Chapter 37: Ricky’s Gambit

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Ricky's Gambit

At Dusk,

"This is the place you were going to head to right?" Ricky pointed at an abandoned warehouse, causing Abraham to scrunch his eyebrows in suspicion.

After administering basic medical treatment, Ricky meticulously checked Abraham's bindings, ensuring they were secure.

He encased him as one would a psychiatric patient, restraining him to prevent any hostile actions.

"Yeah that's the place I was going to go to after interrogating the meat paste that is McGee, but you idiots got to him first." Abraham said as a now permanent scowl remained on his face.

"And what's up with the arrows?" Abraham asked, not understanding why Ricky needed to go around town to find some arrows.

"Because." Ricky answered though didn't give a single reason behind it.

"Hey old man, be honest with me, do you think I'm strong enough to take on whoever this imposter is-" Ricky actually asked first, surprising Jake who gave him a weird expression.

"No." Abraham interrupted Ricky, bluntly telling him he wasn't strong enough to go against a high ranking vampire.

"But you haven't even-" Ricky continued since this old man hadn't even seen his mutant power but Abraham was firm in his stance.

"Trust me kid, you're not strong enough nor smart enough." Abraham had witnessed Ricky's strange power, but the vampire class were known strategists in the supernatural world.

Seeing how reckless Ricky was first hand, Abraham felt he was doing the kid a favor by intervening rather than him going in there and being absolutely dissected.

Ricky leaned back after this, confident in his own strength but understandably confused as to how strong a vampire even would be, until he gazed to the side to see Jake's dumbfounded expression.

"What?" Ricky asked, confused at the slack jawed expression of Jake.

"It's just that, I thought you were going to go straight in there once we got here, not actually think about it and god forbid actually plan it out beforehand.''Jake replied, his mind racing as he considered Ricky's usual gung-ho attitude.

It made him wary, a creeping suspicion gnawing at him about what spontaneous thing Ricky was going to do to tip the balance back into his reckless behavior.

"Well, I was going too until McGee popped like a f*cking balloon." Ricky answered back, but Jake was still a little shocked.

"Then do you have some sort of plan?" Jake asked, knowing that they drove all the way out here so Ricky had to be onto something.

"Hold that thought." Ricky held up a finger, turning back towards the tied up Abraham who was still scowling at him.

"That vampire isn't here, right?" Ricky asked the hateful Abraham who leaned back and closed his eyes.

"God, smite me down now, f*cking please." Abraham closed his eyes, waiting for an ethereal bolt of lighting to strike him down so he wouldn't have to be interrogated by this idiot.

*SIGH*

"No, he's cooped up in the jewish mob's territory, which is why I was going for his human pawns, ONLY FOR YOU TO BLOW HIM UP LIKE A BALLOON YOU AMATEURS!" Abraham's voice steadily rose until he lost his cool and shouted at Ricky for killing the person he was going to interrogate.

"Whose fault is that though?" Ricky asked only for Abraham to show a dumbfounded expression until it morphed back into a rageful one.

"YOURS YOU F*CKING IDIOT!" Abraham yelled at Ricky who frowned, deciding whether to react on his impulse or not.

*Bam*

"F*ck~" Abraham's head recoiled back, Ricky punching him in the nose but the latter shrugged.

"I mean if we're talking idiots, what dumbass yells at his mobster captors?" Ricky looked at Jake for approval to which he nodded since it seemed pretty reasonable to him.

"Alright, I'm going to go check out this warehouse and see what the hell we're up against-wait, old man do you think I could take a ghoul?" Ricky was about to go in until he looked over at Abraham who was reeling in from being punched in the nose.

*Sigh*

"I don't know, maybe?" Abraham looked at Ricky who knew it was his honest answer as the latter nodded.

"Jake, you stay here and guard the old man." Ricky patted Jake's shoulder which made him flinch.

"Really Slick?" Jake frowned as Ricky let out a nervous chuckle as he had forgotten about shooting him.

"Fine, but don't go in there and just die or I'm going to slap your ghost." Jake leaned back, popping two painkillers while warning him.

Nodding, Ricky got out of the car and started tiptoeing toward the warehouse as almost immediately, he heard the sounds of whips and the whimpers of men.

Raising an eyebrow, he took out his trusty gravity shoes and scaled up the side of the building before carefully climbing up to a nearby window and his eyes widened in shock.

Amidst the dimly lit interior, Ricky witnessed a weird sight: monstrous creatures, presumably ghouls, whipping humans like slaves.

These humans were the Harlem residents that were kidnapped, mixed with others abducted by the Jewish mob for this purpose.

These pseudo-slaves were seemingly digging out the inside of the warehouse, creating a crater with their relentless manual labor.

'What the hell?' Ricky thought as he peered his gaze deeper to see an actual human yelling out one of these ghouls.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MCGEE EXPLODED!" Dutch roared at the ghoul who gave him a snarl but held itself back from squashing the puny man's head.

"The blood bag had been compromised, Dracula doesn't permit traitors." The ghouls husky voice rang out.

"Are you calling my boy McGee a rat!" Dutch screamed at the ghoul who closed its eyes before unmasking its killing intent.

"And what if I am?" The ghoul snarled, his mere presence cauing Dutch's whole body started to convulse in fear as he stepped back.

"I-I-I-I see." Dutch wasn't able to overpower his inner insect as he bowed down to the ghoul.

"We need more blood bags to dig out the area." The ghoul then followed it up as Dutch raised his head.

"Well McGee usually contacts me about those negro-"

"It doesn't matter what blood bags you get, go fetch." The ghoul waved the whip in its hand as the other ghouls started laughing at Dutch.

Dutch ducked his head to hide his furious expression, blood slowly seeping from his closed fist as he forcefully dug his nails into his palms from the humiliation.

"Then could you lend me-"

"Useless, your whole species is entirely useless." The ghoul continued to humiliate Dutch as the ghoul gestured to two of his comrades who nodded.

"Ricky, let us use this chance to slay the horrid beasts that split from their ranks." Alexander whispered to Ricky who squinted his eyes.

"You think I could pick them off one by one?" Ricky asked Alexander who confidently gazed at him then nodded.

"I do."

Stepping down from the stool he was standing on, he gazed at the trinkets he obtained from Abraham which after 'borrowing' from his vampiric slaying tools, he possessed four items.

One of the daggers of Tel Megiddo, a bottle of lesser holy water, a crossbow, and the cross necklace he got from the system.

Peering from the side, he saw Dutch walking in front of two ghouls as he led them over to a large ban.

"I'm serious, let me go, that friend of yours is going to get himself killed." Abraham insisted but Jake shook his head while gripping a tommy gun.

"He'll be fine, he's a touch cracker."

Trailing the three figures, Ricky followed them into a crevice between two buildings.

Sneaking in after them, he watched as Dutch opened the van, only to be met with the disgruntled sighs of the ghouls inside.

"Why must we get into your smelly van?" One of the ghouls asked as the other hunched down even more.

"We are as fast as this van-" The other ghoul complained as well, only for Dutch to snap.

"IF ANYONE SEES YOU FREAKS THEN YOU'LL ONLY STIR UP MORE TROUBLE FOR ME!" Dutch screeched as he let out his anger onto the ghouls whose expression immediately eclipsed into an unforgiving one.

"Watch your words weak bloodbag-SCREEEEEEEEEEE!" The ghoul let out as it gazed down to see a crossbow bolt impaling into its chest.

"Dammit." Ricky cursed from behind them as all three of their gazes turned to them only to see him reloading the crossbow.

His finger gripped the trigger as the bolt launched towards the ghouls heart as it finally reached its intended destination.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!" The ghoul, caught off guard, had its heart impaled with a bolt covered in holy water as it slowly started turning into ash.

"YOU VERMIN!" The other ghoul screeched as it disappeared in place as Ricky widened his eyebrows.

*DINK*

"What is this!" The ghoul yelled as it appeared behind Ricky only two seconds later though his barrier repelled his attack.

"THE FOE IS BEFORE YOU YOUNG RICKY, USE THIS CHANCE!" Alexander quickly pushed Ricky forward as the latter started to reload the bolt.

"F*ck it." Ricky threw the crossbolt to the side before pulling out his revolver and the vial of holy water.

As the ghoul beat on his psionic barrier, he undid the cylinder holding his bullets before popping the lid off the vial as he dumped it all on the loaded bullets.

"You're a fool-" The ghoul laughed at this human's foolishness, watching him seemingly waste all his holy water.

*BANG*

*BANG*

"SCREEEEEEEEEEE!" The ghouls started screeching as once it halted its attacks, Ricky started unloading his bullets into the ghoul.

Its body jerked backwards at every bullet piercing its unholy being before it could no longer take the strain as it started turning into dust.

The ghouls in the warehouse all jerked their heads at the sound of their kin dying as the lead ghoul squinted his eyes.

"Rotclaw, Grimnose, go check the disturbance." The head ghoul ordered as the two dropped their whips and both disappeared towards the commotion.

"NOW QUICKLY FADE INTO THE SHADOWS AND PICK OFF THE ONES THEY SEND TO CHECK THE NOISE!" Alexander gave out the next instructions as Ricky showed a baffled expression.

"W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN FADE INTO THE SHADOWS!" Ricky yelled at Alexander who gave him a weird look.

"To make your presence so shallow that it sinks into the shadows allowing you to blend into the darkness? What are they teaching the younger generations these days?" Alexander shook his head at the travesty as Ricky scoffed.

"What the f*ck are you talking about?" Ricky looked at Alexander with a baffled expression only to look at the nearby wall.

"Screw it, plan b." Ricky muttered, deciding to simply climb up the side with his gravity shoes.

Ricky started running up the wall only for two figures to appear in the alleyway with Dutch raising up his hands and falling to his knees, showing he would corporate.

"It was you!" Rotclaw caught Ricky redhanded, its white eyes glaring at the human who was trying to make his daring escape.

"Gross." Ricky frowned in disgust at the ugly appearance of Rotclaw as his own rotten flesh hung from his body.

"I smell Van helsing on him." Grimnose sniffed, his face contorting into a foul grin as Rotclaw's angry expression became livid.

"I shall eat your flesh slowly!" Rotclaw screeched, lunging forward with his sharp rusted claws pointed at Ricky.

*CRASH*

Ricky leaped backwards, Rotclaw's force slashing into the nearby wall that completely turned it into rubble.

Widening his eyes at this supernatural strength, Rotclaw drooling rotten face jerked towards Ricky before morphing into a vicious smile.

Pouncing forward, right as he was about to near Ricky's flesh, his body bounced off of an invisible shield.

*DINK*

"Huh?" Rotclaw's face planted into the forcefield, taken aback at the mystic shield conjured before him.

*Click*

"You were saying?" Ricky saw Rotclaw bounce off his mental shield as he let it down, laughing at this and clicking his revolver.

*BANG*

The bullet plunged right through his festering flesh as Rotclaw let out a pained screech as the wound slowly spread throughout his entire body before turning him into ash.

Ricky's head flared as he activated his shield as Grimnose used all his might to attack Ricky's flank which made him flinch a little.

The strength of the barrier stemmed from Ricky's mind, channeling all his effort and strain into maintaining it as he aimed the gun at Grimnose.

*BANG*

*BANG*

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Grimnose screeched as he slowly turned into ash as Ricky wiped a sweat drop from his forehead.

"Dammit, I'm almost out of bullets-"

"A powered bloodbag, amusing."

"!" Ricky's eyes widened to see a long and nimble ghoul standing at the end of the alleyway, its form towering over the others yet hunched all the same.

However, what truly made Ricky grasp the gravity of his situation was when he saw similar creatures perching on the sides of the alleyway.

As he counted, he realized there were at least twenty of them, all grouped together, watching him intently.

"You're right, I should've been busy studying how to fade into the shadows." Ricky sarcastically said only for Alexander to take it at face value.

"Exactly, however your cause can be salvaged yet, I shall take it upon my honorable being to make you into a proper warrior." Alexander crawled onto Ricky's shoulder as he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, really?" Ricky turned towards Alexander who nodded his head.

"Although I would have preferred a more intelligent disciple, you will do." Alexander sat on Ricky's shoulder as the man scrunched his eyebrows.

"I've mastered the art of fighting, however my teachings were never passed down since I was too busy vanquishing my enemies and conquering kingdoms, so you'll carry my legacy since it was you who awoke me from my slumber." Alexander proclaimed which surprised Ricky.

"You know that I'm a sh*tty person-"

"There is no such thing as good in war, all those who claim to be of noble being clearly have never held a sword." Alexander scoffed at the notion Ricky was leading too as he turned frantically towards the side.

"In war, you are the hero and also the villain. Innocent and ruined, all fall by the blade in which you wield." Alexander's voice carried numerous innocent lives with it as the burning of cities reflected in his eyes before they closed.

"And I see immense untapped potential in you, young Ricky. I will shape you into the leader that everyone around you hopes you will become." Alexander patted Ricky's cheek as he sternly gazed forward.

Ricky knew he was a complete screw up, ever since he was old enough to hold expectations he always seemed to let others down.

'Maybe in this life, I won't be a helpless fool.' Ricky thought since he didn't have any noble intentions nor did he believe he wouldn't let another down.

However, Ricky hated the heart wrenching feeling of Rocco dying and there being nothing he could do about it.

"Then if you'll have me, I'll be under your care, teach." Ricky showed his toothy smile to Alexander who jerked his head to the side.

Alexander Favorability: 19 + 8

"Whatever foolish student." ALexander scoffed though Ricky could see Alexander was clearly lying to himself.

'What a wacko.' Dutch wore a strange expression, his sweating figure betraying his unease, as Ricky made no effort to hide his conversation with Alexander.

Eventually, they arrived at a particular house nestled between two others as Ricky got out and gestured to Dutch with the gun.

A car pulled up beside him, revealing Jake, who brought out Abraham who's gaze was venomous as he looked at Ricky.

"Nice one, Slick." Abraham sarcastically spoke as Ricky rolled his eyes though didn't go into the house.

"Oh shut up, there were like twenty of those monsters." Ricky scoffed but Abraham shook his head.

"You obviously didn't fade into the shadows after killing the first two." Abraham guessed as Ricky gawked at this.

"SEE!" Alexander pointed his little paws at Abraham while hoping up and down on his shoulder.

"What does that even mean?" Ricky whispered, shaking his head but not moving an inch.

"Slick?" Jake pushed Abraham forward though stopped as he saw Ricky wasn't moving.

"Hold on, I'm waiting for Chester." Ricky spoke, looking around until he saw a slick black crow flying in the distance.

Ricky had thought about calling Chester back into the battle, but he was uncertain whether Nexor could easily eliminate him or if Chester might fall under Nexor's influence.

But he ultimately decided against the risk, preferring not to jeopardize Chester's safety.

Ricky held out his arm and in the next second, Chester perched on it as he nodded to Jake while nudging Dutch into the house.

"Now we can go in." Ricky said with a smile as Abraham turned towards Jake and leaned in.

"What's up with all the animals?" Abraham asked since he had already seen the gerbil but now Ricky had a crow.

"Don't ask me." Jake shrugged before wincing in pain as Abraham showed a wry smile at this as he walked into the house.

Immediately, Ricky saw the countless illegal items including; Alcohol, guns, drugs, and wads of illegal money.

Pep had invested quite a lot into Dutch since he wanted to set up a front in harlem so he was steady supplying him with goods before making their mark.

The items total net worth was around 1.7 million dollars and a big portion of that was the dirty money wedged all over the place.

The dirty money was around four hundred thousand since along with the collection, Dutch had started selling some of his merchandise in Harlem already.

Ricky whistled as he pushed Dutch towards the lone table in the kitchen as Jake showed an enthusiastic smile.

"Slick with this alone, I could open up at least four more clubs!" Jake ran over with Abraham, his eyes widening as they sparkled with greed at the sight of the money.

"We'll do that later, this first." Ricky ordered as Jake jarred himself from the money and nodded, pushing Abrham towards the table.

Ricky and Jake sat on one side while the two hostages sat on the other as Dutch looked at Abraham who shrugged.

"Before we start, can you remove the weird blood magic thingy he has on him." Ricky pointed at Dutch but talked to Abraham as the latter nodded.

"Of course." Abraham nonchalantly said as Ricky nodded.

"If you free me-"

"Nope." Ricky shook his head which made Abraham lean back.

"Well then, I guess we're at an impasse-"

"Chester." Ricky gave him a chance as Chester raised an eyebrow but hoped off of Ricky's arm and onto the table.

"What are you? Some animal whisperer-" Abraham joked until his pupils suddenly dilated once he made eye contact with Chester.

"You may proceed." Chester nodded to Ricky, backing up to the side as Ricky looked surprised.

'Why haven't I been using this more?' Ricky reprimanded himself, feeling more incompetent when underutilizing all the things around him.

"It's that easy, remind me never to get on your bad side." Ricky said out loud towards Chester while looking at Abraham seamlessly lost expression.

"How do I get rid of the weird blood seal thingy?" Ricky asked as Abraham's lifeless nod.

"First-"

Abraham then gave out a thorough and detailed explanation which involved getting a drop of Dutch's blood along with the straw voodoo doll that had been confiscated by him.

Then upon drinking some holy water, Ricky managed to connect Dutch with the voodoo doll and after four unsuccessful screw ups, they succeeded.

"Finally." Ricky sighed in relief as an hour had completely passed.

"Alright you can release your hold on him Chester and thank you." Ricky said but not before thanking him as Chester nodded.

Chester's Favorability: 51 + 1

"You are most welcome." Chester nodded as Abraham's hazy expression slowly returned to normal.

Then, almost immediately after regaining full consciousness, Abraham flinched, warily gazing at the crow.

"H-H-H-How did you break my metal barriers?" Abraham speechlessly asked Chester who scoffed at this statement.

"Those mere walls could not stop my Genjutsu." Chester told Abraham though he seemingly cawed to him.

"He said that he made your mind into his b*tch with his ganar justus." Ricky said while completely butchering the pronunciation for Genjutsu.

"It's Gen-nevermind." Chester almost corrected Ricky but decided against it.

Abraham was on high alert like never before since he hadn't started taking Ricky seriously before, but now he was watching him with the intensity of a hawk tracking its prey.

"Chester, can you do just one more favor for me?" Ricky politely asked Chester who sighed and looked at Dutch who flinched.

Instinctively however, Dutch gazed into Chester's eyes as they immediately dilated in the next second.

"I would like to see Maria again." Chester gave out his demands with Ricky nodding.

"Deal." Ricky gave in without even hesitation while turning towards Dutch.

"Now, do you know who killed Rocco from the Luciano family?" Ricky straight out asked Dutch as his eyes widened upon seeing Dutch nod.

"Yes." Dutch responded, his voice cutting through the tension as Ricky and Jake fell into a heavy silence, their gazes fixed on him with lethal intent.

"Who did it?" Ricky breathing became fierce as he clutched his revolver tightly.

"Dracula." Dutch curtly answered as Abraham scoffed.

"That not Dra-" Abraham chimed in from the side only for Ricky to push him away.

"Shut up." Ricky's words weren't in the playful tone as usual as his eyes shine in an unforgiving light.

Abraham saw this as his cue to remain silent, understanding the situation of being tied up and assessing his position.

"Why was he killed?" Ricky asked, clutching his hands tightly as Jake bit his lip until it bled.

"Dracula prefers fresh victims and on a night he went out to feed, he came across two girls along with their two dates-" Dutch explained in a monotone voice though this infuriated Jake.

"THAT'S ALL HE WAS, HIS FOOD!" Jake yelled as Ricky slammed his fist against the table and Abrahma closed his eyes.

He knew all too well this reaction since that is how vampires treated humans, like livestock waiting to be fed on.

There wasn't any other meaning to it, but that was the reason why it hurt the victims of these monsters even more.

Dutch halted his explanation as Jake paced around the room, his agitation evident, while Ricky remained silent, his focus unwavering.

"Why is this 'Dracula' here?" Ricky asked though wasn't gazing at Dutch but the revolver in his hand.

"In search of the Sunlight pendant." Dutch answered right away as Abrham's pupils condensed.

"No, that's, I-I destroyed the last one-....HOW IS THERE ANOTHER ONE!" Abraham yelled at Dutch in a worried tone, his voice shaking at the mere thought.

"Dracula said that if we were able to find the lost Sunlight pendant here, then he'd grant the jewish mobs wishes of eradicating the italian mafia." Dutch answered Abraham's question with all he knew as Abraham turned towards Ricky.

"Slick, we need to go back NOW! If Dracula or any other vampire gets ahold of another sunlight pendant then he'll be able to use his magic in the sun!" Abraham yelled at Ricky while trying to loosen his binds to no avail.

"Tell me everything about the jewish mob, everything from the bases to the stash houses, I want to know where all the money flows." Ricky ignored Abraham and took out a pen and paper.

Dutch started telling Ricky everything he knew about the jewish mob including their bases, stashouses, shipments coming in and out, and all the tedious details the Luciano family would need.

2 hours later,

After two hours, Ricky had written down numerous amounts of information onto the mint scented paper as he had used ten sheets of it.

"Anything else." Ricky asked, standing up while Abraham stood up with him.

"That is all I know-" Dutch dryly answered, but it was enough reason for Ricky.

*BANG*

*Thump*

Ricky fired the last bullet, its metal casing piercing Dutch in the head as his brain matter splattered against the back wall.

Abraham, however, remained unfazed, shifting his intense gaze onto Ricky with an urgency in his walk.

"Slick, listen to me." Abraham rushed in front of Ricky as he was finally granted his attention.

"This is serious Slick, you need to release me so that I can stop them and destroy that pendant." Abraham was pleading to Ricky at this point as he took the paper into his hands.

"Let's go." Ricky pushed Abrahma forward as Jake sat completely heartbroken at the side though lugged himself to his feet and followed them out the door.

"Do you know how much destruction has been caused by Dracula when he gets ahold of those f*cking pendants." Abraham genuinely asked Ricky, knowing he wouldn't know the answer to it.

"The Tai Ping Rebellion and World War I are just a few examples of how his actions influenced the human world. These are among the most brutal conflicts in history, all because of that damned pendant." Abraham anxiously spoke as he was pushed towards the car while Ricky shoved him into it.

"I know you might think I care about your little mafia, but all that matters is the big picture and that's vampires." Abraham tried to sway the silent Ricky which only made him more anxious.

"Vampires are very powerful monsters, however their weaknesses are what makes them beatable, but out of all the vampires, the sun is their biggest weakness and the only thing that makes dracula somewhat beatable." Abraham continued as Ricky got into the car while Chester flew away to get some rest.

"These vampires seem more and more interesting to me, I've fought many mythical foes but never these so-called 'Vampires'." Alexander curiously observed Abraham's panicking figure, his feats stretching across the globe but weirdly enough, he has never encountered a vampire personally.

"Unlike the other vampires, Dracula's only real weakness is that he cannot use any of his magical powers while in the sun. However the amulet takes away his one weakness and-"

"I get it now, get out." Ricky stopped a little ways away from the stash house since he didn't want to leave Abraham alone there.

"What?" Abraham asked before realizing that Ricky had undid his bindings already which surprised him.

"Honestly, there is no reason for me to keep you since everything you told me is the truth and since you want nothing to do with the Luciano family, you can go kill as many vampires as your heart desires." Ricky explained, pushing Abraham out of the car as he stood baffled at the side.

"However I'm keeping this, I'm going to ram it through the heart of Dracula or whoever that is once I get a little stronger, and also I'm keeping one of these vials." Ricky said, throwing Abraham a bag that held all of his vampire hunting gear as Jake crawled up to the front seat while shutting the door.

"Happy hunting, I hope we never meet again." Ricky waved as they drove off while leaving Abraham baffled at the side of the road.

Abraham thought for a moment, dusting off his clothes and storing all his trinkets back into their extended spot before taking out his flask.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."