Zurich Drangi
” The problem isn’t with your computer. It’s with the website.”
Vhodka Black
” …but it lives in there? ”
Zurich Drangi
” No, not quite. The site needs to be migrated. “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Ah, okay.. ”
Vhodka Black
” Yes..migration. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Is it true that these sites tend to migrate by instinct? ”
Vhodka Black
” Also does this happen…annually? ”
Zurich Drangi
” Wrong type of migration. Just means it has to be moved to a bigger server, one that can handle the amount of visits the site gets. Until they do that, this game isn’t going to work. “
Vhodka Black
” …I’m calling Vin. ”
Vhodka Black
” Hey, Sweetums. ”
Vincent Black
” Fuck, I’m so stressed out. When I get home, I think I’ll throw you over the couch an- “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Sweetums, Murphy is here, too. ”
Vincent Black
” Of course you are. “
Vhodka Black
” Listen, Murphy and me broke a zeopets website we use to play with our Kraken pet and now it has a migraine..Can you buy it for us so we can make it relocate to florida? ”
Vincent Black
” Wait. We have an actual dog and an actual cat, why are you playing with fake pets? “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Because when you’re not here the cats a bastard and the dogs always scared. ”
Vincent Black
” …the dog is scared? “
Vhodka Black
” Because the cats a bastard! Come on, you’re super rich! Just buy it and we can go back to feeding it. ”
Vincent Black
” Fran, you have access to the same bank account I do. Just call the business manager’s number and he’ll get it for you. “
Zurich Drangi
” I can help with that, actually. “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Of course you can, you’re a literal angel come to earth. ”
Vhodka Black
” If the sound of god’s voice was made person it would be you. ”
Vincent Black
” Ok, I’ve got to get back to work so I can stop doing this work. I love you. Both. All. “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Aw he loves us! ”
Vhodka Black
” Me most, obviously. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Obviously. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” …i bet if we turned this into a wrestling t’ing we could make crazy money. ”
Vhodka Black
” Explain. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Instead of little creatures, we could do wrestlers. Like you could adopt Dickie, and Shawn, and the like, feed them special items.. ”
Vhodka Black
” WAIT. I have an idea. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” …is it wh- ”
Vhodka Black
” IT IS exactly what you just said, but in my voice. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Fine, You pitch it to Vin.. ”
Vhodka Black
” I will pitch it to Vin… ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” ..Vin pitches it to X.. ”
Vhodka Black
” Further pitching.. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Profit! ”
Vhodka Black
” Forget Profit, I get to make Sarah eat a pixelated dicks!! DIXELATED! ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” …you know, ‘en I was a lad, didn’t have a lot of friends. New kid, foreign. Tendency to bash a face at the slightest, not the most popular. Then, I met Kal. And he pulled me out of all ‘at. Gave me a home. Made me family. But…well, is nice to have friends again. ”
Vhodka Black
” awwwwww…You’re not getting credit for this. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Can’t blame me for trying. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” How’s the arm?”
Vincent Black
” It’s ok, A little cramped from fin-…you mean the injured arm. It’s ok. Listen. You need to get-”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Vin, I know, I’ve got to get my own place. I’d stay in the queens suite but I lent it to Asher.”
Vincent Black
” What? No you don’t! We love having you here! The kids love you, Vhodka loves you. You’re fine.”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” So then what do I have to get?”
Vincent Black
” Laid. You’ve got to get laid. You’ve been single for a long time now. Longer than you realized, right? You have to start moving on.”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” I’ll have yeh know I am on the verge of starting a brand new business with a partner that isn’t your wife. It’s somethin’ else completely. ”
Vincent Black
” You’re on the very of becoming a pastor. You’re a celebrity. Of sorts. Go out. Meet people. Be charming. But living in our spare room with the dog isn’t any life for a guy like you. Why am I the one telling you this? ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” First of all, this dog is amazin’. So jot that right down.”
Vincent Black
” Thank Chatman. But get your ass out there. ”
Vincent Black
” …Kal has called a meeting for tomorrow. You included. Be ready by 7. ”
The meeting room at Parts unknown, also referred to as the circled square, was decorated with fruit, booze, cold cut platters, and dessert items in every corner of the room. Standing over the coffee table, Jackson Wolf watched as the espresso machine took its time to produce his tiny cup of java. Adding a shot of sambuca to it, along with a lemon rind. He takes his cup and saucer and places it on his chair. It’s a high back leather chair with a neck massager built into it. He leans back and looks at the round table with 5 more chairs, all empty. Soon this quiet room will turn into an almost warzone-like environment with screaming, yelling, lies, and finger pointing, as well as the high chance that one of these chairs, if not most of these chairs, would end up embedded in a wall or bounced off someone’s head. It wasn’t always like this. It used to be civilized.
They’d meet once a month to discuss the Collective. The mutual fund they all dipped into for new business loans. Each member had access and as long as they made more money in a year than they removed, no questions would be asked. Sure, status updates were expected and receipts and such were required, but it wasn’t until you failed to return the investment that you were questioned. And it was rare that it ever happened. Each member had their strong suits as far as it was concerned. Vin gave without taking, Kal took and gave equally, Sarah was by far the most lucrative of the group, and Xavier and Jack each were careful about what they drew from the collective for, careful not to invest in the wrong thing and have to dip into their own pockets. Though Jack’s investment was more stocks and bonds, Xavier believed in people, and had helped start several businesses of others financially just out of faith in their ability. They’d cheer each other on, take pieces of the others’ investments so they didn’t have to worry about paying back the sum and ruin the streak they’d had at remaining in the black. It usually devolved into a drunken hang out that lasted for hours until the respective significant others of the core came to fetch them. Of course that was then. Back when Kal and Ang weren’t fighting over Ang’s mother coming to live with them. When Vin and Candace weren’t separate entities, and when Xavier was just a lush in brightly colored suits and not the hard ass he’d become. And Sarah. Sarah who had always been the glue of the family, and was now more of a kernel from popcorn stuck in the teeth of the family, rubbing parts of it raw until the blood surfaced. This meeting was going to be nothing like it was, but something to be remembered for sure. The first of them to arrive was Kal. Dressed in his fancy clothes, which consist of a random band t-shirt sans sleeves, and a pair of tight and faded black jeans, sans knees, and leather boots sans laces. He drops a small box of pastries onto the already packed table, and grabs a chocolate covered pretzel before hugging his brother. They spend the quiet moments that are all too rare for these things discussing their kids, and what their holiday plans look like. Just as they begin to tackle the subject of family plans, the door to the room opens and in walks Xavier Black. His hair loose and unstyled, his attire more of pajamas, and his attitude not at all welcoming. He hugs Jack, taps Kal on the shoulder, and pours himself two Gin and Tonics before sitting down. Squeezing the lemon in both, he slides the drink to his left to the chair to his left, and sips on the remaining one before him. No sooner than he pulls the cup away from his mouth after his first sip, Vincent Black enters. His arm in a sling that keeps it snug to his chest, he only nods at the elder members of the family, and sits down next to his twin brother. Picking up the drink, he takes a swig and thanks his brother silently, moving to whisper other things instead. Neither Jack nor Kal have the chance to speak before Sarah enters, in a black and red flowered dress. She ignores the snacks, ignores the younger twins, and kisses her older brothers hello. As she sits, she looks at Vin’s arm, and produces a very fake frowny face, followed by a sinister smile. Xavier and Vin continue to whisper, not at all concerned with Sarah’s particular bullshit.Sarah Wolf
” Alright, let’s get this over with. ” She took a deep drag off of her vape machine and exhaled. The room instantly smelt like Cherries and Vanilla.
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” Can’t. Still waiting for one more. ” Kal didn’t look at her. She knew why, and mostly, she didn’t care.
Sarah Wolf
” Who? We’re all he- ”
Sarah Wolf
” So are all of the people I fucked welcome at these meetings now or just the most recent? ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” Of all the people you fucked, this is the only mother fucker who’d be here regardless. ”
Vincent Black
” If all the people I fucked came, it would be two. ”
Xavier Black
” I don’t like this game. ”
Sarah Wolf
” Hey, we should assign chairs based on penis size. Murph can borrow one from the kids. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Let’s assign room size by yeh vagina and have this at the dump in staten island. ”
Vincent Black
” They cleaned up the dump. I mean it’s still huge but it doesn’t smell bad anymore. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Unlike certain vaginas currently present. ”
Jackson Wolf
” Alright, Alright, before this devolves into the madness we all see coming, let me get to the point. I’ve been contacted by the state of New York to work in the Attorney General’s office. The idea is that I get back into law and when the time for election comes up, I run and hopefully win. “
Jackson Wolf
” Vin, Murphy, Thank you for not laughing. “
Vincent Black
” I want to. But it hurts. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” I’m still trying teh figure out why teh fook ‘m here? ”
Jackson Wolf
” We’ll get to that. As you all know, this type of office comes with benefits for us all. It puts respect back on our name, as well as moves us up a bracket in certain social circles which offers us all a chance at a new level of success. No matter how distasteful our business interests may be. But two things need to happen, and both of them are favors that I asked you here to request. “
Xavier Black
” You need money. ”
Jackson Wolf
” Yes. I want to dip into the collective to pay for my election campaign. These things can be expensive and I don’t want to be beholden to anyone but the people in this room. If we all agree I could save myself having to make campaign compromises and just run on what I believe. “
Xavier Black
” Jax, we wouldn’t have most of what we have if not for you. I’m for it. ”
Sarah Wolf
” Of course you are, you want the AG in your widdle back pawket. Fucking sickening. But, I also agree. ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” I vote yes, but fuck, only because I’ll probably be the reason you fucking lose. “
Vincent Black
” I’m very rich, so I can fund you directly. And as the only person in this room with Diplomatic Immunity, I won’t ask for anything out of it. ”
Jackson Wolf
” You are precisely the type of person I want to avoid being linked to, but thank you anyway. “
Vincent Black
” That’s fair. Yeah. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Alright, if that’s all, can I go na? ”
Jackson Wolf
” No. I need something else. Something from all of you. I need you to tidy up. “
Murphy Doyle Maher
” …this rooms fookin spotless, mate? What’dya on about? ”
Jackson Wolf
” Not the room. Your lives. Everyone at this table has things in their past. Things they’ve done. I need to either know about them so I can prepare for them, or you need to remove them altogether. I know this is asking a lot, but you must know it’s better for this family if there is someone in the right spot making the right calls. So I also need you to not actively make any new ones. “
Xavier Black
” I have a few, but nothing I can’t make go away. ”
Vincent Black
” Diplomatic Immunity. But, I’ll make sure it’s all tidy. ”
Sarah Wolf
” Jack, I love you. And I’m not doing that. I cover my ass as best I can, and if that helps you, great. I won’t put extra effort into not being who I want to be, though. I’m sorry. ”
Murphy Doyle Maher
” Bullshit yeh greasy hag. Yeh ain’t never been sorry in yeh life. ”
Sarah Wolf
” You got me confused with someone who won’t jump this table and fuck your face up, pussy. ”
Vincent Black
” You have me confused with someone who won’t chokeslam you through a fucking window. ”
Sarah Wolf
” Oh noooo. X, he’s being mean. Want to kill him even if I ask you not to?? ”
Xavier Black
” HOLD THE FUCK ON! ”
Sarah Wolf
” DON’T YOU TOUCH ME! ”
Xavier Black
” You think I killed him? ”
Sarah Wolf
” No, I think he shot himself in the head, pulled the dirt on top of him, and you were the sweet little innocent angel. ”
Xavier Black
” Asshole. I saw what you did to him. I saw what you did. ”
Xavier Black
” You really think I didn’t get it? That I saw what I saw, and it went over my head? I left him alive because suddenly it made sense. Now if you want to be mad at me for seeing who you really are, then you go ahead. Do it. Be mad at me but do so for a real fucking reason and not some imagined slight. ”
Sarah Wolf
” You gave me your word. ”
Xavier Black
” The shit you’ve pulled, you want to complain about going back on words? After what you did to Vin? ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” That was fucking in the ring. “
Vincent Black
” No. Not the arm. She sent this to my daughter. ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” Is that fucking true? “
Sarah Wolf
” Yeah, he wanted her aborted. She should know, no?. ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” …NO..you know that’s not what the fuck I’m asking. Did you fucking send that? “
Sarah Wolf
” Stop, she didn’t even see it. The lesbo got it. ”
Xavier Black
” …you’re going to pay for that. I’m going to make sure of it. I’ve tried to be a benevolent owner. But you…you… ”
Sarah Wolf
” YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU ALL STARTED THIS!! I asked you to stay out of my business, but nooo. I asked you to leave me out of yours, BUT NOOOOO. Everything I’ve been through, all of it, has been directly caused by the three of you. BUT I’M THE BAD FUCKING PERSON!? FOR WHAT? I’ll tell you. No. I’ll show you instead. ”
MDM
” …seriously? ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” It’s not every day you fucking ask me for something, I figured I’d put my fucking heart into it. “
MDM
” Fuckin’ fantastic. Good on yeh. ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” Fuck it, can I be serious with you for a sec? “
MDM
” Dunno, can yeh? ”
Kal Wolf (Fagan)
” This…this isn’t your fault. I know how you work, you fucking internalize. Almost as bad as Vin. And you fucking use humor to get over it. But fuck me, I gotta ask. You ok? “
MDM
He could tell him that he was the furthest thing from it. That every day since all of this began has been the worst day of his life. And considering how bad his life has been, and how much of it Kal has witnessed, he’d understand the severity of it. Going to jail, getting stuck in jail for longer than was required because of his own issues, getting out, finding a daughter, finally getting the love you always dreamed of, and then…this? He could tell him all of that.
He could tell him that his soul was crushed, his heart was broken, and his spirit deceased. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak it, He was getting enough pity. He was alone in his misery and he preferred to be left that way. ” Yeah, I’m good as gold. Promise. ” he lied. And for a refreshing change of pace, it wasn’t to himself.