The old man had made a shocking suggestion: he'd tried and failed to murder his own father and dismember him.
As soon as Hogg shared his brilliant idea, every company commander unanimously opposed it. They all exclaimed, "Father, have you gone senile?" Even the most rebellious Ross began trying to talk him out of it:
"Father, you absolutely mustn't do this!"
"Oh? Why not?"
He glanced around and saw all the company commanders looking at him. Ross couldn't help sighing.
"Malice is still around, anyway. If the Emperor gets chopped up, then so be it. He's so huge that even cut into four pieces, there'll be plenty to go around. I'm sure that if the Emperor knew chopping himself up to feed the dogs would make the Imperium flourish, he'd be glad.
"But, Father, have you considered one thing? If we cut the Emperor up, is there a chance he might die?"
"..."
"And if the Emperor dies, could Malice die too?"
"I suppose... not?"
Hogg was starting to lose his composure. He really hadn't considered that. Though he had not an ounce of respect for the Emperor, he had always believed the old bastard was omnipotent.
Besides, since he couldn't die, Hogg had overlooked the possibility that Old Man Yellow could be killed. Maybe the big golden guy wasn't as powerful as he'd imagined. Maybe he couldn't keep moving as if nothing had happened after his head was chopped off, the way Hogg could.
Seeing that his father was listening, Ross slipped a hand into Hogg's pocket. First, he put the four Gold Dog Coins in his own pocket, then opened the pack of cigarettes and passed them around. Finally, he pocketed the half-pack that remained.
The whole sequence flowed like water, fully demonstrating the confidence and composure of