[Episode] Burning Bridges

The waning moon glowed softly against the deepening sapphire sky as the gentleness of the breeze nudged the last of the city folk home. The day had evidently come to a close and yet, while the city dwellers wrapped up their day, the lurkers of the night were beginning to stir. The waking shadows stretched their arms as the store fronts spun to life with its multitudes of vibrant color.

In the midst of it all walked the mafiosa as she leisurely made her way towards the coordinates she had been presented. Her destination was just outside the city lights, but the heiress saw no need to speed things up. Although the meeting she was about to have was of grave importance, the mafiosa was not looking forward to it in the slightest. In fact, the young heiress was considering not showing up at all.

“What does that good for nothing want now?” Ebony muttered to herself as she tipped her fedora at a passerby. He greeted her in return before going on his way. “Better be fucking worth it.”

Over the span of several months, that man had insisted and persisted in trying to schedule a private meeting. She had turned them all down until his constant nagging finally brought her to her wit’s end. Not that she had much of a choice considering their interests aligned.  

Ebony sighed as a murder of crows cawed from the distance. Her destination was near which  meant that those blasted creatures were alerting the man of her presence.  Not that it meant anything considering their destination was a bit remote. However, it did not refrain her from grimacing and shooting a dirty look towards their direction. Despite their magnificent presence, she hated those damned crows.

As if in queue, the man soon emerged from a nearly torn down shed almost as if he had been waiting at the door for their signal. “My darling, sweet Ebony. You came!” The wretched man exclaimed as he threw his arms wide open for a welcoming embrace. “How’s the old man? He doing good? Good. Good.” Curtis nodded happily to himself. “It’s just what I like to hear.”

Ebony, however, did not reciprocate his embrace nor did she answer the man’s questions. There was no need to consider the fact that he and her father had met mere hours earlier. This was simply small talk. A pretense per say, that neither of them cared for. Although, Curtis, on the other hand, simply loved to hear himself talk.

The heiress narrowed her eyes in slight annoyance. This earned a hearty laugh from the intolerable buffoon as he brought his arms back down. He paid her no mind which irked her considering how persistent he had been in getting her to come. Not that she expected anything different from the man who plotted against her father.

“Come in,” Curtis said as he spun towards the half open door. “Make yourself at home.” The cackling waste of space snickered as he pushed the door open. With his hands inside his pockets, he strode confidently inside. “Not much different anyways.”

Ignoring his ill-intended comment, Ebony adjusted her mask before approaching the entrance. Once satisfied, the mafiosa was about to make her way in when her eyes immediately drew towards a slight shift in shadows. At the far right corner of the dimly lit room was a person standing at attention. Clearly they were here on invitation based on how unperturbed her uncle was towards the cloaked figure.

“Who’s he?” Ebony asked with obvious distaste. He hadn’t mentioned a second person. In fact, Curtis had even emphasized countless times how important secrecy had been for this particular meeting. “You said it would be just us two.” Yet, clearly, the underboss believed that he was the exception to the rule.

“Ebony, darling,” Curtis proclaimed as a wide grin etched across his face. His hands covering his mouth in a mocking gesture of surprise. “I simply said that we should keep this meeting under wraps.” The underboss looked towards the looming figure in feigned shock. “Had I known you’d have misinterpreted, I would have written it as if I were speaking to a child.”

To this, Ebony said nothing as she glared murderous daggers towards the insufferable man and at his unnamed companion. Had he been anyone else, she could have put him in his place. However, he was a man not even her father could touch. Truly insufferable, but secured all the same.

After enjoying himself at her expense, Curtis gestured towards the unnamed party crasher as he, himself, took a seat. “Aside from that, just ignore him. He’s no one you need to worry your pretty little head about.” This remark earned him a well deserved scowl from the mafiosa. “He’s ah… an associate… eh… security.”

Ebony raised an eyebrow incredulously. Security for whom? Himself? If it was truly for himself, Curtis was wise to bring him as he surely would be needing it after the meeting. Especially if he kept avoiding questions and amusing himself at her expense. However, that would need to wait as, right now, she needed to continue with this farce of a conversation.

Seeing as she would get nothing in return from pressing the matter further, Ebony remained silent as she took her seat directly in front of Curtis. A small table separated them both while the cloaked figure stood at attention behind the underboss. A single lamp illuminated the room proudly in between them as the exposed portions of the shack let in streams of moonlight.

Curtis said nothing as he simply sat there grinning like a fool. Therefore, it was up to Ebony to begin the conversation. “So what do you want?” She began as her eyes narrowed towards the stranger. “Because he sure as hell doesn't look like a goddamn associate.”

“Much too cautious, are we?” Curtis laughed before he started to cough in an almost choking manner. He immediately took a swig of his cigar after the coughing fit was over. “You’ll start growing white hair like your old man, see?” He managed to gesture towards her silver hair before coughing up a storm.

The headache of a man took a minute before recomposing himself. “No need to mind him. Truly. Giancarlo is one of mine.” With another puff of smoke, he continued. “Do what you’d like with him after, though. He’ll be yours once the meeting’s over.”

The mafiosa let out a chuckle. “mHmm hm hm hm. What makes you think I’d want him?” Amused at the thought, she gestured towards Giancarlo in an incredulous manner. “You think I’d like one of yours keeping tabs on me, old man? If you do, you’ve got another thing coming.” Ebony leaned forward against the table. “You also haven't told me why I’m here.”

Seeing as the heiress was in no mood to play his games, Curtis decided to take a different approach. He knew Ebony wasn’t like her father which meant that it also made things a lot more unpredictable. Not that he minded since she kept her mouth shut. Whether it stemmed from loyalty or not, he welcomed her with open arms so long as she remained cooperative.

“It’s quite simple, Ebony.” Curtis replied, unbothered by her declarations. “You don’t have a choice. Just be goddamn grateful that he’ll be useful to you.” The underboss snapped his fingers which prompted the man to lean forward. “This… Madame is who you’ll be serving from today onwards.”

Giancarlo nodded towards Ebony and he slowly leaned back to attention. However, right as he moved, Curtis grabbed Giancarlo by the collar and dragged him back down. “But remember who fucking owns you, brat.” Curtis seethed into Giancarlo’s ear before pushing the subordinate out of the way.

“Now, Eb.” Curtis sighed as he took another whiff of his cigar. “I need you to pay back a tiny favor. Nothing fancy.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Simply aid me in taking my rightful place as the head and I will graciously reward you with whatever you want.” He crossed his heart as he grinned widely. “Scout’s honor.”

Ebony laughed at the preposterous offer. “You have nothing I want, Curtis. What makes you think I’d agree to this one sided offer?” She gestured towards her surroundings. “If you think I’m willing to go under, you’re dead wrong.”


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With a snap of Curtis’ fingers, Giancarlo produced a small box and placed it expertly on the table. With much precision, he unlocked the chains and stepped back to allow the mafiosa to open it herself. Once Giancarlo had moved towards his original spot, Ebony reached forward hesitantly. Throughout all this, she could not help but notice the wretched man grinning a secretive smile.

With nothing to lose, the young woman finally opened the cursed object only to find a devil fruit tucked inside. Its silver color and squiggles of black shone ominously as it beckoned to her to have a taste. A summons she was more than happy to ignore much less wish to keep. “Why? You know you’ll gain nothing by this.”

“This is assurance,” Curtis grinned mischievously. “A token of my good will and nothing more.” He gestured towards Giancarlo who had now taken off his hood. “And it comes with a bonus, too. Eh? Just give it to him if you don’t want it.”

The mafiosa sighed as she closed the box once more. “No,” Ebony replied firmly. “This one’s mine.” She couldn't help but notice the disappointed look flash across the henchman’s face before immediately reverting to his earlier stoic look. Not that any of this mattered considering the circumstances. She may have to take him with her but that did not mean she had to invest.

Curtis, on the other hand, burst into laughter. He had known Ebony had sworn off using a devil fruit for her own. But this? It was better than he had imagined. “Finally want one of your own, eh?” He guffawed. “Welcome to the fucking club, you fucking hypocrite.”

Ebony shook her head as she placed a hand over the closed lid. “I have plans for this one. Not that the details matter to you.” She eventually sighed. “So, what’re you looking for in return? Nothing good, I assume?” Unfortunately, he had gained the upper hand in this conversation and the infuriating man knew it, too.

“Seeing as I have your attention now, my dear niece, you and Ginacarlo, here, will need to secure a package for me.” Curtis nonchalantly took a whiff of the cigar before clearing his throat. “You see, Hubert is having a little something delivered to the Princeps. A gift of some sort. You’ll need to secure it before it reaches the Ruby Spiders.”

The man raised a finger up as he fell into another coughing spat. “They leave for the port later tonight. I’ll send you the coordinates with him later today.” Curtis leaned back against the chair as he propped his feet up against the table. “Make sure it goes smoothly. You understand, no?”

Ebony frowned. Obtaining the package was an easy feat. However, not being recognized would prove to be a different challenge. They were her father’s thugs, after all. “Any specifics? How big of a package are we talking about here?” If the man would be involved, she could only assume it to be a person.


“Don’t worry about it,” Curtis replied. “You’ll know it when you get there. Shouldn’t be too hard to miss.” Ebony sighed as she stood to leave. The meeting would be over if he had nothing left to say. Unfortunately, he did. “Oh, and be sure to thank me once you’ve secured it. You’ll want to.”

“I highly doubt that,” the mafiosa said as she picked up the treasure. Cradling it in her arms, she made her way out. “And don’t be late, old man. I’ll consider the debt already paid in full if you are. I don’t like waiting.” With a wave of her hand, she disappeared into the night.



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Unfortunately, the sound of a large commotion soon made its way into the warehouse prompting the two brothers to stop their idle gossip. Looking wordlessly at each other, the Paneras both nodded as they stood up in unison.

Antonio rested a hand on Ebony’s head as he got ready to leave. “Seems like duty calls us, Signora. We’ll catch you later, yeah?” Gesturing to Eduardo, the two made their way out while Ebony stayed behind with her desired loot.

After waiting until they exited the building, the young heiress proceeded to go through the cabinets to search for the mysterious files. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to catch her eye and she doubted ledgers were what the traitorous underboss was really after.

Leaving the area behind, the mafiosa moved throughout the rest of the first floor in hopes of obtaining anything she’d consider useful. Still, there did not seem to be anything of value until she had made her way up the makeshift ladder.

To the left, she spotted a locked room that, unfortunately, had no real way of getting inside without first breaking through the lock. This meant she’d eat up more time to break in, but the end result would be promising. Or, at the least, she hoped.

Removing a pin from her hair, Ebony knelt in front of the lock and began her attempt. Sadly, she was quite rusty which caused her to lose a bit more time than her initial prediction. However, the sound of a tiny click was all she needed to hear to know that she’d been successful.

After first cautiously peeking towards the entrance, Ebony began to go through each bookcase and rummage in each drawer. If there was something to hide, this was the last room that could have it. That, and it was the only one that had been locked.

After moments of searching, the mafiosa soon spotted a briefcase resting inside one of the drawers. Propping it open, papers full of redacted information and other various documentation greeted her.

Going through the documents, correspondences between the Princeps and Hubert could be found intertwined between the blacked out pages. Two particular pages, however, stopped her in her tracks. The beginnings of a marriage registration and a letter received from the Ruby Spiders.

Upon closer inspection, she’d note that the registration contained her name but no groom had been listed. This led her to pocketing the document and skimming the letter which stated to have been received from Francesco Princep.

It seemed that Hubert and Francesco had come to an agreement of sorts, but the rest of the page was missing. The only thing the mafiosa could be sure of, however, was that she did not like where the conversation was going.

Having read what she needed to, Ebony placed it back and closed the briefcase shut. It seemed that there was more going on with the Spiders than she had thought. Yet, this seemingly unguarded case with the information it contained seemed incredibly out of place.

Planted perhaps? But by who? These were thoughts for another time as she needed to make her quick exit. Not wanting to wait for the Paneras to reappear, the young heiress shut the drawers before making her way outside.  

Holding the briefcase firmly, Ebony made her way down when she heard the sound of a second bomb going off. Confused, she beelined towards the entrance only to see a cloaked figure make their way towards a fallen figure. An unresponsive blob she recognized all too well.

“Shit!” Ebony let out in a harsh whisper. If Giancarlo was caught, she had no idea what the rat would say or do to get out of the situation. Unfortunately, it was now time to choose which route she’d take to make it out.

With little time to act, Ebony first made her way around the warehouse and hid the briefcase within some foliage. It wasn’t a great job, but it had to do while she got the pain in her ass free from his captors.

Ebony then stealthily made her way back around the building while she scanned for signs of where they would be taking Giancarlo. Unfortunately, she’d missed him being taken which led to her feeling uneasy about the situation.

Finally spotting him being dragged away to a separate warehouse, she followed suit only to be stopped in her tracks by Curtis emerging from within the warehouse. He talked briefly with the cloaked man before the unconscious waste of space was transferred to the conniving bastard’s custody.

The uneasy feeling heightened as Curtis turned briefly towards her direction. He tipped his fedora before carrying the passed out Giancarlo away from the scene. A gesture she absolutely dreaded seeing as she had tried her best to mask her presence.

Gritting her teeth, Ebony turned to leave only to bump straight into Antonio. “Going somewhere, Eb?” He asked. His arms crossed as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re not supposed to be here, are you?” He threw the briefcase she’d hidden at her feet.

“Antonio…” Ebony said as she attempted to laugh off his remark. She bent downwards to pick up the case as her eyes never left his. “What on Baterilla are you talking about?” Her fingers wrapped around the handle as she raised herself up. “You forget who my father is.”

When Antonio twitched, the mafiosa immediately reached inside her jacket pocket and pulled out her revolver. Her opponent did the same as they both pointed their guns towards each other in a form of a standoff.

Neither said anything as Ebony walked backwards away from the warehouses. Her gun trained at Antonio’s forehead. The man stood still with only his weapon following her every move. Both trained gunmen refusing to be the first to draw blood.

After what felt like an eternity, Antonio finally sighed as he lowered his revolver. “Just leave, Ebby.” He shooed her away with his gun before reaching into his breast pocket. “It’s not like I saw you anyways.” Pulling out a cigarette, he lit it before turning his back towards her.

Confused, the young heiress stood motionless as Eduardo appeared in front of Antonio. Looking as confused as she was, Eduordo gave her a hardened gaze before he, too, walked away with his brother. Antonio lifting his hand up to wave her goodbye.

With no means of getting any answers, Ebony knew it was time to go. With nothing in her way, the mafiosa ran from the docks as she made her way to Julian’s. First thing first, Ebony knew she needed to know what the hell was going on.

As she currently was, Ebony realized that she could not meet Curtis knowing now that he had set her up. The mafiosa needed a game plan and, right now, Curtis clearly had the advantage. If he wanted her to get the planted case, then these were for her. She only needed to return once she was caught up with the information she had obtained.

On one hand, she was grateful that Curtis was giving her a way in. Not like her father was any ifferent but, clearly, Hubert had kept things from her. Yet, on the other, she knew her damned uncle would demand so much more. Unfortunately, it was a risk she was willing to take.

An hour or so later, Ebony soon approached her destination without the suitcase in hand. Having spent a good portion of the time pouring through the documents, it became clear that Curtis had not wanted the briefcase but, instead, had gifted it to her.

She hated the fact that the smug man had known all along that she’d appreciate the gesture. However, she refused to acknowledge it outright. Much less let him know how much these documents helped her understand the inner workings of her father’s enterprise.

The fact that her father had set up an alternate lifeline put a sour note in her mouth. He had groomed her to be his successor and to do this? Clearly this had been going on for quite some time seeing as the letters between the Ruby Spiders spanned months.

If this was what Hubert was doing outside of her knowledge, what else had he planned and how far had it gone? Curts seemed to know much more than he had initially let on. Especially since this had all been a ruse to get her to the docks.

Yet, the question also remained. What was Curtis, himself, doing there? He seemed quite familiar with the cloaked man, but she had never seen anyone with the person’s unique gait before. It was something she’d need to look into if she wanted to delve further into this.

As to why Curtis chose to support her, it did not matter. What did was that he was willing to partner up with her in taking down Hubert. This, of course, did not mean that she could trust the sneaking bastard, but they could make use of their talents.

All the mafiosa needed to do now was solidify the partnership and wait until everything was complete before tearing out his throat. Something he, too, would be all too eager to do once their goals no longer aligned.

With a tired sigh, Ebony simply walked inside the building only to spot Antonio and Eduardo standing behind Curtis. The conniving man grinned from ear to ear as her expressions morphed into one of shock and horror.

“Ebony, darling, you made it.” Curtis laughed gleefully. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t find this place.” The mafiosa scowled which made the traitorous bastard all the more excitable. “I hope these gentlemen didn’t give you too much of a hard time.”

Ebony said nothing as she glared daggers at the brothers. To think they had partnered up with one of the two people she hated the most. Not that she could blame them considering how much Anthony needed to appease the Golden Wolves.

Still, this revelation did not quell her anger nor her murderous rage at the two. Though Antonio’s earlier gesture now made a lot more sense. “Don’t be too angry, my dear niece.” Curtis grinned before his coughing fit took over.

The underboss cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m sure you understand how valuable manpower is.” He then threw a sack of belli onto the table. “Paid hands, though. Nothing more.” The mafioso waved the two brothers away.

On queue, the brothers grabbed the payment and left. However, not before shooting Ebony an apologetic look as they stepped out the door. Ebony, on the other hand, chose to focus on the bigger fish.

Curtis did not appear bothered as he lit a cigar. In fact, he seemed to bask in the attention he was receiving. “So, we got a deal?” He took a long swig of his cigar. “I’m sure we both know that I’m all you’ve got left.”

Ebony sighed as she stretched out her hand. “But once this is done and over with, this all ends.” Hubert’s eyes widened in surprise before bursting out into a laughing fit. Clearly, he enjoyed the conversation more than she enjoyed being in it.

“You’ve got that right, pup.” He shook her hand firmly. However, instead of letting go, the mafioso squeezed her hand hard and pulled her close so that he’d stare straight into her eyes. “Once this is over, prepare for a fucking bloodbath.” He let go of her as he stood up to leave.

“For now, though,” The underboss concluded as he adjusted his fedora. His tone shifted to that of a fatherly figure. “Make yourself useful.” He gave her a meaningful look before making his way outside. “I’d hate to see you killed off before this even ends.”

With those parting words, Curtis left the building leaving Ebony to her thoughts. If she was going to survive, she needed resources and connections. Moreso if she was going to face him once their partnership completed.

As newfound determination surged through her veins, Ebony left the building feeling energized. If one thing was certain, she’d become a force to be reckoned with. One even Curtis would come to fear and she knew just where to start.