Orso Fiction 012

Orso Fiction 012-The Worst Team (Yellow)
Laura Wise glanced over her notes, and nodded to herself, proud of her genius. She had put together the perfect team for the mission. Someone should be giving her a cookie right now, she thought, and remembered that she could get cookies out of Zach when he was back, and smiled. She looked over the roster one more time, and messaged the briefing to the four members she had listed. She leaned back in her chair, very content. She glanced at the poster of Flannery O’Conner she kept on her wall, and her smile faltered a bit.

“Will this metal really be able to work the miracles we need?”, Laura asked herself aloud.

“Well, there’s no point in not having faith, right?”, she heard Jess Biemiller’s voice say from behind her. Laura spun her chair around to meet her eyes.

“When did you sneak in here?”

“Ages ago.”, Jess said, as if it was of no importance. Since Laura left her door not only unlocked, but open, unless she was writing, it was no surprise that Jess had gotten in at all. “But, about the metals…We don’t know. All we can do is hope, right? I hate it as much as you do, but this is a fight for the Guardians. We just have to have faith in them.”

“I guess you’re right.”, Laura said, then stood up. “Let’s go eat. I’ve been making the perfect team to send out all day.”

“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“That happened, too.”

---

Rachael Reiter sat in the front hall of the headquarters, impatiently waiting on the rest of her team to arrive. She had made the courteous decision to arrive early, they could at least put the effort into not being five…no, after she checked her phone, ten minutes, late. She sighed loudly. This mission was going to be miserable, if she had to be the most responsible one. She glanced to her side, where the boy three years her senior was standing. She thought she recognized him, and thought his name might be Ricky, but she knew nothing about him, except that he was incredibly quiet. She sighed again, as two more ran into the hall. She knew the girl of them, Kristen Pauley, but didn’t know the boy of the two.

“Hey, sorry we’re late!”, he called, louder than he needed to. “I was talking to Eddie about borrowing some of the security boxes. It didn’t go well. I don’t think he likes me very much. I’m Blake, by the way.”

“And I’m Kristen.”, Kristen said to Ricky. “I was on the phone, I couldn’t just leave.”

Rachael slowly facepalmed. This would be a disaster, if she didn’t do something quickly.

They walked outside, and Ricky led them to the hangar where Bear Force One and the other planes were kept.

“I’ll be flying.”, Ricky said simply. “Ted taught me the controls in case of emergency, and Bear Force One has autopilot, anyway.”

They all boarded the plane, and took off.

“Destination…Egypt.”, Rachael thought.

“So what exactly are we doing?”, Blake asked loudly.

“Did you not read your briefing?”, Rachael asked, annoyed. “There’s a metalsmith in Egypt, with a very valuable package. We need to find him, and deliver both him and the package to base.”

“Oh. See, I didn’t need to read after all! I just needed to find someone who did!”, Blake said with a grin. Rachael could have hit him.

“But what’s the package?”, Kristen asked.

“Am I the only one here that reads ‘The Bear Claw’?”, Rachael snapped, referencing the Orso Family’s newsletter, that she collaborated on. “I covered the story about what these packages will be.”

“We have a NEWSLETTER?”, Kristen asked, amazed. Rachael could have hit her.

“Yes. We have a newsletter.”, Rachael sighed. “The packages are metals, that these metalsmiths will be able to make into weapons for the Primo Guardians.”

“The who?”, Blake Carroll.

“The…the who?”, Rachael asked, dumbfounded. “How did you get to be a member without knowing about our history!?”

“Eh. I dunno.”, Blake said, shrugging. “I just followed Ben Diaz here. Zach let me in, gave me an office, everything.”

“I swear, if I had a dollar, for every random person Zach trusts…”, Rachael thought.

“Well, are you going to tell us who the Primo Guardians are?”, Kristen asked. Rachael rolled her eyes.

“Okay, do you know why the family was formed in the first place?”, Rachael asked. Seeing neither of them offer any response, she sighed, and continued. “The Orso Family was formed because Zach wanted to show his appreciation for the people who supported him. He formed a support network between his nearest and dearest, which extended to their loved ones, and then their loved ones. It’s a web of friends.”

“And? Who are the Primo Guardians?”, Blake asked. Rachael made a noise that reminded the two of a small animal in pain.

“The Primo Guardians consist of Zach, and the other six founders of the family, the friends he placed the most faith in. They’re the most powerful members of the family, with Dying Will Flames far more powerful than the average human being.”

“Then why do they need those weapons?”, Kristen asked.

“What…Where have you BEEN, this past week? Zach and the others got beaten badly by a team out to get them, and they need every advantage they can get, for the rematch.”

“Haha, they lost…”, Blake said, trailing off. “Maybe Zach’s losing his edge, and he should pass the family down to m-Wha!”

Blake had been silenced by Ricky, out of the pilot’s seat, grabbing his shoulder, squeezing hard enough to cause the boy pain.

“You really shouldn’t talk like that in front of me.”, Ricky said. “I don’t like it.”

Rachael was silent, mouth wide open at what she was seeing.

“Don’t let me stop you.”, Ricky said, smiling at her. “You were telling a story?”

“Oh…right…Well, we need to get these metals and metalsmiths to give Zach and the others the advantage they need against the Apostles, next time they fight. It’s an important mission, and we absolutely can’t fail it.”, Rachael said, trying not to seem off-ease

“Exactly.”, Ricky said, releasing Blake, who began rubbing his shoulder. “Our mission has a direct correlation to the safety of the family. We can’t allow any slip-ups.”

“Wow…This is serious…”, Kristen said. Rachael nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”, she responded. “I don’t want to imagine what would happen if the Apostles beat us again.”

---

Laura sat back at her desk, content and full. She was about ready to sleep. Jess was right. There was no point in worrying. What she needed right now was just to crash on her couch, and she’d be ready to confront the next issue that came her way. She just wanted to glance over the details of this miss-

“What”.

“I…I didn’t pick these four!”, Laura gasped. “I picked…I picked the best team the Orso has ever made! Did I…Oh no!”

She realized her mistake. She had, in her exhaustion, picked members close to the ones she had wanted to pick on the screen. The letters were small, and she had been tired, she knew, but it didn’t change how different the teams were. She read over the team roster, horrified and panicking.

“This is…This might just be the worst team we’ve ever sent!”, she shrieked.

---

The four landed, with no more problems, and changed into garb more appropriate to the desert climate. Ricky led the other three to the point where they were supposed to meet the metalsmith at nightfall, a small bar. None of them drank anything, but sat in the corner, keeping to themselves.

“When are we going hoooome?”, Kristen asked. “He’s taking so long!”

“Hush.”, Rachael said. “There’s another group out for these metals. Ricky, you don’t think that…”

“I think that’s a valid concern.”, he replied.

“What? What’s going on?!”, Blake said, a bit too loudly, again.

“The last group to get one of these packages was attacked by a group of women on motorcycles. We have to be on the lookout for them.”

“What were they after?”, Kristen asked.

“Seems like they wanted the metal. Even if they didn’t know what it was, knowing we were after it should have been a good hint that it was valuable.”

Suddenly, the door to the bar slammed open. A woman with long brown hair, wearing a white riding suit, holding a purple helmet in her arm, stood in the doorway.

“Which of you maggots are from the Orso?”, she snapped.

Ricky slowly stood.

“You’re looking for us, ma’am.”, he said coolly.

“Good. We have the package. That blond haired fool was easy to catch.”

“So…it’s come to this, huh?”, Rachael thought.

“But we came for a deal.”, the woman said. “We have this bar totally surrounded. If you get your fucker of a boss to send us the other package, we won’t kill everyone here.”

Ricky gritted his teeth, and looked back at Rachael, who nodded, conviction in her eyes.

“We say ‘No’.”, Ricky said. “With a postscript reading ‘Fuck you’.”

The woman rolled her eyes and pulled a purple box from her pocket, injecting it with Cloud flames from her ring. A bull emerged from the box, horns covered in purple flames.

“Cloud…Give them three seconds to think it over.”, she said. “Then…crush them. Let’s send a message to the Orso trash back in the States, that we, the Seven Roses, won’t let them do as they please.”

“Seven Roses…Good. I’ve already got some intel from this mission…”, Ricky thought. He began to pull his own box from his pocket slowly, to not attract attention. He would have a tiny opening, and he needed to get it exactly perfect.

“I’ve got her! Get her, Smiley!”, Kristen screamed, jumping at the woman, already releasing a Cloud Cat from her box. The cat leapt at the woman’s face, but she expertly caught it in mid-air, and then delivered a chop to the back of Kristen’s neck, dropping her.

“Thinking of it…This is even better…”, the woman said. “How much would your boss hate to see this one getting tortured? This will send a perfect message to him-That he can’t afford to get in the way of the Seven Roses.”

“I won’t let you!”, Blake shouted, jumping up. However, Ricky caught him, and shoved him back into his chair. “What the hell?!”

“Oh, you get it.”, the woman said. “It must be tough, to have such dim team members. Yes, you go return to your boss, and tell him that the next time one of these packages comes into the light, we’ll be meeting him, and we expect the last package in our hands, or else he’ll never see this girl again.”

Dragging Kristen’s body behind her, she exited the bar, who’s patrons had been absolutely still during the ordeal. Her bull followed behind her.

“What the hell, Ricky!?”, Blake shouted at the older boy. “You just let them walk away with her!”

“Blake…Of course he didn’t.”, Rachael said slowly.

“What? What’s going on? What am I missing?”, Blake asked.

“We’re going to follow them to their base, get back Kristen, and get the package and smith. All in one swoop.”, Rachael said, getting out of her chair. “Shall we?”

“But…how will we follow them?”, Blake asked. Ricky smiled, and plunged his flaming ring into his box, releasing a Storm Dog, a Rottweiler with its paws and ears covered in red flames. “Hunter…Think you can track the noisy girl for me?”

Hunter barked once, and led them out the door.

“Ricky Wilhide…Now I remember where I heard of him…”, Rachael thought. “One of his missions called for living in the wilderness for a month, defending against enemy attack. Thanks to his survival skills, and the stellar nose of that dog, he came out of that mission without a scratch on him. If anyone can find them, it’s Ricky and Hunter.”

---

A few minutes later, they stood in front of a small, abandoned, restaurant.

“Here they are.”, Rachael said, igniting her ring with Rain Flames, and injecting it into her box, releasing a Rain Chinchilla. “Precious, get ready.”

The small animal, perched on her shoulder, chirped a little in understanding. Blake ignited his ring with Thunder Flames, shoving it into his box, and releasing his Thunder Fossa. The carnivore jumped onto Blake’s shoulder and growled menacingly at the door.

“Mammon, no mercy, alright?”, he said quietly. The small creature growled louder.

“Alright…We’re all ready?”, Ricky asked. “Hunter, do the honors.”

The dog took a step back, and then charged at the door, knocking it off its hinges. He leapt into the room, sniffed a few times, and whined.

“They’re gone…”, Ricky said. “They took her, and escaped with a chopper.”

“So…what now?”, Blake asked. “Did…did we just lose?”

“Blake, don’t be ridiculous.”, Rachael said calmly, stroking under Precious’ chin. “We brought the best plane…in the Orso fleet.”

Suddenly, the three heard the giant aircraft, and exited the building, Ricky laughing heartily.

“I mentioned autopilot, right? Those techies sure know what they’re doing…Imagine a tractor beam, on a plane in this day and age.”, he said between laughs.

“What?!”, Blake demanded to know. “What just happened!?”

“Why don’t we let her explain it?”, Ricky asked, as the plane landed, the helicopter trapped in a pair of claws reaching from the bottom of the plane, and Kristen confidently stepped out.

“Wait, WHAT?”, Blake shouted. “You were knocked out!”

“Please.”, Kristen said with a laugh. “I’m tougher than that. I faked that whole ‘getting knocked out’ thing!”

“Well done, Kristen.”, Rachael said. The girl grinned in return.

“The girls are abandoned ship when they were caught by the beam.”, Kristen said. “But, they made one giant mistake. Come on out, sir!”

A tall, handsome man with blond hair hurled himself from the helicopter door, and landed in a somersault, jumping up immediately in front of Ricky, offering a handshake.

“Sansone Ferraro, at your service.”, he said cheerfully. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You’re…how did you….”, Blake asked, dumbfounded.

“Pure. Dumb. Luck.”, Sansone said, revealing a box containing a box holding a chunk of yellow metal. “The girls just left me behind, package and all.”

“Well, that’s awesome!”, Blake shouted happily. Rachael smiled a bit herself. Ricky, however, looked off into the distance.

“It would have been easy to take that package, even if they were evacuating their chopper.”, he thought. “Was this luck? Or was it…”

---

“We’ve returned, Madame Boss.”, the girl with the long brown hair said, kneeling before the aging woman on the throne.

“And all went according to plan?”, Madame Boss asked of her.

“Perfectly. The Orso have two of the packages, now, and both of the Ferraro brothers that have revealed themselves.”, she replied.

“This must wound your pride, Adelina, letting these children gain such an advantage.”

“I…I know that this is what must be done. We will follow your commands.”

“Good. And how is Rosangela faring?”

“Still sick, Madame Boss…”

“How unfortunate.”, Madame Boss said, without a hint of emotion. “The third brother will be in Japan in three days. The exact location has been delivered to your quarters. You know what must be done.”

“I…I do, Madame Boss.”, Adelina said. “We will not fail you.”

“As I expect of you. Now, leave me. The Seven Roses will have its victory, I assure you. And the Orso will fall before us.”

“Yes, Madame.”, Adelina said, rising. “I thank you, for your wisdom.”

As Adelina exited the room, Madame Boss couldn’t help but smile. Everything was going as she planned it. Soon, the world would topple to her command. But for now, she would wait. Nothing worth having was gained quickly.

“Osvaldo…”, she said. “This is becoming quite interesting, isn’t it?”

The man who had been hiding himself in the shadows stepped out into the light and chuckled a bit.

“Oh, it certainly has, Sister.”, he said. “Most interesting.”

As he walked, the man’s open shirt revealed the tattoo on his chest…a black skull and crossbones.

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