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Thaddeus Duke · (06-09-2017)

[duke]Present Day | 11:48 AM | Anderson Air Base | Naples, Italy [/duke]

Since the meeting early this morning, no new information has come forward. Lincoln Tritter of Vatican Intelligence has been hard at work having his satellites redirected and his team of experts analyzing data, and sifting through photos.

Commander Brunson followed through on his orders to raise the readiness level at the air bases in Italy. Being what it is, the Vatican will be fully protected at a moments notice from three points in Italy, with back up from bases in Germany and Poland.

Thaddeus meanwhile, stands on the runway, readying himself to climb into his cockpit. James Edwards and Nikolai Putin are already in theirs and are about ready. Thaddeus climbs into his cockpit and as soon as he is in, Edwards and Putin are given the green light, the order to launch. Their jets take off quickly. Thaddeus lowers his canopy as his engines warm up. He watches with the biggest grin as Edwards and Putin are wheels up and in the skies. He taps his controls with the tips of his fingers, anxiously anticipating the call for launch.

”Da Princeps Mortis, are you ready?” Nikolai asks through the radio. Da Princeps Mortis is Latin for “Prince of Death,” Thaddeus’ nickname during the wars.

[duke]”You have no idea how ready I am for this, Sickle,”[/duke] Thaddeus calls back, referencing Nikolai’s nickname that he hates, referring to the mans Russian heritage. [duke]”We’re gonna have to change my name though. I’m no Prince.”[/duke]

Silence from the radio for several seconds. ”Umbra Mortis,” Nickolai calls through the radio.

”Nice one, Sickle,” Jim replies, joining the conversation.

[duke]”Shadow of Death, I like it!”[/duke] Thaddeus calls out, still awaiting his launch order.

”Can I change mine?”

[duke]”No, lulz.”[/duke]

”I’m not even communist!”

”It’s better than mine!”

[duke]”Quit crying, Onis.”[/duke]

”It means flamethrower.”

[duke]”I know what it means, I’m the one that gave you the name.”[/duke]

”You have any idea how many of the guys just call me flamer instead?”

Thaddeus can no longer contain his laughter. [duke]”I certainly had NOTHING to do with that!”[/duke] he cries out sarcastically, laughing his ass off as he does so. Nikolai joins him in laughter.

Silence at first.

”You’re such a dick.”

”Commander, we’re over the sea.”

”Umbra Mortis, you’re clear for launch.”

[duke]”Fuckin’ right!”[/duke]

Without hesitation, Thaddeus rolls his craft down the runway and lifts off. As soon as he’s off the ground, he engages the afterburner, shooting through the sky like a rocket.

[duke]”Ohhh baby! Did I miss this shit! What a rush!”[/duke]

”Who needs drugs when you fly fighter jets?”

[duke]”I’m almost hoping Redwood tries something,”[/duke] Thaddeus says, again, referring to his fathers Illuminatus code name. [duke]”I’d love to empty my guns, boys.”[/duke]

”How far out are you, Umbra Mortis?”

[duke]”Sixty seconds and closing, Sickle. You two better be close enough to hold hands!

“I know Onis won’t mind.”[/duke] Thaddeus and Nikolai share some more laughter at Jim's expense.

”Fuck you Duke!”

[duke]”Woa woa! Is that any way to talk to your commanding general?”[/duke]

”Hey, up here, you’re one of us!”

[duke]”Annnd I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Alright boys, you’re in my sights!”[/duke]

”Are we close enough together?”

Thaddeus looks straight ahead at the pair of fighter jets flying side by side. [duke]”Onis give me a little wave,”[/duke] Thaddeus commands. James tilts his craft slightly, then returns straight ahead. [duke]”Just needed to see the tip of the wing. You’re good!”[/duke]

”You ready for this?”

[duke]”Stupid question. I was born ready. Comin’ through homies!”[/duke]

Thaddeus aims his jet to the small gap between the right and left wings that are close enough that you’d swear they were touching. Just as he’s about to approach, Thaddeus tilts his craft a full ninety degrees and accelerates through the small gap and rights himself a second later.

”Yeah, you still got it boss!”

[duke]”What do you mean I still got it? I never lost it! You show me a better fighter pilot, I’ll give you my entire fortune, Sickle!”[/duke]

”Damn it! That’s a challenge I can’t even accept!”

”General!” Commander Brunson calls over the radio.

[duke]”Commander?”[/duke]

”We have to bring you boys back here. Lincoln Tritter has some urgent information!”

[duke]”What is it?”[/duke]

”He’s still working out the particulars. He should be ready by the time you land.”

[duke]”Turn and burn, gentlemen!”[/duke] The three jets peel off and head back to base. Thaddeus shows off a little, blazing passed the other two while doing barrel rolls. Within a few minutes, they’re grounded with Thaddeus and James sprinting full speed toward the situation room.

Once they enter the room, the look of dread is noticeable upon Lincoln’s face. [duke]”Lincoln, what is it?”[/duke] Thaddeus asks, slightly out of breath from his sprint.

”It’s an invasion, Thaddeus. There’s no doubt in my mind.

“We’ve gone over the photographs and Redwood has troop movements all over Italy and all of them seem to be headed toward the same point,” Tritter continues.

[duke]”The Vatican?”[/duke]

”That’d be my guess.”

[duke]”Shit.”[/duke]

”General,” the Commander interrupts. ”The Holy Father is on the phone.”

[duke]”What line?”[/duke]

”Your cell,” Brunson answers, handing the cell to Thaddeus.

Thaddeus places the phone on the table and hits ‘speaker’ while leaning and resting his palms on it.

[duke]”Father, it’s Thaddeus Duke.”[/duke]

”What is happening, Thaddeus?”

[duke]”My father is staging an invasion. He’s headed your way.”[/duke]

”Thaddeus I lent you Mister Tritter on the condition that your military would protect us from this type of thing!”

[duke]”I know, Father, I’m afraid we were caught with our pants down.”[/duke]

”Where are you? America?”

[duke]”No sir, in Italy.”[/duke]

”His troops are currently marching through Rome, son.”

Thaddeus looks at Lincoln Tritter.

[duke]”Father, I’m getting my birds in the air as we speak. Unfortunately, we’re not going to make it there before my father does. But we’ll be there.”[/duke]

”The walls your father had built, enclosing the Vatican, will they...”

[duke]”Nothing is impenetrable, Father. The walls will slow him down. Hopefully long enough to hold him off until my planes get there.”[/duke]

Silence comes from the other end, followed by a noticeable explosion noise. Certainly still a good distance away.

[duke]”He just blew up a street barricade.”[/duke]

”Which means he’s closer than we thought.”

[duke]”Commander, sound the alarm.

“Father, we’ll talk after. We need to move.”[/duke] Thaddeus ends the call abruptly as the siren begins to bellow out. James and Thaddeus grab their helmets and rush out the door.

...Meanwhile, in Rome...

Sebastian Duke, otherwise known as Redwood, leads his Illuminatus ‘Red’ Army through the streets of Rome. Tanks, machine gun equipped Jeeps and Humvees, along with hundreds, maybe thousands of foot soldiers march through the city. Concrete barricades block many roads leading to the Vatican gates. A quick fire from a tank blows them to smithereens, leaving them to nothing more than busted up rubble.

The Italian military retreated from Rome at the end of the war and have not returned. It was a concession made by the Italian government in exchange for a cease-fire between the Illuminatus and Italian military. In his haste to give the Vatican back to the Church, Thaddeus overlooked that simple fact. While the Church has returned to the Vatican, ownership still technically belongs to the Illuminatus. Being in the heart of Italy, even the Italians can do nothing to stop the red Army from rolling through the nation, leaving Rome and all of Italy open to invasion.

Ahead of Redwood’s forces, stands a line of people, blocking the road from just behind the final barricade. Just beyond it, stands the Vatican gates. From the safety of his Humvee, Sebastian Duke peers through his binoculars, looking at the people.

”Fire a warning flare,” he orders through his radio. And in just a few seconds, a flare is fired over the heads of the Roman citizens. None of them so much as flinch, standing their ground in the face of evil.

”All stop!” Sebastian orders, and immediately the entire military envoy stops in its tracks. He steps out of his Humvee with a megaphone in his hand. He hold it up to his mouth and speaks directly to the Romans.

”I’d highly recommend you retreat to somewhere safe!” he calls out through the megaphone. ”It isn’t necessary for you to endanger yourselves! You have sixty seconds,” he says, momentarily looking at his watch. ”In sixty seconds, I’m ordering my tanks to blow that barricade you stand behind, and you will die.

“So I ask you, for all that is good and right in this world, for you to disperse and find safety!”

Sebastian climbs back into his Humvee and lays down the megaphone. He watches the seconds tick by on his watch. At ten seconds remaining, with the citizens locked arm in arm, still standing their ground, Sebastian gets on the radio to the lead tank. ”Fire on my mark…

“Three…

“Two…

“One…

“MARK!”

Immediately the tank fires into the barricade. Concrete flies and with it, so do the bodies of the Roman citizens. Sebastian Duke’s ‘red’ Army passes through the barricade, and nears the Vatican gates. Reinforced concrete and steel walls, his own alteration when he lived here, are all that stands in his way of recapturing Vatican City. It takes a few minutes for the tanks to line up as they roll out from different streets. Once they’re in position, lined up in front of the gates, Sebastian gets back on the radio.

”I want a barrage! Load your guns, and fire on my mark! Then keep loading, keep firing until those walls come down!”

Sebastian looks out the windshield as the bell begin to ring inside the Vatican, warning Vatican residents of immediate danger. He can’t help but roll his eyes at the ringing. ”ISS Darkness, do you read?” Sebastian calls out to a naval vessel, presumably nearby.

”Aye, sir!”

”Do you have a shot at that fucking bell?”

Several seconds go by as he awaits the response.

”Aye!”

”Take it out,” orders Sebastian as he peers through his binoculars. Seconds later, a red flare, the tail of a cruise missile, makes a direct strike on the bell tower, blowing it to bits. ”Nice hit,” he muses aloud to himself. ”Tanks on the ready,” he says into the radio.

”Three…

“Two…

“One…

“MARK!”

The first shots clear the barrels of the tank turrets and begin to eat away at the reinforced Vatican walls. And with it, the first shots of the Illuminatus Civil War. Then a second round of shots. Then a third. Then a fourth and they’re through the concrete and to the first layer of steel plating.

”That fucking kid of mine has the air force. This would be so much easier,” he states to his driver.

If Sebastian Duke hated hearing the bell ring in the Vatican bell tower, he’s going to absolutely loathe what he’s about to hear next.

[duke]Jim Caedus finally joins the fucking party. It's just too bad he's a day late and about forty-seven fries short of a happy meal. To equate me, Jim Caedus, with Chris Chaos is and will be your own undoing. To call me a coward because I stood by your side rather than across from you, is about a strong an argument as Chris Chaos calling everything I am and everything I do, fake. I EARNED my shot at the Universal title. Whether the champion was Gabe Reno, or Chaos, or you Jim. I was going to go for the title regardless. Friendships and alliances aside, the title is big... too big for the current champion. He's already proving to be paranoid, possessing the title, obsessing over it.

Sound like someone we know, Jim?

Did you really think that I'd pass on my opportunity for the title, just because we're allies? If you thought that, then you haven't been paying attention. If you thought I'd just roll over for you and play dead, then you haven't been paying attention. That's on you, Jim. Not me.

What happens Jim, if I walk out of High Stakes with that Universal title? Do you intend to welcome me back into AX3 with open arms? Do you intend to plan a big one on one rematch where the best man wins? Or are you going to get all

and lose you cool and become Jim Chaos?

I never needed to get close to you, Jim Caedus. I never needed to get close to AX3 to receive my Universal title shot because I fucking EARNED my shot at the title. And literally NOTHING was going to stop me from cashing in on that opportunity. You can point fingers and make your subtle accusations about my uncle PUTTING me into this match, but much like Chaos' and his foundering career, it just doesn't hold water.

There is no betrayal, Jim Caedus. Because there's nothing to betray. I have been the number one contender to the Universal title since BEFORE you cashed in on Gabe Reno's lame ass. Since BEFORE you ever even won your briefcase at Lethal Lottery. So tell me more, about how I'm betraying you. Tell me more about how I got close to you and AX3 just to get close to the title. Explain to the world, Jim, how I wasn't already close to the title, before you ever even held it.

The Kings™, my enemies? Our enemies? I'll be honest Caedus, they're not my enemies. They're not my friends. They simply exist within the same company that I'm about to put on my shoulders. If you knew anything, you'd know my Uncle has very little, if any at all really, affection toward me. He's pretty close to my father and that alone should tell you, he and I are not particularly friendly. But no, you'd rather start now at making your excuses, just like Cunt Chaos. "Ohhhh Theo Pryce stacked the deck against meeee."

I'm not sure if you're any good at math, but I'm guessing not. It's one on one on one. That divides the probability of winning to three equal, one-third slices. So, if the deck is stacked against you, its stacked against me, and its stacked against Chaos. So spare me your paranoid bullshit about the deck being stacked.

Add in the Clown of Camelot as referee and you have yourself an aid, pal. You effectively increase the odds of a Caedus win to fifty percent while Chris and I fall to twenty five. But here's the thing, I rather enjoy it when the odds aren't in my favor. Because I have so much fun defying the odds.

Oh, oh, oh. I offended Mr. Fuckin' Caedus when I said there was a LACK OF TALENT in Lethal Lottery. I never said there was zero talent. I never said you didn't deserve to make it all the way. All I'm saying is that your road was a hell of a lot easier than in Lottery past. That's the truth. Look it up on XWF99.com. The truth is there. In black and white.

To be clear here, Jim, I was originally in the Lethal Lottery. However, Vinnie Lane pulled some tricks and I could not partake. Lane stole my spot. It's something... that I haven't paid him back for just yet. Somewhere down the road... he'll get his.

I have done nothing in my career. I've had all of twelve matches, Jim. In those 12 matches I have defeated legends, current stars and returning stars of the past. Arzegotti. Graves. D'Ville. Chaos. With victory after victory, match after match, Duke Nation grows, Jim. Rome wasn't built in a day, but the Nation is rising.

Jim, all your bullshit talk is just that. Talk. You're not removing my head. You're not scaling me. You want to make an example out of me, Jim? Better men have tried and failed. Try as you may, it won't make any difference because I am here to stay and I am coming to High Stakes and my mission is clear and it is simple: victory. I am going to walk out of pay per view with the Universal title and I do not care if you like it, I do not care if graves is the referee, I do not care of Robert Main stands ringside to act as your fucking cheerleader.

My arrogance, Jimmy? Or is it your fear? Yes I know, Jim Caedus doesn't fear anyone either, but what happens Jim, if the deck is in your favor and it is, let's be real fuckin' honest about it. But what happens when everything is in your favor and you fail to go on to victory? What happens Jim, when the Universal title stays within the grasp of AX3 but not in your fingers?

Like I told Chaos, this is your new reality Jim. When I aim to accomplish something, that's what I do. When I set my sights on a target, I hit it. I blow it to bits and pieces. Defying the odds is what I've made a career of. At home, at the XWF, or abroad at war. I defy the odds. You can think as little of me as you want to because what you think and what is real, are two different things. You can underestimate me just as Chaos has been doing for months and look how far that gets him. Disappointing losses and an obliterated barrel of shattered self confidence.

Jim, let be clear about something: I don't fall in line. I'm used to creating the line and that's what I'll continue to do. No one and nothing dictates what I say, how I act or what I do. I can be your friend, Jim. Or I can be your enemy. But I will never walk an arbitrary line that you or anyone else dictates. If you thought that's what you were getting when you reached out to me, then you're not as smart as you think you are.[/duke]

Thaddeus clears his throat, then adopts a southern evangelical preacher man voice. He hold his arms out with his palms up.

[duke]It's now tiiiiiime, ladies and gentlemen, for all y'all to bear witness, the riiiiise of my nation. Jim Caedus and Chris Chaos are playin' amateur ball while I play professional. Y'all wanna be the man. Y'all wanna talk tough.

Y'all failin'.

High Stakes is a comin' boys. When the final bell riiiings, y'all gon' stand in liiiiine and salute me as my flag flies high above the Xtreme Wrestlin' FederAtion. Y'all gon' stand in line and accept these gifts God gave you, because you CAIN'T stop it!

Y'all gon' kneel before me just like those before y'all knelt to my annnnncestors!

It is time, gentlemen, for Duke Nation to once again rulllle the wrestlin' world!

Y'all gon' stand! Y'all gon' salute! Y'all gon' accept what's comin' at Hiiiigh Stakes! Y'all gon' fiiiind out! What I been sayin' alllll alonnnng to be true!

I am better than you!

Y'all gon' stand before me as One Nation! Indivisible! Under Duke![/duke]

Thaddeus smiles. Because that's what he does. Click. Fade.

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