Fri, Nov. 25th, 2011, 06:31 am
Dio Pt.11 - Symptom of the Universe

"I realise what I'm asking you to do is... Messy, brother," Malcolm said, looking out the window of the highrise apartment he'd recently acquired. His stylishly messy hair contrasted against his expensive, well-tailored silk shirt, black with a twisting vine pattern embroidered into it.

"You want me to kill a man?" Zachary asked. He was aware that his voice carried an unusual note of uncertainty. He'd sworn to make Mal's vision a reality. An end to the gang wars that had taken his family. But asking him to kill someone again... Zachary wasn't sure he could do that. But somewhere in the back of his mind, something was urging him to carry out the request.

"It's not like I'm asking you to kill a priest," Malcolm said, fiddling with a button on his cuff. He still wasn't used to the clothes he wore. It was a far cry from the raggish t-shirt he'd been wearing less than a week ago. Zachary wasn't privvy to where the sudden jump from rags to riches had been funded, but he didn't really care. He'd been offered some of the money, but he'd knocked it back. He had enough to get by. "It's a corrupt pollie. He's being paid off by Nirvana."

Zach made a small sound of irritation as he opened Mal's fridge. "Mind if I have one?" he asked as he pulled out a can of beer. With some satisfaction, Zach noticed that Mal's taste in alcohol hadn't jumped up with his taste in clothes. He didn't wait for an answer before he pulled on the ring, letting the carbon dioxide hiss into the conditioned air of the flash apartment.
"Just don't get legless, you piss-head," Malcolm said sarcastically. His mouth twisted into a wry half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. "If you took some of the money I keep offering you, you could drink the expensive stuff, man."

Zachary walked over to the window overlooking a busy street, taking a long swig of the cheap beer as he stared at the ants down below, running between the buildings as they went about making the city the flagship of the Kingdom. "I don't..." he began, not sure if he was about to lie to his sworn brother or not. "I don't really want another bloodstain on my hands, Mal."

Behind Zach's back, the smile flid fom Malcolm's face. "We've been blessed, brother. Since that night, we've been blessed with these powers. " Zach turned around, an eyebrow raised in surprise. "Don't think I hadn't ntoiced. You've become stronger, faster, haven't you? Got any other strange powers?" When Zach didn't answer, Malcolm continued, venom seeping into his voice. "Why do you think we have them? We were given these powers so we'd be able to protect people. The people we care about. If you're not going to make a stand against Nirvana, then I will, brother, but what do you think Graham'd say?" He paused for a moment, letting the verbal slap sink in. "What do you think Brigitte'd say, knowing that you let me fight your battles for you, brother?"
Zachary stared at Malcolm, a cold rage on his face. He crushed the can in his right hand, the undrunk beer spilling onto the plush white carpet. "Tell me who to kill."

Malcolm turned to a small desk, the smile coming back to his lips. He reached for a folder, lying next to a thick black book. He looked at the book for a moment before snatching up the folder and handing it to Zachary. "You'll need a codename. Think about it."