The World Of Steam

26

Morning broke once more and the war still carried on, turning more brutal as the days quickly passed. A man in a black suit walked up to a tower block and opened the door, walked inside. He walked down a labyrinth of corridors and stairs, opened another door, stepping into a large room. He sat down at a large round table, joining a large group of other people, all also dressed in black suits. A naked body laid onto the table, not moving. "Sorry I'm late." The man said.

"That is quite alright." The single man in the white suit said. "We have got all day. Quite literally. This war is not going to end any time soon."

"Indeed." The man said, taking a crystal decanter, pouring himself some brandy. He reached over to a large cleaver and brought it down onto the corpse's hand, severing it. Picking it up, he proceeded with casually eating away at the flesh.

"Now then, we, The Council Of Gold, have heard that there is a certain detective that holds the cure to the gas. We need to do something about him."

"Kill him." One of The Council Of Gold members said almost immediately.

"Well, of course we kill him. But how? Need I remind you that there is still a war going on?"

The other member took a sip of the brandy and looked at the leader. "We just let the civilians destroy themselves. We don't need to worry about that."

"Actually, we do. If the whole population is dead, how are we going to sell the cure?"

"You want to sell it?"

"This thing will make us millions. It is only the fucking cure. Think about it. It is mayhem out there. All because someone spread a rumour that a certain detective has the cure."

"What if we hold an auction?" Another member asked, taking the corpse's other hand. He took hold of its index and middle finger, pulling it apart with a sickening crack. Not one person flinched. The Council Of Gold leader looked at him as he chewed on the muscles.

"Please elaborate."

The cannibal swallowed. "We hold an auction for the cure. We sell it to the highest bidder."

The leader leaned back onto his chair and steepled his fingers, deep in thought. "That might actually work. I doubt that anyone knows how to use it properly, so...and of course, everyone wants it. And also, you know how rich all of these scientists are. The price will rack up nicely."

"But we need to find the detective to actually get the cure." Yet another member said.

"Of course, of course."

"So what do we do about him?"

"We dispose of him, of course. And anyone else that will stand in our way." He stayed quiet for a moment and then looked at the members. "Send out a platoon. Find that detective and bring him to me. Alive, dead, I don't care. Bring me his head if you have to, just get me that cure. You know what? Flatten his home. Let him know that we are coming for him."

Without saying anything, every single member of The Council Of Gold stood up and made their way out of the organisation.