[Munch's Master]

PHEW! Sorry for the long wait, but Chapter 24 is finally here. It wasn't writer's block since I knew what was coming, more a case of writer's tedium. It was hard to start on ass I expected it to be reptetive to write at first, but in fact I soon got into it and wrote the entirety of this chapter bar the first 4 sentences over today and yesterday.

Hope you like it.



Chapter 24: The Face of a Traitor

The cell door slammed shut. Larry was pitched onto the table in the middle of the room. He tumbled over it and landed heavily. Merrick’s 2 henchmen hauled him back up, then slammed him down into a rusted chair. Merrick slowly walked in afterwards, and did not bother to take a seat.
“Right then, mud. Out with it. What the fuck really happened on the train?”
Larry remained silent. Outwardly, he projected an air of oblivious confusion. Inwardly, he was thinking fast. ‘Trevor said he possessed me….Do I go along with that? And even if I do, will they buy it? Wait! How can I think that? If I corroborate that, what will happen to TrevURRGHHHHHHH!!!’
Merrick leaned back and reaffixed Larry with a stern gaze. “Tell me or I hit ya again. Harder.”
Larry took a moment to pause, gauging Merrick’s reaction. Merrick started to move to strike him again, before Larry spoke just in time “What do you mean? I just woke up on a train and you were there stood over me with guns, and some mudokon was lying next to me!”
Merrick reached into his pocket and took out a cigar. He fumbled for his lighter. “Scrabshit. There’s ol’ camera footage of you talkin’ with that mud an’ yer other accomplices all the time about the place. Explain that.” Merrick lit the cigar.
Larry continued his bemused façade “What the Odd are you talking about? Last I remember, some of you Sligs had just dragged me back to the cells from Vykker Ignatius’ office, and I was talking to a mudokon….I think it was the same guy who was on the train with me for some reason, not sure.”
Merrick laughed and breathed the smoke into Larry’s eyes. “Ignatius left this factory six years ago for his health. He was worried about contractin’ the Slurg Flu that was goin’ round the factory sewers.. An’ you know that bloody well.”
‘Come on Larry, time to put your acting skills to the test’ Larry let out a sarcastic laugh “Ha! Six years ago!? You brought me back from his office, had to be only yesterday! The Punishments Officer, remember? I’d got out of my cell when it wasn’t locked. Remember now?” ‘Can’t believe I do. My first misdemeanour, way back 2 years before Ignatius left, and I still remember it, all cause it was after that that I met Trevor.’
Merrick eyed Larry warily, not saying a word. Seconds ticked by silently, as the crafty Head of Security unspeakingly fought to call Larry’s bluff. Eye contact never wavered, and finally Merrick spoke.
“I know yer bullshittin’. Ya have ta be. You ain’t been possessed an’ just forgotten years of yer life. I’m gonna crack yer eventually. Fer now, I’ll let yer stew back in the cells. See how the other muds treat yer now that you’ve just woken from years in dreamyland.”
Merrick took the cigar out of his mouth. He grabbed Larry’s wrist quickly and ground the still lit cigar onto the back of Larry’s hand, the burning stub extinguishing itself on Larry’s flesh. The scream that burst from Larry’s lungs resounded out of the room and along the corridor, his throat straining itself as he cried out in agony.
The cigar out, Merrick smirked. He flicked the used end onto the floor and released his grip on Lary’s arm, Larry cradling his cigar-burned hand instantly as unwanted tears fought their way to his eyes. The sadistic grin cracking the Slig’s lips didn’t fade.
“Don’ worry. I’ll get some chump ta check the ol’ records. See if what yer sayin’ even remotely has any truth. You an’ yer lil’ lie ain’t gonna stand fer long, slave.”
Merrick wrenched the door open. He quickly gestured for the 2 Guardsligs to take Larry back, and he moved onto the next confinement room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur quickly strode back into the Slig Barracks, spying Neal at a nearby table around which 4 other Sligs were clustered playing poker. Taking care to keep hold of his cards, Neal stood up and walked round towards Arthur.
“Hey there Arth! How’d ya chat with Lak go?”
Arthur didn’t speak for a moment. ‘He proba’ly can guess exactly what happened.’
“We had an ‘eartfelt chat, an’ we decided it was best that he left.”
“He agreed then?”
Arthur’s face twitched, hinting at a smile “Not exactly. He didn’t really wanna go, but he left anyway.”
Neal cocked his head “Permanently?” before glancing at the poker table “Oi Vernon, stop tryin’ ta rob some of my chips ya cheatin’ tosspot!”
Another twitch at Arthur’s mouth “He won’t be comin’ back, no. Still, there’s prob’ly a few of us here what’ll bump into him again, eventually.”
Neal nodded “Gone ta a popular place then?”
“Not popular, but it’s where a lotta us end up.”
Neal smirked “FeeCo Depot’s always the scrounger’s choice innit.”
He glanced back at the poker table, sneaking a glimpse of the nearmost Slig’s cards as he did so. “Wanna pull up a chair? 30 Moolah buy in, 15 Moolah rebuy. Winner takes all Magog Holdem rules.”
Arthur put on a fake smile of enthusiasm “Sure, why not?”
He moved to sit down, before the buzzer sounded for the end of the lunch hour.
Neal shrugged “Ah well, crap break. Maybe next time!”
Arthur nodded, now that the matter of Lak was resolved he was barely listening to a word anyone said. He turned to walk to his station, before again a buzzer sounded, only this time it was the ting of the factory address system.
“Mhm….Slig #777G, knyown also h’as h’Arthur, to the Senior Executive h’Office….H’repeat, Slig #777G, knyown also h’as h’Arthur, to the Senior Executive h’Office h’immediately.”
Eyes rolled behind a metal mask. 'That bloody Chronicler.’
The message then sunk in. ‘FUCK! What’s the big boss want with me? He can’t have seen what happened with Lak! What the hell is this about!?’
Neal grinned “Ooh. Someone’s been a naughty Slig. Whatcha done?”
Arthur was in even less of a mood for jokes “No fucking idea.”
Another sigh emanated from him, the most common emission he’d made all day, and Arthur set off at a rapid trudge for Godrar’s office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again a door clattered open, again Merrick and his cronies strode in. Only the mudokon in custody here had already been left to stew in the cell.
Merrick sneered down his nose at Jeff. “You’re the weird one, ain’t ya? Listen freak, we know all about how ya put together an’ planned yer little operation. All we need ta know is who ran it. Tell us that, and ya won’t get the chop. Keep quiet, the lotta ya die.”
Jeff looked up. There was no need to fake the fear in his eyes or voice, it was genuine. He fought an inner battle to compose himself and stick to Trevor’s story. “What operation?”
Merrick laughed sarcastically. “Don’t tell me you got possessed too!?”
A fist struck Jeff hard between the eyes. He yelped in pain, and the hand the4n gripped his ponytail, yanking him down into the table face first. “Tell me what the hell you really did!”
Jeff looked up, moisture forming at his yes. “I was friends with the mudokons I saw you drag off the train! The green guy, Larry, always seemed a bit weird, distant! The other mudokon Trevor kept suggesting escape plans. I didn’t want any part of his ideas, I’m not suicidal! He just asked me to work on the conveyor belts at the loading bay! I’ve never worked on them much and I couldn’t keep up. That’s when Max, the big one, started a fight! I couldn’t keep up and some mudokon had a go at me for it. Max then attacked him and before I knew what was going on all hell broke loose.”
Merrick nodded. “You’ve rehearsed yer story well. Considerin’ yer such a cokehead I’m impressed.”
He struck Jeff again, and the imprisoned mudokon bit his lip from the blow, blood slowly trickling from his mouth.
“I’m gonna stick ya with the other muds fer tonight. See how they treat ya. I know the three of ya will noi doubt collaborate on yer story even more, but I don’t care. All I need’s the jurisdiction an’ you’ll be executed anyway.”
Merrick turned and exited the room without a second glance. He wanted to finish this interrogation, the slaves were lying through their stitches. If it wasn’t for the mandatory investigation policy the factory employed to keep the nancy Slave Rights groups off their backs, those three would be already dead.
“Take that lil piece of crap back to the cells with the other one. When I’m done with the third, take him too.” He snapped at the 2 guards.
Merrick quickly walked on to the 3rd cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur found the doors open ahead of him as he entered the waiting room. ‘Bloody security cameras, watchin’ me arrive. Always creeps me out.’
Alberto didn’t bother to look up from the desk, where he was intently busying himself with an abacus. “Go right through. H’you’ve kept him waiting three myinutes.”
Arthur gulped, and quickly left Abacus Alberto and entered the office.
The doors shut automatically behind him, and Arthur found himself seeing for the first time the owner of the entire factory, his full employer. Godrar was alone in the room, the wall-mounted videoscreen was set up but displaying nothing.
“Sit down, Slig.”
Arthur dropped into a seat fast enough to almost reach terminal velocity. He didn’t dare speak until he was asked a question.
“I see ya have no idea why you’re here, do you?”
Again, silence.
“My point proven. Well done. Never try ta make me look wrong. Cause I ain’t ever wrong. And that’s not ego, that’s just truth.”
Still nothing from Arthur. He didn’t even dare shift for fear of seeming bored or inattentive.
“D’you want ta know why you’re here then, Slig? Well, speak up!”
Arthur spoke cautiously and fearfully “Erm……yes sir…..boss…..sir?”
A belly laugh erupted from the manipulative Glukkon. “You’re as spineless as a Fleech ain’t ya? I’ve had sev’ral good Fleeches fer pets. I’m sure ya can guess where they ended up. Don’t try an suck up to me an’ act like a boss’ pet as well, or you’ll join ‘em.”
Arthur gulped. “Yes sir, sorry sir.”
Godrar raised an eyebrow “Spine?”
Arthur was temporarily thrown, then suddenly understood what hi employer meant “Oh, right. With respect sir,the reason I’s so scared is cause I ain’t never been called up ta see ya before. I’m like a fish outta water.”
Godrar cracked a smirk “Worryfish outta water most definitely. But you do have some spine in ya. Since that’s the case, I want you ta try an’ tell me why you’re here.”
The petrified Slig’s brain froze in trepidation and worry. Arthur’s mind worked tenfold as he tried to sidetrack his immense terror enough to think why he could be speaking with the boss. “Well, I know it’s not fer a promotion sir, cause I ain’t never been the best employe NOTTHEWORSTEITHERTHOUGH…..an cause it’s normally Merrick what tells us about promotions.”
Godrar gave a predatory smirk, the sort a cat gives when it has found a new mouse to play with. “You’re correct there. But don’t get cheeky, ya lil’ vermin. Merrick’s a Slig, but he’s still sir ta you.”
Arthur nodded hurriedly “Erm….Er…..could it be cause of….cause of the whole…the Slig….an’…..mutiny….”
Godrar’s grin grew wider “Heh. Well done. It is. Partly. Now, why do you think I’m speaking to ya about that?”
Arthur gulped again. “Because sir….you might….still be concerned….that I’m…that is, as it were….I possibly…could be thought of….as a mutineer?”
A slight shake of the head, and Arthur’s brain screamed even louder in fear. “No. In fact I know fer a fact that you ain’t a mutineer. This is about why the other Sligs believed you might be a mutineer. Any reasons you wanna tell me as ta why they might think that?”
“Erm…because….i used ta be….well, sev’ral years ago…..I was sorta….not as harsh to the muds….as the other Sligs?”
Godrar’s face remained impassive “Keep goin’.”
Arthur’s lungs filled as he took a deep breath “An’…..well, I would sometimes…..talk to ‘em….cos like, I thought…if they see a Slig not bein’ harsh on ‘em….it might make ‘em work better…an less stressed. I used ta work at a Vykkers’Labs, an’ they did a lot about how stress reduces labour rate…An well, I got inta fights with some Sligs over this here……So, they might have thought I was a rebel.”
Godrar’s blank expression turned into one of delighted surprise “Oh really now? Most interesting, as I didn’t know any of that.”
‘Oh SHIT.’
“As a matter of fact, I was thinking the reason might be that you wanted to leave this factory. Kept putting in requests to my head of Employee & Management Relations for a transfer. Now I now why ya wanted to leave, ya pathetic mudlover. Maybe I should just call one of the Sligs up to the office ta quietly dispose of ya.”

Arthur threw his hands up in protest, almost trying to shield himself from Godrar’s words “NO! Wait! Wait! I ain’t a mudlover! I figured that if they weren’t stressed they’d wsork better! Like I said I heard about that at the Labs!”
Godrar didn’t budge “You’re forgetting your “sirs”. And don’t feed me that big a lie. If you had any knowledge of psychology or sociology, then you wouldn’t be a damn security Slig. But I admire ya gall. Not so much that ya threaten ta shoot me if I call the guards, but enough ta at least try and wriggle yer way out.”
Godrar switched the videoscreen on.
“Maybe I won’t cal the security. I think you can do a little job fer me first.”
The words almost knocked Arthur out of his seat, his thoughts knocked off course completely again. ‘What is goin’ on here?! What does he WANT!?”
“B-but I’m just a standard guard sir, like ya said sir, what can I do?!” He stammered.
Godrar swivelled in his chair to face the screen “You want me ta have you killed then? I’ll answer yer question after you watch a little video of mine. First bit’s some reality TV, second is a little home movie I put together. I hope you like ‘em.”
A video began playing on the screen, a scene horribly familiar to Arthur. It was from the corridor outside Rasputin’s office, when Mikey tried to convince him to rise up. But what confused and horrified Arthur, was that the footage was not as Merrick had told him. It was perfect. Uninterrupted feed, crystal clear audio.
“You……you knew along I was innocent?”
Godrar didn’t move “I did. Only I. Merrick and the Vykkers had ta be kept doubtful, or I couldn’t’ have got you ta kill that other Slig. Merrick suggested you kill him to prove your innocence, but only cause I let the footage and my own words lead him that way.”
Arthur was again off the road and suspended in the void of perplexity “But why sir?”
Godrar smirked “You’re using sir again. And the reason is simple. That other Slig was a real rebel, a proper anti-industrialist. Not some lazy slacker like you who doesn’t beat muds due to lethargy an’ a tiny voice telling him its wrong. If he was trying ta rally other Sligs as that footage suggested, he had to die. But a factory administered killing would make him a martyr, and any Sligs he may have swayed would be swayed even more. But if someone he reached out to, turned on him and killed him, for his own gain. Then, THEN his buddies would falter. They might fear you, they would know they can trust nobody. They might even think they might be better off sticking with the factory. His little gang would be properly crushed.”
Arthur understood, and the cold realisation that he had been manipulated entirely for days struck him. “So why are you showing me this? Why do you want me to know you’ve been pulling my strings if you’re gonna kill me anyway.”
A truly sinister laugh, not that of an evil madman but that of one who knows dark secrets that he is about to spill “Because I’m not gonna kill you. Not yet. And because of this footage. The home movie I said about first.”
Another video played on the screen. It was the exact same scenario. Arthur in the corridor. Mikey talking to him. Only the audio was changed. Edited. When Mikey suggested rebellion, Arthur seemed at first doubtful, but then assured. Confident. In agreement. The video had been changed to incriminate him. In this version of the events, he was entirely guilty.
Arthur was lost for words.
“That footage is the footage you don’t want me to give ta Merrick. Cause then you will die. The mudokon business, I can’t justify your execution for that. The employment agencies like Sligs4U would be suing me in an instant. Skillya would be furious, demanding to know why I’d executed one of her children without either a good reason or offering her the chance to do it herself. But this footage gives me that justification.” Godrar’s smile was cold. His eyes icy, he showed no sympathy nor sign of being persuaded otherwise.

Arthur sighed. His own eyes were half bulging out of their sockets, and half preparing for tears of despair. His voice was cracked and choked. “Ss-o…..Th-that’s it then? You wanna execute m-m-me?....B-bub-butttt….I’m just a g-guard…..I’ve don-”
“Shut yer blubberin’. Like I said, you ain’t getting killed yet. And like I said, I have a job for you. The reason it’s you, you pathetic waste of life, is because I can now control you. You are mine. Whatever I want, you will do. If you don’t, you die, forgotten and uninvestigated. Nobody would miss you. And for the task I need you to do, it requires someone expendable.”
Arthur didn’t answer, he just slumped in his chair.
“It involves my esteemed Head of Security, Mr Merrick.”
Arthur slumped even more.
“I need you to get me enough evidence to eliminate him from the factory.”
Arthur’s eyes show wide open in shock. “What!?”
Godrar glowered “Quiet. I know that Merrick is bent. He’s been nicking cash from the company. Altering stocks. He’s been taking certain products, certain goods, and selling them on to other companies. Letting them get our recipes. And he’s been making a lot of money doing it. I know he’s doing it, and probably with the help of my Chief Exec Raymond as well. Alberto’s not got the guts nor the imagination for such a task, even if he has the resources. Merrick is Head of Security. He knows and has access to every Slig’s rota and every security camera. He can hide evidence.”

Arthur was still reeling. “What can I do about that!?”
Godrar smirked “You’re still a figure of some dislike among the Sligs. I need you ta get into the security office. Draw them away, destroy a camera or somethin’. When you are in, retrieve some footage. I get the footage but only after Merrick’s been through it. Get as much as ya can then bring it here. The Slig that edited that security footage will see what he can do.”
Arthur's confusion was evident “But can’t ya just edit it anyway? The footage you’ve already got?”
“Merrick’s cunning. He goes over any footage personally, making sure there is nothin’ even slightly incriminating. There’s nothin’ left ta work with. And besides, don’t you want ta live?” Gordar’s smirk didn’t budge. His brow raised mockingly, testing Arthur’s mettle again.
Arthur shuddered. “Ok, whatever then sir. Just, don’ kill me.”
Godrar grinned “I won’t just yet. You’ve been employed by me a long time, Slig, but now you’re gonna learn what it’s like to work for me. Now piss off.”

Arthur exited as fast as he could without running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hisses and clanks as the 3rd cell door opened and Merrick walked in. Unlike with the previous 2 rooms, the fearsome Slig took a seat here. He took out 2 cigars, lit one, and put it in his mouth.
“I’m sure you know what I’m here for. I know all about your plan. All I need to know is your involvement in it. What you were instructed to do.”
The other occupant of the room was motionless and noiseless.
Merrick continued “Not that it really matters what your instructions were. You already provided me with all the information we have about the plot, didn’t you? A most useful informant. I thank you for that.”
He mockingly offered the mudokon across from him the 2nd cigar.
Max glowered back at him in raging silence.
--------------------------------------------------------


DUN dun dunnnnnnn! What happens next? What's happening now in fact? And why? All the4se answers and more in the next chapter!


But only if you reply. Replies bring love! Constructive Critiscism doubly so!