Money Makes The Galaxy Spin

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric sat in a small office building on Sith Controlled Coruscant, his eyes were hidden by a large pair of sunglasses, his eyebrow bandaged and his lip slightly split on the bottom. A healthy margin of facial hair covered the lower half of his face hiding several more large cuts and bruises. All in all, he looked as though he had just been picked up and tossed into a wall, by what, or by whom was difficult to tell, though were he to take off his suit and shirt, it would be obvious by the very large hand print that had been placed on his back.

It seemed that the people of Subterrel were hardly the ones to have a sense of humor.

Alric had made one little joke, one little quip, and immediately the reaction he had received had not at all been friendly. Really, if people didn't get so upset then there would be absolutely no problem at all. Yet they did get upset, and more often than not they got upset at Alric.

Why this was he couldn't really say, maybe it was because he didn't really have a filter, or that when among the company of drunks and belligerents he rather lost himself in the roar of the crowd, but either way. It seemed that Alric was a magnet for these sorts of things, and thus he sat here with headwounds and scars and bruises abounds. This was usual for him, so it didn't really matter in the end.

His business associates had grown used to it, so really it wasn't that big of a deal normally.

It was a big deal however today.

Here it was important because of what he was trying to do, what was happening in this building today. Most people enjoyed looking presentable, Alric had never cared. Yet the people who would be meeting with him would care, and they would care a great deal in fact. Of course he had already given them a handsome sum of money, so that would likely stifle their hubris.

He hoped anyway.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Two men walked into the door behind Alric, stepping into the windowless room with some great deal of care.

They wore similar attire to him, both in black pressed suits that seemed to be more expensive than anything else in the room. Alric stood up his face breaking into a charming smile that was most definitely fake, though that was difficult to tell. He spun around and looked at the two men, subtly scanning them for anything that might tell him of a favorable, or unfavorable position.

“Mr. Kuhn.”

The man on the right spoke first, his pronunciation of Alrics name being little more than a butchers work. He frowned slightly, looking at the man, but didn't respond. Instead he gazed towards the other man, who simply nodded and repeated the greeting that the first man had. Alric remained silent, then stepped over to the first man, giving him a shake of the hand.

“Mr. Verinthall, Mr. Poner. It's a pleasure to meet you both in person.” His voice was stern, matching that same smile that he had on his face, though it didn't seem to touch his eyes.

Both men looked rather concerned at his glasses, glancing at the overhead lights. The room had no windows, so sunlight needed no blockage.

“My eyes are rather sensitive.” Alric explained. “The brightness of the light harms them. A genetic defect I'm afraid.”

That was a lie, but one that neither men would truly understand. The glasses were in fact three fold in purpose. One was they hid the bruises on his face, two they were a cleverly disguised Heads up Display, showing him information on everything and anything he needed, and three...It gave him a position of authority.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The two men nodded, probably not thinking anything of his little lie. Most people took things at face value, they either assumed he was telling the truth, or trying to hide some embarrassment from them. Both of those things were technically true, but Alric didn't really care. Instead he swung around a bit to his left, motioning to the chair and tables behind him.

The two men moved first, taking a seat opposite where Alric had been sitting.

They took their places in almost synchronous movements, taking a seat, ruffling their coats, and moving at perfectly defined pace. Alric watched them from behind his glasses, his eyes scanning them once again. Both of them were nervous, neither having known about the other until they arrived within this room, both seemed to want to leave.

Good.

Very Good.

“Gentlemen.” Alric began, very notably not taking a seat opposite the men, but instead placing his hands on the back of his chair and looking down towards the two men. “We all know why you're here, why you've come, and what you're going to do for me.”

His words sounded ominous, worming.

The two men took on looks of trepidation, shooting each other glances before quickly panning their faces back to Alric. The young business man simply smiled, his beard quirking slightly as he did so. Business was a fine thing, a very fine thing.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“Both of you sit on the board of one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the entire galaxy.” His voice was rock steady, speaking still from that same position of authority. There was a way of doing this of course, a means of coercing people into doing what you wanted. Alric had first learned of it from his father, a man who by all indication had never lacked for anything in his entire life. That was the way of nobleman of course, they got what they wanted.

Mr. Kuhn, as his father had always liked to have been called was a very cold man, a calculating man.

It was through him that Alric had learned methods of manipulation and control that now served him so well in the business world.

Of course Mr. Kuhn had never entered the business world, thinking that such things were beneath him. Alric of course knew better. He knew that business was the way to power, the way to propel oneself to the top. Many would have claimed that politics was the way to go, but Alric knew better. Politics was toiling, boring, obsessive work.

Business?

Business was fun.

Money was a by product of business, and power was the actual substance on which most fed. That was true of any great endeavor really. Money although thought great by so many people was simply a mean of gaining power, and that power was what Aric was after. Controlling This company was only half of what he wanted, only the first stage.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The two men looked at one another again, that hint of trepidation still showing.

Alric glanced at the two, as if expecting them to say something. Silence was the greatest means of interrogation. If you wanted people to speak, if you wanted to know their deepest darkest secrets, one simply had to place them into a room and look at them expectingly. That was the first lesson that his father had taught him, the first thing he had said was important to remember.

People wanted to share their secrets.

Humans especially had an innate desire to want to belong to something exclusive, they wanted to be a apart of something that was bigger than themselves. So when you locked three individuals in a small room with one being the dominant figure and the other two the subservient, the need to volunteer information was an incredibly overpowering one. Alric had used this very same tactic before on Neimoidia, and he was using it now against Titans of Industry.

How amusing.

“Y-yes Mr Kuhn. We each sit on the board of Blas-Tech industries.”

The man repeated exactly what Alric had just said, much to his annoyance. In response he simply looked down at them again, staring through his glasses.

“There are eight other members of the board, four of whom sided with your current proposals and two of which are very unhappy with the current predicament of Blas-Tech. The other two are profoundly content.”

“Because they're still making money.”

Alric shot the other man a glance, his eyebrow raising slightly. The board member took on a look of sheepishness, and then stilled once again. Alris glanced back to the more forthcoming board member, though he did not offer anymore information.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

How had Alric Kuhn managed to cow these men into shirking like little sheep? That was rather simple. It all began with money, as it always did. People in places of power usually were greedy, very greedy. They had everything, but always wanted more. That was a rule of law in the Galaxy, a rule that seemed to spike through everyone.

Sith, Jedi, Politicians, and even business men.

They all fell to the sin that was greed eventually, it just took time.

Alric knew this, and he preyed upon it. If there was one thing that Alric had in abundance it was money. When his parents died during the Mandalorian invasion of Empress Teta it was he that gained his fathers vast wealth. Combine that with the huge holdings that Kuhn Consolidated held on Neimoidia and with wise investments he himself had personally made Alric was substantially rich.

Oh there was richer than he of course, but his wealth was nothing to scoff at.

Of course with these men, money was something of a formality. They had a lot of it, and they liked to play with it in dangerous ways. So Alric had simply designed a trap for them. A corporation that technically had no purpose, one that was little more than a scheme.

These two invested in said corporation and saw gain after tremendous gain, eventually losing themselves entirely in the firm until one day...poof, the money disappeared. The tremendous wealth that they both shared went away, and all their hard work was simply put towards keeping what they already had. After such a tremendous loss in came Alric, offering his own tremendous wealth for a single simple service.

Their complete and total cooperation.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

That was how he had bought two members of the Blas-Tech Industries board of oversight.

That was how he had come to this little office in the headquarters here on Coruscant. It was an interesting little trip to be sure, but one that had worked out very well for Alric. He practically owned these two men, as both of them had lost everything. He was keeping them afloat, using his own substantial wealth to let these two continue their outrageous lifestyle.

Both of them likely suspected that he was at fault for their current predicament, but what could they do? If they outed him they would only be laughed at and seen as fools, likely thrown off the board and unable to get a job anywhere else. If they turned him into the police the same thing would occur, and if they moved to kill him...well it was unlikely they would succeed.

“What of my most recent proposal?” Alric asked them before he lost himself in a train of thought.

His smile brightened slightly, as if trying to cheer the two men up.

Yes. They knew.

He could see it in their eyes. The slight hint of anger when they thought he was not looking, the indignation at his question, the rage that boiled beneath the surface. It was there, they knew what he had done to them, what he was doing to them. Alric would have to compensate them for this, perhaps return their wealth to them when he was done.

Or have them killed.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The two men looked at one another, perhaps unsure of how to go on in their little statement. This time the less forthcoming one spoke, his voice sounding nasally. Alric took an almost instant dislike to him, and decided that if he was going to have them killed, he would definitely be the first to go.

Death his father had said, was a part of the world. Having someone killed should come as easily to a man as having a glass of water. It was a part of the galaxy, and a part of the practices of a modern gentlemen. This may have seemed harsh to many, but to Alric it was simply a way of life, simply a way of getting things done. One or two people fallen by the wayside was nothing when one looked at the population of the galaxy, and to achieve ones dreams, what was one dead man?

“They are...reluctant.”

The man's voice grated on Alrics ears, but he motioned for him to continue.

“You are an unknown name in the galaxy. Especially here on Coruscant. Though they looked at your resume and liked your proposals, the others are still hesitant to vote you in.”

That was to be expected really. Why after all would the Board of one of the biggest weapons manufacturers even bother with a small time fish like him? Oh companies brought in executives from the outside all the time, fresh blood to make the company whole again, but Blas-Tech hiring someone like him? What a ludicrous idea.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Of course, Alric had been expecting this. Hell, he had known exactly the reaction that this would cause. It was part of his plan, part of his plot. These two were not enough to convince the entire Board, he had known that. The simple way of course would have been to buy the rest, simply toss money at them until they did what he wanted.

Unfortunately, unlike these two idiots the rest of the board seemed to be somewhat intelligent.

This was of course where Alrics business acumen came in. His knack for knowing peoples minds, and the gift he had for growing and stabilizing a corporation. That was of course why Kuhn Consolidated was so successful, because the corporations that invested in almost always showed a new profit after Kuhn Consolidated got involved with them. That was in part because Alric was very good at what he did, and what he did was grow the market.

Blas-tech would see the very same growth, he knew that, even though his plans for the company weren't exactly the same as his past ventures. The board knew this, they had seen his proposals and had come to understand how his mind worked. That was when he had had to show his hand, when he had had to prove what he could do.

It wasn't something he liked doing, but he had known it was necessary in order to actually get what he wanted, and what he wanted was Blas-Tech in his pocket.

“Then I believe gentlemen.” He paused for a moment and glanced at the two men. “That it's time you bring me in.”

They looked at him with that same trepidation, the nervousness. Bring him in to meet the board? That was a dangerous move, a very dangerous move. They would know that he was in collaboration with him, that he was the man pulling their strings. The men looked at each other with more than a degree of nervousness, clearly not liking the idea that Alric had put forth.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

One of them was about to speak, but Alric cut him off with sharp words.

“Your time is at an end.” His voice was very stern now, a father talking to two bickering children who couldn't get along. “You have played your parts well, and I’ll see that both of you are aptly compensated. Yet I'm afraid that you cannot do anymore. The idea of me is floating in the heads of those remaining eight board members, and I'm sure that at least two of them will vote against me no matter what I do or present to them, but the other six? Those I can convince.”

Again the more outspoken man looked as though he was about to say something, his face scrunched and his lips began to move. For a second, time seemed to slow and Alric observed him. His sputtering features, the slight red lines in his eyes, the sacks of blue beneath them. He had apparently been under a lot of stress.

Alric couldn't imagine why.

What did he have to worry about? Money? No. He had money, Alric knew he had money cause he gave him that money. Being found out? No. No Alric knew that the man wouldn't tell anyone and he knew that Alric would never tell anyone either. Was it his wife? His mistress? His children? No. None of those things.

An interesting thought floated into his head. Was he worried about losing? Was he worried that Alric was going to beat him and get his way. He chuckled in his head, a second still not having passed. Did the man not realize that Alric had already won?

“You can't. Bring me into the meeting. I believe it starts in ten minutes.” Those were his final words, and they were met with silence.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He was right of course, the meeting started in exactly ten minutes. He had a knack for numbers, and time. It was easy for him to keep track of. Time was fixed, at least in most places, so following clocks, schedules, and events on multiple worlds was actually quite easy. In today's world things were even simpler, with the interconnectedness of most planets it made keeping up with the clock easier, not everyone followed galactic Standard time after all.

Even with the war between the One Sith and...well everyone else. It was still more than possible to keep track of time.

Time was a precious thing.

To Alric it was important because an Empire of Business was built not just on the hard work and backs of men and women, but on punctuality and certain schedule requirements. Shipments, meetings, business allocations, everything had to be on time. Everything had to flow smoothly and quickly. If it didn't, then things would soon break apart.

That was a simple fact of the business world. If your company lagged behind, then your company would fail. To Alric, this was a simple practice, and one that he found incredibly easy to keep up with. Through his two little puppets he already knew the ins and outs of Blas-Tech, the company schedule as well as practices were already firmly placed in his mind.

Thats why it came as no surprise to him that he had indeed been correct about the time of the meeting, and thats why it was no surprise to him that he found himself sitting in a large leather chair at the head of a massive wooden table in front of Ten men and women who represented Blas-Tech.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

They looked at him. Some with an eagerness, some with trepidation, and some with outright disdain. The latter were only two in number, and they had their reasons for their disdain. Those two men were the only ones on this board that stood to gain from the current state of Blas-Tech Industries.

Alric looked to them.

They sat on opposite sides of the table, each one leering after the seat that he himself was on. Oh he knew their motivations well, why the despised him so. Each of them was in line to become CEO, each of them had the qualifications, the know how, and the experience to take the job that Alric was poised to take himself. They both despised one another, they both hated each other, and they both felt a rage akin to Chaos when the looked at Alric.

He was a threat to everything the two of them had worked for, he was a threat to their money, their goals, and their plans. Alric knew this, and he had for the past months played the two men against each other. Ensuring that Blas-Tech remained with a Chief Executive Officer that by all accounts missing in action.

It served him well to do such things after all.

With the hate that they now stared at him with, it was easy to see why neither of them had yet to become Chief Executive Officer. Neither of them were levelheaded enough to take the position, neither of them had what it actually took to run a corporation of this size, reduced as it might be. He smiled at them, that same confident and commanding smile.

There was something to be said about their anger.

It was focused, it was present, and almost every person in this room was well aware of it. Alric simply allowed it to pass over him, watching as the men stared daggers at him. They weren't important after all, no, he was far more worried about the other six, four of whom already liked him.

Slowly, Alric reached up and removed his glasses.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The Board room was brighter. Brighter certainly than the small room that he had been present in earlier. His eyes blinked away the sun streaming in through the massive pane glass windows that lined two sides of the room, his gaze falling on some of the female board members before quickly shifting back towards the males.

There were a few gasps as he took off his glasses, the large bruise lining the rim of his eye socket.

It was unsightly to be sure, and many probably preferred that he had kept his glasses on. Fighting was no gentlemanly pursuit, at least not the sort of fights that Alric got himself into. Then again that hardly mattered, since he was about to worm his way into controlling one of the biggest Corporations in the entire galaxy.

“Please don't concern yourself with this.” Alric motioned to his face. “I was recently in an accident that saw me appear far worse than i actually am.”

Some of the people looked at him questioningly.

That was another thing about people. They were always curious, always wanted to know more about other peoples business. That was true for even the poorest orphan to the richest man. It was an innate curiosity that all sapient creatures carried. He was sure that curiosity had something to do with why life developed sentience anyway, but not being a scientist Alric couldn't really say.

“If I may Mr. Kuhn, what happened?”

It was one of the females. Alric smiled at her, a charming smile that touched his eyes. “Let's just say the doors in my home have a habit of closing at the wrong times.”

That got a chuckle out of a few of the board members, though the two still stared daggers at him. A quick glance told him which of the board had laughed, and inwardly he smiled as he realized it was a majority.

That was all he needed.

A Majority.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

A few of them shifted uncomfortably.

They were the ones that he needed, the ones that wanted to get down to business. His two puppets remained rigid in their seats, each one knowing that their task was to be in this, each one looking as though they were about to puke. They didn't like what was going to happen, but they knew that there was no way of stopping Alric now, no way of halting his manifest destiny.

“I realize that some of you may take my presence as a threat.” He began quietly, though loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him. His opening statement was not a kind one, in fact it was downright accusatory, but as he started, time once again began to slow for Alric.

The room seemed to fade, becoming more dull and less bright.

His eyes shifted, moving about and observing things as he spoke. This was always something his mind had done, it moved fast, faster than most, and it enabled him to take in and analyze what was happening. It was part of why he was so successful at what he did, he could read people, situations, and find out the best possible course. This was in no way different. As he spoke he took in the reactions of those around him.

He saw that one of the females was eying him. He saw that one of the males was too. He saw that four of the board members were listening with strained intent, and he saw that one of them was not listening at all.

These were the observations he took in.

These were the things that he used to shape his words. To entice the others into listening to him, to hear his words and side with him. All he needed was a majority, all he needed was four, four to side with him and vote him into the head of this company.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“But I assure you. I am not here to threaten anyone or take their position within this firm” That earned a scoff from one of the men who abhorred him. Alric cast a glance at him, a quiet one that told of slight annoyance, but also reprehensibility. “I wish to be a part of this company for one simple reason.”

Here was the lie.

Here was the thing that he would tell them, and they would believe. He could see it on their faces, the eagerness to believe him, the want, the need to think that there was no ulterior motive but one. It was funny really, to think how greedy the already rich could be, to see just how much more they wanted, how much more they craved.

“To make money.” He finished with a satisfied smile.

Some of them relaxed, others nodded, and still others simply gave him the same expressionless glance as before. His own gaze followed quickly through the room, looking at every face there. He tried to read them again, see if he had caught any attention with just a few simple worlds. He found that he did, but not in the numbers that he needed, not in the numbers that he wanted.

“In front of each of you is a datapad. You have seen a part of my business plan, but not all.” He motioned for them to pick up the slated data and then continued on. “My primary goal is to make each and every single person in this room unfathomably rich. Richer than you currently are, and richer than you could be on your current path.”

That caught eyes, and a few mouths agape as they saw the figures, and the plans that Alric had. “Of course, this is not assured and dependent on a number of variables. Yet I believe with the correct measures this plan will be more than possible.”

It of course was, but the plan that each of them held was only the first step in what he wanted. Only the first.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“Mr. Kuhn.”

His eyes shot towards the man that spoke.

He was little, shorter than Alric and even some of the women in the room. He looked like he was balding and his spectacles made him look almost rat like. Alric gave him a very serious expression, the same he would have given to any other man or woman. Just cause he looked like a rat didn't make him formidable, in fact he might have been a genius.

Of course he wasn't.

Alric knew the name and history of every single member of this board, being well aware of who they were, what they had done in their lives, and what they wanted. That was simply good research, and it was another reason why Alric would succeed in this venture. He knew the people he was playing with, he knew their thoughts, their motivations, and their weaknesses.

“These plans are admittedly very impressive, and given your history I have no doubt in my mind you intend to follow through. Yet you come from a...relatively, small corporation. What makes you think you can apply these practices to Blas-Tech.”

As suspected, the man was not a fool.

Alric smiled, and once again time slowed for the length of a single breath. He watched those within the room, the man who had asked him the question, the other members of the board. A few of them seemed to shift uncomfortably, a few of them looked at Alric, and he began to see a change in attitude. They had liked his plan, now he needed to convince them he could do it.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric raised himself up in his chair slightly, shifting within the hard leather and intertwining his fingers onto the table before him. He looked at the Bespectacled man for a few seconds, gaze shifting only for a few seconds. The answer was a simple one, one that would sound arrogant and cocky beyond all belief. A tactic that might have worked in a smaller corporation, but not here.

Here Alric had to be humble, he had to be the beginner, the new man that thought he could do well, but with the guidance of the older generation.

That was what they weren't expecting. They thought of him as a man with an ego, someone that would bust in, take charge, and use them the corporation the way he wanted to. Alric knew better. He knew that it was better to have the board on his side, and he knew it was better to let them think it was they that were still running things, not him.

“I think I can apply them Mr Nierin because I have applied them time and time again.” He reiterated that fact. “On small corporations, and big ones. It has failed at times, yes, but in those instances I did not have the backing of men and women such as yourself. As you note, the plan requires the assistance of the board, and will result in your great benefit as well as mine.”

Some of their features softened now that they knew they would not be cut out. Oddly, one of the despicable men seemed to relax. “You are all well aware of what these practices take, you have been apart of this industry for many years. I expect that with cooperation and a steady plan, this approach will be truly profitable for this board.”

The two puppets looked scared, five board members nodded, and three simply stared at Alric.

Five.

Good.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He continued on this way for some time, speaking about cooperation, synergy, and quite a few corporate buzz words that meant absolutely nothing but seemed to settle the minds of more than a few of the board members. In the end, seven of them were ready to support him. He could see it in their eyes, the way they sat, and the motions of their hands. All trepidations were gone, and most of them simply wanted a vote.

There were three hold outs, the two that hated him, though that was to be expected, and a third who seemed to be rather worried about something. She looked pale, and her hands tittered on the desk over and over again as if something were trying to bite her. Alaric looked at her, his gaze dropping to her hands.

Were he bold, he would have stood and approached her.

Instead he looked at her, then to the man besides her. He didn't seem to notice the shaking of her hands, in fact no one did. They were all too focused on him, or dreaming about the money that he was about to make them. Alric watched her for a few moments more, empty words spilling from his mouth as he convinced the board that what they were about to do was the right thing.

When he finished, he looked over to the woman.

Her hands were still shaking.

“Miss Berit.” She was unmarried, in her late fifties. She had inherited her place on the board from her husband who had held a large stake within Blas-Tech before his death, Upon his fatal accident Miss Berit had taken up her husbands place on the board. That had occurred some thirteen years ago and she had now been one of the main executives in the company for quite some time. “You have concerns?”

The others looked to her.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“I...”

She stuttered at first, but Alric shot her a smile and an encouraging look, his hands a picture of an ocean calm. She had to know that someone in the room was willing to hear her out, and from the looks the others gave her it was unlikely they would.

Alric settled into the position.

“Mr. Lee served this company well. He expanded it, brought it to the forefront, and made us larger than ever before. He gave this company many of its connections and practices.”

Alric nodded along with her.

He had a great deal of respect for Cade Lee. Everything that she said was one hundred percent true. The man had worked tirelessly for his corporation and had grown Blas-Tech into something massive and galaxy spanning after its decline during the Gulag Plague. He had been an impressive CEO and reportedly a very impressive man.

Unfortunately, he was no longer here.

He had abandoned Blas-Tech and now there were others that would reap the rewards for him doing so. Chief among then was Alric. If Mr. Lee ever made his returned Alric was sure that there would be conflict between the two of them, and he was sure that Mr. Lee would provide ample challenge against him. Yet for now, Alric was in a position of strength, and he was in a position of leverage. So Blas-Tech would be his.

At least until Mr. Lee decided to show up again.

Then the fun would begin.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric looked to Miss Berit, that same smug self satisfied smile appearing on his face. His gaze dropped down to her hands, finding that they had finally stopped shaking. Apparently Miss Berit had held a great deal of affection towards Cade Lee, perhaps a crush of some sort. Alric didn't really know that, something that he found odd. Perhaps his research had missed something. He frowned for a split second, before returning the smile to his face.

“I understand this hesitation Miss Berit, and I understand where it comes from. Unfortunately, it is unfounded. Cade Lee abandoned this corporation. I do not know where to or why, but I do know that he is not present, nor has he been present for some time. His absence has caused this board to fall into a slump, and with it, the company. Blas-Tech is not what it was just a few months ago, and if you let it, it will fall even further.” He began to speak more encouragingly and more broadly towards the others. He knew that it was not just Miss Berit that had this concern.

“Blas-Tech is the name in blasters, but if it continues it's decline, that title will be challenged.” He spoke quietly, but sternly. “WESTAR, Tenloss, and even Browncoat Arms and Industrial are now trying to move in on the market share of blasters. If you allow them, they will take the business that you have worked so hard to garner.”

Nods throughout the room. Alric smiled and continued.

“With this plan, and me at the head of this board, we can set Blas-Tech back on the right track.” As he finished the board members looked from one to another. He had his seven votes, and from the look on Miss Berits face he actually had eight. His smile broadened as one of his puppets finally spoke, calling for a vote of replacement to put Alric Kuhn in charge of Blas-Tech Industries.

It went like he thought it would.

They took ten minutes to deliberate amongst each other. Quiet Whispers, small statements, nothing that Alric didn't expect. After ten minutes, they called for a vote. The process was simple, the puppet began, speaking quickly but with practiced patients, as if he had been looking in the mirror reciting his words for the last three days. Alric's palms simply remained on the table in front of him.

Quickly, they went around the room.

Every single member of the board would get their vote, Either eyes, or no. It started with the puppets, both saying an affirmative “yay”. Then it went to the others. They moved more quickly, many of them having already made up their mind, a few halted things, taking another minute or two before finally saying their decision. Eventually it came to one of the those that hated him, and to Alrics complete lack of surprise, he answered in the affirmative.

Money was involved after all.

At the end of the vote, Alric stood from the heard leather chair, nine votes in his favor, nine people who had agreed to him being the new chief executive officer of Blas-Tech industry. The one man that remained was looked to him, scowling as Alric stood at the head of the table. Intense Hazel eyes stared at the man who had yet to speak, looking into his soul and driving his will downward.

Until finally, he budged.

“Yes.”