Chef raised the diamond into the air, studying it intently in the flurescent light provided by the kitchen.
" It's perfect " Chef smirked as he dumped it into the party batter he was making, reaching into the black bag that held the smuggled diamonds before placing then one by one into the batter that was to go in the oven. His gaze turned through the kitchen, over the kitchen hands, over the men manning the trolleys and the people standing over boiling pots.
' Good ... ' For the next hour, after pouring the batter into the mould, Chef stood guard, only relaxing when the mould was taken out , decorated and placed into a pastry box and onto a trolley to be transported for delivery.
He watched it roll away on the trolley, the most expensive pastry the world would ever know, as it vanished around the corner and past the fridges.
The guy moving the trolley rounded a corner, coming to a sudden jolt as a young man accidentally ran into the trolley and its operator.
" Oh sorry pal"
Nobody saw, nobody so much as looked another way as a black gloved hand slid the pastry box from the cart and vanished from the kitchen. Not Chef, not the kitchen hands not the guards, none so much as saw the assailant make off with the diamond dilled pastry box. Nobody blinked as a young man no older than twenty, wearing the white button up blouse of the kitchen staff, simply stepped put of the kitchen and vanished into the bowels of the freighter.
....
" Do you think Dave will meet us up here soon " A man of eastern european descent ascended the stairs to the second level of the ship, following his mate as they moved further and further to the deck.
" He'll meet us there eventually " Came the reply over his friends shoulder as they passed by another individual heading deeper into the ship.
" See you later Niko " Bellic froze as a young man passed by, clean shaven with a strong jawline, small nose and thin cheeks. He had the hint of Irish descent in his features. If Niko knew the man existed, he'd say the young man looked like the actor known as Cillian Murphy.
" Er ... by friend " Niko watched the man dressed as a kitchen hand turn the corner and vanish. " Petrov, do you know that young man "
" Never seen him before in my life, let's go we have to get topside, we'll arrive shortly "
....
" THEY'RE GONE " Ray Boccino bellowed as the news reached him, throwing his chair across the room as his informant told him about the event that had occurred before the freighter even arrived on shore. " WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE GONE "
They were his, and that fucking cook stole them and then they were stolen from the fucking cook by some unknown on the ship.
" GET MR THAT FUCKER AND MY DIAMONDS " It had been hours since the ship had arrived, the crew had disembarked and whoever had them now was somewhere in liberty city, who the fuck knew where the prick was.
....
'Such tiny little things that caused all this trouble ' Cole stared up into one of the precious diamonds he had liberated, under the starlight of the star covered heavens. ' To think so many will die just to get heir hands on these things, how easy is it to kill another man for two million dollars '
He stared at them as a chime sounded in his ears, and the black bag full of diamonds and the one in his hand vanished into thin air.
[ Diamonds collected 25/25- wanted level 0 - ]
[ Mission completed - imfamy + 0. Levelled up - level 8 reached- stats increased by 0.5 points - - diamonds stored in inventory - system shop unlocked - mission chain unlocked]
The black padded bag the diamonds were stored in vanished into thin air from his black gloved hand. ' No finger prints, no DNA left and no cameras ... no trail at all ,the perfect execution '
' Though ... I do wander how this place is different from New York ' Liberty city, so much different from New York, yet the same in regards to geography.
[ MISSION GENERATED : FIND A BUYER FOR THE DAIMONDS AND SELL THEM : TIME SPAN : INDEFINITE]
[ JOBS IN LIBERTY CITY NOW AVAILABLE : YOUR NEW LIFE BEGINS HERE]
' I've already lived my life once, this is just a bonus ' Cole stepped down from the rooftop access into the streets of Schottler.
A career criminal, a delinquent from a young age, he had spent much of his early life in foster care, then forced to enlist, he spent the vast majority of his life oversees in warzones, fighting in wars, rising through the ranks, becoming one of the most dangerous men in the world through top secret engagements as a Spec Ops soldier. Become a mercenary Is his mid thirties, watched his first child be born and seen his grandchildren grow up. He had been forged in war, killed more men with his bare hands than most entire military companies. And then he had died, the last man against an army, the last man in his convoy set to disappear by the higher ups, no older than forty, on the cusps of world war 3, he was a machine... and then he was gone. He had seen it all, seen the worst humanity had to offer, participated even, he lost his soul back then, lost it somewhere with the first kids blown apart by mines and the screams of families burning in their homes.
And then ... and then he woke up here. In a fictional universe he spent much if his childhood playing when times were tough, when his father beat his mother, when he failed school, this universe was here to welcome him with open arms. And now ... and now he was free, and it welcomed him once more ... a second ... final chance... freedom.
'Freedom... from a system the world designed to chew me up and spit me out ' The system stood at his back, an infallible near deific system with the power to create machines, weapons and other miscellaneous objects from thin air, a system that could enhance his body beyond natural means, a system that gave him the keys to ultimate freedom, that would allow him to live life without worry, to do all things. To do anything he ever wanted without worry or fear... as long as he wasn't stupid.
' Yes freedom ' He slung the backpack that held his belongings over his shoulder, staring at the underground gambling den in the guise of a rundown hardware store on million street.
' I have ... ten thousand dollars right now' He opened the system to check his stats.' And a sufficiently high luck stat ... this is ... going to be fun '
He crossed the road, waiting for three cars to go by before quickly entering and pushing the door open.
The doors creaked open with a low groan, with an empty store greeting him except for the lone muscle standing infront of the rear room entry.
" Yo, here to have a crack at it" Cole stepped right up to the bouncer without any sign of fear, shaking his black cargo jacket off, flashing a smile not quite so sincere to the large Jamaican man.
" Get on in der, no don de trouble " His large hand swept back and pushed the door open , revealing a table where six people sat with cards in their hands.
" Greetings ... " He stepped in unapologetically, though his voice was low and rumbling, he stepped right up, and offered no more words.
" You got the buy in" An Italian mobster gave half a glare over his shoulder at the new arrival, angry about losing to some Jamaican fuck sitting across from him.
" I got ten " He grabbed a plastic chair, dragged it to the table, rounded around to where a chubby Serbian man sat, sweating profusely.
" Scuse me Roman ... " The man startled at the casual greeting, already panicked eyes darting to the new arrival whom so easily called out his name. " And you must be Jacob "
" Eh how ya no dat man, do a know yu" The Jamaican wearing thick glasses with cornrows puckered his lips, cards held against his chest.
" Not so much my friend just make a point of knowing important people " Cole shrugged, sitting the chair down between the two and pulling it a thick stack of cash" Ten stacks "
" Tsk ... deal the kid in " The sweaty Italian grunted under the flurescent light, the small counter top fan in the corner rattling on as it tried futilely to keep the room cool.
" So ... I take it we're going blackjack today " The man at the head of the table serving as the dealer shuffled the deck, placing a card before each of the six players.
He leant forward and checked his card, almost entirely confident in his luck to get him throigh this game.
' A seven ' Cole kept a blank face, spying the other players, Roman at his side all but sweat profusely, the dealer looked between his associates on the opposite side of the table, the Italian grunted and little Jacob grumbled slightly.
" Hit " The Italian took a card, only to scoff and nearly hang his head.
" seventeen " The dealer announced, the Italian scoffing before the dealer moved in.
" Eh man gib me da card " Jacob waved a hand over, smirking to himself. Holding an ace between his fingers.
" Nineteen " The dealer spoke in a thick European accent, turning his unconcerned gaze to Cole.
" Hit me " Cole accepted the second card, and felt his lips tug once more. ' Another seven ... what a coincidence '
" Fourteen " The other players regarded Cole momentarily before the dealer moved to Roman, who held a shaky ten.
Cole turned to Roman who gulped, hand rubbing his brow. " H...hit ... hit me "
" Twenty " That seemed to light up Romans world, his chubby face lifting from the previously fearful look , quickly lifting to a confident smirk.
The dealer looked at the two cards in their hand, turning back to the Italian.
" Hit me " The Italian sneered, grubby fingers scratching at his leg.
" Bust... twenty four " The Italian leant back and tossed his cards onto the table.
" Tsk ... whatever "
" Eh hit me " Jacob laughed, and continued to do so even as he too busted just like the Italian mobster.
' Such a lively atmosphere ' From Roman to his left and Jacob to his right, the two seemed to be in good spirits.
" Hit ... " Slowly, an almost predatory smirk made its way to Cole's face, his eyes slowly turning to Roman.
' To them, the chances if me winning are astronomically low, I'll either bust, or Roman here wins with his twenty and less cards, unless of course the dealer pulls a win out of their ass ' But he wasn't worried, not even slightly as the dealer ripped and placed a card onfront of his already two sevens.
" Bullshit " The Italian mobster cursed, As Jacob's laugh increased twofold, and Romans face entirely drained of colour.
' Oh would you look at that ... another seven ' Oh how he loved his system given skills. Particularly the skill named [ Seventh star. DETAILS : Seven is your lucky number, from the cards in your hand to the day of the month, seven is your ally, your magic number, it will never disappoint you]
And so, if he so much as saw a seven in any hand of blackjack he ever played after having that skill, Cole had always and forever went all in, and so far he hadn't been disappointed... not once.
' Should I start loading seven bullets into my guns ... ' He genuinely pondered the question not for the first time as Roman reluctantly folded, and all eyes turned to the dealer.
' Ah .. perfect... ' In seconds the dealer busted with a total of twenty five, having pulled out a king when hitting fifteen much to the chagrin of the dealer and the Italian mobster.
Dragging in his winnings, a total of over fifteen stacks, Cole took his ten back and placed It back into his bag before placing five back onto the table.
" We going again " He could feel it in his bones, lady luck still favoured him this day, his confident smirk igniting a burning fire in the pants of his competitors.
" You cocky little shit, get ready to give ne back my money" And so they went all in again, and once more, Cole saw the seven in his hand, and had to physically hold himself back from laughing.
And while the second round didn't end with him getting a twenty one, he won by hitting a nineteen, the others having busted with the dealer only coming up to nineteen before busting themselves.
' Twenty five ... ' Cole stashed his second round winnings once more, intentionally rage baiting the players to compell them to stay at the table.
A third round played before everyone began to realise there was something wrong. They thought him to he cheating, but after shuffling and reshuffling the deck only for him to win again, they realised their folly.
Roman chose to quit then, making himself scarce with all but fleeing the den having lost nearly everything to Cole.
A fourth round sweep made Jacob fold, as the Italian mobster stared at Cole, determined to win back atleast something on this shit night.
With one last round, completely draining the house for all it was worth, with his bag as full as it could be, Cole made to leave, but was stopped as the dealer and the Italian mobster pulled a pair of guns from inside their coats, making Jacob raise his hands and step back as they aimed at Cole.
" The money.. kid ... don't make me hang you up "
" Eh big men we don ya cam don now "
" It's okay ... " Cole reached into his jacket to pull out a pack of plastic explosives, with wires sticking from the pack which he placed at the center of the table. " My little toy here is jerry rigged to a heartrate monitor, it'll send an electrical pulse down the wires and detonate the plastic explosives with the faintest deviance of my heartbeat ... gentlemen are you sure that cash is worth your lives "
" You're bluffing " The sweaty Italian grunted, finger holding the trigger, but the darting almost fearful look on his face conveyed his doubts, the potential that the bomb on the table wasn't some fake couldn't be snubbed no matter how much he tried to quelch his rising fear. And the condescending smirk on Cole's face didn't help, those soulless eyes, those eyes missing something, something integral for being human, maybe it was empathy, maybe it was a conscience or maybe just maybe it was lack of a soul.
" No... I'm not ... but you're more than welcome to test it " White teeth parted into a sharp inhuman smile, nor did Cole blink a single time, is impassive stare with the mobster creating an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere in the already smothering dimly lit room.
The longer the seconds blinked by, the sweatier the mobsters became, the more their shaking became pronounced, their lips slowly beginning to quiver, before finally... before finally they raised their guns, raising their hands in a show of surrender.
" Alright, its yours, you won it anyway" They made themselves scarce after rising from their chairs, all but fleeing like a bunch of rats in the spotlight, leaving through the back door to the hardware store, leaving only Jacob and Cole who was currently stuffing stacks into his backpack.
" Eh big man dat was da funeh joke ya pulld of jus der" Jacob gave a shaky smile, normally he wouldn't be so spooked, but it wasn't everyday some kid went walking around with enough explosives to thoroughly kill himself and everyone around him instantly.
" Joke ... " LJ watched as Cole pulled the wires and bronze colored detonator from the plastic explosives, lifted his shirt and removed the heart monitor strapped to his body.
" Eh where you get dat... " Jackob shivered, realization dawning the young man was entirely serious about killing himself and everyone else present.
" I made it " He grabbed the white soft RDX mold, pulling off a piece and putting it in his mouth to chew. " Oh ... that's so good, want some "
" Eh why you do dat " Jacob knew the thing on the table was the real thing, and couldn't fathom why this kid was putting it in his mouth.
" The fumes from the toxins " Cole kept chewing for a few minutes. " They get ya high... your loss "
He simply picked up the RDX and binders and stuffed them into a plastic bag he had in his picket, black gloves resealing the bag and stuffing it back in his pocket.
" Hey, by the way " Cole lifted the backpack to his shoulder, looking the bespectacled Jamaican through half squinted eyes.
" Ye ma man " Jacob rose, not at all discouraged by the loss at the den for the day, a couple days of deals will have him back here in no time.
" You wouldn't know anywhere I can crash for a couple right, I just got here from oversees and thought id make abit of cash" A test, a light one. He prodded Jacob's character lightly, half tilting his head ever so slightly.
" Psst eh ya no jus get ya stoff an come m me I put ya up for abi if ya don min sharin and payin ren Jacob simply waved his hand and walked out, beckoning for Cole to follow.
" Hey you don't have to do that man, just " Cole gave a half smile.' Same old Jacob huh ... that's... '
" ya a funny mun, Les go " They stepped out throigh the front of the den, with Jacob immediately lighting a joint and releasing puffs of smoke into the air, offering the joint for Cole to take which he shook his head, simply spread his lips and showed he was still chewing on the toxic RDX. " We go ta ma place now ... you meet da badman an you pay ren"
" Of course, I'm not a freeloader " And so they made their way through schottler to Little Jacob's apartment, speaking slowly, exchanging stories and talking about their philosophies.
" An ere we are "
....