to take care of the only member of the Allies left who will give us any trouble. Capishe?"
Japan's voice was shaky as he answered. "I will have to think it over…"
"No, I do not want you to wait on this. I want action now." Japan stuttered a few times to prompt him to add, "Either get this done, or you will be working for America."
Japan politely said farewell despite the slight stammer in his words and Italy smiled as he placed the receiver back in its place. Soon he would have his long awaited victory. It was only a matter of time.
AN: I'm sorry for being so late with this, but thank you to everyone for the messages and reminders to continue :)