I walked up to the desk eyeing both of his hands on the
table. The desktop was large with a marble finish. Recessed in the table near
Geklov's hands was a computer control panel. There would be a panic switch on
the floor. Hell, his foot was probably on it right now. There would also be
security cameras and listening devices. They would come in handy for blackmail
or gathering information from his associates. Information is as valuable as any
other asset if you know how to use it.
“Now, have a seat. No need to look so uncomfortable. We are
both friends here, yes?”
I plopped down in the seat feigning indifference. I leaned against the left arm rest so I could
easily grab my blaster from its holster. “It’s good to see you made it
back here Geklov. I was worried for your safety when you left the party early.
It would’ve been a shame not to be able to finish our negotiations.” I did
everything I could to keep the anger from seeping into my voice.
“I found an opportunity to leave safely and I took it, of
course. It was fairly time sensitive. Trust me when I say if there had been
time I would have taken you with me as well.” His words rang true but there was
something in his eyes that said he was laughing his ass off on the inside. My
heart sank a little.
I have pretty good intuition and suddenly I felt way out of
my league. It wasn't a common feeling, but there it was in the pit of my
stomach. It wasn't what he said that was picking at my emotional strings. There
was something about that quick look. It
was the look a parent who already knew what the outcome of a conversation was
going to be. He would let me have my say and let me think that it might make a
difference, and it would, as long as what I had to say lined up with what he
wanted.
The voice in me that speaks on instinct was whispering in my
ear telling me to pull my blaster out and blow his head off before this went
any further. There was something wrong, and it was time to kill and run.
I couldn’t listen because I had to find a way to get Tasha out of this. I
pushed the small seed of panic deep inside and tried to focus on Geklov.
“Okay, let’s just get to the point. I am here to negotiate
for Tasha. I would like to get her out of whatever contract and debt she owes
to you.”
“Yes of course, but you understand that there are two
problems with this. One, Tasha is a very valuable asset regardless of the large
amount of pain and suffering she has brought on this corporation. She is
brilliant and I would expect her discoveries to be worth quite a lot of money
in the future. The second, it is hard to find such a high quality piece of ass,
if you know what I mean. Oh, course you know what I mean,” he said, with a huge
smile on his face.
I grabbed the armrest and straightened myself in the chair
using the movement to mask the anger and accompanying disgust that shot through
my body. It took all the strength I had to keep sitting. I shoved
the feelings deep inside but they fed the fire that was already turning into an
inferno.
I managed to keep my smile in place and fixe my eyes on
his. He was trying to make me angry, but
why? What could he gain if I got so pissed I tried to kill him or gave up and left.
There was something I was missing and I needed to figure it out fast.
I did my best to ignore his last statement and tried
shifting my strategies. I was good at negotiating and taking
people’s money. I couldn’t let him get to me. If I didn’t get control of
this fast everything was lost.
“I don't get it, I am here to offer you a large sum of money
and take a troublemaker off your hands. Why are you trying to piss me
off?”
He smiled at me with that knowing look again, “It is good to
test a new associate’s temper, Lakasha. The way I see it, you and I are going
to be working together for a very long time. It is good to know you can control
yourself.”
“I’m not sure where this idea of us working together came
from. But yeah, I can be plenty professional. I’m going to say this one time. I
came here to pay off Tasha's debts and take her with me. Not to interview for a
job.”
“That is unfortunate, because Tasha's debts must be paid,
and make no mistake I will get the money out of her one way or another.” He
smiled a sick little smile, pausing for effect, “But her contract, as you call
it, is not for sale. The best you can do is reduce the payback she owes me.”
As my mind started to piece together the enormity of the
situation I had gotten myself into my right hand involuntarily slid down toward
the blaster. The angry fire that had started in my stomach, contained up
until now, burned bright. I was kidding myself when I came here so unprepared.
It would have been better to bring some friends and put Tasha into hiding while
I splattered his head all over the wall.
“Okay. If that is how you see it I won't press that point
right now. How much money does Tasha owe you? I want a straight number Geklov,
no coming back later and changing it up. If I paid off all of her debts how
much would she owe you?”
“Oh, I think a good estimate would be twenty billion.”
He was fucking serious. I could tell by the look on his
face. I almost asked him to repeat it to be sure but I knew it wouldn't do any
good.
“Twenty billion seems a little steep for a couple of labs
and a small scientific outpost. I mean, I saw that thing myself. There is no
way that it cost anywhere near a billion.”
“Well of course it didn't, but since we will be working
together let me give you a little lesson on business. She owes me for all of
the minerals and supplies used in her research that we will get no income from
because of the loss of the labs. She owes all of the people that provided
either scientific expertise or mined and transported the minerals she was
using. She owes me for the alliance I put together with the Brothers of Death.
Then, there is the issue of all of the future lost revenue from the ships
destroyed and the members who left the corporation after the unfortunate
incident with the Blood Raiders.”
What a complete shit bag. He hadn't even used the money to
gain an alliance with the Brothers of Death. That was the reason I had gone
down to the research stations to start with. The people who lost ships were
reimbursed by their own insurance contracts not to mention part of flying in
space is losing ships. Almost everything that happened at the research station
was one hundred percent Geklov's fault.
Then he wanted money for any future loss of income? Hell, he
could put any number on that he wanted. There was no way to prove him wrong. It
dawned on me again that he had no intention of letting Tasha or even me out of
this. As long as he knew how much I cared about her he had me.
“I think it’s a little unreasonable of a number, let’s say
seven billion in lost revenue. We don't even know if her invention was going to
work.” It was something to keep the conversation going as the dark truth of the
situation started to reveal itself. My own arrogance made me think I had
some power to negotiate. I was too used to dealing with pirates and a
ridiculous self-imposed honor code. `
Now I understood the look in Geklov’s eyes.
There were only two options. The first, he would taunt me into
trying to kill him then dive under the table. Herrier would kill me, and
he would still have Tasha with no one to get in his way. The second
option was I cared enough about Tasha to be blackmailed into giving him control
of all my assets including myself and my corporation. I had nothing to
bargain with. Anxiety gripped at my heart as a trapped feeling fell over
me. Then, there was a welcome nothingness as the pirate took over.
“I don't think it’s unreasonable at all. There are plenty of
records of sales when other businesses have discovered new implant technology.
To tell the truth, I was expecting a fifty billion ISK profit selling the
invention to the implant industry.”
“How about I give you three billion and you let us walk out
of here?” I said in a cold voice I rarely heard outside of my mind.
I focused on him, death in my eyes, and he lost a little of his
smile. This was the decision point he was waiting for and knew he had
me.
“How about you give me five billion and sign a contract to
work for me, Lakasha. There are many things I could do with someone of your
particular skills. I am not blind to the fact that you helped my people escape
the Blood Raider invasion. I am also not blind to the fact that you are a very
beautiful woman.” I swear he licked his lips a little and I almost ended him
right then. “Besides, think of how great it will be to work hand in hand with
Tasha each day, fulfilling whatever
needs I may have.”
I stood so fast the chair shot off behind me and clanged
down the steps. I slammed both of my hands flat on the desk. They would have
been around his neck but I couldn't reach him. I leaned over the desk and
looked into his eyes, “You listen to me. You are going to take the three
billion and...”
Something was buzzing just outside my mind. I was so caught
up in the anger of the moment I missed the station alarms going off. I looked
up, clearing the rage enough to listen, and then my heart stopped.
The loud speakers were blaring, “Antov Romanski you are
an enemy of the Caldari State, drop your weapon and wait for security
detainment”
Antov was Geklov's number one bodyguard and lackey. I had to
get to Tasha...
