If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Lorenzo took his place at the head of the line. Beside him stood the cook, Giuseppe. Marco the stable boy hurried in through the back servants' entrance, slipping into the line next to Giuseppe. And finally, the four maids arrived, Maria, the stern and capable head maid, followed by Sofia, Clara, and Elena, all gathered in the room after being called upon by Lorenzo.
They stood in absolute silence, waiting for the Underboss to speak.
Caleb, seeing all of them assembled, let his gaze sweep across the loyal men and women who had kept this estate running like a perfectly oiled machine during his brutal rise to power. He engaged his max level Persuasion and Leadership skills, ensuring his words would carry the absolute weight of destiny and undeniable truth.
He spoke to them, his voice echoing clearly in the high ceilinged foyer.
"I am moving my primary residence," Caleb continued, raising a hand to quell their immediate panic. "I will be moving to the grand estate in the Garden District. The mansion which, until last night, belonged to the former Don of this city."
A collective, quiet gasp rippled through the line of maids. Maria, the head maid, looked genuinely distressed. Caleb paused at that, letting the silence stretch until the air in the room felt thick and electrified. He looked at Lorenzo, then at Giuseppe, and finally at Marco.
"Angelo Bronte has fallen from his position of power," Caleb continued, his voice ringing with absolute, unshakeable authority. "And as of this morning, I have now become the new Don of Saint Denis."
Everyone in the room was completely, utterly surprised when they heard that. The shock was palpable. The maids covered their mouths in sheer disbelief, while the cook, Giuseppe, crossed himself quickly, muttering a rapid prayer in Italian.
To the civilian staff, the underworld politics were a terrifying mystery, but even they knew that Angelo Bronte was considered an untouchable god in this city due to their connection to the underworld by serving the Underboss. For Caleb to have violently overthrown him and seized the throne was a feat of mythological proportions.
Lorenzo, ever the paragon of professional composure, was the first to recover from the staggering revelation. He stepped forward, bowing even deeper than before, practically bending at a ninety degree angle.
"Don McLaughlin," Lorenzo said, his voice trembling with a mixture of profound awe and deep respect, officially using the title for the first time. He congratulated him warmly. "I would like to give you the first congratulations on your new reign and promotion, Don McLaughlin. It is an absolute honor to serve the new king of the city."
After saying that, Lorenzo straightened up, a look of desperate uncertainty crossing his usually calm features. He asked the question that filled his and the staffs mind after hearing the announcement. "Do we follow you to the new mansion in the Garden District, Signor? Shall I instruct Maria to begin packing your personal effects and arranging for the wagons?"
Caleb shook his head slowly, offering them a reassuring smile.
Saying no, they aren't going to follow him to the new mansion.
"The Garden District estate is already fully staffed wuth the staff of the Don," Caleb explained softly. "And I have no intention of uprooting you from your home here. You know this house. You keep it breathing. You will remain here."
The staff looked confused. If Caleb was leaving, who were they going to serve?
"But," Caleb continued, a spark of immense pride lighting up his blue eyes, "you are going to serve the new Underboss of this family. A man that I have personally decided to elevate to the position today after careful consideration."
And exactly as he said that, Caleb turned to his right and firmly patted Vincenzo on the shoulder.
The physical gesture hit Vincenzo like a bolt of lightning. The hardened capo, who had barely flinched when a machine gun was firing at him hours prior, physically jolted, completely surprising the man and also Silvio, who stood beside him with his jaw hanging slightly open.
Vincenzo, of course, let out his immediate, unfiltered reaction. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he looked at Caleb as if the new Don had just sprouted wings. He asked Caleb, his voice cracking with sheer disbelief, since this was something untrue.
"Me, Boss?" Vincenzo stammered, pointing a trembling, blood stained finger at his own chest. "Underboss? But... I am just a capo. A street soldier. Silvio is stronger—"
As Vincenzo talked, Caleb nodded his head definitively, cutting off Vincenzo's protests. He turned to face Vincenzo fully, his max level Leadership Skill cementing the promotion into an undeniable reality.
"It is true, Vincenzo," Caleb said, his voice echoing with absolute conviction. "I am naming you my Underboss. Effective immediately."
Caleb looked at Silvio, and then back to Vincenzo, explaining his reasoning to the entire room so that there would be no doubt or jealousy among the ranks.
"A Don needs many things," Caleb elaborated, his tone shifting into that of a wise, calculating CEO. "He needs a hammer, yes. But more importantly, he needs a scalpel. He needs a man who can negotiate, who can manage the capos, and who can see the board three moves ahead. Last night, when the mutiny began in the courtyard, you didn't just blindly fire your weapon. You spoke. You rallied the men. You showed the tactical restraint and the diplomatic fire of a true leader."
Caleb squeezed Vincenzo's good shoulder firmly. "You are the perfect candidate, Vincenzo. You will balance my rule. And you will command the absolute respect of the men because you bled with them."
Vincenzo, hearing that, was utterly overwhelmed. The scarred, battle hardened killer felt a lump form in his throat. Tears of profound gratitude pricked the corners of his eyes. He had spent his entire life taking orders, being treated like disposable muscle by Bronte, and now, the new Don was handing him the keys to the kingdom.
He thanked him, his voice thick with emotion, bowing his head respectfully. "I swear on my life, Don McLaughlin. I will never let you down. I will serve you until my last breath."
While Silvio, demonstrating the absolute unity and brotherhood Caleb had forged among them, didn't show a single ounce of jealousy. The giant enforcer stepped forward and clapped a massive hand on Vincenzo's uninjured shoulder, nearly knocking the new Underboss over with his enthusiasm. Silvio congratulated Vincenzo as well, his booming laugh filling the foyer.
"Underboss Vincenzo!" Silvio roared happily. "It has a good ring to it, brother! You use the brains, and I'll keep using the fists!"
The staff, watching this profound display of brotherhood and promotion, broke into polite, relieved applause. They now knew who their new master was, and seeing how Caleb treated his loyal men, they felt entirely secure in their positions.
And after that deeply emotional moment had settled, Caleb turned back to practical logistics. He looked over the line of staff and asked for Marco, the stable boy, to step forward.
"Marco," Caleb instructed, his tone brisk and efficient, "I need you to prepare my beautiful horse. Send Morgan to my new mansion in the Garden District immediately. See to it that she is brushed down, fully tacked, and that Morgan will be securely stored at the premium stable there. I will be riding her and Salazar, exchanging between them from now on."
"Yes, Don McLaughlin!" Marco saluted eagerly, thrilled to be given a direct, important task by the king of the city. He immediately spun around and sprinted out the back doors toward the stables to prepare the loyal, sturdy thoroughbred.
And after all of that was done, the staff dismissed to return to their daily duties with renewed vigor, Caleb turned back to his newly minted Underboss.
"This estate is yours now, Vincenzo," Caleb said, gesturing to the opulent surroundings, the grand staircases, and the priceless art. "Move into the master bedroom. Have Lorenzo draw you a hot bath and have Giuseppe cook you a steak. Rest that arm and mind. You have earned a day of peace."
Vincenzo looked around the grand foyer, completely shell-shocked by the sudden, astronomical upgrade in his living conditions. From a cramped, damp safehouse in the slums to a multi tens to hundreds of thousands dollar aristocratic estate in a matter of hours.
"But Boss," Vincenzo protested weakly, "what about the consolidation of the city? The remaining capos?"
"I will handle the initial sweep today," Caleb assured him, adjusting the cuffs of his charcoal suit. "The formal announcement of your new position, and my ascension, will be done in a couple of days on our announcement."
Caleb's eyes narrowed as his maxed out Business Skill mapped out the perfect public relations strategy. "It will happen at the exact same time as the grand party which I will host at the Garden District. Like I have said before, I am going to invite the entire upper echelons of Saint Denis. The Mayor, the Chief of Police, the wealthy merchants, and the aristocrats. We will throw the doors wide open and tell them, in the broad daylight, that the new Don and undisputed ruler of the city is McLaughlin."
"It will be a glorious day, Don McLaughlin," Silvio grinned fiercely.
"Rest up, Underboss," Caleb finalized, giving Vincenzo one last nod of respect.
And then, Caleb left with Silvio. The two men walked out of the grand double doors, leaving Vincenzo standing in the foyer of his new palace, and stepped back out into the bright, late-morning sun.
They climbed back into the luxurious black lacquered carriage. The driver, having watered the four white horses, looked back through the open partition.
"Where to next, Don McLaughlin?" the driver asked respectfully.
Caleb settled into the velvet cushions, his mind already shifting gears from mob politics back to his vast, overarching industrial and commercial ambitions.
Where their last destination for the morning was a highly specialized, heavy industrial construction company here in Saint Denis.
"Take us to the Cornwall Freight and Manufacturing depot near the southern rail yards," Caleb instructed the driver.
As the carriage rolled forward, Silvio looked at Caleb, his brow furrowed in confusion. "A construction company, Boss? We just seized the city's entire criminal underworld. Why are we going to buy hammers and nails?"
Caleb let out a low, incredibly satisfied chuckle. "We aren't buying hammers, Silvio. I am looking for a very specific piece of modern engineering. I am looking for a company that should have a Pelton Wheel in stock, or at least the high level industrial connections to buy and import the wheel immediately."
Silvio scratched his thick beard. "A Pelton what? Is it a weapon?"
"It's better than a weapon," Caleb explained, his eyes gleaming with the visionary light of a man who possessed knowledge from a century in the future. "A Pelton Wheel is a state of the art impulse water turbine. It extracts energy from the impulse of moving water. It is the absolute pinnacle of modern hydroelectric technology."
Caleb leaned forward, tapping his silver tipped cane against the floorboard of the carriage for emphasis. "Which is exactly what is needed for the construction of my grand hotel up at Strawberry."
Silvio's eyes widened. He doesn't knew that the Don would have such massive, legitimate business ventures in the West.
"The hotel is positioned perfectly near the roaring rapids of the Hawk's Eye Creek," Caleb continued, his max level Business Skill painting a flawless picture of economic dominance. "While the rest of Strawberry is burning dirty coal and relying on fragile kerosene lamps, my hotel will use the Pelton Wheel to harness the kinetic energy of the river. We will generate our own, completely independent, massive supply of electricity."
Caleb smiled, a cold, calculating expression. "We will have electric lights blazing twenty four hours a day. We will have electric heating in the winter. We will offer a level of modern, futuristic luxury that the wealthy elite of this country will travel thousands of miles to experience. Angelo Bronte thought small, Silvio. He thought only of extorting saloons and smuggling cheap rum. But we... we are going to build the future. And we are going to own the monopoly on it."
Silvio stared at his Don in absolute, religious awe. The sheer scale of Caleb's ambition was terrifying, yet incredibly intoxicating. He wasn't just a mob boss; he was an emperor of industry, a visionary who saw the world in ways no one else could even comprehend.
"I don't understand half the words you just said, Don McLaughlin," Silvio admitted, a massive grin breaking across his scarred face. "But if you say we are building the future, then I am ready to swing the hammer." The black carriage rolled smoothly through the bustling, smog filled streets of Saint Denis, carrying the new Don toward his next monumental conquest, seamlessly blending the ruthless violence of the underworld with the unstoppable, electric march of modern industrial progress.
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Name: Caleb Thorne
Age: 23
Body Attributes:
- Strength: 8/10
- Agility: 8/10
- Perception: 9/10
- Stamina: 8/10
- Charm: 8/10
- Luck: 9/10
Skills:
- Handgun (Lvl MAX)
- Rifle (Lvl MAX)
- Firearms Knowledge (Lvl MAX)
- Past Life Memory (Lvl MAX)
- Knife (Lvl MAX)
- Blunt Weapon (Lvl MAX)
- Sneaking (Lvl MAX)
- Horse Mastery (Lvl MAX)
- Poker (Lvl MAX)
- Hand to Hand Combat (Lvl MAX)
- Eagle Eye (Lvl MAX)
- Dead Eye (Lvl MAX)
- Bow (Lvl MAX)
- Pain Nullifier (Lvl MAX)
- Physical Regeneration (Lvl MAX)
- Crafting (Lvl MAX)
- Persuasion (Lvl MAX)
- Mental Fortitude (Lvl MAX)
- Cooking (Lvl MAX)
- Teaching (Lvl MAX)
- Trilingual Language Proficiency - G, I, & C (Lvl MAX)
- Inventory System (Permanent - 100x100x100)
- Acting (Lvl MAX)
- Alcohol Resistance (Lvl MAX)
- Treasure Hunter (Lvl MAX)
- Drugs Resistance (Lvl MAX)
- Business (Lvl MAX)
- Leadership (Lvl MAX)
Money: 3,322 dollars and 60 cents
Inventory: 286,492 dollars and 61 cents, 11 gold nuggets, 74 gold bars, 1 Double Action, 1 Schofield, 2 Colm's Schofields, 1 land deed (Parcel), 1 Mauser, 1 Semi Auto Pistol, 1 Lancaster Repeater, 1 Old Wood Jewelry Box, 1 F.F Mausoleum small brass key, 1 Ruby, 1 Braithwaites Land Deed, 1 Broken Pirate Sword, 1 Milton's Safety Deposit Key, 1 Senator Pendleton Sealed Envelope, Proof Of Marlin-Thorne Firearms Co., 10 Dynamites, 1 LeMat, 1 M1899, 1 Carcano, 1 Ownership deed of Doyle's Tavern, 3 Diamonds, & Important Documents & Deeds Of Cornwall
Bank: -