He remembered a door like this one, just a little more than a decade ago. When it slid open, inside was a handsome human male, with long blonde hair, and the kind of muscle-bound physique that surfers and competitive swimmers develop. He was barely eighteen year old. Van Dien angrily remembered how the cocky youth was smirking at him as he entered the room.
Van Dien remembered saying to him, “So, why don’t you tell me something about your friend who was with you at the beach?”
He recalled the young man’s rambling reply that was probably the result of his drug induced state of euphoria. “TO HELL WITH HIM! HE HAD IT COMING! He was a spoiled brat! He had everything given to him! He had the best of everything…he could have done anything, and he could have ended up as a real somebody. Unlike some of us, he had everything going for him! And he just pissed it all away because he was a punk ass bitch! He was a whiner, a sniveler, and yes! I think he got what was coming to him. The dude made a lot of poor decisions…all he wanted to do was look cool in other peoples’ eyes, and have people think of him as some kind of high and mighty power broker…a mover and shaker. He wanted to be the guy with the big wad of cash, and the big drug stash, if ya know what I’m sayin’. Yeah, he was a real big talker. He talked to me a lot…he talked to me like I was some sort of nigger! And I was always being nice to the guy, always standing up for him, protecting him from guys that wished to rearrange his face since his big mouth was constantly writing checks that his skinny, Kupano ass couldn’t cash! And what the hell is this all about anyway? I was a good friend to the guy…why did shit have to get all messed up and turn out like this? AND I THINK YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF, PIG!”
At that moment, he remembered his fist, striking the young man’s face.
The door suddenly opened with a click and Van Dien went back to concentrating on the task at hand. He stepped into a small white room that was brightly lit. The room contained only one table with a couple of chairs situated across from each other. He walked over and sat down across from Jhett Jonez, who was looking like he had been properly cleaned-up. His hair was washed, and still a bit wet from the shower he had taken, making patches of moisture on the orange jail uniform he was dressed in.
Van Dien displayed a confident smile for a few seconds. He appeared smug as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He became stoic again as he took a cigarette out of the pack, rolled it between his fingers, and looked at Jhett for a few more seconds. He then lit the cigarette and took a long drag.
He exhaled and coldly said, “So…how about it, Jhett? Why don’t you just go ahead and tell me what exactly has been happening on my planet?”
“Well,” Jhett said, his face contorted into a cocky grin, “It’s like this, Marco is gone…and completely out of the picture. Makula Pilikoa is dead. What more could a competitor in this business possibly want?”
Van Dien asked calmly, “What where you doing for Marco?”
“We were just picking up some supplies for him, when we were jumped by those hoodlums.”
“Tell me the truth, Jonez…where you responsible for that slaughter in the warehouse district?”
Jhett snickered. “No…but I know Marco didn’t sell them those guns they shot us all to hell with.”
“We saw the slaughter, Jhett…over one hundred young men are dead. But I don’t care about the dead gangsters. I only want to know how three young men, who might be affiliated with The Evil, stole Marco’s othermerchandise from that warehouse. I am curious…in addition to all the guns and ammo, just how many more of these…items…which Marco brought here, are currently on my planet at the moment?”
Jhett grinned ear to ear as he said, “I dunno what you’re talking about. But let’s face it, some of the kids on this planet, just ain’t interested in participating in after school activities at the good old YMCA anymore. Maybe you shouldn’t have cut all the money from those social programs, like midnight basketball, if you desired to have some well-rounded youth on this planet…who don’t want your destruction.”
Van Dien hated it when people smiled in these sorts of situations. He began to inhale on his cigarette in a quite noticeable fashion. His nostrils flared a bit, and his eyes narrowed as he said, “you are lying to me…aren’t you Jonez?”
Again, with the annoying smile, “what makes you think that?”
Van Dien threw his diminished cigarette into the corner. “I’ve seen the police reports, all those recent murders in this city…they reek of your handiwork. Why don’t you cut the crap, and tell me where Marco’s Cutz labs and storage spaces are at? Do us all a favor, Jonez, make this easy on yourself. I might just cut you a deal if you play ball.”
“Well, here is the deal,” Jhett said in his cocky voice. “Marco never had any Cutz producing facilities…they all belong to Makula’s people. And it’s too bad that Marco is getting his good name dragged through the mud because of this.”
“Don’t mess with me, Jonez.”
Jhett said, “Ya see now, that was the thing…yeah, maybe Marco sold some Cutz, I wouldn’t know. My guys were just hired to be a moving company. We don’t ask what they want us to load up onto the ship and run through space border patrols…we don’t care, we just assume that they hire us because we’re so good at lifting heavy objects.”
“You’re also really good at killing people,” Van Dien said, “you better start saying something that I really want to hear.”
Jhett grinned gleefully as he spoke, “maybe Marco started showing his face in Makula’s territory just a little too much. Maybe Makula got a little pissed about it. Again, I ain’t gonna be of much help to ya in that department. BUT! If you want someone to tell you where some Cutz labs and other gangster strongholds are located at, I suggest you go talk to a couple of jerks named Herb Swenson and Bronson Petrilock. Ya see, it was they who really worked for Macro. Those two halfwit henchmen probably know everything that you want to know, not me and Bloke…so ya might as well just let us go.”
“Yeah right,” Van Dien said. “We arrested Bronson and Herb just before we got you…and they sold you and that behemoth brother of yours, out faster than you can blink. They told us exactly where to find you. I know all about your story, Mr. Jonez. I know The Military is looking for you and your kin…dead…or alive. And even though a few of your fellow cyborg brethren were killed back at the warehouse facility, my contacts in The Military are still going to pay me a handsome sum of money to hand just you and Bloke over to them.”
Jhett seemed to get a bit worried as he said, “Oh come on! Ya can’t do that!”
“I intend fulfill my end of the bargain,” Van Dien said as he lit another cigarette. “Tomorrow morning, you and that mountainous brother of yours will be put onto induced comas, placed on a prison ship, and transported to the penal colony on the planet Farcry. But thank you for the information Jhett, I’ll be sure to tell Bronson and Herb about how it was you who turned rat. I’m sure they will both have something to say to you when they get to Farcry as well.”
Van Dien gave Jhett a cocky smirk.
Jhett was a bit worried, but he didn’t want to give the white haired man the pleasure of seeing him in a compromised position as he gave him an insolent grin for a few more seconds and then said, “You know what? I think there is something else you want to ask me.”
“And what would that be?” Van Dien said, his grin getting bigger.
“What I saw last night, the weapon in the warehouse that almost blew me and Bloke away, that was not your handiwork.”
“And what are you getting at, Jhett?”
Jhett chuckled, “I’ve been closely watching all the strange things that have going on here. All these, unfortunate people, that have died…yeah, I was responsible for some of them. But there are some murders, a lot of murders that I can’t be held responsible for. Those murders were perfect.”
“It is time for you to make your p
oint, Mr. Jones,” Van Dien said politely with a sinister look on his face.
Jhett felt his heart beat a bit faster as he said, “I think you might want to reconsider putting me on that prison ship. I could be an asset to you.”
“How’s that?”
“I know there is someone on this planet,” Jhett said with confidence. “Someone, who’s done some real evil things in the past. He’s done some horrible things and he’s gonna keep doing them, simply because it’s the only way he knows how to live…it’s the only way he knows how to get by.”
“Your point?”
“He’s here…and now that myself, and the rest of my kin…are all out of the picture…he’s the only gun for hire left on a world that needs a real good cleaning job.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s out there, I know he’s out there, waiting for the opportunity…to strike,” Jhett said as his voice began to sound malicious. “Funny thing about Ailana, monopolies are welcomed, protected, and respected, until they begin work against the people who wanted them in the first place. Ya see, this is how it is supposed to work in a true Capitalist society…it’s not the laissez-faire part that generates freedom…it’s the honest competition that makes everyone free. If someone honestly produces a better mousetrap, well then people are free to fork over their money to whoever did the best job. However, since there are other mousetraps, which might be just as good, on the market then whoever produces the best one still has to ask a fair price for it. People don’t become enslaved under Capitalism because corporations have to compete, in an honest fashion, for labor, which drives up the price of that labor and allows the workers to have some say in the quality of their lives. If a government acts like an impartial referee, instead of a player, a true Capitalist society becomes populated with well informed, free citizens, who aren’t getting taken to the cleaners, because their employers, and the corporations - who they have to fork over their hard earned money to for goods and services - cannot take advantage of them because competitors and government regulations keep them honest. The only problem is on Ailana is, we have monopolies, made up of financial firms and industries, that have been deemed too big to fail, and they can thus screw over whoever they want without consequence because they bought and paid for the government with their lobbyists and financial contributions! On Ailana, Objectivist Capitalism has been thrown out the window…all because someone really believed that competition and government regulation should not be a part of the equation. Oh sure, the fat cats just love to convince the common man that Capitalism is alive and well here and that anybody who works hard can get earn whatever amount of honest dollars they so desire…but all that talk about free markets and fair trade and how taxes and government regulations are bad…it’s just a smokescreen! We got plenty of so called, Capitalists, who wouldn’t survive a day without the people in the government who they have cozied up to despite the fact the prophet of profit has made it abundantly clear that true Capitalists would never need lobbyists! Have you ever noticed that on Ailana, corporations don’t need to lobby the government…because your bullshit system has allowed them to become the government?”
Van Dien rolled his eyes and said, “Jonez, make your point already!”
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, you only have one contract killer left on Ailana, and he got that way because, obviously…he’s the best! He out competed everyone…and now he’s tipping the scales in his favor…and since he’s what you might call a true Capitalist…he don’t care about the fact that what he’s doing to make more and more money…are negatively affecting anyone. Ya see, in his mind…it’s all about him. He’s truly selfish…he’s a true individual…and he’s gonna start steam-rolling over people who stand in his way of the almighty dollar!”
“I don’t think you’re making any sense here, Jhett.”
“Am I?” Jhett said with enthusiasm, “Think about it! It’s pretty obvious that he’s been contracting independently behind your back now…he’s experiencing the freedom and joy of making money for himself for the first time, and he’s going to want to do more and more of it. Admit it, you thought you made the perfect killer, and you were right. Only now, he’s gotten so good at it, that you’ve lost control of him, and he’s in a position to pull your strings now. He’s officially got the ability to change the outcome of this game you are playing…and that should scare the living shit out of you!”
Van Dien stared at the muscular man in front of him and flicked his cigarettes ashes onto the table as he said, “Jhett, you may find this amusing, but I assure you…I have everything under control. Nothing happens on this planet without my knowledge of it. And nothing commences without my say in the matter.”
Van Dien took a drag from his cigarette, exhaled the smoke into Jhett’s face and said, “I’m sure I will be able to control this planet’s newest, and most successful businessman, just like I’ve done with all the rest.”
“Don’t count on it,” Jhett said. “He ain’t got no soul. He won’t have any sort of compassion!”
Van Dien remained cold and stoic as he said, “I have no compassion either, Jhett…so in that regard…I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”
“This is your last chance, let me go. I can get him for you. I can kill him before it’s too late. Think about it! I’m the only one who could kill a monster like that before someone else starts paying him to go hunting for you! Come on, man! I know all about the allies and enemies you’ve made for yourself. I know that none of em’ can be trusted. Can’t you see what is going on? It’s pretty clear that there is something else happening on Ailana. Come on man, put two and two together, Loko Kalaheva’s death, Makula Pilikoa’s death, and the gang violence that erupted because of it, that shit wasn’t a coincidence. It’s obvious that someone, we don’t know about, has some kind of ulterior motive for all this chaos that has been happening out there.”
“Yes, Jhett…I am well aware of another player in the game who has yet to show themselves…but rest assured, I will find them…and I will ruin their little party that they are throwing on my world.”
“And I am willing to bet that freak in the black hat and trench coat must be helping whoever is responsible for all this death and destruction that is messing up your game plan!”
“Jhett, your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary.”
“They did this shit to Marco and me because they needed us out of the way! Marco had his own plan to make us rich and obviously, these second hand losers, who couldn’t think of the means to produce wealth themselves, decided to muscle their way into our game and take control of a great plan that was going to produce us a very nice stream of revenue…but I guess you’re already familiar with how corporate money is made and lost on Ailana, and why should I continue to cry over spilt milk. Heed my advice, this is a dangerous game of chance you are playing here and what happens when they need YOU out of the way? I’m telling ya man, I could be a real big help to ya.”
Van Dien exhaled a cloud of smoke and smiled as he said, “That won’t be necessary…like I said, nothing happens on this planet without my knowledge, and if someone is trying to do something that is against my rules, I will find them, and stop them before they do it. You should have thought of that before you decided to help out your friend Marco. But at least you won’t have to worry about becoming space dust anytime soon because I don’t plan on having your ship destroyed.”
Jhett felt his stomach plunging and his mind became blank with brief feelings of fear. “So, it was you all along…you had something to do with this?”
As he exhaled smoke he said, “Like I said, nothing happens on this world without me knowing about it…and nothing happens on this world, unless it benefits me personally. And you’re right, Jhett…something is about to happen on Ailana…something big…something that will change millions of lives and completely alter the course of history as we know it. I have a plan that
is going to rock this little world…and shake it clear to its core.”
Jhett seemed almost worried. He remembered the barrage of images and voices that the man in black had put into his cranial computer by inferred telekinesis. Jhett felt a nervous twitch in organic parts of his guts as he said, “You evil bastard…what are you going to do?”
Van Dien stared intently at Jhett and said, “Tell me, Jhett…what do you know about the Prisoners of Paradise?”
“The what? Who? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Then don’t give it anymore thought, since it won’t affect you in the least bit, Mr. Jones, because you will be hundreds of light years away when it happens,” Van Dien said as he stood up and noticed the distressed look on Jhett’s face. Van Dien then crushed his cigarette and said, “Have a good one, Jhett…it was nice knowing ya. And oh yeah…thanks for your help…after all, you did play a small, but significant role in making my plan come to fruition.”
“I know what you are going to do, you bastard! I know what you are doing! You need someone to take the blame for what you are about to do and I am going to make sure it ain’t me!”
“Don’t worry, Jhett, you are simply one of many people who will be taking the blame for what I have in store for this planet. There is nothing you can do to stop me, Jhett…have a nice life…or what’s left of it anyway.”
The door opened and after Van Dien stepped out, it shut firmly, but silently behind him.
“Asshole,” Jhett sighed and relaxed the best he could in the chair. “Ah poor me,” He thought with a little laugh, “For I was once shown mercy, thus I must show mercy. What a crock that is. For the meek shall inherit the earth? I guess so…if you’re referring to, a grave. You gotta screw them before they screw you? I guess that’s the way things ought to be…and gotta be. Here I am, sitting here with the word, ‘sucker’ written across my forehead. My only mistake was showing kindness to the wrong person. And why did I do it? Because someplace, deep down inside this cynical cyborg, is a real person who is just dying to believe that people are kind and virtuous, and that life is not just about our existence being nasty, brutish, and short. Woe is me, woe is me, I must now only hope, only dream, and only have a shred of faith, that there must be something out there, that is worse…than this.”
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