The Marked People

Red Mask

Phoenix

"They just took her. They took her and I couldn't do anything!" I slam my hand against the glass table and Patrick gives the glass a worried look as if it's about to shatter.

My markings flare yellow, fury rolling off me in waves. Patrick while calmer on the outside holds a tinge of green and yellow in his markings as he listens to me. I'd told him most of the story on the drive back to where we're staying, but everything still feels upside down.

"And now they expect me to just keep running the company as usual?" I almost choke on the words. "They could hurt her, and I won't even know about it!"

Patrick rests a hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently. "She is strong, after everything she's gone through, do you really think New Horizons is a match for her?"

I try to take a calming breath. "You're right. She'll gut anyone who tries anything. Besides she has Demon." The word tastes like oil on my tongue. "He might be a pathetic excuse of a creature but he's loyal to her. Should make a decent enough guard dog."

"Hmmm." Patrick smirks, "I highly doubt Indigo needs a guard dog, she's got fangs enough for the both of them."

I sigh and lean back, trying to ease the headache that's starting to hit. "I just feel lost. Do I really just go back to being a shareholder in the company while I wait to see if Indigo and New Horizons solve all our problems?"

"Well you could focus on gaining the trust and loyalty of some of the board members." Patrick says while sliding over a stack of paperwork. "Besides, Aradonious has sent through the data reports of the farms productions, loss of labour and profits for this quarter. You'll need to be familiar with it for the next board meeting."

I give the paperwork a disgusted look. "You know how stupid this sounds right? You want me to see how many slaves the company lost and how high our profits were while the girl I love is surrounded by people who'd happily dissect her if they needed to."

Patrick raises an eyebrow at the words 'girl I love' but just says. "Yes, that's exactly what you should be doing. From what you said, even if New Horizon's plan works, they won't be fixing the problem of slavery. You want to help, then you start by laying the foundation for Aradonious to lose the company."

"Oh great, so instead of owning part of a slave owning company, I can own the whole thing." I'm starting to hate my whole idea of taking on society. Why couldn't I just have had Aradonious assassinated like any high ranking son of a global company would have done?

"Yes, and when you own the company you can steer it away from using human slaves. You are in the unique position to not only change your company but also how others view humans. Imagine if you suddenly denounce human slavery? That would rile the media up and cause more debate than anything this past century."

I look over to Patrick, "I hate when you're right."

He grins and hands me the paperwork. "Besides, looking through a hundred pages of graphs and reports will help distract you."

I nod, starting to look through the first document while saying. "Hey Patrick mind turning on some background noise?"

The constant drone of news reports or music has always helped me focus and Patrick flicks the television on. Three reports later the constant hum of the news reporters is suddenly cut off by a high pitch buzz before the screen goes black. I look up, about to ask Patrick if he turned it off when the screen lights up again.

A masked face looks directly into the camera. It's a simple red mask, nothing distinguishing about it and the voice that sounds out has been put through a voice modulator making it impossible to distinguish if the voice is even male or female. "Marked People, for generations you've reaped the benefits of my people."