The winner takes it all

A mobster and a scholar

Chapter 3

Pete and his father stepped into the arrivals hall at Heathrow airport, London. Pete was tired, his excited energy for his new life was now wavering slightly. The reality of the situation was now hitting him hard. He would be living far away from home, from everyone and everything he had ever known for the next three years. He had never been away from his father who was his anchor, his biggest support system and his protector for more than a week before now. Homesickness threatened to creep in banging on the back door of his mind as he tried desperately to shut it out. His father hadn't even left him yet and he already felt a little gloomy.
'You need to toughen up and learn to rely on yourself more' he nagged himself.
The flight from Bangkok had lasted approximately twelve hours and he and his father had spent extra time going through the necessary steps, such as passport control, baggage reclaim and customs before finally being permitted to enter the UK.
After entering the arrivals hall it didn't take long to spot his uncle Kla, auntie Lawana and his cousin Amonsak, who he would been studying with at Christ Church college, Oxford.
Pete and his father waiied to their family members before entering into a group hug.
"Let's all get out of here, you both must be exhausted" auntie Lawana fussed before taking Pete's arm and guiding him through the bustling crowd and leaving the Alpha males behind.
"I guess we are carrying the luggage out to the car then" Amonsak grinned, he knew his mother too well, she had purposely gone ahead to avoid carrying any of the heavy bags. He laughed to himself, his mother was a kind and beautiful soul but she could be very crafty when she wanted to get out of doing something she didn't want to do.
"Let's not dawdle brother, it's best to keep the 'boss' happy" uncle Kla said with a wide grin.
Kla liked to call his wife 'boss', she wasn't bossy by nature but he really loved to tease her.
"Happy wife, happy life eh little brother" Mr Saengtham stated with a laugh.
"I will carry your bags for you uncle" Amonsak offered before grabbing the suitcases and leading the older men out to the waiting Rolls - Royce.
The journey from the airport to Pete's new home took a little over an hour, his uncle drove them in his classic car to his country estate in the county of Oxfordshire.
Pete loved the house with it's early Georgian architecture. The red brick structure was framed with contrasting light coloured stone quoins and window surrounds.

It had been a couple of years since Pete had last visited. The carefully manicured lawn lay in front of the house and led to the formal gardens. Ancient Oak trees were peppered around outside the house and beyond the formal gardens vast areas of parkland with patches of woodland stretched as far as the eye could see.
The family was greeted by a small party of employees including a butler, several house maids and kitchen staff and the chauffeur / mechanic named John.
"John, park the car for me please" uncle Kla politely instructed.
"Yes Mr Saengtham" the young man in his late 20's replied eagerly, he loved it when he got the chance to drive the Rolls - Royce. He took the keys and drove the car to the old coach house located a short drive to the side of the main house. Pete's uncle had converted the spacious coach house into a garage to house his classic car collection.
After settling into their respective rooms, Pete and his father joined the rest of the family for dinner.
"I will only stay a few days then I have to return to Bangkok, I have left Abhisit in charge of everything" Mr Saengtham said.
"Well he's a capable young man, he will do fine managing everything" uncle Kla replied.
"Yes, it will be good experience for him" Pete's father agreed.
"Tomorrow we will take you to visit the college and then we can spend the rest of the day exploring Oxford" auntie Lawana cut in, "I want to put your mind at rest that Pete will be safe here".
"Thank you Lawana, I know he's growing up now but I will never stop worrying about him, he's the baby of the family" Mr Saengtham replied.
"Dad, I'm eighteen now. I will be ok" Pete reassured while Lawana, Kla and Amonsak chuckled, knowing how protective Pete's father could be.
The next day was spent visiting Christ Church college, meeting some of the teaching staff and afterwards an enjoyable time was had exploring the city.
They took a trip along the river on a traditionally crafted boat called a punt.
The guide, who's name was Matthew was a cheerful man who wore a traditional Oxford boater hat, which was pale in colour and had a plaited band made of horse hair.
The family of five sipped champagne whilst taking a tour past the Botanic Gardens, through Christ Church meadows and then continued south down the river Thames.
They learned many interesting facts along the way, including Oxford's name for the river Thames is Isis.
A few days later and it was time for Mr Saengtham to return home. Pete tried his very best to be strong, but he wasn't completely successful in his efforts. His father reassured him he would come home for the Christmas holidays. They said a tearful farewell at the airport before Mr Saengtham disappeared beyond Pete's view.
Amonsak reassured Pete that they would have an amazing time at university as they left the airport. He promised himself that he would keep Pete busy so he would not have time to miss his family too much.
A week later Pete and Amonsak started university, they were studying the same course. It was lucky that they were both accepted due to the very limited number of students admitted to Christ Church college every year.
The number of students in the classes was small and the intimate setting suited Pete and helped him to learn and understand his chosen subject better.
Pete and Amonsak settled easily into university life. Pete's smile and warm nature attracted many friends both male and female.
Pete and Amonsak joined the rowing club. Amonsak joined as a rower and Pete was recommended to train as a coxswain.
(A coxswain or cox is a person in a racing boat who steers the boat and instructs the rowers during the race. Sometimes they act as an assistant coach off the water).
The Oxford University rowing club had many prestigious members, including people who had represented their home countries at the Olympic Games. Some of the members had even won gold medals for their country.
The most important race of the year was the annual boat race against Cambridge university.
Oxford and Cambridge were fierce rivals when it came to the boat race. Amonsak had watched the race every year, mostly on the television but a couple of times his parents had taken him to London to watch the race in person. It was Amonsak's dream to represent Oxford at the boat race and hopefully win.
The only downside to the rowing club was the very early training sessions and because they lived off campus Pete and Amonsak had to wake up extremely early in the morning.
Pete and Amonsak travelled daily to the university, the journey taking approximately thirty minutes. They enjoyed the best of both worlds, at home they had the peace and quiet of the countryside and half an hour away were all the amenities Oxford had to offer.
Pete barely had time to get homesick with balancing the early starts of the rowing club, the demands of his busy academic schedule and making time for a social life. He settled into his new life quickly and made lots of new friends.
He made time to call his father, his brothers and his best friend Tay, who told him he had an older guy as his new boyfriend who he had met at a club.
Vegas meanwhile was equally as busy trying his upmost to juggle all of his commitments in his demanding life.
Nothing in his life had changed, his father was still an arrogant arse and his brother was still his saving grace. He of course still attracted a lot of attention for his good looks but no matter how many people he fucked he could never find any kind of long lasting fulfilment with anyone.
Kinn had been married to Tawan now for three years. Tawan had already provided Kinn with a son and heir and was now pregnant again, this time with a baby girl.
Vegas' father had spewed a load of crap criticising Vegas for not keeping up with his 'oh so perfect cousin'. What the hell was Vegas supposed to do? He was only twenty years old and Kinn was twenty seven, of course Vegas wouldn't be married with kids already.
A turning point in his relationship with his father came when his father tried to pimp him out to an older gangster who his father wanted to make a deal with. No way was that going to happen, Vegas remained firm in standing up to his father. He decides who, he decides where and he decides when and how long he sleeps with someone. He was not going to allow his father to whore him out to whoever suited him.
Kan had not expected Vegas to rebel against him, he made a show of being displeased with his son and they even physically fought each other but Vegas showed his father just how dominant he was and left his father with more than a few injuries of his own to nurse. The only thing that stopped them from killing each other was the fact they both knew they needed the other to achieve the ultimate plan of taking over the Major family one day.
Another great pain in Vegas' neck was a bodyguard named Porsche, who had started working at the Major family mansion two years ago and had made it immediately obvious he was interested in him. Vegas was sure Porsche had been instructed by his uncle and cousin to get into Vegas' bed and use the relationship to spy on him and his family. No way was Vegas going to let that happen, his uncle and cousin would have to find someone far more attractive if he was ever going to fall into a honey trap.
It wasn't that Vegas thought Porsche was bad looking, it was just that his mind was always filled with the image of someone else, someone cute with a gorgeous smile. Another thing that put Vegas off Porsche was the way he was so desperate to please him every time they had to meet. It had been two years already and it seemed Porsche's crush had not diminished in the slightest. At first it had been amusing to tease the older guy and give him false hope that something may happen between them, but now it was just fucking irritating, like a stubborn rash that just wouldn't fade. As time went on he tried to be rude to Porsche, he tried to ignore Porsche but nothing seemed to work. In the end he just decided to ride it out and in time he hoped Porsche would get over it.
Before Pete knew it a year had flown by and he realised he had settled into his new life well. Life at Oxford was a whole different world to the one he had grown up in. Christ Church college had many traditions that had to be upheld, including wearing special gowns to college occasions.
He managed to keep up with his martial arts training and when a guy had tried to feel him up at a club he had taken his wrist and flipped the guy onto his back before Amonsak had time to approach.
"Bloody hell Pete, you don't really need me to help you do you?" Amonsak said slapping his cousin on the back with pride.
In the middle of his second year at college Pete had now qualified as a cox for the rowing club. He was mostly involved with assisting the coach with race plans and practicing his skills out on the water, but he also joined in with the rowing training in the gym.
At the same time back in Thailand Vegas reluctantly entered the Major family mansion. He was accompanying his father for a meeting with his uncle and cousins.
As soon as they stepped through the front door they were greeted by a sight that made Vegas' blood boil.
"Khun Vegas, please allow me to escort you and your father to the meeting room" Porsche offered in a tone that sounded sickeningly sweet to Vegas' ears. He was already in a bad mood today but this just irked Vegas all the more.
"No need, we already know the way" Vegas answered coldly.
Porsche was another reason why Vegas hated having to come to the Major family mansion. It had now been three years and Porsche still harboured a deep attraction towards Vegas.
Porsche was a good looking guy by anyone's standards but lately Vegas had been seeking out the company of a certain type of boy. He used to fuck any person he fancied regardless of looks or gender but now he found his craving for a certain pretty and petite Omega was becoming stronger and stronger as the days went on. He now picked up boys who had similar looks to Pete but no cheap imitations could match up to the real thing.
Porsche was the opposite of Pete, he was a tall and muscular Beta and this didn't appeal to Vegas at all.
Over the last three years Porsche had not given up pursuing Vegas and it was now greatly grating on Vegas' nerves.
During the meeting Vegas was given his first mission as leader by his uncle Korn. Of course only Vegas and some bodyguards would be carrying out the raid on the rival gang's warehouse, his uncle ensured his own sons would be kept safely at home.
This angered Kan immensely, he secretly had faith in his son's ability to successfully complete the mission but the blatant disregard for Vegas' safety by his older brother further fuelled the seething hatred that swirled inside of him.
"Of course Vegas is the best person to carry out the mission while your sons continue to hide behind a desk. Leave it to the Minor family if you want a job done properly" Kan spat spitefully before leaving the meeting room in a rage.
Now he was even more determined to find an ally powerful enough to take down the Major family.
'Holy shit! Did his father just throw him an indirect compliment?' Vegas thought in disbelief while taking his leave from his uncle.
A week later after meticulous planning and strict instructions from his father and uncle, Vegas undertook the mission of raiding a rival gang's warehouse to reclaim the drugs they had stolen from the Major family.
The reputation of the Theerapanyakul family was on the line and Vegas knew he couldn't afford to fail.
Vegas hid behind a large pillar surveying the scene before him. The gang that dared to steal from the Theerapanyakul family were nothing more than bunch of cocky kids trying to make a name for themselves in the Bangkok underworld. Most of the gang were clearly still teenagers and the leader didn't look much older than Vegas himself. The young gang, including several female members were partying and shooting their mouths off about how they had succeeded in pulling off this huge heist and how it was going to make them all rich. The air reeked of Alpha pheromones.
Vegas chuckled quietly, the silly little fools had no idea what was about to come their way. If he was a more sympathetic person he may have felt a small amount of pity for them but since he only cared for his little brother he didn't give a shit about any of them.
The order from his uncle was to eliminate all the gang members and bring the leader back alive.
Vegas took in a deep breath before performing the signal to initiate the attack. Vegas and the bodyguards unleashed a torrent of bullets on the unsuspecting wannabe gangsters.
The gang numbered no more than thirty in total and more than half were wounded before they realised the full extent of the danger they were in.
Due to the superior training of the Major and Minor family bodyguards it only took a short amount of time to overpower the young gang, leaving only the leader and his right hand woman remaining.
Vegas and the bodyguards surrounded the area were they suspected the last two rivals were hiding, leaving no exit point for the two young people.
"You have one chance to come out peacefully and I may grant you a merciful death" Vegas lied through his perfect pearly white teeth.
There would be no mercy, no one who dared challenge the Theerapanyakul's lived to tell the tale.
Th adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream and his impatience grew as he received no reply.
He once again gave the silent signal and led the bodyguards behind a stack of drugs that were piled high.
As he rounded the corner he felt something penetrate his right shoulder followed by an excruciatingly sharp pain.
One of the Minor family bodyguards named Yothin stepped forward to support his boss while Nop shot the female who fired at Vegas right between the eyes.
Only the leader remained and was quickly disarmed, tied up and transported in the boot of the car to the Major family dungeon.
Nop and a few of the Minor family bodyguards transported Vegas to the hospital wing in the Minor family mansion.
On the way to get medical treatment Vegas began to loose consciousness, it would be so easy to just give up and quietly drift away. The last thing he visualised was his brother Macau and Pete smiling down on him and that image gave him the strength and determination not to give up.
Meanwhile back in Oxford, Pete was training on the rowing machine and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder.
"Aaahhh, it hurts" he cried out, clutching his right shoulder and startling all of the other club members who stopped their training immediately to check on their friend.
Amonsak was first to check on his cousin, "What happened Pete? Did you pull a muscle?".
"I don't know, I don't think I did, it just started hurting so much" Pete cried.
"Let's take you to the doctor and we will see what we can do" Amonsak said soothingly while helping Pete to his feet.
In the examination room after a full investigation the doctor was perplexed, he could only suggest that it was a pulled muscle.
When his auntie Lawana heard of Pete's mysterious injury she insisted on getting a second opinion at a private hospital, but all the of the scans came back clear. The doctor suggested Pete was experiencing chronic pain as he had no visible injury to his shoulder.
Pete continued to have shoulder pain for the next few weeks, eventually the pain faded and he was able to return to his sporting activities.
Vegas took several weeks to fully recover from the bullet wound to the shoulder. After his recovery he gave the leader of the rival gang a very long and painful death. The girl who shot him had died by Nop's hand so the only one left to take out his frustration on was the leader who had spent the weeks since he was captured rotting away in the Major family's dungeon. After he had dealt with the enemy he continued on with his life completing his college work, following his training schedule, making time to spend with Macau and undertaking missions forced upon him by his uncle.
Months later he graduated from college as the top student. His father gave him a new Harley Davidson motorcycle as a graduation gift.
He was never going to hear the words "l'm proud of you son" but he knew the gift was the best acknowledgment of his achievement that he was ever going to get from his father.
The relationship with his father still remained
fraught. The verbal abuse didn't stop but the physical abuse had become noticeably less.
Now his college commitments had ended Vegas now concentrated full time on mafia business.
When the days were very stressful he still watched the cctv footage of Pete interacting with his father, wishing his relationship with his own father could be the same. He often looked up Pete's Instagram account and seeing the younger guy have a great time abroad helped to see him through his dark and stressful days.
During Pete and Amonsak's last year of university they both achieved their dream of taking part in the university boat race against Cambridge. The boat race was one of the most important races in the rowing club's calendar.
Oxford and Cambridge had been competing in a rowing race annually for over a century. It was an event not only the universities got behind to support, it was a hugely popular event that was even broadcast on British television.
The race took place on the river Thames in London. Large crowds had gathered lining the banks of the river. The race took place over four miles between the areas of Putney and Mortlake.

Pete and Amonsak wore the dark blue colours of Oxford with pride while the Cambridge team wore light blue.
The race was a whirlwind of adrenaline and excitement for Pete. He was the cox and as the cox he had to steer the boat and constantly shout instructions to his team over the roar of the crowd. The noise from the spectators was almost deafening but he managed to make himself heard and his team responded to his instructions brilliantly.
They managed to win the race by two lengths.
A/N - a length refers to the length of the racing boat.
They had completed the race in seventeen minutes and nineteen seconds, it was a good time but it wasn't the course record, that was still held by Cambridge from a previous victory.
After the race there were television interviews and the presentation of the trophy.
Almost six thousand miles away in Thailand Vegas was watching the boat race on his laptop. He let out a deep growl from his throat when he watched as the rowers from the Oxford team picked up the object of his desire and threw him into the river.
'How fucking dare they do that. I will track every last one of them down and kill them' he thought shaking with rage.
He only calmed down when he heard Pete's laughter through the screen and he realised it was a tradition to throw the cox from the winning team into the water. Vegas stared at a soaking wet Pete in desire. Pete had grown into a very good looking guy. As the water droplets dripped from Pete's jet black hair, Vegas felt the feelings of arousal stir within him. He stated to imagine how Pete would look naked. Naked and wet, droplets of water running between his pecs and down towards the slim stomach. He further imagined grasping hold of those curvy little hips and ...... FUCK! Now he was hard and would have to make do with yet another hand job imagining his little Pete was here in his arms. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Pete would graduate soon and he would return to Thailand to live with his father. He was determined he wouldn't miss his next chance of meeting the boy who had unknowingly saved him so many times.
A couple of months later Pete and Amonsak graduated from Christ Church college each with a first class degree with honours. Pete's father and older brother Damrong attended the ceremony along with uncle Kla and auntie Lawana. Each graduate was allowed two guests so Abhisit stayed behind in Thailand to manage the businesses.
Pete decided not to return home with his father and brother as a friend of his from college was due to celebrate her birthday in the next few days. Mr Saengtham agreed to let Pete stay on for the birthday celebrations and return to Bangkok later with Amonsak and several bodyguards.
Pete was happy to be going home but he couldn't help but wonder what path his life may take now he was returning to a country where Omegas had neither power nor freedom.