Collateral Consequences

Fan Content
Written on March 15, 2017 by The Crosshare
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Collateral Consequences
“Eagles and Weasels”
He never thought of himself as a particularly great merchant, certainly nothing above second level in the Ziggurat, but what he did know was; he was good at opportunities. Recent events in Nexus certainly had opened plenty of doors for opportunities. Not to mention knowing that a good suit, haircut and a sharp tongue helped a lot.
“…as you can see, we come highly recommended by very respectful sources…”
He paid little interest towards the elderly lady sitting in the chair on the other side of his office table. He’d given the speech dozens of times before. They responded the same way every time and the answers were always the same. It was a show and he’d been acting in it all around the world.
“How could you put a price on your loved ones afterall?”
That’s the hook. After a near army takeover, a plague scare, burning and collapsing buildings, everyone was afraid of the next disaster. He could of course put the price on their loved ones. It was easy. Get more then you give out and you’re golden. It was a simple plan really, but it seemed to work.
“Now if any of you or your loved ones is affected by the actions of them, we will handle up to 60% of the costs.”
Well, 60% after the fees, transactions, other costs and so on. They could never win on average. Get enough people, you can promise ”more” as your average goes up. More rewards, more customers, circle complete. They didn’t need to know that.
He knew that it was all going to be over once they returned, but until then he could get a comfortable fortune gathered from the panicking citizens, especially the weak ones. It would be enough to drop everything and move somewhere a bit more stable. While he knew who to thank for the push, he also did curse them for ever visiting Nexus. He did have a good life, but, it was worth losing at the moment.
“Now, any questions?”
He had all the answers, he had the manners and most of all he had the ways. The elderly woman was an easy mark and she signed the papers on the spot. No thinking, just the false security in a dangerous world. Done and done. She left and he placed the contract on top of several others waiting to be thrown away. It was a good day and next week would be a payday as all the weekly payments would come through. Anyone who wouldn’t, breach of a contract that wasn’t even paying them. He smiled and leaned back a bit, having a small drink before shouting out to his secretary.
“Send in the next customer!”
As the beautiful woman glided into his office, his feeling of a good day only grew stronger. She was something else. Indeed, it was going to be a good day at “Anathema Insurances”.
Category:EXN-FanWriting