well, i'm fucked [kole]

It had been about a month since Joel had confessed what had really been going on to Arizona, and what a month it had been. Joel, a typically stoic and calm guy, had been going through a whirlwind of emotions: Happiness that he was together with the woman he loved, pride that he had admitted the truth to her, guilt that he was betraying his home eilemaiden, worry that he would disappoint his family, and of course fear that he would be found out and "dealt with." All these emotions were constantly battling for dominance in his mind.

Right now, fear was winning out. That was because not long ago, the man Joel reported his (now false) information to, Hector, had informed him that the overloridian wanted to see him personally. Joel half-considered just running at that point, but Hector had two "bodyguards" with him that graciously offered to personally escort Joel to Shadow World.

Gotta stay calm. Maybe it's nothing, Joel thought nervously to himself as the two men flanking him lead him to the club. Except he knew deep down that the overloridian never summoned someone to his club for nothing.

Having no other choice, he was taken to the overloridians office. The "bodyguards" held the door open for him, and then closed it behind him. There was a click of the lock.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Joel asked, his mouth dry, praying to every god in Amelia that he would walk out of here in one piece.

Kole was starting to get impatient with Joel. He continued to give Deilig information on Adhbhar, but it wasn't enough. He needed more facts, where was the star piece of Adhbhar kept? What were their defenses like? Adhbhar's infrastructure, their stability, he needed more useful information than the overloridian was a blundering drunk! So he decided that he wanted to speak to Joel personally, maybe threaten him a little.

As Kole waited in his office, two shadow creatures flanked either side of Kole's desk, baring their teeth menacingly. And although they had no eyes, when Joel entered the room, their attention immediately focused on him.

Joel wrote:"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah yes, Joel Angelo." He placed his palms flat against his desk, and leaned forward in his chair as if to get a better look at Joel. "The handsome son of the Angelo's." He gestured to the chair across his desk, "Have a seat."

Joel forced himself not to look at the two shadows, and instead just focused straight ahead. Their presence did not bode well for him. He obediently walked over and sat down, figuring the best way to go about this was to do what he was told. "Hector didn't mention what it was you wanted to talk with me about, sir," he said carefully.

Kole leaned back into his chair, and propped his feet up on the desk, looking bored and comfortable, as if this were a simple meeting between two friends. "Hector was not told to tell you what I wanted to speak to you about." He said this as if what Joel said had been the dumbest thing he ever heard. "My patience is wearing thin with you, Angelo." He laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. "I need more information."

Joel felt his blood run cold at the overloridian's words. If his patience was running thin now, what would happen when it ran out? "I...I've told Hector everything I've found out," he insisted. Had Ov. Roden figured out that he was withholding real information? No...there was no way. He'd be dead right now if that were the case. Crazily, Joel almost felt relief at this thought. The overloridian may not be satisfied with him, but at least he hadn't found out his information was false.

"I don't care that the overlordian of Adhbhar is a worthless alcoholic," Kole snapped. "Shit faced or sober I can destroy her either way." The shadow creatures quivered as Kole's anger slowly escalated. "You know what I wanted from you," he said darkly, while sitting up in his chair. "I thought I had made your instructions perfectly clear!" He stood up from his chair, and rested his palms flat against the desk again, leaning over. "Either you get me what I need, or I can find somebody else who'll be more adequate for the job!" He sat back down, and shook his head. "Or maybe I should just kill you now...get it over with, and deal with Adhbhar myself!"

Fuck. Gotta stay calm. Stay calm.

Joel couldn't let it show how terrified he was right now. He didn't think showing weakness would get him back into the overloridian's good graces. He needed Ov. Roden to believe he was competent enough to do this job, or he wouldn't be leaving this office alive.

"I can get you what you need," he said, with far more confidence than he felt (none.) "Hector was never clear with me. He told me my information was adequate."

The excuse was out of his mouth before he could really think of how he was throwing Hector under the bus here. To be fair, though, it wasn't a lie. Hector had never told him exactly what he was supposed to be looking for, nor that any info he'd given wasn't good enough. Not to mention Hector had been the one who brought him here in the first place.

Kole narrowed his eyes. Honestly, he really wasn't about to kill Joel, this had been his plan all along, to scare him, and it was working. But if this continued, Kole would have to. Joel was lucky that his family were so well known and trusted, otherwise Kole wouldn't be giving him one more chance.

"Very well," he said. "I'll give you one more chance." He looked at Joel, his face dark and menacing. "But I mean, one more."

Joel wanted to ask what he was even supposed to be looking for, if the political secrets he'd been making up reporting weren't enough. He'd been following Hector's instructions to a T, but apparently that wasn't enough. However, he was afraid that if he asked any questions, it would just make the overloridian even angrier.

"Understood, sir," he said, keeping a stoic facade on his face. Inside, he was panicking. He needed to talk to Arizona about this. Find some way to protect himself without hurting Adhbhar. Something.

Kole sat still for a moment, contemplating, until finally he nodded. "Okay then," he said, feeling satisfied. "But if you fail to report more useful information, I'll kill you." He stood from his chair, and walked around his desk so that he was standing directly in front of Joel. He waved his hand and said, "Now, get out of my sight." Joel presumably stood and started walking toward the door, but before he left Kole spoke again, "And while you're at it, tell Hector I'd like to speak to him when you go."

Joel held his sigh of relief as the overloridian excused him, but it got caught in his throat as he reached for the door and Ov. Roden added:

Hector wrote:"And while you're at it, tell Hector I'd like to speak to him when you go."

Joel paused at the door. Although shifting the blame to Hector had probably saved his life, not to mention the fact that Hector had fucked him over first, Joel couldn't help but feel the guilt twisting around inside of him as if it were constricting his heart. Whatever happened to Hector now would be his--Joel's--fault. "Yes, sir," he forced himself to say, before leaving the office.

Outside were the two guards, as well as Hector. All of them had mildly surprised looks on their faces, as if they expected Joel to come out with at least a few injuries. Despite that, he still felt no satisfaction as he looked Hector in the eye and said, "He wants to see you, now." He watched the color drain from Hector's face, and gave him a look of sincere sympathy despite knowing it meant nothing.