“Is the man requesting your aid ‘Kiranovic Drakovic’?” I give him a nasty look, and he fills in the blanks for me. For a man so dense, he can be quite sharp. Why’d he ask me who he was? Does he know multiple people by the same given name? “He’s a notorious real-estate agent and commercial business developer. Specifically, he manages, leases, and builds properties that generate a large influx of income. Why does he want to speak with you?”

“Jealous?” Now it’s his time to make a face. Did I offend him? Did he think I didn’t know who Kiranov was? “You’re not the only high-profile elite to sully their boots by walking through my establishment.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” the sour look on his face seems to disappear as if my comment was merely a misunderstanding. No, I still think you’re a little jealous, don’t get ahead of yourself. “-what I mean to ask is… why is he trying to buy your land?” He figured that out just from hearing the word ‘land’? Moreover, I’m aware that this place is undesirable for future business ventures. What he wants to ask me is ‘why is this man terrorizing you, and how did you manage to piss him off’? 

I’m not obligated to tell him a thing.

“My law firm has represented him through many trials. He isn’t a man that takes ‘no’ for an answer.”

As if I wouldn’t know that by now without you having to mention it.

“What a coincidence. I’m a man that loves to say ‘no’.” The cold look on his face seems to soften ever so slightly.

“Be wary of him.”

Is he actually worried about me?

Do I need to pat him on the head for being a good boy or tug on his leash so he stops looking down on me? Do I look like a damsel in distress?

“Make no mistake, Zhulong. The person Kiranov should be afraid of is standing right here.” The softness may as well have been a mirage, because he goes right back to scolding me. Perhaps I was just seeing things I wanted to see.

“I don’t think you realize what kind of person Kiranovic is… he isn’t like you.”

I fold my arms across my chest and glare at him. Is that your way of telling me I don’t understand people like you?

“And what is that supposed to mean?"

“He’ll break the law if he knows he can get away with it.” Ah, so he finally accepts that I won’t cross the law? At least he’s got that through his head at last, but it’s a little ironic of him to say so right now. When faced with a greater evil, many mistake the lesser evil for good.

It wouldn’t matter if both I and Kiranov burned. The world would be better off without us. To the earth, it’s all the same– dead weight.

“.........Is that supposed to surprise me?”

“Pardon?” I don’t know what to think of his warning. Is it sweet that he’s trying to give me advice, or is he throwing a lifeline to a man in shallow water when he himself is drowning in the deep end? He’s a fool for someone so educated.

“Wow, rich people get away with scummy things? I’m so shocked. I never would have known that in my line of work.” he furrows his brows and turns to look away. Again, I get the feeling he believes he’s given me the wrong answer.

“I wasn’t trying to mock you…” Fooled me. I could have sworn he was doing it on purpose to get under my skin.

“Whatever. He isn’t your problem, so just forget you heard my assistant mention his name.” I want to go back to interrogating him about his family situation rather than think about things I can’t deal with right now. I don’t wish to stick to the topic any longer. Zhulong however, seems to stick to it like dust to a swiffer.

“If you keep fighting him, he’ll grow impatient and begin pulling strings to make your life difficult," I don’t have the time to stop him before he suggests something outrageous. And for the first time in a while, I feel my blood run cold. “-why don’t you just give him what he wants?”

It takes me a moment to understand the suggestion. I have to do a mental double-take in order to see if I’ve simply misheard him or hallucinated the whole thing.

“......What did you just say?”

Does this guy simply give up when someone asks him to give up? Is this the same person that so boldly reached out to catch an ember the very first day that we met? Or, would this simply benefit his own end-goal?

“I don’t know exactly why he wishes to own this land, but my guess is that he wants to turn it into a new business venture. The rest of the downtown area is already under his ownership. Were you aware of that?”

Of course, I’m aware. Why do you think I’m telling him to fuck off? I was going to ignore the topic and pressure him to talk about his family, but now I need to know what makes him think I asked for his unsolicited advice. 

“Zhulong,” I step towards him until we’re practically chest-to-chest. He’s pushing his luck with me a lot lately. “-this is my business. Not yours.”

“If you had to go to court over ownership, my law firm would have to support Kiranovic,” he takes a step back, but I follow him. He’ll get himself backed into a wall if he keeps stepping away. Eventually, he figures it’s impossible to widen the distance between us, so he stops. “-I’m only saying this from experience. Try to solve this amicably.”

Does he believe I’m against solving things amicably? If he’s so close with Kiranov, then he should know that no amount of amity will overthrow deep-rooted animosity. 

“I’m not going to let him buy out every landlord in this area only to flatten our district and turn it into a gambling-den.” He doesn’t even wish to do it for the locals. No, he’s simple, greedy and shallow. If Kiranovic got what he wanted, he would raise the living-tax and drive out all the people in the nearby areas that couldn’t keep up with the new cost of living. I know what it is he wants, and if I allow him to get what he wants, everyone that lives here will have nowhere left to turn for shelter. He’s already threatened to increase the rent for the downtown citizens that can barely speak English. Am I supposed to let him bulldoze me like he does everyone else? For what? And for who?

This is the only liveable place for outcasts with nowhere else to go. That includes myself.

Kiranovic just enjoys crushing weak targets for his sick satisfaction. Why would I give someone like this ‘what he wants’? Fuck him. And FUCK anyone who sticks up for him. He can find a different hobby. If he’s so pressed he’s seeing green, I’ll grind him into dust and scatter his ashes over a bustling forest. Be one with nature, motherfucker. Between myself and Kiranov, I’m convinced I’m not only a lot more stubborn, but I have a lot more experience than he does when it comes to fighting the current. 

My job and pastime is to go after high-ranking government officials, CEO’s, and prestigious entities with skeletons in their closet; while Kiranov settles for what he deems to be an easy win. I may not have been born into wealth like Kiranov, but I more than worked for it all on my own. Moreover, beyond birthright to wealth is something greater that this excuse of a man can not comprehend. 

Kiranovic may have been born to be a thorn in my side, but I was destined to rob bastards like him blind of every last cent he owns. If he is a thorn, I am nature’s barbed wire. 

Simply put, I’m better at this than he is.

“Is there a reason you won’t negotiate with him?” Zhulong asks, and I immediately raise my tone.

“What are you? His lawyer on retainer or something?”

But a thorn in my side is still an annoying thing to be…

“.......”

I thought I tied myself to an anchor, but no, this man’s presence is heavier than all my past mistakes combined. He’s a damn uranium block liquidated into my bloodstream.

I should have looked the other way.

“Oh, you can go fuck yourself if you’re about to tell me you work for Kiranov.” The fact he’s so calm about it just pisses me off even more.

“I told you that my law firm deals with his cases personally.”

“You didn’t say you were his personal lawyer.” Although, I should have figured that one out on my own. Of course, Kiranov would have a ruthless lawyer on his side, and of course that lawyer would be just as big of a pain in the ass as Kiranov himself.

“.....I don’t handle all his cases, but I do manage those in real-estate. I’m telling you to be careful.” If he continues to act like a good samaritan, I might just do something I’ll regret. This fake display of concern doesn’t work on me.

“That’s not at all what you’re telling me. This is a poorly veiled threat. You’re telling me to just roll over and let him turn this district into his own personal playground while the rest of us go homeless.” 

“Doesn’t your business earn more than enough revenue to relocate?”

That’s it.

Something inside me just snaps when I hear him speak of money that way. It’s as if years of starvation, poverty and struggle was ripped out of my chest only to be served up as a meal to people like Zhulong and Kiranov. Our desires are merely trivial compared to theirs- that’s what he’s telling me by dismissing my autonomy.

I can’t keep it together.

“You privileged piece of shit!” I slam him against the wall and pin him in place. He’s got a better chance to resist than most people due to his size, but he’s too stunlocked to even consider running away. 

This isn’t a publicly owned business, Zhulong. Did you think I wasn’t going to raise my hand just because we signed a contract? I teach lessons the hard way.

“What sorts of people do you think live here? Criminals and drug dealers? Or single mothers with three mouths to feed? I’ll tell you right now that this neighbourhood has both of them, just like the rest of this shitstained city! Your neighbourhood dealers just reside in brothels and casinos under the guise of luxurious and pompous riches! As if that dignifies a damn thing!”

The only thing keeping Kiranovic out of our neighbourhood is my spiteful resistance. If I gave him what he wanted, every last person here would need to find another place of residence.

With what money and in what district? Giving in to Kiranov is essentially giving everyone around me the middle finger just because I’ll personally manage somehow. Is he out of his mind?

“The audacity of you to think a neighbourhood like ours, with its predominantly struggling community, can just uproot decades of our lives and find an affordable place to live! It's infuriating!” He looks utterly confused by my anger, and that stupid look on his face just makes my blood boil past its tipping point. If he as much as breathes in the wrong direction, I might just be the one to squeeze out his last breath.

The lord must be testing me.

“...I don’t understand the issue. Are you responsible for everyone in this area?”

I don’t know what comes over me. I just pull him in by his necktie and sock him in the mouth as hard as I possibly can. 

He tumbles to the floor and knocks over a stack of documents in an attempt to catch himself from falling. The noise must have echoed through the vents, because the door to my office swings open in an instant. Any later, and I would have dropped to my knees and slammed my fist into him again.

“Boss-!” Don’t ask me what happened. If I don’t stop now, I’m certain I’ll do something I’ll come to regret later.

“Kick this asshole out of here.” If I was a serpent, my teeth would be dripping with venom. He’s got a lot of nerve for a lawyer. Did I not tell him that his status doesn’t matter around here? The same applies to assholes like Kiranov.

They might as well be two sides of the same coin. One attacks with aggressive reprehension, and the other– with masked compassion.

“....Right away, Boss.” Seito doesn’t ask questions. Thankfully, he’s very understanding, if not also incredibly observant. He’s likely already figured out what Zhulong said to get decked hard enough to cover the floor with his sacrosanctly blood. I turn my head and reach for my pack of smokes when I realize I’m out of cigarettes.

“You should leave,” Seito helps the sad excuse of a man up on his feet. He’s far more gracious than I would have been. I would have just kicked him. “-I’ll guide you to the door.”

I go searching for a fresh pack of cigarettes in my desk drawers, but there’s nothing.

“...It was a harmless question, Karma.” I feel a nagging itch in my throat with the absence of smoke in the air.

“One only deserving of a harmful answer, Prosecutor Zhulong.” I turn my head only briefly to glare at him. “Get out. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”

Stay out of my sight before I do something I can’t undo.