02-09-2019, 12:29 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-09-2019, 12:33 AM by Ascendancy.)
*Zacarias written with permission for the sake of time.
That day, the Ascendancy ate his lunch with a drug lord. Well, it wasn’t the first time he entertained criminals at his table. It wouldn’t be the last. Oddly, he honestly didn’t mind the man’s past history. To be fair, Zacarias Amengual inherited a business from his older brother, the deceased Andres. What made Zacarias’ an interesting figure, however, were his altruistic strategies. He addressed social needs in his home country through charitable means outside the regulation of a broken government: strange thing for a criminal to do.
They shook hands. Zacarias spoke impeccable English, his manners superb.
“I hope you are finding Moscow to your liking.” Nikolai said.
“A treasure of the east, Ascendancy. Your graciousness is unparalleled.” Zacarias’ flattery was well-spoken. Nikolai expected nothing less. He nodded. “What can I do for you, sir?”
Nikolai wiped his mouth, napkin deposited aside. He considered his guest, feeling and prodding with every careful word.
“Your country needs my help. I am here to offer it to you.”
“And I would accept if I could.”
“If you could?” Nik inquired, but of course he knew the answer. Zacarias was not a walking embodiment of the constitution willing to sign itself away to a foreign land. Zacarias smiled grimly. Message conveyed. “Your businesses are quite vast, Mr. Amengual.”
“Nothing compared to yours, sir.”
“You are absolutely correct in that comparison. A drop to the ocean, yes.”
This time, Zacarias nodded quietly.
“You inherited your responsibilities, but I find you unlikely to be the sort of man who thinks so narrowly.”
“Indeed. I am an ambitious man.”
Therein Nikolai knew he had an ally. Zacarias continued, “but business is good. The CCD is my competitor, after all. Our products do not enter your shining borders easily. The return on such difficult investment that are such attempts is negligable. Squalor and hopelessness are my trade.”
“True. Yet you see the success of legalized, regulated industries.”
“I cannot deny your success, Ascendancy. The CCD is a civilized land, but we are not so sophisticated.”
“Mr. Amengual, I want to encourage you to think more broadly than your business. What if you managed more than a single empire isolated to a few thousand miles.”
A brow lifted, Zacarias was intrigued.
“What do you have in mind?”
Nikolai thought for a moment. “Patron of the Americas, Mr. Amengual. The most powerful man in the western hemisphere.”
Zacarias smiled. He liked the sound of that. "How could any man be worthy of such an honor?"
"He would have to prove it, of course. I'll be sending someone to you whose legitimate businesses will serve as your front. You'll need to trust me, as a gesture of faith, of course. Your own empire will blur with mine until such time as a Patron is named. Certainly, you cannot be a Patron of a Dominance that does not yet exist. Dominance IX, Mr. Amengual. Nine Dominions. Do you accept this offer?"
Zacarias could see no disadvantage. The life of a thug was not his destiny. He was to be something greater than the Shark. He smiled greedily.
"I do."
That day, the Ascendancy ate his lunch with a drug lord. Well, it wasn’t the first time he entertained criminals at his table. It wouldn’t be the last. Oddly, he honestly didn’t mind the man’s past history. To be fair, Zacarias Amengual inherited a business from his older brother, the deceased Andres. What made Zacarias’ an interesting figure, however, were his altruistic strategies. He addressed social needs in his home country through charitable means outside the regulation of a broken government: strange thing for a criminal to do.
They shook hands. Zacarias spoke impeccable English, his manners superb.
“I hope you are finding Moscow to your liking.” Nikolai said.
“A treasure of the east, Ascendancy. Your graciousness is unparalleled.” Zacarias’ flattery was well-spoken. Nikolai expected nothing less. He nodded. “What can I do for you, sir?”
Nikolai wiped his mouth, napkin deposited aside. He considered his guest, feeling and prodding with every careful word.
“Your country needs my help. I am here to offer it to you.”
“And I would accept if I could.”
“If you could?” Nik inquired, but of course he knew the answer. Zacarias was not a walking embodiment of the constitution willing to sign itself away to a foreign land. Zacarias smiled grimly. Message conveyed. “Your businesses are quite vast, Mr. Amengual.”
“Nothing compared to yours, sir.”
“You are absolutely correct in that comparison. A drop to the ocean, yes.”
This time, Zacarias nodded quietly.
“You inherited your responsibilities, but I find you unlikely to be the sort of man who thinks so narrowly.”
“Indeed. I am an ambitious man.”
Therein Nikolai knew he had an ally. Zacarias continued, “but business is good. The CCD is my competitor, after all. Our products do not enter your shining borders easily. The return on such difficult investment that are such attempts is negligable. Squalor and hopelessness are my trade.”
“True. Yet you see the success of legalized, regulated industries.”
“I cannot deny your success, Ascendancy. The CCD is a civilized land, but we are not so sophisticated.”
“Mr. Amengual, I want to encourage you to think more broadly than your business. What if you managed more than a single empire isolated to a few thousand miles.”
A brow lifted, Zacarias was intrigued.
“What do you have in mind?”
Nikolai thought for a moment. “Patron of the Americas, Mr. Amengual. The most powerful man in the western hemisphere.”
Zacarias smiled. He liked the sound of that. "How could any man be worthy of such an honor?"
"He would have to prove it, of course. I'll be sending someone to you whose legitimate businesses will serve as your front. You'll need to trust me, as a gesture of faith, of course. Your own empire will blur with mine until such time as a Patron is named. Certainly, you cannot be a Patron of a Dominance that does not yet exist. Dominance IX, Mr. Amengual. Nine Dominions. Do you accept this offer?"
Zacarias could see no disadvantage. The life of a thug was not his destiny. He was to be something greater than the Shark. He smiled greedily.
"I do."