07-09-2018, 10:52 AM
The man- Ryker- took his hand. He was no nonsense. And there was a solidity about him. Despite himself, Ivan felt some of the tension drain away. Maybe it was because he was actually doing something instead of spoiling for a meaningless fight.
He already knew the contents of the note. Yun Kao had told him what to write. He supposed Yun might be thought of as attractive, but not by Ivan. And it had nothing to do with the fact she was Asian or her scars or even how she looked. His comment was flippant. "I imagine that any night with her might start off well enough. Until she decided to eat you. And not the way you're talking about. She is called The Spider, after all."
He pointed at the note. "This place. It's where I first met her. She likes to sink her teeth into people. Blackmail them. Breathes threats and murder as if they are nothing."
That last was whispered with all the hatred he had ever felt.
He remembered the display. His Ma and Pop, guns to their head. His little brother and sister, crying. He couldn't help the snarl that escaped his lips.
He looked from the man out into the ball, saw all the rich and powerful swarming around, oblivious to the decay, the decadence, the disease that ate at the empire. The rot of exploitation. And there, above it all stood the one who thought himself a God. Nikolai Brandon. The architect of it all. It was so clear to him now.
Ivan just wanted to keep his family safe. And to protect his city. To enforce justice and to punish the evil he saw. By whatever means necessary.
He looked back at Ryker. "What do you have in mind?"
He already knew the contents of the note. Yun Kao had told him what to write. He supposed Yun might be thought of as attractive, but not by Ivan. And it had nothing to do with the fact she was Asian or her scars or even how she looked. His comment was flippant. "I imagine that any night with her might start off well enough. Until she decided to eat you. And not the way you're talking about. She is called The Spider, after all."
He pointed at the note. "This place. It's where I first met her. She likes to sink her teeth into people. Blackmail them. Breathes threats and murder as if they are nothing."
That last was whispered with all the hatred he had ever felt.
He remembered the display. His Ma and Pop, guns to their head. His little brother and sister, crying. He couldn't help the snarl that escaped his lips.
He looked from the man out into the ball, saw all the rich and powerful swarming around, oblivious to the decay, the decadence, the disease that ate at the empire. The rot of exploitation. And there, above it all stood the one who thought himself a God. Nikolai Brandon. The architect of it all. It was so clear to him now.
Ivan just wanted to keep his family safe. And to protect his city. To enforce justice and to punish the evil he saw. By whatever means necessary.
He looked back at Ryker. "What do you have in mind?"