4 - The Ember King

Posted on Tue Aug 29th, 2023 @ 7:45pm by Dungeon Master Sue Donym
Edited on on Wed Aug 30th, 2023 @ 8:44pm

2,104 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Chapter 2 - Crimson Cartel
Location: Crimson Cartel HQ
Timeline: 2090

Elena Acosta, minor functionary boss of the Crimson Cartel finally made it to the main HQ, her nerves severely on edge from what she had just experienced earlier today. Her hand was still gripped firmly around the earring she had been given, trying to hide the light that was bright enough to make her hand glow slightly even in her pocket. She had had to show her boss and two other levels of bosses just to get anywhere, but here she was, in the waiting room of the big man himself as he was briefed on just what was happening.

She had dreamed of getting a private audience with him someday, but on her own merits far in the future - not for some mystical mumbo jumbo that she had no real control over and had no explanation for. Realistically, she knew that her work ethic wasn't the greatest - she got the job done, but she probably wasn't even on anyone's radar before today.

Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by the secretary clearing her throat, trying to get her attention. "Miss Acosta? Miss Acosta, The Ember King is ready to see you now."

With a deep breath, Elena stood and steeled herself. Lucius "Ember King" Rinaldi was known for being fair on a good day, but he was also known for throwing people outside of the air shield and watching them die in the natural mars atmosphere on a bad day. She could only hope that today was a good day. Glancing over at the receptionist and realizing that she was one of those people that had been able to spring for a full cybernetic outer body and was head to toe plastic and chrome - a rare sight outside of the upper echelons of the corporations of Earth and she realized she wouldn't be getting any hints from the calculated customer service smile she was being offered.

"Is there a problem, Miss Acosta?" The receptionist asked as she stared at her with that maddening and unblinking smile.

"No, just nervous is all," Elena muttered in reply as she stepped towards the large ornate double doors.

Just before they opened, the receptionist whispered one more thing. "Everyone is, their first time. Just remember to be respectful and answer confidently and you'll do ok."

With a nod, she gulped and stepped through the now open doors, feeling them close behind her.

The office she now found herself in was far larger than she expected. On her right there was a small pool and on her left there was a grand piano. Lining the walls were backlit shelves with thousands of real paper books -far more than she even knew existed on Mars. As for the general décor, she would have thought it would have been in reds and yellows, but to her surprise it was in muted blues and blacks. The sounds of classical music played over speakers inset in the ceiling. As for the tile floor, the only word that came to mind was purple terracotta and it almost seemed to glow in some places.

To say that she was in awe and a bit intimidated was to touch on understatement. But she pressed on and walked towards the massive desk in front of her which now drew her attention. It was wider than she was tall and it appeared to be made of real wood - something else that was impossible to get here on Mars. On top of it, there was a vintage green lamp and a couple touch pads that seemed to light up the area and the man behind it reasonably well.

When she made it about two thirds across the grand office, the man behind the desk finally spoke up. "As entertaining as it is watching you admire everything here, I'm told you have something far more interesting than the trinkets I've gathered in my collection here." Pausing a moment, he leaned into the light of the small green shaded desk lamp to reveal a rather well kept older man with grey hair in a black suit. His piercing silver eyes were focused on her like a lion getting ready to pounce on their prey. His words sounded warm and calculated, as if inviting her in, however the hint of a smile on his face held no warmth. "Elena is it? Please, take a seat and show me what you've brought to me."

"Yes, sir." With a bit of a bow, she quickly took the offered seat and pulled her still glowing hand out of her pocket and held it out over the desk between them. "It's a little bright," she warned. With one last nod from the gentleman, she slowly opened her hand and showed him the earring she had obtained.

"Simply amazing. And it's been this bright since?..." he asked as he pulled a pen and a small tray out of his desk and poked at it enough to move it into the tray and begin examining it.

"I believe so, though my eyes may have gotten used to the brightness. I assume you have methods of testing if the luminance is fading over time available to you." Now that she was distracted, she could focus and think a bit more clearly. "When she created it from this random earring, it seemed rather blinding, but I distinctly remember some sort of circles of light radiating from her hand into it. I've never seen anything like it before."

"And I've never heard of anything like it before except in fairytales. My dear, I'm told she was recently terminated from our employ in a most permanent manner. Is this true?" His piercing eyes were now focused on hers once more, the object between them all but forgotten, the pen poised right above the earring as he awaited her response.

The air was so thick, it was as if she was trying to speak through a barrel of glue. "I um... Yes... Sir... I have an explanation for that."

"Then I suggest you get to it."

"Yes, sir." Taking a deep breath to organize her thoughts, Elena tried to relax so she could get everything out coherently. "A few months ago, Miss Luna's production started dropping off and her debt, rather than reducing started going up. The other day, she hit a point with her declining mental state and with our policies in place, where we deemed it more appropriate that she suffer an accident. Therefore, we arranged for her balcony safeties to be shut down and one of our agents gave her encouragement..." Elena paused at this and reassessed her wording. "With all due respect, sir, I know the policy and I know the story, but she was pushed from her 27th story balcony without safeties. She was then confirmed as deceased after she struck the ground. She was dead for at least an hour."

This time when he smiled, there was approval in his eyes. "Indeed. Best not to mince words when trying to be precise, Elena. We are in a bit of a filthy business and I know we try to cover it up with flowery speech, but at times like these I feel it best to dispense with the pleasantries."

"Thank you, sir. However, before the coroner could collect, she had stood up on her own power and walked back into her apartment building. The coroner got there just in time to watch her do so. Sir, she died and came back to life and we have remote bioscans to prove that." She met her boss's eyes with as much surety as she could muster, knowing full well that one wrong word would spell her own termination. "We then paid her a visit and she said some crazy stuff about being a ghost from another world that was able to do magic. I know I've been into conspiracy theories in the past, but..." She shook her head slightly as she stared down at the earring. "It's always been about corpo stuff. When I asked about proof of magic, even after she knocked out the two thugs that were restraining her with ease, she did something to this earring to make it glow like this and gave it to me."

Elena then slowly held up a finger. "And after some death threats, she offered me a deal." This elicited a slightly raised eyebrow from the well dressed man so she continued. "She wants access to my contacts and assets, though she claims she remembers very little about them, even having forgotten my name. In exchange, she offered us as a group access to her skills with magic. She did have a couple demands though. Namely that the debt be done away with as she did technically die. I told her that I would see what I could do and I believe that's why everyone left that apartment alive. We may have been able to make sure she stayed dead, but the way she put down two of my muscles? I don't think any of us would have walked out of there."

The Ember King frowned hard as he poked the earring thoughtfully. "I think I'd like to meet her. In a seemingly neutral location. I'm assigning you as her full time liaison and handler for the Cartel. Assign whatever personnel you need to as your replacement for your old position and shift your priorities." He then reached over to a touchpad on his desk and tapped at it. "Synthia, I need to book an entire restaurant for Friday evening. Something classy but also discreet."

"How about the Nocturne Café, sir? You haven't been there in some time and I believe the owner still owes you a favor," came the reply over the intercom.

"An excellent idea. Make it happen." Tapping the button again, he glanced back at Elena with a polite smile. "You get to prove you're more than a low level lackey supervisor. You'll inform Miss Luna, or whatever she is now, of our meeting and provide her with whatever accommodations she requires to arrive on time with whatever resources we have at our disposal. And do be pleasant about it, hmm?"

"Yes, sir. As you wish." Elena wasn't entirely sure he had heard her though as he had taken the dish with the earring and moved it under the vintage lamp and started poking it and studying it further. Getting the feeling that their conversation was definitely over, she headed out of the impressive office as if she was retreating from an uncomfortable situation.

As soon as she was out of the opulent office and the doors closed behind her, she let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes for a moment of respite.

"This was your first time meeting the Ember King, wasn't it?" asked the cybernetically enhanced receptionist as she typed away at her desk. "he does put on airs and can be quite intimidating, especially when he's upset, but I've seen his more humane and gentle side. Once you get on his good side, you'll see him in a new light. Also, I have a Crimson card for you so you can prove you have the boss's blessings."

As she straightened up and recomposed herself, she glanced around and spotted the card. "I've only seen one of these once." Elena picked up the proffered card and held it up to study it. "And now I have one."

"And it has been registered to your ID. If anyone else tries to use it, we will be alerted immediately. Otherwise, use it as you would a normal cash card, but please try to only use it for work. Do you have any questions?"

Elena thought for a moment, all sorts of things coming to mind as she tucked the card away in her purse. "I'll need one of the ad-free cars downstairs at the very least. At least half a dozen people. I assume you'll handle the boss's side of the meeting." With a nod of confirmation, she continued more softly to herself as she headed towards the elevator. "Water. I'll need to get actual water. She may not be into alcohol or that goop most people drink. Food will be at the restaurant, but she may be hungry after since the Nocturne isn't known for portion sizes."

"And I need to train my replacement. I may need my assistant and she can't do both at the same time." She only had three days to do all of this so she needed to get to stepping up to the challenge.

 

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