Anyone feeling villainous?

MelodyO · Aug 2, 2007

You're a politician who's already killed someone who threatened to spill your dirty secrets. There's one person left who may or may not know what you did. Do you...

1. Try to kill them - better safe than sorry?
2. Try to find out if they know what you think they know?
3. Do nothing and hope they don't know/won't tell?
4. Threaten them so they won't tell if they do know?
5. Something else again?

I'm trying to catch a ride on the plot logic train, so I'd appreciate your thoughts, especially if you're eeeevil.

swvaughn · Aug 2, 2007

Ooh, I'm a politician? Wicked!

Okay, since I've already killed someone and this dude is a potential threat, I'll ruin his life first -- discredit him somehow, so that even if he does tell someone my secrets, no one will believe him.

Then I'll hire someone to kill him for me. I'm busy campaigning for President, after all.

reenkam · Aug 2, 2007

I'd do number 2.

Number 3 isn't very evil and number 4 isn't very smart. I don't have a number 5 to suggest. And number 1...evil and homocidal aren't the same. Well, kind of. I guess they are, sometimes...

Anyway, I'd do number 2 because then, if they don't know anything, I'm safe from ever being caught. If they do know something I can kill them later.

swvaughn · Aug 2, 2007

But you're evil! And evil is paranoid. If there's a chance this dude know something, you need to take him out immediately.

You're too cute to be evil, reenkam. That's the most adorable fennec EVAH.

Will Lavender · Aug 2, 2007

I also like 2.

If there's a unique way you could pull that off, I think it would be really interesting. Maybe a frame-up so that the other character has to "confess" their secrets to one of the politican's confederates? Maybe the politician somehow lures the character to his home/office/public park (notice how many park scenes there are in thrillers?) and finds out in a more...blunt way what the character knows.

If you try the last tack, then it's sort of a fusion of 2 and 4, I guess.

Summonere · Aug 2, 2007

2. Find out how far the infection has spread.

1. Kill everyone who is infected.

0. Make all deaths look like accidents and suicides.

---- oh, and this ----

Employ disposable assets for all direct operations while maintaining a chain of plausible deniability.

JamieFord · Aug 2, 2007

I'd frame the other person for the murder I just committed.

Williebee · Aug 2, 2007

I'd start with number 2, but be planning for number 1, as in:

1a. Can I get away with it?
1b. Can I kill them and make it look like they killed the first guy?
3. Gets you nothing.
4. Only if you (the author) needs this person later, AND you are sure this character is going to "have a spine" later. (See, if they don't have a spine now, then you are back to number 1. After all, if you can bully them then you gotta believe that someone else can come behind you and bully them the other way.)
5. See 1b.
Optional 5. Can this person be bought? I'm the villain. I have charm. I can lure them in, make them a part of the deal, use them... and maybe kill them later, when they've served their purpose.

sunna · Aug 2, 2007

Well, being an evil politician who has already killed, I suspect I'd be bored with straight death, and would go for 5...setting them up and completely discrediting them. What do I care whether they really know what I think they know or not? They might be in my way. And a lot of deaths among even the most casual of acquaintances is something I'd probably want to avoid if possible.

Then kill them if they fight back or if it looks like they're getting to close to my secret.

PattiTheWicked · Aug 2, 2007

Number one.

"There is no try, just do."

Spiny Norman · Aug 2, 2007

I'd get the dirt on them, threaten their family and their careers, etc. Maybe machinate an incriminating situation, then tape it. Get the best hooker I can find and set him up, I suppose.

I'd recommend the miniseries House of Cards as a reference point here.

MMWyrm · Aug 2, 2007

Hmm... if the politician has already killed someone, I don't see... logically... why he wouldn't just kill again.

PattiTheWicked · Aug 2, 2007

Exactly. Someone who has killed obviously doesn't have qualms about taking a life, so it seems unrealistic to stop and have them say, "Hm, I better think about this before I do it again."

It's a line that's crossed and can't be gone back over, so if he's really an "evil politician" it won't matter.

heyjude · Aug 2, 2007

JamieFord said:
I'd frame the other person for the murder I just committed.

Oh, yeah. I wanna read your books.

sunna · Aug 2, 2007

PattiTheWicked said:
Exactly. Someone who has killed obviously doesn't have qualms about taking a life, so it seems unrealistic to stop and have them say, "Hm, I better think about this before I do it again."

I was thinking more that bodies tend to attract police, and media, and generally more attention than someone with an evil plan is looking for...

So, qualms not so much about the value of a human life as the likelihood of an investigation turning up something linking two+ bodies to me in some fashion or other. Less risk, IMO.

Soccer Mom · Aug 2, 2007

So make sure the body isn't found. ETA: and I would make sure someone else did the dirty deed while I had a rock solid alibi.

PattiTheWicked · Aug 2, 2007

I'd make sure it looked like an accident. If you have enough money, you can pay people to do it for you.

Of course, then you might have to pay them to keep quiet.

davids · Aug 2, 2007

Me I'd just spank him on the bum-the bare bum that is-or I would get some slut hooker to do it take pictures post em on the internet send his wife a get well soon card-then I'd give him some Kool-aid-that shit'll kill anybody-quite simple actually!

Azraelsbane · Aug 2, 2007

I'm always feeling villainous, and since I would already have killed someone and gotten away with it... Well, why not go for two? I'd hire an assassin. You know, one of those money hungry guys. Don't go for the glory hogs. Chances are this guy I'm trying to snuff out is an easy target, and you don't want the assassin going all "I need to make this more of a challenge" on ya.

Sassee · Aug 2, 2007

How about all of the above? Mix around the order a little bit:

3. Do nothing and hope they don't know/won't tell? - do this for maybe half a day.
2. Try to find out if they know what you think they know? - become paranoid and do this.
4. Threaten them so they won't tell if they do know? - when you can't figure it out, move on to this one.
1. Try to kill them - better safe than sorry? - #4 didn't go well? boom.
5. Something else again? - only if the previous four things failed.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 2, 2007

Evil

I don't think evil is the key here. If you've killed once, you'd be an idiot not to kill a second time, if you're pretty darned sure you can get away with it. When it comes to a murder conviction, safe is always better than sorry.

Legionsynch · Aug 2, 2007

Smart evil isn't paranoid. Smart evil is proactive and careful. There's a difference.

heatheringemar · Aug 2, 2007

1. Try to kill them - better safe than sorry!

Of course, from the politician's point of view, it wouldn't be "try."

GeorgeK · Aug 4, 2007

swvaughn said:
But you're evil! And evil is paranoid. If there's a chance this dude know something, you need to take him out immediately.

You're too cute to be evil, reenkam. That's the most adorable fennec EVAH.

I disagree. Evil is too proud to be paranoid. That's why they always tell the hero their wicked plan before leaving the room and simply assuming that their diabolical poisonous laser death machine with killer bees will actually finish the hero off

DeadlyAccurate · Aug 4, 2007

Definitely go for the kill. Only the most short-lived Evil Overlords would consider anything else.

(#4 is worth noting.)

Anyone feeling villainous?

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