Reconciliation

Salas Complex, Metropolis

2:21 p.m November 7

Damien arrived at the board meeting late for the first time ever. Everybody in the room eyed him with suspicion as he walked past them at such an unseemly hour to take any seat that was available.

Josef had already begun his presentation on Salas' future plans. One of the few participants passed down a spare document that supplemented the presentation.

"So far our company has done without problems to improve medical care for cities to states. And on top of that we're actually making a profit. Stocks are flowing through the roof."

Damien offered a free ear, listening to whatever their employee had to say all the more anticipating where he was going with it.

"One of the propositions is to survey for now, more along the places we haven't franchised, places that are in slums that could use our products. There's a lot of profit to be made there. My ideas so far are in Tantra Bay, Ellesworth, and Gotham City."

They all heard that last word ring clear in their ears. Everyone was delighted by the idea, some even letting out a round of applause. But Damien had something else to say on the matter.

"Excuse me?" he objected.

Josef, puzzled by the desponded interruption, explained himself. "Well, we have had countless requests from investors for a franchise at the least in these desperate places, especially Gotham."

"I'm not so sure we have the funds or spare time at the moment to make such a survey on three places simultaneously. Ellesworth and Tantra might be able to work out, but not Gotham."

"But sir. We have the necces…" but he was cut off.

"I prefer not to take any unneeded risks at the moment."

The statement brought even more confusion to Josef. "But sir wasn't the decision already made by the board?"

Damien sat in disbelief. "What?"

Realizing the meeting turned sour, senior board member Paul Ducatti stood from his chair and called for Damien to "Calm down."

But he didn't. He couldn't. Already the board was turning against him. They made the decision without his consent, knowing perfectly well how he would have responded to Gotham City. Not so long ago these people seemed like friends to him. Now, turncoats.

"You made this decision without me?" questioned Damien.

Instead of answering the question, Paul moved on to justify the action. "We've got major investors from all over the streets just waiting to get a share of our accomplishments. In the end my friend, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain."

"No no no no. I will not approve of this! I will not have my work destroyed by insolent criminals!" Words could not describe how Damien felt at the moment. He felt like tearing the walls down, firing every single human being in the room. They all looked at him dazed, as if he had gone mad.

But Paul rivaled the man vocally, telling him that, "We are going in. With or without you."

Momentarily, the room fell silent. Every warm blooded mammal sat quietly in discomfort.

Before long, Paul broke the silence. "Look Damien," he said in a calming tone of regret. "We want you to go down to Gotham and meet with people there. People who represent the city. We want you to survey it, to make sure it's safe for us. We want to show you that everything will go right down there."

The room fell haunted with silence again. Paul was still awaiting response.

And after half a minute, Damien decided to give that response. He picked himself up from the chair and left the building. That was his answer.

Lonas Shooting Gallery, Metropolis

7:30 p.m

The range was empty. It seemed apparent then that nobody goes shooting at seven in the evening here at Metropolis.

But Damien would always come here to relieve the workday stress. He needed it, especially today.

This time he practiced with a different weapon. Instead of the causal Heckler and Koch, he decided to try out the critically acclaimed Desert Eagle.

He held the sidearm with both hands tightened on the grip. He had to be careful when handling such a heavy cannon. They say that the Desert Eagle is a weapon to be used only by proffessionals. In the hands of a rookie, the vigorous cockback could force enough brute strength to dislocate or even break a shoulder.

His eyes were locked onto the black and white silhouette of a standing male, torso to head; finger pulled the trigger after the mind's consent. The cockback threw his hands backwards with divine tenacity, causing him to have to re aim after every shot. But Damien grew to love his gun. It was a friend that meant power in every pull of the trigger, exerting a fierce warcry and a lethal 9MM pill. 80 of his bullets tore a hole though the target's head. The last 20 hit either the target's torso or the wall behind it.

Before realizing, Damien had already emptied five magazines into his imaginary foe. He felt proud, ready to take it to the next level.

Now he held the weapon one handed with his writing hand. He bent his elbow slightly so as to follow the gun's response rather than fight with it. He took three sharp breaths...and fired.

The force pulled his hand back further and much stronger than before. The power was incomprehensible, but it sacrificed speed. It took at least seven seconds to ride the gun's response, shift back to clear aim, and shoot.

"Sir!" a woman called Damien from behind, trying to topple her voice on top of the gunfire.

She had to call twice to catch his attention. Once she did, the CEO halted and dropped his gun down. "What?" he asked, displaying no concern or emotion.

"Mr. Paul Ducatti was wondering where you were."

Damien sighed. "And now he knows." He turned around to see a blonde woman in her midtwenties wearing a buisness suit. It was Dina, his personal secretary.

Dina bent her head down pointing to the ground trying to conceal her face as if somehow in shame. "We all understand what you're going through, and how uncomfortable it would feel, going back there. Especially since your family..."

But she was cut off. "My family? Did I tell you about that?"

She looked up at her boss, and clarified,"Umm, no. But it's true isn't it? Word like that gets passed around relatively fast. Everybody knows about it."

But that was the one thing he didn't know. That of all the topics his coworkers talked about behind his back, the death of his family was the most admired. But the only direction the discussion ever lead to was whether or not he was fit to lead.

"What's your point?" the CEO nearly yelled.

Dina cleared her throat and stammered nervously. She was never quite able to compose herself in times of confrontation. Anxiety always seemed to build up, and she would just stand frozen, trying at best to speak without slurring. "Well...I...I...well."

At that moment Damien felt sorry for raising his voice at her. She was sensitive to such a thing, he remembered. Besides, she was a competent employee, it wasn't her fault that the board members were greedy pigs. She of all people didn't deserve this.

"Forget it Dina", he finally said, and walked towards the exit doors unaccompanied.

But she hadn't told him what she wanted to say. "Wait, sir." She kicked her heels, and speedwalked towards her boss and turned around when she was in front of him, blocking his path.

"Sir I just want to say that I think you should consider. It might be a good idea."

But Damien already had his mind set. "I don't have time for this," he concluded, and motioned to walk around her, but as he took a step, she blocked him again placing herself in front of his field of vision.

Frustrated, the man demanded, "What is it Dina?"

"Sir. It's just that I think it would really help your public image if..."

"Public image is none of my concern," interrupted Damien in a disgusted tone.

Dina insisted. "But it will help people, it'll be good for the market. Medical bills could be lower in Gotham City. People won't die so often and it would be giving a lot of jobs. Believe me please it will really be a good thing." Her eyes rose full of gleam and hope. Like a child pleading for a bright star.

Helping people. That was her real dream. It's the first thing she told her boss during the day of her interview. It's why she chose to work at Salas instead of any other multimillion dollar corporation. She believed that Salas, the company Damien brought through the roof, was a noble cause. She believed in the company and what it was trying to do for people.

"You're a good person," Dina continued. "You've helped people, and you should continue regardless of anything bad that's happened in your past."

Damien couldn't stand hearing her speak that way. He wanted to leave, the door was so close. But looking at him, she made him stay. And now he was dealt with conflict. Will he go to Gotham? Is there a point? Can he forgive? Will he return to the corrupt city that is his family's tomb?