Bloodbath of the Fallen Crown

10

This was fucking unbelievable.

"Put it on speaker!"

"Gabe, how did you find out?"

"We have a system on everyone's home. We have one for your apartment in Seoul. We got a fire alert and then news that there was an explosion right where it was. This isn't a coincidence."

"No shit," I mumbled.

That fucking bitch. I'll kill her.

"Do you know anything else?"

"No. Just that it exploded. How did they know you were in Seoul?"

Nicolas shook his head, "I have no idea. Is that all that exploded?"

Gabriel stayed quiet for a moment. Then, "is there anything else I should know about?"

Nicolas cringed. "I have a small house just outside of Seoul. By a forest. I'll send you the coordinates. No one knows about that one. I have never brought anyone there and barely spent my time there. I just stored a bunch of intel and information on my jobs and other organizations. Can you secure that for me?"

I stared at him. He has to be fucking kidding me. Who in their right mind thinks it's ever good to hide something as big as that.

"I'll send someone there," he replied.

"No," Nicolas countered. "Has to be in person. That info cannot get in the hands of the wrong person. If they would have known about that they would have blown it up, too."

"You know something I don't?" Gabriel sounded dubious.

Nicolas looked at me and sighed, "Kiara is after this. We found a document in the computer we took from Schweihs. It says Kiara and Fiorella Canci were there with her. Not long after Anastasia's apartment is  discovered and now my apartment is blown up? You know how the brain of Mussolini's work. I need you there, ASAP."

"Anastasia?" Gabriel asked. He needed my permission.

"It's very risky," I said. "How bad is that information?"

"I've got dirt on enemies and enemies of enemies and allies. I've got locations of warehouses and codes for documents, the documents themselves. I've got all my personal information. It's a lot."

I cursed under my breath. "Go. Bring all that shit back to Sicily and lock it away."

Nicolas looked like he was going to protest, but I cut him off before he could. "Don't you dare. This was reckless of you. Stupid, even. We should have been informed of all of this."

He narrowed his eyes, "I don't work for you anymore."

"Yet here you are," I cocked my head. "It's either that or you go get it yourself."

He gritted his teeth. "Fine."

"Go Gabriel. Keep Mateo posted on a three and a half hour basis. Wear a tracker and take two men with you. Come back right away. When you're back I want a report on everything that happened. Be careful."

"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"

Nicolas sighed, "we killed the guy. And some other guards."

"I know. I saw. I'm not really sure what else I can do about that, but I'll have my team check cameras. Only Mateo will know about the chatroom. We get an alert every time you send a message, so he'll always be there."

"We're gonna head to a warehouse tomorrow, which is where they supposedly have some merchandise. We're gonna check to see if anyone knows anything about anything."

"I'll be sure to tell Mateo. I'll be off now. I just scheduled a flight."

"No," I told him. "Take the jet. It'll be better if they know you're coming."

Nicolas looked at me distastefully. "In what way?"

"You were away from us for two years. They just delivered a package to my apartment, yet they blew up yours. It could obviously be because I am the boss right now and they wouldn't want to mess with me, or they could have thought you no longer had our safety and decided to attack you."

"Why now?" Gabriel asked. "Why not two years ago?"

Nicolas lowered his head, "I bet you heard that South Korea--"

"Ended their alliance with us? Yes, I did. Almost a year ago. I haven't been able to deal with that. The news stayed pretty contained, however. They must have not wanted to get involved with any of our enemies. Still, that's not why. Their first meeting was recently. Schweihs referred to Fiorella Canci as a redhead, so they're not familiar with names. If Barbara Schweihs kept the documents at the brothel, so she must have kept most of them there. Little Schweihs would have known them by name if they had met more times. The attacked you just know simply because they just started their alliance. First they take Vee and then they try to hurt you."

"They did it all pretty quick, though," Gabriel pointed out.

That was true. "Which means they planned it all out to the last detail or--"

"It's rushed," Nicolas finished for me.

"Yep. Which is why if they see our plane coming, they might not realize we're here in Berlin. We might be able to buy some time by making them think we've just found out about everything."

"Yes, but... if they know we're here?"

"It wouldn't make sense that they know you're here," Gabriel answered for me. "They wouldn't have gone to your apartment. Unless they were after the information. In that case, it's long gone by now."

"That, and they took Vee for some reason. They aren't acting like they're after information. If anything, they're after leverage and power. Info takes time, it takes strategy. Katerina and Angelo both loved being hands on. They directly weaken their subject. Using information doesn't fit their profile."

"Or Schweih's," Nicolas added. "She isn't the type to use dirt to destroy someone. She's the type to kill them."

I sighed. "Check the apartment anyways, Gabe. See if the explosions they put were set as a warning or with intention to kill. First Vee and now Nicolas. Make sure to report back if you figure out the motive for the explosion."

"Whatever you say. I'll get the jet ready. Stay safe."

"You too," Nicolas and I chorused back.

Gabriel hung up, leaving us both immersed in silence.

I was angry. So, so angry.

How could he keep this from us? Yes, he wasn't technically with us anymore, but we all knew that we all still had to inform Lorenzo about everything. When I took the thrown and had the briefing on all our affairs, this was never mentioned.

He was an important part of our organization. He should have known that he could never really escape us. This was a stupid move in his part. And Nicolas isn't stupid.

Maybe he's hiding something. Maybe there's something else in Seoul he needs to protect.

Who hides documents in paper anymore? It's a liability. 

A lot of things weren't adding up about this. It wasn't making sense why

"We should rest," I told him. "Not much we can do now. We need to be in good condition for tomorrow." 

***

Nearly forgot i had to post bc i was too busy streaming D-2. I have to contribute to Agust D world domination. The video is insane. I have to go and stream again. Ty i love you stay safe and healthy xoxo