The Last Crusader

5

"We must act tonight!" A huge whale of a man slams the granite tabletop shouting at a tall skinny man cleaning out his ears, "The men he's killed had families! They deserve justice!"

"Justice or revenge?" The skinny man asked smoothing out his silver suit, leaning back in his desk, and ignoring the multiple phones ringing by his ear.

"Both! There is no difference. This boy, this Zenith he is a menace that must be stopped. Boys like him grow worse like that Prince of Nadia. You must kill them young or throw them in a cell!"

"Powell, you ever been in one of those Nakan prisons?" The skinny man asked.

"Of course not. I am a man of honor." Desmond Powell adjusts his tie, standing tall and proud.

"Yes, yes, the underboss of the Godfather. The most cunning and manipulative man I know and have ever heard of in my life. You have honor?" The skinny man nearly fell out his chair from laughter.

"How dare you! Of course."

"So much honor you'll kill a kid?" The skinny man tossed out a folder.

"Yes, yes!" Desmond Powell poured through the dossier.

Powell dropped it on the table and sat down in his chair, bending under his weight as his bridged his thumbs and looked down at the floor.

"He's only 15." The Godfather revealed.

"Such power."

"Imagine if we had him on our side. I have a daughter his age. Get this kid, teach him the right way. Show him to Colin, maybe? We could replace that so-called Boy King trying to pry Nadia away from The Gatekeepers. This kid wants to save Nadia, we make him the new Luno." The Godfather nodded.

"Colin would be quite interested in an Ether-Bender. So, few these days."

"Takes a lot of training or a lot of passion to unlock those powers. Kid probably just needs someone to talk to honestly. Lets see if we can get him on our side. Or... you know, your plan." The Godfather smiled.

"You think Zenith, the number two Mask will join the very mafia that he's been warring against?"

"I think if we were gonna put a bullet in every kid under 20 with a two-dollar mask on after 20:00 every night until we find this kid. Well then he shows up on his own volition. Put the word out. Until I sit down and have a dinner with Zenith. Every kid with a mask gets as many bullets as it takes until we reach this kid. Go to his house in the morning, drag this kid out of bed, shake his ass up and tell him, Vincent Cree wants to have a chat. If he refuses then we're handling this your way."

"Why not Mariposa?"

"Word on the street she's directly in touch with the Boy-King with all those damn clubs. The Regulators want him alive. If he gets involved, this gets messy. Keep him and her out of it. We got a good thing going with these mud people from Erdu."

"Haha, surprised these cave-dwellers are lasting so well in Nadia."

"Eh, their boys all want to go home. The Masks are up on their ass, and their prisons are so full with Nadians they can't even house real criminals. Imagine that." Vincent rubbed his chin.

"You feel bad?"

"I made my decision. I follow Enshishi. I don't care what happens to Nadia." Vincent shrugs.

Desmond smiled agreeing fully, "I see why your father-in-law was so keen on you."

"Gerald Knox hated my guts." Vincent spat at the flattery.

"Well, I will excuse myself. I will send my best men to Zenith's residence post-haste. We'll solve this immediately."

"Let the men finish grieving. They lost their brothers today." The Godfather suggests.

"As soon as the rooster crows, I will go myself and bring my best men." Desmond suggests.

"If you go yourself you might die." The Godfather smirks.

"This is quite true. This is Zenith we are talking about. What do we do about this Don Cree?" Desmond genuinely asks for guidance.

"A kid has parents, right? Well, deal with them first."

"Deal with them?" Desmond asks rubbing his chin.

"Well, yes, use some tact and diplomacy." Vincent implores.

"On Zenith?"

"On his parents then they'll shove that little bastard over, if they know what's good for them." The Don spins in his chair outlooking the harbor, and the immense ocean stretching out to the horizon for miles in view.

"I will solve this Vincent." Desmond stands.

"Just bring me the kid." The Godfather impresses on his righthand man.

"I'll bring you whatever is left." Desmond growls marching away.

Vincent waited until Desmond left. Turning back to his desk. Picking up a picture of his deceased wife, and her father. Wondering how Gerald Knox ever trusted a man like Desmond Powell.

Cree returned to his work of broking deals for the Gatekeepers. Ensuring the groundwork for Nakan investors to buy up large portions of Nadia for dirt cheap. Then to protect their investments by leveraging The Regulator Regime growing a world military. Once The Gatekeepers seized a sizeable foothold of Nadia then little stood for them to overtake Esha or Maya. What once seemed impossible. Could all be made inevitable if their syndicate took over Nadia. The Boy King was at bay. Yet these Masks. These little brats run around up all night with school in the morning. These were killing off the seasoned veterans of the Mafia?

Once The Don had Zenith dead or in his employ. The Mafia could bring the entire Mask Movement to the ground. And Once he had Nadia, he could help Enshishi takeover all of Gaia. Though, Vincent feared what's next?

The Masks were the only thing distracting The Regulator Regime from wiping out the Mafia. Without them focusing all their ammunition on killing kids. They would be actually solving the issues of crimes and drugs. The partnership was tenuous. If he got into Zenith's ear maybe he could turn this kid off his docks and sick him on the real invaders. At least The Don grew up in Graham, Nadia but these Military Dogs wanted world domination.

Working with the Regulators might temporarily save his life.

Gaining control over the Masks can save his legacy.