[Abandoned] [Episode] Into the Spider's Nest

Ebony frowned as she looked over the documents she had just received from Curtis. Although she had explicitly denied his help a few days prior, it was still evident that he enjoyed toying with her. He had, after all, sent her censored information regarding her father’s future meeting plans with Walter. While that would have been appreciated had she asked for it, him having completely disregarded her request was not something she appreciated.

However, despite his blatant disrespect, Ebony could now see how much had been kept hidden from her. Sure, she wasn’t in touch with the family as she should have been but that usually did not mean that she was left in the dark. Needless to say, these documents changed everything even if quite a few things had been blurred out. Unfortunately for her, Curtis was not one to hand over the rest of the information willingly. Unless, of course, she was willing to pay his price.  

Ebony shuffled through the papers once more in a last attempt to engrave it into her mind. As her amber eyes diligently scanned the words, she would stop at the mention of Damien Princep. Ebony clicked her tongue in disapproval. A coward like him had no place in the mafia. Let alone within the Ruby Spiders - the leader of the Orochi Syndicate. Yet, with no context, she was unable to determine what the contents were all truly about.

On the other hand, the one thing Ebony knew for certain was that Curtis was sending her a message. He had made that abundantly clear with the portions he had not blocked off to her. He wanted her to know. To crave more. As to whether or not it was to her benefit was yet to be determined. However, it was clear he was telling her to seek out the answers herself. A gesture Ebony was wary of but not at all put off by.

Furthermore, Ebony knew that Curtis wasn’t one to play by other people’s rules. He enjoyed the chase even if it made him the mouse. An unsuspecting man until, of course, it was too late for anyone to change the course of the game. However, this time, it was made quite clear that she was to be his next source of entertainment. Whether or not she wished to play to his tune would be on her. Unfortunately, she had no other choice but to do so.  

With that in mind, establishing herself was to be her first priority. A safety measure when things went sour, so to speak. Ebony knew there was no one she could count on besides herself so forming alliances would be crucial. She had already started the process with Adonis but, besides him, she needed another addition to help with much more delicate matters. Her thoughts immediately turned to the family’s most recent addition - Ourea Keita.

Having been witness to his father’s work, Ebony could only speculate what the man could bring to the table. If he was even one tenth as talented as his predecessor, then she was all the more willing to take him under her wing. He was fair game, after all, considering that he wasn’t fully established into the family. Although, it was an entirely different matter if Ourea proved useless to her and her goals.

Ebony tossed the documents into the fireplace. She waited just long enough to see that the paper had started to blacken before leaving the confinement of her office. She figured that the next course of action would be to go directly into Princep territory herself. However, she knew she couldn’t go alone. If things went downhill, she needed at least a source or two to back her up. That, and she could always pin it on her father instead.

Her mind now made up, Ebony made her way towards her desk and unlocked one of its drawers. She pulled out a few documents and took a seat as she busied herself with them. Besides those that Curtis had brought, the Paneras had also given her notice of things brewing in Centaurea. Although it was not directly related to her, the fact that it still had the Princeps written all over it was enough to reel her in.

According to the brothers, there were already whispers of a civil war brewing. Major organizations had already begun to mobilize which meant that she would need to speed things up if she wanted her share of the game. Not that it would mean anything if she didn’t get a crew first and rid herself of her father in the process. Thus, getting an already trained insider was her utmost priority.

Ebony turned her gaze towards the second document. Her eyes scanned it rather quickly before putting it down and moving on to the third. It was time to finally start the evaluation. “Fetch me, Keita. Ourea Keita.” Ebony would say as her focus remained on the document. She didn’t need to lift her eyes to know that her order would soon be fulfilled. First thing first, she would use him to enter Princep territory. If all went well, Ourea would move on with his assessment. If not, well, she could only say that she knew who would take the blame if things went awry.

Ourea was yet again at odds today, the memories of his father's teaching still burning within him as he would be in the gym. The crunching and swaying of the sandbag in front of him as it would rock back and forth on the chain driving his mind numb. Every combo being precise as he would switch his weight forward and go in his fist like a hammer to the top of a nail. The echoing sound would bring him some sense of peace regardless of how much he would hate that he couldn't shake the feelings of who had taught him to move this way. It had already been a few hours since he would have stepped into the gym and nearing satisfaction with his results. However, he was just about to stop before he would hear the ringing of a faint noise coming from within the background. It was like an annoying bug that would go away trying to invade his world. The pestering would make him grow wilder and wilder as he would fall into his own style of ravenous fighting. The shifting of his feet to a more unorthodox stance, and it would seem Ourea would begin dancing with the bag as it swung more violently. His pace growing, and his breath control growing more violent and sporadic. Until he would finally set his eyes on the man that would have been speaking to him this entire time.

"Uh.... Um... It would seem that you are being summoned by Miss Ebony."

Ourea would send one final punch into the bag with irritation within his eyes. As he would straighten his back from the odd position that he would have found himself in. slightly cantered off to the right side of the bag, he would have sent a strong cross punch from his right side. Twisting his hips and keeping his feet firm as he would let all his strength out as it would seem his warm-up was over. As his fist would connect, it would be a violent noise that would echo out as the bag would go flying off the chain. Spiraling toward the assumed grunt that was here to summon Ourea, as it would smash against the wall. As it would slide down to the ground, Ourea would have lifted his head to see the shock of the man that was here to summon him before he would speak, slicking his damp hair back with the sweat from his workout to hold it in place.

"Why the hell am I being summoned by Ebony, and why shouldn't I take your head clean off your shoulders for interrupting my workout."

The man would stumble on his words. He would look back and forth from the wall that was cracking apart from the force of the bag hitting it and the almost wolf-like man that was staring back at him with his sharp yellow eyes. Though before he could even answer, a voice would ring out with authority from the back of the gym, one that even a grunt would recognize. None other than his father would step out and receive a bow from the grunt here to get Ourea.

"Just go. This isn't the place for a worthless wild beast anyway. Go make yourself useful to her, or we can do some more "training" if need be, boy."

With a sharp click of his tongue under his breath, he would start to head toward the door and grabbed a towel that he would sling around his neck as he would wipe the sweat from his face. It wasn't that he hated the idea of work right now or the person summoning him. Still, he felt one could never be too careful with that family and would prefer to know more before heading there. Though he hated dealing with his father and his "training," even more so with great displeasure, he would take his leave.

"Where the hell am I even going, dog?"

He would show no respect to the coward that had entered their gym as he showed no spirit or even backbone.

"We are heading back to the family office so that you can receive the orders for your evaluation."

He would have been slightly calmer with his tone, Ourea being almost positive it would have come from the fact that the man had seen his father. However, as they would step off, his interest in even dealing with the peasant would disappear. He would simply head toward the desired location making his presence known once he would arrive and await whatever orders or instruction coming from Ebony.

Word Counter:  Ourea:774 | Ebony: 871 | Total: 1645 | Required: 5000