THE MOMENT
"... but this one single time we hire you to kill our own you question us?" The client wasn't shy about raising his voice as his words came drenched in judgement. Ozone smiled, and sighed with a shrug. He came into the meeting knowing he didn't need to make the sale. He ran a quaint shop, and an elite mercenary group, and he wasn't hurting for money in the least. But, it was still fun, and his patience wasn't spent quite yet.
"You were just hanging to that one in your back pocket weren't you," he chuckled. "Get off your high horse and relax. I'm literally asking about the job. I need to know why you want them dead, so I know how to kill them and who the best person is for the assignment. Is it political? Do you want to make a scene, or do you want it discreet? Have them just disappear with no trace? I'm running a business here and it's my job to be informed."
"Oh," the pale vampire managed to blush enough to bring a faint red flush to his cheeks. He wasn't there by accident. He'd heard that Ozone was a businessman who could get things done. The perpetually grinning, rotund man came highly recommended, as far as shady dealings go. "Discreet would be best; it is something of a resource dispute. The council has decided to cull the less... helpful members of our coven. Ideally, we could claim they simply left for greener pastures as a group."
"If that's the goal, do they have to die?" Ozone asked. "I can arrange it so they're never seen in your territory again; but, I won't lie about the end result. If I can do it without killing them, I'd prefer that."
"Yes," the vampire nodded. "I think for the good of the coven, they should be eliminated entirely," he said. "They are a waste of space and resources no matter where they are."
"And, that's your reason?" Ozone asked.
"This is business, do I need one?" the vampire asked.
"I do if I'm going to order murder," Ozone replied.
"Yes," the vampire said flatly. "They don't deserve to live, that's my reason."
"Of all the reasons you could've made up, you had to pick the worst one," Ozone shook his head. "I would've accepted pretty much anything, vengeance is a popular one. But, making a determination over who 'deserves' to live, that's not something I'm on board with."
"You have a group of assassins on your payroll!" the vampire replied.
"Yeh," Ozone nodded. "We're criminals, arguably evil. When I give the word, I'm not saying someone doesn't deserve to live, I'm just being a villain. They're two entirely separate things, and your reason is one I'm not interested in."
"THEN IT'S VENGEANCE!" the vampire stood as he raised his voice.
"Sorry, no sale," Ozone shrugged. "Just seems inhumane, you know?" He asked the question as he rose to his feet and met the vampire's eyes. Ozone wasn't a small man, he was both wider and taller than the vampire. "Awww, of course you do," he chuckled. "You're an expert on how inhuman we can be, right?"