Chapter 36 #3
"Good business." The grogax bookie shrugged. "And besides, it's just because I'm better with numbers than any of the clients. Any idiot would know gambling's just a losing opportunity."
"Ah," I said, "you were just conveniently in position. And having very few morals, you were an easy jump to exploit," I said.
Based on his face, he did not like that characterization of him. He tried to get back up, but Lily snapped a kick that landed right in his kneecap, bending it back the wrong way, and knocking him back to the ground with a bellowing cry.
"Maybe we should just jump straight to the paralysis," I decided.
But while whimpering, he shook his head. "No, don't do that. Anything but that."
"Well then, you're going to have to give me something more useful," I said.
"You're right. They just picked me because I had what they needed, and I didn't give a shit about anyone but myself. They're happy that I’m easy to please while being subservient." His eyes still wavered fearfully at Lily.
"Why are you afraid of her?" I gestured, and the grogax shuddered. “Then again, most people are.” Lily could be quite terrifying to those who landed on her bad side.
Perez shook his head. “What else do you want?”
"Tell us something about these divines. Do they have some weakness? Something we can use against them? You had a bunch of data stored away in your office, and I’d rather not comb through all of it," I pressed.
"Oh, those." The grogax seemed unsurprised that we had them. "They were just profiles," he said.
"Profiles of what?" I asked.
"Gamblers. Their habits, their personality. A full data analysis from their time in Toussaint, so that I can best trigger a gambling addiction and pump them." Perez said the concept like he wasn’t the shittiest sentient being on the planet.
"Did you have one on me?" Brick asked.
"The second you step into Toussaint, it's automated.
We've got cameras observing everything about you, so that within fifteen minutes, there's a full profile on how to hook you on gambling until you bleed out your every last cent.
" Perez had the unfortunate reaction of laughing about it, which didn't go over well with my group.
"Oh, not at all." Tiri pulled out what looked like a small beam saber and lit it. It grazed the grogax's nose, causing him to hiss and slap his head against the ground to avoid it. "You're sick, you know that?"
"It's just business. And look, there's no value in killing me," he said, smiling at our group.
I smiled at him in turn. "Oh, I think what you're gonna have to do is convince us what value there is in keeping you alive. As far as I'm concerned, you're well past being a tolerable member of society."
"You're not killers," he argued, as if he were sure of that fact.
Violet stepped in front of me. "We should submit him to the Federation authorities.
The grogax would make an example of him for those who defy the regulations they've put in place to protect grogax.
In fact, I'm certain that the leading members of the grogax race would put a very fine point on making that example. "
“You’re Akari’s brat, right?” Perez asked.
The room became suffocatingly tense after that question.
“Yes.” Violet drew out the word with a tone that threatened to make it a very bad day if Perez didn’t say something intelligent next.
“You had one of her tails.” I cut in, remembering Violet had wanted answers. “Why and how’d you get it?”
“I told them that I couldn’t do what they wanted because Akari ruled this place, and they threw that tail at me.” Perez licked his lips. “They even told me the story of how it happened.” He offered up the information, like maybe that story was what we wanted.
“Oh?” I asked, curiously.
“They sabotaged her ship. Got one of the crew members into debt and had him upload a virus to her ship,” Perez explained.
I shook my head at the idiocy of that concept. “Then they cornered her in space?”
“Yeah. Doesn’t matter how powerful you are if the ship’s been hacked and you’re a sitting duck that someone very much wants to kill,” Perez continued.
“Apparently, they destroyed her ship, but she survived that and fought a bunch of fighters in space before they wore her down and dragged her into a cargo bay.”
“Enough!” Violet snapped. “I think that’s all we need to hear. Let’s submit him to the authorities and be done with this.”
I looked down at him and frowned. "Honestly, it feels like catch and release. No, if we've caught him now, we should simply solve the problem." I pulled a laser pistol from my hip and pointed it at his head.
He shook like a leaf in the wind and began blubbering. Unlike Madam Chiksai, however, I had nowhere near the same response. I could only stare down at him and see a stain on society that begged to be cleaned up.
Violet stepped back, as if she didn't want to be seen as condoning this action, yet she wasn't about to jump forward and stop me either.
A quick pull of the trigger, and it was over.
I kept it clean, but this man had ruined countless lives.
I was not going to let him continue that operation anywhere in space.