Cherry Blossom Snow

Vengeance

Anchored on the Thames was an enormous yacht where Lida and Armistice had been looking after Leona since her father was killed. For reasons unclear to everyone involved, Io was also there, and she had apparently befriended Leona. After they were joined by Chikara, Yoko, Akira, Mia, Evangeline, Rico, Satori, Iminathi, Nikita, Vladimir, and Yuki, it became apparent that there would need to be a meeting to discuss arrangements and boundaries. Leona stood before everyone to make an announcement.

"Yo soy Queen Leona Vasquez and I have claimed this island of El Leon as my sovereign dominio," Leona declared with a sense of determination. "As Queen, I must be able to serve and provide for my subjects, and it is my hope that all of my subjects will do the same for me. I welcome refugees, y no tengo any intention of turning away people in need, but también quiero to maintain peace and order. Tenemos plenty of resources as long as everyone is willing to communicate and cooperate. Y ahora, I would like to ask for recommendations of how best to proceed into the future. There are no bad ideas en este momento."

"May I make an inquiry?" Nikita asked.

"You may," Leona replied.

"What is the basis for your claim of royalty?"

"Porque I said so," Leona replied confidently.

Nikita pressed further with a follow-up question, "Is the island you refer to this boat?"

Leona affirmed, "Sí. El Leon. Está printed on the side."

"But by your own admission, this is a boat," Nikita pointed out. "Not an island."

"I proclaimed it an island," said Leona. "Therefore, it is."

"On what basis do you make that proclamation?"

"I'm the Queen. We went over that already."

"Fair enough," said Nikita. "I can't argue with that logic."

"Bien. With that settled, we now can focus on the future. All of you are welcome to stay here if you so desire, but you are also allowed to leave at any time."

"Evangeline and I wish to claim a room, if we may," said Mia. "We were staying at Clarence House, but that's a Royal household, property of the Crown, and Lubin doesn't like us. Actually, I'm pretty sure he wants us dead."

"We share a common foe in that cruel tyrant," said Leona. "I wish to help in any way I can. I only hope that you find the accommodations here to be adequate."

"Adequate. Thank you for the hospitality," said Evangeline.

"I'd also like to stay here," said Satori. "I still have some matters to sort out with my home country."

"I welcome you to stay as long as you need to," said Leona.

"Fascists fire-bombed my house," said Iminathi. "My parents still have their debt to Seraphim, so they wanted me to stay with friends if possible."

"And you were hoping to spend your time here?"

"Not my first choice, but it should be sufficient."

"Works for me."

While Leona sorted out living arrangements with the others, Mia received a call from Devara.

"Scanning through surveillance systems across Florence, my program found a man who is an eighty percent match to Giorgio Bocchino," said Devara. "Simón has tracked him to a house with no official residents, and evidence suggests he is still there."

"Confirming his identity comes first," said Mia. "I want him alive."

Simón was sent to capture him. It was essential that Simón avoid drawing attention to himself, so he would have to take a quiet approach. Ordinarily, he would simply break the door down, but this time he opted to pick the lock. Simón then quietly entered, with his gun ready. Without much searching, he found a man preparing a bowl of spaghetti. With practiced precision, Simón shot the man in the neck with a tranquilizing dart. The man paused in a moment of confusion before falling to the floor. Simón then proceeded to search the house to confirm there were no other people inside. After confirming the house was clear, he called Mia.