The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 72: LXXII - Big Cousin

Lionel sat in his recliner and let out a loud exhale as he settled in and stared at the TV in front of him. He smiled contentedly and closed his eyes, but they shot back open and he let out a groan as he felt something heavy plop down on him.

He glanced up and saw a young woman in a frilly white dress sitting on his lap with her arms crossed.

"Hmph!" She grunted, turned her head away but still peeked to see if he was looking.

"Cassie..." Lionel stated, placing his chin on his hand and staring at her, "What’s wrong? Did I make you mad again?"

"You should know the answer to that!" She shouted, "Of course I’m mad at you!"

A smirk spread across Lionel’s face, "May I ask why?"

She flipped her hair and glared at him, "Ugh! Do I have to explain everything to you? You’ve been gone for an entire week! You come back for two days and now you have to leave again?"

Lionel sighed, "You know I have extra responsibilities with the election coming up. Once it’s over, I’ll actually be home more than before."

Cassie frowned and muttered, "You don’t tell us about any stupid extra responsibilities..."

"Casey!" Lionel called out, "Can you please explain to Cassie for the fourth time why I haven’t been home recently!"

From the hallway behind them, someone slinked from the shadows, with long black bangs covering their eyes and oversized clothes covering most of their body.

Casey walked up behind Lionel and massaged his shoulders softly, "H-he’s right, Cassie. He t-told us he would be gone a lot in November to help with the mayoral election..."

Cassie scoffed and glared at Casey, causing him to stagger back slightly, "What? So you’re taking his side now? You like that he’s never here anymore?"

Casey clasped their fingers together and looked away from Cassie, "N-no. Of course, I don’t like it. What kind of question is that..."

Cassie smiled and hopped out of Lionel’s lap. She stormed over to Casey and took his hand.

"We’re going to the mall to do some shopping," Cassie smiled deviously, "If you want to come with us, you have to take tomorrow off."

Lionel jumped up and put a hand up, "Wait, wait, hold on! You know I can’t take tomorrow off so suddenly, can’t we all hang out until I—"

Cassie didn’t wait for Lionel to finish his sentence before dragging Casey down the hall to the front door.

Lionel called out more desperately, "Hold on! Don’t I at least get a goodbye kiss? Or a hug..."

Lionel’s voice trailed off as they walked out of the door and slammed it behind them, leaving Lionel standing in the hallway by himself.

"Wow. That was rough, sweetie. You really pissed them off this time," A low but unmistakably feminine voice stated.

Lionel turned around and spotted a woman with thick glasses and prominent laugh lines standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Hey Cassandra. You were watching all of that?" Lionel asked meekly.

Cassandra walked up to him and wrapped him in a deep hug. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Don’t worry, babe," She spoke into his chest, "They’re not really mad at you. They’re just mad you haven’t been around recently. And for once, it’s not just Cassie. Casey has been pretty frustrated too. Well, as frustrated as they can be."

Lionel sighed, "You understand it, don’t you, babe? Can’t you...I don’t know...telepathically explain it to them or make them see reason?"

Cassandra pulled away from him slightly and laughed heartily, "You know that’s not how it works, dummy. Just because they’re clones of me doesn’t mean we have some kind of telepathic link. In fact, if I’m being honest, I don’t have much control over them anymore. They just do their own thing."

Lionel pouted, "Fine, fine. I get that part. But aren’t they supposed to be Perfect Triplicates. Why are they mad at me and you’re not, shouldn’t their thought processes be the same?"

Cassandra pulled away from Lionel fully and looked away from him, "Truth be told, I’m a little mad with you too. But not for the same reason as them. You know the Good People Movement are rac—"

"Don’t say that babe. They’re not," Lionel cut her off, "It’s not right to just slap people with that label. If they’re racist, why would they have me in their circle?"

Cassandra put her hands on her hips, "Because you’re useful, Lionel. And you’re currently the head of the group they want to control. It’s not because they see you as one of them. Especially considering our...lifestyle choices..."

Lionel smiled and grabbed her hand, "Is it really polygamy if all three of my spouses are you?"

Cassandra slipped her hand out of his and glared at him, "Don’t try to be cute right now, I’m serious! What if they decide you’re not useful anymore? What if they decide we’re not good people? Are we gonna get a repeat of what happened at our last apartment?"

Lionel scratched his chin, "We’ll never have a repeat of that, babe. We don’t have to worry about anyone burning our house down, I’ve made it my mission to make sure we’re safe here. And if we end up having problems here, we’ll all move to my parent’s skyscraper in Portland. There are apartments in there!"

Cassandra narrowed his gaze, "Are you sure? I thought those were office buildings..."

Lionel walked towards the stairs, "I need to get ready to meet up with Julian. He has a big speech tomorrow. Can you call the girls back? Tell them I want to see them before I leave?"

Cassandra nodded and pulled out her phone. Lionel rushed upstairs and entered the last room at the end of the short hall. As he opened the door fully, he tripped and fell to the ground.

In the window, sat in man perched on the window, dressed in all black. There was not a part of his body that was uncovered.

Lionel scrambled to his feet and entered the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes never left the mysterious man.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Moreau," The voice was alien, low and droning, "I took the liberty of disarming the alarm system and the panic buttons around the house."

Lionel pointed an accusatory finger at the mysterious man, "I know you! You’re the one Mom and Dad told me about! You’re the one who destroyed their house out in the woods and slaughtered all their guards."

The mysterious man jumped from the windowsill into the room gracefully and stood in front of Lionel, "I did. Their panic room was coated in some unbreakable material, so I couldn’t finish the job. But unfortunately for you, you don’t have the same material here. Hell, you don’t even have any guards."

The mysterious man paced around Lionel, his piercing eyes never leaving him, "A part of me wants to kill you. But you’re not my target. It would be pointless. Instead, I want you to do something for me."

Lionel gritted his teeth, "Why would I? You’re just some petty criminal; you probably found my address online. As soon as you leave here, I’ll call the INHO and I’ll—"

The mysterious man shook his head, "Lionel. Do you think the INHO will catch me before I burn this house down too?"

Lionel looked at him in horror before grabbing his head and laughing aloud, "Of course...of course that was you too! It’s so obvious, I should’ve made the connection. You took my computer and you found out where Mom and Dad were. The fire was just a coverup..."

The mysterious man let a mocking chuckle, "You’re grasping at straws, Mr. Moreau. And I’m still awaiting your answer. Do you agree to do something for me, or should I demonstrate my proclivity for arson?"

Lionel glared at him before sliding down the wall and shrugging his shoulders, "Sure. Whatever. What do you want me to do?"

The mysterious man jumped back onto the windowsill, "I want you to drop the support rule for Julian Mason. Remove all open members of the Good People Movement. And I want you to hand over the reins of the Fellows to Shubham Patel. Immediately."

Lionel’s face scrunched in confusion, and he stared at him in disbelief, "Wait, what? You want me to hand over control to Money? That’s what this is about?"

Anger engulfed Lionel’s features, "So you’re one of Money’s enforcers, is that it? My family has been living in fear because Money doesn’t like the way I run the Fellows?"

The mysterious man continued to stare in Lionel’s direction, "That is my request. If you accept, then I will leave you alone forever. If you refuse, then you and your family will continue to live in fear."

The man leapt out of the window,went; and by the time Lionel looked out to see where he went, he disappeared.

"I’m not going to let this slide, Money..."