บท 23: An understanding

"… and after landing in JFK, you would think I could finally rest. NO!! Instead, I had to act like that coward Noir and sneak into MY!! FUCKING!! CITY!! For 40 years, I had envisioned my return. I dreamt of being greeted with a parade of salutes and adoration. Instead, your fucking dick was my only salute." I growled at my ordeal as I crushed the whiskey glass in my hand to dust.

Whilst a part of me was exaggerating my anger so as not to arouse suspicion of a massive personality change. Another part was genuinely livid at hiding from beings I could snap in half with a whisper.

Silence filled the room as Blarney took in my outburst. Unlike his usual lively self, throughout the entire hour-long explanation, he barely interrupted except for the occasional snort of cocaine and disgusted glances towards Jamie.

'Who could hate such a cute, harmless furball.'

After being backstabbed once, I wanted to be careful and decided to exclude any mention of my additional abilities or Jamie's. Most importantly, I did not mention my other life.

'The name Ambroise Lefort dies today.'

I'm not sure what I assumed his reaction would be once I stopped talking, but the last thing I expected was for him to suddenly break down in laughter and spill almost all the precious whiskey in his glass.

'Does he find this shit funny?'

My brows furrowed into real anger, but before I could express it, he quickly noticed my reaction and stopped. He took a moment to wipe some tears from his eyes and then downed the remnants of his drink.

"So let me get this straight, that backstabbing cocksucker Edgar colluded with your old teammates and gave you to the Slavs? Who then experimented on you for nearly 40 years, all because they wanted to trade a hero for a stage-managed silicone doll? Not only that, but there is also another evil, possibly Russian, organisation hidden within Vought with access to weapons beyond Vought's capabilities?" Blarney questioned in disbelief as he poured out another glass of whiskey, "If it weren't you telling me this shit, I would not believe a single word. I always knew those corporate pig-fuckers were soulless, but I never took them for incompetent schmucks."

My initial anger quickly faded to surprise. No longer blinded by my rage and interested in what he meant, I gestured for him to keep talking.

"Do you not get the issue here? They gave the first-ever fucking supe to the Reds and somehow lost their one monopoly to some wannabes. They shot themselves in the fucking brain and balls with one goddamn bullet. Not even The Firm would do something like this, and you know my issue with how they operate." Blarney wildly stated as he gulped down whiskey alongside his 3rd snort of cocaine since our conversation began, "Vought can't even see the most obvious problem with their plan. You!! Who knows what the commies fucking learnt and did besides giving you a new pair of shiny peepers. That organisation could be what it is today because they had you. For fuck sake, they could've turned you against us for all we know…."

'Probably Vought's go-to smear campaign if I ever escaped and came after them.'

I tuned out from the rest of the conversation and began thinking about what possible plans they had installed for my return.

"….I was hoping you would tell me, but since you haven't. Who is the kid, and why do you have a fucking vermin on your lap?" Blarney's question made me focus back on his rambling. "I know you supes can have weird preferences, but I always found yours palatable. I'm not one to judge, but finding your deadbeat supe of a son shoving a rodent up his asshole changes a man. Now, I just can't look at the fuckers the same. That shithead ruined Ratatouille and anal play in one fell swoop. So, whilst I can let some things slide, I ask that you leave it out of my home. I can't relive tha..."

I instantly knew what he was implying and felt sick to my stomach at even the idea of what must be crossing his mind. However, my disgust was temporary as Jamie interrupted by blasting my mind with angry thoughts.

~What the fuck did his pup do?!! How dare he call me vermin when his own offspring does such repulsive acts!!"~ Jamie seethed as he hissed at Blarney, who responded by flipping him off, ~Let me eat this one's eyes, Master Ben. I'll make sure his racism is met with justice.~

~Calm down, Jamie. We need him for now,~ I responded mentally, ~Act normal, and I'll talk with you after.~

Jamie huffed in response and turned his back to Blarney in defiance. I then angrily glared at Blarney, who stopped talking as he realised he fucked up.

"Listen closely, as I'll only say this once. If you ever suggest that I would fuck a child or an animal again, I will make that day your last," I coldly stated before gesturing at my two companions, "This is my daughter Dawn and our pet hamster Jamie. I don't care what your pedo animal-rapist son is into. You will respect them as if your life depends on it. Because it does."

'I don't need Vought getting any ideas on how to discredit me.'

Blarney's shocked face had become the norm for me to witness over the duration of our conversation. However, my threat and the revelation of my 'daughter' seemed too much for him. I could almost see the circuits in his brain fry as he spat out more of his whiskey.

"You shouldn't waste good whiskey like that, Blarney," I told him snarkily as I took another glass and poured myself a large amount of the expensive liqueur.

'For him to come to that conclusion shows how much I need to work on my image. Once I have him on board with my plan, I'll show him that the future of this world is not only safe in my hands but a necessity.'

It took him a few minutes to respond, and when he did, I almost wished for the original silence.

"Well, that's a fucking relief. I'm sorry, Ben, but you can never be too careful with supes nowadays. I don't even talk to my son anymore after he decided to butcher the sanctity of my name. What kind of supe goes by Blarney Cock," he anxiously explained before bombarding me with questions, "Enough about the little shit. I suppose congratulations are in order. I'm here to help in any way. Who is the lucky mother? How did this happen? Your daughter sure can sleep. This reminds me of that one time Jodie Foster came banging on my door at night…"

Unfortunately for Blarney's nosiness, I had enough of sharing and knew he would continue to babble on unless I decided to get to the point of what I needed.

I lightly rapped my knuckles on the table to get his attention and calmly said, "Listen, Blarney, after Studio 54, you owe me. I want my supe equipment and your contacts in The Firm to review what I found in Victor's place. After that, we will be even. Anything more, and we can negotiate."

'I need to urgently know more about this new organisation and find a way to help Dawn.'

"I know I owe you, Ben, but I don't speak to 'him' anymore and haven't been with The Firm in years. We had a bit of a falling out, and I'm no longer…" Blarney began saying carefully before gulping at my glare and changing his tone to a warm one, "Of course, my friend, I'll get right to it. Besides, while the Hollywood business is a nice retirement, I do miss the good old days."

'I know The Legend, and unless he has something to gain, he will sell me out for a nice lay.'

"I'm not going to pussyfoot around, Blarney. There's a reason I'm here and not with any of my other contacts. So, If you want to finally use your disturbed brain for something more useful than taking advantage of desperate celebrities, I think you should listen closely to what I have to say next..." I said calmly with a smirk as I sipped on the whiskey.

.....…

Over the next few hours, I carefully told him snippets of my plan to entice him. Knowing Blarney, I assumed he would jump at the opportunity I was presenting. Even so, I was still stunned at how quickly his hesitance disappeared into a desire for us to get started.

Realising the scale of what I was suggesting, he scrambled to create a more appealing environment for our business discussions. If I didn't know he was powerless, I would have assumed he had some form of super speed with how quickly he cleaned the cocaine from the table, dressed himself appropriately, and brought out my suit and shield.

We went back and forth for a while, with neither side backing down, but in the end, we came to an understanding, spat in our hands and shook on it.

"I'll need to lay low for a few days before I start to right some wrongs. How long will it take for your contacts in The Firm to review the phone, computer and documents I found?" I questioned the eager man before me as I caressed my shield.

Unlike in the comics and films, every supe has numerous versions of our 'one of a kind' suits and weapons. But this shield was different. It was my first, and I always left it out of the field for anything too dangerous

'Time to bring you out of retirement, old girl.'

Blarney suddenly coughed, making me look up from the shield to see him smiling at my infatuation. In response, I gave him a slight nod to carry on speaking, carefully hiding my embarrassment behind a calm facade.

'I need to get a handle on my emotions.'

"It should only be a few days before they get you what you need. I could have it sooner, but knowing 'him', he'll make negotiations hard. Once 'he' agrees, I'll have 'him' put Guiseppe on it. If that genius can't sort through it, no one can," The Legend said as he placed a cigar in his mouth and offered me one. My only response was to raise one eyebrow and point at Dawn. He reluctantly put down both cigars before continuing to talk, "In the meantime, mi casa es su casa. You and the kid can have my guest room. I'll have you know I once had Elvis and Cher in that very bed, so take care of the Egyptian cotton. I don't remember who was in who, but it was a fun night."

'I forgot how much he loves a name drop.'

"We're not planning to stay more than a night or two. Once I've found out who has my fucking money and property, we'll leave," I appreciatively said as I poured the last of the whiskey into our glasses and handed him one, "Vought has wasted their chance. It's time that people who knew what they were doing were in charge, L'chaim, my friend."

"L'chaim!!" Blarney responded with a grin as we downed our drinks, "And Stilwell had the chutzpah to call me washed. Well, who's laughing now? I'm here alive and thriving, whilst that bitch is buried 6ft under. May she rest in pieces."

He flipped off the floor with a grin before suddenly going quiet. It was evident that he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Out with it, Blarney. I'm too tired to play games," I growled as I scratched a small spot under Jamie's ear that made him roll on his back in pleasure.

"All right, I'll be straight with you, Ben. I know you dealt with them before. However, you need to be careful with that smug asshole Butcher and his lap dogs. Now, Marvin, he's a good egg, and we both owe him one, so I would appreciate you not killing him. Butcher, on the other hand, is a fucking schmuck that doesn't give up. That's his shtick, and I suggest you either deal with him or never cross him. The last time I saw that shit stain, he cost me this, and that was with me on his side," He agitatedly proclaimed as he raised his prosthetic left leg. "Do you know how hard it is to properly fuck with only one leg? You lose the pump, Ben. The fucking pump."

'I may owe Marvin, but I'm not in the business of being told who I can and can't kill.'

"I'll handle it. They'll have their use and be happy for it," I offhandedly said as I stopped petting Jamie and put the pouting hamster back in my jacket next to a fast-asleep Pixie. Once the hamster was secure, I looked Blarney in the eyes and spoke coldly. "But If the wild dogs bite, I'll put them down for good."

Blarney shivered slightly at my tone and stayed silent.

'I need to remind him that I'm not someone he can cross.'

Cracking my neck, I got up from the chair whilst holding on tightly to Dawn and leaned in close, "Blarney, a word of advice. Don't ever tell me what to fucking do again. I may appreciate your help but don't mistake my lack of choice for trust. If you betray me, I will make you regret the day your mother got creampied by half the men in this city. Does 'The Legend' fucking understand?"

Blarney looked up and nodded stiffly. This time, fear was evident on his face.

"Good, it's time we create a true powerhouse," I said in a warmer tone as I patted him on the shoulder. I then proceeded to make my way towards my room. I was almost out the door when I remembered a small, insignificant detail, "Oh, and I almost forgot, a pest in the alleyway across damaged my car. I dealt with the fucking nuisance but left a small mess that needs cleaning and a car that needs repairing. I'm sure you know what to do. After all, you are the best 'cleanser' in the business."

Ignoring the flash of pain that crossed his face while reminded of his past, I smirked and left to finally shower and sleep on a bed for the first time in nearly half a century.

'Soon, all of it will be mine, and no one can stop me.'

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Authors note

Hi everyone, here's a second chapter for you all to hopefully enjoy. It was initially two chapters. However, I put them in one as the flow felt interrupted as two. From the votes, it seems like the Inquisition has won as the name for the organisation. I will potentially include the second choice, CAPE,as a different organisation in the future.