Post by Arsen Goodstone on Jul 30, 2018 11:07:38 GMT -5
Meet me in the parking garage, top floor, midnight. No sooner, no later, midnight on the dot.
Being a few seconds earlier or later than midnight wouldn't really have any impact on the meeting that would warrant a punishment in most men's eyes, but Arsen Goodstone was not like most men. In order to be taken seriously by his employees, Goodstone felt the need to test them regularly on their ability to follow simple instructions. So there he stood, at the top of the garage, waiting for those who receieved his note just hours prior. His knuckles ached, but that was far from a new problem for him.
Arsen had a good sense of time, but opted to check his pocketwatch anyways. 11:59...tick, tick, tick...and then it struck the midnight hour, and out of the darkness strolled his hopeful employees. All of the men were battle hardened and scarred, and would have no problem getting a job for any other underboss or shady dealer, but yet again, Arsen Goodstone was not like most men. After one short of half a dozen figures materialized from the shadows and into the light of a single overhead street lamp, Goodstone tapped his cane on the pavement twice.
"Thank you all, so...SO much for coming." The sarcasm oozed out of his words, thick as butter. "Sometimes, it's so hard to find good help. Midnight on the dot, boys, and here you are. Granted, I know that you can't very well just teleport to the top of a fucking garage with the snap of your fingers, so you were here all the while, just waiting to show yourselves. And that is absoltely fine; I'm a reasonable man. You stayed out of sight until I told you to...skulking around behind cars and pillars and shit like that, doing what you had to do to follow instructions."
Goodstone kicked his leg back, and popped open the trunk of the car behind him. A body lay prone inside, shuddering and covered in blood. "You have all made the cut, just for using some fucking common sense. This bloke? He did NOT use common sense, and I beat him into a bloody pulp. He'll live to fight another day, just not for me." Arsen closed the drunk with the tip of his cane, turning back around to continue his speech.
"Have any of you ever been in a fight before? Of fucking course you have. Have you ever lost a fight? No, you have not. You might have been knocked in the dirt, but here you stand, alive and looking for work. The bloke in the boot of this car didn't lose a fight, I allowed him to live. If you lose a fight to me, you're fucking dead. Maimed, crippled, whatever I want to do to you, but that's when you know you've lost to Arsen Goodstone. I didn't lose to Monster, because I wasn't supposed to win that fight. I wasn't supposed to kill Hiroshi Yukio, so I didn't. The win wasn't that I got a measly three seconds where the prick didn't move, I won because I followed instructions and completed a contract."
Goodstone stalked foward, staring into the face of the nearest hooligan. "I called you all here today to help me complete a contract. Mr. Pure has a very high price on his head, and the manner of him LOSING THE FIGHT is very specific. My client has given me strict instructions, which I plan to follow to the T. You are all going to help me with this endeavor." Arsen shifts his gaze from face to face. "You will go find Mr. Pure, and you will NOT kill him as most other contracts go. You will leave him able to defend himself, if not barely, but STILL ABLE TO THROW A PUNCH. Do not maim him, do not cripple him...if the opportunity allows, bring him back to me and we'll parade him around the PCW arena like the exotic prize he is, and let the world watch him be put in his place. Go now, and do NOT dissapoint me."
Without a word, the five men turn and retreat back to the darkness. Not my best motivatiol speech... Goodstone thought to himself, But these boys are all just cannon fodder.
Being a few seconds earlier or later than midnight wouldn't really have any impact on the meeting that would warrant a punishment in most men's eyes, but Arsen Goodstone was not like most men. In order to be taken seriously by his employees, Goodstone felt the need to test them regularly on their ability to follow simple instructions. So there he stood, at the top of the garage, waiting for those who receieved his note just hours prior. His knuckles ached, but that was far from a new problem for him.
Arsen had a good sense of time, but opted to check his pocketwatch anyways. 11:59...tick, tick, tick...and then it struck the midnight hour, and out of the darkness strolled his hopeful employees. All of the men were battle hardened and scarred, and would have no problem getting a job for any other underboss or shady dealer, but yet again, Arsen Goodstone was not like most men. After one short of half a dozen figures materialized from the shadows and into the light of a single overhead street lamp, Goodstone tapped his cane on the pavement twice.
"Thank you all, so...SO much for coming." The sarcasm oozed out of his words, thick as butter. "Sometimes, it's so hard to find good help. Midnight on the dot, boys, and here you are. Granted, I know that you can't very well just teleport to the top of a fucking garage with the snap of your fingers, so you were here all the while, just waiting to show yourselves. And that is absoltely fine; I'm a reasonable man. You stayed out of sight until I told you to...skulking around behind cars and pillars and shit like that, doing what you had to do to follow instructions."
Goodstone kicked his leg back, and popped open the trunk of the car behind him. A body lay prone inside, shuddering and covered in blood. "You have all made the cut, just for using some fucking common sense. This bloke? He did NOT use common sense, and I beat him into a bloody pulp. He'll live to fight another day, just not for me." Arsen closed the drunk with the tip of his cane, turning back around to continue his speech.
"Have any of you ever been in a fight before? Of fucking course you have. Have you ever lost a fight? No, you have not. You might have been knocked in the dirt, but here you stand, alive and looking for work. The bloke in the boot of this car didn't lose a fight, I allowed him to live. If you lose a fight to me, you're fucking dead. Maimed, crippled, whatever I want to do to you, but that's when you know you've lost to Arsen Goodstone. I didn't lose to Monster, because I wasn't supposed to win that fight. I wasn't supposed to kill Hiroshi Yukio, so I didn't. The win wasn't that I got a measly three seconds where the prick didn't move, I won because I followed instructions and completed a contract."
Goodstone stalked foward, staring into the face of the nearest hooligan. "I called you all here today to help me complete a contract. Mr. Pure has a very high price on his head, and the manner of him LOSING THE FIGHT is very specific. My client has given me strict instructions, which I plan to follow to the T. You are all going to help me with this endeavor." Arsen shifts his gaze from face to face. "You will go find Mr. Pure, and you will NOT kill him as most other contracts go. You will leave him able to defend himself, if not barely, but STILL ABLE TO THROW A PUNCH. Do not maim him, do not cripple him...if the opportunity allows, bring him back to me and we'll parade him around the PCW arena like the exotic prize he is, and let the world watch him be put in his place. Go now, and do NOT dissapoint me."
Without a word, the five men turn and retreat back to the darkness. Not my best motivatiol speech... Goodstone thought to himself, But these boys are all just cannon fodder.