Master's Apprentice (Completed) Undergoing Edits

Cold

Thanks for adding this to your reading list! (Do advise to read the rest before reading this one as its one of the last chapters...) Enjoy!

Author's note: This is the part where stuff gets strange...

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"Ms...You're The Master's secretary, I presume?"

"Depends. Who's speaking?"

Tomas smirked. This lady was just as cunning as he expected.

"I received a paycheck and want a closer look at it."

Silence reigned on the other hand. He quickly looked at the code words at the back of the piece of paper and wondered whether it was all a hoax. Was his Uncle pranking him even now?

He had no time to let himself worry over that. The Lombardi brothers would be on Uncle Bern's tail by now and he needed to make sure they were dealt with appropriately.

It was for the greater good.

"I'll be right over."

"Do you even know the address..", the phone clicked and he realized she had already left.

Guess this was not the first time Uncle Bern ever needed to call her in the middle of the night.

The only thing he knew for sure was that number he had discovered was not an office number, so it probably connected to her directly.

After a few minutes, an intercom buzzed and he let in a brunette lady with shoulder pads and curly hair.

"You better have a good excuse for calling me here, Tomas."

Tomas then stuttered. "You know who I am?"

"I recognized your voice, tonto. Ms. Martinez is what you will call me from now on."

"Martinez?"

Looking over the apartment, she said, "I see Mr. Bern has kept most things in their place except for..."

She picked out the amulet from it's designated hiding place-behind the sofa pillows and held it up for Tomas to see.

"Is that why Uncle Bern hasn't been answering the phone? What a naughty apprentice you've been, haven't you?"

"What are you talking about?", Tomas stated as he tried to keep composed.

"Stop fidgeting. The future leader of the Ambassadors of Evil never shows weakness."

Backing him into a corner, Tomas bumped into a coffee table and swallowed nervously.

"Or discomfort for that matter. We'll have to work on it, but I see that you're uncle was right."

"About what?"

"You do have potential."

Tomas cleared his frazzled thoughts and calmly collected himself, remembering why he called the secretary in the first place.

"I need the Lombardi brothers to not reach Uncle Bern."

"So you dethroned him? Wow. Never thought you of all people would stab him in the back..."

"No! My wife was held hostage by ex-associates of Uncle Bern, she died because of their meddling," he bristled at retelling that part of the tale, "but before she died, I asked of a favor from Uncle Bern..."

"Let me guess. He changed his mind and you 'accidentally' used the amulet to make him obey you and it backfired?"

"Let me finish! He used the amulet on me, I found out and used it on him and told him to leave and go to Argentina. I think you can deduce the rest."

"Of course I can. Kid, ever hear of the Cuban Revolution? I'm his secretary not because I look pretty, but because I proved myself useful to him when I was younger and got him to get out me and my family out of a sticky situation."

Tomas tapped his toes in frustration. "I'm waiting, Miss Marple."

"You need help since the Lombardi brothers will probably come after you next after they find Uncle Bern with no recollection of this night's events."

Tomas sat down and patted the sofa. "Are you willing to help me then?"

"I'm not innocent, so I can tell you there's more you're not telling me. Spill. What else happened tonight?"

"I killed the associates using a power I never knew I had and am willing to take over AoE temporarily as long as I can keep my family safe."

That's what he would have said if he had the courage. Fortunately for him, she was a bit of a mind reader.

That's...different.

A thought popped up in his head that was not his. As a result, he jumped off the sofa and almost crashed against another strategically placed coffee table.

Relax. Let me see into your mind and you won't have to say anything if you don't want to.

Why should I trust you? he thought.

You trusted me enough as you called me in the dead of night and woke me up from beauty sleep!

"Sorry about that", he voiced out loud.

Shh. Shh. Everything will be alright. Just let me sort out your thoughts.

After a while, she rose and started looking frantically in the apartment.

"Now, where did that fascist place that doggone book? I swear sometime he's a....", she mumbled as Tomas wondered what she was going on about.

"Excuse..."

"Ah. Here it is. The Book of Secrets.", she dumped a huge volume on the coffee table and Tomas peered at it, curious at its contents.

"It looks quite ancient, but no dust?"

"It's been well-read by The Master. Think of it as The Art of War for Villains."

"They willingly call themselves that?"

"They don't conform to society, so what else are they going to name themselves? They wear that name as a badge of pride."

She sighed. "At least most of them do."

Ms. Martinez turned towards Tomas and held up two fingers straight at him.

"You have two choices now. 1. Go to the authorities and hope they'll give witness protection to your family and 2. Overthrow your uncle and become the next Evil Hand."

"What will the latter accomplish?"

"Easy. No more worrying about revenge from the associates who survived your massacre, and the families of the Ukrainians and anyone who knows your wife was a spy, plus safety for your son."

"What's the catch?", he asked as he considered the option.

"No exits from leadership. Technically, you deposed your uncle in a coup d'etat, so if you chose the former option, I can guarantee there will be people sent to prison to kill you so that they can take your uncle's place. As you were his apprentice and family member, you are heir, but if you renounce it, you're fair game and all of AoE will go after you."

"Deal."

Ms. Martinez raised the book in her hand and said, "Swear it on the book."

Tomas looked confused as he again stared at her momentarily.

"There's a pledge on the back for initiation.", she grumbled irritably.

"I pledge my life...to everlasting darkness and declare my life forfeit should I cease to be the Evil Hand...wait, did I read that right?"

Suddenly, a force struck him behind and power overwhelmed him.

At that moment, he fainted.

Right before he fell to the floor, he heard Ms. Martinez say, "I hope you live through this."

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Author's note: Obviously he survives people! There is no WGM without him!