Fattie ’Lu grinned and leaned back in his chair. The chair was a rare birdseye maple, polished to a high shine by skilled woodworkers and the fabric of his robes as he jiggled through the day. The office was both large and lavishly decorated, suitable for a bank president… in a city on the edge of civilization. Fattie 'Lu, in decoration as in life, valued quantity over quality.

“You’re too late, ’Te.” Watery eyes squinted victoriously through fat lids, crowning the dripping leer of his lips. “Everyone in the Five City Alliance knows what Red Mountain did. Which means that everyone in banking knows how fucked your whole department is.”

Lu grunted angrily. “In fact, they fucked me too, but in my case, it’s survivable. You, on the other hand? Not so much.” He giggled wetly and fished a turquoise inlaid snuff box out of his desk. ’Lu snorted a bump off the back of his hand, then sneezed daintily into a handkerchief worth more than some lives. “Still. Maybe you can persuade me. You sarcastic, snobby, vicious mongrel piece of shit. GODS I have wanted to say that to you for decades! Beg. Beg me for a quick death and a clean bed for your whore wife.”

Xiatokte smiled warmly at the fat man. Xiatokte was not fat. Very thin, in fact, and his high cheekbones and deep eyes made him look almost skeletal. There was a charm to the man, a certain lively, wicked humor living in those eyes and in the curve of his sardonic lips. It was the kind of face you wanted to make smile. His reputation really inspired that in people.

“Oh, it’s not so bad as all that, ’Lu.” The fat man frowned at the familiarity. “Troublesome, but these are just business matters. The personal life, the home life, that’s where the hurt is. And the heart.”

This got Xiatokte a look.

“I don’t know what I believe less. That you have a heart, or that you keep it at home.”

“Tammy and I are devoted to one another. Like you and Jinni.” Xiatokte fished out a picture from inside his robe and placed it gently in front of Fatty ’Lu. This was followed in short order by a contract and a small brown bottle. There was a long pause.

Rumors, nasty, accurate, rumors that Xiatokte’s great-great-grandmother was a Ma had limited his advancement until Xiatoktok took him in. ’Lu vividly remembered the weekly reports he got about just what ’Te did for the Investment Banking Division. His stomach seethed with acid.

“I don’t know who this is.”

“Sure you do. It’s Jinni. Your lover. The one you kept off the books and away from the Clan. I think you were trying to keep her pure, somehow. Untainted by Clan politics and cynicism. Sometimes a man just wants something simple and restful, right? Like your Jinni.”

“I said I don’t-”

“Jinni, on the other hand, is seventeen, and while she is impressed by your purse, she is excited by people her own age. Exciting friends who are, as we speak, introducing her to the wonders of narcotics. A very special blend of what Marketing calls “Go Juice,” and Lethe Blossom.” A cannibal grin stretched the thin skin of ’Te’s face, as he looked at the horrified ’Lu.

The fat man slammed his hands down on the table and shoved to his feet, his face red.

“SIT DOWN.” ’Te’s voice lashed out. “If you want to save her, you will sit down and listen quietly!”

’Lu looked furious. Slowly, the reports, and their upsetting, lunch ruining, pictures came to mind. ’Te made deals. He connected people. And where necessary, he removed people who had become problems. Never anyone in the main line, of course. Never one of the Clan. But Jinni wasn’t Clan. ’Lu forced himself to sit down.

“In a shameless act of self dealing, you are going to have the Bank buy out your interest in it. You will sell it to the Bank for one million Rads, or other currency with a fixed exchange rate to Rads. You will take the Bank’s note as guarantee of payment, the first payment due in a year and a day. The amount will be paid in equal monthly installments for ten years.”

“What kind of bullshit-”

“You will also get this small bottle, which has the antidote to what’s currently turning Jinni’s brain into slush.” Xiatokte waved it gently in the air. “You can give it to her on the coach to Muddy Waters. Where you are headed now. Your wife and kids are staying here, of course. Carefully supervised by people with their best interests at heart. But I thought you might prefer the… security of a bigger city.”

’Lu’s breath came in heaves. His eyes flickered back and forth.

“This doesn't help you. Your department will still be on the hook for those losses. You will be on the hook. The big iron ones on the poles in front of Central House. So what if the bank buys me out? I was the largest individual partner, but the majority interest is held by the Clan.”

“Not your problem. Your problem is finding a pen and ink. Which are in the top right drawer, next to where you keep the snuff box.”

‘’Lu fought for time, trying to think his way through this.

“Wait. Wait. This is bullshit. How do I know you even did anything to Jinni? Even if you did, why the hell should I-”

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Xiatokte shook his head. It seemed he owed ’Mai a drink. She said it would go like this. He calmly reached into his robe again.

“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but…” The mischievous smile had crept back onto his face. He fished out a small bag and tossed it onto the table. “Take a look.”

’Lu frowned down at the small purse, and reached for the strings. Xiatokte leaned forward like he wanted to watch. The wiry man’s hand struck like a snake, grabbing ’Lu’s hair and smashing his face into the desk. ’Lu’s nose made a horrible crunching noise as ’Te leaned in on him, jamming a pistol in his ear.

“Either your signature or your brains on the contract. Choose. NOW.” He hauled the big head up, blood spilling down, making a mess on the desk.

“You’re crazy. Crazy! I’m main line! I’m MAIN LINE! Your family will burn for this!” ’Te slammed his face back into the desk, breaking his nose a second time. Lu screamed for help.

’Te whispered in ’Lu’s ear. “I just need you gone, Fatty. I just need you permanently out of the picture. Alive saves me some trouble, but seeing you dead sounds better every second. I was told to get your signature, but you know what? I’m fine either way.”

There was a knock on the door, then a guard looked in.

“Everything under control, Expert Xiatokte?”

“Yes, thank you ’Mbeke.”

“He’s gone crazy! Arrest him! Save me!”

“The carriage is waiting just like you asked, Expert.”

“Oh good. And the girl?”

“In the carriage. She’s… not doing so well, if that matters.”

“Thank you, that is all for now.”

The man politely bowed and closed the door.

“Did you really think that would work?”

“Fuck you. You Ma piece of shit. Your whole family, all of them, all those bitches you ever fucked, all of you are going to burn for this!”

“No, I don’t think so. But that reminds me- you don’t need your balls to sign a contract.”

“Fuck! I’ll sign! This will never hold up. Never. You are going to burn for this. You are all going to burn for this!”

Xiatokte shoved the pen into ’Lu’s hand, and put it above the page. ’Lu shakily signed. Then with a nudge from the pistol in his ear, ’Lu rolled his thumb in the ink, and made his thumb print.

“Put it in the top drawer of your desk.” ’Lu was done asking questions at this point. “’Mbeke!”

“Yes Expert?”

“Fattie ’Lu wants quiet and fresh air, and a little female company. Why don’t you take him to the carriage waiting outside. If he forgets that he wants quiet, kick him in the balls before you kill him.”

“Yes, Expert. That will be no trouble at all. Will it, Fattie ’Lu?”

The cowed man just shook his head. Xiatokte took the brown stained handkerchief from ’Lu's pocket and firmly wiped the blood from his ruined nose. While ‘’Lu’s eyes were watering, ‘’Te collected the bottle from the desk.

“Don’t forget the antidote.” Xiatokte pressed it into ’Lu’s hands. “Because you dragged this on so long, the antidote will be less effective. That’s your fault. The next time you have to keep Jinni from setting herself on fire or trying to eat her own shit, think about the fact that you could have saved her if you hadn’t been an idiot.”

“Right this way please. I hope you like the dinner hamper we packed for you, I think we managed to get all your favorites…”

By the time that Xiatokte had tidied up the room, Fattie ’Lu was with Jinni in the carriage. ’Te kept the blood-spattered picture of Jinni. The carriage raced through the East Gate while ’Lu gave Jinni the antidote, trying not to spill as the carriage jolted across the cobbles. By the time they were clear of the gate, it had already started to work. Jinni smiled, and her breath smelled of lavender and roses.

Xatokte was also on the road, walking towards the tavern the Pine Mountain Group had booked for the party. As ’Te strode into the bar, Fattie ’Lu was smothering to death as his lungs stopped working. His nervous system was dead, the combination of poison in the snuff and his lover’s breath dissolving it with terrible speed.

Xiatokte had finished his first drink and was swapping jokes with some of the senior group members when bandits attacked the carriage. They cruelly killed the driver and the passengers. The bandits looted the chests full of valuables and set the carriage on fire as they left. The whole operation took five minutes.

’Te bought ’Mai the round he owed her, which she promptly used to lead the Group in an old marching song from her mercenary days. It was a good evening. The soft warm light of expensive oil lamps made things seem cozier, more intimate. A night to remember forever.

“Comrades of the Pine Mountain! I present to you the founder of this feast, our leader, Expert Xiatoktok!” ’Mia waved a beefy, bejeweled hand towards the dapper figure at the head of the table.

The crowd cheered as only drunk employees during bonus season can. Xiatoktok chuckled politely, stroking his elegant little mustache as he stood to address the room. His billowing, gilded robes, embroidered with tens of thousands of tiny stitches, caught the lamplight and fascinated the eyes of the group. Not just anyone could wear a robe like that, even if you were of the main line.

“Comrades! We won.” Massive cheering, baning on the tables, yells bouncing from wall to wall. “WE WON!” Screams, ululations of triumph and pounding feet. “Do you have any idea how much money is going to start moving through our bank? In the next year, in just the next year, we project seven BILLION Rads! And our investment group counts for fully, fully, half. THREE HUNDRED FIFTY HUNDRED MILLION RADS IN REVENUE! And don’t you dare ask how much of that is profit. Comrades! We. Have. Won.”

Xiatoktok toasted the room with his wine glass, tasting the warm notes of honey and apple. The alcohol was broken down into sugar by his kidneys and liver, greensmithed treasures inherited from some thoughtful ancestor. If he had ever been drunk, he couldn’t recall it.

“Now. That’s not to say that there aren’t challenges on the horizon. We all know that where there is treasure, there are bandits. But we, Comrades of the Pine Mountain, fear no one!” More cheering, with some “impressive” flexing by the pen wielding bankers. “Oh yes, there are storms coming. Other banks, internal rivals. Even the incompetence of our “VERY RESPECTED COLLEAGUES.”” Laughter this time, and some unkind hand gestures. “But you know what? Let them come! We might not be so dirty, so happy in the mud as some. Not so corrupt or cynical. We will take some hits, eat some losses that the schemers would duck. We will. But at the end of the day, all their little games evaporate in front of true strength. And we, comrades of the Pine Mountain, are STRONG!”

That got them roaring all over again.

“A toast then, Comrades! Courage, wisdom and eternal prosperity!”

This got even more cheers as Xiatoktok saluted the crowd with his cup before draining it off. The crowd surged to their feet and joined him in downing their drinks. More cheering, hugs, a few sneaky kisses. Some kids would be conceived in the cloak room that night. It was a hell of a party.