Razka was sitting in his office, patiently waiting for his guest to arrive. The office had one large window behind his desk. The walls of the office were lined with framed awards and bookshelves, but Razka never really noticed how many various awards he had accumulated over the years as the CEO of CHECKMATE. A sudden knocking on his door interrupted his thoughts.
“It's open!” Razka hollered. When the door opened, Razka was happy to see Janet Stahl walk into his office. “Miss Stahl, I’m glad you could make it here,” he politely greeted as he got out of his chair and walked over to Janet.
He had never met Janet face to face, but he had seen enough pictures and articles about her to get a good idea of her personality. Razka met Marcus Stahl’s wife once at a company celebration for something he couldn’t remember. Janet had her mother’s long, straight brown hair and her father’s dark blue eyes. Another trait he noticed in her photos was that Janet could look like the nicest woman in the world, or the meanest one. It was a trait that Razka greatly admired.
“If you don’t mind, I think we can skip the pleasantries and get right down to business,” she said.
Razka nodded his head in agreement as they took their seats. “I don’t believe in going the long way around the barn, so I’m just going to say it. I called you here because I want you to be the new CFO for CHECKMATE Arms.”
“You do realize that in less than a year I’ll be the CEO of United, right?”
“I’m well aware of that, but I know that CEO of United Airlines doesn’t meant shit to you,” Razka countered.
“I’m already a CFO, why should I turn down a major promotion just so I can take the same title to a different company?”
“Because there are two types of people in this world. Those who crave money, and those who crave power. You strike me as the kind of woman who understands the value of power.” Janet remained silent and kept an unreadable poker face up. “If you agree to be my CFO, you’ll have more power than you’ll ever have anywhere else.”
“So why exactly do you want to get rid of Bradley?”
“The fucker thinks he can turn the Board of Directors against me, kick me out and take my place as CEO.” Razka frowned just thinking about the man he loathed so much. “When I fire him and replace him with you, it will send a very clear message to anyone that’s thinking of overthrowing me. A good CFO is usually a CEO’s right hand. So when that right hand turns on you, it makes life very difficult.”
“As much as I’d like to, I can’t just quit overnight. Give me a week or two and I’ll ready.”
“Let’s make it a week,” Razka grinned.
Luna could barely contain her excitement when Razka walked into his house. “Christopher, I think I know how I can get back home!”
Unlike Luna, Razka maintained a calm composure. Countless years of skepticism made him somewhat immune from getting excited. He took off his shoes and walked into his kitchen, throwing his keys on the counter. “So what’s your plan?”
“I was talking with my sister and we have an idea,” the night princess started ecstatically. “We can create a portal that will be powered by my magic.”
Razka gave her a skeptical look. Even without any specific details, he knew that it would very complicated. “I take it you need me to create the portal.”
“Can you do it?”
“I need to know what you need the portal to specifically do first. What would be the easiest way for you to show me?”
Luna grinned. “Through your dreams.”
“All right. In the meantime, I need to begin scouring the world for the best scientists to build this portal. And figure out how the fuck I’m going to keep the board from finding this out.”
“So you want my portal to link with a pre-existing portal back in your world,” Razka clarified. They were in an open grassy field under the pale moon light.
Luna nodded, standing by Razka’s side. “That’s correct.”
The man ran a hand through his thick hair and looked to the star filled sky. “I’ll need one week to rally this planet’s best scientists and about another two weeks to come up with a concept design.” Razka let out a heavy sigh. “I might need to bring Stahl in on this as well, but I need to know if I can trust her first.”
“How will you be able to determine if you can trust her or not?” Luna inquired.
“The only thing I can think of is just showing you to her. It’s a high risk, but I believe the reward will be worth it.” Silence filled the air for a minute before Razka finally broke it. “Before my father died, he told me, ‘I would have loved to change the world, but I didn’t know what to do. So I decided to give you all the tools you need to do just that.’ My father believed that I was destined for greatness. He spent his life working for a weapons company called Barrett. In his later years as VP of the company, he started thinking: What if a weapons company became something more than just a company? What if it evolved into an army? What if it had the power to overthrow an entire government?” A wicked grin formed on Razka’s lips. “I’ve spent most of my life working towards overthrowing the United States Government. I have the largest private army in the world, not mention the most advanced weapons at our disposal.”
“Why would you want to overthrow a government? Are they evil?”
“Throughout history every kingdom, nation and empire, no matter how prosperous, falls in time. The era of democracy will come to an end. People are too stupid to know what’s right and wrong nowadays. What this world needs is someone who is willing to bring order to all this chaos. That’s where I come in.”
Luna’s face was one of clear worry. Razka was simply providing her an excuse to what was a dangerous lust for power. “Chris, be careful when pursuing power. Like jealousy, it can lead you down a dark path of which there is little hope of return. Trust me, I know.”
Chris waved his hand dismissively. “Jealousy is fueled by misplaced emotions. Anyone who let’s something as stupid as jealousy cloud their judgment deserves to fail. Hell, I wouldn’t mind seeing them die because of it.”
Luna winced at the harshness of his words, but quickly shook it off. “I’d like to be able to call you my friend before I return home.” Chris snorted, signaling his defiance towards the idea. “You agreed to let me help you. I’m trying to help you now, but you’re too stubborn to see your mistakes.”
“I haven’t made a single friend since I was just a child. I do admire your persistence, but there are some people who just don’t want the help of others.”
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“Afraid of what?”
“Making friends. You’re afraid to show anyone what’s underneath your mask, including me.”
Razka stood up and turned his back to the night princess. “We’ll talk in the morning. So if you don’t mind, I’d like you out of my head.”
“Janet, something’s come up and I need you to come to my personal residence as soon as you can.”
“Lucky for you, I have no pressing engagements until later in the week. What is it that’s so damn important anyway?”
Chris let out a small sigh. “You’d only believe me if I showed you. When can you be here?”
“Give me six hours.”
Razka hung up his phone and put it in his pocket. He entered the kitchen where Luna was waiting for him to finish making the pancakes. Luna immediately noticed the troubled look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” the night princess asked, her tone reflecting her concern.
“Janet Stahl will be here in the next six hours.”
“To meet me, correct?”
“Yes.” He placed the finished pancakes on the kitchen table, where Luna sat hungrily awaiting breakfast. Using her magic, Luna grabbed four pancakes, leaving Razka with the remaining two.
“So what’s troubling you?” she asked as he took a seat at the table.
Razka looked Luna dead in the eyes, a serious look on his face. “Last night. I’ve told you more than I’ve told any other soul on this planet. What’s your story? I’ve told you mine and where I’m going, so tell me. This is what ‘friends’ do, isn’t it?”
Luna gave a small smile, glad to hear that Razka was making an attempt at being friends. “It’s a long story.”
“Well we have quite some time, so I’m all ears.”