Disclaimer: I don't own any characters blah blah blah owned by Anthony Horowitz blah blah blah don't sue me.
Summary: Workers tend to complain about office politics. I can guarantee that their version is tame compared to SCORPIA's.
Slight AU (Alternative Universe), characters acting slightly OOC (Out Of Character).
Office Politics After Number 1 Retires
Yassen Gregorovich had been the best assassin money could buy, and he knew it.
Not in a boastful way. He knew he was the best and trained hard to maintain his ranking. Even while he was still in debt to SCORPIA, he could command a decent fee (equal to how much a low-rate SCORPIA agent could keep after they cleared their debt). When he was debt free, he could command any price he wished, and clients would pay it.
Other agents were envious of Yassen. The instant respect he commanded, how everyone walked on eggshells around him, his almost inhuman lack of emotions. The only thing stopping them from forcefully gaining his spot was his retaliation to the only one foolish enough to try. Yassen and his would-be murderer had disappeared off the grid for a week. When they saw what was left, everyone was amazed that the man was still alive (someone put him out of his misery when they grew tired of his piteous moans).
SCORPIA, when needed, could spread information to all its operatives efficiently. From the time the person who'd watched the I'm retiring video live told the first person to every agent knowing about the vacancy at the top, it took less than five minutes.
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People describe office politics as bitchy, toxic, demotivating, or dangerous. Spreading rumours about coworkers, making people look bad in front of the bosses, claiming credit for something they didn't do.
SCORPIA makes those complaints look like playschool arguments.
The hour after Yassen announced his retirement, taking himself out of the running, intelligence agencies realised something monumental had occurred. Operatives not on assignments (and even some who were) started turning on each other.
Bodies started appearing out of nowhere.
Shot.
Stabbed.
Decapitated.
Defenestrated.
Asphyxiated.
Poisoned.
Drowned.
Overdosed.
Beaten.
Burnt.
Blown up.
If you could name a method of killing, it was used.
At first, the Board were willing to let it happen, reasoning that it would be a way of culling the weak. Their indifference lasted until someone told them many agents were dead. Realising that there was a risk of not having enough agents to be able to carry out operations, they ordered a cessation of hostilities. The threat of being handed over to Dr Three if they broke the ceasefire was enough to get everyone to stop.
By the time Yassen reached his bolthole (somehow managing to avoid all fighting), SCORPIA had lost almost nobody from their logistics, administration, combat units or Malagosto departments (just a few people in the wrong places at the wrong times). However, they had lost less than twenty per cent of their operatives and had to scramble to reassign people.
The operative who was SCORPIA's new number one had been earning less than a quarter of what Yassen could. Their new position led to a corresponding pay raise. They could now earn just over half of what Yassen used to.
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