"Fiore's about to become a very different place, my lady. Just be thankful you're on the winning side."
- Doctor Palamos Richmond
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"I know about Chemical B."
Elizabeth Crenshaw froze as she analyzed the expression on her boss's face. He was calm, of course, but there was a glimmer of annoyance in those shining blue eyes. Jack leaned back in his absurdly large office chair, humming sarcastically.
"Chemical B… huh… doesn't ring a bell. Is it an offshoot of Viagra?"
The lawyer smirked. "Very humorous, Mr. Bolton. I'm quite well aware of the psychotic experiments that doctor of yours has been up to. To me, it sounds like some kind of performance enhancer for wizards. Whatever this science project is, your guys are trying to cover it up, just like all your other problems. I should know, I was one of them."
Elizabeth never liked Smocks, even before she was made Vice President. It was pretty clear where that sniveling, poor excuse of a man was going with this.
"I want a hundred million jewels every year for the rest of my life, or I go public. We can't have Toma thinking you're some kind of druggie, right?"
"Smocks, we have no idea what you're talking about. Perhaps yo-"
"Zip it, cupcake, let your boss speak for himself."
Crenshaw narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at the sheer audacity in the blackmailer's tone, but Johannes held his hand out before she could retaliate. Still deadly calm, he wordlessly stood up and motioned for Smocks to do the same. Bolton walked out from behind his desk to where the smug-looking man was standing and offered him a friendly smile.
"I pay, and you'll keep your mouth shut? Does anyone else in your firm know about this?"
The lawyer put a hand over his heart. "I swear it, they don't have the slightest idea."
Black Jack let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Good to know, good to know, you've got balls of steel, I respect that. This… Chemical B, or whatever you call it, isn't something I want blowing up in the papers."
The man adjusted his glasses and smoothed out his olive suit. "You're too kind, sir. Everybody wins. I'm sure this doctor is just doing what's best for the company."
Elizabeth seethed but remained silent.
"Uh-huh. Look, I just have one more question."
Jack took a couple more steps in front of him.
"What happens if… uh, I dunno, I do this?"
Moving at the speed of lightning, Bolton clapped both his hands over Smocks' ears in a showcase of cruel, inhuman strength. The man screamed out in agony as his head was beaten like a war drum, and immediately collapsed to the floor. He squealed like a cornered pig as blood gushed from his ears in droves, his sense of hearing violently ripped away from him.
Elizabeth stumbled back in horror as she covered her mouth, watching Johannes stand over the spasming lawyer's body like a disappointed father.
"Now you're just another useless fuckin' deaf guy. What, was that supposed to be a joke? A hundred million a year? You'll be lucky to see a welfare check."
There was so much red oozing on the floor around him, but Jack didn't seem to mind. Noticing a few specks of blood on his boot, the oligarch nonchalantly wiped it off on the whimpering man's sleeve.
"I want everyone who has access to the labs questioned thoroughly. Nurses, guards, janitors, I don't give a shit, find any security flaws and… oh, for Christ's sakes. Don't look at him, Liz, look at me."
The Vice President didn't respond, causing Jack to scowl.
"ELIZABETH! Look. At. Me."
She gripped her clipboard tightly with one hand and meekly held out the other. "S-Sorry." Sighing in frustration, Johannes stepped over the cripple's weeping form as if he was a pile of garbage. Catching her breath, the businesswoman regained her professional demeanor and looked Bolton right in the eye.
"Listen carefully. From now on, I will set my own agenda, approve company marketing, and handle problems with the media, you are going to tell me everything that's happening on the bottom floor. If they need new materials, come to me, if there's a budgeting problem, come to me, if a fucking lightbulb goes out, come to me."
His irises turned red, just for a moment.
"And Elizabeth, no one, under any circumstances, can know about Chemical B. Comprende?"
Crenshaw's heart was beating like a trapped rabbit's, Bolton could hear it. Thump, thump, thump, sometimes the man wished he could drown those sounds out, but knowing someone's true feelings at any given time made him an expert negotiator. Of course, this wasn't really a negotiation. No, this was closer to a threat.
Elizabeth gulped silently and nodded.
"Super. Now, do you have those VIP tickets I've asked for?" She quickly pulled out an envelope from her back pocket and handed it to him. "Good girl. What would I do without you, Liz? Smart, talented, beautiful, is there anything you don't have? I think someone's up for promotion very, very soon! Now take the rest of the week off. You're looking a bit pale."
"I will. Thank you, sir."
"Oh, before you go, find someone to toss this deaf wanker out of my office."
"Do you understand the complexity of our situation, doctor?"
"Yes, yes, I see. Have you considered retirement, Ms. Crenshaw? Spend your youth as other women do; nagging their husbands and sipping margaritas on the beach, it's not as stressful."
"This isn't a goddamn joke, Richmond. Keep your underlings' mouths shut. Word of what we're doing here cannot leave this room, for both our sakes. Smocks bled out on that floor. If Jack's willing to kill for this nonsense, then are the two of us safe? I thought Rainfall was a nightmare, but this-"
"Nonsense?! This is science, progress! Bolton can't afford to kill us anyway, we're still useful. Just look at these fine specimens! Simply marvelous, aren't they?"
"They're disgusting."
"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, I'm simply carrying out my orders. Jack beamed like a child on Christmas when he first laid eyes on them. Tell the boss that everything's progressing exactly as we've planned."
"Can those things fight? How would your pets do against an experienced wizard from Lamia Scale or Sabertooth?"
"Sabertooth? Don't make me laugh, Elizabeth, there's nothing they can't handle."
"Doctor Richmond, your arrogance has been duly noted. If there's nothing else, I'll deliver my report to our leader. Do not fail him."
"Yes, yes, yes, you've made yourself perfectly clear. Fiore's about to become a very different place, my lady. Just be thankful you're on the winning side."
