Making A List... Checking It Twice

Posted on Wed Nov 21st, 2012 @ 9:49pm by Lazan

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant

He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he spun around in Suresh’s chair, behind Suresh’s desk, in Suresh’s office. He was drinking Suresh’s brandy, and smoking Suresh’s cigar. Except Suresh was gone. Maybe gone forever. These were things that were for the taking. He was on top of the world, and he felt that way when the doors parted, taking a moment to smile smugly... before frowning very, very deeply.

“Kill him,” was all Lazan said as the two gentlemen accompanying him dragged the squatter from Suresh’s office that he had expected to find vacant. The unmistakable scent of urine had filled the air, evidenced by the stain spreading across the poor man’s poorly-tailored pants. “And get me a new chair,” Suresh’s right-hand man demanded. He wasn’t sitting there after that.

It was going to be very necessary to establish a strong presence in Suresh’s absence. Nature abhorred a vacuum, and the criminal underworld even less so. Recycling the glass and cigar, Lazan poured his own brandy and, with a new chair present within minutes, took a seat behind Suresh’s desk. The murder was a start but he’d have to go much farther...

The doors opened once more and without a word, a man scurried in, moving rapidly so the doors would close immediately. He was visibly nervous and once he’d removed the hat over his bald head, he began to wring it in his hands until it lost all shape.

“Good evening Lazan.” His voice was soft and breathy and this close, Lazan could see an ugly round burn on the back of his hand.

Lazan’s gaze went from the man’s small, watery to eyes to the burn and back. He decided to let the wound go for the immediate moment. “Good evening,” he replied, resisting the urge to ask what he wanted from the get-go. “Something... I can do for you?” he forced himself to ask as nicely as possible.

“Not exactly. You are aware of my usual job, and the one I ‘handle’. We are under standing orders as you know. When something needs taking care of, we are to do it when He is not around. For obvious reasons.”

“I do not need to be lectured on the concept of plausible deniability,” Lazan replied, his eyes narrowing.

The man held up his hands in protest. “Oh...no...I know.” Best not to piss off the man who had control of the empire in Suresh’s absence. “I merely state this as our next project has been carried out and as you are now in the hot seat till he returns, it is my duty to report in on behalf of....you know....”

“Of the enforcer, yes. I am familiar with your duties. Please stop wasting my time and get. to. the point.” The last words were issued with force, through clenched teeth. But then his expression softened and he looked at his agent, suddenly quizzically. “Wait, what project?”

“The young man of course. Chance, brother to the Security Chief.” The words ‘security chief’ were uttered with the same tone one would use to describe garbage or a particularly vile creature. “He was next on the list you see.”

Lazan was sure his olive complexion paled at that news, but he did everything in his power not to let any other emotion show on his features. Sitting back in his chair, he turned his back to the agent. He mouthed several very profane words at the wall, though his voice was steady in reply. “Any further actions are to be processed through and approved by me before any project is undertaken,” he stated.

“Oh?” The man’s voice ended in a squeak. This was a big change in procedure. “That could prove dangerous Lazan. If you are brought in, you have no way to honestly say you have no knowledge of whatever happens. and He trusts us to get the job done. Granted, we had to be flexible with this one and he went armed with some alternative means so that he could take advantage of circumstances.” The man began to laugh but it was more of a snuffling wheeze. “I was right though. Find that one young man, the singer, and we would find the target.”

Lazan’s hand reflexively went towards his ear, though he avoided touching it directly and instead smoothed his shoulder-length greying black hair, keeping the biology hidden. “I have... my ways,” was all he deigned to say. “Suffice it to say, I have given you an instruction and I expect it to be followed. This is my enterprise now.”

The man’s eyes widened but be inclined his head a bit. “As you wish. I will inform him, though he won’t be happy.”

“I don’t care how happy he is,” Lazan seethed, through a tight-lipped smile. “You might endure a few more burns, but I’ll still get what I want,” he shrewdly observed.

“And what is that? Flexing your muscles? He won’t be gone for good you know.” The had in the man’s hands had now been wrung into little more than a wad of fabric. “But since I’m here and you are requiring it, I will give you the list if you wish.”

“I wish it,” Lazan said immediately. He was choosing to overlook the slight to his authority, at least for now. Any attempt to deal with this subordinate now would threaten his orders being transmitted to the enforcer. That did not, however, prevent future action, and the thought was filed away... for later.

“Jackson Banning, though that one has a note of caution with it, given how public a figure he is. Then there is the young singer, the lover of Chance. After them are three Security officers, all involved in the arrest and head shaving incident: Gilroy, Darwin, and one named Edwards.”

Lazan took several moments to commit those names to memory, then gave a nod. “Very good. Inform the enforcer of my wishes, then, and get out of my sight. I have more important things to deal with.”

“And the next? He’s already making his plans.”

“Do I stutter or do you have a language comprehension problem?” Lazan asked. “Maybe your universal translator is broken?” he wondered as he stood, his voice escalating. “Nothing will take place without my approval!” he bellowed, looking for the nearest object and heaving it at the witless worm who stood upright before him. “NOW GET OUT AND DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!”

The man ducked but not quite enough and was hit in the shoulder. His time with the enforcer had taught him well, however, and he took it in silence. He backed to the door and opened it, then spoke.

“That is my job. Should I take that as your approval for the next target?”

Lazan was positively fuming. “I have not yet uttered the words ‘Murder Jackson Banning,’ so no, you may not. You will do precisely the following. You will tell the enforcer my wishes as I now dictate the actions of this syndicate. You will then report back to me, personally, to ensure that this has taken place. Do you understand, or is it too much for your simple brain to comprehend?”

The man nodded and departed at a trot. A few feet down from the office, he stopped, considering his options. The enforcer would not be happy and the man himself would bear the brunt of that. His question now was a simple one. Who was he more afraid of? Lazan or the enforcer? The answer to that was as easy as the question. The real problem was how to carry out Suresh’s wishes and stay alive. Given the attack on Chance had gone so smoothly, the enforcer would be satisfied for at least a few days. Maybe he’d have enough time to figure this out. Or maybe Suresh would return. Maybe he should return in an hour, report that all was well and beg Lazan’s mercy.

Or maybe he’d just vanish as Suresh had done.

In the meantime, Lazan found himself sending a message, a blank message, to an … unknown recipient.

_______________________
Lazan
Losing His Cool

The Man
Never Had Any Cool