Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Celestial Rise ❯ The Fight for Power ( Chapter 3 )

"Gentlemen, good morning to all of you," Llurd started as he entered the room--his office. It was still dark out--still a few more hours before sunrise, but technically, it was already morning. His guests numbered three, still in their sleeping attires. None looked very happy to be there. At this observation, Llurd just then realized that his greeting sounded blatantly sarcastic. He didn't mean to sound sarcastic in the least, though it wouldn't have made any difference otherwise. He knew very well that the council members did not like him very much. At the same time, he didn't intend to be polite either.

"Colonel Llurd! If this is another attempt to--" Ardner started in an obvious displeasure of his abduction from his house.

"Mr. Ardner, I'm here to do you, Lemarr and Siroch a great favor," Llurd interrupted. "Your abduction was absolutely necessary for your own protection. I wanted to speak with you all in secret." He spoke fast and to the point.

"This had better be good," Siroch muttered.

"You may judge for yourself, good sirs. Have a seat." Llurd walked around his desk and sat down on his own comfortable chair. "I'll get right to the point, gentlemen. It's no secret why I've sent for you all here. I want your votes. Nothing else is new. Nothing, that is, except for my offer of…" Llurd paused for effect. "Freedom," he finished with a grin.

The three men exchanged glances, hoping that the other understood completely what Llurd had meant by that.

Siroch cleared his throat before he spoke. "Colonel, keeping us here as your prisoners won't get you what you want at all. I don't see how--"

"No, no, no!" Llurd said with a look of disgust in his face. "What do you take me for? That's not what I meant by freedom."

"Then what did you mean precisely, Colonel?" Ardner asked in impatience.

"You have rejected my offers before, gentlemen, and I now know why you cannot vote for me. I know why you couldn't say 'no' to Colonel Blaey. And I know that it's not his offer of money. He threatened you and your family, didn't he?" Llurd said bluntly.

The three didn't speak, though, one could easily see it in their eyes that Llurd was speaking rather precisely of the truth. But one tried to hide it with a lie.

"What makes you think we're going to vote Colonel Blaey?" Lemarr asked with a feigned incredulous sneer.

"I have people working for me. Experts."

"You have spies!" Lemarr hissed in disgust. "No doubt our privacy's been… tapped?"

"Oh, don't act so naïve, Mr. Lemarr. Did you honestly think that nobody has been watching you since we all heard that the Vectorian Military Council was left to make the critical decision? I've had my spies monitor your every move and so did nine other colonels vying for the rank. In fact, ever since you've committed your votes to Colonel Blaey, you and your families' houses have been under constant surveillance by Blaey's goons.

"Preposterous!" Siroch exclaimed.

"Gentlemen, I'm trying to be honest here. I do not sink low to try and lie my way to persuade you to reconsider your votes. I gain nothing by doing so. I kindly ask you to do the same. I know that you've been offered bribes by the other colonels. I even have the exact amount and time that you've been offered them. My spies keep remarkable documentation of them all. However, I also know that the reason Blaey was successful in… convincing all of you was because he did more than offer money. He actually threatened your loved ones, didn't he?"

"I don't know what you're t--" Siroch started.

"Your sister and her husband, perhaps?" Siroch's eyes widened, and his face paled. Llurd then turned to Lemarr. "Or somebody's brother working in the refinery? Or perhaps somebody's kids… particularly ages fourteen and seventeen?" both Lemarr and Ardner bowed their heads in a non-verbal admittance of the truth. "Well, I can't personally say that I blame all of you in your decision to abide by his wish. I would vote for him if he threatened somebody from my family, held them hostage and all, if I were in your shoes. But I'm not in your shoes, gentlemen. I have the means to defend myself and those that I care about. More importantly… I have the means to fight back!"

"So what are you saying, Llurd?"

"Simple. I want to help all of you. I offer my service to you to rid yourselves of the awful burden of worrying about your families and constantly looking over your shoulders." Llurd stood up from his chair, placed both his hands on the desk and leaned forward to his guests. "I have the means to eliminate the threat that plagues you and your families."

"Threat? You speak as if our problems are one and the same," Ardner commented.

"But they are! Allow me to explain. Colonel Blaey has a connection with a rather unsavory group of… how shall I say this? Professionals," Llurd said with a dark, foreboding voice.

"P-professionals?" Ardner dared to ask.

"Criminals, Mr. Ardner. I'm talking about robbers, muggers, kidnappers, assassins, murderers… people who are paid to incite fear. People who make sure that you keep your end of the bargain. These are the same people who are now watching your brothers and sisters and wives and kids and whomever it is they threatened to kill if you do not vote for Colonel Blaey. How else did you think he'd carry out his threat? With his own men from the army? No, gentlemen. He is no fool. He would dare not risk that because evidences may be traced back to him. He struck a deal with these people to keep his hands clean. When they fall, Bleay would still be sitting pretty in his home, untouched. Because who will believe a crook even if they admit that Blaey is the mastermind at their trial? If it were that simple, why, I could've just filed a report to place Colonel Blaey under arrest for collaboration with criminals. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to take him out of the race."

"And what exactly do you propose to do about these… professionals?"

"I plan to kill them all, gentlemen," Llurd said in a cold, unfeeling tone of voice. "Get them out of your hair permanently. No court trials. No paperwork. No bails. And it would look very good on my record to eliminate a nuisance from Vector."

The three were appalled by the idea. They didn't know what to say, but the shock in their faces was understood perfectly by Llurd.

"Don't be too concerned about their lives, people! They are nothing more than wretched criminals! They'd kill you and your kin without a moment's hesitation, and quite possibly with malicious pleasure! They are monsters. Vector would be glad to be rid of them. You three, above all, should be glad to be rid of them."

"In return for what?" Siroch asked dubiously. It was a stupid question, and everybody knew it.

Llurd looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You know what I want, Mr. Siroch. It's no secret."

"Colonel Llurd, I understand completely what your proposal is, but I doubt that even you can organize an operation quickly enough to find these people's hideout and--"

"The bust has already begun, Mr. Ardner. As we speak, these criminals are being arrested. Every single one of them is now being rounded and brought to a secret place where they will be… executed. Their execution, of course, is the last phase of my plan. It all depends upon your decisions. If you promise your votes to me, then Blaey's goons will be executed, and they will never bother you again. If you don't, then these criminals will be released where they will continue to plague your sense of security. Do you really want to spend the rest of your lives worrying about these types of people? Even if you do vote for Blaey, what makes you think he'd keep his end of the bargain? He just might order his goons to kill you all to get rid of witnesses."

"How do we know you'd keep your end of the bargain?" Ardner challenged.

"Because my end comes first. I'll show it to all of you. Present it to you on a silver platter. I will kill them all right before your eyes if you want to bear witness to it, or simply just wait for the daily news about our successful bust of the criminal operation. I can promise you the results right before your eyes. Blaey cannot do that. Nobody can. And once I rise to generalship, Blaey or any other colonel would never dare to defy me. I shall guarantee your protection, and the protection of those you care about, and I am willing to put that in writing."

The door opened softly behind them as Barnes shuffled in quietly as a ghost. Only when Llurd looked at his associate that the three noticed his presence as well. Barnes was in his full military uniform of peacetime, proudly wearing his polished brass pin that bore his rank. He saluted to his commanding officer and was promptly acknowledged.

Llurd turned back to the three and continued, "I don't see how you can turn this opportunity down. Blaey's cornered you against the wall with his goons. And I'm here not just to bail you all out but also to make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Don't you agree, Lt. Barnes?"

"It's the chance of a lifetime, sir," Barnes concurred with a smile. "Speaking of which, the moment has arrived to decide what to do with our suspects."

"Indeed?" Llurd said, sounding very pleased. He looked at his watch and nodded with approval. "Three minutes ahead of schedule. I expected nothing less from my own men. I also assume that you've completed checking their criminal backgrounds?"

Barnes produced a folded document from his pocket and gave it to his commanding officer.

"Everybody accounted for. It could not have gone any smoother, sir," Barnes said proudly.

Llurd took the paper and unfolded it. He quickly browsed through what looked like a list of names. When he reached the end of the list he smiled.

"Gentlemen, what I have here are the names of our suspects. It's a list of the members of a long-standing criminal network in Vector. I'm pleased to report to all of you that we've captured them all and have sufficient evidences to put them away. But as their deaths are preferable to their imprisonment, I strongly urge that we avoid the red tape and skip right to their executions. My men can make it look like that these people fought back during our strike at their hideout. They will be reported to be killed in retaliation against my men. Of course, this will not, in any way, tie any of you in involvement. I play my cards wisely, gentlemen. I'll make sure you're all safe. It would not benefit me, otherwise."

"Very impressive, Colonel Llurd. But just so we've fully explored our options… what happens if we refuse the offer?" Lemarr asked.

"I give Lt. Barnes the order to tell my men to abort their mission. My men will then throw the fish back into the water as if nothing happened. And I'll have my men see to it that you arrive at your houses safely," Llurd said casually. He did not sound like he was going to be angry or disappointed if the three council members refused his offer. This was not like him at all. There had to be something up his sleeve, a final chip he could bet, a final word to convince them all.

"That's it?" Siroch asked suspiciously.

"That's it," Llurd said with a shrug and a smile.

That could not be it! they all thought.

"Of course," Lt. Barnes said, drawing attention away from his commander, "If we release the prisoners now, then they would be able to continue with their… current operations. And furthermore, Colonel Blaey will be alerted of this. He would not be too pleased to find out that the three of you met with Colonel Llurd tonight. Though he does not know that yet, if we release his goons, he'd figure it out soon."

"But that is out of my hands, gentlemen," Llurd concluded.

There it is. His final chip to make us all fold. Llurd didn't have to threaten them all. He just needed to use the existing threat coming from Colonel Blaey to the three council members. Llurd would not come out as the obvious antagonist of the situation. How could he? He offered them his service that was legal, but more importantly, irresistible.

Siroch gave out a sigh. The solution was obvious. They had to agree.

"You will protect us from Colonel Blaey?" Siroch asked.

Llurd's lips twisted to a smile. He knew he had them. The three votes were as good as his.

"I will assure you that you will have nothing more to fear once Blaey's goons are out of the picture. He's a weakling. He's not prepared to risk the better half of his resources," Llurd replied. "Besides, when I get promoted tomorrow, Blaey will forget all about you. The three of you will be 'off limits' to him. He will hate you as he will hate me. But he will also fear you because he will fear me."

"Unacceptable!" Ardner interjected. They were all surprised at this. "That is not enough. The rank may only be temporary. When or if General Fencross wakes from his coma, you will fall back to your old rank. What happens then?"

Llurd was taken aback. He didn't have the answer for that question. He did not expect it. But as he fumbled for an answer in his mind Lemarr spoke.

"What are you suggesting, Ardner?"

"I'm saying that not only should we eliminate Blaey's goons. I want Blaey himself out of the picture!" Lemarr demanded. His council companions gasped in shock. "Think about it! We can never be truly safe with him still alive. He will hate us for as long as he lives. Our lives and the lives of those we care about will always be in danger--goons or no goons. He'll find away to exact vengeance upon us. Thus, he, too, must die!"

Siroch and Lemarr fell silent. Llurd and Barnes were astonished at this turn of event. None of them had foreseen this type of reaction.

"He's right, Siroch," Lemarr said softly. "It's the only way that I will feel safe."

Siroch agreed with a solemn nod. "Well, Colonel Llurd? Those are our conditions. You will have our votes if you eliminate Colonel Blaey's criminal operatives and eliminate Colonel Blaey himself."

The three council members looked at Llurd intently. Even Barnes was curious to know how his commander was going to react to this. Llurd's face was like stone. None could discern his true emotion at the moment. His eyes stared into the distance in deep thought and consideration. He left his chair and walked towards the window in measured steps, his hands behind his back. There he stared outside for a minute or so, quietly. Then, turning around he announced his decision.

"It can be done," Llurd said with a sudden wicked smile on his face. "However, I must become a general first before I plot his demise. There is nothing I can do at the moment."

"But how will we know you'll stick to the end of your bargain?"

"Unlike Blaey, I prefer to make friends than enemies. You, gentlemen, may be of use to me again in the future, especially during the course of my generalship, however long that would be. Besides… I had planned to rid myself of the competition anyway in my rise to generalship."

"Then it is agreed!" Lemarr said in excitement. "We will vote for you when the hour comes. In return, you will give us… our freedom."

Llurd laughed in triumph. Lt. Barnes joined in.

"And to conclude tonight's meeting--Lt. Barnes, tell my men to proceed with the execution."

Barnes saluted then dismissed himself from the room.

"Champagne, anyone?"