A New Beginning | By : shini0angel Category: Gundam Wing/AC > General Views: 248 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Number One: A New Beginning
Alan Cohen: It takes a lot of courage to
release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no
longer meaningful. There is more
security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in
change there is power.
George Bernard Shaw: Some men see things as they
are and say, “Why?” I dream of things that never were and say,
“Why Not?”
Ryo Ichii’s fist came down
hard on the table, the vibrations causing the water pitcher to teeter
precariously before being righted by the quick thinking of Ryo’s cousin Rei. All three men
who were seated around the table and had previously been somewhat calm were
even now expecting their cousin Ryo to begin his usual ranting and raving. Rei was by far the
most calm of the three having grown up with Ryo and his temper so he was
accustomed to his loud outbursts than the other two men. But all three looked up with surprise showing
before it was quickly masked, but it had been there nonetheless. Ryo was not shouting,
he was controlled despite the bad news they had informed him of. New that clearly showed that the Ichii Family could be facing inevitable ruin. A ruin beyond any hope of
salvation.
“We will survive this problem,” Ryo
spoke looking over each of his cousins, reading their expressions by their
eyes. “Make no mistake about it. No matter what it takes, even if it means
that we must relocate, we will not die out.”
All three of the cousins nodded
seriously. They all knew that Ryo was
very resourceful and spoke the truth, even though the bitter truths that they
had given to him earlier would have cause a lesser man to give up the
fight. But Ryo was like the samurai’s of
old, fighting until death claimed him but never surrendering. Or he fought until he had vanquished all of
his foes. When he chose to commit
himself to a cause there was never a draw or a rematch. There was always a winner and a loser, Ryo
was rarely if ever the loser.
“If we do have to relocate where
will we relocate too?” Kenji, the youngest cousin, hesitantly asked. “All the other Families and Cartels are
secure in their power and holdings. Even
if we moved now we do not have the power to knock any of them out, there is no
where in the Asian Empire we can begin anew.”
“Then we will build a new Empire,”
Ryo looked out into the dark night sky.
“And we will do so out there.”
“In the Colonies?”
Gregory asked for clarity.
“Yes,” Ryo nodded in
confirmation. “If we
must. Someone look into it,
thoroughly. I’ve heard that the new
Colony of L2 is almost completed. It is
young and can easily be taken over if we act quickly.”
The three nodded in agreement. What crime boss had not heard about the L2
Colony, a Colony being built by the work of prisoners? It was a tempting thouand and a very
realistic one given their current situation.
Relocating to space would provide endless possibilities and would put
the Ichii Family at the forefront once again. They could become the biggest there was out
there because not even L1 or L3 had been tarnished by any of the Cartels. The three cousins stood to leave to begin
their information hunt.
“Before you leave,” Ryo spoke softly
but they all heard and stopped to listen.
“See if any other Families or Cartels wish to join us in this
venture. Having some support will only
serve to strengthen us and whoever decides to join in with us will also benefit
from the same thing. Check first among
the non-Asian friends twe hwe have. I
don’t want the neighbors to get wind of this if it can be helped.”
“Should I contact the Daman head?” Rei,
the eldest, asked respectfully.
“Yes,” Ryo smiled for the first time
that day. “Daman is a good man. One who is always honest with old business
partners and who always follows through on his agreements. Contact him at once!”
~~~~
Nearly half an hour later Frank
Daman was on the phone with Ryo Ichii.
“Well Ryo,” Frank spoke calmly and
levelly. “I was just informed of a very
interesting business proposition by that cousin, Rei,
of yours. He is a great speaker you
know. America and Europe are slowly drying up,
there’s no creativity and there are too many people coming into the
business. In spite of all this the
American Mafia’s are becoming pushy. I’m
in if you still want me.”
“Are you certain about this?” Ryo asked, most traces of shock barely visible on his
features. “I didn’t think you would
agree so quickly or easily.”
“Every business man needs new
horizons and opportunities,” Frank gave a shrug of his shoulders. “And I need anything I can get at this
point. I’m sure you know how it is and
how it’s going to become.”
Ryo nodded understandingly at
Frank’s last statement. They were both
in the same position, only Frank stood to lose much
more than Ryo. He was in both America and Europe making his stake slightly
greater. That made most of the major
doubts drop away. There was always the
fear that the other guy would not follow through but those problems could be
planned for. In this there was no cause
for distrust. They were on equal
footing.
“I know of a few people who would
make excellent business partners,” Frank brought up, watching Ryo’s reaction to
the suggestion. “It would certainly help
with the cost and power that we’ll need.”
“How many people?”
Ryo asked.
“Two or three more Families,” Frank
answered in a smooth tone. “That’s
it. And if we band together we’ll be
damn near unstoppable up there. The
power and influence we’ll have together will be enormous.”
“How do you know that this
partnership will work out?” Ryo was uncertain at best with the idea.
“Because,” Frank gave him an
assuring smile. “We’re from different
backgrounds. If we’re united together
then our people won’t fight, not over Family ties or power if we’re all
equal. And all our businesses are such
that we won’t have much cause to get in each other’s ways, not too much
anyway. It would be the capitol of the
Underworld, wherever we settle on L2.”
“Contact them,” Ryo said. “Only because I know that you don’t dream
outside of possibility and reality.”
“It is L2 we’re looking at settling
on right?” Frank asked to make sure that he had everything correct.
“Yes,” Ryo acknowledged to him with
a sharp nod. “Is there something about
L2 that I should be aware of Daman? Is
there something wrong with that choice?”
“Not exactly,” Frank suddenly
smirked. “It just so happens a cousin of
mine is about to be shipped up there to serve a four month prison
sentence. And he’s going to be on the main
colony. I think I’ll have him take up a
message to the rest of the workers who are up there. Prisoners are bound to have contraband
weapon, even up there.”
“What good would that do?” Ryo
looked hard at Frank. “The prisoners are
all the way up there while we’re down here.”
“You have to learn to trust others Ichii.,”
Frank laughed softly. “That’s what equal
partnership means. When have I ever let
you down on something like this? Is
there one time in your memory that stands out?”
“No, not one,” Ryo admitted.
“But just to put your mind at ease
I’ll tell you what I was thinking about,” Frank assured Ryo. “I thought it might be a good idea for the
prisoners to start an uprising once the colony was almost completed. Then the five of us, hopefully there will be
five Families, would liquidate our assets and go up to the main L2 Colony. The authorities would all be too busy
watching the revolt to pay any attention to us.
And then we’ll go to the northwest quadrant and set up our city.”
“A sound plan,” Ryo nodded in agreement. “But won’t the authorities then try to push
us out?”
“Most likely,” Frank said. “But if we have enough weaponry and a good
solid hold we can manage to stay in place for a few months and they’ll stop
trying to get us out. The authorities
might test our position from time to time but it won’t be anything that one of
us couldn’t handle on our own. In the
next few years they won’t even try.”
“How can you be so certain of what
the authorities will or will not do?” Ryo’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his
long time business partner.
“They’re American,” Frank pointed
out to the Japanese man. “And all of
them have their price. I can also call
in many of the favors I’m owed if it comes down to it. As I said before, it shouldn’t be too
difficult for us after the first few months.
Eventually they’ll let us have that part of the main colony. Besides, it’s not like there won’t be other
additions on to L2, so our little corner will become insignificant in their
eyes.”
“I’ll trust your judgement
on this Frank Daman,” Ryo said after a few moments of deliberation.
“You won’t regret it,” Frank
promised. “I’ll call you tomorrow with
an update on the three other families at 0600 hours?”
“I’ll be waiting,” Ryo nodded.
They disconnected.
~~~~
Tiredly Frank rubbed his forehead, easing away from
of the tension headache he felt coming on.
It had taken far more out of him than he had thought it would to
convince Ryo to go along with his plan.
He had been afraid that Ryo might see through him. The Japanese man was nothing if not overly
cautious and downright untrusting of outsiders.
Both were his strengths and weaknesses.
Once Ryo gave his word on something he did not back out and that was
something Frank was counting on. If he
was able to get everyone in agreement with his plan the future would look very
profitable. All their main forms of
business, what they each excelled at would all balance out and he was confidant
things would run smoothly with little problem.
It would be a revolution in the Underworld.
He reached out with a slightly unsteady
hand for his glass of brandy. He had
been smart to keep it out of his way and out of line of sight with the vid-screen. He was
damn lucky he had not reached for it either.
Ryo knew him well enough to know that he only brought out the good stuff
when he was nervous or very confidant.
If he did not have any out then he was not worried or overly certain of
himself, which generally meant that things were fine and Ryo would be more at
ease with his suggestions. Thankfully he
had been able to go through the call with few noticeable slip-ups. He prayed that his luck would continue to
hold through the next few calls he had yet to make. He knew that he would need it.
From memory he dialed up his Irish
friend, Danny Kincaid, putting the call through directly to his house. It was a privilege that Danny allowed to few
people.
“Who the hell is it?” Danny grouched
before the vid-screen had even been turned on. “If you’re someone I don’ wan’ to talk to
don’ bother me.”
“It’s me Danny,” Frank’s smooth tones
matched his light smile when Danny’s face finally appeared on the screen. “I have a proposition for you if you’re in
the mood to hear me out. If you’re not
we can talk later.”
“‘Course I am Franky,”
The red-head chuckled using a nickname for Daman. “Irelan’ has gone to
the dogs if you ask me. Been lookin’ for something useful to do wit’ me
time. So, what have you got for me?”
Frank smiled fondly as Danny rapidly
dropped his Irish baroque, “A mass movement to the new L2 Colony. As everyone knows that colony is being built
by convicts, I have a cousin who’s going up there to
serve a four month sentence. He’s going
to take a message up there for me and the prisoners will start a revolt once
construction is nearly completed. While
the revolt is taking place, you, I and our colleagues will gather our assets
and move up there. The authorities will
be too concerned with the revolt to monitor our activities until it’s too
late.”
“Sounds pretty solid,” Danny
conceded. “Have you thought out all the
details? And do you have some
alternatives in case we hit a few snags in your grand plan? You can never be too careful you know.”
“Of course,” Frank gave him a bright
smile. “You know me, Danny-boy. I’ve got it all planned out, it’ll work. Don’t stress over
the details, we both know that’s my job.”
“Sure Franky,”
Danny said. “Just so long as your still on top of your game. Who else is involved in this scheme?”
“Ryo Ichii,”
Frank informed the Irishman. “He’s the
one who suggested re-locating to L2. I
came up with the rest of it. Have you
heard of Ichii?”
“Who hasn’t?” Danny let out a
whistle. “One of the toughest there is
and stricter than the nuns who taught me in grade school. That should help us, his discipline and
strength. I’m good at keeping people out
of my territory but not so good at keeping everyone in line.”
“I know it,” Frank ran a hand
through his dark brown hair. “I’ll call
you back with more details tomorrow Danny, most likely it will be a conference
call so we can all talk and get to know one another.”
“It sounds like there are going to
be more than three Families involved,” Danny said with a small frown. “Just how many people are you going to be
bringing into this Frank? I hope not too
many or things will get crowded.”
“Five Families total,” Frank sighed.
“Well five’s a good and solid
number,” Danny smiled. “I guess I’ll let
you go so you can make the rest of those calls.
Good luck.”
Danny disconnected without giving
Frank a chance to say goodbye. He did
not bother to take any offence, instead he was already dialing another number
and soon two other Families were willing to participate in a conference call
for the next day.
~~~~
Ryo Ichii
leaned back in his leather chair, folding his fingers as he smiled at the four
screens facing him. There were four, one
for each head of the other Families that Daman had convinced to join in
the call and one for Daman himself.
Ryo had heard of Danny Kincaid, leader of the Kincaid Family who were
renowned for their assassins and explosives experts. Then there was Hussein Arman
whose men were trained as expert body guards.
And of course there was Carlos Sanchez who had ties to the Catholic
Church, South America and was partnered with Arman
in the building of new weapons. And
there was Frank Daman, the American who was an expert at technology and lastly
himself in the drug market and manufacturing.
“Did you call your cousin yet Daman?” Hussein Arman asked softly.
Hussein, like Sanchez, rarely if
ever raised his voice. They both did not
need to. Unlike many of the men on the
conference call though, Sanchez included, Arman had a
powerful and commanding presence that came naturally and not from his position
of power. Hussein though did not care to
be in the spot light, one of the reasons he was so eager to join in with Ichii and Daman, he would be able to work in the background
but still have an equal voice.
“My cousin is taking the message and
is already on his way to the colony,” Frank confirmed with confidence. “You don’t have to worry about that. My message will get through to the
prisoners. When we get word of the riot
we’ll being the move to L2.”
“Good,” Carlos Sanchez said. “I can assure everyone that we will have the
church’s cooperation once we’re settled in.”
“The Catholic
Church?” Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes,” Carlos said with a chilling
smile. “Will anyone have a problem with
that?”
“So long as you don’t try to convert
any of us to your religion,” Hussein remarked.
“I don’t have a problem and I won’t make one either. You have my word on it.”
“Mine as well,” Ryo said.
“And mine,” Danny added.
Frank said nothing since he was
already Catholic. Ryo however had no
real religious ties or affiliation so his agreement was paramount as was
Hussein’s, who was Islamic. Danny was an
Irish Protestant but had never really had a problem with Catholics.
“So we are all agreed then?” Ryo
asked carefully looking at each of them.
“We being getting our preparations ready now,
but slowly so as not to attract unwanted attention from the authorities. And we move swiftly once the riot has begun?”
“Agreed,” All four said together.
A few more details were discussed
before the disconnected and began gathering their business and members closer
to home. They withdrew or transferred
funds, re-establishing old and new contacts.
Things went smoothly, no one questioned them and the authorities had not
changed their surveillance in any way.
~~~~
Two months later it began. The revolt by the prisoner-builders on L2 was
now highly publicized by the media. It
was on everyone’s mind. The five men who
were spread around Earth smiled secretly to themselves when the news came to
them. They rushed to bring together
their people and supplies.
By the end of two weeks they were launching into
space to make their stand, just as they had agreed. All five leaders traveled separately in case
of an accident or some other complication.
Nearly two and a half weeks after the riot had begun they were within
sight of the L2 Colony.
“Who’s people are you?” A
voice came over the comm-link of Ryo Ichii’s shuttle. “If
you do not identify yourselves we’ll open fire!”
“We’re allies,” Ryo cut the pilot off before he
could respond. “We gave you the orders
to being this riot. Now we’re here to
help.”
“Well met,” The voice continued, now much more
welcoming in tone. “You must be Ryo Ichii. I recognize
your voice. You and yours are welcome
and may pass and dock safely. We’ll keep
the cats off your tails. Give us your
shuttle numbers so we don’t fire upon them.”
Ryo read off the long list of numbers. There were a total of thirty-seven
shuttles. Some were only passenger
shuttles while other’s were solely cargo and some were
both. It took six hours to get all of
the shuttles safely docked. The authorities
briefly attempted to stop them but after a brief fire fight they withdrew.
As planned the five leaders with their bodyguards
met in the northwest quadrant and set a perimeter. They divided the center of the quadrant into
five equal parts for each of them to have, they were
the heart of the quadrant. They withdrew
their people and the prisoners within the perimeter and began the wait. They did not wait long.
The authorities came at them. Combined they were a frightening force of
different styles but blended together in such a way to cause extreme hardships
on the police. The prisoners began to
call the northwest quadrant, The Shadows, and the name stuck.
The American authorities came at them with the
belief that they were loosely joined together and there was a weakness in their
partnership. Each Family was
interdependent on the other, more organized and joined together than any other
crime organization before them. The five
did not fold, did not even waver. All
they had was brought together and used.
The authorities tried for five months to make them
fold and eventually accepted defeat and the bribe offered to them. It was the beginning of a new age in
crime. There was an actual city out in
the open that was uncontrolled and unmasked.
The precedence for future interaction between the Big Five, as the five
leaders were called, was set as was the purpose and business of the
Shadows. To this day it has yet to be
broken.
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