Assumption (Town of Salem/MCYT)

The First Trick

The Godfather had already worked out half the roles.

It wasn't hard. It never was. The Godfather was a special role, only given to those with a high IQ and perceptive skills. In this role, you also tended to be more aware of the workings outside of the immediate gameplay.

He knew he deserved it.

Tapping his fountain pen on his desk, he quickly scrawled Seto's name and role at the bottom of his list. The other members of the mafia were written in red ink, along with the rest of the group. He already knew who the Serial Killer was, and had a good idea of his intentions.

Now, the question was, did the Serial Killer know who he was?

He guessed so. His suspect had been wary of him, always keeping his distance. It wasn't very kind, the Godfather thought. Surely they could work something out that would ultimately resolve in the SK's death.

Snorting, he got up, slipping out to the darkness of his living room. His Consort was still lounging on the couch.

"You should go," the Godfather mused, delicately reaching out. His fingers brushed the soft skin of his Consort's cheek. He smiled.

"I don't want to," the boy mumbled. "I like it right here, with you, sir."

"I'm not afraid to reveal you," the Godfather warned. "It would suit my best interests, after all."

The Consort whimpered, the nodded. He sprung up, onto his feet. "Alright... I'll go do it." Smiling, the Godfather took his chin in one slender hand, pressing his lips against his personal slave's.

"Goodbye, honey."

---

Still feeling unnaturally tired, Seto yawned awake. It took a few moments before he sat up, glancing out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise.

As he climbed out of bed, it clicked he'd likely see someone dead today. It made his stomach twist. Of course, he was just hoping it wasn't one of the few he knew. He wasn't sure how he'd react if it was Mitch who turned up dead.

Creeping out to the kitchen, he brewed and poured himself a cup of coffee, then started out of his house. Despite the fact it was the crack of dawn, most of the others were out there. Ty, Jason, and Mitch were all there. For a moment, Seto was scared something had happened to Adam until he noticed him pacing with his head down.

"Who...?"

Mitch seemed to hear him. "Only one," he told Seto. "I already went and checked. Ian."

"Okay," Seto whispered, looking around. Most of the others seemed relatively unaffected - it was Jerome who seemed the most disturbed.

The man was curled up, knees to his chest, his face hidden. His form shook and rocked lightly, as if he was crying. Seto shivered, unsettled.

"So, now what?"

"Now, we go look at the body. There will be a note in his kitchen about how he died." Mitch shifted his weight. "Then, we read the will and the death note, if there are any, and--"

He was cut off by Rob, grimly walking down from Ian's house. "I went and got the will. There's no death note. It's..." He shivered. "Its terrible in there. It says he was a veteran, and that he was stabbed by a serial killer."

Murmurs broke out. Vik was the first to speak loudly enough for it to be audible. "Anything useful in the will?"

"No," Rob replied, holding it up. "It just says he didn't go on alert last night, but we could figure that out already. He seems to be pretty untrusting of Jerome, though, because his name--"

"I know why," Jerome groaned. He sounded like he was in physical pain. "I know why my name is there. He... It was a death plea." His eyes flitted up, and Seto thought he saw something malicious there. "It was all my fault. I killed him. I... I did it. I just..." He broke off, body racking with sobs.

"Then why did you kill him, if it's obviously so bad to you?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes. Seto eyed him for a moment. He was quite the detective, wasn't he?

"A witch," Jerome accused. "It was a witch."

The town fell quiet again. Seto surveyed them. His heart was beating fast, but the others seemed more focused on solving the murder than anything else. Ty looked agitated, he noted, and Mitch appeared calm on the surface.

"Vote him," Mitch said suddenly. "If he's the Serial Killer, wonderful. He's gone. If he's not... Well, clearly he doesn't want to be here in the first place. If you agree, just raise your hand." As he spoke, he did so.

Seto didn't move.

It didn't matter what Jerome did. He didn't deserve to die. No one did.

Slowly, he watched as Alex raised his hand, then Ty. Vik looked around astonished. "If he is the jester, you're guaranteeing your own death," he hissed.

"Shut it, Doc," Jason laughed, twirling a lock of his hair between his fingers. Vik had claimed to be a doctor the evening before. "That's only if we actually vote him guilty." His lashes fluttered. Seto noted with some interest that today he wore a crop top and a knee-length black skirt. His face was stripped of all makeup except mascara - or maybe his eyelashes were naturally that long? - but he still looked attractive. Seto wondered if he was the Escort.

Or the Consort, a voice reminded him from the back of his mind.

"It doesn't harm us to put him up there," Adam pointed out, hesitantly lifting his hand. Jason did the same, cocking a hip.

"Come on Addy. Don't you want to serve some justice?"

"Yeah, guess so. My hand's up, isn't it?"

Seto looked around the circle. Preston had quietly raised his own hand, making for a total of six.

"We need eight," Mitch claimed. "Just over half the group, you know."

"Please." Jerome spoke up for the first time since they started his trial. "P-Please, just..."

"Fuck," Rob hissed. Seto looked up at him. He raised his hand. It didn't take long for Mat, someone who Seto hadn't heard much on, to follow.

"Eight. Perfect."

Suddenly, Jerome was teleported to the platform, on a raised step, the noose tight around his neck. Seto thought he looked a bit panicked.

"Jerome Aceti, you are on trial for conspiracy against the town. What's your defense?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, metallic and rattling. Cringing, Seto looked for the source.

"I don't have one," the supposed Serial Killer muttered.

When a small, holographic box popped up, Seto nearly jumped out of his skin. It had two sides: Guilty and Innocent. There was a timer in the top corner. He quickly decided against voting. There was no way he could vote to put someone to death, but if Jerome really was the murderer, it would look bad if he voted innocent.

As the timer hit zero, the automated voice came back. "The town has decided to lynch Jerome by a vote of five to two. Mitch, Jason, Alex, Quentin, and Mat voted guilty, Vik and Adam voted innocent, and the rest abstained." It paused for a moment. "Do you have any last words?"

Jerome looked up. The maliciousness in his eyes from before was back. A smirk spread across his face.

"I'll see you all in hell, fuckers!"

The platform disappeared with a terrible cracking sound. Seto clamped his eyes shut as the announcer spoke for a final time:

"The jester will get his revenge from beyond the grave!"