Chapter 43: Benn

“Do you want me to take care of him?” Douglas whispered.

“Oh please, don’t be foolish,” Benn said.

They watched Shenko and his entourage on the far side of the glittering hall. The boy was attempting to drink down his sorrows.

‘Finesse, this requires finesse.’

If they touched the boy now it would only make him a martyr. Benn had calmed down and had another train of thought.

‘If he isn’t as stubborn as his mentor perhaps he could be turned.’

Captain Zappa, his direct superior wasn’t a boy scout. Diana had informed him there was an on-going investigation into the captain and the chances of finding dirt on Shenko were high as well.

So if the boy refused to cooperate willingly.

‘We find or maybe even plant some dirt on him to strong arm him into subservience or ruin his reputation depending on his reaction.’

Benn won either way.

‘Although he tried to wipe his slate clean with the whole their smearing my name bullshit. If new scandals keep popping up his new and fragile support base will crack.’

The council controlled the media so any new scandal would be blown up on social media and all the streaming sites. He wouldn’t let Douglas in on his thoughts for now until he had a clear plan of attack.

Benn squinted, stared at drunken fool.

‘However he did openly challenge me. I can’t let him off completely unscathed.’

Benn tipped down his bald double peaked head in contemplation and a dark solution quickly slithered into his mind.

“Dougie.”

Douglas perked up like the loyal dog he was.

“Have one of your boys rough him up a bit. Don’t be too blatant, he’s mourning afterall but the way he’s drinking it shouldn’t be too hard to invoke a reaction.”

Douglas nodded approvingly. His eyes blanked out like someone consulting internal hardware.

“Gafela is perfect for this,” Douglas said a moment later, unable to keep the smirk of his face.

Benn had a faint impression of Gafela. He was one of Douglas’s cybermage bodyguards and both his arms had been replaced with bionic augmentations.

‘Quite formidable at hand to hand combat if I’m not mistaken.’

He’d demolish the drunken boy in a brawl.

Benn and Douglas fixed their gaze in Shenko’s direction waiting for the show.

It wasn’t long before the big bodyguard came staggering into view. He was pale with a collection of facial scars. Almost two meters tall, broad shoulders and muscles on muscles.

Guests naturally shifted out of Gafela’s way assuming he was drunk. Benn grinned, dark anticipation in his eyes.

‘Gafela sells it well. Quite deserving of an actors guild award.’

As he neared Shenko, Gafela slipped over the mirrored tiles, fumbled over his feet and barely managed to stay upright. However the drink in his hand wasn’t so fortunate spilling all over the unassuming Shenko. The champagne had hit him with a splash wetting most of his head and chest.

Benn hadn’t begun to enjoy the moment when Shenko jabbed.

Gafela came alive, weaved sideways completely dodging the attack.

Benn stared wide-eyed.

‘How decisive.’

He’d wanted a reaction so his lackey could initiate a fight but to think the boy would suddenly burst like this.

Shenko leapt forward launching another lightning quick jab. Gafela stepped back and dodged. Shenko pressed on launching a flurry of punches that kept Gafela on the back foot.

Rafinya tried to intervene but Ray Dawn pulled him back.

‘The dirty bastard wants a show.’

He’d regret it. Gafela would put the pain on the boy.

“Why is Gafela being pushed back?” Douglas whispered in disbelief.

Being the intellect he was. Benn quickly realized. Shenko had his mechanical suit on which greatly enhanced his speed and strength.

‘The mech suits?’

Only now did he recall this anomaly.

‘Did they anticipate a fight?’

Shenko stomped, stepped on Gafela’s foot rooting him. Gafela tried to pull out but clamps shot out the sides of the mechanical foot, cracked into the reflective tiles and mounted the lackey’s foot to the floor.

Shenko hadn’t stopped moving, landing a combination left jab, right straight and left hook all in quick succession. The hook whipped Gafela’s head and rocked his chin. The big bloke was resilient though and wasn’t knocked out. Gafela activated his glass shield and intercepted the punches that followed.

‘There was no way he’d withstand more of the blows without it.’

Shenko immediately released the clamp jumped back.

Benn sneered.

‘As if he’d let you retreat.’

Sure enough Gafela broke into a chase and reached Shenko with a single step. He threw a heavy looking liver blow when a figure flashed in between them. Gafela’s augmented fist rammed into the Ray Dawn who was also wearing his mech suit beneath his formal suit. Still didn’t stop him from going down theatrically.

Shenko caught his boss as he flew back. In a fluid motion he laid him down and immediately examined him.

Gafela paused, hesitating. To attack now might incur the wrath of the bystanders. It was one thing watching two hot blooded youths vent one v one. It was another thing to attack downed opponents, especially when he was checking on another. There wasn’t a shortage of union supporters in attendance and they weren’t all spies. So Gafela couldn’t act as he pleased.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Shenko asked glancing up at Gafela.

“Hey you started it man,” Gafela said.

“I did,” Shenko made no attempt to dispute that. “You were pretending to be drunk so I tested you. With your reaction speed I doubt anyone here would believe that now.”

Gafela blinked dumfounded unable to find a timely response.

Benn’s gut knotted. He feared the boy wasn’t one to miss an opportunity to flex.

“To think the council would resort to such pettiness to humiliate me, at a funeral no less,” Shenko said disdainfully.

Indistinct chatter echoed from the hall.

Benn balled his hands, knuckles turned white but despite his fury he felt helpless. He’d been baited into this mistake by his own arrogance. It might seem like a minor incident but the despicable boy would milk it. This incident would serve to validate his earlier claims and shield him from future scandals and smear campaigns.

Benn’s gaze fixated on the young man. Safaree was a nuisance but this boy.

‘He’s a different kind of monster.’