Alex didn't need any more proof. His thoughts and suspicions had all been confirmed.
Loup was insane, coo-coo, cracked, bat-shit fucking crazy.
"Kill Luciano!?" he couldn't take it anymore. He'd jumped out of his seat and slammed his hands on the desk so hard all its utensils jumped. "Are you legit insane!"
"Calm the fuck down, Alex, someone might hear you!" Loup rebuked in a hushed voice.
Alex fell to his seat, reached into his desk drawer and pulled out an expensive-looking bottle of alcohol and a shot glass. Pouring himself a glass he downs it in a go and rests his head in his hands. A wave of exhaustion washes over him as he glances a look at his fidgeting brother.
"Do you believe and I mean really believe. That killing Luciano would be a good idea for anyone to have?"
Loup finally settled down and with a scoff, he replied, "The Malagasy killed his parents and we're fighting a DEFENSIVE war against them. I do-"
"Yeah well, the Malagasy have an entire military technologically superior to ours and a huge budget!" Alex cried out, downing yet another shot. "You have me, Maxime, and best-case scenario a couple of dozen soldiers. You're in over your head man!"
"Perhaps but you forget Luciano also has much of the same and he is right next to us as well, in a military base. No one can say accidents don't happen." He smirks cruelly as he speaks, "And between the few hands we have, accidents can happen when and where we want them to."
At this point, with Loup's unyielding confidence or was it arrogance? Alex didn't know which, just that it was so much pressure on his own primary directive to stay alive no matter the costs.
Assassinating or even attempting to assassinate his cousins most trusted right arm man was putting his self-preserving interests at risks. He wasn't comfortable with that but what more could he do to save his skin AND maintain the level of comfort he enjoyed presently?
"I don't think this is a good idea, Loup, have you even thought about what happens if the attempt fails?"
Loup shrugs and answers with ease, "An investigation no doubt and a dangerous one at that. Primary suspects would be the Malagasy so they'll first off start interrogating potentially compromised personnel. That includes us, especially since the methods we'd be using would most likely rely on clearance only we would have access to."
"So you have thought about this!" Alex exclaimed, dumbfounded by his brothers thought, he hadn't even gone that far, "So how do you think we escape all that suspicion huh, Loup? That's a lot of pressure, you know I can't handle that. Imagine me in an interrogation room for a bit and see how the entire thing crumbles. This is a bad idea, Loup."
"Indeed it is, Alex! Which is why to throw off suspicion, one of us is going to need to be thrown under the bus."
"You mean…"
"Yes."
"Well it obviously can't be me, I'm fragile remember?"
***
Maxime was of course not pleased by the part he had to play in the quite insane plan his eldest brother had cooked up.
He quite never expected to be the one playing cannon fodder out of the three. It'd always been a role fit for his baby brother, Alex, not for him though. Rough work? Sure, he was the tallest and buffest in the family, big bones his mother had said. But he wasn't the atypical thug, he was willing but he was also smart, perhaps not as smart as his eldest, but he wasn't special like Alex either.
"Why do I have to be sacrificed?" He groaned out, his voice deep with gravel as he glared at the two. They'd discussed this behind his back and had no doubt come with the perfect reasoning why it shouldn't be them and how he was better suited to the role.
It annoyed him. Alex's nervous smile and Loup's gentile wordings trying to make his 'sacrifice' much more glorious and meaningful than it actually was. And he did a good job of it too, that was Loup, always so good with words.
But it annoyed him even more where he was standing. On the other side of the mirror. For the first time Loup had given him for Alex, Maxime relished the times he and Loup would discuss, plan and conceive genius ideas to do the things that would eventually lead them to this point. Maxime was his right arm and would help Loup delegate to the rest of the family and crew what they were to do.
But now it seemed a little switcheroo had taken place and Alex sat there with a little sheepish smile, knowing well enough what this was.
Maxime unclenched his fists in a moment of resignation. He was a thug, yes, but he wasn't that thug, he wasn't about to ruin the master plan just because his feelings had been a little hurt and he felt displaced. This strange and unnatural position he was in wouldn't be for long. So he would play his part dutifully, first, he listened.
"Well, like I said when you came in, we need Luciano dead so we can place Alex, who is currently at the highest position of consideration to Hasina, to earn his trust and with my help, puppeteer our adorable cousin into basically throwing power into our hands…" he trailed off a bit as though trying to find the right words to express whatever forged empathic emotion was on his face, "We need you to step up, Maxime, if the attempt goes awry we're going to need one of us on site to take the heat and with hope shake it off the rest of us as we continue on the path."
He sighs heavily and places his hand to his chest whilst nodding at his own words, "I cannot be the one to do this as Hasina chased me off base, I'm not supposed to be here right now even, it would be extremely suspicious for me to be at the site of Luciano's assassination attempt.
And Alex can't be the one to either as he is the one heading the mission to retrieve those spies in Madagascar, by the way, did you bring in the transcript of the conversation you had with them?"
"Yes," Maxime drawled, waving the bunch of papers he held in his hand, his annoyance had become more or less a permanent effect, he'd roll over but that didn't mean he was happy to.
"Perfect hand them over." Grabbing at the papers, Loup quickly gave a rather rushed and disregarding summary of what he was previously saying to Maxime as he looked through the contents.
Maxime only nodded on. Accepting his part in it, dangerous as it was, physically and politically, but mostly physically. He still accepted because that was what he needed to do.
"Basically, Maxime, you're going to guide Luciano to his fate and just to throw off suspicion, get injured with him, and futilely call for help if he survives. I will make myself scarce and head away to Diana and Alex will distract Hasina while this happens."
"Understood!"
"Perfect, now let's start putting things in motion."