LOCATION: ALLEY.
The world is a very dark place. Trust no one easily.
Betrayals were quite common and regular in the underworld. Greed always consumed me right from time immemorial. Money, power, women, political positions, monarchial positions and the rest. All these were some factors that could influence betrayal.
Sometimes If the stakes were high enough, brothers would betray one another.Talk more about strangers .
These people were only swarming him because of the money. Some were bidding their time. When he let down his guard, anything could happen.
Almost nobody would willingly follow a fifteen year old lol cosplayed like a mafia. Unless you had money.
The money was the bait. And Adrian had succeeded in anchoring them. All that's left is to...open their eyes. And to do that, he needed an example.
Adrian stared at the tall man before him. A sadistic smirk gracing his face.
'Finally. A scapegoat'
The man barked trying to look intimidating.
"Kid do you hear me?, have you gone deaf, I said, drop the fucking money and scram with your fellow pussies"
The rest of the people present changed sides in a split second.
Answer this, would you rather take orders from a grown man or a teenager still wet behind the ears. This man would beat up this kid and maybe just maybe, he would give them a share of the money.
Adrian's eyes held amusement within them. Then he replied with a simple....
"No"
For a moment, the alley became quiet. The men could not fathom the size of balls on this kid.
Was he mad, did he smoke before coming here, or was he just plainly stupid.
On the account that the boy held good intentions for them, they tried to desuad him from following through with this path.
"Erm.... kid, please just leave. Am not ready to carry anyone's dead body outta here"
"Yeah. You boys should just leave. Things can get rough around these parts"
"Be a good kid and fuck off before big Jack gets angry"
Adrian listened to their warnings with a bored expression.
The tall man, now identified as 'Big Jack' smiled and thought.
'Hmph. Obviously this kid is a pussy hiding behind his mom's skirt. I don't know what his doing here but I bet he's just maintaining this bravado to save face and any moment from now he will fall on his knees and beg me'
Seeing he had the upper hand, Big Jack seized the moment. Moving forward with steady steps, establishing his dominance over the entire situation. His heart swelled with pride and his eyes with greed as he stared at the ward of cash still within Adrian's grapse.
He stretched forth his hand intending to take the cash away by force but something seems off.
*CHUILK*
*GASP*
*WTF*
Again silence was heard within the alley. All, stared at the scene before them in utmost bewilderment. This was not supposed to happen was it?. How?, when? , who is this kid?.
Big Jack had the most of it all. His hand was still outstretched. But, there was something off about this situation. A smaller hand held a blade which found itself stuck squarely in his right eye.
For some seconds the pain did not register in his head. But after some time, an intense and excruciating pain struck him. The agony was so unbearable he had to let out a scream.
*AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
"FUCK"
Blood, like a river gushed from his eyes. Dripping like a creek.His dirty clothes were further stained with his own blood. He kept on cursing and swearing.
"You motherfucker. I'll kill you"
Adrian calmly flicked his blade to the side. His eyes filled with boredom like he did not just stab a man in the eye.
"Take one more step and, let's just say you wouldn't be needing a second eye"
Sharp breaths were drawn amongst the crowd. This kid was a demon. Even though he just stabbed someone, his eyes remained bored like he was watching cocomelon.
They really had to think twice before affirming their decision to work for this demonic kid. Who knew what job they had to do. This kid nearly killed someone.
Adrian felt the gazes of fear directed towards him. He smiled politely before speaking.
"Do not worry, am not a cruel person. That only happens to those who disobey. I come in peace. Every man picked for this job will be given and not limited to, a place to stay. And every week you will be paid the sum of 700dollars. Depending on your performance forthwith, your pay may be increased"
Letting his words sink in, Adrian continued.
"Mind you, not everyone will be picked. There are limited spots. You will be handpicked personally by me. For now, I want you to form a line"
Throughout the rest of the day, Adrian continued the selection process. There was about thirty men present in this alley.
Out of that, only twelve agreed after being picked by Adrian.
They, together with Adrian, Pierce and Michelson walked down to a seven story residential apartment where Adrian rented three apartments on the fourth floot for his men.
Afterwards, Adrian and co returned back home. And after a very satisfying supper, they all retired for the night.
****************************************
The next day, After waking up, Adrian did his morning rituals. Then, after a hearty and delicious breakfast made by him, he left home on his scotter towards the apartment building he rented for his men.
Getting there, he called all the men into one room.
Standing before his men Adrian prepared a speech. These men before him will form the foundation of his future Mafia family that is if he could get them to remain loyal.
"First, I want you all to introduce yourselfs and give a little backstory"
They stood up one after the other Introducing themselves a little. Essentially bonding with their future colleges.
Adrian nodded to them then began.
"As you all know, my name is Adrian De Sinclair and I am your employer. For what job you might ask, It's simple. I plan to create the most powerful and influencial crime group in the entire world. A mifia dreaded and revered throughout history past and that to come."
"Anyone that decides to stay in this room will, from henceforth, dedicate their entire lives to me and the chain of command of this organization."
"You will be trained, taught, and paid. When you are ready, we will embark on a journey of vanquishing. Depending on the risk of some jobs, bonuses will be handed out."
"But, just a little caveat. Death lurks at every corner. This job is not for the faint of heart. If you are certain that you will not be able to carry out this job, I advise you to leave. Cause if you remain, you may very well die"
The shared looks of fear between the men told Adrian all he needed to know. Everyone feared death. Nobody desired to die but, living on the streets, scraping for food, a place to lay down for the night and clothing was almost tantamount to death.
At least here they would get a source of livelihood and if they worked hard enough and remained loyal, they could be given a promotion. But out there, it was only a matter of time before death took them.
In the end two of the men decided to leave. They would rather die peacefully than to die in the line of uncertainty.
"Boss we are grateful for the opportunity given but, I don't wanna die yet"
"Yeah me too. Please, we're just ordinary men. We can't handle this kind of life"
Adrian nodded. He reached into his pockets. bringing out some bills, he handed it over to them before urging.
"Take this. For your troubles."
Seeing the cash, tears welled up in both their eyes. They thanked him immensely before walking out of the apartment with gusto probably to get a meal somewhere.
Out of the twelve men that came yesterday, only ten remained. They were between age twenty and forty.
Adrian murmured.
"I can still work with this"
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"For the rest of you that stayed, be glad. From here on out your life will never remain the same. As long as you do your jobs and obey orders without questions then we will have no quarrel"
"Later, you will come with me to your training spot for the next three months where you will be thought the art of self defense and attack. But for now, follow me. Let's get a wardrobe change for you guys, then, we celebrate."
The men cheered with enthusiasm.Their spirits lifted.
"YEAHHH"
Afterwards, they all moved downstairs. Hailing two cabs, they began their voyage towards the mall. Each man was given three sets of clothes, two pairs of underwear and two pairs of shoes.
Receiving such generous gifts from their boss made the men immensely grateful thereby planting little seeds of loyalty in them.
Hereafter, they all walked down to a restaurant sporting new clothes. They had their fill of food. More food than they could ever handle. They enjoyed themselves, having conversations amongst each other trying to know more about the other.
After a hail and hearty meal, Adrian took them down to [SHOTO'S DOJO].
With the men behind him, Adrian walked gracefully into the dojo.
Hatsuki was surprised seeing the crowd of customers brought to her.
Adrian walked up to her then greeted.
"A most marvelous morning to you miss Hatsuki. As you see, I am here to fulfill the other part of our deal. Just as promised each man will be trained for three hours a day everyday. Which would bring the daily payment up to 300dollars per man, totalling 3000dollars daily."
Although this sounded like a big amount, Adrian was certain he could bear it. Besides, he planned to recruit more men for himself in the future.
The [Street Tigers] had the advantage of numbers which helped them oversee the activities of the three streets they controlled.
Adrian knew he did not have much time left. The [Street Tigers] would soon be on his tail and he had little time to prepare. He needed information fast. Looks like he was going to pay a visit to his old friend.
Hatsuki nodded. This was the deal they harshed out. From now on it looked like she was going to have a very busy schedule.
Adrian left shortly after putting his men in order. They would first have to be drilled into shape. With adequate and balanced meals, it won't be long till they were in tip top shape.
Although he still had doubts about their loyalty, he hoped his money will put them in line for now until he secured a better grip on them.
Hailing another cab, he journeyed back home. Him and the rest would go on another recruitment scheme again. For now he had to complete a project that had long since been overlooked.