X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Deadly ❯ Greed ( Chapter 3 )

Seven Deadly

A X-Men Fanfiction

Written by RogueMoon

 

Chapter Three

::: :::

GREED: Immoderate desire for earthly goods; an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves especially for personal gain

::: :::

The surgery had gone well. Thats what the Devil said. And he was right.

He could hear again. Not much. Not yet. The Devil kept him in sound proofed rooms and made sure very few unexpected and especially loud sounds could filter through. His eardrums were still too sensitive.

Vertigo wasn't allowed near him. Wasn't allowed to be in the same base as him.

That had made him smile when he found out. Crow was muttering about, trying not to talk too loudly. Being very careful of his hearing.

It was like a perpetual hangover. Even the smallest whisper rung like the bells of a cathedral, humming in his bones.

Recovery was expected to be slow. A few weeks at least.

He didn't want to be cooped up in the small suite of rooms for that long. There wasn't much there. The Devil had never been one to waste time with physical trivialities. Function over form.

Private bathroom. Private dining room. Private exercise room. Bedroom with a decent bed. Closet filled with scrubs in his size. Television. Desk and a computer. Internet. That was a blessing.

But it was all so plain.

So sterile.

He didn't want to stay here for weeks. Not with it like this. He wanted to be comfortable.

Surfing the internet gave him some relief.

Hacking into the Devil's computer system was more interesting. Gave him something to do.

Took a few days. He was sloppy. The Devil had to know what he was doing. The clicking of the keyboard gave him headaches. Television went unused.

Crow brought him meals. Three times a day. He wished he could talk with the man without his head pounding. Play cards or something. The shuffling drove him nuts.

The bare rooms drove him nuts.

The Devil had to know he hacked the system. Two days later he checked and was surprised to find he still had access. The Devil hadn't locked him out.

That was interesting. Made him wonder what exactly the Devil would let him get away with.

He searched for the location of the lab he was in. Found it easily enough. Got an address even. Officially, the lab was a small brownstone in Chicago. Owned by a Mr. Edmond Atkinson. Public records had Atkinson as a private practice family doctor.

How appropriate.

He shuffled through the system, not even attempting to hide his tracks. He wanted the bank accounts.

He got them.

He grinned.

Two days later the first of his purchases arrived. A petite woman brought the box down to his rooms, careful to leave it just inside the door and make as little sound as possible.

His drab bedding was tossed in the laundry replaced by his nice, new soft comforter, silk sheets and pillow shams.

They cost over a thousand.

Worth every penny he didn't own.

The lap top came next. One of those sweet little netbooks only six inches across and less than a pound. Custom casing. Ace of Spades and a skeletal Joker. Another couple thousand.

The clothes followed. Lots of clothes. Two new wardrobes to put them in once the closet was filled.

He was running up quite a bill.

The Devil could stop him at any time. The Devil didn't.

A week and a half later he was getting bored with exploiting the bank accounts. He could take more sound, louder ones. Conversations with Crow. Television. Music.

Not much more than a couple hours at a time. But it was enough for now.

Crow thought he was insane. Buying everything he had. Crow thought the boss was insane for letting him get away with it. More so than normal. Crow wanted to know his secret.

Why was the Devil being so nice to him.

The Devil was never nice. Never so indulgent to anyone. The others were getting jealous.

He just laughed. He didn't know. He didn't care.

Not at first.

Another week of spending on the stupidest things. Things he didn't even want. Pointless things. Things bought to try and get a reaction from the Devil.

He hadn't found a limit yet. It scared him. It excited him.

What couldn't he get away with?

He decided to leave his rooms.

He dressed for the occasion. He had a new uniform now. Custom tailored. The Devil provided the best personal armor. Any style, any color. Protection of an investment.

He wandered through the lab. Ignored the looks the servants gave him. Some of them were nurses. Some accredited doctors. They were beneath him now. Just servants of the Devil.

One tried to stop him.

He wondered if he could get away with ignoring the fool. So he did. Just stepped around him and kept going.

He could hear the servant make a frantic call. He was too far away to hear the answer when it came.

He kept walking. Up and down the halls. He knew the layout already from when he hacked the computers. But he wanted to actually learn it.

Crow passed him in the halls and gave him an odd look. Asked him if he had been called to the meeting too.

Sure. Why not. He shrugged and followed. Crow didn't seem to care and kept going.

They stepped into the Devil's throne room. A floating chair surrounded by computer banks on three sides.

The Devil sat upon his throne. The Devil smiled at him.

He waved back. He could feel the nervousness of the others. They didn't know what to think. The Devil hadn't told them what to think yet.

The Devil began the meeting. Went over what he needed out of the latest mission. What was acceptable in terms of death and damage to the specimen he wanted.

He pulled out his cards and shuffled them. The others tried not to glance his way. Betray their uncertainty.

He grinned.

He walked through them, past them. Up to the Devil's throne. Shuffling his cards. The Devil watched him but didn't stop his instructions. Didn't stop talking. Didn't do anything to stop him.

He wondered. What exactly could he get away with?

He stopped next to the throne. Turned to face the others, cards tucked into his pocket. His grin splitting his face as he oh-so-casually moved the Devil's arm and sat down on the metal armrest, leaning back. Arm slung over the back of the throne.

The Devil kept talking, left his hand in his lap. Where he had moved it.

There was nothing he couldn't get away with.

The Devil was pleased.

::: :::

End Chapter