Now if they were teachers, those would the ones prosecuted for actually raping a guy maybe
It might have some validity then, he he.
It might have some validity then, he he.
Pro-tip, start a blog with that crap in it, it has no business in any thread, also it sucks.
Now if they were teachers, those would the ones prosecuted for actually raping a guy maybe
It might have some validity then, he he.
Personally I just had to come back and state this is just scarey stupid, and I'd think a female version of an Alien or a Predator would be more appealing.So she can grow up to become this?
BAHAHAHAHAHHAAAA!!!!!
You made my day!
You know, you could always just roll with the punches instead of flailing helplessly...oh look, there is Ms. Butthurt.
You know, you could always just roll with the punches instead of flailing helplessly...
Lol, what a bitch answer, bitch.
Says the guy wearing the black bikini.
The wind tore through my hair as I lay slumped in the backseat of the car, the streetlights weaving patterns of illumination in my cocaine glazed eyes. The scene outside was just like anyother: other vehicles driving alongside ours, people walking over the rain soaked pavements, shops and businesses on the verge of closure for the night. Nothing special in particular, but the view served a very important purpose, distraction, I was trying to avoid thinking about the madness ahead of us.
I caressed the gun next to me, finding the cold steel soothing to touch. There were three other men in the car I was being driven in. Murray, my partner assigned to me for this job, the Tech Man for the technical details and lastly, Chekov the driver. Thirty more men were about to meet us ahead at our planned destination. Thirty armed men, thirty of the very best this world had to offer. We would need each one of them, after all what we were about to do was less of a job than outright war.
The car took a sharp turn towards the city center, we would be rendezvousing with the other men there. Once assembled, together we would make our way for the target. There was sure to be firefights, misery, death all around and I could smell the ashes already. In a sense, this night would see the foundations of this world be destroyed and remade, we were about to set it on fire and raze them to the ground!
Cochrane is going down today? Murray asked, turning his head towards me.
Cochrane, his bank, his toy, they all are going down tonight, not just him! I replied, surprised at Murray guessing the mission objectives. My thinking was so far none, except me and Salierie knew who the target would be or the complete picture, thats how mob boss preferred it. Raul Salierie, the head of the Salierie crime family, always believed in compartmentalizing information and followed that practice to a fault. Salieries advice went through my mind, always burning in light of their truthfulness.
Never let the left know what the right does!
Therefore I was all the more surprised at 0what Murray said next.
Christ! Dont tell me we are going to steal the Estimator too!
I caught myself from arching my eyebrows. Either Salierie was lying about telling me only we knowing the whole plan or Murray was just about the best guesser in the world. I let it remain at that. There was no point in withholding any more information from him.
The Estimator is primary. Even Cochrane is just an option! I replied noting the expression on his face. I was once again surprised at finding no further reaction. I had expected fear, nervousness or at the very least discomfort within him, but found none at all. This was utmost particular, surely a man feared the possibility of his own death, the chances of that loomed very high for all us tonight.
Murray must have guessed my thoughts again. With a tone which was clearly fake, he exclaimed.
Has the boss gone insane, Tom? There are things you just cannot have!
The job is not for him, he, himself just followed orders! I replied, lighting up a smoke.
Jesus, who could order Salierie? Murray asked again pretending fake surprise, his eyes remained calm and composed, completely disconnected with the emotions playing for my benefit.
Ill tell you and try not to piss in your pants, it was the establishment .
The establishment? They made a deal with Salierie? Murrays eyes widened. He was getting better at pretending.
Yes, apparently they told him to deliver him the estimator or face elimination himself. He didnt have a choice for refusing I told him.
I was telling him the truth as it, there was no point in concealing the plan anymore. He would have anyway got to know about it in our meeting ahead. Our conversation provoked reactions in the technician too, though not in the way I expected, obviously the bespectacled geeks mind wasnt programmed to think of the risks first.
Instead licking his lips in a sudden excitement, the tech man asked. The Estimator? We are going to get our hands on it?
Yes! I replied, unhappy about revealing the plan before the meeting commenced.
Really? I mean this is something like a dream come true to me. I always dreamed of playing with with The tech man was finding it to speak, such was his excitement. In that moment the man had relapsed into a child.
More licking of lips followed, the geek continued. it. But I never thought I was going to someday help steal it.
I assured him. You are the man for the job! You shall dismantle it and deliver it where the boss wants. Are you put to it?
You kidding? I wrote almost a fucking thesis about it. I know more about the Estimator than anyone of my type. ..
Good, looks like we made the right choice! I smiled.
The tech man kept on continuing, eager to prove his knowledge to us. for instance, not many people believe the fact that the Estimator is the only thing that had ever managed to predict the exact sequence of atomic decay in a rod of uranium. Knowing which atom is going to decay next is impossible. But the Estimator got that right everytime!
You know the size of it? No one ever seen the damned thing! I lied, testing his knowledge. If he proved inadequate, we had another technician as a stand in ahead. I would use this one to rig explosives instead.
What apart from the cooling, a small room I estimate. Thats what a prototype quantum computer would be sized like. The geek replied, furiously entering keys on his keyboard. It was the last thing I was going to allow him to do Compromising the mission by the idiot posting his exploits on the internet was not an option.
I put a gun to his head. The car screeched to a halt and he froze, let his arms up and said. I swear , I wont say about this anywhere, man! I love to, but I swear I wont!
You know, pal. There are some things you can talk about and some things you cant. Sure you like to jaw your mouth off, we all do. But remember one thing, its not Salierie, its not even Cochranes death, its the establishment we are all dealing with here!
The The Establishment! The Tech man repeated breathlessly as I used my gun to reinforce a point into him.
You know the fucking Establishment, my friend? Now if you go off shooting your mouth. I might forgive you, maybe even Salierie would, but the Establishment? You think they would do that?
The geek stared at me silently as I put away my gun and said. So go ahead and type that there, you might live till morning. By afternoon youll be found dead in your bed and had a report filed and forgotten in the some pigsty. In between you shall have an agonizing death like nothing imagined. Thats what usually happens. Compared to that, death from my gun would be a sweet kiss
The tech man nodded and folded away his computer. I shall take this secret to my grave. He agreed with me. As I expected, the fear of the Establishment had scared him more than my gun. He shall never talk of this again.
Good! I replied, satisfied with his reaction and signaled Chekov to set the car moving again. In my view of things, no one goes fucking around, especially with not the Establishment, an entity that had come to transcend borders and varying spheres of influences in this society.
The entity was a parallel government coexisting with the constitutional one of the country. It comprised of unspoken agreement and guided purpose through various sections of society, a hidden hand moving events and circumstances to maintain equilibrium in its own favor. Bankers, police chiefs, business heads, judges, even politicians were rumored to form its part, but no evidence was ever left material, no hint ever dropped to be guessed and the entity always remained a fearful shadow, surely and ruthlessly guiding the destiny of this country and this city.
It had agents, spies and minions everywhere. It co opted every aspect of the ecosystem to fulfill its bidding, just like it did with Salierie today, coercing him to deliver the one thing that had thrown the spanner in its works, the Estimator. The reasons for this conflict are profound, the chief one being that the existence of this device proved to be detrimental to everything the Establishment stood for, status quo and protection of powers would be inside a society.
It all began when a man named Jack Cochrane claimed to invent that device thirty years ahead of its time, rumored to be a quantum super computer. He zealously guarded the secret, letting none ever set their eyes or study it, but aptly demonstrated its powers to the world by his actions.
The first of his victories came in the world of science, where the machine surpassed all expectations by calculating those mysteries deemed impossible. Next came his triumph in the financial markets where Cochrane Index Funds beat every other competitor until his bank almost drained the exchanges of the world of everything: liquidity, shares and commodities. In his exploits, Cochrane had broken the fundamental law as laid by the Establishment, one of rocking the boat, the collapse of the status quo. He had become a threat to their very existence by his relentless conquests.
In their eyes, this was unacceptable and there existed only one solution. Get hold of the Estimator! Reveal its secrets and bring back balance by destroying Cochrane! This was what Im going to do tonight.
I never thought this would happen, but at this moment, I, myself, was an agent of the Establishment. The thought terrified me from within, how easily men can be perverted against their will.
I always wondered if Salierie belonged to the Establishment himself, but mostly decided in the negative. The reasons were simple, the mob boss just like me was too much of a free spirit to give two hoots about an ideal called equilibrium. He would call that stagnation. No, Salierie preferred freedom, preferring to remain an outsider, aloof from the both poles, the law as well as the shadow. At times he may serve the purpose of either power, for a price of course. In appreciation for his existence, the opportunities for solutions possible thanks to him, he had been allowed to run his criminal empire. I had no doubts, Salierie fulfilled unique needs of the Establishment, therefore he had been tolerated and allowed to function and from that assumption, there came another disturbing hypothesis.
So it was the same case with me, I was allowed to exist because I served a unique purpose, just like today. I couldnt help wondering for how long it would remain that way. Little did I realize how soon I would find that answer.
*****************************
The car pulled into an apparently empty warehouse and I found myself staring at a crowd of armed men awaiting orders. Trevayn Kardashian, another of Salieries trusted guards was the man in charge of that location. He greeted me with a dour face as I stepped out of the car.
You are almost late. He said.
Cant help it, had a business to take care of before we get here I said, eyeing the Tech Man. I made it before due time I continued.
Just about. We just finished with my men and sent them on due course. I would be joining them later Kardashian replied.
Your men! I exclaimed in surprise. I had known nothing of this part of the plan. Again Salieries words burnt through me:
Never let the left know what the right does!
Resentment began to pulse through my mind, I was slighted from being excluded from this information. However events were proceeding too fast for me to allow myself the luxury of dwelling on emotions.
Kardashian pointed out to me the map of the intended warzone, Cochrane tower, a glass and steel skyscraper extending upwards sixty stories right in the heart of the city.
It would be naïve to assume Cochrane would not be expecting us. With his Estimator, we shall assume he expects the possibility of an attack to be exceptionally high tonight
I was not told of this part of the plan. I began.
Nor was I told much of yours, I start a attack from the ground level and rig the building with explosives .
And I plan a attack from the roof. I said, filling in the pieces for my own benefit. I had no doubts, Trevayn Kardashian was lying, he knew everything about my part of the plan from in and out.
Good for you, my men take the most of the fire, diverting Cochranes security detail from you. Kardashian said as he handed me a sealed envelope containing a map of the interior and the plan of attack for me to follow. As usual Salieries planning fit into place like a self assembling jigsaw puzzle, a classic example of how a strategy was planned to fit around the circumstances.
Another thought hit me, on second thoughts it was either Salierie or the Establishments plan, I wasnt sure, but I had no choice, but to go alongwith it.
We shall take causalities too, Salierie provided for it. How many men you got covering from the ground? I said.
A hundred and fifty. You better get your ass in and the job done during the window we manage to divert security. Otherwise thats fifty stories of resistance to plow through for us! Kardashian warned.
You organized one fifty five star contracted men in six hours! How did you find them? I asked impressed, nodding at his warning.
I was lucky, most of them somehow remained available for the job.
Kardashians words rung in my head by their oddity. Something didnt add up. One fifty men, seal quality men being organized in a quarter of a day? It didnt sound right. Then I realized it.
The Establishment! They had organized the men for us! They had made everything ready. They were to provide the resources, we were to perform the job. They were to take the goods, we were to take the blame. Thus my reasoning warned me as the facts kept getting added in my mind.
Kardashian asked me. You are getting to the roof how?
Modified attack helicopters, we got six of them to fly us up and they shall transport the goods out. I explained.
Right, brief your team and move out. We must begin both our attacks in coordination! Kardashian nodded.
******************************
The helicopter bearing us circled around the tower, flying very low and very silent with its light off to avoid detection. The rest of our fleet remained strategically positioned on helipads around the city center, ready to fly at a moments notice. Arranging for all those helipads to be available at once was a logistical miracle by itself and I was very impressed with my own achievement as much I could gloss over what I control.
However it was what I couldnt control I wasnt pleased with. Jesus Christ! Its never gonna work! Murray exclaimed after I handed him the infrared binoculars to survey the rooftop of Cochrane Tower .
I hated to agree with him, yet had to reconcile with the fact our plan for assaulting by air was doomed to failure. It would all have gone perfect, if it wasnt for the fact that Cochrane Tower had chosen this day to deploy a very effective defense: a fully functional anti-air system on the roof! Obviously they were all very well aware of our intended assault.
The Tech Man commented. You are never gonna get past that. That will swat us down like flies, you know?
No, No, somethings not right I exclaimed. Something felt wrong to me. That air defense system, the legal laws of the country would have never consented to a private deployment of such a weapon, neither would have Establishment. At the very least they would have surely warned us of the existence of this system and dissuaded Salierie from ever proceeding with the air assault route. So why didnt they?
I continued to look through the binoculars, unwilling to accept the termination of my mission. The thought still continued to ring in my mind:
Was there still information being hidden from me?
The thought nauseated me. Explainable by my nature, I was content being the controller of information, but not being subject to the control myself. I called it love for freedom and was perfectly happy in my misconceptions. Yet none of them did me a favor as I sat inside in that helicopter contemplating:
Was there still information being hidden from me?
Was I a puppet being dangled by strings?
Was I being led on a deliberate path?
The answer to these unpleasant questions was tied to the supposed termination of my mission here. My gut feeling told me this. I was not wrong. The clarification came in form of a bat like stiletto approaching the tower with considerable speed and like us, flying very low.
Our pilot banked to avoid swerving into its flight path, the helicopter dropping altitude, coming into view of the events to happen. The stiletto ejected a tiny bomblet over its target, the ordinance exploding mid air in a brilliant pulse of white, violet and blue just above the anti aircraft interceptors.
The explosion sent our craft into a tailspin, swerving out of control for a moment as the pilot struggled desperately to avoid crashing into one of the buildings below.
The Tech Man obviously knew what had happened. He screamed.
E.M.P! We been hit by E.M.P!
The pilot shouted. Hold on tight! Its a bitch to control this bird!
Eventually the craft steadied in a few tense moments and the pilot bought her to face Cochrane Tower again. This time, the view was in stark contrast to before! Gone were the bright floodlights on the rooftop and the illumination in the building. Cochrane tower was now a void of darkness in contrast to the brightness of the city at night.
Did you see that? The plane which dropped the bomb? The Tech Man asked.
No! I exclaimed. I was busying giving command to other choppers to move in for the attack so long the power was down.
It was a B2, man! The Stealth Bomber! The Establishment just helped us by shutting down their defenses with a two billion dollar plane! The geek said, in awe of what he just seen.
He was right, I was right, my conclusions were right, we were, indeed rats running in mazes for that entity!
I nodded at the geek and resumed my observations on the tower. The other attack choppers were swooping in, with gunmen opening fire with heavy guns and RPGs towards the targets on the rooftop. My own craft swooped into the scene of the carnage like a eagle diving for its prey.
My radio buzzed to life. Kardashian here, we have began the fight on the ground. Hurry up and get to the merchandise, Cochrane
I acknowledged his transmission and turned my attention towards the battle fought from the skies. Cochranes security had deployed a few dozen men to guard the roof. This we knew by the extent of the fighting we did to gain control of the helipad. His guard detail fell on each other to become victims to our bullets and we obliged them to their hearts content.
The modified Vulcan cannon on my helicopter kept roaring to life for split seconds at times and in those moments silenced a dozen men by itself. I watched as my chopper rained death from above at the men below. An ex-airforce man was operating the cannon as it spun round and round, ejecting brass from the side and bullets from the front.
From a relaxed perspective, I sat appreciating the finer nuances of gun battles. It always amazed me how little it took to kill something wonderful as a human being and I watched with the wonderment within me quenched as men died like flies at my feet, in a manner of speaking of course.
When the dust finally settled, I spared several moments to scan the rooftop for stragglers, survivors and more fighters. Finding none, I realized I won one part of the struggle, but the other half had just begun. The rooftop was strewn with blood, bodies, body parts and I ordered my craft to land right in the middle of the mess.
You know there could be men hidden waiting for us to land? Murray said, cautioning me in my judgement.
We have to land now. The attack has begun and this nights not forever. I explained. By now the atmosphere had taken form of the warzone I had envisioned before. Even from the helicopter, we could see the lights of the explosion and gunfights in the lower floors at the base of the tower, men were fighting and dying desperately in those moments.
We hopped ourselves off the chopper on to the roof and ran for cover, avoiding staying out in the open for any moment than necessary. Our craft took off to be immediately replaced by another from the fleet depositing more of my men on the top of Cochrane Tower. Eventually we were prepared to infiltrate the floors below, the next battle commencing with the approach of my two men cautiously towards the stairways to the sections below. Their discretion paid off with their lives as they ducked safely from the hail of gunfire erupting from the level under the roof.
Gas canisters! Use them! I ordered a squad leader and he nodded to converse with his group about the plan. Minutes later, a chemical grenade was thrown by one of those men down the stairway. We waited for the vapor to form a smoke screen through which we shall attack, a few of the men had begun to wear gas masks and the infrared imagers to let them see through the fog.
Cochranes security never saw it coming this time. A dozen of my men ran into the smoke, firing at a blind enemy, painting the walls with spots of crimson. It was a one way battle throughout and all of Cochranes men in that section died gasping for sight and fresh air.
It took several moments for the gas to clear and for our men inside to wave us inside. Kardashian was getting impatient, he radioed me himself shouting.
Tommy! We are taking losses. Should I remind you to get the goods out soon?
I hissed back. We have resistance too! We just left the roof!
Dammit, Tom! Faster! He signed off.
I waved my gun at the guy who led the splendid job of cleansing out this floor of resistance and said. Next time, leave one guy alive to let us know whats going on. Corporate security, they get paid by the hour and sing when you have right end pointed at them.
The man answered back. Cochrane got to be paying them well, they just died for him.
I nodded and said. He should, He got a lot of money to blow and I looked at my watch. this night to spend it all!
The man snickered and turned his attention to the next floor below us, we had to claw our way through before getting to our objective.
We tried the same tactic this time, but obviously they wised up. Quite a few of the men who ventured forth into the fog we made with the canisters ended up with fatal gun wounds, the result of Cochranes team adapting to the situation with makeshift gasmasks crafted out of wet towels and, of course, pure desperation.
The first of our men went down with a bullet down his spine. We got a fight! The leader shouted, his words making his team erupt gunfire throughout the section. The entire floor became a killing field from which only a few escaped. When it ended, I found myself in control of the floor and eight men less.
I counted my losses grimly and looked out for the squad leader, his deputy informed me the man I looked for was dead, the leader had been fatally wounded in the gunfight in the fog. I did what I had to do; I promoted the deputy to fill the shoes of his deceased superior, he shall lead the assault on the next floor!
We found a security guard alive, sort of. He lived long enough to tell us where we could find the information we need, the security station, where our stop was both enlightening and demoralizing at once.
Then we found ourselves in control of the security cameras and information that drained the energy out of us.
Sonofabitch! He knew we were coming! He always knew it! Murray exclaimed as he went through the computers.
Ill be I said, shaking my head at the enormity of the obstacle confronting us! The Estimator, it was located on the twenty ninth floor of the building, right in the middle of the superstructure! We lost eight getting down two stories, one could only guess how many we shall lose further!
The next floor made us realize the futility of our current strategy. Wizened to our tactics, Cochrances security gave up fighting with us and instead fled to board themselves up from the floor below. It was a massive steel door which faced us as we stood on the outside, deciding how to get the gate open.
The Tech Man estimated. Oh man! It would take us the whole night just to get through it!
Another man asked. Are there no other way below except for that door? Surely for a building of this size there should be?
I answered. None, this whole damned place was designed with this day in mind, the middle stories are the heart of the fortress, the top and lower floors are designed to restrict entry
It was Murray who began . Jesus! The lift If we get them working, we could use them to bypass all the floors and get to the 29th!
I asked him. The powers out? Remember? You see the darkness here? Its not a fucking coincidence. The power is out. The lifts out too.
Murray asked. Whats your plan?
I replied. We use the elevator shafts. We can slide down to the 29th and secure the thing.
How do you get the machine out? Murray asked.
I replied. Kardashian, he has to get to the 29th with his men somehow. We can then evacuate the estimator by ground. Screw the copters
I squeezed my eyes, going through the plan in my head. There was no chance for fighting all the way to the 29th floor with the little men we had. The lift shaft will have to do, fortunately we had bought scaling equipment to slide through the shaft for just a situation such as this one.
It will take time, but unlike our earlier strategy it would actually work. I called Kardashian on the radio.
Tre, bad news! How far have you reached?
Thirteenth floor! I lost fifty men already! Kardashian shouted from the other end. I could make out the gunfire through the radio.
I need you to get to thirty! I broke him the message.
Dammit, Tom. Im staying here tight. You get the goods and move out Kardashian exclaimed.
We cant! The goods are on the twenty ninth floor! I explained, making it very clear for him. we are going to use the shafts to get from the top to the 29th and bypass all the security in between. I shall secure the estimator, you make it to the top to help me get it out I ordered further.
Thirtieth floor! I shall lose all my men before I get there! Kardashian protested.
Do we have a choice? I asked back. It was a rhetorical question and a very tired sounding Kardashian was forced to accept the evolving situation!
Alright, damn you! Thirtieth storey, my men will get there. You better it all ready by the time we get there! He said before signing off.
That was taken care off and then another unpleasant matter leapt up to shove itself on my face. It was the man in charge of leading the effort to climb down the elevator shaft, two men were climbing down the shaft one at a time and I would be the last ones to descend. The leader came back to me with a funny look on his face, I sensed confusion.
Chief, we have a problem The man said.
What is it? Civilians? I asked. I always accounted for non security related personnel interfering with our operation here, but the situation we encountered next was completely unexpected.
Worse The man said as he led me through the corridors towards the elevator shafts. He pointed out to me the issue and what I saw took me aback.
Civilians, goddamn civilians as I had accounted earlier, there were a dozen of them and worse of all there were children too. My men had found them hiding in the darkness of the floor, obviously Cochranes security had abandoned them to their fate in their flight!
Men, women and goddammit, children! I wondered what the hell they were doing here in this building in the middle of the night. My eyes ran through the scared, frightened figures, wondering what to do. It was then one of the them, a woman in a black cloak found the courage to shout at me.
You wont get away with this! This shall all end for you tonight! She exclaimed, her middle aged face a mixture of fear, defiance and anger.
And who might you be? I asked her.
I serve Cochrane as his priestess! She explained, I detected pride even through her fear.
Murray smiled. Priestess, huh? Whats this? The bastard got his own cult too?
Seems so that way I answered back and turned towards the woman. You worship him?
The woman answered, holding up a book to my face. The master shows us the way to seek us the path! He says its within us to make our world and we make it every moment around us!
I grabbed the book out of her palm and rifled through. It was filled with the standard new age mumbo jumbo, a lot of questions trying to sound meaningful and insightful to the gullible or so I thought that moment:
The mind a quantum machine?
Quantum mechanics science or the dice of god?
How our mind shapes the future, how the circumstances fold around us
I tossed the book away and turned my attention back to the woman. I asked her. So you worship him and he gives mumbo jumbo In return?
Your skepticism has been noted. I was once like you, until he showed us his power She said.
I wagged my finger at her and asked. So you got something out of it, then what does he get in return apart from your devotion?
Nothing! She declared.
I find that hard to believe, All of us know Cochrane, he always gets something out of everything! I insisted. The matter stuck in my mind for some unexplainable reason, the entire circumstances seemed wrong and funny to me.
No! We worship him and he teaches us to find the path. Thats all there is to it. The woman insisted with a tone of supposed finality in her voice. Something told me she was avoiding the matter.
I left her alone for a moment to concentrate on the other people in the group, the men, the women and the children, especially the children. There were four of them and oddly, all of them with injuries on their hands and faces. On closer inspection, I found them for what they were, bite and scratch marks! It was then I realized what had transpired.
I turned towards the woman in cold anger. So this is what you give him? He gives you mumbo jumbo and you offer him children!
You are crazy! The woman began denying my accusation. But she was lying, I could clearly sense the lie in her words.
The disgust was rife on Murrays face too. So the bastard is a pedophile?
Yes I answered back , pointing towards the crowd. but worst of all are these people who sealed that deal with him.
You are wrong! There is no such thing! The priestess tried to explain, but I didnt let her. My gun came down on her head, smashing bone on impact, making her face explode in crimson. She fell sideways without making any further sound.
So you finally found this path, huh? One where every bone in your face gets broken? Where your children gets abused? Huh? I mocked her silent form as I kicked her in her stomach. Perhaps I heard a groan escaping from her wrecked face or perhaps I did not. There was not much time left for me to linger, soon it would be my turn climbing down that shaft.
Murray said to me. Tom, you are leaving someone behind to look after them?
Hell no, that would be suicide! We stay and move together! I explained.
Then you know what to do! Murray said, broaching a topic I certainly wasnt going to like.
No, I dont. Andy! Tell me about it! I said deliberately, waiting for my second in command to speak out the words first.
Jesus Christ! You are taking chances here, Tommy. It would be everything Salierie would advice against now Murray began.
I know Salierie and he would do no such thing and besides since when did you start giving me orders?
I asked him, clearly I was irritated and nervous about the utmost unpleasant task ahead.
Well, if its not me, ask Salierie himself. Ask him what he would want you to do in this case Murray began.
Right, I shall call him and well decide what to do now I said radioing the mob boss in his headquarters. Raul Salierie would be waiting on the other end, monitoring our progress and making improvements as the situation demanded it.
Sal, its Tommy, we got civilians here, children too. Men and women, I dont care, but children? I asked.
Raul Salierie answered back in his heavy voice. Tom, since when did I have a choice in this matter?
You are the boss, Sal. That makes your word the rule I replied.
Tom, Tom. Any other day Im the boss, but not this day. Today even I take orders too and the orders given were very clear Salierie said grimly.
The Establishment? I asked.
Yes, Tom. They control every detail, every aspect of this job and they made it very clear. They want no chances taken whatsoever The mob boss explained.
My god, Sal! I began.
I hate it, I know you hate it. All of us hate it. But you dont have a choice in this matter and neither do I I got armed men waiting outside my home to kill me if the job fails, they have even taken my son and his family hostages, to ensure I co operate. Its the same situation for me Salierie said.
I fell silent at his words, evaluating what he just said. Salierie continued. You know why success in this mission is so important, Tom? Our very lives depend on it. We were dead men the moment they choose us to deliver the goods and getting the Estimator is the only damned way to remove the noose of our necks
They would want to get rid of us even after we do what they want I replied.
No, Tom. The estimator is the key to everything. After Cochranes death, there would be chaos and its the only way they got to steer things back in their favor once we dispose him off. So you realize how important for us to succeed today. Without the Estimator, we are all dead men. So take no chances Tommy, thats what they want and one more thing
Yes, Boss. I said.
Its wasnt my choice to hide the ground assault plans from you. I was forced to hide things from you against my wishes. You are the one I trust the most, Tom! Salierie declared.
Thanks, Boss
So you know what to do? The mob boss confirmed.
Perfectly! I replied.
Good, finish this job and hopefully we make through this night alive. Goodbye, Tom. Salierie finished with switching off the radio on his end.
Murray asked me. What did Salierie say?
I didnt reply immediately, instead I took my time to evaluate my own role in the horror that will follow. I knew there would be death and suffering, but not this, definitely not this!
I looked at the woman who I had kicked in the stomach, Cochranes priestess, she deserved whats coming and more. I looked at the other men and women gathered, standing meekly in their fright. These people had sold their children for some fantasy tale and were deserving of their fate too. Thats how I justified it. Last of all, I looked at the children, who stood silently with their immoral parents and guardians. They had been abused by a monster and in my view, would never be normal functioning people in their lives ahead. Again this was how I justified what I was about to do next.
I gave the orders grimly, aware of the evil I was doing. Murray was insistent in his triumph. Once again he asked me. So what were the bosss orders, Tom?
No witnesses! I said, turning around to avoid watching my men pour gasoline on the screaming people and set them on fire.
**********************************
I never felt the same again, for the duration of the short time left for me to live. Silencing men and women I could understand, especially the immoral ones I just had killed, but children? Nothing would seem to remove the stench of that horror from within me.
It was when I slide down the elevator shaft alongwith Murray, he found the strangest moment to ask me a question.
Tell me, Tom. I always wondered why you didnt join the Establishment yourself. They would have appreciated you as one of them than the outsider you are now.
I shrugged, holding on to the cable as we descended down towards the 29th storey. He pressed on.
There had to be a reason
I replied. I guess I like things to stay under my control. I dont like games being played with me, no mazes, no funny business. Before I do a job, I like to know what Im doing I for and for whom. With Salierie, thats never been a problem until today. He controlled information, but never from me
Murray nodded and said. I guess thats a good reason as any
I asked in return. What about you? Why arent you a part of the Establishment?
Murray said. Salierie warned me not to. He said he would let me go if I did.
He was lying, I could clearly detect the lie in his words. There was more to this business than Murray was letting on about, that much I knew. But again the events were passing too fast for me to sit around and analyze them. The most complicated part of the job has just begun.
One of my men perched on the wall of the elevator shaft pulled us inside the open elevator doors of our destination floor. I stepped inside, adjusting my neck tie, evaluating the situation. This level had illumination unlike the rest of the building, obviously it had an independent power source of its own.
The squad leader rushed to me and hissed. We made it quietly. No one knows we are on this level
I consulted the map I had in hand and put it away realizing it was useless in this context. I divided my men into three groups and gave them orders.
The biggest group was in charge of security and would guard this floor from any Cochranes men from the top and below floors.
The next biggest group included the technician and I ordered them. Secure the Estimator! I want no chances taken on it whatsoever I gave them orders.
The third group was one I and Murray led personally and I turned towards the assembled men to say. Find Cochrane, I want him dead before the night is out!
Thus the end of the great game we played begun. Gunfire erupted from the stairway, we had been detected! From now everything depended on Kardashians men to get here and rescue us.
Me and my men combed the floor, room to room, hunting for Cochrane. I hoped he hadnt fled elsewhere and hoped even harder that we wouldnt find any more children hiding amongst this mess. I had killed enough innocents for this day. Fortunately our search lasted all of ten minutes until we stumbled upon him hiding in the cubicles of this floor, protected by just a pair of men.