Night Awls Capitano: Gregor's Story
The Boss... at the Thumb summit? ... Huh.
Got it... Thanks for the warning.
I'll carry your name to the grave even if we end up getting Purged.
Resting his gaze on the skyscrapers outside the window, the child lit his cigar.
*puff* I told him to watch his mouth since the Thumb Sottocapo would be attending the summit.
And yet, he's finally done it... and it couldn't have been a more spectacular fail, too.
Syndicates that swarm into a Collapsed Wing all have similar interests:
Lay claim to at least one of the many alleyways of the Backstreets, and keep a tight grip on it until they can sell it to a new L Corp. that will one day rise as a Wing.
The Thumb's probably set its sights on these parts if Famiglia Laterano and the Kurokumo Clan are pulling back.
The Sette Famiglie ain't getting pushed out, though... which can only mean that the leading member Syndicates still get to keep their cuts.
Subsidiaries like us are the ones breaking backs... *exhale* only for the Thumb to swoop in and stake its ground.
As for our hot-blooded Boss... Guess he just couldn't help asking why we gotta pull out empty-handed.
The Night Awls, which the child is a member of, was one of the Syndicates vying to claim their slice of the pie in the absence of the Collapsed L Corp. - all with the Thumb's permission, of course.
However, they were forced to take their hands off the whole business simply at the whim of the Capo dei Capi, the "Padrino" of the Thumb.
Perhaps he thought it too unfair,
but the leader of the Night Awls couldn't hold his temper in check and asked the one question he should never have dared to ask.
*puff* What difference did he hope to make by second-guessing the Padrino's intentions?
A bit of careless talk... and we're suddenly painted red for the Purge.
Hard to believe the same unease I felt back when we were the Enforcers of the Purge... is happening for real.
Anyone outside?
Yes, Capitano?
Send up the remaining crew to my office.
And... make sure to let them know what I'm about to say. Don't leave out a single word.
The child gathered up what was remaining of the crew at headquarters...
But not the ones outside. He couldn't let the Thumb find out that the Night Awls had been forewarned.
No sense in dying for the ones who're already doomed, he told himself.
Is everyone here?
You all must've heard about what happened... at the Thumb Summit.
We all knew the Boss had a habit of jumping the gun... But none of us even had an inkling it'd turn out like this.
... Can't wrap my head around it. To think he had the audacity to question the Capo dei Capi's intentions...
Is it our turn to get Purged now?
After everything we did to Purge the other Syndicates... How could it possibly turn on us?
It wasn't surprising at all that the rank and file started to blame their dead Boss.
... Why couldn't you be our Boss, Capitano?
No use thinking about shoulda coulda wouldas.
We can't deny it was that young streak of his that helped us expand this far.
Me... I liked being out in the field, getting a little action. The Boss might've been impatient as hell... but damn if he didn't know how to keep us in business.
*puff* For now, we gotta think of ways to stay alive. You can spit on the Boss's grave later once we've saved our own necks.
... How about we cut through L Corp.'s Nest and get to the other side of the Backstreets before the heat catches on?
Fortunately enough, it was raining in District 12.
The Nest of L. Corp, shrouded in a thick blanket of fog following its Collapse... was a perfect place to move without drawing eyes.
... Any thoughts on where to go from there?
How about... V Corp.?
I heard some kind of monster tore through their Nest and left it looking like a butcher's floor... The whole place is a real mess.
By now, though... there should be somewhere we can stay holed up if we can get there.
Not a bad idea...
But the question is, how do we even get there?
L Corp.'s Nest and Backstreets... have long turned into a hellhole where all kinds of pests come crawling in.
Thumb subsidiaries like us, R Corp., and even Liu Association are all stirring the place up like vultures on a carcass.
One wrong move... and we'd be dead before we even manage to get away.
I say we lay low till sundown. We could use the Night in the Backstreets as cover to get out.
Wings may Collapse... but don't forget that Nests are still out of reach for Sweepers.
Getting out of L Corp.'s Nest is one thing; getting away from waves of Sweepers when we're dead on our feet is another.
.......
So there's really no way out...
With everyone at their wits' end, a stifling silence fell upon the room...
But the child remembered that they still had a way out.
His instincts kept screaming that this might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire,
however, the fact was that the Night Awls simply had no other choice.
The child's decision was already swaying toward the only exit available.
... We go to the Library.
You managed to get an Invitation?
No. It was already on my desk when I heard what happened to the Boss...
... as if we were being summoned there.
.......
Though the child's knowledge was by no means necessary for the collection of the One True Book...
I still hoped that the Library had a bookshelf to house the child's desperation for survival.
Because that's why I'd had that Invitation given to him.
... If that's our Capitano's order... We follow.
*inhale* Drop the formalities. We're on the same boat - we don't have the time to mind the Thumb's rules between us at this point.
Just speak up if you have any suggestions. We need all the ideas we can get if we want to increase the odds of our survival.
Going to the Library... is way too risky.
Word is, even Grade 1-Fixer Offices are backing out of any contracts that have to do with the Library. Imagine those money hounds actually eating penalty fees just to stay away.
Not just the Fixer Offices. Even the Fingers are calling it a graveyard - there were Index Proselytes who went missing there not long ago...
... The Index, huh.
Of course, the Index. Now that I think about it, they went to the Library too.
And if there's any truth to that rumor... we might be able to gather valuable intel on the Index in the Library.
The Book of the Index. That would be bargain enough for the Thumb to overlook our Boss's insolence.
Are you sure about this?
There's not much time left before we're Purged to the last man. Those of you who're thinking of backing out, now's the time.
I... I'm going to put my name on the Invitation.
... It's been an honor, Capitano.
Hope we meet again someday, Capitano. I hope you'll survive no matter what.
Some of the crew bowed deeply to the child and left the office.
... I trust in your judgement.
Rumors always get blown up. The Library, eh? I'm pretty confident we can bring it down.
The majority, on the other hand, stayed and waited for the child to sign the Invitation.
... Let's set off.
I'd thought the rumors were exaggerated...
Guess there's a reason they call it the Library. Never imagined it'd be this massive.
Greetings, dear guests.
May you find your book in this place.
*puff* Figured nothing really fazes you past a certain age.
To think that a Fixer in the uniform of Shi Association's South Section would show off Kurokumo's sword technique...
... and is that R Corp.'s combat style this time? Color me surprised.
With calm and calculated footwork, the child slid past the gleaming arc of an Assistant Librarian's orange blade.
A sudden thrust attack immediately followed, but the child sidestepped it and pressed into his opponent's outstretched arms.
Hrrk...!
Not a single opening to strike...
However, the child's pointed peg leg, which sparked as it raked across the floor, was blocked before it could pierce through the opponent's neck.
Are you alright, Capitano?!
Not in the slightest.
Thought we at least had some fighting chance when we took down that Index Proselyte wielding Liu Association's flames...
*exhale* How many of us are still standing?
... Half of our men are dead.
These Librarians... the rumors have got nothing on these monsters.
Shouldn't we just call it quits and cut our losses?
.......
These bastards... are no monsters.
They're humans, just like us. Humans who are afraid of getting killed.
They must have a gap or two we can exploit.
For an instant, a surge of emotion cracked the child's mask of composure before he impaled the Librarian, killing them.
Perhaps it was the sight of their unflinching leader fighting that inspired them,
because the rest of the crew charged into battle once more, the firm grip on the hilt of their stilettos a testament to their renewed morale.
Those freaks... How'd they get so much power...?
Why did we have to take the fall...? Gyaargh!
Predictably though, whatever hope they managed to muster came to a rather grisly end.
Every time the curtains closed...
... some of them would be squashed flat by a giant teddy bear, gnawed and torn apart by frenzied fairies, and roasted alive in giant pyres.
.......
In the end, the last man left standing was the child.
Yeah, it's going smooth! It's too soon to be rejoicing, though.
Too soon, huh... Yeah. It's too soon to give up.
I didn't come all this way... just to snuff it... *puff* like a damn dog.
The outcome wouldn't change no matter how hard the child fought against the odds,
but that shouldn't suggest that the child's struggles were meaningless.
Because the emotion fueled by his determination... must have become ample sustenance for the Library.
Now... let the child press on. May his resolve never waver, even as the end draws near.
Let us watch him together through the window.