Chapter 34: Attempted Killings, Kidnappings, and an Announcement
Later that night, Gelato was snoring peacefully in his apartment. The moon was high and bright, casting light through his open window. Just then, a shadow appeared, and snuck into the room without making a sound. Gelato turned on his side in bed, while the intruder proceeded to take Gelato's gun, which was carelessly lying on the bedside table, handling it with leather gloves. Next, the intruder aimed the gun at Gelato's heart, when suddenly, a gun clicked behind him.
"Make one more move," Spauracchio said, hanging from the ceiling. "And I won't hesitate to kill you, Casco."
"Spauracchio," Casco said. "What a pleasant surprise."
"Who hired you to kill Gelato? He must have a lot of money to get you to betray the family."
"I don't belong to any family," Casco said, lowering Gelato's gun. "My loyalty lies with Typhonragazzo only."
"So what are you? A traitor, or one of his personal hit men?"
"Does it matter? And what proof do you have for either one?" Casco dropped the gun, and started to pull a hidden knife from his sleeve. "I'm sure that my Homunculus has killed Rosa by now as we speak."
As he made a motion to throw the knife behind him at Gelato's forehead, Spauracchio fired his gun at Casco's hand. The bullet went right through Casco's hand and lodged in the mattress, causing feathers to fly and Gelato to wake up, falling out of the bed. The Casco that was standing in front of Spauracchio dissolved into blood, which made Gelato's eyes widen.
"Who was that?" Gelato asked. "What's going on?"
"You stay right here, Gelato!" Spauracchio said, jumping down from the ceiling and heading for the window.
By the time he made it to Rosa's house, her parents were in a frenzied panic. They claimed to see a man enter their daughter's room, and leave shortly afterwards. Spauracchio tried to open the door, but it was locked for some reason. So he shot the keyhole, and the door swung open. On the bed sat Rosa, perfectly fine and a little surprised to see Spauracchio. She explained that she heard footsteps, so she made a Homunculus of herself to take her place in the bed while she hid in the closet.
"It was Casco," Rosa said with certainty. "He went up to my Homunculus, and slit its throat with a throwing knife. But when it disintegrated, he realized his mistake, and left. Good thing he didn't notice me. But why would Casco try to kill me?"
"That's what I tried to find out from his Homunculus at Gelato's apartment, before I shot at it," Spauracchio said, and then an idea dawned on him. "Tony."
"What about Tony?"
"I have to go. Tony might be in danger."
Then Spauracchio left, and went to the hospital where Tony was being kept. There, he found Tony sleeping soundly as all the bodyguards Spauracchio had hired to keep an eye on him were lying dead on the floor, and Casco was about to place Tony in a burlap bag when he noticed Spauracchio. Neither of them moved, until Casco threw a knife at Spauracchio. Spauracchio retaliated by pushing Casco against the window behind him, which forced him to let go of Tony.
"What is your connection with Typhonragazzo?" Spauracchio asked, pointing his gun at Casco's head. "Why did you attempt to kill Gelato and Rosa? Just to get them out of the way of whatever plans Typhonragazzo has in store for Tony? Is that why you were just about to kidnap him?"
Casco didn't answer, and suddenly shriveled before Spauracchio's eyes, becoming the corpse of an old man with long silver hair. Then a shuffle of movement made Spauracchio turn as one of the dead bodyguards suddenly got up and ran. He noticed the silver hair and glasses, which made Spauracchio realize that was the real Casco and the corpse he was holding was merely reanimated to take on Casco's appearance.
"Shade's Return (Dead Soul Technique)…" he said, tossing the corpse aside.
The Godfather was informed of the attempted assassinations and kidnapping, but Spauracchio said nothing about it being Casco, due to the lack of proof to connect him with Typhonragazzo. Shortly afterward, bodyguards were posted outside Gelato's apartment and Rosa's house, while Tony was taken to the Godfather's own home, where he was under constant surveillance. Nothing else happened that night, but it left Spauracchio and the rest of Squad 7, minus Tony, worried.
A few days later, Gelato received an invitation from the Godfather to his place. He thought this was odd, but he got dressed in his best suit and went. When he got there, he was surprised to see the other remaining contestants there as well. Tony acknowledged his presence with a nod, Voluta scuffed, Pallamano was helping herself to some nuts lying on the table near the foyer, Capriolo sat on the couch with a bored look, Morte glanced out the window, Oscuro folded his arms, Tarma watched the doors to the Godfather's office, and Ecc just glared at Capriolo.
"Why're you guys doing here?" Gelato asked.
"We were all given invitations," Tony replied, holding his up.
"But if it's so important, why didn't he invite us separately?" Capriolo sighed. "Having us all arrive at once might draw attention to this place."
"If the Godfather has the power to keep the Gladiator Games activities a secret, I wouldn't worry about that too much," Voluta said confidently.
"Whatever." Capriolo then looked up at Morte and said, "So what's with that bug-thing you did to that Suono guy? Is it a Gift?"
"Why do you ask?" Morte muttered.
"Just wondering."
At that moment, the doors to the Godfather's office opened, and the Underboss stepped out. He closed the doors behind him, and glanced at everyone in the room. Afterwards, he took out a piece of paper and a pair of reading glasses, and read what the paper said.
"After much consideration and thought, I wish to announce to the remaining contenders of the Gladiator Games the match-ups for the Finals in advance of the actual date. This way, you will know who your opponent is, and prepare for the battle accordingly. Here is the order: the first match will be fought by Gelato Vortice and Voluta Soleggiato, the second will be Tony Fuori and Tarma, the third Morte Tafanozoppo and Oscuro, the fourth will be Capriolo Marche and Ecc Seta, and whoever wins that match will fight Pallamano in the fifth. That is all."
After the Underboss retreated back into the office, the nine Soldiers looked at each other in fear and excitement. Gelato was glad that he got paired to fight Voluta, but at the same time, he was worried. He remembered vividly what he did to his cousin Aurora, and wondered if the same thing might happen to him if he wasn't careful. As they left the house, Gelato came to the realization that he needed to train more than ever if he was going to beat Voluta, because there was a vast difference in skill and power between them. So he came to the fountain in the park where Tony and Spauracchio had their confrontation during the training exercise, and found Spauracchio sitting there all alone with a cigarette hanging out from his turtleneck.
"Gelato," Spauracchio said, noticing him. "I didn't expect you to find me here."
"Lucky guess," Gelato shrugged. "So, Capo, I…wanted to ask you a favor."
"What is it? Something to do with the Finals?"
"I just learned from the Godfather that I'm going to be fighting Voluta in the Finals, and I would really appreciate it if you could train me."
Spauracchio thought about it, but then he shook his head. "As much as I would like to, I'm already scheduled to train Tony."
"That jerk came to you first?" This made Gelato's head throb in irritation. "Well, can't you just train me when you're not training him?"
"That would make things a bit hectic, and the kind of training I'm giving Tony will be pretty harsh and time-consuming. There are other Capos in the neighborhood you could possibly learn from, like Gamberetto."
Thinking about his last encounter with Gamberetto made Gelato cringe, which made Spauracchio notice.
"I take it you've met Gamberetto before," Spauracchio said, flicking the ashes off the cigarette.
"Yeah, and I don't like him," Gelato said firmly.
"He's actually a nice guy once you get to know him, and a good teacher. That's why he's the Godfather's grandson's personal tutor."
"His name's Fogliaragazzo, not simply 'grandson'."
This made Spauracchio's eye widen, but then he went back to being nonchalant. "I would recommend Scar Face, but he's still moping about Beni Niro, and the others are off on missions."
Then Gelato got an idea. "Wait a minute! Why don't I ask Delfino to teach me?"
"His knowledge of Alchemy is decent, but not as good as some of the other Capos, and I hear he's started training a new group of Cugines."
"Oh, good for him," Gelato said, feeling much older than before.
"How bout this: give Gamberetto a shot, and if you don't like him, I'll try to find someone else. Deal?"
Reluctantly, Gelato nodded, and they went off to find him.
End of Chapter 34