Orso Fiction 020

Orso Fiction 020-Gambit
“I KNOW you’re not thinking about it.”, Brittney said.

“It’s just an offer.”, Alex protested. “I accepted that there WAS an offer. That’s like saying ‘Yes, I acknowledge that there’s a jar of hard candy on the desk, but I’m not in much of a mood for sweets right now. Should I find myself in the mood for a piece of confectionary, I may take one, thank you for offering’. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?”, Brittney fumed. “Tell that to Bradley.”

“Nonononono!”, Alex said. “You’re not telling Bradley about this!”

“And why not?”

“Because then I wouldn’t be allowed to meet with Zeke anymore, and I don’t know if you noticed, but he has INFORMATION! Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you will win every battle, and all that.”

“It’s too risky, Alex!”, Brittney shouted at him as they got in the car. “I can’t believe you’re willing to SEE him, after what he did to Zach!”

“What he did to Zach is bad, yes.”, Alex said softly. “But if I was able to get Zach the information he needed to keep the family safe, do you think he would be unhappy with me? He left me with responsibility, Brittney. He didn’t say it, but I KNOW he’s counting on me to maintain order. I brought you so you could keep me from doing anything stupid, not so you could keep me from doing anything.”

Brittney took a deep breath.

“I’m trying to keep myself from hitting you right now.”, she said after a while.

“I know.”, Alex said with a smile. “Can we go back now?”

“Only if you promise you won’t take any more of Zeke’s candy.”

“Unless you know about it. Give me that.”

“Unless I know about it.”, Brittney allowed.

“I promise.”, Alex said, and began to drive.

---

Taylor Houston sat at her desk, playing with the letter in her hands. It was the same as the last three she had seen. The only things changed were the name and the place. Allison Boyd stood at her side.

“So, who will we be sending out?”, the Rain Agent asked. Taylor sighed and put the paper down.

“No one.”, Taylor said.

“Excuse me?”, Allison asked, surprised.

“Look at it like this, Allison…For this metal, we’ll have to fight.”

“That’s…right.”

“And for the next? Another fight.”

“That is the system we’ve established so far…”

“And for the sixth? Another fight.”

“What are you getting at?”

“As long as we have one Arcoferro, we have an ace. I’ve spoken to Tammaro, Sansone, and Arduino. The Arcoferro are unusable until the whole set is assembled. Their father had the whole set, until he split it up, and passed it to his sons. Their aunt and uncle, however, had no means by which to get any of the Arcoferro. Apparently, their father is keeping close tabs on them, to prevent that from happening.”

“Wait…So what you’re suggesting…”

“That’s right. We let the Roses collect three more Arcoferro, and then we meet them when the seventh reveals itself. Eventually, we’ll HAVE to clash over the pieces the other side has. We have the red and yellow, and they have the green. With this plan, we minimize the number of times we expose our vulnerabilities. If we sent teams out to collect these metals, they may be taken hostage, and the Roses would demand the metals in return for their release.”

“That…actually kind of makes sense. Let them do all the work…but, do you have faith that we’ll be able to win that last battle, when it counts?”, Allison asked. Taylor smiled.

“Does a bear shit in the woods?”, she asked. “All we do now, is wait, like the Agents we are. We’ll appear when it’s necessary.”

“Hey, Taylor!”, Paige Lewis called from the doorway. “Letter for you…well, all of us.”

“Let me see that…”, Taylor said, opening the letter Paige handed her. She scanned it quickly. “I see…Interesting.”

“What is it?”, Allison asked.

“The Seven Roses must be run by someone who thinks a lot like I do…”, the Head Agent murmured. “They’ve proposed a truce. They’ve declared that they’ll pick up the Arcoferro, and keep them in their possession, until the seventh is revealed. At that point, we’ll meet, and battle for them…”

“That’s convenient.”, Paige said.

“But, is that wise? This way, we’re going right along with their plans…”, Allison warned.

“Their plan? No, Allison…This is my plan. Everything is going just as I want it to. They have one more deal…They’ll turn the Ferraro brothers over to us…as long as we only meet them with the seven Primo Agents…Curious.”

“They want just us, huh?”,Paige asked.

“Looks like it. Well, this is all perfect; they’re terms I’d have declared myself. Ferraro brothers safe, the ownership of the metals gambled on one battle. And this way…we run no risks. The less we reveal of our battle capabilities, the better. We know enough about them to prepare for their attack.”

“You have a scary mind, Taylor.”, Allison said, laughing. “You think this will work?”

“Of course. “, Taylor chuckled. “I’m the one that planned it. We’ll expect the next Ferraro to be delivered to Eldersburg tonight, they say. We’ll call a meeting when he arrives to give the other four Agents the details of this gambit of mine…”

---

“Simple.”, Adelina said, rotating the blue Arcoferro in her fingers. The man with the icy blue hair sat handcuffed to the chair, staring at her bitterly. “Please don’t hate us for this. We’ll be delivering you to your brothers tonight. Just…without this.”

“Your goals…what are they?”, the man asked.

“We need the seven Arcoferro metals, and the seven Orso Agent rings.”, Adelina said. “And our allies will be getting the seven Orso Varia rings. Frediano, I think your name was? Your uncle has offered to use them to create a cure for our sister.”

“A cure?”, Frediano asked. “Preposterous.”

“Say what you will.”, Adelina said. “But we need our sister healthy, and we’ll do whatever he and your aunt ask to get her back.”

“My aunt and uncle are mad.”, Frediano scoffed. “You really trust them? Your sister is good as dead, if your last hope of her recovery is the two of them.”

In the blink of an eye, Adelina slapped Frediano across the face. Tears streamed down her face.

“I don’t care how far I have to fall.”, Adelina hissed. “If the path to hell is the one that lets me see Princess smile again, I’ll sin until every drop of blood is cut from my body.”

---

Zeke laid back, enjoying the sun on his face. Sarah was off to his side, sitting perfectly still, staring into the distance. Zeke yawned, grinning.

“Oh, I’m just too excited. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”, he said. “Don’t you feel it, too, Sarah?”

“Feel what?”, she replied emotionlessly.

“Oh, you know…that pre-game feeling…We’re going to watch three families, all pure as snow, taint each other with extreme and senseless violence.”, Zeke giggled, getting up. He put his hands on Sarah’s shoulders and began to rub slowly. “Don’t you find the thought…a little…arousing?”

“No. Remove yourself.”, Sarah answered coldly. Zeke clicked his tongue and started to walk off.

“Oh, you’re no fun, Sarah. The other five are away, we should make good on the privacy while we have it…”

“I have none of Micaiah’s promiscuity, nor Miriam’s rebelliousness, nor Hannah’s childish curiousity.”

“And that’s what I find most alluring about you…”, Zeke said, winking. “Are you sure I’m forever destined for the cold shoulder from you?”

“Don’t you have something to be doing?”, Sarah asked.

“Oh, you’re such a tease.”, Zeke said with a chuckle. “Well, how many of the Orso women do you think will stay behind?”

“Are you suggesting…”

“What would throw Zach into the darkness faster?”, Zeke laughed. “I can’t help it if I find their innocence a little attractive…Think of me as like Alex, from A Clockwork Orange…”

“I’m sure Zach would be thrilled for you to take such horrific inspiration from one of his favorite novels.”

“It’s a hobby.”, Zeke said. “Now, while I was napping, did Malachi and Miriam go to their missions?”

“Yes. Malachi and Miriam are where we agreed they’d go. Micaiah and Hannah are out collecting supplies. Isaac is on guard duty.”

“It’s getting to be such a bother, living out in these woods…”, Zeke mused. “Do you think, if we asked nicely, they’d let us live in the base?”

“Of course not.”

“Pity…I think we ought to give it a try, regardless. At least the girls in there wouldn’t be able to fight me off…”

---

“Nerina, are we on time?”, Adelina asked. The two of them, as well as Raimonda, stepped out of the car, then helped Frediano, his hands still tied, out as well. She looked up at the abandoned theater as the car with the other Roses pulled up and they exited.

“Yep.”, Nerina said. “We said we’d meet them in one hour, right here.”

“There’s really no need to wait up for them …”, a girl’s voice came from behind them. They turned to see Miriam sitting atop the building.

“Who are you supposed to be?”, Adelina asked.

“Me? Well, maybe I’m a friend of the Orso…maybe I’m not.”, the Storm Apostle teased. “Maybe I want to deliver the metalsmith safe and sound…or maybe I want to cut his hands off. Maybe I want to work with you…and maybe I want to work against you.”

“Maybe you’ll want to talk sense, before one of us snaps your little neck.”, Raimonda said. “We said we’d meet the Orso Agents sent to pick this guy up. You’re not one of them, are you?”

“What a deduction…”, Miriam said, jumping to the ground. “No. I’m no Orso. But I know what they did to your sister.”

“Go on.”, Adelina said cautiously.

“Well, there’s not much else to say, is there? Those scumbags infected your sister with a deadly disease so Berenger Ferraro could win that stupid little gamble with your leader, Sonia Ferraro, and Osvaldo Ferraro, and become America’s top crime family.”

“And what are you driving at?”, Adelina asked. “Who exactly are you?”

“I’m just some girl.”, Miriam sneered. “Who may or may not be…working for Berenger himself.”

Adelina’s eyes opened wide at this.

“You’re…”, she began, igniting her Cloud ring, and preparing to open a box with it. “…working for Berenger!?”

“If you can beat me, maybe I’ll tell you!”, Miriam laughed, covering herself in a Storm Flame aura. “Come! Show me if your dark sides can scratch me!”

---

Baldovino hit the ground in a flash.

“Baldy!”, Guerino shouted. “You bastard! What have you done!?”

Malachi, standing in front of all of the Seven Skulls, laughed.

“It looks like I almost broke his ribs. You’re lucky I’m such a nice guy and held back.”, he answered.

“What an impetuous intruder…”, Severo said. “Placido! Silence him!”

“It would be my pleasure.”, Placido said, trying not to let his anger influence the sound of his voice. He ignited his ring in Rain Flames. “I’ll avenge that blow, Baldovino.”

“You won’t be able to hurt me by taking turns attacking.”, Malachi laughed. “Come at me, all at once. Show me what these Hell Holes are capable of!”

---

The man on the throne, hidden in the shadows, smiled. Chess was such a strange game, he thought, when one had control of all the pieces.

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