Reclined on a sleek table in the stylish bedroom, a fully black tattooed man lies motionless as the tattoo artist applied the final strokes of black ink to the back of his neck.

“My work is finally completed, Inkedge,” the artist declared with delight. “Every inch of your body is now inked black as requested, from your forehead to your nut sack.”

Inkedge stood and walks over to the bathroom, admiring his transformation in the mirror. Not a trace of untouched skin remained, he was a living canvas of inky blackness. “Damn, you’re such a sexy man,” he murmured, while sliding in a pair of white contact lenses.

Just then, a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Inkedge, your presence is requested in the boardroom.”

“How great.” Inkedge placed a small kiss on the mirror before putting on black clothes and departing, ready to return to the demands of his work.

In a big boardroom, three men sat in tense silence, waiting for their boss to arrive.

“Why are we even here? This is so damn boring, let’s just go tell Inkedge we’ll catch up with him later,” a man in an orange flame-colored tactical vest whined impatiently.

“Settle down, Orange,” the second man commanded, his deep voice cutting through the tension. “I want to make sure Inkedge knows everything we’ve done.”

“Like that dickhead actually cares, Big D,” Orange scoffed when replying.

“Just shut your mouth and don’t say another word,” Big D fired back, his patience wearing thin.

“Yeah, Orange, we wouldn’t want something bad to happen to you,” the third man, chimed in with a sinister chuckle.

“That’d be a real tragedy, not having you around, Bike,” Orange retorted sarcastically.

“The only tragedy is having to look at your ugly face, it’s making me sick,” Bike sneered.

“Fuck you!” Orange spat, his frustration boiling over.

“Both of you, shut the fuck up!” Big D barked, silencing the room just as the door swung open and Inkedge walked in.

“Mr. Big D, so good of you to join me,” Inkedge said, his tone dripping with false pleasantry. “How are you?”

“I’m very peachy boss,” Big D replied with a grin.

Inkedge surveyed the empty seats. “So, where’s the rest of the crew at?”

“Rocket’s collecting the tax money in Blacktin town. I’m not sure where Cane is. One should be here soon. Frost, Frank, and Horn are at Morelaw’s, busy picking up the material shipment for the B-bugs project.”

“Yes, B-bugs project. How’s that little side thing going?”

“Slow, but we should have prototypes ready for deployment soon. As long as we maintain good relationships with King Morelaw.”

“I hate that lunatic and his retarded cult followers. Make sure Frost keeps an eye on him, in case we need to cut ties.”

“Noted, sir.”

Just then, the door opened and a man wearing a black tactical uniform, with a green ‘V’ on his chest entered, carrying a briefcase. “Hope I’m not late.”

“One, right on time,” Big D greeted.

One set the briefcase on the table and took a seat. “Fill me in on what I missed.”

“Not much,” Big D said. “We were about to discuss Inkedge’s plan for Whiteland.”

“It’s no mere plan, Big D, it’s a genius plot to finally take over Whiteland,” Inkedge declared.

The men fell silent.

“As you know, I’ve been secretly building a tower in Whiteland as a stronghold. With a good portion of my army there, and the new power source from Morelaw, I believe it’s time to unveil my might and conquer Whiteland.”

More silence.

“Does anyone have an issue with my approach?”

No one spoke.

“I’ll take that as a no, then.”

“It’s not that we don’t like the idea,” One says, pausing for a moment to gather a thought. “We just don’t want to fail again like the last two times.”

“I was under-prepared back then,” Inkedge replies, “but now I have every corner of this operation covered.”

“If you feel that way, then we will agree with your approach,” Big D says. “What’s the plan?”

Turning to One, Inkedge responds, “That will be for One to tell.”

One lays out the plan: “It’s simple, send troops out to get Holton’s attention, taking land and villages piece by piece. Also, set up near the sea with a small army, where Big D will come in.”

“Should’ve seen that coming,” Big D mutters.

One continues, “If planned right, Holton will not know this is going on until it’s too late. I have a source on the inside of the kingdom that says there will be a secret meeting between one of Holton’s close allies and his most trusted spokesmen, seeking to do a trade. Now is the perfect time to attack, we won’t get another chance to take lots of land.”

“Let’s get started, I’m ready,” Inkedge said.

“There’s one more item for discussion, but it’s only for me,” One stated.

“Does it affect us in any way?” Big D asked.

“No, it doesn’t,” One responded.

Big D dismissed him. “Fine, I don’t care. I’ll let Frost know what’s going on, and I’ll continue my work while at the sea of Whiteland. Can I take the B-bug project with me to test? I think it will work better in water.”

“Enjoy them,” Inkedge said.

“I will, thank you sir,” Big D replied.

“You’re all dismissed.”

“Fucking great,” Bike says.

As the others leave the room, Inkedge opened the case and gazed at the money inside. “Oh, I love the smell of fresh cash.” He grabbed a stack of bills and began counting. “So, what information do we have to discuss in private that we couldn’t say in front of the idiots?”

“Something you’re going to like, which will give you the upper hand on Holton,” One said, a sly grin spreading across his face.

Inkedge put the cash down, his own smile widening to the news.

…