-- 2 months prior to the voyage --
The King of the Mafia was on his throne, and with his one good eye he cast his gaze over his kingdom. He observed as he turned in his armchair, looking from one gigantic screen to another – three of them, suspended high above, stretching across the synthetic sky of the great white conical in which he sat. He rotated slowly; partly to savour each on-screen drama, but partly because penguin flippers don’t provide all that much leverage. Here, he was privy to the most intimate of struggles, the dirtiest of ploys, the rawest of humanity; even though he sat alone. But that didn’t bother him. There was plenty of entertainment on hand anyway.
Besides, he was expecting company. Right about – now.
*Whoosh*
Through the sliding doors strode a dark literary female sporting a mane of black hair that reached beyond her waist, sporting a look on her face of summoned confidence that tried not to waver. She had made sure to wrap up well – she didn’t share the same appreciation for the cold as penguins do. Though not short, it took her a good length of time to traverse the great span of glowing white floor.
“Ah, Vector, it has been so long!”, greeted webadict with warmth and benevolence. “Please, do take a seat”, he said, indicating the human sized chair on the other side of his desk. He scooched up his own swivel chair so that he could be on eye level with his much taller comrade. She had proven to be one of his best agents; one of the most dedicated to the Mafiahood, certainly, but also deserving of being counted among the most capable and surefooted agents that he had seen. She had even begun running her own operations – operations like those he usually ordered and supervised, operations like those that he watched on his vast screens. She was an individual that took the advancement of the Cause very seriously.
“It has indeed, my King”, she returned with a smile. She made sure she wasn't off-guard.
“Yes, yes… I hear that your sister is to be married?”. He even cut to the chase with the small-talk.
Her hesitation was barely perceptible – she was unused to such familiarity from this regarded figure – but she recovered, and answered pleasantly in the affirmative. “The wedding is only a few months away, and I hope to be there to see them on their special day.”
“Indeed?”. His interest seemed pique. “Though she lives a long way from here, does she not?”
“That would be right – I expect I’ll have to make arrangements for a ferry across. Although, I’ll admit that the thought of such a voyage, at that time of year, is… well, daunting.”
She decided not to ask how he could have known where her sister lived.
“Oh, yes. Still. One knows how it is to have business where the ends justify the means”, he chuckled.
“No doubt about that”, thought Vector to herself.
There was a slight pause. Vector looked over the penguins shoulder to an incongruent mess of jewels, gold and treasure chests piled unceremoniously to the rear.
Webadict had followed her gaze, and his candid smile was replaced with concern. “Ah, you see that the larder is starting to look a little bare”, he said.
Vector agreed. Whilst what treasure remained was no doubt of fantastic worth, it was but a molehill compared to the mountain of wealth that has first been accumulated there.
“Still, not to worry. I have my methods of securing… booty.”
“Well, we have been running a lot of operations lately, and the agents need paying”, she said philosophically.
Webadict turned to face her. “Agents? Operations?”, he smirked. “Are you still pretending to believe all of that so late in the game? For that is why you’re here, aren’t you?”
Vector stared at him, looking acutely puzzled.
He sighed. “Your feigned astonishment is mocking me, Vector. I know what you’re going to ask about.”
Her shoulders dropped. “I thought you might have.”
“Clever girl like you? Oh yes. I knew you would see, one day”
“So, I’m right then?”
He smiled serenely again. “Come now. I’m not going to make it that easy for you.”
Vector sighed. “It all became too… improbable. Too many of ours started siding with the town, and town members were turning traitor to their own all of the time. What you said, about them being assigned undercover town alignments, or that they really had turned townie; I didn’t doubt any of that. Not at the beginning anyway. But then, I saw it happening in every single operation. Good members of the Mafiahood, flipping town at the drop of the hat… we get them patched up and put back in the field, eventually, but still, it was too much to be co-incidence.”
Webadict nodded. He prompted her: “But…”
“But that means that this whole setup… the whole of the Mafiahood even, down to every last operation… it’s a sham?”
“Well, I wouldn’t use the word sham – but, otherwise, yes”, he continued to smile.
Vector looked at the floor in silence. She had nursed her suspicions for months, but that didn’t help the sickness in her stomach. How could she have been so stupid, to believe in the Cause in the first place?
“But you have another question”, continued webadict patiently.
Vector raised her head, her look hollow. “So if that isn’t what this whole thing is, then… then what is it?”
The King pressed the tips of his flippers together in a ‘V’. He was grinning, if penguins are capable of such a thing. He leaned forward until he nearly toppled off of his chair.
“What it is, my dear Vector, is entertainment!”, he finished with triumph.
“You see these screens? I sit here, all day, and watch the operations unfold, the townies and agents play their little game of Find the Mafia. I set the pieces in their places; I give them a motive, a promise of a reward, and a colour – black or white. Did it ever occur to you how much fun it is to watch the pieces move about the board, when you know who is black and who is white; and yet know that they do not know? I watch as the pawns, with their ambition and straightforwardness, are preyed upon for their submissiveness; as the knights, with their exuberance and dexterity, are bemoaned for their derision of convention; as the Queens, with their power and discernment, are loathed for their reputation. You, Vector, simply saw the pieces re-painted too many times, and that those that were… lost were, somehow, returned to the board. The only person that controls all, that sees all - and that the pieces cannot touch - is the King. Me. And so, the game never ends. For me? Entertainment eternal, king forever. Brilliant, isn’t it?”
She was now in his confidence. It was the truth she had wanted – and she knew that it would be the end of her.
--
They talked, but their words were empty. Vector was, undoubtedly, affected, but controlled her emotions enough to steer herself through a minefield of affected sincerity, measured enthusiasm and questionable morals. For nothing. But she knew that. She knew that the outcome of this, in the end, was inevitable. Both of them did. Both knew that whatever they said was a façade; because the hunt was on; because they were both perfect deceivers; because they both knew. Even when she bid webadict goodbye; even when he implored her to “call me wuba”; even when she turned to leave, knowing what she must do; even when he reclined in his chair, knowing what he was capable of; even then, they knew. And they knew that the other person knew. The knowing stabbed like knives.
One knew something that she shouldn’t. The other knew what must be done.
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Topic: Apparently the Fanfic thread (Read 45357 times)