Chapter 45
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Illium
GLN Corporate Megatower
Executive Conference Room
Nassana Dantius looked down at the datapad in front of her, fury and shock roiling through the core of her body as she glared at the GLN executive sitting across from her. "This is blackmail."
The krogan grinned, showing off row after row of teeth, impeccably dressed in a suit of light armor sized to fit his frame. "Nonsense, Miss Dantius. This is a business transaction. We have something you want, namely data acquired on some of the predilections of yourself and your interactions with your sisters, and you have something we want."
Nassana slammed a fist on the table, biotics flaring for a moment before she forcibly settled herself. Tempting as it was, she doubted she could permanently smear this arrogant humpback before his security team, which was doubtlessly monitoring the room, would take her out. "Damn you to the void, this is MY company, krogan! You do not get to dictate terms to me."
The krogan's smile stayed there, just as wide, those beady eyes fixed on her. "Alright then. Let me make a counter offer."
He slid a fresh dataslate across the table to her. Reading it, she blanched at the data on it, feeling her shoulders slump. "...Damn you all to hell. Fine. Fine. I won't forget this, you bastards."
The GLN exec looked supremely unconcerned as Nassana started filling out the initial set of paperwork, initialing, stamping, and allowing the notary VI in her omni-tool to uplink to Illium's network to finalize the deal she'd been offered at proverbial gunpoint. "I certainly hope not, Miss Dantius. We've had quite enough dealings with your company, after all, generally in a hostile manner. Besides, don't think of it as losing your entire company...Think of it as being given a chance to radically restructure. You still have your warehouses and one of your freight lines, which should give you a perfectly acceptable nest egg to get back on your feet from rents and the like."
Growling, Nassana stamped the last digital page and stood, snorting, ignoring the snotty primitive bastard sitting across from her as she swept out of the room, finally free of his hours of negotiating and haggling as those damned upstarts ripped her company away from her control.
She really wished she'd had her sisters killed several years ago, instead of letting them end up being used to help those bastards blackmail her with the splashback from their misdeeds. If GLN had carried out the hostile takeover they were threatening, well...she'd find herself ousted in minutes if THAT information got out to her own stockholders.
Oh, they'd pay for this.
Seething, pondering the best way to bring force to bear against them, she shouldered past another asari as she stormed out of the GLN Tower.
As she activated her omni-tool, connecting to the wider network now that she wasn't in the sealed conference room, she frowned at the number of messages queued up.
Before she could start reading them, a voice interrupted her musings.
"Nassana Dantius?"
Looking up, she huffed. Grand, and now the rent-a-cops wanted to harass her. "What do you want?"
The security officer smiled. Nassana felt a hint of unease, as that was not a nice smile at all. "Detective Anaya, Illium Law Enforcement, Nos Astra district. I'm afraid you're going to need to come with us, Miss Dantius. We have questions you are going to answer for us."
Snorting, Nassana crossed her arms, glaring at the rental cop. She might be hurt, but she was still far too busy for this. "Oh? And on what charges? I believe you'll need to speak to my attornies first, regardless."
The detective smiled mirthlessly. "Not quite. In this case, I've been deputized. Justicar?"
Nassana felt her blood freeze, hearing the clack of boots, seeing the distinctive form of an asari matriarch clad in the raiment of a Justicar. "...What?"
The Justicar looked down at her, face cold. "Nassana Dantius. In addition to your warehouses having several shipments of controlled, undeclared and unlicensed substances, your employees have been observed and found to be aiding renegade Ardat-Yakashi." Biotic energy gathered around the Justicar's hands. "You may aid this investigation voluntarily, or I will be forced, by the code, to pass judgement right here and right now."
Nassana felt something break as she fell to her knees. Near bankruptcy could be fought, but with an Asari justicar there to observe her crimes, she was finished. Glaring up at the gleaming GLN megascraper, Nassana let out a scream of pure rage even as the detective moved to cuff her hands behind her back and disable her biotic amp.
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
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Back in the conference room, Urdnot Charr double-checked his datawork, ensuring that everything was ready for GLN to take possession of Miss Dantius' former holdings.
He really had to hand it to the Boss...His bodyguard had a wicked sense of humor, honoring the spirit and the letter of their deal with Dantius. They hadn't tipped the authorities off about a single word of the sort of misdeeds her sisters got up to.
Any trouble she found herself in now would entirely be due to her own actions here on Illium.
Satisfied that he'd finished, he tapped a few keys on his dataslate, sending the various datapackets out and about to their respective departments. HR, Legal, PR, Advertising, Maintenance, Security...A thousand tiny details, it seemed.
Looking up, he started at the rotund figure sitting in the chair at the head of the table, a cane resting against the side of his seat, blinking and scrambling up to politely bob his crest politely to one of the most powerful Volus on Illium. "Boss! I didn't here you come in. Sorry about that!"
Waving a hand back to the chair, his boss, Kaknar Tar, bid him sit back down before coughing violently. Charr frowned, looking at the Boss with worry. That...that sounded unhealthy, even for the chronically wheezy Volus. "...Boss?"
Holding up a finger, Boss tapped a button on his encounter suit, then relaxed, letting out a wheezing sigh. "My apologises, Charr. I hadn't wanted you to see that. I understand the transaction with Miss Nassana has gone well?"
Charr nodded, still looking worriedly at Boss. "Yessir. We'll be able to take possession of the Dantius Towers by the end of the week, and Nos Astra PD and a Justicar just picked her up outside, according to Security."
Kaknar Tar leaned back, his elaborate red encounter suit gleaming in the room's lights as he let out a sigh. "Good...Good. Mister Charr, I must say, I am impressed. I will admit, I only hired you on originally because of Miss Ereba's recommendation, but you have gone above and beyond in your duties working for me."
The krogan ducked his head, scratching his crest sheepishly. "Ehhh...Well, I know everyone thinks krogan are warriors and nothing more, Boss, but my clan's always had a strong mercantile bent, too. Economic warfare or something like that. Anyways, I enjoy my work for you, Boss...And...Boss, are you okay?"
The red-suited Volus folded his fingers across his belly. "In all honesty, Mister Charr...No. No I'm not. I know I don't look it now, but I used to be a humble asteroid miner. It's a dangerous job, that, and I took a suit puncture back then. I survived, and thought that would be the end of it...But according to my private doctors, it's just taken this long for symptoms to manifest. That puncture weakened my lungs, and while I've held out this long, my symptoms have been getting worse in recent days."
Charr felt alarmed, half-standing. "...What are you saying, Boss?"
The Volus chuckled, just a bit weakly. "I'm saying, Mister Charr, that I think it's time for me to retire. GLN's my creation, but it's always been bigger than just me. According to the doctors, I could be fine for years, or I could deteriorate in a day now. I'm on borrowed time, Mister Charr, and there's far too many people who depend on GLN for it to fall or stumble because of that."
Charr sat, staring at the Boss, still shocked. "...So, what are we going to do about it, Sir?"
Kaknar huffed, wheezing, and flicked his omni-tool up, sending an encrypted file to Charr's device. As he read it, Charr felt one of his hearts start to clench, his stomachs pulling backflips as he looked at the text floating emotionlessly before him. "...Mister Tar...are you sure about this?"
Kaknar Tar chuckled quietly. "Hit accept on that file, Mister Charr, and you'll be given my shares of GLN as well as my official endorsement for taking over the big chair. I've already cleared it with the rest of the Executive Board, and we all agree that while you're relatively young, you've got the right stuff to make it as a CEO. The Dantius Merger was the last test we needed, and you passed it with flying colors."
The krogan sat, stunned, and looked down at his hands, at the table before him. Looking up, he nodded once, and tapped the document. "Yes sir. I won't let you down, Boss."
The volus leaned down, huffing as he pulled a small metal case up and slid it over the table. Opening it, the krogan eyed the small square of polycirc with some curiosity. "Well, a going away gift, then. That, young Charr, is a signed and accepted broker contract with the Nerazim. They've agreed to contract with GLN to provide supplies on a large scale for themselves and the Quarian Flotilla."
Charr stared at the small data chip, then up at his Boss. "...Spirits of the spaceways, Boss...How the hell did you pull THAT off?"
The volus let out another chuckle, pausing as it turned wet at the end. "Eeegh...Hah, well, let an old volus keep a few secrets, hm?"
Charr paused, then eyed his boss. "...Alright, fine...But still, hot damn, Boss. That's going to be worth a good sized fortune, right there."
Groaning, Kaknar Tar pulled himself to his feet, leaning on the cane. "Well, that's that, then. You're officially the CEO incumbent, now, and I'm just a filthy rich and retired volus who's going to disappear from the public eye and enjoy a nice, quiet retirement. Give my regards to your Blue Rose, will you?"
Smiling, Urdnot Charr nodded, walking around the table to get the door for his ailing mentor and boss. "Of course, Mister Tar. I'll walk you out. I take it Miss Nis will be waiting for you at the airpad with your personal car?"
The volus chuckled, wheezing as he slowly moved. "Hah, that she will. Always treasure competent, loyal subordinates, young krogan, for they're worth their weight in platinum."
Chatting about small inconsequential things, Urdnot Charr escorted his former Boss to the private airpad, nodding politly at Miss Nis as the silent quarian waited for their employer with his private car.
As the pair left, Charr watched until he couldn't see the hovercar anymore. Stepping out to the edge of the pad, he looked down, eyes roaming over the cityscape of Illium before he let out a quick sigh. "Well...Boss left me a last job, so I guess I'd better get to it!"
He wondered if his dear Blue Rose had been expecting this when she recommended him to her employer all those years ago, and looked forwards to letting her and their darling flower know the bittersweet news.
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++Update to Legion Covert Network. Agent Red and Agent Green, reporting successful exfiltration of assignment. Current infiltration frames have boarded exfiltration vessel. Legion covert assets have been withdrawn from GLN Corporation.++
-+Network acknowledges. Return to the Rockyard for frame rebuilding and redeployment.+-
++Acknowledged. Agents are en route.++
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