LMLB[13]: A Golden Rooster for Adelaide

"What happened? I have a feeling you didn't make it across the Atlantic Ocean to Sicily!" Colt exclaimed.

"You're right, my son!"

"A damn storm!" Francis shouted.



The old pirate speaks after the cry of his faithful macaw and continues his tale. He waited a few months for the right time of year and set sail from Curaçao with good weather on the horizon. Since the Dominican Republic was closer than Trinidad and Tobago, he headed to his destination aboard his sailboat, La Sultana. There he would find some wealthy Europeans returning to the Old World in their luxurious sailboats and yachts to escort him on his voyage. That was the plan, but Poseidon had other plans. A ferocious hurricane caught Morgan, Francis, and their ship halfway there. It seemed like the end, but after three days of tempest, the storm had run them aground on a desolate beach on the island of Cuba.



They were alive, but La Sultana would need repairs if she wanted to cross the Atlantic with her, and to make matters worse, the leather pouch he wore around his neck containing the diamonds he'd bought in Brazil had been swallowed by the sea!



Without the money to repair his sailboat, Morgan had to find a job. For an old pirate like him, it wasn't difficult. In a bar near the coastal town where his ship ran aground, he played cards, winning enough money by cheating to eat, drink, and scrape together a little to pay for La Sultana's repairs. But, let's not exaggerate, nobody can stand a guy who always wins! That would raise suspicions, so Morgan lost a little some nights, maintaining his facade as an honest, retired pirate!



"Ha, ha, ha! Your honest dad?" Colt says.

"Is your dad honest?" "What can I tell you, my son? You have to keep up appearances!"

A few months later, when Morgan had enough money, he hired some men to repair his boat. It would only take a few weeks. When it was ready, he set sail one night and skirted the coast of the island until he reached Havana.



He couldn't wait until the following year, so his new plan was to hitch a ride on a passenger liner returning to Europe—those sail year-round.



Waiting for the right one, he stayed at a famous inn in a neighborhood near the port, "El Gallo Dorado" (The Golden Rooster). It was run by a big, strong man, a Frenchman named Jean Philips. His real business wasn't the inn, or the barrels of rum he sold every night in his bar. It was the cockfighting arena behind it, where on weekends the best roosters on the island faced off in combat for the enjoyment of their owners, the public, and the bettors!



It was there that Morgan Jones and his macaw Francis met Peter Langley, a lanky young engineer, born on the same island as the old Pirate. The young man, no more than 24 years old, had come to the island to buy materials for a mansion that the construction company he worked for needed. Langley also went to "El Gallo Dorado" to buy a fine fighting rooster.



Morgan, seeing that the American didn't know his way around a cockfighting ring and had clearly never held a rooster in his life, approached him and spoke. The rooster wasn't for him, but for his boss, the owner of the construction company where he worked, an English engineer named James Richardson who had lived several years before in a South American country, where he acquired his passion for fighting roosters.



"You see, son, it's a small world. This James Richardson guy lives here in Adelaide. When I heard the name of my hometown, I knew. I had a feeling. I remembered all the times I told you stories about the place the Joneses came from when you were a kid, back on the docks of Porto Velho!"



"So I wondered, where would my son hide? Adelaide is the last place I or my rats would look for him!"

Colt swallowed hard and didn't lower his gun, which remained pointed at his father's head.



"So you lied to me from the beginning. You came for me and the gold of the Jewel of the Amazon!"

"So you lied to me from the start. You came for me and the gold of the Jewel of the Amazon!" "I didn't lie to you, I consider that gold lost, but if I'd told you from the beginning that I came for you, you would have blown my brains out without further explanation. Now that you've heard my story, you know perfectly well why I came. I didn't need to sail all the way to Sicily to look for Genaro Schilachi. With you, Tayna, and your redhead, we can sail back to La Guaira on this boat and go up to Chaotic City to steal the jewel of the Amazon!"



Colt lowered his weapon and took a swig of rum while his father explained that in a few months there would be another exhibition at the Chaotic City Art Museum. If they executed their plan perfectly, they would leave with the jewel and other treasures. They could sell everything in Europe and split the proceeds equally. He would return to his family in Adelaide richer than ever, while his father would stay on the other side of the Atlantic enjoying his golden retirement with Francis!

"Colt lowered his weapon and took a swig of rum as his father explained that in a few months there would be another exhibition at the Chaotic City Art Museum. If they executed their plan perfectly, they would leave with the jewel and other treasures. They could sell it all in Europe and divide it equally. He would return to his family in Adelaide richer than ever, while his father would stay on the other side of the Atlantic enjoying his golden retirement with Francis!"



"Very Rich!!!" said the macaw.

"Where's La Sultana?" Colt asked, trying to throw Morgan off the scent. After the sale of the Jewel of the Amazon to the German banker Luther Klausman, Jane was kidnapped, and Colt faced a monster unlike anything he'd ever seen. They had to flee under harsh circumstances, so he wouldn't be returning to Chaotic City willingly for a long time, but he couldn't tell his father about that.




"I left her at the Adelaide docks. I have weapons on board to defend myself, and I didn't want to tempt fate!"

"Okay, it's very late, and you must be more tired than I am. Sleep here tonight. We'll talk again tomorrow."

"As you wish, son!"

"Thanks, Colt!" Francis shouted.

Colt Jones shook his father's hand and stepped off his boat, heading back home. Before going inside, he glanced at Esperanza one last time.



Inside the house, in the kitchen…

Tayna was waiting for her brother. She bombarded him with questions, which Colt was too tired to answer. He agreed to talk with her tomorrow, along with Jane, so as not to repeat Morgan's long story twice. When Tayna found out he'd let her stay on the boat, she was furious!



"He's going to steal our boat, Colt!"

"I hope so. I hope Morgan and the schooner aren't at the dock by dawn. What time is it?"

"Almost 1:00 AM."

"Okay, now go to sleep. Leave me your rifle. I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you up at 4:00 so we can get some rest."

"Okay!"

On board the Esperanza…

“Quick, let’s find the gold!!!” Francis shouted.

“Shut up, you fool! That’s what my son wants. It was on this very ship that Colt smuggled the gold he was paid for the Jewel of the Amazon out of La Guaira. It’s hidden in some secret hold, but since Morgan Jones called me, that gold is no longer on board.”

Some sounds on the schooner’s deck made the old pirate and his macaw go up to investigate. Suddenly, a black shadow jumped in front of them and licked Morgan’s face. The rough man stroked the beast and pulled out a piece of meat he had hidden in his clothes to feed it.



-Well done, but I told you to stay hidden until I call you!!!

-Woof, woof!!!

-Shut up, you stupid dog!!! Or you’ll alert everyone!!!” Francis said in a low voice.

-Come on, Odysseus, be a good boy and go hide!

To be continued…

#Bigverso #OriginalStory

VW[19]: Princess Mirna Polietkova (VII)

The peasant woman opened her eyes in surprise at the gift she had received. She wasn't breathing, but she could feel her blood rushing through her veins and her heart beating with renewed strength, not only because of her transformation, but also because of the vampire who held her in his arms and had given her the gift of eternal life!



"The castle is ours, my master!" Alexander shouted, as the head of the last huntress nun rolled across the ground. Vladic was badly wounded, bleeding profusely from several wounds. He had only taken a small amount of the peasant woman's blood, which he then returned in abundance, pouring his own into her mouth to bring her back like a vampire. He was more vulnerable than ever, but he hadn't lost an ounce of his composure or authority. Face to face with Alexander, he rebuked him for his failure:



"Damn you, Alexander! I almost died trapped in this hole. Crucio died, and the other two vampires who were with me also died. Why were those nuns here, and why did they set this damned trap for us?!"





"My Master, I'm sorry!"

"Do you feel it? How the hell was it possible that the vampire I put in charge of my intelligence, who's been watching this region and this damned castle for two months, didn't notice that ten fucking hunting nuns had arrived?"



Alexander lowers his head and tries to stammer an excuse, hoping the former Romanian colonel will slit his throat right there for his blunder. But he was lucky. One of the mercenaries who had accompanied the Romanian vampire to the castle came running in, desperate, announcing that they had withstood an attack by five hunting nuns and more than 70 soldiers at the entrance. His father, Pale, had fought like a lion and killed three of the nuns, but now he was dying, gravely wounded.



Vladic quickly shifted his focus. His priority was no longer Alexander and his colossal failure, but the health of his old friend, Pale. Immediately, with a cool head, he issued three orders:

First, the bodies of the ten hunter nuns were to be removed and thoroughly examined. The nuns fight in teams of five, led by a leader. This leader always carries small vials of powerful medicinal elixirs capable of working miracles on human wounds and illnesses, so there must be at least two leaders. When the nuns are found, they must bring the medicine to the castle entrance.



Second, without looking Alexander in the face, gave him a chance to live. He had to try to find out what had happened and how on earth not 10, but 15 hunter nuns had managed to sneak into the castle. His safety in the castle depended on this information, as more nuns could be on their way.

Finally, he ordered one of his vampires to find a suitable room for the peasant woman and to change her blood-stained clothes. He looked at the peasant woman and ordered her to accompany his vampire; he would speak with her later. Then the Romanian vampire ran out through the tunnel, accompanied by Pale's son. The peasant woman felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She wanted to chase after that man with all her might, but no matter how hard she tried, her legs wouldn't obey her. Now he had orders, and she had to obey, so she resigned herself to watching him leave.



In the forest halfway between the castle and the fort…

The victory of Vladic's forces had been complete. One hundred corpses of Russian soldiers littered the narrow path leading to the castle. Only three mercenaries died, four were wounded, and the vampires were unharmed; the soldiers' blood had healed their wounds. Gretel took command and ordered the third vampire who accompanied her and her brother Hansel to take the wounded and the remaining mercenaries and seize the fort.



Yugalov, twenty years older as a vampire than the brother and sister, and therefore stronger and of higher rank, would have preferred to go to the castle to help Vladic. However, not wanting to anger his master's chief lover, he decided to obey the order. As the Hungarian vampire and the mercenaries set off for the fortress, Gretel and Hansel ran through the forest in the opposite direction, toward the castle.



Back at the castle…

The scene that greeted Vladic at the entrance was desolate. The Romanian vampire, accustomed to witnessing death and the chaos of a battlefield since his youth as a soldier under his father's command, remained unmoved. His two vampires, who had stayed hidden in the carriage, lay dead alongside the nuns and dozens of Russian soldiers. With a gesture from Vladic, the son of the Pale, he went directly to retrieve the body of the nuns' leader and the medicinal elixirs.



Further on, the corpses and the bodies of his wounded mercenaries—just three of them—still stood guard. Pale was leaning against a wall, holding his own entrails spilling from his stomach. His eyes were closed, but the vampire's enhanced senses heard his heartbeat and breathing. He walked over to him.



"Wake up, it's not time for a nap!" the vampire said jokingly.

"I told you in the walled house that it smelled like death, but it seems it was only mine!" the African giant said with a smile.

"Don't talk nonsense! You won't die here today, surrounded by blood and death in this gloomy castle lost at the ends of the earth! I've told you before, you will die of old age, lying in your own castle bed, surrounded by your wives, children, and grandchildren. You will die as the king you were destined to be. I will make your descendants mourn you for ten years, and they will respect your memory and legacy until the end of time, or at least until I die!"



"Vladic, will you still keep your promise after I'm gone?"

"Until the end of time, my friend!"

The vampire and the African giant laughed uproariously when Palé's son approached with the elixirs. There were three small vials; a few drops would have sufficed, but because of their size, Vladic gave them to the giants to drink completely. Then the former Romanian colonel ordered Palé's son and the three remaining mercenaries to bandage the giant and move him to a comfortable, warm room to recover. When they left, Vladic walked over to the surviving mercenaries. They were badly wounded, several of them dying.

"Don't worry, the nuns' medicine is coming. Everyone will get out of this alive!" Vladic said.

A minute later, a vampire arrived with the six vials belonging to the two nuns who had died in the underground coliseum. All the wounded who were still alive were descendants of Pale, except for one: a fierce Hungarian mercenary who had been fighting for Vladic for about nine years. While the medicine was being administered to the others, Vladic knelt beside Bojta.



"Do you want medicine or to serve me for the rest of eternity?" the vampire asked. Bojta, unable to speak, clasped his hand and nodded.

To be continued…

Why did Vladic grant the gift of eternal life to the Russian peasant girl and the Hungarian mercenary, but not to Pale and her descendants? It's a mystery that will be revealed in the not-too-distant future.

#BigVerso #OriginalStory #BCHNostr

LMLB[12]: The Escape

Morgan Jones downed another swig of rum as he organized his thoughts to continue his story. Colt watched him questioningly, his gun still pointed at his head.



The plan to steal the Amazonian jewel from the Chaotic City Art Museum was already underway. Morgan's next step was to secure the participation of Ulysses and his son Odysseus.



The father was a tough nut to crack, distrustful and haughty. He also didn't like losing his position of power within his sister Dolores's boarding house. As the months passed and the landlady's constant nightly visits to his room continued, Morgan took over the position Ulysses had once held.



The irascible man faded into the background and had to settle for minor tasks in the family business, with no say in decision-making. His son, Odiseo, on the other hand, a big, strong, but kind and trusting young man, was easy prey for the old, cunning pirate, who, with small gifts and promises, soon won the young man's complete trust. Odiseo began to see Morgan as the alpha dog of the pack and followed his every move and order without question.



When two years had passed and the city newspapers announced the upcoming exhibition of pre-Columbian works from Luther Klausman's private collection, Morgan waited until the exhibition opened to pay another visit to his old friend Carlos Suárez, the museum director, with whom he had maintained contact throughout that time.



After extracting all the necessary information about the location and times of the German's security guards' patrols, Morgan spoke with Ulysses and Odysseus, promising them half the loot, excluding the jewel, which would be entirely his. The young man readily accepted the offer of a great fortune without considering the consequences of participating in a robbery where they would murder at least 10 security guards.



Ulysses also accepted immediately, but he had no intention of sharing the stolen goods. The night before the day set for robbing the museum, he spoke with his young son, trying to convince him to pretend to go along with Morgan's plan: enter the museum, kill the guards, and steal the ancient gold sculptures inlaid with precious jewels. But once everything was done, they would betray the old pirate and kill him so they could keep everything for themselves. Morgan, alerted by the boy, overheard the malevolent plan and confronted Odysseus. Odysseus was now loyal to him and would not betray him, but he needed Ulysses and his strength to complete the plan. Seeing that his own son had betrayed him, the man flew into a rage, lost his temper, and shouted for his sister Dolores to inform her and hand Morgan over to the police. The two men struggled, the glint of their knives flashing in the night.



It was a short but intense battle. Ulysses had the advantage of his youth, being 30 years younger than his rival, as well as his greater size and strength. He was no novice; he knew how to fight and use a knife. But he wasn't a seasoned killer with over 60 years of experience in the underworld. Francis also helped his master. Morgan stabbed him several times and cut his throat! Ulysses's lifeless body fell to the ground in the boarding house's courtyard, bleeding profusely from his multiple wounds. Odysseus's screams mingled with those of his Aunt Dolores, who arrived just in time to see her brother lying in a pool of his own blood!



Morgan and Francis jumped the wall and fled the boarding house when their lover's cries for help and the police rang out! He stole a horse and galloped out of the city; he didn't have much time. Dolores knew he had a sailboat anchored in the port of La Guaira called "La Sultana." He and Francis had given their affectionate lover more than one Sunday cruise around the bay during these two years of their affair!



"You barely escaped! Otherwise, you wouldn't be here, you'd be locked up in a jail in Chaotic City!" Colt remarked.

"That's right, son. I had no other option but to flee the country! Dolores and Odiseo knew me very well. Besides knowing the name of my sailboat, they would have given my description and all the information to the police. Staying in La Guaira was too dangerous. I set sail that very morning and sailed to Curaçao!"



Morgan was so close to the Jewel of the Amazon that he didn't want to go far. From Curaçao, he could plan his next move. But he had time. He found the museum exhibit would only last three months, and two weeks had already passed. He needed to recruit a team of bandits to help him carry out the heist. He regretted not having his loyal rats under his command; with a couple of them, it would have been an easy task.



The problem for every bandit is gaining the trust of their subordinates, which can only be obtained in three ways: fear, respect, and leadership. In such a short time, he couldn't forge those bonds with the Curaçaoan criminals. If he recruited just anyone, there were two possibilities: they would be killed during the robbery or after obtaining the Jewel of the Amazon. There was no way he could trust those dangerous men so quickly!



The days passed one after another, then the weeks, and before Morgan knew it, the window of opportunity had closed! The pre-Columbian art exhibition had ended, the works were collected, and the Jewel of the Amazon returned to its hiding place to rest for another two years in a cold vault beneath the fortress-like mansion of the wealthy German banker Luther Klausman!



"Damn it, Dad, you let the chance to steal the Jewel of the Amazon slip through your fingers!" Colt exclaimed.

"That's right, my dear son, but I wasn't planning on spending two years forming a new gang of rats to go after it. I was too old for that, so I went back to my original idea of crossing the Atlantic and reaching Europe. I met an old Sicilian many years ago, when you were still a boy. He pulled off a big heist in Porto Velho and returned to his native island to live the good life that Francis and I deserve in retirement if we steal the damned Jewel of the Amazon!"



"And live like princes!!!" Francis shouted.

"If him were still alive, I'd have contacts. You know you only truly retire from this life when you're dead. If I negotiated a good price with Genaro, he could get the men I needed to carry out the Jewel heist in two years."


"What happened? I have a feeling you didn't make it across the Atlantic Ocean to Sicily!" Colt exclaimed.

"You're right, my son!"

"A damn storm!" Francis shouted.



To be continued…



#OriginalStory #Bigverso #BCHNostr

USHPC [2]: A Hectic Night

"Wilfredo, what the hell did you do to my suit? What detergent did you use? It looks like it shrunk!" BatCat meowed.



"The same as always, sir. Maybe you put on a little weight during the holidays!" the butler dog barked.

"Don't talk nonsense, Wilfredo. I'm going to put on the armor suit. I don't have time for you to make adjustments to this one."

"As you wish, sir!"

"Meanwhile, get the Catmobile ready to go."

"Sorry, sir, it's still in its box. I haven't had time to assemble it."



"Alright, I'll take the Catwind."

"Sorry, sir, it's still in its box too."

"Damn it, Wilfredo, what the hell have you been doing all month?"

"Equip the cat cave, install the electricity and Wi-Fi, move all the boxes with your suits and vehicle parts down here, and also, sir, I almost forgot, it only took me three weeks to sculpt the entrance to the cat cave following your instructions!!!"



"Damn it, Wilfredo, it wouldn't be a cat cave without that entrance. What vehicles do I have available?"

"The Catcopter, the Catskateboard, and the Catmotorcycle."

"Okay, I'll take the motorcycle. Charge the battery while I change my suit."

"It's fully charged, sir."

"Perfect."

A few minutes later, the superhero cat, clad in his armored suit and riding his speedy Catmotorcycle, speeds out through the secret entrance of the cat cave. Wilfredo watches him leave on the monitors and realizes he hadn't put the fully charged battery in the two-wheeler!!! "Damn it!" barked the dog.



Unaware of this, BatCat accelerates his Catbike at full speed, hurtling down the hill. The two wheels of his motorcycle fly over the black asphalt of the lonely road leading to Chaotic City when suddenly the battery dies and the bike shuts off before it can stop. The feline superhero curses Wilfredo as he kicks his motorcycle in disgust.



When he calms down, he tries to communicate with his butler dog, but at that moment BatCat sees a girl, perhaps 10 or 12 years old, emerge from the shadows of the dark forest on that desolate road, walking fearlessly toward him.



"If it's a dead man, let him come out on someone else!" BatCat meows, running off in the opposite direction, across the road. He leaps into some bushes to hide and avoid being spotted by the little girl. Our feline superhero, when he got scared, sometimes forgot he was wearing his suit and mask. BatCat misjudges the jump and hits his forehead against a tree. He doesn't crack his skull thanks to his helmet, but he's unconscious for several minutes. When he wakes up, he goes out onto the road and discovers that his motorcycle and the little girl have disappeared. Furious, he finally contacts Wilfredo, who at that moment is watching a rerun of "The Damned Cats of the Galaxy" on the giant monitor in the cat cave on Catflix.



"Damn it, Wilfredo, you gave me the motorcycle with a dead battery."

"Sir, it was just a mishap, but it's easily fixed. Just plug the battery into an outlet and it'll be fully charged in 45 minutes."

"My motorcycle was stolen, Wilfredo!!!"

"How is that possible, sir? Who stole it?"

The feline superhero hesitates for a second. He can't admit that he got scared when he saw a little girl and she stole his motorcycle, so he lies.

"Wild wolves! It was a whole pack. I counted about 15 wolves, maybe 16. There were a lot of them, Wilfredo. I fought back, but when I wasn't looking, they stole the Catmotorcycle!!!"

"How is that possible, sir? Who stole it?"

As unbelievable as his boss's story seemed, Wilfredo checked the location of BatCat and his motorcycle on the screen in the cat cave. Thanks to the trackers on the suit and the vehicle, the feline superhero appeared on the screen about 43.5 kilometers from the mansion, but there was no trace of the motorcycle.

"I'm on the Catcopter, sir! I'll be there in 10 minutes!" It only took Wilfredo 5 minutes to take off from the cat cave and get on his way.



As soon as the butler dog arrived, he landed on the road near his boss. BatCat went up to him and recounted in detail the fight of his life against the imaginary pack of wild wolves. Wilfredo listened attentively and accompanied him to the other side of the road, into the woods where, cunningly, part of the wolf pack had led the feline superhero to steal his motorcycle!



"I understand everything you've said, sir, but the one thing I don't understand is why a pack of wild wolves would want a Catmotorcycle?"

"And how would I know, Wilfredo?"

At that precise moment, the butler dog glanced around the area, and on the other side of the road, parked next to the Catcopter, was the stolen Catmotorcycle.



They both ran to the vehicles. BatCat looked around for the girl, Wilfredo for the wolves, but there was no sign of either of them. The butler dog checked the motorcycle and noticed that not only was it unscathed and undamaged by wild wolves, but the battery was also fully charged.

"Sir, the motorcycle battery is fully charged. Are you sure wild wolves took it?"

"I'm sure it was taken by wild wolves?" "I swear on the memory of Wonder Hamster Number 7!!"

Wilfredo found the whole thing very strange. How could wild wolves have charged the motorcycle's battery in that forest? BatCat was sure the girl was responsible, but he couldn't deny it; he had to move on.

"Wilfredo, return to our secret base with the CatMotorcycle and find out what happened to the wolves!"

"Yes, sir, as you command."

"Good, I'll take the Catcopter. Give me the keys!"

The superhero cat and the butler dog swapped vehicles and set off in opposite directions. By the time Wilfredo was back in the Cat Cave watching the space cats' adventures, BatCat was still flying over the city looking for a skyscraper rooftop to land his Catcopter. He wanted to land on the tallest building in Chaotic City, the Klausman Tower, but his aircraft's sensors warned him how sensitive the black building's security alarms were, so he looked for another nearby spot. A little lower, he chose the Excelsior Tower, with a clear rooftop on the 12th floor, far from prying eyes.



But not everyone was watching. In another building near the Klausman Tower, El Mirador, Gladys Kravitz was looking out the window of her tenth-floor apartment and watching the feline superhero and his helicopter.



"Aaaaaabner!!!" the woman shouts, calling for her husband who is asleep in bed. Abner wakes up startled, and Gladys tells him what she just saw.

"Gladys, please come to bed. Put those binoculars down. Have you taken your pills yet?"

"I'm not crazy, Abner. I just saw a cat dressed as Batman land in a small helicopter on the roof of the Excelsior building!!!"

BatCat, oblivious to Gladys and Abner Kravitz's marital problems, is perched on the ledge of the Excelsior building's rooftop, scanning the night with the cat-vision of his helmet-mounted armor, looking for a problem to solve on his first night as a superhero in Chaotic City.



Suddenly, he hears a faint whirring sound, as if something were tearing through the air while falling at great speed. The whirring grows louder and louder, and then suddenly—PLOOOOOOOOF!!!—a dead weight crashes directly onto the Catcopter, shattering the aircraft into a thousand pieces. BatCat is completely taken by surprise when a detached piece of propeller strikes him savagely in the back, throwing him to the ground from the 18th floor of the Excelsior building. At that very moment, Abner Kravitz, prompted by his wife Gladys's shouts of protest, grabs his binoculars and looks out the window, trying to avoid the direction she's pointing.



-Gladys, there's no cat dressed as Batman, much less a helicopter on the roof of the Excélsior building!!!

To be continued…


#OriginalStory #BigVerso #BCH

USHPC [1]: The Arrival

La Guaira International Airport

Standing on runway 8, shielding himself with his umbrella under the imposing Caribbean sun, Walfred, the Wellington family's butler, awaited the arrival of his employers' private jet. He had arrived a month earlier, along with his dog Wilfredo, to prepare the mansion on a hill on the outskirts of Chaotic City.



A few minutes later, the Wellington family's plane landed. Of course, it was piloted by Mr. Lyan Wellington himself, 33, heir to a third of the family fortune, following the tragic loss of his parents, who were killed by a herd of wild camels during a visit to the pyramids last year.



Lyan was deeply affected, but luckily, his grandmother, Clara Wellington, 81, who owned the remaining two-thirds of the family fortune, was still alive. She had survived because last year she chose to go on a casino cruise to the Caribbean rather than accompany her son and his wife to Egypt.



"Good afternoon, Walfred," Lyan said.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Wellington!" replied the butler.

"Please, Walfred, Piccolo, he seems a little slow and tired. Check him over before we get home!" said Mrs. Wellington.

"Don't worry, ma'am. Follow me to register your entry into the country, then to the limousine. The staff will take care of your luggage and pets."

From the plane descend: Piccolo, a small yellow hamster, and Edward, a handsome, slightly overweight gray cat, both Mrs. Wellington's pets, along with about 30 suitcases of all sizes.



Walfred, followed by Lyan and Clara Wellington, walk into the imposing terminal of La Guaira International Airport to have their passports stamped at immigration. But at that moment, the alarm was raised. Drug-sniffing dogs detected something on a man from Jamaica, and he fled desperately, evading both the dogs and the police.



But when cornered by the police, the Jamaican man takes a little girl hostage. The wealthy heir reacts faster than his security team. Lyan Wellington can't bear the man's affront and rushes to the little girl's rescue. A high-level athlete in track and field, sailing, scuba diving, skydiving, and dominoes, Lyan runs through the terminal and leaps onto some suitcases, leaving the police officers stunned!



Face to face with the Jamaican man, Lyan takes him down in a flash, without endangering the little girl, as the Englishman is also an expert in boxing, wrestling, and various mixed martial arts, in addition to having advanced training in street mime. The hero of the day rescues the girl!



The audience and the police applaud Wellington's feat and courage, as he begins his journey in Chaotic City on the right foot.

Hours later at the Wellington mansion…



Ready to leave, Lyan was adjusting his tuxedo tie in front of the mirror when his grandmother entered his room, looking a little worried.

"Lyan, Lyan, I think something's wrong with my little Piccolo. I don't know if it's time zone difference or this tropical heat, but he hasn't turned on his wheel since we arrived. Even when I told him we'd watch a rerun of his favorite show on Catflix, the third season of those darn cats from the galaxy, the one with the warrior space hamsters, he didn't seem to want to!"



"Calm down, Grandma. I'll tell Walfred to check him out. If it's anything serious, he'll take him to the vet right away. He probably ate too much on the flight!"

"Thanks, Lyan. Are you going to visit your friend from college, Roderick Klausman? His mansion is several kilometers up this hill, Walfred told me."

"

"No, Grandma, and I've told you that Roderick and I only had a few classes together at Oxford. Klausman was rarely seen on campus and interacted even less with his classmates, but I suppose a courtesy visit would be nice, or maybe I'll invite him for tea here with us."

"Well, have fun! I suppose you're going out to experience Chaotic City's nightlife!"

"Not just the nightlife, you know I always have to be prepared. Take care, Grandma, don't wait up for me."



Lyan Wellington kissed his Grandma Clara and went downstairs to the first floor. On his way to the garage, he ran into Walfred, who told him his car was ready, and Lyan informed him of his Grandma's concern for her hamster. As the butler went upstairs to take charge of the situation, the English playboy started his car, drove off, and sped away from the mansion, tearing across the black asphalt!



A minute after the roar of the Lamborghini Veneno's engine, with its "W" license plate, ceased echoing near the mansion, a cry of pain was heard from Mrs. Clara Wellington's room when her butler informed her that her hamster had died! Upon hearing the news, Walfred's dog, Wilfredo, came running down the stairs, reached the ground floor, and continued down to the basement. There, he looked behind him before opening a secret door that led to a staircase. He continued descending into the depths of the mansion, finally arriving at a cave.



Edward, Mrs. Wellington's pet gray cat, was already there getting dressed when he saw Wilfredo and stopped.

"Where's Piccolo? We have to go."

"I'm afraid, sir, that Piccolo has passed away!"

"Damn it!" the cat meowed angrily. "That makes six with this one."

"Sorry, sir, Piccolo was the 7th Wonder Hamster!" the dog corrected him.

The cat and the dog took a moment to remember the brave sidekick who accompanied them to fight crime in the dark and dangerous alleys of London.



"We'll have to find a replacement, and soon!" Edward meowed.

"Sir, don't you think it would be wise for Mrs. Wellington, when she goes to the pet store to choose her new companion, to influence her to pick a slightly stronger and tougher animal?"

"It could be Wilfredo, but the choice is Clara's!"

The butler dog lowers his head, suspecting that his boss's stubbornness—the feline superhero's insistence on choosing a smaller, stubbier sidekick—is simply motivated by the desire to prevent his assistant from looking better in his suit than he does.

"Good heavens, Wilfredo, the suit shrank during my vacation!" meowed BatCat!



To be continued…

#OriginalStory #BigVerso #BCH

LMLB[11]: Dolores and the Jewel of the Amazon

Morgan Jones gulped down his rum to clear his throat before continuing his story, staring directly at death personified by the cold barrel of his son's revolver, which remained pointed menacingly at his head.



He set sail from the port of Belém, but didn't venture out onto the ocean. He skirted the northern coast of Brazil, then that of Guyana; his destination was the island of Trinidad and Tobago. His ship, "La Sultana," was too small to cross the Atlantic.



The old pirate knew that wealthy European aristocrats often escaped the cold winter and sailed their luxury yachts to the warm waters of the Caribbean—Cuba, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, Margarita Island—where they could enjoy themselves with a beautiful mulatto woman, while their wives indulged their desires with a mixed-race man in their hotel rooms. Everyone wins!



By May, these millionaires were beginning their return journey in their luxurious vessels. Morgan was in time to catch a few stragglers. Sailing alongside them ensured not only a less dangerous voyage but also the occasional invitation to eat and drink and hear the stories of an old pirate—free food and drink, plus the gold in their pockets won in a poker game!



"We win!" Francis shouted.

"We win!" "A good plan!" Colt said, smiling.

But in Trinidad and Tobago, Morgan met Captain Brito by chance. He was Brazilian, and his cargo ship, "La Noche Oscura" (The Dark Night), made the round trip from the port of Belém to the port of La Guaira every year, stopping on the island to see his young, pregnant lover and their only child, a boy whose skin color Morgan knew made it impossible for him to be the offspring of the blond Captain and his young wife.



Captain Brito and Morgan struck up a friendship. The captain, returning from La Guaira, gave the old pirate some newspapers. Morgan was stunned to see a photograph of the Jewel of the Amazon on the front page of the newspaper El Contador. It was the star of the pre-Columbian exhibit at the Chaotic City Art Museum!



"Son, even though I only had the fake copy you tricked me with aboard the Aria Amazon in my hands, I recognized it right away and wanted to see the real one!"

"Wouldn't it be better to steal it, Dad?"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Morgan and Francis laughed.

Morgan abandoned his plans to sail to Europe and set sail with Francis aboard La Sultana with a new destination: the port of La Guaira and the chaotic city. But his sailboat was slow, and the newspaper was old. By the time he arrived at the Museum, the exhibition of pre-Columbian art by the German philanthropist Luther Klausman had ended a week earlier.




But that wasn't going to make the old pirate give up. Morgan returned, using his disguise and his Midwestern accent, along with the shouts of his feathered companion. Morgan posed as an eccentric American art collector, and his con artist skills did the rest. By the end of the afternoon, he had extracted all the information he could from the director of the Chaotic City Art Museum. Luther Klausman, in addition to being a philanthropist and highly regarded art collector, was a banker and the richest man in the Caribbean country, a man with companies and businesses in Europe and the rest of the world. Morgan knew immediately that this was the real German banker to whom his son had sold the jewel of the Amazon.




The problem would be how to steal her away! For the first two days, he slept in La Sultana, but that meant he had to go down to the port of La Guaira every night and up to Ciudad Caótica every morning to investigate his target. So, he looked for a cheap guesthouse in the city to avoid the daily commute. A talkative taxi driver who worked for Taxis Torrealba recommended a good one, "La Casa de Dolores." The rooms weren't just cheap; the food was delicious!



The guesthouse was run by its owner, who was also the cook. A curvy woman of about 50, she wasn't very friendly, the taxi driver warned him, but she was fair and honest. Perhaps it was the exotic, talking macaw on her shoulder or her good bearing despite her advanced age, but Dolores Zuleta welcomed Morgan Jones to her guesthouse with a big smile.



Dolores was a widow with no children, but she wasn't alone. Her younger brother, a tall, strapping Black man in his forties named Ulysses, and his son, a little smaller but as black as coal, named Odysseus, were also there. Morgan sized them up the first night. Ulysses was haughty and had delusions of grandeur, while his son was submissive and well-behaved. If the old pirate played his cards right, he could use them both in the heist.



The boarding house was located in the west of the city, in a very poor neighborhood. He used it as a base of operations to investigate the German banker and his businesses. After a week of surveillance, he decided against robbing the bank's vault. He had three branches in the city, and unlike all the small-town banks he knew, which had one or two security guards, each of the German banker's banks was guarded by a small troop of armed men.



This didn't discourage Morgan either. A piece as valuable as the Jewel of the Amazon wouldn't be at risk in one of his bank vaults; it would be well hidden somewhere less obvious. The old pirate thought of Luther Klausman's residence, but when he visited it, he was not only impressed by its beauty and size, but also by how much better protected it was than any of his banks. Undoubtedly, the jewel was safely stored in an underground vault in the basement of that mansion, alongside other treasures!




That got Morgan thinking. Even if he recruited Ulysses and Odysseus, their combined strength wouldn't be enough to pull off a heist at that mansion. The best option was to wait for the German millionaire's next exhibition of pre-Columbian art. He returned to his new friend, Carlos Suárez, the director of the Chaotic City Art Museum, invited him to dinner, and loosened his tongue with two bottles of whiskey.



He found out that the museum normally had only four security guards during the day and two at night, but when Luther Klausman loaned them pieces for an exhibition, he sent his own security team—eight men day and night. But with Carlos's help, he could get in and take them out from the inside without having to fight. He would also know where the guards were stationed and the times they made their rounds, which would make things easier. There was just one problem: the next exhibition of pre-Columbian pieces from Luther Klausman's collection wouldn't be for another two years. Morgan smiled. The Amazonian jewel, plus other exhibited pieces he would steal, would be worth 30 million, maybe more, in Europe. And if Dolores continued bringing his plate of food to his room every night and staying with him, those two years would be sweeter than honey!



To be continued…

#OriginalStory #BigVerso #BCH

LMLB[10]: The End of the Rats

After the impromptu dinner aboard the schooner Esperanza, the three women left the ship. Back at the house, Tayna Jones kept a watchful eye on the porch. Upstairs in her room, Jane Bentley was helping her daughter Lucia into her pajamas. Everything pointed to it being a very long night, the red-haired archaeologist predicted, as she tried to reassure her perceptive daughter that everything was alright.



"Mom, what are Dad and Grandpa talking about?"

"About important things, my daughter. They hadn't seen each other for several years, and your father thought Morgan was dead. It's not easy."

"I don't see why there's so much fuss. If I found out that my dad, whom I thought was dead, was still alive, I'd jump for joy! But Dad's acting very strange."

"It's all in your head. Now get into bed. You'll sleep with me tonight."

Back on the schooner Esperanza…



Morgan Jones poured himself a third glass of rum, a digestif after devouring the delicious alligator gar his son had grilled. Colt still didn't trust him, so he kept the gun pointed at his head as a precaution.

"Aren't you going to put that gun down?"

"No, Morgan!!!"



"Suspicious!!!" Francis shouted.

"Now tell me, Morgan, and don't lie to me, how did you get here alone and without your rats?"

"It wasn't easy, my son!!!" Morgan continued his story.

After maintaining his leadership of his gang by killing Tulio and Rodrigo, Morgan Jones, the rat, knew it was only a matter of time before his cronies tried to kill him to seize control and go after his son and the gold from the sale of the Jewel of the Amazon!




So, to escape Porto Velho alive, he had to dismantle his own gang, and the only way to stop them from going after him was if he were dead! Therefore, he would plan and carry out his own death! First, he divided the conspirators into two groups and added some large, loyal rats to each, along with a small group of smaller rats. Under the pretext of expanding his gang's power in the Amazon and its tributaries, one group was sent to the city of Humaitá and the other to the city of Manaus. With the conspirators gone, he could prepare his escape plan. He waited until March, in the middle of the rainy season, and threw a huge party on the riverbank to celebrate the acquisition of several small loots in the three cities now controlled by his rats!



The party only lasted two days, but it was designed to last a week, as the old pirate needed nature's help. On the second night, the great storm Morgan had been waiting for broke out. Drunk and old, he fell into the river and was swept away by the raging waters. His rats threw him ropes, but the poor old man couldn't reach them. The strongest saw their chance to get rid of Morgan, and none of them jumped into the water to rescue him.



Three days later, several kilometers downstream, his rats found his decomposing body embracing his faithful macaw on the opposite bank. His clothes left no doubt it was him. But the corpse was just a decoy. The real Morgan had let himself be swept away by the current and saved himself by clinging to some logs he had prepared beforehand, just like his corpse. He hid for a few days in the jungle, and when the sun rose, he got into a small boat and fled with Francis to freedom!



-Damn it, Dad, who did you kill to put in your place?

"I found a poor devil who was dying in the Porto Velho hospital. He was about my size and had the same skin tone, a few years younger, but he had a beard. I left him wedged between some logs near the riverbank. After three or four days, eaten by animals and bloated with decomposition, they'd only notice his clothes. Francis himself killed the macaw he was hugging to make it more realistic; it was his idea."



"May he rest in peace!" Francis shouted.

"Damn it, Dad, you two are a perfect match!"

With Morgan's "fake" death as the trigger, the struggle for control of the gang would be the next step toward the total disintegration of the dangerous "Rats." Having previously split their core into three, sending two groups to the cities of Humaitá and Manaus, plus the group that remained under Morgan's command in Porto Velho, an internal power struggle began to unite and control the three fragments. But no one wanted to cede ground. The leaders of the two outer cities had already experienced what it was like to wield absolute power in their cities, with an old boss far away. Now, with Morgan dead, they would never again be subordinate to anyone else. Thus, after a series of murders in Porto Velho that led nowhere...




The powerful gang of thieves and murderers that operated for almost 40 years in the city of Porto Velho on the banks of the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon, known as "The Rats," was dismantled, separated into three weakened groups that lacked the numbers, resources, and intelligence to launch a search across the Atlantic Ocean in gray, cold England. Morgan Jones was out of danger because he was presumed dead, but his son Colt and his small family were also safe, well hidden, far beyond the operational reach of a criminal gang broken into three pieces!



Colt once again used his highly developed ability to read people and knew that his father wasn't lying. He had devised a plan to escape his gang unharmed, and in the process, he and his family were also out of danger—at least from the Rats!

"I believe you, Morgan. Now tell me, how the hell did it take you more than four years to find me?"

"Good question, my son. That story deserves another bottle of rum. This one's finished!"

Colt took a couple of minutes to replace the empty bottle without taking his eyes off or lowering his gun from his father. As soon as Morgan downed the first gulp in one go, he continued with his story.

Because of the rainy season and the small size of their boat, it took Morgan and Francis longer than expected to reach Manaus. They only stayed a few hours before boarding a train to the port city of Belém. In Porto Velho, he had prepared his loot for the journey: some gold jewelry and a small sack of gold coins, which he had buried safely. He had sold everything and bought diamonds, easier to hide and much lighter than gold to carry. Even Francis had carried a few bundles of them in a small leather pouch on his leg for a while.



Once in the port of Belém, the old pirate and his macaw bought a small sailboat, "La Sultana," and set sail. Their intention was to cross the Atlantic and try their luck in Europe!



"So, Morgan, you barely bought a boat, and your first move was to go after me! And the first place to look was London, where you knew you wouldn't find me, but it was a good place to find a clue to Jane's whereabouts!"

"Of course not, my son. The last thing on my mind at that moment was finding you. I just wanted to have one last adventure and, if possible, die of old age in bed, cared for by a good and loving woman! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"



"Dolores!" Francis shouted, and Morgan laughed again.

To be continued…

#OriginalStory #BigVetso

VW[18]: Princess Mirna Polietkova (VI)

Trapped in the underground coliseum, facing 10 hunter nuns and 60 soldiers, Vladic and his three vampires are out of luck—well, only two of them are. The vampire who carelessly drank the cup of wine laced with holy water falls to his knees and is dispatched by two nuns who pounce on him without even drawing their swords.



The former Romanian colonel knows he has forces surrounding the castle, ready to come to his aid. He simply needs to hold out. But to make matters worse, he doesn't have his sword. Crucio tries to go to his master's aid, but is stopped by a group of soldiers under Captain Vasily and three nuns. Romano, one of the first vampires Vladic transformed, fights them all to break through.



Vladic uses his claws to defend himself against the steel of the Russian soldiers; several fall. The problem is the nuns. Their sanctified weapons would cut through his claws like butter. He must finish off at least one of them quickly. -GRRRRR!!!- Barsik's roar gives him an idea. The fierce warrior charges at one of the nuns. When she swings her sword, he narrowly dodges it, but he's already beside her. Vladic strikes her violently and throws her straight to the sand. The nun barely has time to get to her feet. -GRRRRR!!!- The Siberian tiger attacks the house. The nun raises her sword to defend herself, but she won't succeed!



Outside the castle…

-Uuuuuuung, uuuuung, uuuuung!!!- From the top of a tower, the wail of a battle horn alerts all the soldiers in the castle, as well as the other nuns. Pale, the two vampires hiding in the car, and five mercenaries have to face five hunter nuns and about thirty Russian soldiers, but more keep arriving!!!



Behind the castle, a kilometer from the walls, hidden in the forest, Alexander also hears the battle horn and immediately launches an attack, followed by the four vampires he commands. Using their speed, they reach the walls in seconds and leap into combat. They were already killing Russian soldiers when the twenty human mercenaries, also under his command, were barely halfway to the walls.



-Uuuuuuung, uuuuung, uuuuung!!!- The sound of the horn takes a few more seconds to reach the forest, where vampires and more mercenaries have set up an ambush. As the alert is heard at the fort 5 kilometers from the castle, the soldiers stationed there rush out to reinforce it. Gretel and Hansel fall upon them; neither will reach the castle alive, the German brothers vow!



Back at the underground coliseum

The numbers have improved substantially for the Vampires, although the third has already fallen. Vladic got hold of a sword, Kuznetsov attacked him head-on, and the Romanian Vampire stopped the sword strike with his hand, kicked the Russian vassal, and sent him flying, leaving him unconscious against a wall and without his sword!



Crucio imitates his master and pushes another nun into the Colosseum pit. This time, Barsik doesn't intervene. The Siberian tiger leaps from body to body, as several soldiers have also fallen dead or badly wounded. So now it's the peasant woman's turn to repay the favor for the loan of the sword that kept her alive, and she launches an attack against the nun.



When the peasant woman finishes killing the nun, only six nuns remain standing, along with Princess Mirna Polietkova, Captain Vasily, and about 30 soldiers inside the enclosed area. All of them are gathered in the stands, surrounding and attacking the man who lent her his sword, and at the other end, the man dressed just like him. The peasant woman notices that no one is guarding the gate. She could climb up, open it, and escape, but she has already decided against it. "GRRRR!!!" Barsik roars behind her. The young woman had forgotten about the tiger, but at that moment, another soldier's body falls with a loud crash. The Siberian tiger turns. Without hesitation, the peasant woman moves toward him with astonishing speed, positions herself beside him, and kills him by plunging the fine Damascus steel sword into the back of his head!



"Barsik!!!" Princess Mirna screamed angrily when she saw her pet fall dead and launched herself at the Romanian vampire without hesitation, escorted by three nuns. Vladic struck the Princess and knocked her out of the fray; he needed her alive as he fought to the death against the sanctified steel of the hunter nuns!



Crucio took another nun on the journey of no return, along with Captain Vasily and a few more soldiers. The Roman vampire was unleashed. "Fissssst!!!" An arrow with a sanctified tip pierced his neck. "Fisssst, fissst, fissssst!!!" A hail of arrows rained down on him. He managed to dodge some, until one pierced his heart!



Vladic can't come to his aid; he has his own problems. Nearby, the peasant woman confronts Princess Mirna Polietkova, shouting furiously, "For my father!!!" and lunging at her neck.



The former Romanian colonel grimaces as the peasant woman exacts her revenge and kills the Russian Princess. "Cousin!!!" one of the three nuns who confront him shouts angrily as she goes after the peasant woman. On the other side of the coliseum, the two nuns who killed Crucio are unable to fire for fear of harming their sisters. The enraged nun goes after the peasant woman, and Vladic seizes an opening. He slashes with his sword, cutting her in half. The vampire flies into a frenzy and kills the other two nuns, losing a hand in the process. When no more nuns remain to protect him, the two huntresses on the other side of the coliseum fire. "Fissssst, Fissssst!!!" The arrows whistle, foretelling death.



The Romanian vampire is exhausted, bleeding profusely, badly wounded, but before the arrows can reach him, the peasant woman arrives to his rescue. She is swift and incredibly strong; she has fought all night and is still standing. With a single slash of her sword, she stops one of the arrows meant for the man who saved her life, cutting it in half. The other arrow pierces her chest, and she collapses at his feet.



Vladic watches her with admiration. The girl is dying, and he will soon follow if he doesn't wake up. On the other side, only two hunter nuns and a handful of soldiers remain. They have run out of holy arrows. The nuns raise their swords. "Charge! By our order and Princess Polietkova's!" they shout to inspire the soldiers and get them to join their assault. The former Romanian colonel ducks and retrieves his sword. He still has to fight, but at that moment, the wooden doors of the coliseum, which had been closed since the ambush began, swing wide open. Reinforcements have finally arrived. Alexander enters, leading his vampires like a whirlwind, and they fall upon the backs of the nuns and the Russian soldiers.



Vladic releases his fine Damascus steel and crouches down again. The peasant woman looks at him pleadingly, trying to speak, but the blood bubbling from her mouth prevents her. The vampire pulls the arrow from her chest, takes her in his arms, and whispers in her ear, "Thank you for saving my life. I don't have time to ask your permission or challenge you to a fight, but I can't let you die!" And while his vampires finish off the last nuns in the castle, the peasant woman receives the gift of eternal life!



To be continued…

#OriginalStory #BigVerso