Kapitel 4: A Meeting and A Test
Walking through the dark and, frankly, disgusting halls of Larry's underground club, I slicked my hair back and out of the way while I thought about how to handle this next thing.
Usually, I'd find a way to say no. Whether it be telling them my real age or that I simply didn't want to get into that life. Most of them were 'nice' enough to let me off with Larry telling them he'd get them a replacement that was just as good. Those that didn't take no for an answer were just people I had to deal with on a daily basis after every fight.
...Yet lately, they'd been backing off. They'd stopped approaching me on the street or sending invitations to meet their gang leaders to my apartment. I suspect that whoever I'm about to meet is the cause of them backing off.
Larry's quick pace slowed to a crawl as we approached a door that was actually well-kept despite the rest of this place looking terrible.
His brow was quickly becoming covered in sweat, a complete difference to how he was when he was speaking to me earlier. He brought his hand and a handkerchief to mop his brow so often his hand might as well have stayed there. Would've saved him the time and energy of moving his arm and saved me having my tolerance chipped away at by his worried behavior and fidgeting.
When we were in front of the matte black door, Larry sighed before taking a few quick breaths and then plastering a smile over his face.
He lifted his hand to knock but the door opened to reveal a tall and muscular olive-skinned man.
As soon as I saw him I knew...he was a proper fighter. A fighter who could probably fight me evenly if not outright slap me around with his brawn. He was about 6'6" and despite being ripped as hell, all my observation told me was that he was like me. He had the perfect balance between strength and speed aka he'd trained himself in the correct way.
I couldn't see where he was looking directly because of the darker than black shades he was currently wearing but I could feel the back of my neck getting goosebumps and my instincts aren't usually wrong, so why would they start now? He was definitely scanning me up and down like I'd done to him.
I was dealing with an equal here. Said equal opened the door and let us in to show a much better room than I thought this place of Larry's could ever have.
Seems like it wasn't just the door.
But my attention was soon focused on something else. It wasn't just the guy who opened the door. There were about four other bodyguards, I assume, around the room, all their eyes scanned on me as soon as I entered.
So, five in total. Three men and two women. All as dangerous as the next.
I felt my instincts set alight as I walked further into the room and I was already working out ways to get out of here if it all went sideways.
Sitting in the center of the room, directly in front of me, was a man who looked surprisingly young. Mid-thirties, maybe. He had olive skin and pitch black hair but what brought my attention the more was his one piercing blue eye and the other that was a muted grey. Blind. Probably caused by whatever gave him that scar he has over the same eye.
However, what really grabbed my attention the most, was the aura the guy was giving off.
Not the supernatural type or anything. Just an instinctive feel. I could feel that this guy was...dangerous. Not in the physical sense, no. But rather in the mentality sense. The type of guy who'd be willing to do anything to get what he wants.
...The type of person who's like me.
I walked toward him and his good eye was locked on me instantly. He scanned over me before he smiled and waved towards Larry who stopped dead in his tracks before letting out a nervous laugh and backing up to the door where upon getting to it, he opened it and left.
The man snapped his fingers and one of the male bodyguards came over - a short and slender man who looked to be of Asian descent. I didn't quite know what he'd been called for before he spoke.
"Mr. D'Angelo wishes to welcome you, Mr. Williams. I'll be acting as your translator for the night," he spoke in perfect English before bowing slightly.
I just looked at him before looking to the 'Mr. D'Angelo' in front of me. In the end, I decided to cut out the middle man, "Hello, Mr. D'Angelo," I spoke in, would you guess it, Italian. I took a stab in the dark because of his name and overall features. Though it wasn't exactly a stab in the dark. More like a stab in a dimly lit room, honestly.
Both the bodyguard and Mr. D'Angelo looked surprised before a smile came across the well-dressed man sitting down in front of me, "You know Italian? Well, this makes all this much easy. Yan, return to your earlier position," he said off to the side to the bodyguard before smiling back at me, "That is peculiar. A 15-year-old fighting prodigy and a budding linguist...quite talented, aren't you?"
"I speak multiple languages, Mr. D'Angelo," I motioned to the seat opposite him, still calm and controlled in my actions, "May I sit?"
"Of course, of course," he nodded, waving his hand as a gesture of 'do as you will' before he picked up one of the bottles between us and motioned to the glasses while I sat down opposite him, "Do you want a drink, Mr. Williams?"
"Only if you're offering, Mr. D'Angelo," I replied modestly and politely and the man smiled even further as he poured two glasses of what looked and smelled like wine.
He offered pushed the glass toward me and I took it before lifting it and giving it a sniff. Fruity.
Taking a sip, I raised my eyebrows slightly in surprise. Which Mr. D'Angelo saw as he laughed before taking a sip himself and speaking to me, "It's good wine, no? I brought it from Italy. Made by a company I own," he trailed off as he looked at the wine in the glass in his hand while he swilled it around. "Please, sate my curiosity, Mr. Williams, why do you know Italian? And you say you speak multiple languages? It's admirable. Maybe it will be more so if I here your reasoning," he probed for an answer and for this, I didn't really see a problem in answering.
"Learning languages is essential if you want to travel to different countries and immerse yourself properly into the culture. Plus...it's mentally enriching to learn a language," I smiled politely, taking another sip of the admittedly delicious wine, before my smile faltered somewhat, "Though with Italian...I learnt it because my mother comes from an Italian family," I finished, putting down the wine as I suddenly felt no more thirst.
Mr. D'Angelo raised an eyebrow at what I said and put his own glass down, "You have routes back to the old country? This is..." he trailed off for a second before his smile spread wide across his face, "Very good news!" he laughed before picking up his glass and downing it. Once he'd finished that, he leaned in a little and narrowed his brow a little, "Though, I must admit, 'Williams' isn't a very Italian surname. That is your mother's maiden name, isn't it?" he asked me with a serious gaze, probably thinking I was lying.
But I kept a calm face and answered, knowing that stuttering or trying to defend myself instead of answering directly would just land me in more shit. Plus, I wasn't lying.
"My grandmother was the last of my mother's family to hold the surname 'Bianchi'. She married in America to a man who wasn't from an Italian family. Hence the name 'Williams' being my mother's maiden surname," I said coolly before inwardly having to calm myself.
I felt like I was falling apart at the seams. Though not because I was scared of D'Angelo or anything. No, I was hurting because it hurt to speak about my mother and her family's past. Especially since earlier today, she...
I shut that thought and those feelings out and kept myself mentally together as Mr. D'Angelo replied to what I said.
"Ah, well, that would explain it," he nodded seeming saddened by it - he was probably one of the types of people who cared about bloodline purity. A stupid notion, in my opinion, seeing as it really did nothing. Especially seeing as diversity is what made Humans strong in the first place. Oblivious to my thoughts, the man carried on, "No worries, Adam--I can call you Adam, right? We've already shared a drink and had a little chat. This should be enough to drop the niceties, don't you agree?" he asked and I gave a curt nod so he smiled, "Good. I'm glad you're such a polite youth, Adam. Do you know why I called you here tonight?"
"To most likely recruit me into your organization, Mr. D'Angelo," I gave a curt answer, knowing mincing my words wasn't what was needed right now. Hearing me, he nodded and stood up before putting his hands in his pockets and looking to me.
"Let's get some fresh air while we talk, Adam," he said before walking to a nearby door that seemingly led to a balcony. I got up and followed him just to see one of his bodyguards, the man who let me into the room, standing in front of him with a worried look. Seeing this, Mr. D'Angelo smiled before clapping the big man on the shoulder, "You worry too much, Vincent. We'll be fine. You'll all be there to keep me safe as always," he laughed and the big man gave an unsure nod before opening the door and exiting first, appearing to look around at the surroundings like a Meerkat.
...Right, assassination attempts. Makes sense.
As I walked through the door, I wondered...what should my response be to his question? Should I join? Shouldn't I join? Well, at the end of the day, I have to look at why I should join and why I shouldn't.
First, the pros. 1) I'd have the backing of a seemingly big gang boss. 2) I'd have the means to learn more fighting styles of the world, for free or for my continued service with him. 3) It conforms with my plans for the future. My plan being that I was going to leave Gotham when I turned 16 to travel the world. After all, there was more to learn out there than in Gotham and even with such a limited amount of knowledge, I'd turned myself into an near-undefeated underground bare knuckle fighter. Imagine what I could do if I sought out as much information on fighting as I could?
Now, the cons. 1) I'd have to eventually break off from the organization because I refuse to be limited by such a thing. This could get bloody or...murder-y, more likely. 2) I could end up being controlled by this guy to be his personal hitman or just all around dog. I couldn't afford that either. Luckily, there's a fix for both of these things.
First off, I could easily break out of the organization if I planned for it from the day I entered it. Discretely leave weak points throughout the organization...and then attack those points and cripple the organization as I leave. I'm not afraid of it getting bloody or murder-y either. It is what it is.
For the second point, there's no way I'd ever allow myself to be controlled by someone. Sure, for a short period of time I'd be someone's lackey...but does it matter? I'd be getting a lot out of it at some point, and while I was in it I could use their funds and influence to get all the stuff I need to take my first step onto the ladder of power.
Pride has it's uses, don't get me wrong, and I'm by no means thrilled at what I'd have to agree to but at the same time, I'm neither a prideful idiot who lets his ego and pride block his eyesight and vision for the future.
I don't have any power. Whatsoever. I can't be picky in what types of power I can accept and which ones I don't want to. If getting the technology and money ready for the next step of my plan requires me to act as someones bodyguard for a few years...so be it. I'm willing to do it because it's all a means to an end.
...Plus, what's keeping me in Gotham anymore? Mother is dead. I...I need to get on with the plan.
This guy can also help me with the last thing I have to do here in Gotham.
"Adam, you see, I look for talented young people. People with the drive to do what needs to be done but also have the potential to get to the level where they can actually do it," he'd begun talking just as I finished my thought process and he looked out onto the bay of Gotham, looking across the water where we could all see Metropolis, "And you," he pointed to me with a smile, "You have what it takes, Adam. Now, I don't think you'll join without any benefits, so, I can promise you certain conditions right here and now and I promise I'll fulfill them. If you're feeling especially paranoid, ask the others around us and they'll tell you I'm a man of my word, Adam," he smiled at me before going back to looking across the bay at Metropolis.
This was my turn to speak, it would seem.
"I...I will join, Mr. D'Angelo. But like you said, I have conditions," I said, not missing a beat or sounding any bit frightened or on edge despite this man's ability to probably have my life ended, "First, I want to have access to as much combat training as your organization can give me and the best teachers available. Second, I want to access to advanced learning materials. I doubt you'll let me go off to college or further my education the traditional way, so tutors or the books necessary would be required."
Hearing my conditions, Mr. D'Angelo nodded and brought his hand up to his chin, "A boy who thinks ahead and knows not to make any unreasonable requests like 'I want one million dollars!' or the sort...Very well. I can get you the training and make it as good as possible and the learning materials you want. It isn't much of a strain on me, after all," he laughed, scratching his chin before he turned to me, "Anything else? You asked for so little that it's making me feel somewhat bad."
Hearing him laugh, I internally sighed before speaking my last request, "I'd like it if you could get the best possible people to take care of my mother's funeral and have her buried in a casket befitting her, please," I said, trying my hardest to hold an even tone.
"Your mother is dead? My condolences, Adam," Mr. D'Angelo said with mock surprise and I just had to keep myself calm as I responded.
"Thank you," I gave a concise reply.
...He knew exactly when to come and ask me to join. He knew my mother was dead. If it weren't for the cancer that killed her, I'd have suspected that he was the one who killed her. But...it never hurts to be sure.
Hiding my intentions, I gave a vow to one day check Mr. D'Angelo and see if he had anything to do with mother's dead. If not, I'd only cripple his organization. If he did...well, that's for another day.
But it'd be a hell of a lot more brutal than any kind of crippling.
He pulled out his phone, typed out a text and sent it off, before he looked to me, "My people will sort out her funeral and burial. We can stay the week for it to go by but then we have to leave."
Nodding, I outstretched my hand that was holding my money from tonight's fight, "Please, take this money for her funeral. I'll pay the rest back when I can," I sincerely said and just as he was about to deny it, I continued, "Please. I want to at least pay some of the money for her funeral," I pleaded with my eyes but not my voice. That part stayed even and polite.
Looking at me for a few silent seconds, Mr. D'Angelo took the envelope, nodding, before he spoke, "A filial child. I respect that, Adam. I truly do," he gave me a smile that was sincere unlike the ones that up until now felt practiced and fake, "But before we do anything else, I need you to pass a little test. Can you do that?"
"Yes," I nodded, "I'm prepared to prove that I can do what needs to be done."
"Good. That's good, Adam," he nodded before taking out a different phone before passing it to me, "This phone has all the information you need. There's a Private Investigator who's been bugging us since we came into town. Track him down and make an example out of him...and his family."
Despite my distaste for bringing someone's family into this...I just nodded and took the phone before opening it and looking through the information it was already showing.
"Consider it done, Mr. D'Angelo."
And thus, my walk--no, sprint down the very dark alleyway of crime began.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Monke
Monke This is, honest to God, only temporary. Don't start complaining about the MC being a beta or a pussy or whatever, please. He's little more than an ant at the moment. To be honest, he IS an ant at the moment. He can't pick and choose what type of path to power he gets right now. Beggars can't be choosers, after all. And making his own gang would simply cost too much time and effort to be effective. Especially in Gotham where Batman lurks around at night.
Plus, next chapter is going to be after a pretty big time-skip, so don't worry, you don't need to read chapter after chapter of MC being a hitman for some mob boss.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein