The Rise Of A Porter

"I think, everyone here is forgetting something. Something very important." A voice echoed to pull Nathan out of the mess which Andrex purposefully made.

Everyone turned around towards Morrino. The secret ally of the Black family, the leader of the Morrino family as well as the head of the decision making body regarding legal affairs of the syndicate. Andrex who had been grinning breathlessly now cursed Morrino under his breath. He knew Morrino had a somewhat special relationship with the Blacks, but he had never thought Morrino would jump into the fray like this. With all of the families being against the Blacks.

Also, Morrino was known to be a man of a few words. He rarely ever spoke, but when he did, all the attention was immediately on him. Something, Nathan couldn't do despite being the leader of the strongest family. Everyone immediately ceased their bickering, listening intently to what Morrino had to say on the matter.

"Young Andrex, have made some pretty good points. But one thing all of you forgot is... The Blacks have always been stronger than any other family." Morrino said while smiling, "If they wanted to rule over our country, I suspect with a force like fearsome Johnny, this beautiful young lady Nicole and the ever-mysterious Arnold, any one of us would be able to stop them-"

"That's exactly what I'm saying-" Andrex tried interjecting his opinions in between but was quickly shut down by others.

"Andrex, don't be disrespectful and let Mr Morrino speak." Tasha Gray, the 32-year-old woman representing the house of Gray, quickly shot Andrex down. As her last name, her hair was genetically gray. Her icy demeanour coupled with her stone-cold face was enough to intimidate anyone.

Andrex gave Tasha a dirty look, but Tasha's coffee coloured eyes shut him down for good.

"Thank you, Ms Gray." Morrino said before smiling in her direction, "As I was saying, had Nathan wanted to rule over us, none of us could've stopped him from doing so. That itself is a proof of his and his family's goodwill."

"Also, it was Arnold, a member of his family who saved our lives again and again while putting himself in grave danger. Let it be facing a dragon all alone or saving everyone from a nuclear explosion, without him none of this would still be here. He could've easily escaped along with the rest of his family and no one would've questioned his morals. But he stayed and helped everyone escape, regardless of which family they belonged to. In the end, he had to lose an arm, he could have blamed every one of us for it but he didn't, because he knows, he did what any of you would've done for his family. Now, instead of showing our gratitude to him and his family, you want to disgrace them?"

Morrino's voice was as calm as ever, but his words had made a rift in the hearts of everyone. How could they be so self-centred? At this point, no one, except Nathan and Nicole could look Morrino in the eyes. They finally realised what Morrino was implying. If it hadn't been for Arnold and his summons, America would've been a lost cause by now. Many of them even felt ashamed that someone had to remind them of the sacrifices the Blacks have made so far. Sacrifices that ensured their safety.

Andrex saw the momentum shifting against him, he had to do something and fast, 'If only that Morrino had kept quiet for few more seconds, my plan would've been a success. Damn it all!'

"What about the girl!? She turned hostile a moment ago!" Andrex roared, unable to get hold of his emotions.

Morrino just smiled and said, "How's Janet, Mr Andrex?"

Everyone present in the room gasped. No one ever mentioned that name before Andrex. Not because they were afraid of him, but as a general courtesy. Morrino was the one to encourage them to not speak of that name and yet he did so himself!? Just what was going through his mind!?

Everyone's gaze shifted towards Andrex. He was no longer sitting on his chair, but standing in front of it. His hands clenched on the table as if he was ready to punch someone. Veins popped out of his forehead. No one could see his facial expressions, as he was staring at the ground, as if he had found something amazing lying there.

"What... Did you say?" Andrex sneered.

Just listening to him speak made everyone uncomfortable, but Morrino kept smiling all the while.

"Oh, I didn't know you were having hearing problems. No matter, I shall repeat myself," Morrino said, still smiling like a Buddhist monk, "I simply asked how was your wife doing these days? Oh my apologies, I meant your ex-wife."

By this time everyone knew what Morrino trying to do. But they weren't sure this was the best way to go about it. Even Nathan who had a grave expression before now joined Morrino and smiled.

'Well played sir... Well played indeed.' He thought.

"You... OLD FART!"

Yelling so, Andrex jumped on the table and rushed towards Morrino. His fist covered with electricity, ready to smash Morrino's head. But before he could do anything, he was on his back, his hands chained. It was Morrino's bodyguard who had disabled the threat to her master. Andrex kept struggling for a few seconds before it dawned upon him what he had done. He allowed a moment of rage to destroy all the plans he had made till now... Everything.

"Lia, the man has calmed down. Let him go." Morrino asked his green-haired, Caucasian, flagellant, to let Andrex go. (Author's Note: Here flagellant means someone who wields a whip.)

"I apologize for making a scene ladies and gentlemen, but it was a necessary demonstration." Morrino resumed from where he had left off, "Mr Andrex, inquired about Young Nicole losing her cool for a bit, which she did. There's no debating that. But let's analyse why she did so first. While Mr Andrex lost his cool just by the mention of a certain person and chose violence over everything else, Nicole got angry when she saw a room filled with people she respects talking ill of her brother who had saved our lives countless times."

He continued, "If I imagine myself in that situation, I'll admit even I might not be able to handle all that negativity. But even then, she didn't harm anyone. She just released her pent up energy and that was enough to make us feel weak. She didn't take a single step against anyone of us. That's the level of control she has on actions."

Everyone silently nodded as Andrex bit his tongue and got back to his seat. He was so close to winning and yet... He lost. He lost all because of his foolishness and anger.

"That being said, the new law Mr Andrex proposed was... Worth implementing. But not solely against the Black family. But all the families. In case one family decides to use violence against other families, then we all shall unite and fend off that problem child. This shall be the new law. That's all I wanted to say."