Alex, Dean, and Aerith followed Leslie Kyle, who was leading them toward the luxurious mansion located on the very outskirts of the Wall Market. They were hurrying, trying to make it before Don Corneo found out that the people he had sent had failed to do their job and turned into drooling idiots. In this situation, Leslie was the most nervous of all: he knew perfectly well how much of a cowardly rat Corneo was.
The moment the situation heated up even a little, the Don would immediately run away with his tail between his legs. Having served as his right-hand man long enough, Leslie understood perfectly how many connections Corneo had and how many people were in his debt. If they let the Don escape, finding him afterward would be extremely difficult, which Leslie very much wanted to avoid. Alex and Dean, on the other hand, were mentally calculating their Gil, adding moral compensation, payment for the show, and other unforeseen expenses to the sum.
And in their calculations, the original prize fund of one million Gil was rapidly growing into a far more impressive figure that they intended to shake out of Corneo. Only Aerith felt completely carefree and relaxed. She calmly walked next to Alex, sincerely enjoying the stroll and holding his arm.
"When we arrive, I'll take you inside myself. There's little security around the mansion right now," Leslie said hurriedly, climbing the steps and looking back over his shoulder at Alex, Dean, and Aerith.
"We can walk in without knocking ourselves, no need to strain yourself like that," Dean replied with a smirk, clearly preferring a more direct and forceful approach.
"Better avoid that, or the Don will manage to escape. If you want your money, don't make noise for now," Leslie quickly objected, making it clear that Corneo had a worked-out plan in case of an assault.
"I'm not even surprised. Typical cowardly fatso. Wouldn't be surprised if he's got dirt stashed on everyone whose ass he's kissing," Alex responded with a chuckle and lazily shrugged.
"I won't deny that. He really does have dirt on way too many people… That's exactly why Corneo has to stay alive — so he personally opens his safe," Leslie summarized, stopping at the very top of the steps.
Alex and Dean only shrugged, making it clear that they got it and wouldn't make noise until they personally grabbed Corneo by the scruff and took their money. Seeing their agreement, Leslie silently nodded and waved his hand, urging them to follow. Climbing to the very top of the staircase, Alex, Dean, and Aerith were able to get a better look at Don Corneo's mansion.
The building in its appearance resembled an ancient three-story Japanese pagoda — similar structures Alex had seen more than once while visiting traditional temples and historical places when he stopped by Japan. Dean simply let out a soft whistle, looking at this luxurious mansion that literally screamed of the owner's incredible wealth. And for Dean that meant only one thing: the sum of moral compensation could be safely raised another order of magnitude.
Without stopping, Leslie stepped onto the carved wooden bridge laid over an artificial lake. Crossing it, he briefly nodded to the guards at the entrance and headed inside. However, the moment Alex, Dean, and Aerith came closer, two bouncers put their hands forward, blocking the passage. Looking at the two idiots who had decided to stand in their way, Alex and Dean were already ready to quickly knock them out and move on.
"They're with me. The Don invited them for a personal talk," Leslie intervened, managing to speak up before Alex and Dean would have had to use their fists.
"Need to search them. No weapons allowed inside," one of the guards objected, turning to Leslie.
"Especially the girl. Dibs on searching her!" the second one said with an oily smirk, looking Aerith over from head to toe.
"Oh, idiots…" Leslie quietly groaned, covering his face with his hand and instantly understanding what was about to happen.
Hearing Leslie's words, both bouncers turned their heads toward him in bewilderment, not understanding the reasons for such a reaction. But the moment they turned back, Alex and Dean were already standing right in front of them. The bouncer who intended to personally search Aerith didn't even manage to raise his weapon when Alex's palm slammed straight into his mouth. Feeling how someone else's fingers knocked out his teeth, the guard only let out a dull muffled sound, fruitlessly trying to scream.
Seeing the panic in his eyes, Alex smiled gently and firmly clenched his palm, gripping the insolent man's lower jaw from the inside. Clenching the jaw through the mouth tightly enough that the sound of crunching bones rang out, Alex sharply yanked his hand downward. In that same instant the bouncer slammed face-first into the ground. A nauseating crunch of breaking bones rang out, and the guard's body folded unnaturally in half the wrong way.
Seeing what his buddy had turned into, the second bouncer aimed his automatic rifle at Alex in horror. But before he managed to pull the trigger, Dean delivered a counter punch. His fist slammed with full force right into the guard's temple. With a dull thud the bouncer's head was driven into the ground, partially stuck in the stone masonry of the bridge. Aerith looked alternately at both guards. First at the one who now lay with a broken spine, bent at an unthinkable angle.
Then at the second, on whose face a clear dent from Dean's fist was imprinted. All that remained for Aerith to do in this situation was only take a deep breath and accept what was happening as inevitable. Only Leslie dejectedly rubbed his forehead from the growing irritation, because they hadn't even managed to cross the threshold of Corneo's mansion yet when the guys had already arranged a slaughter.
"I think no one noticed this, since there's almost no security around anyway. Let's go. Follow me," Leslie said, shaking his head, and began opening the massive doors of the mansion.
The moment Leslie opened the massive doors of the mansion, he immediately saw two more guards about to come outside. Already drawing breath into his chest to quickly smooth things over and say that only a small misunderstanding had occurred outside, Leslie noticed someone rapidly slip past him.
In the next instant Alex had already jumped into the air and immediately slammed both feet right into the face of the first guard, sending him into a prolonged flight. Following with his gaze the poor guy who had knocked out a section of the wall with himself and literally gotten stuck in it, Leslie shifted his gaze to Dean, who had already gripped the second guard's neck in a death hold. Deciding for a second to feel like a professional wrestler, Dean jumped and crashed down on his back with full force, dragging the guard with him.
A deafening impact rang out when the next bouncer's head from the powerful blow sank deep into the floor. Dejectedly rubbing his forehead again, Leslie simply walked on, preferring to ignore two more crippled guards. Entering the mansion last, Aerith immediately jumped up to Alex and carefully helped him get up from the floor after landing. Helping Alex up, Aerith quickly glanced at the guard helplessly sticking out of the wall.
"I think he'll be fine… or not," Aerith said thoughtfully, putting a finger to her lips and slightly tilting her head to the side.
"Yeah, of course. Tomorrow he'll be good as new! So don't pay attention," Alex responded with a smile and playfully rubbed Aerith's little nose with his finger.
"Whatever you say… They deserved it anyway," Aerith hummed, funny wrinkling her nose from Alex's touch.
"Good job getting into the spirit, Flower Girl. And here I was thinking for a second that the whole world for you consists of daisy meadows where everyone dances holding hands," Dean said with a chuckle and patted Aerith on the shoulder, walking past.
"That sounds weird! I really love flowers a lot, but I terribly dislike it when someone tries to trample my flowerbeds. For that I'm ready to hit anyone myself!" Aerith replied, pursing her lips, and threatened Dean with a neat little fist for his jabs.
Dean only chuckled in response to Aerith's threat, approaching Leslie, who was already prepared to open another pair of doors. Seeing that the whole company was assembled, Leslie briefly nodded and swung the massive leaves open. Entering the main hall of Corneo's mansion, Alex, Dean, and Aerith saw mountains of boxes packed to the brim with all sorts of things.
Leslie, acting as a guide to the Don's chambers, began explaining on the go that all this was contraband for the black market, which Corneo controlled just the same. Hearing about the contraband, Alex showed great interest and opened one of the boxes.
Opening a random box, he saw that inside there were only tightly packed chocolate bars. Taking out one bar, Alex turned to Leslie and silently pointed at the sweet in his hand. Looking at him, Leslie continued explaining that in each of these boxes there was something that was practically impossible to get in the slums.
"Listen, Choom. And if I need to buy materials bypassing inspections so they can't be tracked… Can you help with that, or are you planning to quit after today?" Alex inquired, unwrapping the chocolate and holding it out to Aerith.
"I can help with that. But it all depends on what exactly you need. And the price will also directly depend on that," Leslie said thoughtfully, leaning on the railing of the staircase leading to the second floor.
"I need electronic components, materials, and a lot of other small stuff," Alex said, closing the box of chocolate.
"Something like that won't be cheap. Shinra inspects such cargoes very carefully, and dragging all that into the slums will cost a pretty penny. When we finish here, you can pass me a list — and I'll name the sum you'll have to lose," Leslie replied, making it clear that he was ready to take the job, but everything came down exclusively to Gil.
Alex nodded understandingly, perfectly aware that the price would not be small. Back in the days of living in Night City he had more than once had to buy on the Black Market, and sometimes even rob warehouses of other gangs to get the needed parts. In the current realities this would become an excellent cover for the materials he planned to pull directly from his inventory.
Finishing the conversation, Leslie waved his hand, showing that Corneo's personal chambers were on the second floor. Chewing the chocolate, Aerith looked at Alex with interest, asking why he even needed the services of smugglers. Hearing her question, Alex smiled slightly and replied that the capabilities of the Black Market would come in very handy for them in the future. Aerith nodded understandingly, broke off a piece of chocolate, and carefully put it right into Alex's mouth.
Swallowing the treat from Aerith's hands, Alex began climbing the steps after Leslie. Walking nearby, Dean mentally asked what he was plotting again. Alex quietly smirked and replied that he was going to gift the residents of the Slums an easily accessible source of light. Hearing such a vague explanation, Dean only shook his head and walked on. Climbing to the second floor, Leslie stopped at the central doors and turned to his companions.
"Behind these doors is Corneo's office, and right behind it — his personal chambers. When you enter, try not to stand in the very center of the room," Leslie said, pushing the heavy leaves.
"What's wrong with the center of the room?" Dean inquired, hearing such a strange warning and starting to follow Leslie.
"There's a hatch hidden in the floor that the Don uses to get rid of women who have bored him," Leslie replied, frowning and barely restraining the boiling anger.
"I'm even afraid to ask… what's down there?" Aerith carefully clarified, sensitively feeling how Leslie's emotions flared up again.
"The Don's pet, which he regularly feeds with fresh meat — whether it's boring girls or people who let him down. So be extremely careful," Leslie darkened even more, trying not to look at Aerith.
"We'll keep that in mind. In any case, it won't be hard for us to finish off this monster," Alex replied with a short nod, making it clear that there was nothing to worry about.
"I'm not worried about your safety after what you pulled off in the Arena. It's just that while you're busy with his creature, Corneo himself will manage to escape. And then neither I nor you will get what we came here for," Leslie summarized, shaking his head, and swung open another pair of massive doors.
Hearing about what Corneo did with the women he supposedly married, Dean gritted his teeth from anger. Now he wanted not so much to take his Gil as to personally beat this fat pervert to death. Aerith only slightly frowned, but said nothing: she already knew perfectly well how many nightmarish things happened to the girls Corneo set his eyes on, and that the end of their stories was always the same — quite sad.
A gentle smile played on Alex's face as they passed through the Don's office. Alex knew without other people's stories what Corneo was up to and what bloody trail of corpses trailed behind this fat bastard. From the very beginning he had not intended to let Corneo die an easy death. Passing through the office, Leslie stopped at the doors to Corneo's personal chambers and looked back at his companions.
Meeting his gaze, Alex smiled slightly and waved his hand, making it clear that it would be better for him to step aside. Slightly frowning, Leslie still stepped back, freeing the passage. Stopping at the entrance, Alex heard Corneo's disgusting little voice coming from the depths of the room. Narrowing his eyes and aiming precisely at that sound, Alex prepared to kick the wooden doors with full force.
"Nobody move, FBI at work! Get your dirty hands off the little lady!" Alex barked, bursting into the Don's bedroom with the door leaf flying off its hinges.
A moment before the doors flew off their hinges, Corneo was lounging on his huge bed in nothing but a silk robe and underwear. Nearby lay a phone, through which he was just negotiating with his contact inside the Shinra company, counting on concluding another profitable deal in exchange for a little mutual help.
Lazily crossing one leg over the other, the Don condescendingly reminded his interlocutor that thanks to his people he was capable of absolutely everything in the Slums, including gathering information about the Avalanche group, about which he was just providing information to Shinra. And remembering his thugs, Corneo slightly grimaced, thinking about the group of idiots sent to the underground Arena to eliminate the insolent winners.
Getting irritated by the thought that his order still hadn't been carried out, Corneo suddenly heard a deafening male shout, followed immediately by a terrible crash. The Don only managed to raise his head when his own heavy doors rushed straight at him at crazy speed.
Before he managed to realize anything, a nauseating crunch of his own broken nose rang in his ears, and in that same moment the Don's consciousness finally went out. Knocking the doors off their hinges, Alex stepped into the bedroom first and surveyed the expensive-looking room with his gaze — it looked like a pervert's lair. Wandering his gaze around the room, Alex shifted his gaze to the ornate huge bed, now buried under the heavy leaves.
"I hope you didn't hit anyone extra there? And that trembling pig's hand sticking out from under this pile of wood… it belongs to this fat bastard, right?" Dean inquired, entering after Alex and pointing his finger at Corneo's convulsively twitching hand.
"Don't worry, besides this fatso there was no one else in the room," Alex replied with a smile, calmly approaching the Don's luxurious bed.
Chuckling, Alex approached the Don's broken bed and suddenly heard a strange crunch under his foot. Lowering his gaze, he saw that he had stepped on a foldable button phone. Thoughtfully rubbing his chin, Alex picked up the gadget and brought it to his ear. On the other end of the wire a nasal and incredibly unpleasant male voice was fruitlessly trying to find out what that crash just now had been.
Moving the phone away from his ear and glancing at the screen, Alex saw the contact label: "Palmer the Rat from Shinra." Not trying to fully delve into the details of their conversation, Alex simply clenched his fist, crushing the phone to pieces, and tossed the fragments aside. Be that as it may, after today Shinra would have one less communication channel in the Lower City.
"Who was this bastard yapping with? Don't tell me he was throwing a tantrum at the local pizza place," Dean inquired, kicking one of the heavy wooden leaves off the bed with his foot.
"The fatso was yapping with some asshole named Palmer… No idea who that is, but his voice is just as disgusting as Corneo's himself," Alex replied, sweeping the second door away with his foot.
"Palmer is the head of Shinra's Space Program. He's used the Don's services more than once. But because of his own stupidity he failed the job, was demoted, and the program itself was frozen. Now he walks under Scarlet, and that woman is no less unpleasant and an extremely problematic person," Leslie began explaining, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his arms across his chest.
"In other words, two idiots were conducting another secret negotiation. Nothing new… So, where's our chubby? Ah, there he is… Ugh, what a disgusting sight," Dean said thoughtfully, scooping the remains of debris and wooden chips off Corneo's bed.
Sweeping away the remains of the debris, Dean saw Corneo sprawled on the bed. The Don's face was covered in blood, several front teeth were missing, and the broken nose was bent at the most ridiculous angle. But truly deep disgust in Dean was caused by Corneo's outfit itself: a silk robe of velvet color with leopard spots and exactly the same set of underwear.
Barely restraining a gag reflex from this sight, Dean turned away with disgust, already foreseeing that this abomination would now appear to him in nightmares. Alex, on the other hand, quickly covered Aerith's eyes with his palm, not letting her see this nightmare. And only Leslie reacted to what was happening absolutely calmly — he had to contemplate such "art" regularly, and sometimes even throughout the whole day.
"What's there? Why are you covering my eyes? Maybe I want to look too!" Aerith began protesting, fruitlessly trying to pull Alex's hand away from her face.
"Do you really want to see a fat man with a broken nose dressed in leopard underwear and a robe?" Alex clarified with a smile, continuing to securely cover her view.
"I think… I'll pass! I've seen a lot in this life, but THAT I definitely don't want to see. So let everything stay as it is," Aerith replied with a cute smile and immediately stopped struggling.
Hearing Aerith's answer, who instantly changed her mind the moment she learned what exactly she was about to see, Alex simply couldn't help but laugh. Still covering her view, he turned to Leslie and asked where the cherished stash was. Nodding, Leslie headed toward the exit from the room, explaining along the way that the safe was hidden in a special room in the basement.
Turning Aerith with her back to the bed, Alex placed his hands on her shoulders and carefully pushed the girl forward so she wouldn't accidentally look back and see what she shouldn't see. Watching the others leave, Dean irritably spat on the floor — at that moment he insanely didn't want to drag this disgusting fatso on himself.
Casting a glance at Corneo, Dean seriously burned with the desire to deliver another couple of juicy punches to his swollen face. Suppressing the temptation to finish the Don off on the spot, Dean simply grabbed him by the disgusting little tuft on his head and yanked him off the bed. Corneo crashed to the floor like a sack, immediately hitting his face, from which he momentarily came to, but immediately lost consciousness again from the wild pain.
Hearing a muffled wheeze, Dean lifted the carcass by the hair and looked into the Don's face. Making sure that he was out cold again, he only indifferently shrugged and dragged the living cargo after himself. By this moment Alex, Aerith, and Leslie were already approaching the staircase to the first floor. Descending and stopping at the doors leading to the basement, Alex and Aerith synchronously turned at a strange crash, as if something soft and heavy was rolling down the steps at high speed.
A moment later they saw Corneo, who as a living ball flew the entire staircase flight and slammed face-first with full force right into the opposite wall. Looking at the Don who had literally stuck to the wall and left a clear bloody stain on it, Alex and Aerith shifted their gazes to Dean, who was calmly descending after them, carelessly whistling some cheerful melody.
"Dude…" Alex groaned dejectedly, watching this spectacle.
"What? We need him alive, not whole. So what difference does it make in what condition this bastard opens his safe?" Dean responded with a smirk, making it clear that the integrity of Corneo's limbs was definitely not included in their agreement with Leslie.
In such a moment Alex simply couldn't help but agree with Dean's logic: they really didn't need Corneo to remain whole and unharmed at all. Aerith, on the other hand, briefly glanced at the fresh bloody stain on the wall and at Corneo's limbs bent at strange angles, after which she calmly turned away.
She had always sincerely believed that the life of every living being was unique and valuable, but she couldn't feel even a drop of sympathy for such terrible people purely physically. Feeling the change in Aerith's emotions, Alex smiled slightly and gently ran his hand through her hair. In response to his caress Aerith smiled cutely and clenched neat little fists in front of herself, making it clear that she was fine.
Smiling even wider, Alex turned to Leslie, on whose face a sincerely satisfied smirk was playing — the guy was enjoying every moment when Corneo writhed in pain. Finally tearing his gaze away from the Don's crippled carcass, Leslie took a key from his pocket and unlocked the doors leading to the basement. He pushed the doors, and a dark passage leading downward opened before them.
"Alright, make way, kids! I'm going to deliver this carcass to the lowest tier!" Dean announced, pushing everyone out of his way and again dragging Corneo by the hair to the next staircase flight.
"Maybe this time we still shouldn't?… What if he doesn't hold up and dies, and then we won't get our money," Aerith carefully noted, lightly tugging at the edge of Dean's jacket.
"Don't worry, Flower Girl! This fatso's layer of fat will perfectly soften the impact. I'm almost sure he'll survive… Though, it all depends on how favorable fate is to him," Dean responded without hiding his amusement, already intending to launch the Don down the stairs once again.
"If you don't mind… can I do it?" Leslie suddenly inquired, stopping Dean before he managed to push Corneo down.
"Of course, kid! Here, this fatso is completely at your disposal," Dean replied with a smirk and held out Corneo's greasy little tuft to Leslie.
Grabbing Corneo by the greasy little tuft, Leslie didn't try for a moment to hide the fierce hatred toward this fatso whom he had longed to take revenge on for long years. Looking at the beaten Don up close, Leslie sharply yanked his hand, almost tearing out a clump of hair with skin, and dragged him to the doorway.
Throwing Corneo onto the floor like formless trash, Leslie stepped on him with his foot and lightly pushed him forward. The Don's body rolled onto its side and a moment later like a ball flew down the steps with a crash. Every time Corneo's carcass hit the steps with a dull thud, that sound echoed in Leslie's soul as the most pleasant music.
And even when the Don once again slammed face-first with full force into the wall on the landing, Leslie considered that this was not enough, because the pervert hadn't suffered enough yet. Clenching his fists almost to the point of bleeding, Leslie was the first to start descending, suppressing with all his strength the single desire — not to finish Corneo off ahead of time. Watching him, Alex and Dean could only sigh sympathetically.
"Judging by how this guy is consumed by hatred… this fatso most likely killed someone close to him," Dean sighed with understanding, finally realizing the reasons for such behavior of Leslie.
"He's not the only one who lost someone because of Corneo. Very many dream of his death, but no one had the opportunity to get to him," Aerith responded with a heavy sigh, slightly squeezing Alex's palm.
"Maybe the one Leslie lost is still alive. He just doesn't know about it yet," Alex said with a light smile and began descending the stairs, pulling Aerith after him.
"How can you know that?" Aerith immediately inquired, looking into Alex's eyes with sincere curiosity.
"I just think so… Sometimes luck plays far from the last role in people's lives. Who knows what fate awaits Leslie ahead?" Alex replied with a warm smile, turning his head to the girl.
Hearing from Alex once again another mention of fate, Aerith slightly narrowed her eyes. She clearly felt: behind his words was hidden far more than he was showing in reality. And she of all people knew about the so-called Fate and how hard it was to break free from its tenacious clutches. Feeling her intent and attentive gaze on himself, Alex only smiled slightly and playfully flicked Aerith on the nose.
Thereby he made it clear that some things were better simply let go and confidently go forward as one's own heart dictated. Pouting from Alex's next vague wisdoms, Aerith ironically slapped his hand with annoyance. Chuckling, Alex was the first to descend to the lower tier — right at the moment when Leslie was already launching Corneo tumbling down the stairs for the second time with enjoyment.
Looking at the guy's eyes burning with anger, Alex thought that after all this they would definitely need to have a little chat. And that he should hint to Leslie that he should stop by the Sector 7 Slums and look there for a woman named Mireille. Descending another staircase flight, Alex, Dean, and Aerith saw at the end of the corridor massive, richly decorated steel doors, to which Leslie was just dragging the unconscious Don's carcass.
"So this is the fatso's vaunted vault? And where are the deadly traps, machine guns, holes in the floor, and all that stuff?" Dean inquired, approaching closer and examining the massive leaves with interest.
"I already disabled them. The control panel was on the upper landing. Otherwise combat drones would have already jumped out of the hatches in the ceiling," Leslie replied, indicating with his gaze the barely noticeable hatches under the very ceiling.
"Cool, robot guards… Alright, and how do we now shake our Gil out of him?" Dean asked with a smirk, briefly glancing at the ceiling and then shifting his gaze to Leslie.
"Need to scan his palm, retina, and voice print. Only then will the safe open," Leslie explained, pulling Corneo right up to the scanning panel.
Hearing how exactly the safe opened, Alex and Dean decided this time to play by the rules rather than rip the heavy metal doors off their hinges by force. Carefully pushing Leslie aside, Alex and Dean picked up the unconscious Corneo under the armpits and dragged him to the control panel. Leslie immediately pressed a button on the terminal, and a signal lit up on the screen asking to place the palm.
Raising Corneo's limp hand, Dean doubted that the device would manage to recognize such a broken and swollen hand. Knowing only one reliable way to make technology work, Dean slammed the Don's palm against the scanner panel with full force. A characteristic beep rang out, after which a green light flashed, confirming the successful reading of the print.
"Now the eyes… Come on, Choom, help a bit, open this fatso's eyelids. It's really inconvenient to hold his head with one hand and dig around with fingers," Alex asked, looking at Leslie and nodding his head toward the terminal.
Leslie calmly stood behind Corneo while Alex and Dean securely fixed his head. Grabbing the Don's face covered in blood with his hands, Leslie forced his eyelids apart. Pulling Corneo right up to the scanner, the trio froze in expectation. However, a second later a red plaque with an error message flashed on the screen.
Exchanging glances, Alex and Dean moved Corneo's head back a little while Leslie still held his eyes open, and brought it to the sensor again. Already prepared to see another error, they with relief noticed how a message about successful retina scanning lit up. Smirking at each other, the guys prepared for the final stage.
"Now only the voice remains," Leslie said, releasing Corneo's eyelids and taking a step back.
"And does he need to say some specific word or phrase? Or does the scanner just need his voice itself?" Aerith inquired, slightly tilting her head to the side and looking at Leslie with curiosity.
"Just the voice is needed. Corneo said…" Leslie began to explain, but instantly cut himself off and fell silent, staring with bulging eyes at what Aerith had just done.
Hearing that absolutely any sound produced by Corneo was suitable for the voice scanner, Aerith smiled slightly and stepped back a step. In her head an ideal way to quickly bring the Don to his senses and force him to make a sound instantly matured. Taking a deep breath, Aerith rapidly stepped forward and with full force slammed the toe of her boot right between Corneo's legs.
From that blow it seemed to Alex, Dean, and Leslie for a second as if they heard a dry crunch, as if something very important had burst in the Don's pants. In that same instant Corneo's swollen eyelids flew wide open, and from his smashed mouth a wild, piercing howl full of inhuman pain burst out. Corneo's howl turned out to be so deafening that Alex and Dean instinctively dropped the carcass.
The fatso crashed face-first like a sack right onto the control panel, smearing everything with blood, and immediately blacked out again from the pain shock. Removing their palms from their ears, Alex, Dean, and Leslie immediately stared at Aerith, who with the cutest smile in the world showed them a peace sign with her little fingers. Alex slightly nervously swallowed from that cute gaze that seemed truly sinister to him in that second.
Dean carefully turned sideways and slightly stepped aside, instinctively trying to protect the most valuable. And even Leslie for safety covered the lower part of his body with his hands: he had thought that beating Corneo half to death and sending him down the stairs was cruel, but Aerith's action turned out to be far more nightmarish.
"Thanks, Aerith… Excellent kick," Alex said with a strained smile, fearfully raising a thumbs-up.
"Heh-heh-heh, I tried! Mom taught me exactly where to aim and how to deliver the kick properly," Aerith responded with a soft smile, joyfully jumping up to Alex in expectation of further praise.
"It shows who taught you… Only an experienced woman is capable of such a kick," Dean muttered, still slightly shuddering and trying not to turn his front to Aerith.
Even Leslie, hearing these words, couldn't help but nod: such a deadly kick could indeed only be taught by a very harsh life and an equally harsh woman. Not wanting to waste any more time on empty talk, Leslie approached the control panel and pressed a combination of buttons, after which the safe's mechanisms hummed and the doors began slowly moving apart.
Alex at that time was looking at Aerith, who was still shining with a cute smile in expectation of well-deserved praise. Barely withstanding that innocent gaze, Alex smiled and tenderly began squishing her cheeks. Feeling how her little cheeks were being squeezed, Aerith funny wrinkled her little nose, making it clear that she had been counting on a completely different reward.
And before Aerith managed to express her indignation, the heavy doors of the vault finally swung open. Taking a step back to let the leaves fully open, Alex looked inside. The first thing that caught his eye was an impressive mountain of packs of Gil, neat stacks of gold bars, brightly decorated boxes, and a multitude of locked steel cabinets with mini-safes.
Looking at such fairy-tale riches of the Don, Alex and Dean synchronously thought that their pockets would be stuffed to capacity today. Standing nearby, Aerith only widened her eyes in amazement at the sight of such mountains of money. Leslie, on the other hand, calmly bent down, pulled a bunch of keys from the pocket of Corneo's robe, and was the first to step businesslike into the treasure vault.
To be continued...
(I won't hide the fact that I had no desire to give Don Corneo even the chance to speak. Considering Alex's personality, which you already know, it's a miracle Corneo survived this long. Well, no. More accurately, it's a miracle Corneo isn't tied to a chair, enduring some very sophisticated torture before being sent to Red City. In the game, of course, he was used as a joke character. But I'm not going to do that. Screw Corneo and everyone associated with him. Okay, after that, we'll head to Sector 7 Slums to meet Tifa and her very big heart. Yeah. I'll go sing. Peace, love, and hehehe, all these treasures belong to Alex now.)
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