“Well, the family has always had a hard time keeping track of you. Even with our resources, the army always kept you on the move. About five years ago you completely fell off the grid.” Celeana began.
This made sense to Andrew, as that was shortly after the time he had bonded with Raya, and started his journey to becoming a god of war. The team had decided to start concealing their identities from the world once assassinations started.
“Most assumed you had died, but then about three years ago we got the first reports of our son in law making a name for himself in Durres. My father had been told that you had some early connections with Durres, so this made sense to him. He and grandfather assumed you had been rotated home for a short leave for a period of time. They felt they confirmed this when other reports came in that you were again on the front in Warrington, and other stories of you being sent deep into Jerean territory. Those reports were always vague re
Later that night, Celeana was sitting in a hotel room on the Durres coast when a servant knocked on her door. “Come in.” The man who came in was one of her family’s top informants who had followed her to Placida. “My lady, I have the information you requested.” “Go ahead.” “After he left you, he was picked up by a car with a woman we know almost nothing about. Her name is Alexa but beyond that… she is estimated to be in her mid-twenties and only appeared here within the last three months. Before that, she has never been seen before in Placida, and as far as we know not even in Dragard. This man, Andrew left on a trip with another woman named Anika around that time, and when he returned it was Alexa that was with him instead. This Alexa has been here ever since. She seems to live in the room next to him, as does Miss Roisin. The Anika he left with has not returned to Durres.” “Quite the ladies’ man isn’t he. Well, we will see about that
The next day, a storm began to brew in the Durres underground. Lord Butcher was in town. When the news hit the streets that the Lord butcher himself was walking the streets, every gangster and brawler found a place to hide, knowing his reputation. Ten years ago, the butcher had come to Durres to set up a kingdom for his little brother, Maahes, and carved out a place for him within the underground. The butcher had only taken a slice, and left it for his brother to establish the rest, but those who had opposed the Lord Butcher taking that section had died violently. These days, the Lord butcher ran a major gang out of the Placida capital, Tiranë, with rumor that he also had ties to other gangs that worked the kingdom's capital itself. After such a deadly and bloody start, the Lord Butcher never thought anyone would dare mess with his brother. He had put him here in Durres partly to give him his own territory and to expand the family power, but also to get him away from t
When Andrew woke up and went to have breakfast with Roisin and Alexa, President Liam was waiting for them. “President Liam, please join us. I assume you have urgent news if you are here in person.” Said Roisin. “Miss Roisin, please feel free to just call me Liam. Please forgive me, but I need a private word with Mr. Andrew.” “Of course.” With that, Roisin and Alexa found a table in the dining room to wait for Andrew. “Sir, Maahes was taken to a hospital. I had men watch him. It seems his brother is now in town. The lord Butcher himself.” Said Liam in a quiet tone. “Indeed. Well, it was to be expected. The Butcher has come for his younger brother, the so-called god of war of Durres, Maahes. HA. Did he have any demands?” asked Andrew knowingly. “5o million, sir.” Said Liam. Liam knew he could not simply take out 50 million from company money even if it was available. To do so would be to admit guilt on one hand, and on the other, i
Soon, the underground was ablaze with news again! President Liam was selling off massive amounts of business! This was unheard of, but several in the underground had also heard about the 50 million dollar ultimatum issued by the Lord Butcher. Many assumed that Liam was quickly raising the capital to pay tribute so a big boss or had major issues and was running scared! People were amazed because it was not just the fast money-making business from the underground world but also gray world business and even some businesses that seemed legitimate were sold off in a hurry, often at a loss. There were voices of discussion everywhere about Liam. “wouldn’t you be scared? 50 million was the price on his head from the Lord Butcher. Does he have enough business to sell to raise that kind of capital? What if he doesn’t raise the funds? The Lord Butcher is going to have his head this time!” many people laughed at Liam in private thinking he would have to kneel and beg the l
During this time, Andrew instructed Roisin to lay low, and spend her time close to Arya croft. Alexa and Liam each assigned several extra men to guard the two of them. Andrew refused to let the time go to waste and decided now was a great time to get some training in with Alexa. “Let's see what Raya taught you.” Alexa just smiled. At the construction site, she worked with fifteen men, as several were assigned to Roisin’s detail and several were at the new site. This would be a good test to see what they could do with reduced numbers and in smaller units. “Begin!” came Andrew’s command. As they circled Andrew, he realized things were different. A sudden pain in his back brought his focus back to the moment and he found he had lost track of Alexa already! “Hit!” she called. How had that happened! The men all grinned, a new fire in their eyes. Andrew had promised them high rewards if they ever beat him in practice.
The next day The Lord Butcher found himself and a few retainers visiting a dockside bar. “you rang?” he said to the only man sitting there. “my patron rang. Let's get down to business. You have… shall we just call them, roadblocks.” “Are you referring to those who abolished my brother? They are soon to be plant food.” “Fair enough. If you can find them. My patron wants to make sure the complete job is done. If you discredit Roisin in whatever way your men see fit, and remove Alexa, there is an extra ten million in it for you. However, the son-in-law of lord Devos is not to be touched.” “Son in law?” asked lord butcher. Devos was a powerful house from Ashai. He knew better than to mess with another province. “What about Liam?” he said hesitantly. “We have no ties to a Liam. Do with him as you wish.” Lord Butcher beamed at that. “very well. I will do my best to avoid this son-in-law of Devos. I make no promises if he was directly
Andrew had spent the morning working with Liam and Arya Croft today preparing for the transition to the new site and filing formal business notices to the correct authorities. Around noon, Anika finally rolled in on her bike, dressed in her black riding leathers. “You didn’t run away from the capital this time, did you? You are not going to have an army of lord Reva’s men coming to find you again, right?” asked Andrew. “It's good to see you too.” She said as she patted his cheek. “and no, I did not run away this time, but that is not to say some of the capital spies will not be lurking about. I swear, I feel like there are always eyes on me these days.” Anika replied. “Hmm, I am not sure I care for the sound of that,” replied Andrew. “You are just jealous that someone other than you is staring at me.” She said coyly. “hmmm,” Andrew chuckled and pulled her into a side hug as they walked in to see Arya and continue reviewing plans for the
That evening, across town, Liam was meeting with several big bosses of the underground circle of Durres. Each man had laid claim to a different sector of the city. They were all here to convince Liam to settle with the lord butcher. “Liam, it's bad for business for you to have a blood feud in our streets. We are willing to buy off the rest of your businesses to help you raise the capital.” Said one. “I have sold all my underground business. I don’t need to sell anything else. I never had need of cash in the first place.” Said Liam calmly, leaning back in his chair. “Come now, man. We all know you owe a huge sum to the lord Butcher. 50 million is not easy money. Even if you broke your entire capital chain with new loans, it may not be possible. Look, we are willing to let you have a loan, and will offer you a great rate. Dreadnaught can be collateral against the butcher killing you outright. Surely if you settle tonight, well before the deadline, he may only b