Resistance is Futile

Chapter 1

Was it too extreme to say that he wanted to scratch his skin off at this point because it'd be something to do? He thought back to a mere 10 years ago when he'd been at the height of his excitement. He'd dropped into this god forsaken city (literally) and had found something that amused him, and he'd held onto it for as long as he could. After a while, though, it was clear that his mutually destructive partner in distaste had grown just as bored as he had. Alastor had spent years going back and forth with him consistently, and then one day they both just...didn't feel like it anymore. With his nemesis turned silent, he'd spent his time building the empire he had now. But when one takes over everything in their territory, what's left but to take over others? Dragging his fingers over the flat surface of his face, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling as he ran over the numbers in his head. There was only so much he could do right now, but a bit more reach in his industry and he would feel more confident about branching out. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander over the current players in this game of Hell, his screen staticing for the interruption.

"Mr. Vox, sir." He would have jumped at the sudden break in the silence, if he didn't have more composure than that. Clearing his screen, he threw a glare at the intruder. One of his lower level assistants that did nothing but run numbers over him and talk about the other powers in play. It wasn't a secret that he liked to keep track of the other overlords in Hell lately, just in case something fun showed up on his radar. The assistant handed him the piece of paper, which he snatched away, before scurrying back to the door into the room. Scanning the page quickly, he saw the typical names. Some he wasn't foolish enough to deal with, like the Von Eldritch's and Lord Lucifer himself. Others he had no problems toying with, like Alastor or Rosie, who had proven fun in the past. There were a few new names on the list now as the numbers seemed to fluctuate constantly. Overlords came into power and fell as well, depending on if he and the others disliked them, tolerated them, or just plain didn't care. Alastor had torn down several heavy hitters shortly after landing, or so the story went, and Vox had dethroned a few alone. They'd gotten cocky, and he loved to pull that shit down a notch.

Today, however, there was a new name on the list. Valentino. Raising a brow and cocking his head, he took note of the new name with the slightest intrigue. "Why does this name have X's by it?" He looked to the demon who'd brought him the page and the pitiful creature slid closer to him for a quick glance at the page.

"Right. That's a new player. We marked his name with a X's so that we remember that he's reached out." The demon nodded as though confirming the information in his own head and Vox let both brows raise in slight shock.

"He reached out...to me?" The demon nodded and a deep breath was all Vox could manage to remind himself that he had assistants for a reason and he needed them. Also, that replacing them was super hard now a days, so ripping one apart was ill advised. "What did he say he wanted when he reached out?" The demon started looking around in his pockets before he found the scrap of paper he was looking for and handed it to Vox. Once again, he snatched it away. Throwing the report at the demon, he waved him off and flattened out the new page as best as he could. It definitely didn't look like anything he'd received in the past as far as business proposals went. The paper itself was a pastel pink and had the softest scent of cigarettes and some sort of perfume. The hand writing was thin and delicate, almost too feminine for the name scrawled on the bottom.

After much consideration, I've decided to reach out to you with a business opportunity. We both know how fickle the entertainment industry can be; keeping people happy and making money off of them is an ever changing area. Now, I haven't been here for very long, but I have so many ideas that I'm confident you can assist me with. This would benefit you too, of course. Let's talk about it some more in person. Just drop me a line if you're interested.