Chapter Ten
After Carnage had sent the two teenagers away, he walked over to his desk and takes a seat as did Azmorigan. Bane only took a seat on one of the sofas with Todo sitting next to him.
"Now let's get down to business," said Carnage.
"Yes, let's shall," agreed Azmorigan, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a disk.
Carnage took the disk from Azmorigan and plugged it to his desk. A hologram appeared in the air before him, containing a list of slaves. He scrolled through the list from the side while carefully reviewing each and every one of them. He stopped on the image of an orange Twi'lek with black stripes and a crown of tiny horns poking out of her skull.
"My, what an interesting species," remarked Carnage.
"Oh, yes," agreed Azmorigan, "This woman is a crossbreed of a Twi'lek and a Dathomirian Zarbrak. She has the grace of a Twi'lek and the ferocity of a Zarbrak."
"Sounds like a mighty fine woman," commented Bane, looking with interest.
"Yes, I suppose," said Carnage, "She seems appropriate for the auction. This is quite and exotic collection you have there, Azmorigan… Not that I'm impressed."
"Indeed," sneered Azmorigan," Anyway, will she be there?"
"I've told you, your slaves will be at the auction in a couple of weeks," Carnage reminded him.
"I'm not talking about them," said Azmorigan, "I'm talking about the red-haired human girl. What's her name? Maria is it?" Carnage's eyes widened with realization.
"Moreena Krai," Carnage corrected him, "What about her?"
"I would like to buy her at the auction," Azmorigan frankly answered.
"What?"
"After I've heard her sing last night, I've completely fallen head over heels for her singing," explained Azmorigan, "So I want to buy her from you so that I can hear her angelic voice all the time. So I'll be happy to get her out your hair. What do you say? I'll pay you twice the pricee you've paid for her."
Carnage looked at Azmorigan quietly and glanced down at his desk. The whole room remained quiet for a long time with Azmorigan slowly losing his patience. Finally Carnage looked back up at him.
"Well?"
"She's not for auction," Carnage answered. Azmorigan's grin dropped.
"What? Why not?" wailed Azmorigan, "Are you really going to keep her after she breaks the rules on her first day?"
"She only broke one rule," said Carnage, "She'll learn to improve and besides, I don't make hasty decisions."
"But-But-" stammered Azmorigan, struggling to find another way.
"If you want to hear Moreena sing all the time, be sure to come by the Blood Moon regularly," dismissed Carnage.
"No, I shall not become your regular," snapped Azmorigan, leaping to her feet, "In fact, I won't be coming back here ever again. Unless you sell me Moreena Krai, I will take my business elsewhere!"
Carnage kept a straight face as Azmorigan glared at him, huffing and puffing. Bane sat there watching casually. Todo wondered who would win the argument. A smirk crept onto Carnage's face and he waved his arms into the air.
"Go ahead," chuckled Carnage, "Take your business elsewhere. I wouldn't mind at all. Do you really think this idle threat will get me to change my mind?"
Azmorigan's eyes widened at the response. Then he huffed and clenched his fists so tight, his fingernails dug into his skin. Finally with a grunt, he threw his hands down and turns to leave.
"Perhaps, I'll see you at the auction?" called Carnage. Azmorigan paused at the doorway and glared at him.
"Of course," he hissed and crossed through the door. Carnage smirked as he watched his business partner leaves. As soon as he was gone, he looked to Bane who was patiently waiting on the sofa.
"As for you Cad Bane…," he began.
"Why do you need me here for?" asked Bane.
"Please restrain yourself from killing someone at the auction," he said, "I want my guests to feel at home. What you did back there not only roused my visitors, you've also roused my slaves the most."
"Is that all?" inquired Bane, smirking, "You've asked me to come up here just to make sure I behave myself?"
"Not quite," said Carnage, "I also need you on look out along with my security squads, making sure that no one tries to sneak my slaves out or that no one tries to escape. I especially want you to keep an eye on Moreena Krai. There's something suspicious about that girl. She didn't come up here to have some quality time with that boy, it has to be something else."
"I don't think we should worry about that girl," said Todo, "She doesn't seem like a mischief."
"No, Todo, he's right," disagreed Bane, "She look like a sweet girl, but we can't let our guard down. For all we know, she could be planning an escape. Don't worry, Carnage, I'm not taking my eyes off her for one second."
"Nor will I," said Carnage.
Bane gets up and heads for the door with Todo following behind him. He paused midway and turned to Carnage.
"By the way," he spoke, "Why won't you sell the girl? I know you've said she's only made one mistake and that you're not an impulsive man, but there's got to be more than those reasons."
"There's no other reasons," Carnage bluntly answered, "Those are the only reasons."
Bane simply shrugged and continued to leave for the door. As soon as Bane and Todo are gone, Carnage spun around in his chair so that he's facing through the window that leads to the great hall. He stared through the window solemnly into space, thinking to himself.