A woman was sitting at an office at home, using her computer. The walls were painted with a pale shade of beige, barely highlighted by a clinical blue glow from the lights matched only by her fancy outfit. All the windows she had were covered with heavy drapes, as if trying to stop the city of Oakland Park from infiltrating her spaces. She was on a sketchy-looking website, looking at a page that detailed the life of a man who died a long time ago. A feeling of curiosity came over her, leading her to call one of her subordinates.
"Don Beauvoir, is something the matter?" the subordinate asked.
"I was just wondering how the products were doing?" she asked, seeking clarification.
"It's going well. Our drugs are maintaining their production rate, and the gambling is still making a killing." the subordinate explained, satisfied with the results.
"And what about extortion? Please tell me Maestri's old associates are quaking in their boots." she asked with twisted joy.
"They practically get scrambled whenever they see us inside, even if we just go in for a meal." the man said, laughing to himself.
"That's good to hear. I just wish getting our hands on Sordi's brat could've been as successful. From what I heard from Gator, he had to flee from two Convocation agents. One was a man wearing a black and violet outfit while the other was a woman wearing mostly red. Try to see if we can kill them. I don't want anything getting in the way of my new empire so do what you can to learn about them." demanded Beauvoir.
Two men were sitting in chairs at a backyard filled with many orchids, a pool, and a barbeque grill. The two guys were leisurely enjoying a beer in hand, having a chat.
"I'm telling you, Dylan. I think you should help me. If we work together, there's no way she can stand against us. You can't seriously be okay with letting Don Maestri's killer just go around breathing, can you?" asked one man, a look of confusion on his face.
"Look, I get it, Aiden. Don Maestri was very important to me too. But considering that she took over his empire and resources, challenging her is the same as challenging Don Maestri and you once said anyone who ever even thought of trying to do that was a massive idiot." explained Dylan, sounding calm. His words, however, peeved Aiden off, making him rise suddenly.
"Don't say that! If you do, you're just admitting that she's as dangerous as him! And there's no way a cheap imitation could ever reach his status!" yelled Aiden, throwing his half-finished wine bottle at the wall, breaking the bottle into pieces and staining said wall. He started panting heavily, trying to calm down.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just-" Aiden said, speaking between breaths. Dylan got up and grabbed his shoulder, looking at him with a stern expression.
"Clearly, I should've known better than to try and talk you down. If you can't kill her, at least leave your mark on her." advised Rana, now content with his friend's decision. Dylan gave Aiden a good pat on the back before seeing him embark on his goal.
Corbin arrived at The Convocation headquarters ready to work with his new team. His hands were steady and focused, a contrast from before. The grandeur of the building was unchanged, yet it seemed less intimidating than before. He was dressed in the same black and purple outfit he wore the night before, having chosen it as his official uniform. As he approached the once intimidating structure, he was eager to meet his new colleagues, confident that he would make a positive first impression. Entering the building, he took in the atmosphere of his new workplace and made his way to the elevator. Nearby, a woman in an elegant hot-pink pantsuit waited quietly, reading Revelation 3:16 on a physical Bible. She took a small glance and recognized him.
"You must be the new team member who protected that little girl. Corbin Violette, right? I'm Natalia Seppanen. It's nice to meet you." she said, her voice warm and friendly.
"Uh, sorry," he started, slightly confused, "how exactly do you know about that?" Corbin asked, looking for clarity.
"I'm the one who treated your injuries the day before. Seems you dealt with some pretty nasty hits from what I could tell." she explained, her tone straightforward. When the elevator arrived, they entered at the same time and she pushed the button for the third floor, leaving Corbin stunned.
"What are you..." he started but was cut off.
"It's okay. We need to be on this floor," she interjected firmly.
"Very well, then. Thank you, by the way." Corbin remarked with a chuckle, putting his hand behind his head. A small smile appeared on Natalia's lips, showing her appreciation for her new ally's gratitude. When the elevator reached her floor, they headed for the training room.
He entered with optimistic confidence, ready for anything. Corbin surveyed the various training methods available, from target practice to a gym equipped with weights and punching bags, to a huge arena surrounded by force field technology. Near the arena were Kiara and a man with brown hair, dressed in a tracksuit and simple cloth pants. As soon as she noticed them, Natalia ran towards Kiara, her happiness spreading, and wrapped her arms around her, which Kiara returned in kind. Noticing Corbin, the man rose from his seat, placed his newsboy cap on the bench, and walked toward Corbin, radiating an unmistakable air of authority.
"So you're the new guy, huh?My name is Andrew Goodyear.Nice to meet you," Andrew said, his voice casual.Corbin tilted his head to the right, puzzling Andrew."What? What did I do?" Andrew inquired.
"Kiara mentioned it was okay for me to be informal, but does that include you? You're the leader, right?" Corbin asked for confirmation. Andrew chuckled softly and walked past Corbin.
"I am, but that doesn't mean I have to be all stiff and rigid. If anything, I've learned that micromanaging often leads to less than stellar results. Come on, let's get in the ring." Andrew assured. Both men walked in, both taking stances; Corbin's from kickboxing and Andrew's from MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program).
Andrew began the fight in a rather unconventional manner, extending his ear toward Corbin before transforming it into a small hand. The fingers of said hand reached out and wrapped around Corbin's face, squeezing it tightly. Corbin attacked the darkness around his face, severely damaging Andrew's "ear" and forcing him to pull it back and hold it.
Andrew stretched some extra skin onto his other hand to use Airsoft Shot, morphing its shape into that of a real M17 handgun, and pulled the trigger. Inside the barrel of the makeshift weapon was a small spring mechanism that activated, sending a small but fast air pellet into Corbin's face, who managed to dodge the attack and retaliate with Foule Sombre, unleashing a flurry of dark projectiles that Andrew dodged.
As the barrage of attacks ceased, Corbin stood directly in front of Andrew and delivered a swift blow to his face. Though the blow connected, Corbin pulled his hand back and waved it wildly, confused at how his own attack had caused him so much pain.
"I call it 'Vulcanization'. Basically, I increase the hardness of one part of my body, increasing my offense and defense. I can even apply it to my whole body if I want. The only disadvantage is that I can't stretch any part of my body that I have 'vulcanized'. And if I want, I can even do this," Andrew remarked, confident in his Factor. He became invisible, as if he had just disappeared, and Corbin had no idea where he was.
Andrew managed to hit Corbin, though not with enough force to hurt him, and even landed a solid chop to his neck. Corbin lashed out, swinging his arm at where he thought Andrew was, only for Andrew to watch as Corbin struck nothing.
"All right, I think that's enough for now," Andrew said, revealing himself.
"How did you do that anyway? I thought your Factor made your body like rubber," Corbin exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"It does, but I can do so much more with it. What I did was I stretched and compressed my skin color cells, allowing me to decide what color I am. And thanks to the natural color-shifting properties of Camofab, I was able to make myself completely transparent and invisible like a chameleon. However, just like with my vulcanization, I can't stretch when I've changed my color," Andrew explained happily.
"Wow. That must have taken a long time to master," said Corbin, in awe of such an application.
"Yeah. I'd say it took about 7 years to get the hang of it. Although my personal training doesn't hold a candle to Natalia's," said Andrew, proud of his teammate.
"Really? I want to see for myself," Corbin said, his tone straightforward.
Natalia shrugged and entered the ring, stretching her arms and legs before starting. She changed her hot pink outfit into something mostly white and blue. Before the match, she secured her long blonde hair in a high ponytail to make sure it wouldn't interfere with her performance. Corbin initiated the first attack, unleashing Foule Sombre, a volley of dark bolts at her. Natalia countered by summoning a longsword of blue flame that sliced through each bolt. Suddenly, Corbin summoned a dark tentacle, attempting to immobilize her against the force field.
"Nice move, huh? I call them Tentabres. And this one is called Charognard." Corbin said. With his hand outstretched, he began to absorb light from the flaming sword.
"An interesting factor, but I can tell that my blade hasn't weakened in power, which means I can still do this!"Natalia exclaimed, her passion rising.She transformed her longsword into a staff and, grasping it with both hands, swung it hard enough to send a strong gust of hot wind toward Corbin.He managed to keep his guard up to avoid being knocked back, but the high temperature was irritating, and the wind still managed to blind him. Then Natalia, transforming her staff into a sword, seized the moment of Corbin's disturbed concentration to unleash her Ruusu Risti technique, delivering a diagonal slash that sent a fiery beam at Corbin, knocking him down. With his tentacle compromised by his shaky concentration, she sliced through it as effortlessly as a steak knife through an apple.
"That move was pretty impressive," Natalia admitted. "I didn't think I'd have to use Pyhityt Tuuli against you."As they prepared to continue their fight, a bioelectric hawk flew between them, drawing their attention to Kiara, who was standing upright.
"What are you doing?" Andrew inquired.
"As much fun as it is to see all this, I have plans to meet someone and Corbin is coming with me, otherwise I won't be able to speak with him." Kiara explained boldly.
"Wait, what? Why me? How does this person even know who I am?" Corbin asked confused.
"You remember Agnes from last night? The person I'm questioning is her father. He's a former Mafia member and the only way I could get an interview with him is if I promised to bring the man who protected his daughter," Kiara explained.
"Wait a second. Your father was part of the mafia? Is that why Gator took her? What's this guy like? Are you sure we can trust him?" Corbin asked quickly. Kiara held her index and middle fingers to her right ear and feigned a smile as Corbin peppered her with questions.
"Done yet?" asked Kiara, her pseudo smile persisting.
"Oh. Sorry," Corbin said, regretting his impatience. Kiara removed her fingers, took a deep breath and exhaled, taking a moment to absorb her teammate's curiosity.
"I don't know why Gator kidnapped Agnes, but her father's life in the mafia is probably one of the connective tissues. As for whether we can trust him, I can say that for sure. When I promised to bring you, he seemed more than willing to cooperate. With any luck, we'll not only find out why Gator kidnapped Agnes, but also a bit more about the organization he belongs to," Kiara said, smiling with anticipation.
"If we can put an end to bastards like him, then let's go as soon as possible." Corbin suggested, ready to leave.
"That's the spirit I like to see. Come on," Kiara said, excited to talk to this man.
"Wait. Where is this interview going to take place?" asked Andrew.
"We're going to an abandoned storage facility in Lauderhill. That way we won't have to deal with any uninvited intruders," Kiara said.
"Wait, we're going to Lauderhill? I haven't been there in a long time," Corbin said, surprised at the choice of location.
"Wait, before you go, come here," Natalia called. She approached Corbin, her hands on fire. Corbin, alarmed and confused, backed away from her advance. Noticing his concern, she let out a soft chuckle. "Do not be afraid. My factor can heal as well as harm. Please hold still," she reassured him. As Natalia wrapped him in her fiery embrace, the healing intensified Corbin's pain, eliciting cries of pain. "I know it hurts, I'm so sorry," she murmured, her voice tinged with regret. As the flames subsided, Corbin's arms moved freely, almost as if he had suffered no damage at all. Not only that, but it felt like he wasn't even doing any strenuous activity.
"So that's how you healed me. Wait, if that's the case, then why didn't I see you when I came to? There's no way you could've left immediately after healing me without my spotting you." said Corbin, perplexed by the situation.
"This is how. Here, catch." Natalia said, throwing a small blue fireball at him. He caught it with one hand, amazed at what he was holding. The ball felt compact but still had a small prickling sensation, almost like getting hit by little electric jolts, but it didn't burn him.
"I concentrated my healing fire into a ball and gave it to Kiara so she could use it to treat you." explained Natalia.
"But then why not just heal me yourself?" Corbin asked, irritated by Natalia's thought process.
"I was in a Bible study, alright? I just wanted to go back there as soon as possible, okay?" said Natalia, her tone defensive. Corbin gave an exasperated sigh and put his hand to his face.
"Sure, fine." said Corbin, smiling through it. Just before Corbin and Kiara stepped out the door, Andrew stretched his arm, grabbing Corbin's shoulder and attention.
"I understand you're going to a remote area, but even still, try not to get into any situations you're not ready for." said Andrew, concerned for his new cohort. Corbin, grateful for his leader's care, nodded, certain that he would heed Andrew's advice. "Oh, right. In the event you somehow encounter trouble, here's a helpful tip: if your opponent is incredibly combat-proficient, try to avoid killing." Andrew advised constructively. In response to this, Corbin tilted his head, acknowledging the advice.
"I'm sorry, what? Wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate someone who's too dangerous?" Corbin asked, uncertain of Andrew's meaning.
"Normally, that's correct. However, the Convocation owns a private prison known as the Atlantic Facility in Deerfield. A privilege for Convocation Agents is that they have the ability to use the convicts captured as training adversaries. Rest assured; a Commodore supervises the engagement to prevent any misconduct from the prisoners. Should it become necessary to eliminate them during an operation, that's acceptable, but it's preferable to avoid such outcomes whenever possible," Andrew counseled.
"Wait, seriously? Why would prisoners even agree to that?" Corbin asked, expressing skepticism about the arrangement.
"If a prisoner performs well in the eyes of the agent, they receive additional benefits such as improved food, increased privileges, and potentially reduced sentences. However, the latter only occurs if the agent is thoroughly pleased with the prisoner's conduct," Natalia explained clearly.
"Even if their sentences are reduced to the point of release, the agents will be competent enough to apprehend them should they return to crime. Alright, I'll try to refrain from killing," Corbin stated.
The two made their way to her car, both brimming with strong emotions. Unlike Corbin, however, Kiara couldn't help but wear them on her sleeve as she entered the driver's seat, her fingers tingling. After getting the car ready, the two drove off.
As Kiara was driving gleefully to her destination, she took a good glance at Corbin and saw that his face was more reserved, but in a more simmering manner. Her enthusiasm started to slightly dull once she began thinking about his potential thought process.
"Hey, are you ok? Try not to let your emotions burst by the time we get there." said Kiara, smiling a little.
"I don't know what reason we're going to hear from Agnes' dad regarding why she was kidnapped. Could easily just be revenge. But still, if they have a problem with him, they shouldn't need to involve his daughter. If Gator were impaled in the chest, I'd be surprised if he died, because that would imply he had a heart." Corbin said resentfully using his inside voice. Kiara looked ahead at the road, her expression more neutral towards his attitude.
A few minutes after arriving in Lauderhill, Kiara finally reached the agreed upon destination, her happiness surging once he spotted his car. After parking near it, she impatiently exited the car, looking at him through his window. Once he got out of the car with his gun, Agnes' dad went to a storage garage and grabbed a handle on the bottom to open the door, revealing three pre-prepared chairs inside. After stepping inside, he closed the door, the sweat on his face almost reaching his eye.
"You two weren't tailed, were you?" the man inquired, wiping his sweat away.
"No, of course not. The only people who could possibly know about this meetup are you, me, and my teammates." said Kiara, dismissive of such a concept.
"I don't know about this. I didn't exactly choose to have our interview at my secret hideout simply for the sake of nostalgia, you know." he said, upset with Kiara's lackadaisical attitude.
"Fine then. Could you please wait a moment?" Kiara asked, annoyed by his restlessness. She charged up a large amount of bioelectricity in her hand before releasing it in the form of a hawk that flew around the nearby area.
"There. I've made it so that the hawk will attack anyone who comes within 5 meters of the cabin. And I charged him up using a technique I like to call 'Letargo Fragoroso', meaning he's way stronger than he normally would be." assured Kiara, confident in her Factor.
"And if he's fighting someone, will you know?" questioned the man, skeptical of this defense.
"Of course I will." assured Kiara, showing him her electrified index finger. "In the event my hawk is locked in combat, the bioelectricity surrounding my finger will start to react a bit more erratically. Still, if someone does end up facing off against my hawk, they'll have a pretty big field day. Listen, you said you'd be willing to spill all sorts of secrets regarding this organization if I brought the man who protected your daughter. I held up my end of the deal, now hurry up and do the same." demanded Kiara, her patience wearing thinner. The man sighed and sat down, Kiara and Corbin following suit.
"My name is Tanner Sordi. It's nice to meet the wonderful man that kept my daughter safe." he said politely. Corbin was pleasantly surprised by the former capo's praise.
"Yeah, I guess you could call me that. Though, truth be told, I'd have had a harder time were it not for your daughter's Factor. Hello, I'm Corbin Violette." he said, shaking his hand.
"If you're done with exchanging pleasantries, I'd like to get started. Mr. Sordi, you say that your criminal past is the likely reason for Gator taking your daughter away. But yesterday, you told me that you left the criminal business around two months ago. Why would someone want to go after your daughter now? Surely, it'd make more sense to try and hurt you as soon you retire." said Kiara, a sense of interest in her question.
"It's because this is being done hurt my old associates as well." replied Tanner, slightly certain of his answer. Kiara held her hand to her mouth, her eyes slightly squinted.
"Gator kidnapped your daughter to hurt your old associates? This sounds like something I'll need more context in order to understand." she stated, wanting to know more.
"Two months ago, our old boss, Don Lorenzo Maestri, was murdered by someone. I don't know who nor how, but this person seems to have taken over in his place. On top of that, whoever this new person is, they hired The Scarlet Leopard to mow down a good chunk of us, probably seventy-five percent if I had to make a hard guess." said Tanner, his spirit feeling cold from saying that name. Kiara's attention was fully caught once she heard that name as well, but Corbin looked at both of them, unaware of who they were talking about.
"Who is this 'Scarlet Leopard?' I'm guessing he's incredibly dangerous." said Corbin, desiring clarification.
"He's one of the most efficient mercenaries in South Florida. I've only heard stories about him, but all I know is that every target he kills dies either by impalement or some form of laceration." said Tanner, breathing sharply through his teeth.
"Currently, it's unknown as to whether or not he even has a Factor. Though, it could just likely be that he prefers to use a Mendel Arm instead. But what do you mean by seventy-five percent? No offense, but I'd imagine he'd be able to kill almost all of you." said Kiara, a little thrown off by that guesstimate.
"Whoever hired him probably didn't have enough money to pay him for that. Regardless, now this boss is trying to extinguish the rest of us, afraid we'll rise up to take Maestri's organization back. The reason they took my daughter was likely to use her as a bargaining chip; either I give up my hidden associates or she dies. At least that's what I'm assuming is the case." said Tanner.
"In other words, this new Mafia boss is leading some sort of Maestri Purge. Any idea on how we can track down this boss?" asked Corbin, his voice more determined.
"I have no idea where this boss is, but if you want an audience, I'd imagine you'd need to launch major attacks on some important bases. Now I'm pretty familiar with most of where Maestri's most important bases are, so if you disrupt any operations there, I imagine the boss is gonna want your heads. Though, whether or not you want that is another story." warned Tanner. Kiara crossed her arms, a playful smirk forming on her face.
"I'm well aware that battling the Mafia is risky and dangerous, but I don't see that as a deterrent. If anything, I consider it an invitation." said Kiara, filled with deep resolve. Tanner chuckled, sensing Kiara's resolve to be similar to Don Maestri.
"Wait, hang on a second. How do you know this new boss is using Maestri's old bases of operations?" asked Kiara, her skepticism suddenly creeping in.
"I've been getting updates from my old workmates, and they've been unable to go back to the old bases due to being occupied by this new Mafia boss knockoff." said Tanner with an irritated and dismissive tone in his voice.
"Well, I've done my research on Don Maestri, and it does kinda make sense. After all, he was the most successful Mafia boss in South Florida. It only makes sense to copy what he's been doing. But if this is how it's gonna be, this pseudo-Mafia boss will be taken down in no time." said Kiara, positive in her and her teammate's skills.
"If you ask me, this new boss just sounds like a pathetic leech, unable to do anything on their own. It makes me so sick. I think you two are more than capable of imprisoning this worthless parasite." said Tanner, his tone judgmental and bitter.
"Considering that Gator's the second in command, we might have to be really careful. I know I'm definitely not ready to face him again." Corbin said, staring at his darkness-covered hand. Tanner went on his phone and looked through his Notes app, quickly trying to find important information for them.
"Ok, look over here." he said, displaying his Notes for them. "This is a list of addresses of the many bases Don Mastri had. I took these notes because my capo wasn't very good at remembering them all." assured Tanner, his voice having a warning tone.
"Thanks for all of this. Don't worry, we'll make sure this knockoff of your boss is behind bars." declared Kiara boldly.
As Rana was cleaning off the wine from the wall, he got a call from Aiden and put his phone in a plastic bowl, leaving it on speaker.
"How goes your investigation of Don Maestri's sham substitute?" asked Rana, slightly interested.
"It's going well, Dylan. Thanks to a bit of roughhousing I did with Beauvoir's men, I managed to find out where she lives. I'll text you her address. After I kill her, we'll use it to host our celebration party." whispered Aiden, trying to keep his voice down.
"Pretty sure roughhousing implies they're still alive. And I highly doubt that's the case. So her name's Beauvoir, huh? Did you also learn what her Factor is or if she has one in the first place?" asked Dylan.
"I did. Thanks to some persuasion, I learned that her Factor gives her the ability to reanimate the dead. I don't exactly know what that might entail for me, but I'm so close. I can't give up now. Besides, there's no way she'll be prepared for me. Later, man." said Aiden in a resolved manner as he hung up the phone.
Beauvoir was still in her office, now playing a Tetris-esque game on her phone while drinking cranberry juice. She tried to find a proper space to fill in the next set of cubes, struggling due to the near-filled screen. Her worry delayed her from placing it in the right space, causing her to lose the game and stomp her foot. After losing the game, she heard her garage door open, instilling a sense of dread in her.
Aiden was exploring her house, a two-story structure with many rooms up and downstairs. The living room in particular had two sofas, a coffee table, and an old-timey looking piano as well. Beauvoir remained in her office, her hand charging with an unsettling energy that glowed a rather sickly, desaturated shade of green. Aiden was exploring the first floor of her house, looking through many different rooms trying to find her, his hands charged with a red, concussive energy.
Once Aiden made his way upstairs, he heard the office door open and let loose a big blast once he saw someone step out. To his surprise, however, it wasn't a normal human, but a revenant who had a good portion of his body blown off. It regenerated at a moderate rate before coming back together, as if it hadn't suffered any damage in the first place. The revenant, glowing with that same otherworldly energy, had slightly rotten skin and wore the tattered clothes of what looked like a hunter wearing very old clothing holding a worn knife.
As the revenant went to stab Aiden from behind, he quickly turned around and grabbed the revenant's hand, weirded out not only from the fact that he was basically fighting a reanimation of someone from the past, but also because touching his skin felt like skinny dipping in arctic waters. He charged concussive energy in his hand, scattering the revenant's upper arm throughout the surrounding area.
Instead of slowing down, the revenant simply grabbed his neck with its other arm, exposing Aiden to an extremely chilling sensation. With his guard down, the revenant took advantage and delivered a diagonal knee strike to his right ribs, staggering him. The pieces of the revenant's arm that were broken off started to glow, returning back to where they were and restoring its arm, even forming a fist a few times.
"Strong and regenerative, huh? No problem. This is obviously the result of someone's Factor, meaning I can defeat it. The only question is who brought back this decomposed fossil. Not to mention how he knows Muay Thai." he thought to himself. He charged up concussive energy in his right foot, decapitating it with a kick to its chin and sending its head up the ceiling. Coating his hands in the same energy, he started to dig into the revenant starting from its decapitated head hole and going down, like how a dog digs through the earth.
Aiden's tactic broke the revenant apart, dispersing its many bones onto the tunnel floor, but he wasn't done yet. With his feet coated in concussive energy again, he got to work aggressively stomping on each and every bone fragment he could. After finishing, the parts started to reform back into the revenant. Aiden, however, kept launching energy beams to blast parts of the regrouping bones away from each other, preventing total reconstitution. Eventually, the energy that kept the revenant together was overtaxed and its entire being disappeared back to where it came from. Aiden put his hands to his knees, panting moderately.
"Whoever made that undead relic better come out now! It's time you paid your penance for your unforgivable sin!" yelled Aiden, determined to keep fighting. The woman was just about to bolt it when she got an idea and decided to show herself, arms exposed with nothing in her hands. "It's time for you to pay up for what you've done! I don't care whether or not you're ready, because time isn't gonna wait for you!" he declared indignantly.
"To put it simply, I'm the one who's taking over for Con Maestri." declared the woman. Hearing such disrespect to Maestri's name elicited great fury in Aiden who fired a concussive beam from his hand. She quickly summoned a new revenant to block the attack, only for it to scatter across the tunnel. The resulting blast had enough force to knock her to the floor on her back, leaving her smug.
"Something tells me you're going to regret doing that." she said. Once the revenant came back together, Aiden froze, unable to bear what he was looking at. Though he looked much different, it was Don Maestri reanimated. Unlike the previous revenant, he looked less put together. The majority of his bones were exposed on his face, chest, arms, and legs. His body looked very rotten and sickly, like the remaining skin he had was a ripped, oversized shirt he was wearing. On top of all that, his clothes looked incredibly ragged and worn.
"W-what have you done to him?!" Aiden asked, horrified by the desecration of his boss. The woman said nothing in response. "Are you deaf or something?! I asked you what the hell did you do to him?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"I thought it was obvious. I gave him the chance to revisit the world of the living once again. Oh wait, did you mean 'Why does he look so disheveled compared to the previous revenant?' Well, that's the thing about my Factor. The amount of effort it takes to summon a revenant depends on how long they've been dead. And since your boss died pretty recently, bringing him back was a piece of cake. Course, since I didn't really need to put much effort, well..." explained the woman mockingly.
"And that brat you used on me?" asked Aiden furiously.
"He died in the sixteenth century. The reason he was able to use moves of today is because I transferred the skills of a Green Beret soldier who recently died into him. But hey, since Con Maestri recently died, he won't be anywhere near as challenging as your last opponent. Go on, take him on. After all, you already blew him to bits once. One more and he's gone." taunted the woman, raising her arm in an inviting manner.
Aiden hesitated and backed away, feeling immense guilt for what he did. He looked away from Don Maestri, unable to stand looking at his old boss in such a slovenly state. The woman signaled to Maestri by nodding her head towards Aiden, making him grab Aiden's neck with his cold, dead hands and pin him to a wall.
"Where are the rest of your friends hiding, Aiden? I know you were the strongest capo, which means a lot of those guidos must have looked up to you. After all, I find it ironic that you would insult my revenants by calling them relics when idiots like you are only in this situation because of your refusal to drop antiquated practices. Now where are the rest of your scattered friends?" demanded Beauvoir.
"Eat shit, Beauvoir. I'm not saying anything!" yelled Aiden, defiantly rebellious.
"You should listen to Don Beauvoir. She's a far more capable leader than I could ever hope to be!" declared Maestri's corpse, his voice raspy and distorted. Against all odds, Aiden's spirit managed to grow even more furious, and he aimed his arm at Beauvoir, firing a last gasp concussive beam towards her that she avoided, albeit barely.
"You know damn well the real Don Maestri would never say that! Stop relying on his corpse to prop yourself up!" yelled Aiden, reaching his boiling point.
"You're never going to tell me, are you? Well, that's fine. If anything, I expected that. I just wanted to confirm if you even knew where they were. If you didn't know, that's all you'd simply say. *snickers*. But of course not. People like you always think it means something to stick to your values no matter what. But why? Once you die, your values are useless. I mean, just take a look at your precious Lorenzo. His values are now whatever I decide they are. Isn't that right, Renzi?" she asked in a mocking tone while stroking his bone-chilling chin.
"That's right. Delilah Beauvoir is my master, and her intuition far supersedes my own." he declared proudly.
The woman went towards one of her men, grabbed the gun near him, and shot Aiden in the head. After killing him, she reanimated his dead body, now in a slightly more rotted state than Maestri, and had him kneel at her feet.
"Aw, Aiden. You're so sweet. Now who's a much better Mafia boss than your pathetic master?" she asked, relishing in this opportunity.
"You are, no question." he said obediently.
"That's sounds like pretty music in my ears. Now then, I've got some information that I'd like you to share with me." she said, a sinister grin on her face.