A faint buzz wakes him from his nap. He checks his watch and realizes he has done it again. This was the 4th time this week that he had dozed off in his office. It was too late to go home now. He might as well make a night of it.
Slightly stumbling to his feet, he walks up to his desk and drinks the last bit of coffee in his cup. It’s cold but yet he still savors its taste. It was a special brew which he had imported from Peru. Its makers claimed it was the same brew the Incas drank in celebration of their gods.
Moving to his window he looks out at the pale city, a city in which he had built his dreams and chased away his fears. He smiled to himself, taking pride in the fact that he’d turned his father’s little construction firm into a continental one spanning 46 countries in Africa. From his humble beginnings in that one storey office at Adabraka, to an 80 storey modern office complex which served as the headquarters to Badda Construction.
The news of Dee’s disappearance worried him though. He knew she’d never just abandon her fashion business for anyone or anything. So the story her public affairs officer was feeding to the press that she’d taken a year off running the business worried him the more. He’d hired a private investigator to look into this claim but was yet to hear back from him.
He heads over back to his desk, reaching down into the last drawer to pull out a blanket he’d left for situations where he’d have to spend the night the office. The door clicks open and a man dressed in blue overalls pulling behind him a cart of cleaning supplies steps in.
“Oh sorry, I thought there was no one here. I’ll come back later” says the janitor.
“No it’s alright, come in” he replies
“Thanks. I’ll try and be as quiet as I can sir”
“No worries, I welcome the company. I can’t seem to fall back to sleep anyways”
“Well, that will be a problem considering the amount of coffee you’ve drank” said the janitor with a cheeky smile on his face, pointing to the waste basket full of discarded coffee bags.
“Haha, well it’s a price I have to pay to keep my investors happy and the business ahead of the competition” he says.
“Well everybody needs to rest from time to time” says the janitor
“That’s true. Speaking of rest, why don’t you let me help you finish up my office and this floor”
The offer somewhat startled the janitor but he knew that Moose Badda, owner of Badda Construction was used to having his way so he obliged. However he insisted he left the hard parts of the job to him.
After what seemed like 2 hours of careful vacuuming, spraying and wiping; they had cleaned the whole floor and were back in Moose’s office for a celebratory cup of coffee.
“I never quite got your name” Moose said.
“My friends call me Htaed, the “h” is silent though. So it’s pronounced ta-ed” the janitor replied
“Not to be rude, but that’s an odd name” said Moose with a chuckle
“Haha, yes that’s true. I think it suits me well though” Htaed said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a collector of sorts, I like to hunt down the odd bits and ends that are left about” Htaed said with a sly grin
“Interesting. What exactly do you collect though” asked Moose
“You could say I’m a collector of souls. Particularly ones that upset the balance that has been in place before time begun” he replied
Sensing that the conversation had crossed into strange waters, Moose quickly excused himself and headed to the bathroom. Yet before he could reach it Htaed said:
“You know it’s time Moose. I’m here merely to set things in order”
The realization of who he had just spent the last couple of hours with dawned on him; like the reclusive twilight that gave way to the sun rise, the memories of that night held him in place.
Screaming he said:
“I need more time! the company just established itself as a major player on the continent! It cannot end like this! I won’t allow it!”
With a cry he turned and lunged for Htaed, who in turn grabbed his throat and lifted him clean off his feet into the air. He was flung back at the cleaning cart which was at the door, breaking his back.
Htaed walked calmly to him, bent down and unbuttoned his shirt exposing his heaving chest. With a flick of his wrist he drew those same glyphs he had drawn on the girl’s head and stepped back.
Moose saw his skin turn ashen and felt his teeth slowly slip out of his gums as he crumbled away. His last thoughts were of his company and the dream he had built.
Htaed took off his overalls revealing a simple motif comprised of two letters…”D.H”. With a sly grin on his face he looked down on what remained of Moose Badda and said…
“They looked up and saw a pale steed called Despair, and upon it was a rider…he was called Kinslayer, Executioner…Death”
