Aurian Origins: Mr. Capryse

 "Mama! Please! I want papa!" Said a little boy frantically as a Young woman loaded him into a cargo ship. "Shush, Antonio... Your father is gone... We weren't able to pay back what we owed the Benetelli family... Your life here is over!" She told him as the boat started to depart.

As Antonio Capryse reached for his mother, a group of men said words to her that he couldn't make out. The woman hung her head low as the men opened fire into her body several times, leaving a hysterical Antonio Capryse to cry with only the sound of the crashing waves of the ocean to console him.

Antonio was still sniffling softly as the boat docked on land. He had no idea where he was, only that he was cold, scared, and hungry. As he wandered the new location looking for something to eat, he accidentally bumped into a man wearing a black suit with a white tie. He gulped as he looked around, seeing a man on his knees begging for his life.

"Ohhh Son... You just found yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time." He said sadly. Antonio tried to ask what was going on, but he unfortunately only knew Italian. Taking pity, the man knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder, and switching to Italian. "Young man... You look lost and hungry. So I will tell you what, I'll take you for some pizza, after that... how does a nice Bath before bed sound?" He asked.

Antonio lit up and smiled before nodding. The man smiled widely and nodded. "Splendid! All you have to do..." HE started as he handed him a Beretta 9mm. "... Is shoot this man in the head!" He exclaimed. Antonio immediately gulped and started to back away, but the man pulled him back. "Listen, son, things ain't as easy as it was in Italy, we're in AMERICA! Here, it's kill or be killed!" He explained.

Antonio looked at the gun, then at the pleading man as he processed those words, it slowly dawned on him that even if he was allowed to leave, he'd still have nowhere to go. His eyelids lowered as he pointed the pistol at the man's head and fired between his eyes.

We now cut to a late night in Bronx New York ten years later. The foul stench of the sewer lines contaminated the air as a middle-aged gray-haired man ran for his life. He had been stripped down to a pair of deep cut wounds and was constantly looking back to make sure no one was chasing him.

As he looked back one more time, a push knocked him back from the shadows and onto his bottom. From the shadows. A young man in a rusting mask with a mouth that resembled a bat in the form of a smile and a white suit stepped out. In his hand was a crudely made machete that had clearly been hand-made out of metal found around the streets.

"Listen, Mac... I don't know your obsession with teenage girls... but you REALLY should have picked a better target!" Said the masked man as he brought the machete down hard on the man's left foot, causing a scream as he severed it."

"Please! I can give you money!" the scared man tried to beg as the masked man tilted his head to the side. "See? That's what I'm talking about! Do you honestly think you can pay more than that of a mob boss? The father of that girl you were stalking and stealing underwear from?" He asked while hacking away repeatedly at the man's body. with only the sounds of New York traffic to drown out his screams.

A week later, a Russian man in a fine blue three-piece suit with a golden vest and black tie looked through the papers. He chuckled over reading an article labeled "Horror down below" as he read about how the pieces of a man known as "Dimitri burnings" were found. the only parts missing were the yes, which were presented to him in a plastic bag.

"I guess if he wants his eyes near my daughter so bad... This is the next best thing! Good work Tony!" He said with a light chuckle as a skinny Italian teenage boy politely ate Gnocchi across from him at the table. "Thank you Mr. Agranov..." He said joylessly while he chewed his food.

Boris Agranov just tilted his head slightly as he looked to his youngest employee and raised a brow. "What could possibly have you down, boy? You make more money than anyone else on the payroll, you are in great shape, and you are a top student... what on earth takes away from that?" He asked.

Tony sipped his coffee lightly and looked at him. "It's just that last kill... Why couldn't I just have guarded Ms. Agranov myself? Things didn't have to drag out this far... I just felt that last kill to be... a waste of my time and talents." He said as he finished his meal. A curvy maid took his bowl and silverware before filling his coffee cup.

There was a long pause between the two of them before Boris let out a hard laugh. "Listen Tony... We've known each other for over a decade... ever since I pulled you off that boat you stowed away in and took you in as my own... you've been a top-notch killer-"

"-Because I witnessed your involvement in killing a man by the docks... Yes, I'm aware." Interrupted Tony as he tried to put that unpleasant memory behind him.

"- A kill that I made YOU clean up! Do NOT Interrupt me again, boy!" He scolded before clearing his throat. "The Point I am trying to make is that you've barely seen Saryn in all that time for a reason... And that is because while YOU are training to be the top hitman, SHE will be running this show... your boss one day! I don't need her being distracted by some young boy..." He said with a stern look.

Tony just looked at him. "You really think that lowly of me that I'd just allow her to shirk her responsibilities, for some... physical carnal release?" He asked with concern. "I am married to my work, not some trumped-up views on sex! I thought my years of outstanding work since my literal childhood spoke for itself!" He exclaimed.

Boris just grunted and finished his meal. "You're not going to let this go... Fine... I'll tell you what, I'll arrange an audience with her as your trial status... If she agrees, then fine... But if she says no, then you will drop it and commit to what I actually need from you!" He said with finality, to which Tony just nodded.

A week had passed, and Tony had just gotten done with his studies. Boris had slowly walked in with a young teenage woman. A blonde young woman with creamy white skin dressed in a black gown with sequins with a white star shining in the center, adjusted her glasses as she looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "You wish to... be my personal guard?" She asked.

Tony stood up and bowed to her. "My name is Tony Capryse! And I would love to be your...." But he stopped when she put her hand up. "I know who all my father's employees are. Your name is Antonio Capryse, you go by 'Mr. Bad Day' in your work life... and you just got done killing my stalker not long ago." She said sternly.

As she looked him over, she looked to Boris. "Father... If I agree to him, will I be able to go on long walks like I wish?" She asked curiously. Boris just grinned and nodded. "Fine... I accept." She said, resigning to her fate.

Boris clapped his hands and chuckled as he called in some men. "SPLENDID! ...Now... Strip!" He told Tony, whose eyebrows raised. "Uh... what?" He asked as Saryn coldly slid off her gown. Boris just looked him in the eyes. "You are going to be her new guard! I expect your capable hands to be able to provide for all of her needs AND mine... and what I need... is an Heir, now Strip."

Tony backed up nervously. "I'm not comfortable with this, sir. Perhaps we can-" But he was cut off by Boris ordering his men to strip him down. Saryn obediently, yet reluctantly, sat in her lingerie as a screaming Tony was carried to her.

The next morning, a deeply disturbed Tony was lying in Saryn's bed while she did her homework. "How long are you going to mope about this? The sex couldn't have been THAT bad.." She joked before closing her book. Tony just glared at her in frustration, causing her to glare back.

"Look, Tony... There is a lot worse my father has done, at least he waited until we were teenagers... But this is the life we have now... better get used to it." she explained. Tony raised a brow. "What do you mean, waited until we were teenagers?" He asked slowly.

Saryn laughed into her hand. "Where do you think the man you just killed came from? He was simply one of several from one of the rings my father owns...He just had his eyes on too big a prize this time! Tried to take what wasn't his!" She explained.

Tony's glare became cold as Saryn fanned him away. "You HAD to know there was more to this business than just debts and murder!" She told him, but Tony just glared. "I LIKE debts! They are easy to track, all money is... with proper backing I could easily track them down... that's why I chose economics as my major!" He told her.

Saryn nodded and put on a nightgown. "Is that so? Well, I'll tell you what... Let's make a deal, I'll let you run this organization in my stead... In return, you leave me free to my own devices!" Tony just chuckled. "I suppose we have a deal... 'My love' but what about your father?" He asked curiously. To which Saryn laughed.

"We will wait until all affairs are in order... and then it will be time to take over... I trust you understand what to do when the time is right!" She explained. Tony simply nodded and bowed. "Of course, Milady." He said politely before pouring a cup of coffee.

"Ooh la la! Such a gentleman! Glad to have your company, Mr. Bad Day." She teased as she sat on her bed. But Tony simply smiled bright and wide at her. "My name is not Mr. Bad Day anymore... It's Mr. Capryse." He exclaimed.

And with that, the two partners embraced each other before sipping their coffee and plotting their promised future, one that would allow them to at long last control their own destinies.