Work at the pyramid construction site was stalled, yet again. Aquilla wasn't just slowing things down, he was adding expenses that had never been budgeted for. "WE’RE
GOING TO NEED ANOTHER LOAD OF GRAVEL" Ku had to bellow over the noisy
machinery to his lead hand, Ra-Ku. "MAYBE TWO!" He caught a glimpse of a familiar gait in the corner of his eye and signalled it to his lead hand.
It wasn't fun having his name plastered all over construction plans when things went wrong. Nolan
approached the new chasm at the pyramid site with great trepidation, knowing already it would be worse than last time. These Aquillan attacks
couldn't be happening at a worse time. Stressed to the max, he rubbed his
forehead, smearing beads of sweat across his brow, churning the limited and
overthought useless solutions through his mind one more time. He knew now how
the story would unfold, he knew now why Orius had left, he knew now why they
had given him the job. He was simply a Fall Guy. This would all be his fault.
It would be in the Tabloids that he had built the pyramids in the wrong place.
Not to mention the budget shortfall, it would all be his fault!
Nor
were the Tabloids and budget woes all that tormented him. Now this under-budgeted Farewell Celebration was rapidly approaching, his department was supposed to
pull some ridiculous Tent City out of its ass, time was
running out two weeks faster than it was supposed to.
He was beginning to
understand why it was so important to annihilate Aquilla, too. It was becoming
crystal clear that history was
repeating itself, that the empire had been waging war against this terrorist
for centuries was a plausible story now. His respect for the great king grew
accordingly now that he himself was on the front lines, now that he could
really see what was going on, now he could personally feel the burn of Aquila’s
Wrath.
"Here"
Ku passed him a tablet as he neared his side. "We need it by
tomorrow."
Nolan
studied the materials order, barely able to concentrate on the words. Below the
surface of his godly façade he realized with heavy heart the life long
implications the position he had so naively stepped into presented, it was a
convoluted reality, a rotten trick. The only hope was Torus's fundraiser idea,
there was no choice but to try it now; the hole had to be filled. With only faith in the fundraiser’s
success to bank on, he marked the clay with an N.
Nolan left the site, stressed like never before, praying silently to the great Medel that the fundraiser would be a success. Reality was, he knew it would be a miracle. How would they even pull it off? Soloha reeked like a rotten carcass! Who would even want to try it? What made Torus believe it would catch on? It made no sense, it was a huge gamble but they didn't have any other ideas and they certainly didn't have to invest very much, this way at least he would have Torus' support.
Like
a shiny beacon, the sign outside the Skin Club on Main St caught his eye,
tempting him inside for some stress relief before heading back to
Headquarters.
"Why don't you just sprinkle these unexpected expenses throughout the Infrastructure budget?" Halki, god of Intelligence pitched as they chilled in the VIP booth. "Say it's L&D or something, it's both if you ask me!"
Halki
was a fixture at the Skin Club, always ready and willing to console the
frustrated and desperate victims of such a highly functioning society, a hot
spot for gossip, it was his job to be there, too.
"You
make it sound like pocket change" Nolan replied, his gaze locked onto the
Golden Goddesses on stage, painting each other's skin with their golden paint.
"My loss and damage funds are already heavily damaged, the Moha Lab
renovation has done me in. I’m finished already, it just hasn’t hit the
tabloids yet." Nolan’s
thoughts clung to the fundraiser, realizing they would need to operate here first, this
was where all the excess gold was, this was where the security was, hidden in
broad daylight; guilt generated its own cover. Halki would have to be in on
it, there was no way of pulling it off without his knowledge. "I’ve
got an idea."
"Oh?"
Halki liked Nolan, he didn't know him too well yet but knew him well enough to
see he was up to something naughty. There was a part of Nolan that was so dark
it had intrigued him ever since he first laid eyes on him, flirting with the
Golden at his Graduation Ceremony. He knew the truth about Dell, Nolan
attracted dirty money like honey attracted the bees.
"Blood,
theft or poison?"
Caught
off guard, Nolan was unsure if Halki was serious or joking. Lost for a witty
comeback and new at this godly game, he let out a nervous chuckle before chasing back
his wine.
"Let
me guess" Halki was enjoying the new god more and more every day. "All of the above!"
Malodon
rarely took personal trips to Lochia, the farming community on the southern shores of Finias but things were moving fast, he had to
take care of some details himself. The stairs from the underground train
station brought him into the Administration Office of the Meden Institute,
where Medena spent most of her time, noticing immediately how badly the place needed updating, Medena had been complaining about it for a while, her renovation requests had been denied multiple times.
Unbeknownst to Medena, the Meden Institute would be relocating to Ebar. The goddess of Plenty was already waiting for
Malodon in the Gourmet Chamber when he arrived. They dined on Lochia’s
finest wine and Lobster before catching up on business. "Here's
the New Nefilim Breeder list" Medena handed him the freshly printed
tablet. Malodon studied the selections with glazed eyes, he recognized DNA
trees, not names.
"I’ll
trust your judgement…" He put the tablet down and reached into his pocket,
pulled out a small package and slid it her way.
Medena
picked up the package by the edges, she knew already what it was, she had
agreed to test the Solution on her Breeders.
"Is
it safe to handle?"
"Absolutely"
Malodon assured. "It's a two-component medification. The compounds are
benign so long as they remain separated; they can be administered separately too, add them to the cafeteria dishes and ensure the subject eats them both."
Medena
opened the package and pulled out the two vials, inspecting the colored liquids
with a critical eye. "What
god-awful medification has Seton concocted this time?"
"Isolate
her" Malodon warned.
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