“A way for us to get those board members under control,” Baikal answered for him. “What? You didn’t really think I was going to rely solely on your parents, did you?”
Saint chuckled.
“It’s a slow-acting poison,” Berga explained, the note of excitement building with each sentence. “Tasteless and odorless. As long as the antidote is taken, it’ll remain dormant in the body, but if a dose is skipped within the first six months…”
“What happens?” Kaz was morbidly curious. The Butcher always came up with the best stuff.
“Microscopic lab-grown parasites eat their insides,” he said. “I’ve named them glorp. Would you like to see a blown-up image of what they look like?”
“Pass,” Yuze made a face of disgust, but Kaz was already crossing the room.
He leaned over the small workstation Berga was at, staring at the computer screen at pictures of weird creatures that appeared to be fuzzy coins more than anything else. “What are those?” He pointed to the things that looked like long hair follicles coming off the circular body.
“Hooks,” Berga stated proudly. “Everything is better with hooks. They burrow them into whatever they can and use them to pull things apart.”
“It shreds people’s insides?” Saint let out a low whistle. “And you’re planning on using that on the board members?”
“They won’t know until it’s too late,” Baikal told them. “Then it’s a matter of holding the antidote over their heads to get them to comply.”
“That’s twisted,” Kazimir straightened and clapped Berga on the shoulder. “I love it.”
For the most part, they always tried to keep Brumal dealings separate from the official business side of things. Running Void Conglomerate was completely legal throughout the entire universe, after all. But when push came to shove, they were mafia at their core, and sometimes the best way to deal with a problem was reminding people of that fact.
Maybe that’s the angle Kaz should have used on Nate Narek, instead of showing up at Quartet Air with a used bike he’d purchased for pennies. The excuse had been mostly to test the waters, a way for him to see how open to the concept of becoming his the pretty racer would be. Not very had been the answer, and despite his parting threat, Kazimir intended to leave things where they were.
Nate wasn’t interested? Fine. It hit at Kaz’s pride, sure, but there were plenty of fish in the sea, and he had enough on his plate to not need to add seducing a man who claimed not to want him to it.
It was Narek’s loss.
That shop was a sinking ship, anyone with eyes could see that. Soon, even having patrons such as Mit Parker wouldn’t be enough to keep Quartet Air afloat, and then Nate would be out of a job and scrambling to figure his life out at the last minute.
Perhaps he’d turn to Mit.
Kaz wasn’t overly pleased with that prospect, but he forced himself to shove all unpleasant thoughts of the racer out of his mind. He wasn’t the type to dwell on pointless things.
What Nate Narek did or didn’t do was of no concern to him.
“How are things going with Pious Prince?” Baikal asked.
“We’ve given him access as requested,” Kaz said. “But there’s no word on whether or not he’s been successful in finding what he’s looking for.”
“What is he looking for?” Saint hummed in thought. “Has to be important for him to come all the way here. Isn’t he usually located in another galaxy?”
“The Ancient keep to their own territory,” Baikal agreed. “That’s why it’s so important we handle this with finesse.”
“Then why put Kaz on it?” Yuze laughed when Kazimir growled. “That was a joke. Mostly.”
“Pious has something I want,” Baikal told Yuze. “I need someone with enough skill at playing people to get him to give it to me with little complaint. Unless you’ve somehow developed that particular skillset…”
“Nope.” Yuze ran a hand through his light hair and shrugged. “I still trip over my own words, thanks.”
“Sometimes being a narcissist comes in handy,” Saint teased Kazimir, elbowing him lightly in the side.
“You’d all crash and burn without me,” Kazimir said.
“Andsometimes being a narcissist turns you into an egomaniac.”
“Those two things are more often one and the same,” Berga informed them, as though they really weren’t aware. “You should pay more attention in Professor Delmar’s class, Saint. It will be a riveting learning experience. He’s the most knowledgeable on the subject, after all.”
