The Last of Bubba's Loyal: A continuation

[Vedran]

March 12, 1927: Gino Moretti born.

July 26, 1960: Gino Moretti becomes a cardinal, and Archbishop of Antananarivo a full month after Madagascar's independence.

January 22, 1976: Gino Moretti arrested for racketeering, charges did not stick. He is believed to be involved in organized crime from the 70s to the present.

March 2008: Union of Arctica takes control of Madagascar.

November 26, 2008: Gino Moretti announces the Catholic Church of Arctica's support for Pope Bubba XIII of Rebel Virginia.

August 4, 2009: Pope John Paul III is shot in New England while boarding his plane. The shooter is captured.

August 20, 2009: After interrogation by Promised Land agents, the shooter confesses and reveals the source of his orders. Cardinal Moretti, sensing that the net is closing in (and after a failed hit by the mob), makes preparations to escape to embattled New Zealand. News of his resignation announced on the 11:00 news.

2:49am, August 21, 2009 (local time): A 747 chartered by Moretti takes off from Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo and sets course for Perth, Promised Land.

August 24, 2009: The 747 takes off from Promised Land just as news reaches the air traffic controllers of Moretti's wanted status. With two PL fighter jets on one side and more than eight Minilla Island fighters on the other, the 747 changes course at the edge of Promised Land airspace and lands in Perth, where Moretti is captured by PL soldiers.

September 13, 2009: Moretti is transferred to the custody of the Church of Jerusalem.

"Alright here, Moretti, any last requests before we hand you over to your ex fellow Cardinals?" a Promised Land official asked.

"How about hemlock?"

"No."

A few bishops and Cardinal Vasquez walked over. Vasquez, a long time friend of Moretti, seemed to be plesantly calm.

"Thank you men, we'll take it from here." the Cardinal announced.

Moretti was handed over to the Cardinal and the Bishops, and each made a firm grasp on the ex-Cardinal. When they approached the car, a man opened the door for him.

"Why don't you take the other car? I'll drive him." the Cardinal said pleasantly to the driver.

"Bu bu bu bu..." stammered the driver. "I was ordered to drive and..."

"And I order you to go back in the other car. Same for you bishops."

The driver and bishops climed in the other car waiting, and it drove away. Going around behind Moretti, Vasquez grabbed the handcuffs and asked, "So how did they find out?"

"No idea."

Oh well." Vasquez unlocked the handcuffs. "Well you managed to kill the Pope. Climb in."

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, to the prison. But I've got everything taken care of."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not the only person who wanted him dead."

Which brings us to the present day...

The Continuation

Moretti removed the handcuffs and rubbed at his sore wrists. He was still confused as to what exactly had just happened. As the car began to pull away, Moretti looked at the handuffs now in his lap, then looked up at Vasquez.

"Why don't you tell me about it on the way..."

Back in Arctica...

"This is bad...you're telling me that the leader of our Catholic Church not only publicly supported a maniac, but ordered an attempt on the Pope's life, failed, killed two mobsters in his house, got captured by Promised Land, and now we have two Arctican citizens in foreign hands awaiting trial?!"

Vedran paced around his office, his face grim, a line of chairs in front of him in which four officials were sitting uncomfortably. There was the Director of Internal Investigation, Gen. MSDC Dennis Lee, his Minister of Foreign Affairs...the Director of Information Command, a normally shadowy and intimidating man, sat there with an uneasy look on his face.

Despite the luxurious comfort of the chairs, no man in that room could relax. Behind Vedran was the large window of his office, showing the beautiful landscape outside. The spring was just coming in. But none of them dared take their eyes off either the Sovereign or the floor.

"Yes...that's an accurate assessment," said the Director of Information command almost in a whisper, being the only one in that room who could muster a reply.

Vedran nodded as if satisfied, but his grim expression did not change. He pulled and armchair from the side as if it weighed nothing, then sat down. "So what do we do? Lee?" he asked the medal-chested Heron commander at the end of the row.

"I don't think there are any repercussions from this incident that will require the involvement of the MSDC, sir."

"Very well. Ramiaramanana, what are you doing about this?"

The Foreign Minister stood up a little straighter, his English slightly accented. "Sir, I am planning to release a statement informing the world of the events and apologizing for our lack of foresight."

Vedran locked his gaze. "Do you think an apology is required, Minister?"

Alain gulped, resisting the urge to break eye contact. He knew that his strength of character was being tested. After a pause, he nodded faintly. "That was my reasoning."

Vedran nodded. "And good reasoning it is. But I will deliver that announcement personally. I want you to contact our embassies and try to smooth any feathers that may have been ruffled by this incident. See that they do not lay the blame on this government or the people of Arctica. Now, Philip. Your decisions may be the most important here. Tell me your plan."

BII Director Bell nodded, seemingly confident in his plan and demeanor, but a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek gave away his true emotions. He took a paper from a binder in his lap.

"Yes, sir...well, we have those bodies on ice down at the Antananarivo office. My man Vukov is responsible for them." Vedran nodded slightly, remembering Vukov from Malan's visit. He seemed like a dependable man. Vedran listened as the Director continued.

"We have identified them as belonging to a major Antananarivo criminal organization that we have been trying to bring down for months. We already had plenty of dirt on them and Moretti so combining the two stacks of evidence will connect the organization to many of Moretti's crimes and vice versa. We can break up a major domestic drug and arms distribution and smuggling cartel, as well as heap a whole lotta !@#$ on Moretti when he goes on trial in Jerusalem." Bell paused, realizing his assumption. As Vedran often cautioned his subordinates, making an assumption usually connotated making a mistake. "If he goes on trial in Jerusalem, that is."

Breaking his grim expression for the first time since he had summoned the men to his office, Vedran smirked, seeing Bell realize his slip-up. "Good, Bell, but I think we will be allowing him to go on trial there...couldn't hurt. Now, Bell, a brief report on why Moretti did this?"

Bell nodded, quickly retrieving another paper from his binder. Vedran smirked again, often likening Bell to an eager student whenever he held these kinds of meetings.

"Okay! Now, normally I would have said that Moretti did this on his own initiative, because of his strong support for Bubba. He may have already had something in the works when I believe the Green Flag contacted him. The Green Flag's announcement following the assassination attempt on the Pope is the only thing that connects him to them. Hopefully his trial will shed some light on the Green Flag as well."

Vedran nodded. "Good. Gennady, elaborate on the Green Flag."

The Director of Information Command, Vladimitrov, had been watching Vedran quietly the whole time. When it was his turn to speak, he simply began speaking.

"Well, as you know, the Green Flag is the international terrorist organization that claims to perform attacks on anything and everything, given the right amount of money. Now, while Moretti is a rich man and could have done it, by looking at a list of Moretti's most loyal confidants and followers - kindly compiled by the BII - I have determined that this is not the case. There is one man missing, who by all accounts matches the description of the shooter in New England. I have thus concluded that the Green Flag - or someone - contacted Moretti and had him send a shooter."

"And what will you be doing?"

"I will instruct our eyes and ears in this country and others to be especially vigilant for any Green Flag activities. The decentralized nature of their command structure makes them a major threat to national security, and I am hoping that we can get closer to putting an end to them."

"Good. You are all dismissed."

Several hours later, televised press conference open to domestic and foreign reporters...

Vedran walked behind a podium and looked straight at the camera.

"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the press, citizens of Arctica and the world. As you are aware, a failed attempt on the Pope's life occurred this August, perpetrated by a shooter acting under orders of ex-Cardinal Moretti of the Catholic Church of Arctica.

I wish to apologize to the people of Arctica and the world on behalf of this government. I apologize to all Catholics around the world for allowing this travesty to happen, for the inability of our internal security forces to discover Moretti's criminal actions, to prosecute him and put him to justice. I apologize for the pain and suffering this has brought John Paul III's supporters, to the members and families of the Church of Jerusalem for their emotional anguish. To the people and government of New England I apologize for the failure of this government to prevent such an embarrassing event from happening inside your borders.

To the people and government of Promised Land I apologize for the necessity of your security forces to shelter this criminal and for the resources wasted in his pursuit. To the employees of Lemur Aircraft Charters of Arctica I apologize for the stress caused by having to deal with the consequences of Moretti's actions.

And finally I apologize to the Catholic Church of Arctica for the shame and disorder resulting from the revelation of Moretti's crimes.

I have spoken to my advisors and I can state with confidence that we will do our best to eliminate Moretti's legacy of corruption in the Catholic Church of Arctica, to break apart criminal organizations that had dealt with Moretti in the past, and to do our part in the worldwide fight against the Green Flag." Vedran took a drink of water, then looked at the group of reporters standing in front of him eagerly, awaiting with some apprehension the sudden rush of questions that would come.

"I will now be taking questions from the press."

Meanwhile...

In Catholic churches all across Arctica, BII agents are slapping warrants onto doors, kicking open file cabinets, and ripping out hard drives as part of a massive crackdown aimed at eliminating Moretti's legacy of corruption. Demonstrators have taken to the streets in major cities in protest of the sudden searches, comparing the situation to Vauleo-Buryatia's recent crackdown.

Without any leadership and with the ongoing crackdown, CCoA leaders are fearing that if they do not get their act together soon, the faithful will take the Church apart and break it into splinter groups...

OOC: If I missed anything or got something wrong, someone please tell me.

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Nope, looks good.

IC: "No apology to us is necessary. We simply did the decent thing, and we were glad to do it."

[Gnost Dural]

On behalf of the Vatican, and of God's faithful around the world, we forgive as Christ would forgive. May you go in peace, and the mercy of God be with you.

[KingChris]

March 12, 1927: Gino Moretti born.

July 26, 1960: Gino Moretti becomes a cardinal, and Archbishop of Antananarivo a full month after Madagascar's independence.

January 22, 1976: Gino Moretti arrested for racketeering, charges did not stick. He is believed to be involved in organized crime from the 70s to the present.

March 2008: Union of Arctica takes control of Madagascar.

November 26, 2008: Gino Moretti announces the Catholic Church of Arctica's support for Pope Bubba XIII of Rebel Virginia.

August 4, 2009: Pope John Paul III is shot in New England while boarding his plane. The shooter is captured.

August 20, 2009: After interrogation by Promised Land agents, the shooter confesses and reveals the source of his orders. Cardinal Moretti, sensing that the net is closing in (and after a failed hit by the mob), makes preparations to escape to embattled New Zealand. News of his resignation announced on the 11:00 news.

2:49am, August 21, 2009 (local time): A 747 chartered by Moretti takes off from Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo and sets course for Perth, Promised Land.

August 24, 2009: The 747 takes off from Promised Land just as news reaches the air traffic controllers of Moretti's wanted status. With two PL fighter jets on one side and more than eight Minilla Island fighters on the other, the 747 changes course at the edge of Promised Land airspace and lands in Perth, where Moretti is captured by PL soldiers.

September 13, 2009: Moretti is transferred to the custody of the Church of Jerusalem.

Which brings us to the present day...

The Continuation

Moretti removed the handcuffs and rubbed at his sore wrists. He was still confused as to what exactly had just happened. As the car began to pull away, Moretti looked at the handuffs now in his lap, then looked up at Vasquez.

"Why don't you tell me about it on the way..."

"Well we wanted to pick off JP3 long before the assassination attempt occured. Let's face it, he was a power-hungry Pope who only wanted to rule the world disguised as a humble man. But look at what happened: he stuck his nose into other people's businesses and made enemies. He claimed to go through a tour for world peace but abandoned it. I guess it would've been ironic if he went on that tour and then started a war, don't you think? So anyway, we were planning to poison him while he was on a flight, then get a decoy to impersonate him until we decide it's time for him to "die." But after the failed attempt on his life, he increased security measures stupidly by creating an army. So what happened was that somehow, someone fired a missle at him, and he was dead.

So why aren't we in Rome? Well the Fascist government kicked us out. But that only works for the better. Because what we could claim is that Mr. Borghese told him to get out of Rome, and he refused, so Borghese killed him. We're planning to press charges against Junio Borghese pretty soon. As for your accomplice in New England, he's the one who blurted your name in interrogation. But we can just say that he was lying. I'm going to personally hire someone to hack Artica's computer system and change the assassin's citizenship to Italian."

[Vedran]

"Well we wanted to pick off JP3 long before the assassination attempt occured. Let's face it, he was a power-hungry Pope who only wanted to rule the world disguised as a humble man. But look at what happened: he stuck his nose into other people's businesses and made enemies. He claimed to go through a tour for world peace but abandoned it. I guess it would've been ironic if he went on that tour and then started a war, don't you think? So anyway, we were planning to poison him while he was on a flight, then get a decoy to impersonate him until we decide it's time for him to "die." But after the failed attempt on his life, he increased security measures stupidly by creating an army. So what happened was that somehow, someone fired a missle at him, and he was dead.

So why aren't we in Rome? Well the Fascist government kicked us out. But that only works for the better. Because what we could claim is that Mr. Borghese told him to get out of Rome, and he refused, so Borghese killed him. We're planning to press charges against Junio Borghese pretty soon. As for your accomplice in New England, he's the one who blurted your name in interrogation. But we can just say that he was lying. I'm going to personally hire someone to hack Artica's computer system and change the assassin's citizenship to Italian."

Moretti listened. "I see...you have still not discovered who actually finished off John Paul?

I had already instructed my man to claim he was from Italy, but the fact that he sold me out means that that story probably didn't work.

Vasquez, I have killed two men in my home in Arctica. No doubt they will be certain that I was the one who did it, but if you can get me a good lawyer I might have a chance in the courts..." Moretti still had not heard of the raids that were being conducted on Church properties in Arctica to pile up more evidence on him. He was also not aware that the Arctican Bureau of Internal Investigation had discovered the identity of the assassin.

The man sighed heavily. "Vasquez, my friend...tell me, what is to become of me?"

OOC: If you want to hack the computer system, use your ingame spy odds and we'll get a GM to roll for the outcome.

[KingChris]

Moretti listened. "I see...you have still not discovered who actually finished off John Paul?

I had already instructed my man to claim he was from Italy, but the fact that he sold me out means that that story probably didn't work.

Vasquez, I have killed two men in my home in Arctica. No doubt they will be certain that I was the one who did it, but if you can get me a good lawyer I might have a chance in the courts..." Moretti still had not heard of the raids that were being conducted on Church properties in Arctica to pile up more evidence on him. He was also not aware that the Arctican Bureau of Internal Investigation had discovered the identity of the assassin.

The man sighed heavily. "Vasquez, my friend...tell me, what is to become of me?"

OOC: If you want to hack the computer system, use your ingame spy odds and we'll get a GM to roll for the outcome.

OOC: Oy, I forgot about this!

IC: "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. You won't need a good lawyer because I've bribed the judge to acquit you if you're found guilty.

"We still haven't found the murderer, but we're gonna accuse Italy. We might even throw in Letourneau, a Cardinal from Disparu who ran in the recent Conclave.

"But Moretti, from what I've heard the Artican government is raiding your home. Can you think of anything they might find that we can use to cover up your murders?"

[JEDCJT]

OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

"Ah, no apologies are needed. We did what was right, and we are glad that we did. It is interesting how the shooter chose to escape to New England, in New York City, but at least the threat had been eliminated. Nevertheless, no apologies are needed. "

[Vedran]

OOC: Oy, I forgot about this!

IC: "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. You won't need a good lawyer because I've bribed the judge to acquit you if you're found guilty.

"We still haven't found the murderer, but we're gonna accuse Italy. We might even throw in Letourneau, a Cardinal from Disparu who ran in the recent Conclave.

"But Moretti, from what I've heard the Artican government is raiding your home. Can you think of anything they might find that we can use to cover up your murders?"

"I don't know what you mean...before I left for New Zealand, I destroyed all incriminating material in my home...well, not the bodies but there wasn't time for that.

As for my associates, I'm not sure if they managed to purge their records or if they're in the hands of the government by now. If they're raiding my house, it's probably part of a nationwide crackdown on all my accomplices and the organized crime network I relied on to-" Moretti paused suddenly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Vasquez, is this car bugged?"