I fucked up

I don’t know how I did it, but I somehow managed to get enough money out of this town to meet the quota Ahriman wanted. It’s no wonder they’re having a hard time paying; with all the cash we’re wringing out of them, I don’t know how the town manages to maintain anything resembling a sustainable economy.

About all that money we’re getting out of the town. It’s a much larger amount than I had imagined. Too much, actually. I pulled up several other financial records after I got back to the apartment, and after adding everything up, there’s no reason most of us should be living on starvation rations. Our regional branch brings in enough income that all we’d need to do is cut back on some of the dumber expenses (we do not need to buy entire crates worth of bullets every month when most of the people working for us are incapable of shooting a large red target only a few feet away from them, must less a moving person,) and we could put all our local proxies on an upper middle class lifestyle.

After putting so much energy into just making sure we’d all get enough to survive, learning that did not make me happy. And because of that, I was dumb enough to raise the point to Ahriman when he next stopped by.

He flew into a rage. How dare I presume to know what we should do with our money. Our job is to perform Father’s will, not laze around in comfort. We should feel honored that Father has been generous enough to take the material comforts of our old lives away, so that we may live these more perfect lives of duty. I’d have found the rant laughable if I wasn’t terrified that he was going to kill me.

I honestly think he really may have, if Lepidus hadn’t intervened. He managed to talk Ahriman down from killing me where I stood. Except as he was leaving, Ahriman said, “Don’t think you’re just going to get away with your blasphemy this time, girl! I will be informing my superiors of your repeated insolence, and they will deliver your righteous punishment!”

Ohfuck. I knew Ahriman had people over him, but… I’ve never had to deal with them. I’d always hoped I never would need to. If someone like Ahriman is the sort who rise up in the ranks, I don’t want to imagine what those even closer to the top are like. I almost think it may have been safer to let Ahriman kill me. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with the dread I’m feeling for whatever punishment is in store for me.