Who: Tywin Lannister & Lucas North What: Tywin buys the company Lucas works for and Lucas is included in the deal. When: Tuesday morning Where: London, England Rating: PG-13 Status: Complete
'I know what you did to your wife.'
Tywin studied the man across the stretch of the conference table quietly, the silence between them stretching further and further. The young man – they were all young in comparison to him – didn't seem to mind, didn't even seem nervous even though Tywin was certain he'd caught a glimpse of murder in those cold blue eyes when they shook hands ten minutes ago.
Lucas North might have looked like just another wheel in the big machine that was the City but he wasn't fooling the older man. Tywin saw every single sharp edge and angle the criminal tried to conceal under tailored suits, seemingly good manners and a pleasant smile. Given the opportunity, Mr North would gladly and effortlessly tear Tywin's throat out, wearing that exact same smile.
For now, it wasn't a viable option but it wasn't completely off the table, yet, either. Perhaps it never would be if everything he had learnt about Mister North was to be believed – and Tywin had no reason not to believe it. Incidentally, that was the reason Tywin had insisted Lucas be included in the deal he'd struck with Grid International.
On the flat screen TV – set to mute – mounted on the conference room wall news of the merger between Grid International, an internationally operating private military company, and the Aurelius Group, providing intelligence and investigation services for the security, banking and government sectors, was announced. Grid International was to be incorporated into Aurelius and expanded. No jobs would be lost. The rather new branch of Grid in California would undergo a few changes – the name, of course, and bit of reshuffling of the staff – but its focus was to remain on risk assessment and analysis.
It went on and on for a bit, outlining the history of the two companies and then Tywin Lannister decided to shatter twenty-six minutes and thirty-two seconds worth of silence.
"You'll be expected to make a statement soon, Mister North."
Dragging his gaze from the screen, Lucas met Mister Lannister's stare with one of his own.
"Isn't that some press person's job? I reckon a company such as this one has a well-staffed PR department."
"We're talking about the job you've been offered."
"The job I've been 'offered'? Is that what you call it, Mister Lannister?"
"That's what it is, Mister North. What else would I call it?"
"'Offer' implies I have a choice."
"Oh, but you do. The choice is all yours to make."
There it was again, the flicker in Lucas' eyes – a desire for blood, the promise of pain. Just for a fraction of a second and quickly tucked away again. He was starting to grow on Tywin, this hard-eyed creature with violence humming under its skin, and they'd only just met.
The same thing couldn't be said for Lucas, however. Tywin Lannister was from a different background but not from such a different world – he did the same things Lucas did only on a larger scale and had the law on his side. He was despicable.
"In charge of the Los Angeles office, was it?"
"In charge of all American risk assessment and analysis operations, a clean record and then there's the curious case of that young man of yours-"
A thin-lipped smile, falling short of touching the dark-haired man's eyes, sliced the rest of the sentence off.
"Well, under these circumstances, how can I refuse?"
"How indeed, Mister North."
A second thin-lipped smile emerged, twin to the first – in spirit if not in shape.