A/N: If you ever wonder what is going on, refer back to these two omakes: Origin, Origins II
Origins III
It's time like these I learn to live again. Setting up an ambush for your so called 'boss' gets the blood pumping, you know? Murder's always a risky business but if I only consider it taking out the trash, it's not really murder anymore is it? It's a surefire win for me today. Gang leader, here I come.
"Schult, is Dar Mo in there?"
"Yeah. He said to come on in."
"Anyone with him?"
"He's with a hooker."
"Are you the only one on guard duty?"
"... Yeah?"
Good.
I turn around to the two armed guys behind me. I nod at them.
"Let's go."
Us three walk into the Oaf's part of the building and the messenger slides in behind us. All three of them are enforcers I've gotten to follow me. Schult is slightly iffy but if he decides to back out at the last second I have the two others with me. I'm slightly suspicious that the Oaf doesn't have any of his other enforcers present but it just makes it easier to deal with him. If he feels comfortable in his position, all the better. He won't be comfortable for long.
The two extras stand on each side of the door while the messenger and I walk through. Dar Mo lounges on his comforter with a girl bouncing on top of him.
"Ah!"
Dar Mo grunts and then pushes the girl off of him once he's finished. The girl notices me and Schult and then quickly leaves after grabbing her clothes. My lips turn up in disgust as I stop to stand in front of his bed. Dar is content to just lie on it.
Fucking with no shame. That should be me.
"Koonel, you bastard! What's going on that you need to interrupt a good time, huh?"
I growl.
"Nothing. And that's the problem! While you lie here enjoying some cooch, there're opportunities out there being ignored!"
The Oaf glares at me. He fixes his pants and then stands up tall. His lekku are twitching something fierce. If he's trying to be intimidating, it's failing. He's too much of a coward to intimidate me. Dar points a finger at me.
"
Nothing is being ignored. We're doing great here and when the other gangs aren't looking down our backs, we'll be ready."
"Looking down our- what?"
I shake my head in disbelief. I snort.
"The other gangs aren't even paying attention. They're too busy fighting each other! Now's the perfect time to expand and you're not doing shit!"
"Are you blind! The Wraiths and the Sentinels have been ramping up their recruitment with no fighting between them. They've also been nosing into our territory! What part of that paints a picture of them fighting each other?"
I hesitate for a second and then wonder what Dar's been smoking. The last I heard, there had been a couple of fights breaking out between them and
our territory has been clear for months.
"What do ya- Have you lost your fucking mind? None of that is- no, whatever. The gang's had it with you. We all could have been living the life if it wasn't for your pussyfooting around!"
Dar becomes furious.
"That's enough! Get the fuck out of here! Schult, kick him out!"
Schult looks to me and I shake my head. I wave at Schult to leave.
"I'll deal with this, Schult. Join the others and make sure nobody comes in."
Schult hesitates with a glance at the door. Dar yells at him.
"What are you fucking waiting for? Kick him out!"
Schult looks at me and I stare him down. I act like I'm scratching my back but really, all I'm doing is patting the concealed pistol I'm wearing. He stiffens up and then shakily nods his head. While exiting, he closes the door. The soft thud it makes seems to echo. I take out the pistol strapped behind me and point it at the Oaf. Dar sees it and his eyes widen and he backs up.
"Cünuel! Help!"
When no one barges in, Dar steps back further and trips onto his bed. He waves a hand at me.
"The rest of the gang will tear you limb from limb! Cünuel is outside that door and he'll kill the both of you!"
I tilt my head and then shake it again. Schult didn't say anything about Cünuel and he was nowhere to be seen.
"Your little guard dog isn't here to keep me from doing what's best."
My finger pulls down on the trigger. A red blast shoots out and makes a whole in Dar Mo's chest. His body slides down the wall.
"Good riddance, you damn Oaf."
I move to put the pistol back behind me but stop when two shots ring out. I swing around to the door but a blaster round grazes my leg. My aim goes wide and my shot misses. The next thing I know I get hit in the head and my pistol is smacked away. I crumble against the floor. I look up in pain to find Schult pointing his pistol at me.
"You fuckin' bastard!" I scream. "You could have had what you wanted when I take over but now you'll just find yourself in the trash! Galeck and Maren, shoot him- … already ..."
My voice hitches and then dies. Galeck's body is slumping in front of the door. Stepping over him is the last person I wanted to see.
"
You…" I snarl.
Cünuel looks at me with a neutral gaze. His eyes sweep the room and land on the body of Dar Mo. His eyes close and he sighs. He steps to the side to allow Martem and a few of the other remaining enforcers to walk in. My mind might have been playing tricks on me but it almost looked like he
relaxed when he realized the Oaf was dead.
Cünuel looks at all of them and then finally me.
"Dar's dead."
I spit at Cün and say, "He deserved it."
Cün stares at me for a moment and then shakes his head. He utters one word.
"Schult."
Pain lances through my side as a blaster bolt misses my heart and instead digs into the area just below my armpit. The pain clouds my mind but I'm still able to hear Martem chuckle.
"Damn Schult, you really can't aim worth a damn can you?"
"Shut up."
"Schult, hand me your blaster."
My sight clears up enough to see Schult hand over his pistol to Cünuel. Cün then takes it and aims it directly at me. My mind works overtime to try to find a way out of this.
"You wouldn't! You yourself are spineless and won't do it yourself, I know! Who would lead you? You need someone to follow! You need someone to tell you what the opportunities are! You would lead the gang to ruin if it was just you! I can do it! I can make this gang the best! That was the whole point of this, see? You all need me!"
A moment passes and anger shoots through me as everyone looks to
Cün. His face is a vision of apathy but I can see the fist he's balled up at his side.
"Even if all of that were true …" My manic smile freezes at his next words. "No one wants to follow a backstabber."
I try to lunge at him but I don't make it off the ground. The only thing I see before I suddenly go numb is red.
I lower the pistol and then let it hang in the air in the direction of Schult. Schult slowly takes it back. Everybody is quiet. Murder is one thing but betrayal is another. We all knew something like this was eventually going to happen, but no one thought it would end in both of them dying.
Schult shuffles a little then asks, "What took you so long?"
I point at the extra enforcers I had gathered who are all fidgeting.
"Getting backup. I thought Koonel would have more men helping him than he ended up bringing."
It's a truth hiding up the actual answer. The plan was that I was always going to be too late. I search Koonel's and Dar Mo's bodies under another moment of uncertain silence. Finding only a few loose credit chips on Dar, I turn back to the group. Martem looks around. He finally looks to me and shrugs.
"So, boss. What's next?"
Everyone looks to me again and I do my best to hide the same grimace I wanted to show the first time they looked to me. I look again at the cooling bodies of Koonel and Dar Mo. Koonel's face still shows signs of the fury he died with while Dar's displays a rictus of fear. A single mantra starts to grow in my mind.
This can be you.
I smother the shudder that tries to crawl up my spine. I nod. I look at everyone and ask a single question.
"You all know the old cantina that just closed down?"
The enforcers all nod their heads. I'm not surprised. It was a regular joint everyone seemed to gather at to drink or pass the time. When it shut down half a month ago, a lot of people were pissed. The next true cantina was a floor up in Dark Wraith territory. I chose to ignore that my new … boss had it shut down. It helped that I wasn't a regular customer. Besides, it'll be reopening soon enough.
"Get everyone to gather there in the main bar area. Everybody needs to understand what happened and what's happening. We're having a meeting about what has occurred. The doors will be open. Make sure
everyone attends. The Abyss Watchers are changing leadership."
Just not to who you all are thinking ...
A/N: It's times like these, time and time again.
