Chapter Two: Betrayal and Opened Eyes

Chapter Two of The Gamblers

For the next month and a half, Ace's life kept getting better and better, Maggi was a nice woman to chat too and his team was raking in more money than they could spend, McGinnis pinned their newfound success all on Ace, he felt a little overwhelmed at times but they cracked on with the additional work, the Dublin branch was already planning renovations to upgrade its facilities, but little did Ace know, that with each passing day he was blindly strutting ever closer to the edge of doom. “Doctor Harrold Drellora’s new formula not only increases strength and stamina, but also blah blah blah” Ace groaned as he slouched in the seat of the limo, Maggi laughed in the seat next to him “oh Ace, I couldn’t have put it better myself, for all my husband’s achievements and money he could at least hire a decent advertising team” she chuckled, Ace nodded “from what I here he doesn’t even have certified rights to sell the steroids does he?” he asked, Maggi shook her head “no, and so many court cases have been and gone but thanks to that damn lawyer of his no one can lay a finger on him” she sipped her wine. They were both sat slouched in the limousine by the docks, a layer of smoke hung above them and their clothes lay on the floor, they wore only shirts and trousers, as was their comfort choices, Maggi had been particularly upset earlier that day, it took Ace a little more to cheer her up, he felt soon she would ask for more than he thought he was ready for “well, I’m just glad I get these days with you Ace, you’re a fine young man and such a gentleman” she said setting her glass down, Ace snuffed the butt of his cigar and sat up. Maggi sighed “I don’t suppose you’d help me out of this shirt would you? Admit it, you’ve been eying me up for weeks now” she cooed, Ace smiled “I… I don’t know, I’ve given it some thought, but, what if your husband finds out? You told me what happened to the lass who crossed your son a few years back, I just don’t know If I can risk putting my family in danger for a little fun”. In the corner of the car, tucked in the shadow a camera taped every action Ace made, unknown to them, across the water and into the dense city of London, Harrold Drellora watched from the monitor in his study, his teeth ground on a pencil as he fists tightened, “oh please darling, there’s no way my rat of a husband could ever find out about us, besides, I’d have the man killed before I let him anywhere near you” Maggi’s voice purred through the speakers, Harrold’s snarl turned even more sour as her hand reached over and- Harrold threw his fist into the monitor, a wisp of smoke trailed up from the hole.

“Damnit! That little Irish twat!” Harrold roared “damn them!” he tore the broken monitor from the wall and hurled it across the room, his assistant Jenson yelped and ducked just in time “damn them both sir, damn them indeed” he nodded franticly, Harrold growled at him and he backed away “get out! And secure the door! I need time to think in my sanctuary” he smoothed back his grey streaked hair as Jenson scrambled out of the study and bolted the door shut behind him, he slid the key under the door and sighed with relief “what’s going on?”. The maid, Tina stood over Jenson as he sat slumped against the wall opposite the study door “Maggi and that Irish kid she’s been seeing finally, you know, they’re doing it” he mashed his hands together and Tina covered her mouth “oh my god, they’re gonna get themselves killed” she helped Jenson to his feet “Oh yeah, not without the boss getting a little payback, I’ll bet he goes for the sister” he said as they walked through the mansion “No way” Tina smirked “I bet it’s the mom” Jenson shrugged. The next day, Ace was sat in the park, his friends and sister were sat around him eating lunch “so” Ben said before stuffing his mouth full of crisps “what’ve y’all been up to Ace?” he asked “every Tuesday and Thursday you just seem to drop off the grid” he added, Penny slapped him on the back “brother has been very busy working with old boss woman, very secret project talk, brings team lots of money” she beamed. Ace scratched his head “yeah, I’m sort of like a liaison for the Dublin branch now” he smiled, Isabelle was sat opposite him tinkering with a radio “I heard Mrs Drellora’s having an affair!” she said, Ace’s stomach dropped “what?” he asked trying to keep his cool, “yeah!” Ben said “I heard one of the maids working for her hubby went and blabbed about something he’d said, now that Mrs Drellora staying in Dublin full time, I hear she’s gone and gotten herself some fresh Irish meat” he chuckled, Penny hummed “Ace maybe knows who it is?” she asked.

Ace forced himself to breathe “no, sorry I haven’t heard anything about that until now, come to think of it though she has been acting pretty strange, Benjamin Maywell hummed, he was a Texan kid, 18 with bright fire red hair and brown eyes, a few freckles lined his cheeks and he wore a cowboy hat his father had given him before he moved to Ireland with his mother, he was just about as tall as Ace and just as well built, they had been best friends since they were 6, Isabelle Doe was Irish, 18 with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes, she was the biggest among them, she was tall and bulky, wearing overalls most of the time considering she was a mechanic it suited her rather well. Ace hung out with his friends and sister whenever he could, Phoenix Park was one of the only nice places to go this time of year so they had arranged to have lunch there and they sat on a picnic blanket huddled around an electric heater wearing thick warm clothes. It was stupid cold, but they didn’t care, Ace stood up “I need to go, I’m gonna ask about this, if there’s even the slightest chance this could affect work, I want to know” he said, “aww, you haven’t finished your lunch!” Isabelle said, but Ace was already jogging away “brother left his bag” Penny said standing up, “Brother! You left your bag!” she shouted, Ace turned and shouted “keep it; you can give it back when we have dinner tonight”.

“Maggi? Mrs Drellora are you in here?” Ace knocked on the hotel room door, “Ace?” a voice called, “yeah, it’s me” he replied, the door opened and Magi yanked him inside “you heard?” she asked, Ace nodded “I knew it!” he sat down on the bed “he must have bugged the Limo or something” Maggi said, she had obviously just been in the shower “I’m so sorry, I promise I’ll try my best to keep a lid on things, in the meantime, we should stop our meetings, I’ll still keep up the workflow for your team and send a few extras as well” Maggi said. Ace nodded “alright, well, I…” Maggi cut him off “don’t worry about it darling, you just go home, I promise I won’t let this get back to you, I will have to pull out from Dublin of course but I can deal with my husband” she said, Ace nodded and made to apologise but Maggi pulled him to his feet “now go, quickly, and make sure no one sees you, if anybody asks, tell them you came to see one of my executives about a work matter” Maggi said, once he was out the door she whispered “I’m sorry” and closed the door behind him. Come dinner time Ace was still anxious but at least he knew his team would still keep getting extra work, Penny gave him his bag as she walked through the door “evening brother, sorry little lover man could not eat too” she said, Janice peeked around the corner pouting “aww, why not?” she asked, Penny huffed “little boyfriend has family dinner also” she said sitting at the table with Ace “ah, I see” she said, Ace folded his arms “this is the third dinner he’s skipped out on” he said, Janice tutted “it doesn’t matter dear, come one, let’s set the table. The Evening went smoothly; there was little talk of Remy or the news on the Drelloras, Penny went home and everyone else went to bed, Ireland was laid to rest for the night, but elsewhere, trouble was brewing against Ace as Harrold Drellora paced his study, Jensen and Tina were sat in chairs before him “you spread the word nicely, hopefully by now I’ve driven enough of a wedge between my treacherous wife and that little Irish s**t” Harrold said “but I’m not done with them yet” he waved a finger “Jensen, I think it’s about time I let you in on a little endeavour I’ve been planning”. Jensen sat forward in his seat “I’d be happy to help sir” he said, Harrold smiled “really? Are you prepared to break the law?” he asked, Jensen fidgeted “well, that depends sir, I won’t kill anyone, I can’t go away for something like that!” he insisted, Harrold laughed “oh please, murder isn’t my game, no, I want you to spy on Mr O'Connor and his friends and family, you’ll take the first ferry to Dublin in the morning, while Tina, my dear, you will be helping me with another little project”.

Tina nodded and Jensen left at Harrold’s request, closing the door behind him Jensen sighed “great, I gotta creep around after some f*****g leprechaun, great, just great” he mumbled, as he walked through the corridors of the mansion he stopped at a mirror to fix his hair, he was tall and thin, with tanned skin, brown eyes and messy black hair, “alright, looking much better Jensen” he licked his lips and puckered before heading off again with a grin “much better”. His mind was set on the kitchen and the young chef inside when a hand rested on his shoulder and spun him around “hey! I.. oh! Sorry ma’am” Jensen stood before Maggi and bowed slightly “where’s my husband?” she asked, Jensen thought for a moment “he’s in his study, he asked not to be disturbed, and might I suggest ma’am, you head his plea” he put on an extra layer of posh, Maggi didn’t buy it, but she decided against disturbing him now “fine, if you see him again, tell him I’ve gone to bed” she glared at him and walked away. The next morning Penny woke up alone, “little boyfriend still not here” she grumbled as she glanced at the clock, she got up and dressed into a pair of jeans and a woolly jumper Janice had knitted for her, she pinned up her snowy hair and sat at the kitchen counter sipping a cup of tea, waiting for Remy to arrive home, after an hour she decided to ring his mobile, however when it picked up, she was surprised to hear the voice of a woman. “Hello?” she asked, Penny growled “who this is? Is Remy’s phone, where is little boyfriend?” she asked, the woman paused “I’m sorry ma’am but the couple who were just in this room checked out this morning” she replied, “couple? Room? Isn’t little man at family house?” she asked, just then the door opened and Remy’s voice called out “honey I’m home!” he laughed, “this is the Shelbourne hotel ma’am, the room this phone was found in was occupied last night by a couple, I can’t disclose any more information” she said, “ok, goodbye and thank” Penny clapped her phone shut as Remy stood in the doorway “what’s the matter sweetheart?” he asked.

Penny walked around the counter and grabbed him by the collar “little man! Why were you at Shell born hotel?!” she growled, Remy’s face dropped “I.. I don’t know what you’re talking about! I was at-” “Shell Born, Hotel! Woman on phone found little man’s phone in hotel room, where couple had been!” Penny let him go and stormed off into the other room, Remy followed her “baby, come on! It’s not like that, I swear!” he said “she’s just an old friend from France come to visit me” he said, Penny stormed up to him and snatched up his bag, she tipped it out onto the bed and found the erection pills he used. Penny threw them into his face as she crammed clothes into a bag “you keep tiny woman! Or whoever she is! I will be back for little man to give me my things!” she stormed out, hiding her face as tears streamed down her face, she didn’t take a bus, she didn’t just walk, she ran, all the way cross Dublin to her home, meanwhile, outside Jensen watched as Ace embraced his sister and their mother brought them both inside, a shattered soul and a terrified subject of interest, Jensen couldn’t help enjoying how thick things had gotten. But oh! Things were only able to get worse from there, back in London; Harrold sat Tina in his study, “sir, if I may ask, what’s this project you told us about last night?” “Well Tina, you know how my wife returned last night? Well, since then she’s been helping me with my steroid research to make up for her affair, I want you to see what I’ve come up with so far” he said. Tina stood up and instinctively walked to the door “ah, that won’t be necessary” Harrold said leading her away “but sir, your lab is on the other side of London!” Tina protested “my research team yes, but my lab, come, let me show you” he said, he lead her over to the bookcase and scanned through the tittles until his finger rested on ‘an encyclopaedia of mice and rodents’, he pulled the book back and with a hiss the shelf began to slide and reveal a tunnel leading down. “Impressive, isn’t it?” Harrold asked as Tina followed him through vast complex of white rooms filled with chemicals and apparatus with her jaw to the floor, finally they stopped outside a large metal door, from within Tina could hear faint voices, “what’s in here?” she asked, Harrold grinned “my research, where my wife is helping out” he nodded to one of the guards behind Tina and he opened the door.

Screams filled the air, Tina’s awe and curiosity was replaced by repulsion and fear as she looked down into a pit, Maggi Drellora lay on a bench, her limbs twisted and mangled and her form mutated, researchers stood around her, injecting green fluid into her arms as she screamed and begged them to stop, Tina stepped back, only to find herself held in a bear hug by one of the guards “no! NO! Please, let me go! Let me go!” she screamed. Harrold tutted, but when Tina looked she could not see him “Tina my dear, do you know about the heroes and villains? Not the comic book caped crusaders, but the real ones?” he asked as another hand covered her mouth, Tina’s eyes welled with tears as she looked around, then she saw him again, but he was wearing a strange lab outfit, it his hair was swept back and black goggles covered his eyes “well, I’m sure you’ve heard of Captain Cutter, everyone’s heard of Captain Cutter, England’s most respected super hero”. Tina’s eyes filled with dread as she realised who Harrold Drellora really was, he was the mad scientist of London, the dreaded practitioner of anti-medicine, Doctor Toxin, “I’m afraid Tina, you’ll have to hand in your letter of resignation, this new project I want your help with is a full time job” Toxin said as Tina felt one hand free her mouth and another smother it, she smelt something strange, she watched as Doctor Toxin held a cloth to her mouth “and don’t worry about the pay, trust me, you’ll be far too busy enjoying your work” he smirked, that vile, gnarled body of Maggi Drellora was the last thing on Tina’s mind before it went blank.

In this world, all is far more than it seems, Ace and his family and friends all have their favourite super hero, and while it isn’t very often talked about, the world is filled with heroes and villains, to be fair, Marvel and DC comics were a large inspiration for most of the costumes used by modern supers, and the way it all works is very different, but one thing remains the same in real life and the comics, villains are evil, they will stop at nothing to get their own way, and Doctor Toxin’s mind is filled with twisted intentions, fear for Ace O'Connor ladies and gentleman, for soon, I feel, he and all he knows will be on the receiving end of a sick mind, and a forced hand, plans will have to be put in motion far sooner now.