Personal Log - Dani Atarah, Kalina Zett, Tom Cardello - A Steep Price - Earth X

Posted on Fri Sep 12th, 2014 @ 9:45am by Danielle Atarah

1,673 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?
Location: Earth

"Hurry up, little girl, our ride's here," Zett muttered, tying her shoe laces at the entrance.

"I've been ready since the morning, Kal, you're the one who took forever to wake up and get dressed..."

Zett glanced up at her, unsmiling. "Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep," she took a quick breath and zipped her jacket, motioning to Dani with her head to go.

Dani brushed her arm on the way out. "It'll be okay, Kal. Whatever price..."

"Yeah, yeah," the woman grunted, looking at the two armed men who were to be their escort for the trip to Cardello's restaurant. That, the Trill thought to herself, was at least a good sign; the meeting is in a public place, outside, Cardello seemed to have put at least some measure of effort into it, which made the odds of it just being for the sake of their (or just Dani's) death, that much smaller.

The shuttle whooshed off in silence.

* * *

They climbed down from the vehicle, the two guards behind them, two more walking briskly over from the entrance to the restaurant.

"Captain Zett," one nodded, and Zett turned her attention over, stopping. Dani and Smith stopped too, but the other man gestured for them to proceed. "She has a little issue to take care of. Mr. Cardello's asked you won't wait for her, she will rejoin you later."

Dani wasn't too happy about that, but there was no real way to argue. She nodded, exchanging a we-finally-agree-on-that-sentiment look with Smith, and walked into the restaurant.

* * *

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," Cardello's smile was his signature cold stare, gesturing at the two empty seats. Dani found it interesting that there wasn't a third chair available for Zett, but she sat quietly, put her palms calmly on the tablecloth, and looked at the horrible smile on Cardello's face.

"Let's talk business," Cardello gestured, and a waiter walked closer, pouring wine into his glass, and then Smith's. Dani intended to refuse, but didn't have the chance to; the waiter didn't even ask. Instead, he walked off to the kitchen, leaving two guests with his boss and three armed body guards.

Dani's stomach clenched. Something wasn't right, and not in a way she was comfortable predicting. She knew he was angry, but their tug of war left both of them in a relative standstill; there was no doubt he needed her, and that means that she, in turn, could have some leeway in what she will -- and won't -- do.

But he was angry, and the room's atmosphere reflected it.

Smith shifted in his seat uncomfortable, and Dani took a quick breath, hoping to have this done wtih.

"You have a new list for us, Mr. C?"

"I do," the man nodded, and one of the guards moved closer to her seat, making her extremely uncomfortable. He pulled a PADD from his pocket and lay it in front of her. Cardello stared at her, his face stuck in his terrifyingly cold smile.

Dani examined the PADD.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, then she put the device back on the table and took a breath, exasperated.

"Is this a joke?"

Cardello's face remained impassive, but his skin flared red. "This is your new list."

"There's only one item," Dani pointed. Smith became visibly nervous, glancing at the PADD in apprehension. "The item."

"Yes, Danielle. The item."

Dani stared at him, ready for another show down, another argument, ready to explain, in detail if she must, how she isn't a stupid little pawn anymore, how her connections extend more than he would consider safe, how---

And then the table rushed into her face.

For a moment, the world became white, then red, then back to the dark interior of the restaurant. Dani's first instinct was to reach her palm to her face, brush her hair away and measure the damage. She could feel her nose swelling already, but her arms were not cooperating; they were pinned, roughly, to the sides of her body by two massive muscly arms of the body guard.

"Ehh." She raised her head to look at Cardello. At least now she knew why Zett was called away. Better this way, too. The woman would've gotten herself in serious trouble if she tried to defend Dani right now.

"Is this how you plan to convince me?" She looked up finally, glaring at him defiantly between loose strands of red flared hair.

Smith's chair was already away from the table, but the man controlled his reactions, his palms halfway up, staring at the other big body guard that stood ready to tackle him.

Cardello remained exactly the same, with the same cold smile, his eyes on Dani's, as if this was the most perfectly normal way to start a meal.

"Yes." He whispered poisonously, his voice so quiet Dani took a moment to fully process his words. "We had a deal. I put a lot of effort and resources into keeping my end of it, Danielle, and you are going to uphold your end of it. This is my list." he hissed that last word, making Dani think of a snake, "You are going to get me everything on that list."

"Not that item, I'm not." Dani spat, and Smith visibly shuddered, giving her a "what the hell is wrong with you" look. She ignored him. She's seen the damage that could be done from these types of missiles -- even the regular, smaller versions were weapons hat could lead to hundreds of dead, and this wasn't just any "regular" weapon. It was a prototype, a long-range heavy missile that could change the game entirely for Cardello's operations, or whoever he was planning to sell it to.

"You can kill me," she continued, staring him down despite her bloody nose, "but then you better find a really good place to hide, Cardello. A really good place. My connections aren't going to let this go. Not if I'm dead. There won't be a place in this galaxy safe enough for you to hide in."

"I'm not going to need to kill you," he spat back, his expression finally changing to anger. Then, taking a breath to control himself, he leaned back and straightened his jacket.

"You are going to give me what I want. You're going to give me anything I will ask you for, because this," he pointed at the PADD, "is only the beginning. You're going to get me everything, and you're not going to say a fucking word about it, except for 'What's next Mister Cardello' and 'how fucking high should I jump.'" He stared at her.

And she -- either having a death wish, or maybe a concussion -- smiled. "Yeah, right."

Cardello got up so fast his chair was flung backwards noisily, startling Smith, who got up quickly too, his eyes shifting from Dani to Cardello to the two remaining body guards, one of which was reaching for a phaser menacingly. Smith seemed to take the hint and took a breath, holding himself backwards, calculating.

Dani had very little time to flinch. As quickly as he jumped up, Cardello half walked half pounced across the table, grabbing her by the collar and lifting her up against the guard that pinned her arms together.

"You listen to me you little insolent brat," he spat, and Dani stared at him, her life flashing in quick bursts before her eyes. "I'm the one in control here. I set the rules, I set the terms, I fucking tell you what to do." He leaned to speak an inch from her face, so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

"If you don't," he whispered, "I will not kill you," he leaned back only slightly, nodding briskly at his men without taking his eyes off hers, and then grabbed her chin, turning her face to look at the wall behind them, "I will kill them."

The wall vanished, shimmering away like a colorful forcefield, revealing a large bright space full of stoves, cabinets, sinks, and walk-in refrigeration units.

In the middle of the space, near a small metal table, sat an older woman quietly, her eyes puffed with worry and horror, her arms holding two squirming toddlers. The toddlers shifted and moved, trying to climb out of the woman's firm grip.

Dani's breath caught in her chest. Zett was there, too, crouching near the older woman, holding a wet red-stained towel in her hand, her body obscuring the fourth person from view.

Dani stared, her eyes widening in horror, her jaw clenching, her fists closing into tight balls of fury, her muscles tightening -- and then relaxing in defeat, horror washing through her every cell.

It was over. She played the wrong hand, and bet on the wrong odds.

He won.

Zett shifted her weight and turned to dip the towel into a small bowl of water, the movement exposing the final fourth person in the room.

Anne sat on a plastic chair, holding her arm close to her chest, nodding quietly to words said by the Trill in front of her. Her blond curls stuck to her cheeks in reddening clumps, blood oozing from a cut in her forehead, her eyes full of tears.

Dani could barely breath.

"What did you do," she managed, barely, weakly, collapsing into the guard's grip, her heart sinking so low in her chest, she could feel it in her feet, her eyes filling with tears of anger, despair and fear.

"What... did you do..." She repeated, not quite sure if the question was meant for Cardello or for herself.

"What the hell did you do..."

The twins started crying.


-- TO BE CONTINUED --

* * *

Danielle Atarah
Grifter / Thief
Earth

Tom Cardello
Head
The Cardello Syndicate, Earth

Kalina Zett
Captain
Bristol Supply ship
The Cardello Syndicate

Smith
Executive Officer
Bristol Supply ship
The Cardello Syndicate

&

Anne Levine-Planck
Madison and Cooper Levine-Grant
Roberta Stewart-Levine

* All NPCs played by Mooey

 

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