CHAPTER 12 IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING ...

“Sorry, that was a weird question to ask.” Said Alberto, waving it off like it was nothing. “Here, follow me this way.” He said, opening the door out of the room with his arm extended. Crownslayer followed him with a suspicious yet curious stare. She kept in mind the odd question in her head, which was just full of question marks that took effort into keeping it from spilling out. He said he'll answer her questions later anyway. Now she just has to observe. Outside the room she was in, laid a long light brown hallway, with countless doors marking every five meters or so on each side.

There were no windows, at least none that Crownslayer could observe but there was a clock near the end of the hallway that she could make out with her keen eyesight.

“So it's night time?” “Yes, it's nearing midnight. That's why we're the only ones here.” Replied Alberto, not that it was the actual truth, but there was something else that caught his attention.

““Her eyesight could see that far?””

The Italian thought, so far it seems, that besides the obvious tail and ears that looked gorilla glued on her, there were absolutely more things to this girl that are way more inhuman than just appearances.

As both of them reached the end of the hallway, with both parties silent, Alberto opened a sliding door to the right revealing a stairway downstairs. While both were walking down, Alberto thought it was time to start a conversation. A casual one to merely lighten the mood.

“Say, where do you come from, young lady?” Crownslayer stared at him weirdly, visibly flinching when he called her “Young Lady”. “Hmm? Isn't it obvious? Siracusa. As someone who speaks the language, you should know.” She said straightforwardly and directly. “Sorry, I wasn't born there. My- uhhh, Siracusan wasn't from there.” “Hmph. Then you should be thankful that you weren't born there.” “Oh? Why would that be?” Crownslayer let out a silent sigh. “Siracusa is- Well, it isn't a nice place.”

““Oh? Now that was a strong reaction.””

Thought Alberto. Now curious, he tried to dig deeper while leading her through the building. “Tell me, what's Siracusa like?” “Well, Siracusa is a country of twenty-two city states ruled by the famiglie, with twelve of the most influential ones called the “Dodici”. All vowing for control and power, but ruled by one Capo Dei Capi.” Alberto nodded and smiled as Crownslayer talked, but her words immediately struck a chord in his head.

““Wait a minute… Famiglie?””

As he was thinking, Crownslayer continued. “Crimes are rampant, yet as accepted in day to day as watching a play. The newspapers don't even mention the countless murders that happen each lightless night, instead new names would be added to the week's obituary at the last page, hidden from sight and attention. The Judges, the Gray Hall, the entire government, they don't exist to serve the people, it exists only to preserve Signora Sicilia’s power to the Dodici. The real authority lies in her and the Dodici.”

Alberto maintained a calm and collected appearance, but on the inside, only one thought remained in his head.

““The Mafia?””

It was unbelievable, when they first discovered the big moving city and its parallels to Russia, everyone thought it was merely a coincidence, but now Italy? Is this world a parallel universe of earth? Though this definitely didn't sound like the Italy back home where the Mafia’s power was curbed down with the opposition of a powerful government. It sounded like a darker version of Italy, like Siracusa is what would have happened if Italy didn't have a strong opposition against the numerous crime families. Just imagining what would happen if Cosa Nostra or Camorra had absolute power back on Earth, Alberto couldn't help but feel, excited? He put off his odd emotions away and concentrated on asking questions.

“So, how's their business?” Asked Alberto, thinking that the Famiglie and the syndicates back home were similar. Crime after all is a business, and the many crime groups of modern earth are only powerful because of their connections to actual companies and corrupt governments. But most importantly their businesses, which were sometimes legal, sometimes not. The amount of actual, legal and legitimate businesses run by crime groups back on modern earth was staggering, and he was curious to know if the mafia here would be similar, or if they only rely on contraband selling like how the first old cartels of 70s Columbia started and dominated.

Crownslayer thought for a bit about Alberto's question. “Uhh, Business?” She said, “Well the Famiglie maintain their wealth and power by trade, business and their rather well known dark markets, I'm sure that would be obvious to you, no?” “No drugs?” “You mean medicine? Yes they own pharmaceutical businesses as well.” Alberto thought that response was a bit weird, do they have a different term for addictive substances here? He should look into this later, but he continued questioning a different topic that he was rather curious about.

“Do the people oppose them?” Alberto could hear a small sigh escape from Crownslayer’s lips. “No one would dare oppose them. They, the Famiglie’s power and authority are the law.” “Then, how does the entire country not be engulfed in flames and blood every single day?” “No, it is always plagued by violence, it is just kept hidden. Conspiracy and murder are planned behind closed curtains as the bystanders ignore all signs of the Mafiosi as to not be dragged in their game. Though recently, the current Capo dei Capi had unified the 12 most powerful famiglie and managed to unify them with her Gray Hall. The one rule implemented across the Dodici, “Do Not Kill.” is still being respected to this day, but who knows how long that'll last.” “A no killing rule? Please, tell me what you mean by that.” “The No Killing rule just means that the Dodici can't purge another family part of the Dodici. It's just to maintain the balance of power.” “Huh, is that so?”

Alberto was intrigued, from what he understood, Siracusa seems to be a country with twelve separate governments? The Dodici, which are unified under the Grey Hall, led by the de facto head of state, Signora Sicilia, The Godmother it seems. But there was still something that bothered Alberto.

““How did the Mafia here get this powerful in the first place? Was the preceding government that weak?””

Now that he mentioned it to himself, something felt off about Siracusa, she said that The Grey Hall was only implemented recently, what was the official preceding government before that?

They were now near the mess hall, but since Crownslayer seems to be in a talking mood about Siracusa, he decided to ask one more question, taking his time walking. “Interesting. But, I have to ask, how did the Famiglie get that powerful in the first place?” Another weird glance was thrown to Alberto by Crownslayer. “You really are weird. You know of the Siracusan tongue, yet you know nothing about its most basic history.” “My apologies, I was- well, let's say I was born in a place, far-far away.” Crownslayer rolled her eyes in response. “I'll choose to believe you for now then, as for the answer to your question, it's that the Famiglie was always there.” She spoke her sentence, and this was the moment that the similarities between Italy and Siracusa slowly faded away.

“What do you mean by that exactly?” He spoke quite loudly, to emphasize his confusion. Crownslayer sighed, and explained to him. “The legend states, back in the Ancient days, there was the She-Wolf, who birthed 6 children. However the siblings always fought, Never getting along with each other as they made their own tribes. Until one day the She-Wolf ascended. The tribes then made peace with each other as they reorganized into the Famiglie, eventually expanding into the current Dodici. However, peace didn't last as the newly formed Famiglie fought against each other once more, and a couple more centuries of that with a bit of Leithanian influence and you'll get modern day Siracusa.”

““What?””

Alberto visibly tilted his head. Hearing all of that history that was more akin to a fairytale was jarring, like someone just splashed him with ice cold water.

““What did I just hear?””

His thoughts echoed loudly, was she making fun of him by telling a joke story or something? He didn't know, her face certainly didn't show it, nor was her body language. Was that actually serious? What the fuck is ascending? He thought that asking about the history of the place would answer most of his questions regarding its crime families, but instead, he only got more confused. “Ahem, Can you elaborate more on that please?” He asked.

“I already told you everything old man. The Dodici were always that powerful from the beginning because they were there from the beginning, what's so hard to understand about that? Anyways I'm getting a little impatient, I'm starving y’know?” “Very well, here through this door.” Alberto opened a door to his right, welcoming the not-a-wolf into the mess hall of the quickly prepared and security proofed residence building.

This interaction was already pre-planned if she accepted the food offering, as there was already prepared food sitting on the mess hall's counters. For everyone knows the best way to make peace and cooperate is by offering food and water, a tried and tested method that works with both humans and animals. But does it work on an animal human? Well, he'd find out the answer to that conundrum shortly.

He walked to the counter and tables that had the pre-prepared dishes after leading her to a seat nearby. “Hey, what food do yo-” Alberto, who thought of asking Crownslayer what food she'd like, stopped talking as he noticed that she was not at the seat he directed her at. His heartbeat rose and towered for a brief moment before hearing the clacking of ceramic plates and steel utensils to his side. He turned his head to look, and there she was, eyes glued to the classic American salt & pepper culinary arts. “Do you want me to help you?” He offered his help, her other arm still was out of commission after all.

Crownslayer shook her head. “No, this is fine.” Said she before plopping her tail onto a chair and immediately stuffing Hershel after sniffing the food for a small bit. The Case officer sat down across the same table, observing the little canine suddenly consume with great voracity. It was an interesting selection of consumables that she chose, being mostly composed of meat and poultry with little signs of vegetation greens.

While observing her, Alberto secretly sighed in relief inside his head. To be honest, he almost broke a sweat there, after failing to keep track of Crownslayer in that brief moment of not having her in his sight.

““How did I not hear her moving at all?””

He thought. In his brain there was no way this was just an ordinary girl from all the superhuman traits she has shown so far.

““Extremely silent and fast, like a bounty hunter. Maybe an assassin?””

Even if these kinds of traits were the norm in this world, the skill present was undoubtedly honed and sharpened by the most effective grindstone called experience. Which makes one wonder, what happened to her? She introduced herself as Crownslayer, clearly a codename, said she was a commander of The Reunion, did they really capture a bigshot on their first go?

“Hey, you're staring a lot.” Said Crownslayer, with her mouth full, “Apologies, I di-” Unexpectedly, Crownslayer took her pork filled fork and handed it to Alberto. “You need to stop pretending to be such a professional, old man. I know you're hungry so just eat.” Alberto smiled as he accepted Crownslayer's fork. But inside he was a bit impressed.

““Is she testing if the food was poisoned by letting me eat her meal? She may be more clever than I thought…””

In reality, Crownslayer was really just sharing her food to what she thought to be an uneducated old man who is nearing his last remaining years of being sane before going senile, but Alberto didn't know that. While the girl was busily munching on her food, focusing only on the delicacies that a member of Reunion might find hard to enjoy, Alberto silently observed.

““Is her tail, wagging?””

Alberto brushed his thoughts away from his mind as he might get another weird stare from his otherworldly client, so instead he thought about what he learned so far.

““Siracusa, an interesting place that has parallels to earth’s Italy. It has a culture of Mafias like the numerous crime families of Italy, although there is one glaring difference.””

Alberto took a sip from a cup of water nearby.

““The numerous Famiglie of Siracusa, are not authentic mafias, or at least they're not how we'd define them on earth.””

Before hearing Crownslayer's little history lesson, he was under the misunderstanding that the numerous Famiglie took over a country with an official government and made it theirs. But after hearing her story, that was quickly thrown out the window. To Alberto, even though some aspects of Mafia and Italian culture could be seen and visualized in Crownslayer’s description of Siracusa, to him, it felt more like a cheap imitation of what was back at home. A pop culture representation of what people think Mafia culture is like, a simple Hollywood parody of the real thing.

““From the surface, it seems that Siracusa and Italy are alike, but the history from what she said, seemed extremely fantastical.””

Unlike the Famiglie of Siracusa, the Mafia of Italy didn't get power just because. They got power by taking advantage of a broken country. When the Island of Sicily was ignored by a distracted government in the process of unification in the 18th Century, private soldiers were needed to guard the private estates of lords, and these soldiers became the start of the original Mafia. Eventually, they consolidated into organized groups, then into a family, eventually out-powering the lords and instead making them serve for them. After outlasting the local governments and becoming the actual law of the island, the culture of deep familial loyalty and the code of “Omertà” slowly but surely became their creed, becoming the reason why their power reaches globally to this day.

If the first Cartels of Columbia with their successor being the current day powerhouses of Mexican Drug cartels such as the infamous Sinaloa Cartel start by smuggling drugs right under the government’s noses, eventually laying the groundwork to kick off the global drug war against numerous world governments and if the now defunct but once all mighty almost omnipotent American mafia start by abusing poor government regulations from the Prohibition and eventually reaching powers over that of just selling contrabands, then what of the families of Siracusa?

The thing about mafias, syndicates, cartels and even the entire underworld, is that all of them are born from the failures of a government and its system. The Famiglie of Siracusa is missing this quality. Does Mafia mean something else in this world? They seem to have a similar hierarchical structure to the ones back on earth, doing similar things like killing, assassinating and other back-alley matters but without a proper history other than some families competing against each other? A confederacy-like state like that just doesn't come into existence for such a simple reason. He can feel it, he can feel it in his bones, there's something off, something that hides behind this country. Confederations are known to be short-lived and ineffective in the long run, being plagued by lack of centrality and zero executive authority. Earth's history would prove that, the fact that only now were they having some kind of union by the Gray Hall is surprising.

““No, I'm getting ahead of myself.”

Alberto thought, sighing to himself.

““There has to be something more to Siracusa that she's not telling me, there has to be, It's history can't be that, simple.””

He thought in denial to himself, why was he even thinking about organized crime so much? It's true that sometimes the CIA and illegal crime syndicates work together to achieve a common goal, and sometimes the CIA uses a crime organization to do their dirty laundry-

““Wait, work together?””

Alberto thought. Indeed, working with an otherworld’s Mafia-like group does not help the already dirty and bloody reputation of the Agency, but it might be a legitimate choice into adapting into a world where they don't want their existence to be known. Cooperation with private companies, governments and even individuals usually leave a footstep, a mark that could eventually lead to someone discovering their existence, such as multiple documents, records, signatures or even something as simple as the other party not keeping a promise, but an organization like those would be an entirely different story.

If this Italy wannabe country of this new world has a similar code of silence and “No questions asked” rule of respect like the ones back home, then potential cooperation might be possible, as organizations with that kind of structure might be experienced in covering their tracks and making evidence non-existent. Especially considering that there might not be a drug trade in this world yet, and the CIA, well they have experience in everything, which includes illegal drug trades. A truly jack of all trades organization.

Alberto didn't like the idea of cooperation with a Mafia style organization, especially since he fought against them back at home, and the ones he knew were also in the trade of human trafficking, and things worse than even the most horrid of fictional horror. But if it was necessary? Then he would have no qualms about it.

Alberto looked back at the animal eared girl, her plate almost empty, and now he knew that the real questioning was going to start soon. He wasn't given much instructions on what to do by the other agents as they also didn't know how communicating with what basically is an alien would be like, or how to even go about it. But it is said that if the girl shows signs of being friendly and cooperative, then exposing the reality that they're not from this world might be possible. If something goes wrong, they could use small doses of some amnestics anyway. Although they only have extremely small amounts of supply of the unreliable magic drug, so not using them is still preferred.

“So,” Crownslayer said suddenly, interrupting Alberto's train of thought. “You've treated my injuries, gave me food and clean water,” Crownslayer stared at him intently, her eyes met his and with a tone more serious than usual, she asked a question that had been plaguing her mind since the very beginning. “You, what do you want from me?” Her stern voice echoed in the spacious but empty mess hall. Alberto knew this question was coming, it was obvious to anyone, but the appropriate answer to give would be more than complicated. So far, in Alberto's eyes Crownslayer was still suspicious of him, of everything, but was still cooperative nonetheless. Was she friendly? Debatable. Foe? Possible. Potential ally? Also attainable, but the real question was, should he say the truth?

Alberto put his hands together on the table, equally staring at Crownslayer with respect and regard. “Do you remember the weird question I asked you earlier?” “Absolutely, I've been pondering what you've meant by that y’know?” She said leaning closer, staring more intently at him. “From what I know, there have been no such incidents, so do tell me what you meant by that. Honestly.” Alberto sighed, “I’ll tell you honestly. But first, I'll answer your original question.” “Oh?” She said as her tail rose slightly in curiosity. “You see, what I want from you- No, what we want from you is, friendship.” Alberto said sincerely. “Friendship?” “That's right, friendship.” “That's- No. I don't buy it, if you want me to do something for you, then just spit it. It's the least I could do for your help.” “Then, I want us to be friends, is that possible?” “Old man-” She sighed a bit before continuing. “Fine, if that's what you want. But I have to ask, why?”

Alberto smiled. “Now I'll answer your original question, but don't get shocked alright?” “Okay.” She said indifferently. “Well, to not beat around the bush, let me get straight to the point. We're not from here.” “That's obvious. Since you didn't even recognize me. Why be so dramatic about it?” “Haha, well there's more to it. You see, we aren't just from here, we aren't from this world at all.”

“Uh-huh- Wait, what?” “We came from an otherworldly portal.” He was understandably faced with a blank stare. “Are you serious?” “Do you need to see proof?” “Yes!- Wait! Then what are you and why can you speak Siracusan?!” “Aha, I don't speak Siracusan, I speak Italian, and I am a Human.” “You're saying a lot of things, a lot of things that can easily be unproven.” “Then do you believe me?”

Crownslayer shrugged. “Answer my questions truthfully, and I might.” “I can do that for you.” “Then, let me start. Who are you?” “I am Alberto Lupo.” He said with confidence. For it's technically correct. His “Alberto Lupo '' Alternate identity is as real as his actual one of Morgan Asavedo anyway.

“Where am I?” Was Crownslayer's next question, something that she had wondered for a while. “You're in Area 555, a sort of camp for the organization I work for. After it got transported here, in yours.” Alberto answered, avoiding lying again.

“What's the organization you work for?” “The Central Intelligence Agency.” He answered swiftly. Back on earth, disclosing this information to someone would probably get you suspended, or worse, fired. But this world has absolutely no idea what the CIA is. Perfect to build a completely different reputation. “Agency? What kind?” Was Crownslayer's last question for now, Alberto smiled again and said. “An Agency that aims to protect the people, no matter the cost.” Another vague, yet technically true answer. Even if that's not the whole truth of it.

Crownslayer seemed satisfied for now, curiosity now on the top of her head instead of suspicion. “You answered all of them quickly and shortly, I will choose to believe you.” Alberto internally sighed in relief after hearing her words. Happy that their first civil interaction with this world's natives may be a positive and beneficial one. He stared at his new asset with great interest. Although she still wasn't working for them like a real asset, communication and understanding was the best he could hope for. Recruiting actual assets back home would take months and years of building trust, and he was only given one night to try to reach a positive relation with this otherworlder, suffice to say he was successful. But what now?

“Does your world have Originium?” Crownslayer said, shattering the awkward silence that had been building up. “Originium? No, there's barely any.” “R-Really?” She was stunned by his answer. “Yes, really. “Huh, I-I can't imagine what type of life- I mean…” Crownslayer’s sentence slowly dwindled down into silence, muttering gibberish to herself. “You alright? Young lady?” “S-Sorry, I was just- taken aback.” “I completely understand, from what I know, Oripathy is a more than serious disease.” “Wait, If your world doesn't have it, why do you know it?” “Let's say that we discovered it, a small bit.” “I see. Your world, is it peaceful?” Alberto nodded, “Mostly, yes.” “C-Can I go there?” “Sadly no. The portal is nonfunctional, broken.

Her tail dropped and so did her mood. “Oh, that's- well, unfortunate.” “We've been trying our best to fix th-” Alberto stopped talking, feeling a small vibration in his pocket, something that Crownslayer didn't notice. “Fix the portal?” “Y-Yes. Anyways, I think I need to go to the bathroom real quick. Apologies, I hope you understand, could you wait for me here?” “I can, Old Man. Don't think of me as impolite.” “Thank you for understanding, I'll be back shortly.” Alberto stood up from his seat, went for the door and quickly waved and smiled before closing it.

Heading to the direction of the male's restroom, he carefully checks if Crownslayer was following him. All clear, next he enters a small, hidden door disguised as a wall that was conveniently placed next to the male restroom. With a small push, it swung silently and he entered. This entire area was a small panic room, built into every government building that had high chances of holding important people. Soundproof, bullet proof and explosion proof, one of the most expensive square rooms one could construct. There was a phone placed in the room, vibrating and ringing in silent mode. Alberto sighs as he picks up and accepts the call.

“Hey, it's me, Morgan Asavedo. What's going on?” The phone replied with a familiar voice. “It's me, Juno Oswald. What's your plan?” Alberto immediately straightened himself, realizing that it was his new boss he was talking to. “Sir, the plan was always to gain understanding and cooperation. That's what I'm doing.” “You have revealed a lot about us. What happened to secrecy?” “Sir. I believe that she, being a higher-up of what we believe to be a powerful group, would be worth all the risk to try to befriend.” “And your way of befriending her is by making a massive security risk?” “That's only if she somehow escapes this facility without our knowledge Sir, besides that's only if she tells other natives.” “And you're thinking she won't?” “Excuse my arrogance Sir, but with enough time and knowledge, we may turn her into an invaluable asset.” “What makes you say that?” “She is clearly still young, yet endured much in comparison to her age. A higher up of what we can call a terrorist organization built up of oppressed minorities stricken with a horrible disease that we didn't even know existed until its recent declassification, but the fact remains that she is incredibly significant. I think that having her by our side is worth the risk.” “Then, can you do it?” “No guarantees. But I believe so, for every relationship relies on transactions. Debts and payments. And not only does she not owe us her life, she may also have things to offer us rather than just simple information.” “And you trust her character?” “I don't need to trust her. She just needs to trust me.”

There was a slight pause, a moment of silence before Oswald spoke again. “Well then, I see your point. Keep the conversation going until the clock strikes midnight, after that you may direct her to her room. The others will keep guard.” “Thank you Sir. I shall do my best.” “One thing though, could you try not spilling anymore sensitive info? I understand that she now knows we're aliens, and that makes for an easier conversation, but don't disclose too much. Y’know what I mean?” “I do. Your orders are clear.” “Good. Then, go out there and don't disappoint us.” “Yes Sir.”

…

Oswald ended the call with Alberto, sighing in the process. “This man, doesn't he have too much faith in the girl?” He said, just loud enough for everyone in the monitoring room to hear. “Don't be deceived by the face he shows.” “Oh? You know him, Laurence? “Quite. A case officer who builds trust to his clients by making them feel indebted to him and by forming friendship. It's a common tactic. It's always better to make friends than enemies after all.”

Oswald looked back to the screens in the room, Alberto was now back to talking with the ever engaging and interesting Crownslayer.

“I remember someone saying he was our top guy against the Mafia, is that why he's so invested in her and this, uhhh- Siracusa?” “That is possible.” “So does he hate them? The Mafia?” “Hate is a strong word, Oswald. It's more complicated than that.” “How so?” Oswald asked curiously, eyes glued to the camera recording the Case Officer.

“Alberto, or should I say Morgan Asavedo, didn't join the CIA to some artificial God given, self-righteous sense of patriotic duty to spread liberty among the hearts and minds of people. He was a damn crook, and has the heart of one.” “A crook?” Alberto said, surprised at the sudden twist of what he thought was an upstanding person. “Yes, he was part of them, the Mafiosi I mean. He may look like a gentle old man, but that's only how he presents himself as.” “That's… Ironic.” “Yes, I would agree.” Laurence said with a straight face. “How'd he end up in Langley then?”

Laurence put his hand on his chin, as if trying to recall long old, past memories. “Morgan Asavedo, as I recall, was once a part of the ‘Ndrangheta. Considered as one of the most powerful crime groups in the world. When their operations expanded into America in the early 1960s, his father, a high ranking supporter of the ‘Ndrangheta married an American woman. Those two are the parents of Morgan Asavedo. The Asavedo Cosca, or family was one of the bigger and more powerful families under the ‘Ndrangheta.” “Huh, I would have never guessed that man had such a history.” Commented Alberto. “Everyone in the CIA has a history, and I'm sure you do too, Mr Oswald. But I'll continue,” Laurence cleared his throat and continued his recollectioning.

“In the early 1980s, the Asavedo Family was sent to expand the business of the ‘Ndrangheta to the continental states, due to Morgan’s father being extremely well connected in the area. It seems at first that their operations were steady and successful, gaining control slowly but surely. Until one day, they suddenly stopped existing.” “W-What happened?” Oswald asked incredulously. “We don't know.” Answered Laurence while staring at the live feed of the camera. “But what we do know-” He continued. “Is that after that Incident, a dishevelled looking man, crumpled hair and torn clothes, found his way to a local CIA center, and said: ‘Hello there, I'm a former Mafia. I would love to work with you people.’ And now he's here with us.”

Oswald was stunned, but all of it wasn't that hard to believe. As Operation Paperclip literally saved Nazi scientists from their deserved justice and made them wealthy American citizens in exchange for their scientific knowledge. So the CIA not imprisoning but instead recruiting a former Mafiosi of a once high rank to gain their insight wasn't all that ridiculous, especially so in the Cold War where they were desperate to gain every and any single advantage against the Soviets.

“How do you even know all this?” “I worked with him before.” “So, does he hate the Mafia?” Oswald nonchalantly repeated his former question. Laurence tilted his head ever so slightly.

“It's complicated. He mainly worked against the Sicilian Mafia, infiltrating the organization from the inside. Though he never said it himself, most people in his department think that Morgan Asavedo blames the Sicilian Mafia for his family's downfall. The curious part is, that instead of going back to the ‘Ndrangheta, he came to us.” “He got kicked or something?” “We don't know. Never bothered to tell us any more of his past. As for his relationship with the Mafia culture? He seems to respect it as much as he hates it. Why? Who knows.” “Huh. Maybe he's just a vengeful thrill seeker?” “Maybe. I'm curious about what he thinks about this Siracusa country though, being an actual Mafiosi once.” “Y'know, after knowing his past, his gentle appearance is quite deceiving.” Said Oswald, thinking about the phone call he just had a while ago.

“Never judge a book by its cover, especially if it's a CIA agent, for all of them are lying sociopaths.” Laurence’s once in a blue moon joke made Oswald snicker a bit. “Yeah, Yeah, reminds me of the classic quote, y'know?” “What quote?” Laurence asked. “Ahem,” Oswald straightened his voice. “The CIA doesn't hire sociopaths, they just hire people with sociopathic tendencies, and who has sociopathic tendencies? Everyone does.” “Oh, that one.” Laurence responded, slightly smiling.

…

Servers whirred as their overworked fans continue to rotate and rotate in endless perpetual motion to keep the heat that was generated by all the numerous lines of complete, intricate and long codes of the command and control systems of the drones in proper working condition and the computers buzzed with beeps and boops from all the info and inputs of clicking keyboards and buttons of the multiple operators situated in the room.

It was one of the many newly made Drone Operation rooms that the facility engineers made in response to the growing needs of multiple active UAVs in use for surveillance and intel gathering. A lot of the equipment used and crafted were cannibalized from other equipment that were just laying around in the vast storerooms of the base that the new Administration Department thought was unneeded for the moment.

One of the operators, manning another surveillance drone suddenly gasped in shock. The mechanical vision of his steel bird showed glowing lights in the distant night. Shining like a cluster of stars in a mostly desolate wasteland of rock and dirt. “Hey! Guys! I think I found something!” He said in a not so calm manner. The rest of the room quickly averted their eyes and attention to his sparkling screen.

“My God!” “What is that? It's like a disco ball!” “Hey, get your drone moving!”

The rest of the room was now basically huddled together staring at his screen until their Officer managed to transfer his drone’s camera footage to the big screen.

“Holy Shit! Is that another?” “Hey! Here we go boys! Big fucking moving city number two spotted!” “Eh? This one seems to not be moving though. Here's hoping Zeus up there won't release his wrath on this one unlike the last one.” “Hold your fucking asses, Is it just me or does this look like Hong Kong?” “What? I don't fucking know!”

The drone's stealth capabilities were now fully activated, as it slowly got nearer and nearer.

“Hey! Hold it there! We're getting too close! We might be spotted at this distance!” “Aye, I’m gonna start circling the city!” “Zoom in the cams!” “Roger that! Here we go!”

The drone was now silently observing the tall city of steel and glass. Unlike the last city, this one seemed like something out of their world. Skyscrapers towered high above, asphalt streets crawling with numerous different cars and its inhabitants wearing all kinds of different colored clothing. If the first city they've found felt more like an industrial middle class area, this one felt like they were now in Las Vegas.

“Holy shit, actual civilization!” “Say, I never thought we'd be the Aliens in a setting like this.” “Permission to uhh- go closer Sir? Systems checked that there might be zero to none radars here that can detect our entry, and we're on the cover of the night.” “Fine, give us a good view of the people.”

The drone moved closer and closer. A vigilant dark that stalked the night life of the vibrant city it discovered. It's multiple high end cameras focused like a falcon's eye. The people walking, sitting, dining or taking a simple breath of night air, all unaware of the omniscient eye of the cold steel beast above the sky and the dark clouds.

“Shiiiiit! Look at that!” “There's so many more people there!” “People my ass! I see a walking tiger!” “Uh, is that a furry?” “What?” “Hey! All of you shut up and act professional!”

All the members of Drone Exploration Unit 11 were now all celebrating their discovery. Marking their findings as “BFMC-2”. There wasn't a proper or official classification of the cities yet, making the people adopt the popular but vulgar name of “Big Fucking Moving City.” No one complained about it anyway.

“Hey! Do you see that small detached thing?” “Wait, that looks like another moving city. But way, way smaller.” “Huh, so there's varying sizes? We shall call that one a SFMC-1!”

As the operators were in awe of their multiple discoveries, the sliding doors of the operation room suddenly opened. Another man, also a part of the newly organized drone operation company showed himself to the room. “You guys are getting loud! Did you find something?” “We sure did. Another BFMC had popped up in our cameras.” Said the Drone team Officer. The other man's jaw dropped to the ground as he heard the news. “Damn! And I thought we had the discovery of the day!” He shouted. “What did you guys find?” “Oh nothing. Remember that bug the boys stuck onto that one poor white mask?” “Yeah?” “Our close proximity spy drone that was monitoring BFMC-1, and was connected to the bug, managed to record an entire conversation the guy had with a gal named Doubleyou, or something. Exotic ass name if you ask me.” “Doubleyou? What kinda shitty naming convention do they have in this world?” Replied the Officer.

.... (A/N) Long chapter for long wait sorry (i went to doctors and got diagnosed with a bad case of elden ring addiction) Made alberto a bit more unique by making him an ex-mafia yet mafia obsessed agent, with a bit of a vague past. Leave your reviews and criticisms

im planning to add way more morally gray agents in the future Also this and the last chaps kinda feel like a mess, next chapter id try to straighten the plot again Sure hope you enjoyed the italy and Siracusa lore