1. Chapter 1 (1/2)
a/n: reposted, very slight changes from last time. a modern
interpretation of hades and persephone, keep in mind that these
characters have many different sides to them. you'll see what i mean.
disclaimer:
i don't own the greek myths. i own this modern retelling, and the
modern characters. i also own my own imagination, i hope. this fanfic
in set in baltimore, as you will come to see. there's no particular
reason i chose it, just because. i don't live in baltimore, and i never
have. all my information on it comes from wikipedia and driving above
on it on the beltway. residents of baltimore, forgive me.
lethe
"i have a business proposition for
you."
the voice echoes across the conference
table-red mahogany, i note to myself. pretty darn expensive. jude's
been doing well for himself.
of course, so have i. i've been doing
extremely well for myself. and for jude as well, but that's of lesser
immediate importance to me.
i don't even look up from cleaning my
fingernails with my switchblade. cliché
thing to do, i know. it works great for scaring the hell out of
certain fellas. jude isn't one of those fellas, but that's more
because he's known me all his life.
"everythin's a business
proposition to yeh,
o." i throw the knife onto the expensive,
red mahogany conference table. it makes a mark, but jude doesn't even
flinch. that's how well he's
done for himself. "let me guess. 'nother yur rivals up
again?"
he nods. i've known jude all his life,
just like he's known me all mine. i love him like a
other, more
than a
other in fact, cus i
distinctly remember stabbing my older
other in the leg when
i was ten, before all the foster homes.
but that's a bygone. a long dead
memory.
my point here is, i've known jude all
his life. all of it that counts, 'nway. he's a
other afta my own
heart, ya know? but 'e can get, well, repetitive. like now,
f'example. right now, jude's gonna tell me ta make sure no enemies of
'is gonna get in the way of 'is company. then 'e's gonna go home an'
sleep with anyone 'cept his wife.
"well, should i kill 'em for you,
for should i simply assist in their economic ruin?" i ask,
calmly. i've done this a hundred times before.
he's frowning. then he's shaking his
head.
"no," he says. "no, it
would look too suspicious, their chief executive dropping dead while
on the rise to threaten pantheon industries. god knows, i have the
district attorney on my case enough as it is. no...it's gotta be
subtle."
"financial ruin?" i suggest,
putting my feet up on the table. black hiking boots, still grimy from
the streets.
jude thinks about this. he doesn't find
any better alternative, and eventually shrugs. like i say,
repetitive.
"make it seem like coincidences.
two or three unfortunate incidents, which have absolutely nothing to
do with pantheon. and no murders. that attorney bitch turned up again
yesterday, and so did that journalist bitch. god, i hate
journalists."
he stubs out his cigar, and stomps
around the room, making a point of this. then he looks up at me.
"why aren't you gone?" he
asks in surprise. my
other's got a point in this. i would usually
slip out in silence while he was busy going on about journalists.
i smirk at him.
"don't you like my company,
o?"
i move my boots off the table and let them fall to the floor heavily,
using the momentum to stand up. "i'm hurt,
o."
jude looks at me. that blue-eyed stare
still has command in them, and the power to make junior vice
presidents want to jump through the nearest window. too bad i'm
immune to it, by now.
"don't play games with me."
he warns me, in a low dangerous voice. i throw my head back and
laugh. it reminds me of the street, where life was anything but a
game. unlike our lives now, of course.
"hey now." i say. "calm
down. it's just the small issue of my pay that we've got to talk
about, now."
"your payment? you'll get your
payment. with pantheon's next government payment, like we always do."
let me explain for a bit here. pantheon
is widely known as the single best company for weapons aircraft.