"Who am I, you might be asking... I'm not the revived General Tellius 'Killzone' Warfield or Captain Sarah Lawson... You can call me Fineas Uptown..." A dark-skinned man with purple eyes stood in front of a mirror, adjusting his bow tie and Stetson hat while rehearsing a speech. "... Most of you might know me as the guy who came up with our company's slogan: 'Need something done? Hire a merc!'..."
*Knock!* *Knock!* It sounded from the bathroom door, and a woman's voice echoed through the dark wooden door. "Dear, are you ready? We'll be arriving in 30 seconds."
"Yes, I am!" Replied Fineas Uptown, aka Mr. Purple, and exited the spacious marble-tiled bathroom.
Opening the bathroom door, a large, quietly luxurious living room in light shades of brown opened up with a comfortable seating area in the front and an exit to a small balcony in the back. Framed by large floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the skyline of Lopolis fly by, the entire room exuded quietly understated manliness.
Lopolis, a planet-spanning mega city, was also the beating heart of the colonized systems. Founded by the Big Five as a manufacturing hub, it had since then become their seed of power and turned into a monument to the corporations' greatness.
Yet the jewel of the room was without a doubt the petite, slender blonde with an athletic body dressed in a silver-encrusted diamond dress. Her identity, despite her current appearance, was Diane River, model, actress, and influencer.
"I didn't know that you were going," Noted Fineas before he kissed the beauty. "... with Sarah Lawson this evening."
"And you're still going as yourself..." Replied Diane with an enchanting smile as she tapped his nose with her index finger. "... But! You know that you could be going as Tellius Warfield! I have his model hanging in my closet for you if you want."
"Mr. Uptown, Miss River..." Announced Mr. Purple's chief of security through the spaceliner's loudspeakers. "... We have arrived."
"See, no time." Smirked Mr. Uptown as he led his woman out of the living room and onto the outdoor terrace, where they were immediately flanked by an entourage of cybernetically enhanced human bodyguards and security bots.
"Are we ready?" Fineas asked his chief of security, who was currently wearing a sleek black suit that emphasized his athletic figure.
Eagle-eyed, scanning the skyscrapers and the sky pier for any hidden snipers one by one, the former Cerberus mercenary replied with a nod. "We're ready, sir!"
That said, Fineas and Diane linked their arms before they sauntered off the ship, onto the sky pier, and into the opulent skyscraper currently rented by Cerberus for their yearly festivities.
Entering the venue through seven-story-tall, yet only six-meter-wide glass doors, the couple was instantly besieged by numerous reporters from two types of media outlets.
Those reporters interested in Diane came from entertainment and lifestyle magazines, while those interested in Fineas came from more economically oriented magazines.
"Mr. Uptown!" "Miss River!" shouted the reporters to attract the couple's attention.
Yet unfazed by the media attention they were receiving, the couple ascended the stairs, only posing in front of a Cerberus logo wall before they entered the privacy of the venue itself.
This year's Egyptian-themed event had all ten rented floors covered in white marble, with towering statues framing every entrance and doorway.
"How certain are you that the Board of Directors will confirm you as COO?" Diane whispered behind her small handbag to Fineas.
"Seventy-five to eighty percent, if nothing unforeseen disrupts the situation." The current CMO answered confidently, placing his hand on the small of his companion's back as they entered the massive main ballroom.
Navigating among the lower ranks of the Upper Echelons of human society—their peers—the couple soon found their way to a relatively quiet corner of the venue from which they could overlook the entire ballroom.
"It better be..." Diana huffed and lowered her hand back. "... Because I am finished being just your ornament! I want power beyond advertising and entertainment!"
"Babe, it is never easy to accumulate real power..." Fineas Uptown argued before he pointed at the Wallcrusher—a hulking gorilla of a bio-engineered mercenary that stood out among the regular-sized crowd like a sore thumb. "... See that guy? He's a B-ranked mercenary that can bring down skyscrapers, and yet he works for Frank Baldur as the man's personal enforcer... Do you know why?"
"Money?" Offered the beautiful model/actress.
Shaking his head, CMO Uptown explained. "No, it's the opportunities that only Baldur, as the CEO of Cerberus, can give him."
"What do you mean? What kind of opportunities?" Asked Diane, her panties already moist as opportunities to climb the ranks of human society were a huge turn-on for her, especially now that her man was soon giving those opportunities to her.
Shaking his head, slightly disgusted by his companion's eagerness to climb the social ladder as quickly as she could, Fineas questioned himself why he was even with a woman like her. Then again, looking at her graceful body language and the ability to mesmerize others with just a look, no matter her body, he knew why.
'Loyalty and appearances.' Loyalty because she had stuck with him over the years despite better-looking men showing an interest in her, and appearances because she was a stunner no matter which body she inhabited.
And so, he explained. "The latest enhancements, exclusive jobs, and substances from Hades that supposedly ease someone's Ascension."
"Oh, that sounds great for a mercenary..." Grumbled Diane, slightly annoyed that these opportunities that mercenaries sought weren't meant for social climbers like herself. "... But as CEO, you'll be making me CMO... Aren't you?"
Having his lower lip slightly pulled by the beauty, Fineas replied. "Yes, of course! But first..."
"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Annual Cerberus Gala!..." Announced Frank Baldur as he stepped on stage.
Truthfully, the middle-aged man was rather unimpressive with his short stature, light brown skin, and curly silver hair. Instead of eliciting looks of adoration and admiration, as he had achieved so much, his warm yet calculating nature instantly sent shivers down the spines of all present.
Yet in his case, the suit and title made the man as his words carried weight to the point that a light cough from him would have demanded everyone's attention. "... Like every year, we are collecting money for the Disabled Mercenary Fund designated to help disabled mercenaries have a dignified retirement..."
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* The gathered crowd applauded, whether or not it was ordered from the top or they actually approved, nobody in it could tell.
Internally, however, donating was seen as entering a competition between colleagues, as whoever donated more would wield more influence in the company the next year. The only ones excluded from that rule were the chief executives and the Board of Directors of Cerberus.
"It's a dog-eat-dog world," grumbled Fineas while gently kissing Diane's exposed neckline as he watched the crowded gravel at Baldur's feet.
Chuckling, Diane whispered. "Why? I think it's lovely that a company built on the backs of mercenaries is helping them out in return."
Yet before the CMO could explain his statement, the applause fizzled out, and Frank Baldur once more addressed the audience like a king addressing his loyal subjects.
"... We have a few announcements to get through..." Frank Baldur declared with a piercing gaze aimed at Fineas but a warm smile for everyone else. "... But first, let me introduce to you a very special guest... our founder, Kharon Styx!"
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* The gathered crowd applauded just as an old man, more onion than man, teetering at the edge of death, was rolled onto the stage beside CEO Baldur.
"Thank you, thank you... It's a pleasure to be here..." Thanked Charon Styx as he waved at the crowd, just as Baldur silently left him the stage.
"Fineas? Fineas, are you okay?..." Asked Diane suddenly, just as the old man's speech began and she noticed her lover's paling complexion. "... You look kind of sick! Is everything okay with you?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest..." Fineas confessed, as the retired Founder, Charon Styx, hadn't been in his plans to begin with, and now his mind was swirling.
'Has something gone wrong? Why did the old fossil come? And why the hell did Frank Baldur look so goddamned smug?' These were only a few of the many questions swirling inside his head as he watched the man in question happily mingle with the crowd of his loyal minions.
"Fineas?..." Diane asked once again, with a concerned look on her face that now started to mirror his own. "... You're starting to frighten me!"
"No, everything is fine..." Uptown replied with a stiff smile that didn't even reach the tip of his nose. "... Just let me talk to a few people for a moment."
And with that, Fineas was on his way to find his own minions and companions. The first one was his loyal follower and apprentice, Don Sterling. Contrary to Fineas himself, Don was born a blond, fair-skinned, blue-eyed man and was currently wearing a smart yet stylish blue suit that emphasized the color of his eyes.
Closing in on him, Uptown ordered, while on the move. "Don! Get me Adams, Hamlock, Hamil, Frank, and Frey!"
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary..." Frank Baldur's voice sounded behind Fineas, just before his subordinate could answer him, and suddenly the CMO had the CEO's hand on his left shoulder. "... Now, would it, Uptown?"
"Yes, of course..." Fineas agreed through gritted teeth as he maintained an amicable appearance. "... I suppose it can wait!"
Leaning in, Baldur's aftershave hit the Uptown hostile's nostrils as the CEO confronted him. "I know what you did! Shielding my son's and brother's killers while also vying for the CEO position... It was admittedly clever."
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about..." Uptown defended himself with an obvious lie, knowing that neither Baldur nor Founder could dismiss him. "... You must be mistaken."
"Oh, you know what I mean..." The CEO told him with an evilly triumphant smirk. "... You exploited my brother's death at the station master's gathering to push through a Vote of No-Confidence against me. Unfortunately, Styx had it struck down at the last board meeting."
"You know, that's a nice story you're spinning..." Fineas chuckled just as he was realizing that even though Baldur might have won this battle, he had already lost the war by failing to recognize that 'the Widow' was involved in his relatives' deaths. "... But you should know that most CEOs don't last a decade, and your time is up."
'Considering Baldur's character, the man would surely send one of the top mercenaries after his family members' murderers, just to send a message. Those mercenaries would then be slaughtered by the cyborg couple. Then in retaliation, they would kill Frank Baldur for Fineas to ensure their safety.' The purple-eyed man thought silently with a smirk.
"Is that a threat?" Baldur asked, peeved that his actions weren't rattling Uptown in the slightest.
Shaking his head, Fineas smirked as he stated. "Take it however you want..."
"Good, but you stick to your slogans, models, and actresses!" Baldur shouted after him as the CMO turned around and left, just to have the last word.
That said, Uptown returned to Diane, who by now was surrounded by a group of randy accountants. Truth be told, choosing the cloned body of Sarah Lawson for such an event was an invitation for the socially awkward.
After all, with an appearance in more than a thousand adult entertainment videos, Sarah Lawson's appearance had become widely used in the adult industry and popular among the socially awkward.
"Gentlemen, that's my companion!" He announced before pulling Diane to his side.
"Well, boys... I guess that's my cue..." Diane stated charmingly as she leaned into Fineas's embrace before she asked him in a low whisper. "... What's going on? Will they announce your appointment as CEO?"
"Nope, they wouldn't..." The CMO whispered back, just as he fetched himself a strong drink from a passing waiter. "... Somebody betrayed me and told Baldur, who then had that old relic intervene on his behalf."
"What now?" Diane questioned, not understanding how her husband could remain so calm and confident even though his plan for CEO had misfired.
Swirling his drink before sipping, Fineas replied confidently. "Oh, let's just say that Baldur is literally about to dig his own grave..."
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* The gathered crowd applauded as Charon Styx's speech ended and the couple was on their way out of the venue.
"What do you mean?" Asked Diane, just as Fineas led her wordlessly out of the venue and back into his spaceliner.
Plopping down on his comfortable sofa and loosening his tie, just as the spaceship took off, Uptown put on some VR glasses to check the Cerberus intranet for any hints of the traitor that had leaked his plan to Baldur.
Yet before he could log in with his CMO account data, Diane pulled his glasses off. "I said: What do you mean?"
"I mean that Baldur is missing some very important information that's going to kill him." Replied Uptown, putting his glasses back on.
Logged in, he then checked the Cerberus internal newsfeed. Ignoring news about the still-ongoing party, he read headlines like "'Miners' Strike on Catoca Struck Down; No Survivors, No Casualties' or 'Fucauma cleared for mining; no casualties'—that was until he found an inconspicuous bounty listing at the bottom.
Yet before he could click it to read it, his glasses were once more pulled off his face by Diane. "Oh, hell NO! We're partners in this! Talk to me! What are you thinking? What's your plan?"
"Okay, you win..." Agreed Fineas, and got up from the sofa to get himself a stiff drink. As he dropped ice cubes into his glass, he began. "... As you and everybody knows, Captain Sarah Lawson and General Tellius Warfield died at the Massacre of Thermopylae-6. But what nobody except me realized was that their brains survived. Even though the Government made a big deal about the burning of Warfield's brain, their brains ended up on the black market... Long story short..."
"It was them who killed Adrian & Theodore Baldur!" Diane stated, impressed.
Pouring whisky into his glass, Fineas confirmed with a smirk. "Yes, exactly, and now Frank the Fool has put a bounty on them."
"Oh, wow!" Exclaimed the model in disbelief before she grabbed the man's glass and emptied it in one huge gulp.
"Yeah, and do you know what's extra funny?..." Fineas asked as he made himself another stiff drink. "... The Widow, one of our Top Seven Mercenaries, is Captain Sarah Lawson! And by all metrics so far recorded, Killzone is even more effective as a cyborg than he was as a mech pilot... Which makes Frank..."
"... A Dead Man Walking!"