New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

From inside the hidden bunker, under the Bianchi mansion, the mob boss was finishing his meal, his face stuck in a rictus of annoyance.

His men had told him to stay inside the bunker since they expected a raid to start that morning. But it had been hours, and nothing had happened yet.

Normally, from inside the bunker, he had access to the surveillance system of the mansion. But ever since that fucking Oracle whatshisface had busted his security wide open, all his screens showed nothing.

He got up from his table and headed to the security console, hoping it would give him a different result.

As he sat in front of it, the screens were still black and unresponsive.

Francesco stood back up, this time heading to the door to the bunker, and pressed the intercom button. Since the intercom to the outside was linked to the power inside, it worked for him to speak to his men.

But they had to answer with predetermined knocks

"Hey! Is it safe outside? I'm getting real fuckin' tired of the same four walls. I want to go take a swim, god dammit!" he shouted, pressing the intercom button.

One loud bang on the door, meaning no, echoed.

"Then get to work, you fuckwits! I don't pay you to stand guard at the door! Go deal with this shit, so things can get back to normal!" he shouted into the intercom.

Two bangs, this time, signifying yes.

He walked away from the door, sighing loudly.

"I swear to god. I'm surrounded by morons. How these men didn't die while under my father is a fuckin' miracle."

Francesco was starting to lack anything to do, while stuck in here.

The books on the shelves? All his fathers, and boring to him.

The stocked shows? All boring nineties shit, in his opinion.

And with the internet down, he couldn't access anything that would entertain him. Not even porn.

Who would cut out even porn?! What kind of monster deprives a man of the most basic form of entertainment?!

Seeing as he had nothing to do, he sat down on his sofa and pulled out an old movie from the computer's storage. An old war movie about a war that had happened more than a century ago.

Looking at the cast from the movie's information tab, as it booted up, and cursed.

"What the fuck a name is John Wayne? And who the fuck is Sean Connery?! Goddamn old man and his terrible taste in movies!" he cried out.

He started the movie nonetheless, out of boredom. He hoped he wouldn't have the time to finish it before being allowed to go back out of the bunker.

And the gods would grant his wish…

***

At the entrance of the mansion, the shooting had died down. The stonework of the floor and walls was in shambles, with holes every few inches, and fragments exploded out of the walls and floors.

Alexander walked down from the second floor, which he had jumped to at some point during the shootout, and headed toward the right side of the lobby. The entrance he had taken was on the far left side of the mansion, and his quarry was in the right wing.

Sadly, Katherine had advised him against entering through the other door, since most of the jury-rigged traps seemed to have been set up in the right wing.

It would be safer for him to enter from the other side and make his way through the mansion, dealing with the remaining thugs as he went.

And given how he had promised Kary he would be safe, Alex opted to follow the safer path. Of course, he didn't feel the least threatened by the monkeys.

They couldn't shoot for their life's worth, and their movements were painfully slow in his perception, making them almost entirely unable to get a lock on him at all.

After dealing with the three men in the lobby, Alexander knew there were not enough men and guns in this house to stop him from reaching his goal.

Walking through the hallway, a wall with many doors to his left and windows from floor to ceiling to his right, Alex caught a reflection in one of the glass panes. Turning to the left at the end of the corridor, he ended up face-to-face with a man trying to stab him with a big knife.

Of course, the reflection he had caught was the sun reflecting off the blade and into the window, so he knew the man was there. Catching the blade with his bare hand, Alex punched the thug in the face, feeling his nose, teeth, and jaw shatter under his knuckles.

And before the man could even reel from the impact, Alex spun around, roundhouse kicking his head into the stone wall.

With a crack and a squelch, Alex felt the skull shatter between the two surfaces, and the head popped open, sending brain matter on the wall.

What had once been a nice white marble wall was now smeared with blood and gore from a man's open skull. Alex watched the man skid to the ground as he brought his leg back down.

And in his ear, he heard Katherine complain again.

"Would you stop causing such a mess? Can't you kill people cleanly, with that insane strength of yours? Such a messy kid."

She was teasing, of course, as she relished in his starting carnage.

Katherine was not there to control him in the least. She had already warned her cleaners that the mansion would be an utter mess before the op even started.

Her only goal was to rile him up. She wanted Francesco to suffer a fate worse than death.

'No one puts my only child in danger,' she thought to herself, feeling the urge to go in herself and tear the man limp from limb.

But Katherine knew she was physically incapable of such a feat. But her hired dog was, and that was the next best thing.

"Careful in the next room. We caught them setting up a few traps, and they also readied some Molotovs," she warned into the earpiece.

Alex nodded his head while looking at a corner camera, knowing she was watching his every move.

'This woman is enjoying this more than I am. I can tell by her voice…' Alex thought, as he continued walking forward.

'Then let's give her a show.'