What did they teach? | part 4 | PSA [ a murder series ]

To Part 3 | Dutiful

I am learning a lot from you, Andromeda.

Remember, we are always both student and teacher. People like to classify themselves into hierarchies and bow down to authorities but, I am of the generation that still values freedom and individuality. Yes, society plays a role but it should be one that supports people to be their best, not rewards those who appear their best.

What kinds of people does society reward?

Middlemen, racketeers and all those who sell a future heaven by denial of the present. There are many classes of each. Some are obvious in their approach to most but, some are much more cleverly disguised, some are able to be richly rewarded whilst maintaining a public face of civic duty.

Is that why you targeted the Minister for Finance?

Yes. She had so many opportunities to do better yet, when push came to shove, she lined her own pockets with the fleece she trimmed from those who trusted her. I have no problems with people who work having a lot but, she was into some shady business behind closed doors. Backroom deals that sold her people out and slowly bled them dry.

Your phrasing it is why...?

Yes. Sorry to interrupt but I am guessing you already have pieced together why it happened the way it did. why she was , too put it bluntly, bled dry. For three decades she had been in the spotlight, cheered for her 'fight for the little guy' while she did nothing of the sort. She had sold out to the corporations long ago. She had started off innocently enough.

What do you mean?

She had entered the public sphere with good intentions to help the honest, hard-working, underprivileged but, at the first sign of challenge, she flipped and her capitalising nature took hold. She started to sell herself like a prostitute in the streets except, to the highest corporate bidder. You did not notice how often she spoke phrases like, 'These situations are extraordinary, the cuts must be made' came out of her mouth over the years?

That is the talk of all politicians.

Perhaps, but every time she made that speech, millions of dollars poured into her offshore accounts from all manner of corporation, even from the handlers of the offshore accounts themselves. She became a type of protection mechanism for them. She took blows for the invisible hands that held her up while the commoner praised her for her years of loyal service. They obviously didn't know who she served.

It was surgical how you performed it. Have you had training?

Of course. But, none of it formal. I spent hundreds of hours practicing to make sure that it was done cleanly, neatly and efficiently. She was the Minister of Finance after all, she wouldn't like waste now would she? She never wasted an opportunity in life, so in death, her fastidiousness should be mirrored.

You sound like you may have enjoyed this one.

As said, enjoy is not the term but, this one was particularly satisfying. In some way I felt like a superhero of sorts, or an antihero at least. The misunderstood soul who does all they can to make the world better by disposing of those who would do it harm. Romantic nonsense I know and not the truth but, the feeling crept in. In truth, past the emotion of the moment, I was glad when it was over. That much blood coming out of a person is not nice for anyone to see. Those that enjoy such have real issues.

Why do it in the empty factory? Privacy?

Publicity. But it was missed by all but a few of the non-mainstream media, the conspiracy theorists you might say. That empty factory was only so because over a decade earlier she had organised a deal with a company to take manufacturing overseas to a cheaper location. Do you know why it was cheaper? Child slave labour. Do you know how I know? I visited it. When it comes to hunting, following tracks to make sure you have the right animal is important.

Why not just expose her, why kill?

She needed to learn, exposing her would have sent her at worst to a white collar prison where she would live out her days in better conditions than those she took advantage of, those still working to make ends meet, those she promised things to.

Her life of luxury, the mansions and yachts she had justified her behaviour in order to achieve had to be ripped away from her. she had to recognise that in the end, all of those decades of selling herself and others out for profit, would amount to nothing. She would never be able to retire. Much like the people who trusted her.

She learned that greed didn't pay?

She learned that it not only doesn't pay, it can cost everything. At the end of our lives, all that we have is how we have impacted on this world. We cannot take anything with us. Some say, 'Have fun now, take now, who knows of tomorrow', but what of 'help now, give now, who knows of tomorrow'? At the end of her life she learned something about herself. I didn't even have to tell her. She knew she had taken too much without giving back and the accounts were unbalanced. She knew she deserved it.

And you? What did you learn?

I am no superhero but, I am not all bad either.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

To Part 5 | FOMO