Arc 1 Epilogue: Give them to the Bellaire's.

D-ray's family may not approve of it, but I feel they're the best option to give control over this tainted company. They'll be the ones best suited to taking it and turning into something actually responsible. That, and I know they can at least be trusted to always remain moral in their dealings. After everything D-ray had done for me over the years, this is really the best and currently the only way for me to repay the favor.

After getting to the rendezvous point with Theresa and Evelyn, I notice that the woman I rescued from Johanne is still here, speaking with Theresa and Evelyn as the trio seemed to be discussing something private, yet from the grins all three are sharing I an't help but shake my head with a wry grin on my face. Seems I may end up living with eight women in my HubSpace now. Walking up to the trio of beauties, I motion to Evelyn to speak with her, as I lay out my plan for what to do with the seized assets from D.B.I., to which she actually agrees to help set things up.

I have been out of the loop for six years, so I don't know all the legalities of doing this on my own. Thankfully Evelyn can handle the transfer of ownership. Now, all I have to do is make a certain call that has been long overdue for five years now...

Bellaire Estate, Los Andreas Mega City

Third-person P.O.V. Shift

Within the family room of the Bellaire household, the members of the Bellaire family, the surviving relatives of one Demetreus 'D-ray' Bellaire were gathered together. His father, Zachary Bellaire, was sitting with his wife, Demeter.

Zachary was a man of clear African-American descent. Well-built, though his age had caused him to begin to fill out around the belly somewhat. He was a semi-retired politician, though he still had a lot of weight to provide to any campaign that needed his advice or wisdom in how to govern the people responsibly. Demeter was a woman of Greek descent, and just like her namesake, was a woman of motherly nature and a strong sense of justice, befitting her occupation as a lawyer.

Nearby, their 15-year-old teenage daughter, Artemesia, D-ray's younger sister whose last memory of her lost elder brother was how he made her smile with his antics, all to keep her a happy child before she found out he was never coming back again after the news they had received. She was seated as she listened to some stories from one of the others in the room.

Nearby, carrying out his duties was their butler, Sebastian, a man of mixed African-British heritage, who was dusting and assisting the family he followed to the best of his capabilities. Across from Zachary and Demeter, is Zachary's younger brother, D-ray and Artemesia's uncle, Damian, wearing his typical pair of sweats, pants and hoodie both, that he developed as a habit for casual wear from his active duty days in the Marine core. He was the one sharing some stories of the things he would do with his fellow Marines, what of it he could tell, to her, trying to keep the mood light and upbeat.

They were simply having yet another family gathering together. A night where all of them simply spent time together in quiet contentment, all while the clear sadness of an empty seat left unfilled, as it was the one reserved for their missing member, Demetreus, the son and her who will never return home.

Suddenly, the hard-line began to ring, as a holocall started to come in. Slightly confused about who would be calling them this late into the night, Sebastian answered, as per his role as the Bellaire's loyal and dedicated butler.

"Bellaire residence. This is Sebastian speaking."

"My apologies for the late call. But may I speak to the Bellaire family as a whole? I have something to discuss with them."

Sebastian simply rose a brow, glanced to his employers, who simply shook their heads, not wishing to be disturbed.

"Apologies, but they are occupied at the moment. May I inquire as to what this matter is about?" Sebastian responds, acquiescing to their wish to simply be left alone.

"It is something of personal importance to them. Something they may wish to hear."

Sebastian frowned at this response, before asking for clarification, as his employers were listening and found the insistence strange, yet the voice sounded strangely familiar to them from somewhere, yet they could not recall where exactly.

"What matter would that be, if I may ask?"

"The truth."

"What truth?"

"About Demetreus' murder, and the circumstances that led up to it."

That got all of them to jolt to attention. Demetreus' murder? They'd been trying and failing to get to the bottom of their first hier's death for five years, yet nothing ever came from it. Checking with his employers for confirmation, they looked to one another, before turning to Sebastian with a from and resolute look as Zachary nodded. Nodding his understanding, Sebastian then spoke in response on his master and mistress' answer.

"...one moment please."

After that, he began to transfer the holo-call from the hard-line to the holo-projector to speak with the person, face to face, so to speak. The moment the call fully transfered over, a seven-foot-even man stood through the projection, looking towards all five of them, nodding in acknowledgement of each of them as he looked to check if they were there. Though his specific features were all concealed, it was clear from the silhouette he left behind this was not a small man, not someone to take lightly.

"...you have my attention. I am Zachary Bellaire, Demetreus' father. What do you know about my son's murder." It wasn't a question, despite being worded as one. It was a statement, as if he would not accept anything less and a demand would not matter as he would get what he wanted either way. He wasn't disappointed.

"Demetreus', or D-ray as his close friends called him, was murdered because of something that had happened eighteen months prior. His best friend had disappeared and the prime suspects were his primary tormentors, yet they claimed to not know anything. What happened was he discovered they had lied."

"...lied, how?" Zachary questioned, yet none dared to interrupt him, as they all wished to know the answer of their beloved scion's death.

"D-ray had seen on the news a year after they graduated that these five individuals had founded a new company. Dickins Biotech Industries." Their breaths hitched at this. Dickins? They knew that name. They knew it very well, from what Demetreus had spoke of them, the Dickins heir was not worth any business relations with, yet he never went into details as to why. They may finally get the answer here and now. "The pilot products they advertised, however were state of the art innovations in cybernetic prosthesis and artificial organs. All designs they claimed to have created themselves. All lies. D-ray recognized them as his friend's missing designs, the ones he had on his person when he disappeared. Something they should never have gotten from him unless he was no longer alive to resist them."

The room went starkly quiet. The sheer coldness suddenly permeated the room from Damian and Zachary both was matched by Sebastian. If not for Demeter and Artemesia being in the room, they would have realeased enough blood lust to make it seem like they were planning to murder someone.

"...are you saying...Demetreus found out is friend had been murdered, his work stolen, and the ones responsible for both these crimes murdered our son to prevent the truth from getting out?"

"Not just the murders. The five of them, Isaac Dickens, Vladmir O'Reilley, Shaw McCarthy, Leonardo Dantellion, and Johanne Kreuer, were all secretly crime lords growing a hidden criminal empire, using legitimate businesses as a front to hide it, and used the local gang, the Chrome-Bloods, as their secret enforcers to do their dirty work while secretly backing them from the shadows."

The outrage the Bellaire' felt was palpable. Their son was simply trying to do the right thing, to demand the truth of what happened that day, and was silenced, all because a group of young men were secretly crime lords and didn't want to be exposed!?

"...this is an outrage! How could they think to get away with this!? Did they truly think the truth would not come out eventually!?" Damian shouted, and Zachary did not reprimand his brother for the outburst. He was simply stating what they all felt, but only he had the freedom to express it, since he made it clear he had no desire to deal with politics, and thus, refused to try and make any claims for head of the family, much to their parent's protest. That's why he joined the Marines. He hated politics.

The next words this mysterious figure spoke stopped their rage dead in its tracks, though.

"Oh, they didn't. I made sure they paid for what they did. Which is why I decided to give this to you all, since it was the least I felt you all deserved, for losing D-ray from your lives so suddenly and so forcefully."

When they heard this, a sudden beeping came from the datapad held in Sebastian's hands, causing him to check the notification and choke out a strangled gasp of shock at the message shown. Immediately rushing over to show his master and mistress', their own eyes nearly bulged out of their skulls at the message they'd received.

It was a news clip, showing the five individuals mentioned had all been killed over the span of a single 24-hour time-span. Along with a second one beneath it, getting all of them to widen their eyes in shock at the notification in morbid fascination and awed terror in equal measure.

'Dickens Biotech Industries ownership transfer complete. Bellaire Household now holds exclusive full ownership rights to its full assets.'

The Bellaires were completely shocked by this, with Damian himself simply staring in disbelief while the rest became somewhat unnerved by this. And they also felt like they couldn't take ownership of such a tainted company, especially when it was taken through murdering the original owners!

"...we cannot accept this."

"I already knew you'd refuse, and that's precisely why I trusted you with it. You would never allow yourselves to become corrupted by your status or money. You all seek to earn your own way, without needing to rely on it. D-ray was the same. It's why he and I were such good friends. If anyone can take this tainted company and make it something genuinely respectable, it's you Bellaires."

Hearing the warmth in his tone as he spoke with such a fondness for their family, with a level of familiarity with the late son, they couldn't help but wonder just why he felt so familiar. Demeter then spoke up, her lawyer instincts telling her to do so as she went over the paperwork to find anything that might bit them on the ass, yet found none. It was a perfectly clean transfer of ownership over a company now-known to have been a front for a criminal empire.

"And for what reason should we not turn you over to the authorities and report your admission to them?"

"To answer that question allow me to tell you why I did what I did. You see, both my parents were unsung heroes. They helped so many people with their work, yet no one ever really knows just how much they were responsible for their piece of mind. They didn't care, though. I simply followed the family Creed they raised me on."

"And what would that be?"

"'Act not for the sake of glory, but for the uplifting of those around you'."

A choked gasp escaped Damian when he heard that family Creed. He knew that family Creed. One of his old friends from the blacks ops division would say that to him every now and then. But he was dead, so then that means this kid was-!

"As for why reporting me would do you no good, the reason is the same why these assets would be useless to me."

"What reason." Zachary demanded an answer, but what he heard got all responses on the tip of his tongue to completely halt dead on the tip of it, caught off guard by the exact words.

"A dead man cannot have anything legally in his name, thus I cannot be either prosecuted for the murders, nor can I claim ownership of their seized assets."

Their minds completely blue-screened at that response, as whatever arguments they had did not prepare them for a supposed dead man letting them know all this. That was when it clicked in their minds.

Someone who knew Demetreus and was close enough to call him by a nickname.

Someone who would have had reason to seek revenge on his behalf upon learning of his murder.

Someone who had been missing for six and a half years, without any trace of him.

But the final important clue to add to this puzzle to cement the realization into their minds came in the form of an e-mail, from an anonymous source. It was a design for a type of long-distance teleporter. Along with a note attached that confirmed their deduction.

'Have this as a way to help get the new company out of this rut. I hope this manages to repay even a fraction of what I owed D-ray, my brother in all but blood in name. Take care of yourselves.'

"Novak, wait-!"

Damian's screamed plea, however, came too late. Before he could say more, the holo-call cut off, and no amount of trying to trace it could locate him, nor could they reconnect no matter how many times they tried to call him back. The realization made it pretty clear what had gone down, especially when Damian gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

"...well...he really is your son, Novahn..."