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Thaddeus Duke · (03-21-2017)

Saturday, March 4, 2017 | 11:42 AM | Leonard da Vinci Airport | Rome, Italy

The wheels of Illuminatus Three screech as they hit the run way. The 777 jumbo jet slows to a crawl before being taxied to the oversized Illuminatus hangar. Inside the hangar rests Illuminatus One, Thaddeus’ fathers aircraft. As the plane stops and the stairs are put in place, the door to the craft is opened and no sooner does it open, Thaddeus Duke waits at the top with Jim Edwards right behind him. Proceeding down the steps he pauses to salute the military envoy assigned to protect the hangar.

Thaddeus looks around for his ride when he notices armored Humvee’s speeding toward him and kicking up dust behind them. Thaddeus has been quiet. He’s known to reflect inward during difficult times and this is indeed, a very difficult time. It’s easy to see right from wrong for most people but the Illuminatus are not most people. They experience very little of the outside world. Much of that is by design. Father Asmodeus always believed that allowing the men to free roam creates problems. If they’re out among the commoners, pleasures of the flesh and other worldly desires begin to distract from their mission.

While Asmodeus wasn’t totally wrong, he surely never envisioned that its own future leader would WANT to experience those things. On top of all of that, Thaddeus was about to most certainly thrust the Illuminatus into war… with the Illuminatus.

Knowing what is on Thaddeus’ mind, Jim slaps him on the back of his shoulder as the convoy of Humvee’s comes to a stop. Thaddeus looks over at him. ”As your friend, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least say it,” Jim says, looking his friend in the eye.

”Say what?”

”This is your point of no return,” Jim begins to explain. ”Leave this airport and take the crown from your fathers head, or you call it off now. You’re about to meet with the Commanders and their best men, Thaddeus. If you meet with them, there is no turning back.”

”You’re right,” Thaddeus says, his smile retreating just a little. ”There is no turning back. The men brought this to me. I didn’t seek them out. Jim, they’re of mind to do it anyway. With or without my involvement.”

”...If I may, sir,” interrupts Commander Brunson as he stands just a few feet away near a Humvee with its doors opened. ”I don’t know what to call you if not the Prince.”

Thaddeus, looking over the Commander, ”Are titles important to you, Commander?”

”I’m military, sir,” Brunson pauses. ”I have been military my entire adult life. There is a chain of command that is strictly followed. The Illuminatus is a simple structure. Foot soldiers at the bottom. They answer to their unit Captains. The Captains answer to their base Commanders.

“We Commanders answer to the Commanding General. At one time that was you, sir. We’re not comfortable calling you by your first name, sir. It’s just not how we do things.”

”General is fine, Commander,” Thaddeus states, not really liking the fixture of titles that has become so prominent within the Illuminatus.

”Then, General, I can’t help but overhear what you are talking about over there. We came to you because we believed you’d do the right thing. Whether it was a coup or otherwise, we’d follow your lead regardless.

“Sir, if you’d like to take on a different strategy rather than a coup, we’ll get on board.”

”Thank you, Commander,” Thaddeus says to Brunson before pausing. ”What are our numbers from the base in Berlin?”

”14,768 troops in total. Nearly 12,941 have chosen to follow your lead, sir.”

Looking back to Jim, ”Nearly 13,000 men on one base are on board with a coup, Jim. I realize the risks here. They do too. If those numbers were reversed, it’d seem obvious that a coup was the wrong choice, Jim, but they’re not reversed.”

”Maybe they’re just afraid to disagree with you,” Jim suggests.

”They don’t fear me. I've never commanded them by using fear and intimidation as a tool. They respect and follow me because I’ve earned their respect Jim. Respect is the creed in which they live by in the military. Respect your brothers, respect your enemy.

“Are you behind me here, or do I need to look over my shoulder?”

Jim laughs, slightly miffed that Thaddeus would suggest such a thing. ”You pay me to protect you. I’ve protected you for a long time. During that time we’ve become friends. Friends tell each other what they need to hear, not what they want to hear,” Jim explains

”I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t voice my concerns, Thaddeus,” Jim concludes.

”Jim, I don’t pay you anything,” Thaddeus says with a little bit of a laugh.

”Yet here I am. Isn’t that enough to tell you where my allegiance is?” And he had a point. Enablers and yes men tell their bosses what they want to hear. Friends, true friends, tell you what you NEED to hear regardless of whether you like it or not.

”The coup is right, Jim. You’re afraid of the outcome and I get that. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t look at the possibility of this whole thing falling on its ass.

“Here’s the truth: I fully realize that this likely ends, with the death of a Duke, and that’s a chance I’m willing to take.” Thaddeus says no more as he advances forward and enters the Humvee.

Fifteen minutes later, the convoy rolls to a stop outside the famous Roman Coliseum. It’s a major tourist destination, but has been closed to the public since the Illuminatus stormed through Rome more than a year ago. Commander Brunson, Thaddeus, Jim and the rest of the envoy enter into the Coliseum. Standing on the steps, Thaddeus looks out at the crowd of military that has his back. The best of the best are gathered here dressed in their military fatigues, their boots, their jackets. Many of them are readying their weapons. Very few utter a word.

”Are they aware of what’s coming?” Thaddeus asks of Brunson.

”General, we have assembled the best we have here. Following your lead from less than 12 hours ago. We weren’t leading them into the unknown. They too were given the choice with the same conditions as those in Berlin,” Brunson explains.

”How many are here?”

”1,000 strong, sir. Our most elite fighting force.”

”How many deserted?”

”Sir?” Brunson inquires, unsure if he heard the question correctly.

”How many chose my father, Commander?”

Brunson hesitates as he looks over the men in uniform. ”Zero.”

Thaddeus, somewhat stunned, looks at Brunson. After a few seconds he laughs lightly.

”General Duke,” says Commander Valencia as he advances up the steps to greet the once-Prince of the Illuminatus. ”We’re ready at your command, sir. Give the orders and the men will be on the march.”

”Commander Valencia take 500 men and get to the hangar. You and 100 of those men are to board my fathers aircraft. Take Illuminatus One and fly to Connecticut. Your mission is to secure the Compound.”

”Rules of engagement, sir?”

”News of the coup will have likely spread by the time you land, Commander. Any resistance from those at the Compound are to be met with deadly force if necessary. Don’t fire first.”

”Noted, sir. Understood.

“And the King’s pilots?”

”What about them?”

”Sir, the Kings pilots basically live on that plane. They have to be ready to go at a moments notice.”

Thaddeus rolls his eyes. It’s not directed at the Commander, but rather at his fathers insistence that his men have no lives other than for him and only him. ”Give them the option to join us. Unfortunately, this part is a little tricky. Tell them they have the option to leave and join my father if they so choose."

"And if they choose the King, sir?"

"Kill them.

"We can't take the risk of them causing a situation at the airport. We can't take the risk of them alerting my father or his forces.

“The men you leave behind, Commander, are to guard my plane. Sooner or later, I’ll be ready to get the hell out of here,” Thaddeus states. Thaddeus and Valencia exchange salutes and Valencia sets off on his mission.

”Commander Brunson, give the order. I’m ready to move.”

”ANIMUS ATTENTUS!” he shouts. 1,000 men stand at attention. Their arms at their sides.

Commander Valencia strolls by the assembled men, ushering the back half of the assembly toward an exit.

”PROTINUM ITIR!” the Commander orders. The remaining 500 men march forward. The herd thins into a skinnier, longer version of itself in order to fit through the openings at the Coliseum.

...PRESENT DAY...

"Still nothing," Jim says as he enters Thaddeus Duke's living quarters on board Illuminatus One.

"Really?" Thaddeus asks as he grabs a YooHoo from the mini-fridge. "Would you like a YooHoo?"

"Sure, thanks," Jim replies. Thaddeus, caught off guard, looks at Jim with sadness. "What?"

"I kinda expected you to say no, Jimmy. In fact, I wanted you to say no."

Thaddeus tosses a can of his favorite beverage to Jim. Jimmy can't help but smile. "You don't want to share your YooHoo?"

"Not particularly. No. I was just being nice."

Jim shakes the can, then hands it back to Thaddeus. Thaddeus reaches for it, but Jim pops the top and proceeds to take a swig. "That hurts my heart."

"So yeah. Nothing from Oswald, nothing from D'Ville as of yet. Savage has also not yet hit the site."

"I'm glad I don't run shows. I mean, if I had to stop dropping promos in order to make sure my show actually hit the XWF network, it'd be devastating."

"I think the people could live without you for a day or so."

"Don't pretend you're my people. You don't know my people. My people- they love me, nigga."

"You're odd."

"We're all a little strange, Jim.

"It's strange though. You'd think a man that took back his title and a man that has beaten me before might have more to say than complete silence."

"It's early yet."

"It is, but I want to have a little fun and these assholes won't come have fun with me. It's obvious, at least to me, that they're not game for round two with me. Beating me once, like in Doc's case or rolling me up while I'm distracted like in Oswald's case is one thing. Trying to beat me a second time, now that's where the problems arise.

"I'm very gifted at picking up on things. I'm gifted at learning things and I'm sure D'Ville is smart enough to know that. He's smart enough to know that the match we had a couple months ago, isn't the same match we'll have in a couple weeks. He's smart enough to know that the Thaddeus Duke he faced at Wild Card Weekend is a shell of the Thaddeus Duke he'll face at Lethal Lottery.

"'Oh, but Thaddeus, I'm not the same man you faced at Wild Card Weekend, either'. That's great, but here's the thing: D'Ville has had a lot of matches over the course of his legendary XWF career and all I have to do is go back and look at them. There's nothing new to him. There's nothing more, by facing him again, that he can show me. I know how to defeat him and I'll show the world that in now less than two weeks.

"I'm going to be victorious, because the big stage belongs to me. The big matches belong to me. The art of stealing the show, belongs to me. The Xtreme title belongs to me. The squared circle is my ringdom, and it belongs to me.

"Come out and talk shit, or shut the fuck up. I don't really care. D'Ville's next loss, Oswald's next loss. They both belong to me. The next era of Duke greatness has already begun."

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