The Loyal Lieutenants Act Eight Scene Two Sub Scene Two

 

Act Eight

Scene Two

Sub-Scene Two

The escalation

 

Cicero held his whereabouts in Rome hidden. He has five offices unrelated to him or his business, but the offices of his other proxies. At the inner office on twentieth street, he sat behind the desk reading the reports in the office marked as Dick Marlowe, Private Detective, and Investigator. He was flipping through the pages on the attack at the warehouse and the coffeeshop. The bell on the door rang to announce the arrival of a guest there. He has a secretary seated out there to be his receptionist and, on occasion, his mistress if he ever needs a quickie. Life as an attorney was tedious and, most times, left him with little time for leisure. He also kept a paraquet there to call out if the guest was a lady or a man.

“Chicks! Chicks!” The paraquet, named Silver, did his task.

“Get up, bitch. Someone is at the door.” Cicero pushed his chair back. His secretary cum mistress stood up while pulling the straps of her dress to her shoulders. She wore a spaghetti strap dress most times; reckon if she were to drop the dress, it would be easier that style.

“Mr. Cicero, it is Della, not a bitch.” Cicero was told when he moved the chair further back to allow the lady to get up.

“Whatever.” Cicero tossed the lady’s knickers toward her. He used it to clear his nose earlier. The lady picked up the knickers and tossed them into the waste bin. He proceeded to move towards the front office, separated by the door there. He had declined many inquiries based on his cost per hour and the choice of work. He zips them all up faster than his own zipper. 

The lady stepped out while closing the inner door. She looked at the guests and held her right hand to her mouth. It was a lady there, but she was with three other men, and they do not look like they have any private investigation tasks.

“Mr. Marlowe is busy.” Della managed to utter the familiar sentence from her office.

“Sit down, bitch.” The lady motioned to her. “Keith, look after her. If she makes a squeak, shove her mouth with the barrel of yours.”

“Yes, Lady Boss.” The Arkansas breed replied. “I could watch over her.”

“Jack off yourself, Toothpick.” Della was bitchy. She was from Wisconsin, and they called Arkansas ‘toothpick’. (https://onlyinark.com/culture/arkansas-nicknames-through-the-years/)

“Tell me if I am a toothpick when I ram it down your throat.” Keith was not shackled in by that namesake. “We roast you badgers over the fire, face down.” (https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol/wisconsin/state-nickname/badger-state).

“Boys, we are going in.” The lady drew the gun from her handbag. There are not many guns that will fit into a handbag and allow for a fast draw. The lady could have used the Derringer, but she preferred her gun with a multi-bullet load. The FN 1901 was ideal for her use. The gun held a seven-bullet clip and was used in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, the act that precipitated the First World War.

That day, it was used by Lady Fulvia.

“Good day, Cicero. Please keep your hands on the tabletop. I do not want you to have cream in your hands now.” Lady Fulvia, in the dark dress and veil over her eyes, smiled at her adversary. Cicero was taken aback by the lady appearing there. He would have reached for his shouldered gun, but the two accompanying guards of the lady were intimidating.

“Please remove Mr. Cicero from his gun. He is perspiring into it.” Lady Fulvia saw one of her guards approach Cicero and remove the gun. “The right-top drawer should have one too.”

That gun was removed, and Lady Fulvia took the seat in front of Cicero’s desk.

“I told you to leave Rome.” Lady Fulvia looked at the others. “You would not listen.”

“Rome is not owned by you, Fulvia. I am not afraid of you.” Cicero hissed towards Fulvia. “Not even when Curio was alive.”

The letter opener on the table was to pierce Cicero’s back of the right hand. He screamed out in pain. He was not a fighter but an attorney at law.

“I told you to leave my family alone.” Fulvia looked at him. “Why did you threaten Lucius?”

“Lucius? I did not. We... We are pals.” Cicero held his left hand over his right. He was pulling the letter opener out but holding the wound. “I did not...”

“You had a gun on his anus. Not that I favored him... Taken there, but he is still my brother.”

“I take him like mine too. I liked... No, I loved Lucius. We will not harm each other.” Cicero pleaded. “As I would not for your kids.”

“Leave my kids out. I have warned you. It was Caesar who let you off easily.” Lady Fulvia looked at the man she disliked. “Cicero, they are not yours. We never fucked.”

“No……. I promised Curio I would take care of them like my own. I loved those kids.” Cicero pleaded. “You would not let me...”

“Fuck? No way. I know you could, but you held more than one preference. I was not keen on Lucius ever getting close to you, but I cannot tell him who he can fuck or be fucked. As for you, our relationship never existed unless you called my need to kill you a dead relationship.”

“For Curio’s sake, Fulvia, Let us end this. I did not harm Lucius. Maybe it was Caesar,... or Pompey. But I did not.”

“Funny, you will mention Pompey here. Tell me, if I am not hearing it right, what are you and Pompey up to? Was the warehouse and coffeeshop your call? And the Parthians shootout. My husband was there too. You could have made me into a widow again.”

“I did not sanction those kills. It was...” Cicero minced his words. “I do not know.”

“Boys, shoot his balls off. He does not need them anymore.” Fulvia looked at the one standing next to Cicero.

“Honest, it was not me. I think...” Cicero's left hand reached for his crotch.

“Do not think, Cicero. Just tell me. I will save your balls, but I will shoot your groin. You do not need to worry about bedwetting from now on. You will get the direct flow from there.”

“No…... No…… I will tell. It was Brutus plan with Pompey. He got me involved, as did Egypt. It was all to topple Caesar and then Pharaoh." Cicero was in tears. “I am telling the truth.”

“Give me the proof. You are an attorney; you would have it written down in some papers. Or better still, do a written confession.” Fulvia looked at Cicero.

“It is in the top drawer there. I had them all sign it. They trusted me on the terms of the agreement." Cicero reached for the left-hand drawer. He drew out the folder. “It is all there.”

Lady Fulvia shot him in the face. She was satisfied with the kill. Caesar will not help him there. She picked up the folder smeared with blood stains. She left the office with Della, shocked by the killing done.