Chapter Fifty-Three - Intimidation

Chapter Fifty-Three - Intimidation

Chapter Fifty-Three - Intimidation

Intimidating people is hard.

Its not just about having the biggest guns or the biggest kill-count around, its more than that. You need to look scary, talk the right way, walk the right way. Its not as easy as people think, especially if you have... certain disadvantages.

--Deus Ex, 2049

***

Meredith Jones had the penthouse rooms with the biggest living room space, so I decided to hold our impromptu meeting in her apartments.

First, though, I had to grab the other two guests of honour.

Stanley had the room next to Merediths, so after letting Myalis poke at the card-reader next to the door, I slipped into his suite and tossed a sleeping gas grenade into the bedroom. Stanley was sleeping all on his lonesome in a surprisingly non-fancy set of pyjamas.

The gas silently filled the room, and his snoring continued unbothered.

Fuck, I said as I stood next to his bed. I felt a little skeevy now that Id made it this far. Sneaking past the guards and all felt fine, but standing over a sleeping guy in the dark felt... a bit weird.

Plus now I had to carry him, and Stanley--while he wasnt fat--still had a bit of a gut and he was a full-grown man.

I tried to princess carry him, but that didnt work. He was too floppy and I almost smacked myself in the face when his foot kicked up as I tried to grab him under his knees. Myalis didnt help, and instead played a laugh-track in the background as I tried to pick the man up.

I eventually settled on a firemans carry, pulling Stanleys arms up and then shoving my shoulder against his middle before standing up. Thank fuck for power armour, otherwise I wouldnt have been able to carry him anywhere.

Stanley might wake up with a few bruises from the way I carried him around. At least I only banged his shins against the doorframe, not his head.

I brought him over to Merediths living room and dropped him on the couch. Then I realized that bringing people in here might wake her up, so I cracked the door to her room open and rolled another sleep grenade in, just in case.

Next was Will.

His room was way down on the far end of the corridor, and I wasnt looking forward to having to drag him all the way across.

On reaching his door, I could make out sounds on the other side. People talking. Two women, in fact. I crouched by the door and after Myalis unlocked it for me, opened it just enough to slip a grenade in.

Whats that? One girl asked.

Uh, I said. Go back to sleep.

The bot stared. Are you kidnapping Master Brown? it asked.

No? I tried. Its... Samurai business. Dont, uh, interfere.

The bot blinked, then laid itself back down, and I found myself entirely uncertain of what to do next.

Myalis hadnt stopped with the laugh track.

Okay, enough of that, I grumped at her as I picked up Wills ankles again and continued to drag him out of the room. The poor fuck was going to have rug burn all along his back, but it was his own fault for sleeping in the nude and having disgusting hairy legs.

Wills back squeaked unpleasantly across the marble floor in the corridor, then I dragged him into Merediths room. She had a nice couch where Stanley was snoring, so I dragged Will up and sat him there next to his buddy.

Then it was time to fetch Meredith.

She was sleeping next to a man that I wasnt familiar with, but judging by the bands on their fingers they were either married or they were both cheating. Meredith was, fortunately, a rather small, thin woman, so I was able to pick her up and carry her out of the room without too much trouble.

Okay, I said as I rubbed my hands together. That had been more work than I expected. Now... Well, now was the intimidation part of this whole routine, and I was honestly not sure where to start. Alright, first, Myalis, can you lock them out of their augs? Dont need them calling on the guards.

Consider it done.

Right... so, talking points? Uh... Id like it if they stopped fucking around. Im here to remind them that if they do, theyll find out. I could probably just empty all of their accounts, but then why did I go through all the trouble of getting them into this room if that was the case?

I started to think, then decided it was too early for thinking and just ordered up the antidote to the knock-out grenade, which was fortunately also aerosolized. Then I started to pace with only an end table between me and the three. At the last moment, I pulled out Void Terminus, my very large, very cool-looking sword, and planted the tip into the floor while I stood in front of the Trio.

Stanley was the first to come to, blinking sheepishly and then looking around. Will groaned next, then reached towards his back with a muttered curse. What happened? he asked.

Good morning, I said, and all three of them snapped their attention to me. I grinned, even if they couldnt see it.

Do you want me to turn on the lights?

Ah, Id forgotten that it was dark. Lets turn up the lights a bit, I suggested.

All three of them flinched as the lights in the living room came on and probably ruined their night vision.

So, Ive got some criticism about how the three of you have been acting, and I really wanted you to hear it, I said. So here we are! Lets have a nice chat, huh?

***