Playlist: Video 6/67
1342 Words
Playlist: Video 6/67
“Artemis will see you now,” said the squirrelly personal assistant dressed in an expensive and tailored business suit plus a modest skirt.
“Thanks. Get me a coffee and some snacks? Donuts would be awesome,” Antioche said.
The assistant slapped her tablet on her belly and squinted at Antioche with what she believed was a deadly stare. “I’ll see what I can do.” She pursed her lips and took off.
Antioche went inside, past the huge doors and into Artemis’ office. The room could be considered corporate minimal if not for the lion heads on the walls. Bows and arrows in specially-made glass cases, high powered rifles lining a whole wall, hunting trophies upon hunting trophies on display. Safari hunts from all over the world.
Artemis herself was standing in her window, watching the city outside. She was dressed in an Armani suit tailored to fit her strong body, wore trousers and no jewelry at all. Her black hair was cut in a straight carré short that fell lower in one side, very businesswoman-like. She wore flat shoes that looked that they cost more than some cars.
“I thought you were a feminist,” Antioche said a bit too loudly while she was perusing the armoury. “What’s with the skirt outside?”
Artemis turned from the window and walked back at her desk. She sat on her chair and only then did she nod at Antioche to sit down. Antioche picked up a rifle from the display and cradled it like a baby, then sat down.
“The skirt,” noted Artemis, “has three degrees and a Masters. She can wear whatever she damn well pleases as long as she is efficient.”
Antioche was touching the rifle, feeling its weight. It had seen action, and it was perfectly maintained, cleaned and oiled. Not one of the other Amazons had ever dared to pick up Artemis’ weapons and fondle them like that.
She continued, “Also, she has great legs. But that’s beside the point. First of all, are the children alright?”
Antioche looked her in the eye and reported, “Yes Ma’am, they were all returned safely to the SOS village.”
“Why did that maniac kidnap them?”
Antioche shrugged. “Who knows? Police had seized his escape vehicle, and he saw it as an opportunity for hostages. I don’t believe he thought it through. We tied him up in a neat bow and gave him to the authorities.”
“I see. Did any of the girls show initiative, something that stood out?”
“Not really, why? Are you planning to recruit them this young?”
“Well,” Artemis exhaled, “Just wishful thinking. Yes, I plan to take them under my wing soon enough.”
Antioche forced a smile, but she was concerned. “Why? Aren’t the current Amazons enough for Athens?”
“Oh they are, but business is booming as they say. Artemis Automotive is becoming ever more necessary for our clients and research is showing that there will be increased demand in a few years, in Europe and the Middle-East.”
Antioche waved around and said, “Then you might get a skyscraper like the other guys, right?”
Artemis scoffed but did it like a lady. So it was more of a “puh” with a roll of the eyes. “I don’t need a titanic erect p***s to show off my strength. We might expand at some point but I assure you it will be utilitarian.”
The building they were on was only ten stories high. Large enough to hold Artemis HQ, the barracks, a yard outside for training, the offices upstairs and the topmost office of the CEO, which was this one. It was high enough for Artemis to see over Athens but low enough for her to stay close to the people, to the streets. Keep her ear on the ground, so to say. The building had five underground parking levels and storage spaces, filled with an armada of bikes, cars, jeeps and trucks. They also had two APCs, armoured personnel carriers for emergencies. On top were two helicopters sitting on their pads.
Everything was kept well-oiled and ready to roll.
The skirt came in carrying a tray of Turkish coffee, its thick aroma filling the place, and a selection of delicious donuts. Artemis eyed her in anger and then at Antioche. The skirt put the tray next to Antioche and left in silence.
“Didn’t I just say she has three degrees? Even I don’t have her fetch coffee for me! There’s a perfectly well-staffed cafeteria for that.”
Antioche apologised but didn’t make it believable. “I didn’t know that coming in!” She propped the long-barrelled rifle on her chair and sipped coffee.
Then she stuffed a donut in her mouth as her CEO glared at her.
“I swear, if you weren’t so damn loyal I’d…” Artemis mumbled but then straightened her suit and calmed herself.
Antioche munched on, sipping loudly.
“I called you here for a mission,” Artemis said and tapped a spot on her desk. A keyboard pattern lit up, and she typed a command. On the large screen beside her data filled up, exterior images of buildings and people. “Do you know what fate is?”
“Moira, yes. Three chicks who decide who lives and who dies.”
“Pretty close,” Artemis said and tapped something. The screen showed a web of interconnected lines, with some profile pictures at the ends weaving into a bright mesh. “Fate can be now calculated. Everything is online, entertainment preferences, bank records, secret affairs, health habits, health monitor data, desires, s****l history. When something can be calculated, it can be defined. When it can be defined, it can be controlled.”
She tapped something else and various data appeared, with the Artemis Automotive logo in various places and vehicles. In the middle, there was a shining thin band of light. “This is the fate of my company.” She tapped again, another line appeared that bore the Zeus Electric logo. It was longer.
Antioche nodded.
“This is the fate of Zeus’ company. Self-explanatory right? My company will not make it though the next five years while Zeus Electric will march on.”
“Lemme guess who controls this fate thing…” Antioche said rhetorically. “Zeus.”
“Of course he does, the megalomaniac bastard.” Artemis tapped again. A similar line appeared, but this time, instead of the logo of some corporation, there was Antioche’s photo.
The bright line was shorter than five years. Much shorter.
Antioche spat out the coffee. “That fucker says I’m gonna die? Is he planning to kill me?”
“No. The fucker’s fate system says that you are going to die. Soon. That makes you uniquely motivated to act against it and carry on my mission.”
Antioche stood up. “Wait, it works for people? Not just corporations? How does that work?”
Artemis tried to calm her with her voice. “It’s all very complicated, I don’t pretend to understand it. But trust me, it works. The fate predicted is real. I’ve tested it exhaustively.”
Antioche put her fingers through her blonde hair and felt hot. Her heartbeat was racing, and she fumbled close to the screen, extending her hand to touch the bright line that represented her fate.
Her vision tunnelled, and she shut her eyes. She could still see it in weird colours. It was like the shape of the fate line had seared itself into her retinas. She hyperventilated and Artemis went around the desk and pulled her by her shoulder to the window. She opened it and Antioche held her face into the wind, taking in oxygen and breathing hard. She was staring down, at the yard with the trainees. She was low enough to see the figures, the people, but high enough to see the whole image, the group dynamics, the body language shifting as an officer came close, everything. Antioche guessed that there was a place high enough where you could see all the people as little ants and could predict what would happen to them. Artemis would never lie to her.
“Is it real? Can they tell what a person’s fate is?” Antioche exhaled.
Artemis stood up and whispered, “Yes. With great precision.”
Antioche frowned in disgust as if bile had come up her throat. “Why would you tell me this? I didn’t need to know!”
“Nobody knows, to be honest. Just the Olympian CEOs, a few scientists who built the thing I presume and now you.” She knelt down and looked at Antioche in the eyes. “I’m trusting you not to tell anyone. There will be a plausible back-story to your mission for your team, but only you must know the truth. Can I trust you?”
Antioche gulped and closed her eyes. “You know you can.”
Artemis touched her loyal warrior’s chin. “Great. Now you must learn the rest of it.”
- Writer
