Drac Ch13
#14 of Drac
'Are you sure about this?' Dienza asked. 'Yes.' Karos replied. The two of them were seated in Karos' office shortly before the morning tea break. The sounds of machinery continued to thrum out in the factory as the pair conversed. 'I mean, you're almost running the place as it is. I think we can make it official.' 'I-I guess.' Dienza stammered. 'So this means you won't be around as much?' 'That's right.' Karos nodded. The older leona had an air of excitement, his brown and black striped fur seeming to ripple as he tried to keep himself composed. 'It's the contract I've been trying to land for almost a year now, and we finally closed negotiations last week.' 'But they wanted a whole new location and their own staff?' Dienza was confused by the prospect. Why couldn't the job be handled here? 'It is a sensitive project.' Karos shrugged. 'I mean, government stuff. Nothing we do here is that high end, and the rep I spoke with had concerns about how secure this factory is. So we settled on a half measure. I would take on the position as one of their team leaders. They already have technicians and such, but I didn't want to just close this place down and leave you all without jobs.' 'Believe me, I appreciate that.' Dienza managed with a half grin. 'It's just... I never really expected to be running this place.' 'Well you have my email and phone number.' Karos offered. 'If you ever need help on something, just get in touch. Leave me a message. Miranda knows how to handle most of the paperwork.' 'Alright. How long before they want you there?' Dienza asked. 'Two weeks.' Karos answered. 'I'll spend as much of this week showing you the ropes as I can and then I have to work out living arrangements closer to New London's central district. I'll put you in touch with all our clients so you can keep production going.' 'Alright then.' Dienza nodded. 'Sounds good to me, Boss.'
Dienza finally let his grin show as he stepped back out onto the factory floor. This was amazing! A management position out of nowhere like a blessing from the stars! And it was no small promotion, first thing Karos had done was show Dienza a number written on a piece of paper. When the younger leona had enquired, the older man had told him it could be his new hourly wage. And it was almost an eighty percent pay rise. This would be fantastic, and fast. With just a few weeks of extra pay under his belt, Dienza would be able to move out of home, become independent and relieve the burden on his mother to support them both. It would also allow him to update some of his recording equipment and get a much better laptop. The rest of the day simply couldn't go quick enough. Dienza couldn't wait to get home and tell Spiika and his mother the good news. He wondered how she would take the news of him planning a move out. He probably wouldn't move straight away, it would take a month or two of settling in and securing his new position before he committed to something so drastic. And she'd understand. Everyone has to make it on their own eventually...
'I'll be back in an hour or so.' Spiika called as she opened the front door. 'Alright. And thank you again.' Nereen replied before Spiika left and closed the door behind her. Nereen stepped back into the kitchen and returned her gaze to where Nate had just finished eating the bread scrap that had been left over from her own light and very late breakfast. 'Where's the yellow one going?' Nate asked. 'Her name is Spiika.' Nereen corrected. 'You should know that by now. We all learned your name and it's not polite to jest keep calling us by the orange one and the yellow one.' 'And the grey one.' Nate added, shrinking back as Nereen scowled. 'S-sorry.' 'It's a good thing you're-' Nereen was cut off by the doorbell before she could finish her sentence. She paused, unsure. It shouldn't be Dienza back this early and she'd given Spiika the spare key to get back in on her own. She made her way to the front door and slowly opened it a few inches. A black furred leona stood outside, dressed sharply in a black casual suit and pants, neatly styled black hair and a shined black leather shoes. Only his eyes stood out, a sharp blue that contrasted heavily with the rest of him. 'Good morning Ma'am.' The leona spoke with an eloquence that spoke of a calm and confident demeanour. 'I'm looking for a young man by the name of Dienza. I was told he lives here. Might he be home?' 'I'm afraid not.' Nereen replied. 'He works during the day, I'm not quite sure where.' 'Open the door.' The man replied quietly. 'We can do this the easy way or the messy way.' His eyes locked with hers and all neutrality was replaced with a definitive hostility. Nereen was silent for a few more moments before she slowly opened the door. The leona made his way inside briskly, imposing upon her to step back and he closed the door behind himself. 'Now where is Dienza?' 'What did he do?' Nereen asked, managing to keep her voice steady despite the imminent danger she was in. 'Bright kid thought he'd burn down a dealer's den.' The hitman replied. 'I'm sure it seemed like a flawless plan that couldn't be traced back to him, but he should have guessed we'd have eyes on the place. Didn't take Antony's boys long to peg down a name.' 'Antony?' Nereen cocked her head and raised an eyebrow in alarm. 'You... know him?' The man replied, gesturing for her to take a seat. 'I do.' Nereen responded, taking a seat on the sofa. 'I used to... well, work for him I guess.' 'Oh?' Came the next reply. 'Heh. It must have been quite stressful. No doubt you had to retire at a younger age than most. Can't imagine a pretty thing like you had any shortage of work.' 'Excuse me?' Nereen retorted indignantly. 'I was not doing THAT, thank you very much.' 'Oh, my mistake.' The leona smirked as he stood passively before her, between her and the television. 'I wonder how I should do this...' 'Want some pointers?' Nereen scoffed. 'I can already tell that you're new at this. Did you even think to get Dienza's surname? Do Antony's boys not talk about the old days anymore?' 'What the hell are you talking about?' He replied with a small growl, showing the first crack in his cocky attitude since he had arrived. 'Dienza Aerb.' Nereen explained, narrowing her gaze. 'Son of Nereen Aerb? I'm guessing you didn't look any further than the name Dienza, am I right?' 'What other information would I need?' He retorted. 'If you had gone through your boss and reported a surname, he might not have sent you.' The woman smirked now. 'Aerb...?' He stammered. 'Nereen? You're Nereen?' 'Yes.' Nereen replied sweetly and grinned. 'Shit...' The black furred leona sighed. 'Well this puts me in an awkward position...'
Dienza clicked the last lock on the outer factory door before heading back towards the office. Today had been longer than usual due to the quick intro Karos had given him to the role of manager. He'd been shown how to handle receipts, place orders and approve the payments for invoices. Karos would be leaving more and more of these duties to him as the week progressed. Miranda was still in the office as Dienza returned, the tan furred foxen filing the last of the day's paperwork. She was barely eighteen, but was gifted with numbers and a strong memory. She had no protests regarding Dienza's promotion, as it became apparent that it would still very much be a team effort between the two of them. Miranda had also received a generous pay rise to reflect her impending increased workload. 'Exciting day, huh?' She said as Dienza closed the door behind him. 'You know Mr Clorin has been chasing this contract for so long, he used to talk about it all the time.' 'He sure sounded excited.' Dienza agreed. 'Reminded me of all the kids getting hyped up for Christmas back in Primary School.' A different kind of adrenalin to what he'd felt seeing the flames the night before... 'So...' Miranda paused, looking back at him with green eyes through ginger locks. 'How do you think you'll do?' She looked at him expectantly. The brief wander his mind had taken was gone and he snapped back to focus. 'It's gonna be an adjustment but I think I can handle it.' The leona replied. 'Think you'll be able to keep up?' 'Oh you're a cocky one.' Miranda giggled. 'Get out so I can lock up.' 'I do already have my own key you know?' He scoffed, but stepped out into the afternoon air. 'Oh right. Foreman.' She shrugged. She keyed the alarm code on the terminal just inside the doorway and followed him out, closing and locking the door behind her. 'Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Will you be starting your usual early hours?' 'Yea.' He replied. 'For the time being at least. Get things going for everyone in the morning.' 'Alright. I'll see you later in the morning then.' Miranda nodded and headed towards the exit. Dienza walked the other way towards home at a faster pace than usual, eager to be home as soon as possible.
'I'm home!' He called stepping though the front door and letting it close behind him as he rounded the corner into the living room. It was empty. 'Ma? Spiika?' He walked further into the kitchen. Nate's makeshift bed was still in place but there was no sign of the micen there. He caught the sound of movement outside and approached the back door. 'Dienza!' Spiika stepped inside flustered just as he was about to step through. 'Why were you so late? We were getting worried...' 'It's only half an hour.' Dienza shrugged. 'I work late sometimes. Why would you be worried...?' 'Umm...' Spiika suddenly seemed nervous and even a bit... scared? 'I was just heading inside to have a shower. Maybe you should let your mother know you're home.' 'Sure...' Dienza replied as Spiika shuffled past. He took a step outside into the backyard. Nereen was leaning on the back fence with a sullen expression. She looked up alertly as she noticed him and immediately raised her hand to point to the house. 'Inside, now.' She said, almost snarling. Dienza took a step straight back onto the kitchen floor and raised his hands defensibly. What was going on? He almost missed the patch of disturbed dirt on the ground near the corner of the backyard as his mother stepped inside after him and pulled the door shut, locking it with a soft click. 'What's going on?' Dienza asked, the excitement he'd been nursing all day gone to be replaced with trepidation. 'We need to talk.' She answered, pulling a chair out from the table and pressing his shoulder until he sat. She sat down opposite him and her stern gaze bored into his. 'I had a visitor today. Luckily Spiika wasn't home. He was looking for you.' 'What happened?' Dienza asked, concern plain on his features. 'Nothing that will happen again. I can assure you that at least.' Nereen replied with an exasperated sigh before shaking her head. 'But Dienza... Son... Please, don't ever do that. Last night... You were seen.' 'Oh...' In the excitement of the day's events, Dienza had almost been able to forget the fact that he'd effectively murdered a drug dealer the night before. 'Ma I'm sorry, I couldn't-' 'Stop.' Nereen cut him off and shook her head. 'You don't have to explain this to me. I can guess your reasons, but I don't want to. The police probably won't trace that fire to you, but other people did. And one of them was here for you today. To kill you. Do you realize what could have happened?' 'Ma, I...' Dienza's breathing became ragged and he struggled to hold back tears. There was little worse than a mother's disappointment, and the thought of what could have happened... 'What could have... But... Why didn't it?' 'Never you mind.' Nereen shook her head. 'I... know people. That's all you need to know. You'll be okay. But I expect better from you. And Spiika... That poor girl might never be able to look at you again.' 'No...' Dienza's head hit the table at the thought of losing Spiika. Her nervousness suddenly made sense. 'Ma... What do I do?' The tears fell freely now. His rage had felt unlike anything he had experienced before upon it being sated, but now the terror that the two best things in his life could turn on him filled him with a sense of dread that eclipsed any positive emotions he might have been able to experience. 'You let her make her own choice.' Nereen said. She stood and rounded the table, leaning down to wrap her arms around him. He returned the hug tightly. 'Unfortunately, you're going to have to accept whatever decision she makes.' Dienza nodded and slowly sat back up. In the silence between them the sound of the shower running could be heard for another minute before it stopped. Spiika's footsteps sounded up the hall a minute later and diverted as she entered Dienza's room. Nereen stepped away from him and crossed to the other side of the kitchen, her eyes settling on the sponge Nate had used as a bed before she sighed. Taking a deep breath, Dienza stood. Nereen didn't look back at him as he slowly worked up the courage to walk towards his bedroom. As much as he wanted forgiveness, Nereen's words had made Dienza believe that there was no way he deserved it...