To many, colorful would be an apt description for the lawless ghetto that Kaiz called home. For Kaiz himself, however, it was the opposite. Home was blank. It was in the actual city he saw color. Color rarely reached the slums—especially of its own accord—and if it did, it was usually white. That wasn’t the case today. Today, a green-tinted woman sat scowling under his tree.

He'd never seen her before, but her expression did little to hide her beauty.

She had short, braided red hair that only went down past her ear. It, as well as her red eyes and lips, contrasted nicely against her dark brown skin. Her face seemed to be the only part of that skin she was fond of revealing as she covered her entire body, ankle to chin, in some sort of dark purple bodysuit.

It didn’t stop there. Layers and layers of different color fabrics laid on top of her body. Kaiz could recognize the linen in the main dress and the silk in the robe she wore on top of that, but some fabrics she wore looked foreign to him. They bore an air of affluence. Not to the level of nobility or Lyn’s outfit, only the bodysuit seemed enchanted, but she’d stand out in a crowd. She most definitely stood out in the middle of a forest.

Her and the only other muscle-infested seven footer he knew that watched over her.

Viz signaled to the giant and he returned it, nodding and walking past them as they approached.

The woman scoffed as she stood, “A tall ape is still an ape.”

Ruined it. Ugly voice too.

She took a break from the scowls and scoffs to point at Kaiz, “You. You’re Akelan?” Her head tilted to the side as her index found her chin, “You don’t look it. There's nothing special about you.”

“Good.”

To the rainbow chameleon’s credit, she only got halfway into her retort before she realized why a runner known for his discretion wouldn’t want to appear extraordinary at a glance.

She pivoted, “You kept me waiting. Just cause your boss is an ape doesn’t mean you can act like one too.”

Kaiz's eyebrow raised under his mask. While it wasn't unusual for a more wealthy and powerful client to look down on them, they usually did so in more obtuse or implied ways. To be so directly adversarial toward people you planned on paying for work was strange.

He looked toward Viz, “Not the client?”

“Nope. Your partner.”

Kaiz turned to dismiss the woman then snapped his head right back, “Partner?”

That Viz didn’t grin in response to Kaiz’s incredulity showed how much the ‘ape’ comments were getting to him. His nerve had been ticked. Thankfully, only someone who knew Viz well would notice. Outwardly, he appeared unbothered.

He pushed forward, “I no need any partner.”

Gutter-voice seemed offended by that, “You think I need you? You work for tanlars. You might even be one yourself.”

Kaiz shrugged, “Yet you sabi my name, I no sabi your own.”

Now she was properly vexed, “You live in a tree like a chimp! What would you know? Your boss came begging for my help.”

He didn’t believe that for a second. Viz would rather get Kaiz killed twice than look for external help. The look on his face, past the annoyance, spoke the same.

That gave Kaiz the confidence to scoff back, “Beg for a peafowl? Which dream you dream that one?”

“Tell him.”

Oh?

Kaiz glanced at Viz as she gestured to him, but he just shook his head, “You’re both on the run. It doesn’t matter who needs who.” He moved to step past her, “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Verbal spat aside, Kaiz did need to hear more about what transpired to get such a turd toned tagalong attached to him, “Why both of us?”

“Client’s orders.”

It was a bit strange for a client to have particular personnel requirements, but it wasn’t unheard of. Usually, they were for surveillance purposes. It was a lot easier to claim you only managed to retrieve one priceless jewel when there was no one there to see you pocket the other two. Even in those cases though, they’d have vetted them.

“Why her?”

“She’s the best option available.”

Kaiz seriously doubted that. Her green tint meant her possible spell assortment was wide, but attitude played a major role in being a runner. If her skill outclassed her stupidity, he’d know about her.

Unless she’s an inhouse?

That begged a lot of questions, “Who’s the client?”

Viz paused. He had the look he got when he was attempting to massage some information. That set off alarm bells in Kaiz's head. The client was already the type to discover and show up at his hideout. The idea that it could get much worse than that was an unpleasant thought.

“Plain words.”

“...” Viz sighed, “Snake.”

Kaiz didn’t need to hear anything else. Any further questions he had immediately evaporated. He wouldn’t hear a single syllable more. There were no circumstances he’d do a job for Snake, running for him was chasing suicide. That Viz would even hear it was shocking.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

While Snake absolutely fell into the ‘big enough to flatten them’ category, he did not fall into the ‘too big to deny’ category. The law barely reached the slums, but they had their own rules. He wouldn’t dare break them just to force Kaiz on a run. Kaiz knew that, and his intimidation tactics couldn’t change it.

“But listen.” Viz began his pointless placating attempt, “He may have been tailing you to find you, but he made no attempt to force this. I mediated this a–”

“Doesn’t matter, Sn—”

The woman had cut Viz off, clearly growing bored with their conversation. A poor choice. Even in his happiest moods, he hated his words being disregarded like that. Now?

With a speed unbefitting an untitled, he slid his sword from his belt and balanced it in front of her neck. The pace and fluidity of the motion left her with no time to react. Before she could move a muscle, the tip of his blade hung a mere centimeter away from her throat.

“Your insults have known no end. They will now.”

She looked at the blade, petrified. If Viz had extended only a bit further, she’d be dead. Being gifted with a title meant nothing if she couldn’t react to the simple swing of a sword.

“Snake and I, have a deal. You’re just the pawn he’s using. I can have him find another.” After allowing the threat to marinate for a few seconds, he pointed his sword in the direction of Kaiz’s trapdoor, “Now get inside.”

The woman dashed into Kaiz’s home with haste, fear proving a potent motivator. As soon as she disappeared from sight, Viz let a deep breath flow through him. He no doubt chastised himself for allowing his pride to get the best of him.

Well. That’s definitely Snake’s mark on her back.

That didn't change anything for Kaiz, “I'm still not doing it.”

“What? Why?”

He couldn't believe Viz's confusion, “Work for Snake directly? I wouldn’t do that at the best of times. Now you want me to do it after I just find out he’s been secretly tailing me, through means I clearly can’t fathom?”

Viz sighed, “Look. I know, trust me I get it. But we can’t afford to turn this deal down.”

“You say ‘we’, but you really mean ‘you’. I just risked my life for ‘we’ a month ago. For a Snake related job.”

“Come on, it wasn't that dangerous.”

Kaiz didn’t bother responding to that nonsense, “I became a runner because they were the simplest jobs; get in, get out, don’t get caught. I don’t know what this is, but if it’s from Snake himself then no. He only offers jobs he isn’t willing to risk his own men for. With what we did to Conan, this could just be a trap too.”

“It’s not.” He stopped Kaiz before he could refute the clear lie, “I get it, I get it. This time is different though. Do this one job and I’ll never ask something like this of you again.”

Kaiz rolled his eyes under the mask, “You won’t keep that promise.”

Viz took a moment to carefully scrutinize his surroundings before whispering, “I swear it. I, Wilhelm Lovis Vogel, swear it on my name and my bloodline.”

Kaiz reeled back. Viz never said his name, not even just his given name. Yet he just swore on it. He just swore on his name.

What kind of deal did you agree to?!

Disbelief threatened to choke Kaiz, “Wha-what are we getting out of this?”

“A lot”

“Details.”

Viz returned to whispering, “Control of the whole North West Zone.”

Kaiz reeled back a second time, with even greater shock than the first.

Huh, what? No. Impossible. Why? How? No way. What? How?

“We’re not big enough.” Was the only reply Kaiz’s brain could muster.

“What do you think I’ve been up to while you lazed around all day?”

Kaiz didn’t even register the snide remark. “How much could we have possibly grown in a couple weeks?”

“Almost two months.” Viz corrected, “And enough to control the North West Zone.”

“Details. I need details.” Kaiz hadn't even finished processing Snake successfully shadowing him and now he had this. His brain was stretched, “Specific details.”

Viz groaned, “We can discuss this in excruciating detail later. This is neither the time nor the place. You asked what we’re getting, that’s what we’re getting.”

Kaiz wanted more. He didn’t understand what was going on and he hated it. Their crew was fairly stable. They had a nice slice of land, a decent roster of men, powerful connections. Everything an average gang could hope for. The keyword being ‘average’.

They may have had certain hidden cards that made them stronger than they appeared—cards that were getting revealed one-by-one—but no matter how he cut it they weren’t large enough to handle a whole zone.

The logistics, the security, the money to pay for the logistics and security, the expertise to handle the money, logistics and security. Where was all of that going to come from? They weren’t things you could acquire in a matter of weeks.

I don’t like this.

“What about Conan? He’s been gearing up to take this zone for years.”

“He’s being moved east. We’ll be inheriting some of his stuff.”

Kaiz doubted Conan would be so accommodating, “We’re supposed to believe that?”

“I already have all his deeds. It was the down payment.”

Kaiz stared through the mask and into Viz's pupils, “Show me.”

Viz stared back, but dumbfounded, “You think I would bring them out here?”

“Right. True.” Kaiz cursed, “You double checked all his locations?”

“Yes.”

“Even the hidden ones?”

“Even the hidden ones.”

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

Kaiz cursed again, “You’re absolutely sure this isn’t a trap?”

Viz tried to throw out a charismatic smirk, “As sure as I’ve ever been.” Neither the smirk nor the reassurance landed.

Kaiz cursed thrice.

If he’s right, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. But why? Why would Snake give up so much? The North West Zone’s pretty poor, but it’s still a whole zone. What kind of job would be an equal trade? Is there even an equal trade for that? This has to be suicide. If not, is he giving up on Conan entirely? Wait. When did Viz set up this deal? Almost two months? That’s close to the last run. Was that a proof of concept? A trial run? The archer girl… is she one of Snake’s people? I’m assuming it was the same person twice. What if it was two different people? Were they both Snake’s? Why attack me? Was that a test, too?

There were too many questions. Everything about the job screamed danger. Everything about the whole situation screamed danger. Kaiz didn’t like it one bit. Yet, he knew he only had one option. He had to accept. He’d never seen anxiety mar Viz’s face like it did right now.

Damn it!

“Fine.” A wave of relief visibly crashed into Viz’s body. “But. If the run isn’t properly planned, you’re just going to have to find someone else.” He hoped he would at least live to regret this decision, “And. You owe me a new hideout. I obviously can't stay here anymore.”

Maybe I can avoid Lyn after all.

Viz perked up, “Alright, I’m already halfway there.”

Kaiz assumed that meant Viz was at least confident in his plan, but when he entered what was once his home and saw nothing but three chairs, he knew the truth of the matter. He could only sigh. Viz was always five steps ahead.

Is this why you sent me on that errand you bastard?!