Chapter Text
WAR ANTHEM
Chapter 1
See No Evil
Toris hated many, many things on this Earth.
He hated hot weather, he hated dogs, he hated the teenage tourists taking pictures in front of old buildings, he hated when people attempted to speak to him in the street, he hated his neighbors, he hated when people crossed the street right in front of his car before the light had turned because he couldn't just run them over, he hated that stupid wish tile, and he especially hated that goddamn ugly knit sweater that people had dressed that beloved tree in.
Once upon time, maybe he had loved Vilnius, but now he hated it along with most other things.
All that said, what Toris hated more than anything else in existence was his boss.
Ivan Braginsky. Toris hated that man more than he had thought was possible. Had never known a man could be capable of such hatred, until Toris laid eyes upon Ivan's face and realized that his fingers had contracted so tightly on his pencil that it snapped right in half. Needless to say, he had switched to pens, even for his own personal scribbles, because pens didn't snap as easily.
Twelve years he had worked for Ivan, and each one of them had been hell on Earth. Ivan was the absolute worst sort of man, in every possible way. Everything about him Toris found utterly detestable, physically and personality wise. He hated how goddamn big Ivan was, hated the way he combed his hair, hated the way he shaped his sideburns, hated the cologne he used. He hated the neat, expensive clothing Ivan wore, even though they were the exact same brand and style Toris used, because of course anything Ivan did was inherently abhorrent to Toris. He hated Ivan's hawkish and prominent nose, because it was perfectly punchable and of course Toris could never take the bait. Hated Ivan's hooded, tired eyes, as if the bastard had ever actually put in a hard day's work rather than just barking orders at Toris. Hated Ivan's flashy car. Hated Ivan putting back glasses of scotch there in the office like water. Hated Ivan as a whole.
Maybe Toris had some anger issues he needed to address with a therapist, because most of the qualities he hated about Ivan were very present in himself. Perhaps he had some self-hatred issues to work through, because Toris wore the same clothes, had nearly the same car, drank on the job just as much, barked orders to those beneath him, styled his sideburns almost identically, and had a somewhat similar nose.
But Ivan was the worst.
Toris had been the first man to work for Ivan when he had opened up his pharmaceutical company in Vilnius, and here he had been ever since, watching the birth of BioGen, and seeing Ivan turn it steadily into a very powerful player on the global drug market.
Naturally, with a powerful pharmaceutical company came a great deal of dirty work, and that was Toris' job. Covering Ivan's less than ethical tracks, modifying and editing records, erasing certain minor details that could have become major details, creating false paper trails to throw off real paper trails.
What a life he had.
Ivan dabbled in a little of everything, powerful as he was, but Toris very consistently hated Ivan across all boards. Hated Ivan when he was the CEO of his pharmaceutical company, hated Ivan when he was playing politics and giving testimony and pitches before parliament, hated Ivan when he was pretending to be a military man by investing in and visiting weapons factories.
Hated Ivan, in whatever environment he happened to be in.
Every time Toris sat beside of or behind Ivan and scribbled down the ridiculous words coming out of his mouth, Toris died a little more inside, and he was fairly certain by that point in time that he was being entirely sustained by adrenaline and coffee and burning hatred.
Good fuel, if nothing else.
So he sat right beside of Ivan when he presented the merits of his company before the Lithuanian Parliament, pen scribbling away disdainfully as Ivan looked all of those men in the eye and proclaimed, in his smooth voice, that his company was 'paving the way' and 'making breakthroughs in the field of medical science' and 'a benefit to both the country and the world' and 'a sure investment both morally and financially'.
Toris was well aware of the grimace on his face the entire time Ivan wove his spiel of absolute bullshit, but dutifully wrote it all down nonetheless, so that Ivan could look back over it later on and stroke his ego and get off on himself and how convincing he was.
Ivan really was convincing, and if Toris didn't know the bastard, hell, he probably woulda believed him, too. Ivan was such a big, frightening man, but he was very eloquent, very intelligent, very well spoken, and his voice was soft and soothing. He may have looked like a former weightlifting marine or something, but Ivan truly did speak like a politician, and so naturally funding was always easy to find from the Lithuanian politicians, who were not exactly clean themselves.
Corruption was rampant.
Yeah, maybe Ivan's company was making the occasional breakthrough here and there, but it came from the work and dedication of other men. Ivan found men who were very willing to sell out their partners and even more willing to steal their work and labor and enhance it. Ivan took the life's work of one scientist, handed it to another, and profited on the end result. A businessman, through and through.
Ivan was far happier in the weapons factories. Was all smiles there, looking at missiles and shells, looked giddy and excited, like a kid in a toy store. In those moments, Toris trailed behind him, notepad in hand, and didn't have to do much because Ivan usually said nothing worthwhile, enchanted as he was by the ammunition and warheads all around him. Instead, Toris scribbled away in Lithuanian about how goddamn much he hated this man.
Hated him. Hated him hated him hated him hatedhimhatedhim.
Cortisol levels around Ivan were through the roof.
Ivan acted like he owned the world, and in a way he did. Had more money than anyone could ever hope to spend, had more influence than any sane person could have wanted, and for that, Ivan was dangerous, because he could do anything he wanted and he knew it. For the most part, Ivan's activities were harmless, at least when it came to his personal life. Ivan's ruthlessness came out on the business side of things, where he was very willing to throw away those very scientists that had given him those profits and put them on the street. Ivan's workers were paid bare minimum, their families given almost no security, as Ivan lounged in luxury. Ivan could craft a pill that cost ten cents to make and sell it for a hundred Euros. Ivan's business practices were entirely unethical, and Toris hated him for it.
...that said, Toris was complicit with it all, because as Ivan's personal secretary and sometimes spokesperson, the pay was unparalleled and Toris wasn't a good person. Which should have gone without saying. Ivan paid Toris extremely well, because Toris knew all of Ivan's dirty little secrets. Anyway, when the stress and hate were too high, Toris could always pop a pill to take the edge off and put it back with some of that scotch Ivan loved. Another benefit of being Ivan's walking lie machine. Endless access to the drugs the company made.
Was stuck with Ivan now. Had been here too long and knew too much. If he ever resigned, Ivan would absolutely ruin him before he could turn into a whistleblower.
So Toris suffered in silence, sitting at his desk in this opulent office every single day and writing and typing until his hand cramped and then filing things until his eyes glazed over. Go figure, being an immoral asshole was tiring. Covering Ivan's dirty dealings was quite the fulltime job indeed. No money was clean, and Toris supposed he should have been grateful in a way. Ivan certainly wasn't the worst of the world's CEOs. Was actually rather mild, when it came down to it. In a way, Ivan was sort of like an overgrown child, easy to amuse and please, and outside of his business Ivan was quite laidback. Liked to have fun and spend his money doing so, but never sought to knowingly use and abuse those around him. Never intentionally caused harm to anyone from what Toris had ever seen. There were much worse men out there than Ivan, but Toris hated him anyway.
Twelve years, and Ivan still treated Toris as more of an annoying fly that had buzzed into his office. Toris would tell Ivan everything going on that day, and Ivan would swat Toris away and try to slink off, having no care to listen to the actual state of affairs. Ivan really was a kid, after all, and loved making his money without worrying about the consequences.
So it was that day, as Toris scribbled away in an effort to clean up a few minor discrepancies in the filing of a employee's medical expenses. And by 'discrepancies', that meant that no way in hell was Ivan ever intending to pay for any damn medical expenses. Had evaded it since the birth of his company, and Toris hated him for that, too.
Only Toris, come to think, was ever paid everything he was actually owed, was ever given all vacation and benefits, but that was only because Toris just knew too much.
As Toris slaved away, Ivan sat over at his own desk, playing around as always and doing absolutely nothing constructive as Toris essentially ran the company.
Ivan's phone rang shortly after, and Ivan very cheerily answered it.
"Hello?"
Toris paid little attention, engrossed in his paperwork, letting Ivan's conversation drift through his ears.
"What? Ah, hell! What do they want now?"
Hated Ivan. Hated him. Hated him—
Toris shook his head to refocus. What was it about the sound of Ivan's voice that made Toris' blood pressure rise? It was uncanny.
"Bullshit! And why the both of us? ...pfft. Hell no!"
A tap of Toris' finger, and yet another worker went without medical compensation.
God, he was the worst, not Ivan.
Ivan scoffed, leaning back so arrogantly in his chair, and drawled to his phone, "You don't want my secretary, trust me." A twinge of hatred, as Ivan waved his hand carelessly in the air. "Because! My secretary is a fuckin' bitch, I'm telling you—"
Deep breaths.
Calm. He was calm. Very calm. Collected.
Absolutely.
Ivan laughed, dragging his dusty shoes up and throwing them upon his desk like an absolute savage, and carried on his conversation as Toris' writing became sloppy with anger.
"Ha! Yeah. Well, hey, they gotta be good for something. I'm sure as hell not filing my own damn papers. ...ha! Yeah, that too! Well, this one ain't cute, so there's that."
Son of a—
Toris bolted upright, shoving his chair back, squared his shoulders and inhaled, clenched his fists, and stalked furiously over to Ivan, babbling away on his phone, and looked around. A honing in, and Toris took up the vase of fake flowers sitting atop the display table by the window, marched up behind Ivan, and smashed the vase over his head as furiously as he could.
"Toris."
The satisfying shatter, and the beautiful silence of Ivan falling unconscious atop the desk. Toris picked up Ivan's phone, put it to his ear, and said, abruptly, 'I'm not a bitch.'
"Toris."
He hung it up, threw it aside, and stomped out into the free air, with a very dramatic and poetic resignation, smoothing back his tied hair because he was cute as a matter of fact thank you very much.
"Toris!"
A jolt of adrenaline, as Toris started upright in his chair and looked up with wide eyes. Ivan was hovering over him, arms crossed and face foul, and Toris regretted coming out of his daydream.
Had been a good one, too.
"What?" Toris asked, mechanically, pen in hand as Ivan glowered down at him.
"I already told you what, you useless bastard. Pay attention."
Why, oh why, couldn't that daydream have been a real one?
Ivan looked cranky, annoyed, sneering down at Toris as much as Toris sneered right back up at him. They needed each other, but there was certainly no love lost between them. Had never liked each other, and had never kept it a secret.
"I got a heads up. I'm being called to a hearing before parliament. In two months. And it's not just us. But him, too."
That grimace of disgust on Ivan's face.
Him.
Oh, man. Toris knew who 'he' was.
Gilbert Beilschmidt. Ivan's arch nemesis. The CEO of SynTech. Gilbert had been Ivan's biggest competition since day one, and it had been an uphill battle, because Gilbert's company had been in Vilnius for twenty years. Ivan's longtime dream had been to surpass Gilbert in profits, and it hadn't started off very well, but progress was made every year. Gilbert's annual profits were on a very slow decline, as Ivan's ever rose. Gilbert's company dealt more with research and development, whereas Ivan had far many more drugs on the market. Ivan was an opportunist, after all, and would sell whatever passed trials. Gilbert had a bit more dignity than that, because Gilbert was German and not Russian and had grown up no doubt with far less corruption.
That said, Gilbert was still a scumbag, as much as Ivan, and there was a reason he was also being summoned to this hearing. Toris heard, through the grapevine, that Gilbert had a fondness for avoiding taxes.
Wondered what the hell parliament wanted now. The last hearing had been seven years ago.
Toris scoffed, and asked, "For what? What is it this time?"
Grumpily, Ivan kicked gently at Toris' desk, grumbling, "Fuckin' inquiry about workers' missing medical compensation."
Toris glanced at his computer screen with a quirked brow.
Ha—good timing!
That heads up turned out not to be that much of a heads up, after all, because the speaker on Ivan's desk crackled, and a voice called, "Sir! An officer is coming up."
Ivan cursed under his breath, and Toris put back the rest of his coffee, mentally preparing himself for a long damn two months.
A knock on the door shortly after, and Ivan ripped it open less than politely, and Toris saw the officer in question hold an envelope out.
"You've been served."
Ivan snatched it, slammed the door rudely in the officer's face, and stomped back over, throwing the envelope on Toris' desk without even bothering to open it.
Instead, Ivan just griped, "I'm gonna go have a drink. Start gathering those papers. And get what you can on him. I'd rather save my own ass and take him down in the process. We have a lot of work to do."
'We', of course, meant Toris.
Ivan turned and walked out, straightening his tie and smoothing his hair, and Toris grimaced at the door long after Ivan had vanished.
What a dick.
He gathered his papers, began the awful task of collecting all of the necessary documentation, and the entire while, he daydreamed up in his head the various ways he would love to murder that pain in the ass.
Alas. Money and power were too great, and Toris' vase-smashing days were only up in his head. What a shame.
Time to get to work, then, and get the scoop on Gilbert. Ivan certainly held a grudge.
Man, was Gilbert going to be in for a long damn day at that hearing.