36 Politics (1/2)
I chuckled darkly as I counted the money that had been heaped in front of me, a small mountain of cash notes lay rolled up in a dysfunctional mess. Beside it stood a slightly bigger heap of rusty equipment that has been looted from the unfortunate band that had decided to assault us.
Soft wailing sounds shook the alley as a group of naked men kneeled together, their knees touching and a tiny stream of tears flowing from their eyes.
”Damn, if I'd known there weren't any women here I wouldn't have bothered to make those cliché lines…” I moaned in sadness, before promptly turning to the man that had led us to this elaborate, albeit failed robbery attempt.
”Which family are you under?” I asked clearly as I looked at the pitiful senile old man. Sorren nodded behind my back while Fawkes simply stood to my side awaiting the man's reply.
”...Colombo….” the man muttered softly as he attempted to push the words through his teeth, ”The last time I got in contact with the family was four months ago to hand over a part of my earnings as a commission…” he continued showing none of the previously shown indecision. He reminded me of a bath tub that had had its plug pulled spilling information indiscriminately after the initial reveal.
”They let me work in the fountain area, it's one of the best parts of their turf, I can con loads of travelers there, they even have a very liberal money collection plan..” he said harping away at the plus points of the business that he had recently taken a fancy to.
”So tell me geezer, why the preferential treatment to you..?” I asked curiously, the man hadn't been very strong, and he wasn't very loyal either, leading me to question how he was able to convince a cut throat family like the Colombo's to give him prime land from their turf.
”Well that's because, I defected from the up-and-coming Gambino family with valuable information in exchange for that spot..Now the Colombo's have an upper hand in the union auction! They even managed to snag a couple of the Gambino merchandise!!” he replied puffing out his chest like a proud peacock and showing a look of ardent pleasure as he spoke of his new employers.
”Hoh..? What is this 'union auction'?” I asked curiously.
”It's an auction held every five years, jointly organized and managed by the big six! At the end of the day the one with the most expensive merchandise goes home with the most profit. You have everything from expensive Devil fruits to weapons- Once one of the 'O Wazamono' series swords had been auctioned off there!! The auction is even frequented by some world nobles!” He said proudly puffing out his chest.
'Hoh world nobles huh..? Interesting…' I thought as I smiled a little.
”So, what was this merchandise that you informed the Colombo's about?”
”Hoh… It seems like our dear flamingo friend was returning from here, and just happened to meet us in Minnon!” I said chuckling darkly as I looked back at my crew.
”It makes me kind of happy to know that not only did we kill him, we also got him to cough up the 'unknown' devil fruit” Fawkes said with a slight chuckle. ”Hey Fawkes don't say that to loud! The Marines will be after us for animal cruelty!!” I said as I clicked my tongue in mock anger.
”So, Gezer. What should I do with you? kill you, decapitate you, give you to the Gambino s? I'm sure they have a good local bounty out for you..” I said as I returned to the man in question, licking my lips slightly.
”Eh.? I th-thought that since I gave you the information, you would let me go!!” He wailed stuttering and crying sharply. Huge tears flowed down his gruff pear-shaped face before dropping down to the dirty ground with a dull thud.