Alvarez

Six

The human eye is a wonderful device. With a little effort, it can fail to see the most glaring injustice. - Richard K Morgan

Christian
I didn't like Marcus Rodriguez. The thought of him made my blood curdle. I couldn't stand the sight of him. It was even worse hearing his name over the years, and seeing the things he was doing from behind the scenes.

But I loved doing business at night. It was my favorite thing. I welcomed the darkness as if I was stepping into my home. Being myself at night was my second favorite nightly activity. The best deals took place in the dark.

After I'd wrapped up with Mia and Axle, I made my way to a bar. Amongst my time with my work, staring at my monitors and getting more information than required, I'd also carried out my duties, ie. reaching out to people who I no longer wanted around, and killing them. Other than executing my responsibilities, I didn't have much to keep me occupied. But I liked staying busy, it kept me out of my head. And I liked being out of my head, because it was a dangerous place.

Power, I think to myself, has so many different definitions for people. For some, it's money, for others it's love and family, other people think it's being able to do things at a single command, or even just having the ability to get things done for you. It's an evil thing, power. Too much of it is bad for you, too little is demeaning. The fact is that some people can have power, and not know how to control it. For other people, they long for power to do good, but never get the chance because they want to keep their hands clean. That's not how it works in this world. If you want to be on top, you have to be prepared to kill to get there. To hurt and run people over with no remorse. It's not possible to stay innocent to run the show, you have to ignore your conscience. Power is not for everyone, but everyone has their own power. It's important to exploit yourself, contrary to what people think. When you push yourself to the limit, you find out who you truly are. The world is a dark, evil place. But you have to be darker. Mia, in all her innocence, doesn't see that. She isn't the only one, and I can't help but think her innocence will get her killed.

After meeting with a man named William Kirrelson and signing over my latest creation in security programming, he informed me the wire transfer had already taken place, and left me with a stack of title deeds to places that were now mine. In my name, under my control. Just like I told Mia.

I suddenly liked the idea of owning a bar. I'd get on that soon. But for now, I had to get rid of Marcus Rodriguez. And arrange for a group of men to pledge loyalty to me, and make my life easier. Now that I had a new responsibility to Mia, I needed a lot more time. Tasks like taking care of Marcus had to dealt with by me, but other chores could have been handled by the team I used to work with. Unfortunately for me, they were highly flammable and didn't make it out that night. They were the most bearable people I had ever worked with, and none of them made me want to rip their throats out.

Marcus and Michael were in contact, and Michael's more recent activities with Oscar were what brought Marcus to him. The three of them were a recipe for disaster. Not something powerful, but something that could have colossal repercussions for Mia. And I couldn't have that. This was a web I needed to untangle before it escalated any further. Even now, with all the years I've spent digging I still wasn't able to draw up a family tree of all Michael's affiliates. It made things easier to change, more variables and I didn't like that. I had to start somewhere, because I was certain Mia was going to become a target for these ordeals. From whatever I've heard, it seems Michael has very little regard and respect for his daughter. His greed for money has blinded him so much so, he'd be willing to give up his own daughter. It was a thought that didn't sit right with me.

So I left the bar, and went to Marcus. I knew exactly where he was, for how long, how many times a week he was there, and what type of drink he preferred. I didn't intend on bar hopping tonight, but I had business to take care of. Killing Marcus was at the top of my list.