Chapter 16: Fear and Trembling

[Heikki Toivonen]

"Right...I understand. But, it is a lot to sell...quickly. I wish Bonifaz was here. Well, maybe we should unload it and drive the truck into a lake." Heikki suggests. "At least if we get rid of the truck, it is less obvious that we have the contents of it."

Heikki calls Amelia over to help unload, but he waits for Archer's final word on this, since he doesn't want to do anything stupid or that makes selling the drugs more difficult.

[Archer Aylmer]

"We can dump the truck, fine. I don't care. But we need somewhere else to keep the red leaf first. Is there any place you can think of? If not, then we had better keep the truck... But maybe... Paint it another color and take the tags off. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a bunch of drugs you can't move."

I don't make any moves to help in the unloading process. I feel like this is one of those things that can go very wrong very quickly.

"Heikki... You... Were not made for such an interesting life."

[Heikki Toivonen]

"I spent most of my life picking strawberries." Heikki replies with a shrug. "So no, I was made to work. I guess." He states, but doesn't want to linger on this topic. "Well, even if we paint it, it will look pretty obviously....a large suspicious semi. Maybe we could just move the drugs inside into the basement and...as for moving them, well, maybe we could use an Artz Lehrer truck instead." Heikki suggests. He feels that it is urgent to start moving on this, so he starts unloading it with Amelia, and moving the boxes into the basement, which is still quite messy.

He isn't sure if Archer approves of this idea, but he feels stressed to do something.

[Archer Aylmer]

I watch Amelia and Heikki move the Red Leaf from the truck to the basement, and find all of this to be a pretty terrible plan. I feel like I'm going to get shot. I can very vividly imagine a scene in which crazy druggies or corrupt officials roll up on us and start firing their guns.

"I'm just saying... That... We don't want to keep the drugs here. We really should try to find somewhere else to put them or sell them... As soon as possible. You cannot keep stolen drugs at the house you're staying at, Heikki. You really really can't. Get it? I think if we found... An abandoned anything, anywhere... That would be fantastic."

[Heikki Toivonen]

"Oh, well, I guess you could be right." Heikki says after carrying the last of hundreds of boxes into the basement. He sighs. Maybe this was a bad idea. "Well, I guess...hmm...well, Amelia can help us protect them. I guess we should have unloaded it all somewhere else, but really I was kind of frightened to go driving with that truck again. I guess I felt safer here."

"I just feel...unsafe and I think anything we do is pretty risky. I don't know of any abandoned places. I guess...maybe we could have stored them in an Artz Lehrer warehouse with company goods. Maybe we still can."

[Amelia 20]

Amelia helps Heikki unload the boxes then, when they are unloaded, she takes the truck for a drive. She leaves Heikki and Archer at the mansion and drives the truck to remote lake. Then, she drives the truck right into the water. After it is submurged, she breaks a window and escapes the vehicle herself. She gets soaked, but, Creditors are not bothered by water. She is a little upset that he facemakeup has smeared off though. She looks at her own reflection in the water and sees her more..normal Creditor face. She stares for a long while. Her pink hair drips into her face. Finally, she turns away from the reflection and starts off for home. She starts walking at first since she is in no hurry.

[Archer Aylmer]

"I guess we'll just deal with the owners of these drugs... When they show up... If they show up. It's too late now. I suppose we're all going to die someday. God, this was bad planning."

I sigh and watch Amelia drive off in the truck. Amelia is the only one that ever gets anything done in this organization. I'm convinced.

"Heikki, you know... You're too girly. You really are. We need to man you up. You can... Roll in some dirt and get beat up. I think that would do it."

[Durante Dushkriti-Fahid]

Dante sat on the ground in silence, hunched slightly over so that Ceph couldn't see his face. There was a mixture of hurt and confusion splayed across there and his eyebrows were knitted together. He didn't even know the other man but already, he didn't want to be left alone. He glanced up towards him, half-noticing Ceph's red irises.

“You know... your actually right,” Dante said slowly, instinctively rubbing his shoulder, “It's their fault that everythings the way it is, and its bullshit. It's all bullshit!” Was there actually any way to change the world?

Dante went silent as Ceph spoke, but he was intently listening. Hanging onto his every word.

“Betraying the organization? Dante said as if it was a ridiculous notion. He wasn't impoverished, he wasn't seen as incompetent, he was seen as the Blessed themselves—or the Blessed guardian. He didn't feel like he fit in those shoes because he'd often lay in his room and think about how bad things were. But betraying the organization? It was like biting your master's hand. He was an obedient dog.

Dante was innocent in all this, wasn't he? Yeah, sure, he wanted to change the world. He wanted the trees back, he wanted the animals back, he didn't want his compassion seen as weakness. He didn't want his past as a lab rat to be covered up, ignored.

“But w-wait—!”

That meaningful glance was all Dante needed as he took a deep breath, watching Ceph's back as he retreated down the hallway. He was so silent, the way he walked was so weird—like some kind of shadow. He finally pushed himself to his feet, gritted his teeth and kicked a nearby table.

“Godamnit!”

Where was he going to meet the Mr. J? Should he call Alter back and apologize. He grabbed the side of his head, cursing his headache that was coming on. He grabbed the camera from the top of a young man's corpse and drew it close to him, he then headed down the hallway.

[Heikki Toivonen]

"I am a nihilist, I don't need to "man" up because the definition of masculinity is socially constructed. But, I admit that by society's current standards, I am not very manly." Heikki replies. He feels vaguely insulted. "I guess...I don't have much experience with many things. I am still learning." He admits.

So, there he is with a basement full of drugs and other items from Allmart.

"Well, what do you suppose we do from here? I am not very good at planning it seems."

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph was currently perched ontop a rooftop of a tall building.. This is where he would go to whenever he needed a few minutes to sit down and think of his next course of action. Rooftops were always the best, since no one could see him from below.. and even if they did, they would often mistake him for a Crow or something.

Suddenly, one of his pockets vibrate.. and he casually takes out his cell phone to answer the call. He didn't need to glance at the caller ID to know who it was..

He flipped it open and raised it up to his ear, a meloncholy expression spreading across his face as he absent mindedly stared at the streets below.

"Yes Ma'am."

[Li Violette]

"This is Li. I don't have a lot of time, I rarely do, but I just wanted to call and give you some encouragement. I know that Red Infinity is very small right now, but I think your work is important. How are things?" I ask kindly. I get up and make sure that my office door is locked. I then go to the window and look out of it as I talk to him on the phone. Suddenly I feel very tired and overwhelmed by my work load and the daunting task of building a new movement.

[Archer Aylmer]

((Nap time.))

"I find it really hypocritical to say that just because something is a societal construct, it is automatically invalid. I choose to reject or accept different standards based on my own needs, rather than claim any sort of axiomatic knowledge of which is and is not valid, and so... By my own standards... Heikki, you need to man up. I'm... Going to make a phone call."

I yawn and head inside the house. I don't realize that I'm being particularly insulting, just as I don't typically realize when I am insulted by someone else. It's just part of my personality.

After going through my list of numbers I find the one I'm looking for and use Bonifaz's phone to dial Jack. I've known him vaguely for some time, since we're both in the Mafia, and he usually employees the sort of buffoons who love illicit drugs. I'm sure we could make some sort of sale, provided I can get a hold of him.

I dial his number and wait impatiently as the phone rings.

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

"I am in one piece and well.. if that is what you mean." He replies, his calm and bone chillingly blunt tone of voice never changed.. even for the person that he had considered to be his boss. A leader.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that soon it will be widespread news throughout the Invisible Hand that I have defected." Ceph released somewhat of a sigh after he spoke, closing his eyes before opening them again to stare straight ahead over the rooftops of the other buildings that stood tall within the city.

"It's only a matter of time until I got more company than I'm comfortable with."

[Li Violette]

"True, you could be in trouble. I could perhaps talk to Ariel about it. You could always claim mental health issues or that you were upset about the inferiority of those you work with and lashed out. The inferiority excuse seems to work well." I suggest to him.

"So you...no longer wish to work for the Invisible Hand? It is too much? I could try to find other work for you to do. I think...things can work out, as long as we are careful." I state to Cephrien.

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph listens to her suggestion about claiming insanity in order to get off the Invisible Hand's bad side. For some reason, he found this rather humorous. His lips slightly curled into a smirk as he shook his head slowly.

"It is too late to go back to the Invisible Hand. If I did, they will surely keep me. If you know what I mean." He spoke, his tone of voice making it impossible to tell whether or not he was using a sense of humor.

It was true though, he had ultimately been marked as a Rogue Operative and The Invisible Hand never dealt well with traitors. There was no use turning back.. his place was with Red Infinity now.. an small, but promising Organization that would soon see the downfall of the Manalists Organization.



"All I need now, are your orders."