A Man of Honor.

Chapter 58: Making Men.

"There are certain promises that you make that are more sacred than anything that happens in a court of law. I don't care how many bibles you put your hand on. Some of the promises, it's true, you make when you're too young. Before you really have an understanding of what they mean. But once you're made those first promises, other promises are called for. And the thing is, that you can't deny the new ones without betraying the old ones. The promises get bigger. There are more people to be hurt and disappointed if you don't live up to them. Then at some point you're called upon to make a promise to a dying man." ~ Paul Castellano.

Sienna Khan looked completely out of place. When Russel and Deery had gotten her to the estate they wasted no time enjoying the amenities, washing and grooming themselves and ordering new clothes to be brought to them.

Apparently Sienna ordered Deery to find her a type of dress called a saree that was native to her region of Mistral and she had chosen now of all times to wear it. The ornate black and red ensemble certainly looked good and I couldn't deny that she cut an authoritative figure dressed in it.

But wearing that to this rat infested apartment block was something I couldn't help but find amusing. The old and nearly condemned building was scheduled to be demolished for a new parking garage that our unions were going to be profiting from which made it a perfectly abandoned area for the type of secret meeting we were conducting. Say what you will about my expensive suits they're appropriate for almost every business related location.

To Sienna's credit she wasn't put off by the grime of the building but was in fact a little bothered by its emptiness and she actually kept that dress from getting filthy despite all the accumulated filth. The fact that she didn't have anything to sit down on was certainly a plus.

"You should have bought a couple of chairs." Sienna said to me as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"I expected Cardin to be here sooner." I told her. I looked over to Neo who rolled her eyes at me. In truth we had only been waiting here for fifteen minutes which was hardly enough time for me to smoke half of my cigar.

"Is this how you usually conduct your business?" Sienna asked me.

"More or less." I answered. "What about you?"

"I've spent the last several years leaving such matters to my subordinates. I've become accustomed to people coming to see me if they need a face to face meeting." Sienna explained.

"In a throne room?" I asked her.

"Yes... I sit on a throne." Sienna told me. "Or at least I did, I figured I would denote a sense of power and authority. Some of those that come to be are influential people that wish for the Fang to cease their hostilities with. I wanted them to feel sufficiently intimidated."

"Well when you put it like that it doesn't sound quite so ostentatious." I said to her. "I certainly know that sitting behind a big desk can have an effect on certain people."

"Well I'm glad to see that you at least have an open mind." Sienna told me. "Though I certainly think I'll forgo the throne in the future. A permanent residence for both meetings and leisure seems to have been a miscalculation."

I nodded in agreement. A terrorist headquarters that also served as your home seemed like an invitation for some blurred lines. Not that I was in any position to judge, I used to live above the Moonstone and let Blake secretly visit me. And that hardly ended in any position I could define as well.

"Can I ask you a question about the White Fang?" I said, as I released a cloud of smoke that wafted through the still air of the dingy basement.

"I'll decide when you ask." Sienna told me.