Clark's treasure quickly made its way to the different pirate crews and organizations that were nearest to the volcano facility. They would usually shrug something like this off since most of them didn't care much for the walled city government. However, the treasure that Clark sent them grabbed their attention and the leaders decided to take Clark up on his offer. Crimson Judgment's exploits had made their way through the different information chains. Most of the organizations and pirate clans decided to ignore it since they were far away from Crimson judgment territory.
However, some of the organizations and crews decided to make a name for themselves in order to gain favor and perhaps more territory from the walled city government. While the current council leader would rather wipe the pirate scourge from existence it was helpful to capture young ability users with pirates rather than with walled city government soldiers. In total there were thirteen pirate crew and organizations that were close enough to the volcano facility to join in on this trap. They all decided to meet not far from the island using a floating platform so that all of their ships could dock, and they could set up a temporary housing area. Clark and the council leader with some in there which took quite a bit of doing so that neither one of them were seen leaving the capital they had to travel by merchant ship.
They were the last to arrive and the setup was pretty spectacular for something that was floating on open water. Clark led the way with the council leader behind him and there was one person with them as well. It was one of Clark's personal guards and since they were outside of this walled city each of them had a mask on to protect themselves. “It is pretty interesting to believe that all it took was a bit of your family's treasure to get all these different organizations and pirates together. I wonder if this will be enough?” The council leader wasn't accustomed to being around these types of people and the fact that everyone there was a woman made it even harder for the three of them to concentrate.
Clark looked around for a moment making sure no one heard them. Even though the council leader said whatever was on his mind they were no longer in a walled city. Even though his bodyguard was there, and Clark knew the council leader was strong, every single person inside that makeshift tent they were about to enter was an ability user. They didn't stand a chance against all of them. He turned to look at the counsel leader lowering his voice as they stopped in front of the opening to the makeshift tent. “I would ask that you keep those types of comments to yourself. We are not here to start trouble, we are here to make sure that the payment is still acceptable, and all the leaders here know the plan. Once we are on the ship you can say whatever nonsense you like but right now you are not a counsel leader, we are just two people hiring these leaders to do a job that is all.”
The council leader let out an exasperated sigh shrugging his shoulders. “Very well I will refrain from any other comments. However, you better be ready for the voyage back because I am going to give you every single opinion inside my head after this meeting is over.” The two of them walked inside.
They decided the Clark's bodyguard would stay outside the tent since none of the leaders brought in any of theirs. Of course, they didn't really need to since they all had their own special abilities. However, there was no way Clark was going to do anything to upset them. Even though they had been paid handsomely he still wanted to make sure that the plan was executed exactly the way it needed to be. Of course, that doesn't mean it was going to work but there was no way he was going to allow any of these other leaders to deviate from his strategy.
Everyone in the room went silent as they looked up to see the two men walking inside. None of them knew who Clark was, however, a few of them did know the council leader. They decided not to say anything since he was dressed rather plainly as an attempt to hide his identity.
One of the pirate captains stepped forward tilting their head to the side looking at Clark with a questioning expression. “Are you the person who sent us all this treasure?”
He wasn't going to answer immediately. First Clark decided to look around the room at the other leaders. It was apparent that the current person standing in front of them was the strongest one in the room. He noticed that after she asked the question the other seemed to nod or make grunting noises in agreement. They had not been together long however it seemed that each group knew each other and perhaps had some contact before this meeting.
“That is correct. It seems to me that all of you already know who stands behind me. However, that information cannot become public knowledge. In the letter you were all sent I did give basic instructions on how I want this plan to proceed forward. I want to ask that you don't deviate from that plan in any way. I understand all of you have your own tactics and strategies, however Crimson Judgment isn't a group that anyone can simply take on with old world strategies or things that have worked in the past against other opponents.” Clark looked at the woman who had spoken pausing for a moment trying to gauge her reaction, but she was just studying him waiting for whatever else he was going to say.
“I will add a bonus if y'all are able to follow my strategy to the letter. Of course, there's no way for me to know that you did that. However, if you ladies want that bonus then you will follow the rest of the plan which is why this meeting was called. Of course, this never happened and if any of you were captured or defeated, we will deny any involvement.” Clark winced a bit as the murmuring around the room intensified and he even believed a few growls came out of some of their mouths. There was no taking back what he said now.
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A hearty chuckle escaped the council leader's lips as he decided to say something. “Whoever agrees with Clark's plan right now we'll get a bonus from me.” The council leader pulled out a large bag and set it on the table in the middle of the room. The Hefty bag Clank against the wood and as the council leader Let It Go the coin shifted and you could hear the drag of precious stones knocking against each other.
Everyone's eyes darted to the bag as the woman who spoke earlier finally decided to join the conversation. “If you add twelve more bags of similar value then we all agree.” She turned her attention to Clark as she continued. “The short version of your plan in the message was a good one. We have no intention of going against it. However, we will use our own tactics within your plan since we have worked together in the past to keep others out of this area. If you can agree to those terms we will agree as long as your reward is as large or larger than what he has just offered.”
The council leader let out a hearty chuckle. He was impressed with the way this captain was talking to them. None of them had shown any inkling of their ability which was smart since if something went wrong, they would have information on these ability users. Even though the walled city government wanted to capture every single one and have them experimented on it wasn't a good idea. It is clearly evident that people like Alexandria would continue to surface if the walled city government continued to be so cruel. However, if they wanted to get away from these damn masks and full body suits to protect themselves going outside of walled cities something needed to be done.
“I see no problem with your request. However, you will not receive that payment until after Alexandria and Crimson Judgment are defeated and captured. Do you find those terms to be acceptable?” Clark wasn't about to give them any more treasure. The force they had brought together was formidable, but Alexandria had beaten the odds before. There was no telling how much she had grown, and they wouldn't be able to find out how strong she actually is until the trap was sprung.
She nodded in agreement as the council leader pulled out more bags of treasure stacking twelve more onto the table. “You have your upfront payment ladies. Now you will use the Mist as cover and wait until they approach the facility. You must allow their entire force to Anchor and go ashore before you attack. If you attack them on the water this plan will likely fail immediately. Every single account we have gotten has seen Alexandria prevail every single time in ship-to-ship combat. The only time she has had any difficulty is on the ground. Under no circumstances do you allow her to get anywhere near any of the subjects inside the facility. If that happens nobody that is alive today will be able to stop them.”
Each of the leaders started to murmur amongst themselves. They were not given information about who was imprisoned inside the facility. Ability users had a sort of kinship to each other even when fighting. It was evident inside the tent that even though these leaders were from different organizations and even some being full-fledged pirates they all seem to get along at least a little. Of course there was always a price for that camaraderie.
“The layout of the island does not include the facility. How do you expect us to stop them from getting there if we don't know all the entry points? I understand whoever's in there is a government secret and frankly we don't care. However, even with your strategy we cannot tell what she might do so just give us the basic entry points and we will make sure no one gets through.” She was able to stop the murmuring for a bit. Even though the council leader was against giving them any more information Clark was convinced that they may have to.
Clark turned his attention to the council leader. “She does have a point. Do you believe the forces guarding the facility can pick up the slack if any of Crimson Judgment's forces get too close to the facility?” He knew the council leader may get a bit frustrated however there was no denying that her point was valid. If worse came to worst, they could always find a way to get rid of everyone in that room.
He did in fact let out an exasperated sigh. Even though he knew Clark and the female captain were correct. However, there was no way he was going to divulge sensitive facility information. No matter how much they were being paid he still didn't fully trust them. “I will only give that information to you, and you are not allowed to give it to any of the other leaders. Once the information is given you are not allowed to divulge it to anyone else. And you are only to use it if called upon by the facilities defenders. Also remember you are not to divulge who hired you the cover story will always be that you were after Crimson Judgment and that is all.”
She nodded in agreement deciding that no other words needed to be spoken. She walked up to him and extended her hand not in the form of a handshake but was waiting for the information to be placed in her hand either on a map or written down in the form of a message.
Another exasperated sigh escaped the council leader's lips as he reached into his coat pocket pulling out a scrap of paper and a quill. He jotted down the general areas where the entrances were. He placed it in her hand but pressed his finger into her Palm looking her in the eye. “Read it committed to memory and then destroy it in front of me.”
The tension in the air was thick as the captain responded with a nod. The council leader removed his finger as the captain unfolded the paper and studied it. It only took a few moments before she nodded again and then walked over to the small fire inside the makeshift tent and tossed the paper into it.
Now that everything was finished Clark and the council leader set down the full mock-up of the plans on the table and the two of them left without another word. The only thing left to do now was wait and they would do their waiting far away in the capital. Hopefully a messenger bird would appear, and they would get news of Crimson Judgment and Alexandria's defeat.