"So," Daniel started once he finally freed himself from his friend's hug, "what brings you here?"
It was a simple question, one that could be said to be the usual beginning of small talk. But when it ca to Daniel and Patric's eting, it turned out to be a far deeper one.
Just like the president and the vice president of the states were banned from ever traveling by the sa train, plane, or car, Daniel and Patric were supposed to always stay at least fifty kiloters apart.
In the age of nuclear weapons, this was the only way to ensure they wouldn't be taken out with a single attack, ending the legacy of the lost civilizations.
"We are reaching the endga of the current cycle, are we not?" Patric ntioned with a small smile, taking a step back not to infringe on Daniel's personal space. He then turned his head to the side. "Alice," he nodded his head, "it's great to see you in great health. You are as beautiful as ever."
"Thank… you," Alice nodded her head as she replied. Yet, if one were to look close enough, her smile didn't have its usual warmth.
"Patric, it really pains to do it," Daniel muttered once his companion finished his courtesy interaction with his secretary. "But regardless of what's going on, I need to know," he stated before repeating the sa question from before, "what are you doing here?"
This ti, Patric didn't reply right away. He turned his eyes to Daniel's face and took a mont to gather his thoughts.
"You've sidelined during the second world war," Patric said, his smile disappearing from his face. "I'm not going to let the sa thing happen again."
Daniel's face turned still as well.
"It is a huge stretch to call the current conflict a third world war," Daniel pointed out. "And I don't recall you involving yourself in any of the outer conflicts ever since… what war was it again?"
"Soviet invasion of Afghan…" Patric replied, pursing his lips into a thin line as he looked down and shook his head. "Brother, listen, that's all in the past," he claid before raising his eyes and looking directly into Daniel's eyes. "And I'm not here to ddle. I just want to be involved when the shit hits the fan."
Daniel turned silent. Then, rather than keeping the discussion up, he shook his head and turned sideways while stretching his hand out towards the insides of the bridge, inviting both Patric and his entourage inside.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The conflict sparked partially by Patric's ddling and aid at whatever was in Daniel's disciple's head at the ti. Yet, just like most of the conflicts that Patric was involved in, it quickly turned into a massive ss that stretched out for years and brought nothing but death and destruction.
"Are you going to introduce us?" Daniel asked once both parties finally sat down at the table that Daniel had hauled inside the bridge just for the sake of this eting.
"Daniel, this is Maya," Patric pointed out his hand at the girl who sat to his right. "She's my… secretary," he then added while stealing a quick, sneaky glance at Kaya who sat on Daniel's right.
The two girls were pretty similar in terms of appearance. But while Kaya kept her face still and devoid of any emotions, Maya couldn't be more excited.
"It's a great honor to et you, sir," she said, bowing her head as she greeted Daniel.
"You know of ?" Daniel asked, genuinely surprised by the developnt. The hint of displeasure that appeared on Patric's face didn't escape his attention either.
"You are not like all the other financial powerhouses of the world, sir," Maya stated, raising her head and smiling at Daniel. "I was quite surprised when Patric told all about you. I've been your fan ever since!"
Daniel turned his eyes to his forr disciple's face. Patric sighed and slightly shook his head.
"Thank you for the praise," Daniel then replied, cald down by Patric's small gesture.
This small shake of Patric's head told Daniel everything that he really wanted to know. And since he shook his head, it appeared he didn't really ntion to the girl anything that went beyond the first degree of stretched influence.
Or, in other words, while it still allowed the girl to get a glimpse at Daniel's exploits that went beyond the ability of an average human… it could still be contained within the modern world's common sense.
Just like Patric ntioning his involvent in the afghan war, he could later claim that it was all his father's doing and he simply was willing to take responsibility as the current head of the family.
"Moving on," Patric said, clearly uncomfortable with the level of attention his secretary was giving to his forr master, "Robert, Mark, and Selvius," he introduced the rest of his entourage. "Robert is the chief executive officer of the subsidiary I'm focusing most of my attention on while Mark and Selvius…" Patric took on a face of a victim of abuse, "they are the security personnel that the company refused to free from."
"I know having security follow you around can be a bit of a pain in the ass," Daniel grinned, "but such is the fate of people of success like us," he added before reaching out and grabbing the glass of wine from the table.
"As for my end of introductions, I'm Daniel, the current head of the managent of the Salva Conglorate," Daniel introduced himself just for courtesy sake before turning his hand towards his partner, "and this is Kaya, chief operation manager for the African branch of the managent."
The entire introduction part was extrely obsolete, nothing more but a part of cultural courtesy aid to showcase the goodwill between the two parties.
Daniel knew everything about every mber of Patric's entourage the second they stepped into the plane with his forr disciple. And Patric would never bring along soone who he couldn't fully trust.
After all, even though Daniel's entire operation was one thing on paper and a whole different thing in reality, Patric wasn't stupid enough not to realize its importance.
"Well then, now that the introductions are done," Patric said as he raised his own glass, "let raise the toast to the quick end of the hostilities and eternal peace on this poor continent!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)