The Boss

Larry dialed The Boss's number and held the receiver to his ear, feeling the panic rise up in his chest. His feathered arm trembled as he waited for The Boss to respond.

"What." The Boss answered abruptly.

"Hey, Boss, just a quick update on the Abaddon situation. He... well, he knows." Larry gulped as he delivered the news. He was trembling harder now, barely able to hear the Boss's response.

"What do you mean, he knows? How much does he know?" The Boss sounded unimpressed, as Larry suspected.

"Well, you see, he—" Gary grabbed the received from Larry's shaking grasp, giving him a little shove out of the way.

"He knows the girl is a bot, and he knows you sent it. But he doesn't know why." Gary puffed his chest again, attempting to sound more confident than he was feeling in this moment. 

"He WHAT?" The Boss was yelling now. As the voice grew louder, Gary felt a little zap of electricity come through the phone line. He took the zaps in stride, knowing it could get worse.

"Look, Boss, we're real sorry, but he stormed in while we were sewing her up and started asking questions. He threatened us and we had to tell him something to get him off our backs." Gary's voice wavered as he realized the gravity of the situation.

"You two bird brains were supposed to lie. What happened to the plan? Under the slightest pressure you just told him the truth?" The Boss's voice was getting louder and more electric as the conversation pressed on. Gary could feel all his feathers standing at attention.

"Hey, Boss, as my bother already said. We're real sorry, we kinda... panicked." This time it was Larry that took the receiver from Gary, whose jaw was silently moving up and down, no words coming out. We wanted to fill you in, so you would know that Abaddon is looking for you, and so you can tell us how you want us to proceed from here."

"I don't want either of you to handle anything else, clearly you two idiots can't be trusted. You remember what I told you would happen if you betrayed me?" The Boss's voice got quiet and ominous. A threatening whisper.

"No, please, we're only trying to help—" Larry uttered into the receiver as both Larry and Gary burst into flames. Their feathers singeing and falling to the floor, both screaming in agony as they attempted to put out the fire. After a moment, the blaze ceased, and Larry and Gary looked at each other in horror. Both of their bodies were singed and charred, both completely featherless.

"We're sorry, Boss, we let you down." Gary picked up the receiver, his skin still smoking in places.

"You're right about that, I've lost all trust in you. I expected more from you both. I was told by the Elder Boss that you two were trusted confidants. I'm just not getting that vibe from our interactions thus far. I may be new to the whole 'Boss' thing, but I'm not stupid."

"Apologies, Boss, we promise we can do better. Please give us another chance to make it up to you." Gary pleaded, not wanting to find out what the next step of punishment would be for any further disappointments.

"No, that won't be happening. Send the girl to me once she is fully repaired. I will find Abaddon and deal with him myself. And, please, try not to randomly blurt out any more confidential information." The Boss sounded exasperated.

"You got it, Boss! We'll send her your way as soon as we're finished fixing 'er up." Larry hung up the receiver and looked at his brother's crispy rotisserie body.

"This is bad, Gary. Really bad."

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The Boss hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh. These two idiots are going to ruin everything.  Abaddon was supposed to be out of the picture by now. She crossed the room, her stilettos clicking on the cold tile floor. 

The promotion to Boss was a long sought-after goal of hers, and it had finally come to fruition. She wasn't about to let anyone take that from her, not after what she had to do to get here. Soon enough, everyone would know that she was now in charge. But first, she had to appoint her cabinet members. Abaddon would not be a part of that, if she could help it.

She grabbed the phone receiver and dialed another number, tapping the toe of her stiletto on the floor as she waited.

"Yeah?" Roger answered, sounding out of breath. 

"Hey, it's Vee. I need to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere?" The stiletto still tap tap tapping.

"Hey, Vee! You betcha, where can I meet you?" Roger's tone immediately softened at the sound of Veronica's melodious voice.

"Let's meet up at the bench by the Lake of Fire. 30 minutes." She smiled, knowing Roger would do anything for her.

"Absolutely, I'll see you there!" Roger said enthusiastically before hanging up.

Veronica opened her desk drawer and pulled out a tube of blood-red lipstick and a pocket mirror, applying a liberal coat to her lips and smacking them together. She combed her raven hair with her well manicured finger nails. As she stood, she smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress. She wanted to look her best for Roger.