Shaggy glared at the terminal menu. It didn’t change the readouts, but it made him feel better. The forest wasn’t producing nearly enough trees to meet demand. Even with the accelerated growth spell his wife had used. A team of NPC mages kept the forest in robust shape. But the wood was being carved up and sent through the portal to Under-Town almost as fast as they produced it.
Their cave kept a small piece of the shipments. But it wasn’t nearly enough for the system to build houses. At least fully wooden ones. They had a surplus of metal from Under-Town, but Shaggy wasn’t too keen on making shacks for the Lackeys. They were already giving him the stink eye.
Word of mouth was going around, and morale was declining. Mostly because they were a group of thugs and gangsters building houses. Shaggy thought it made sense that some of them would go a little stir crazy. Stanley and Cekrass had been great with giving the resting Lackeys a source of entertainment. But they needed something more.
Shaggy was starting to think about letting some guys out at night to get up to shenanigans. But then he remembered Maven and her crew. The last thing he needed was for them to nab or kill a few of his people. Judging from the looks he was getting, though, he needed to do something. The Lackeys needed some kind of outlet.
After setting the system and bots to start building houses, Shaggy closed out the terminal. He slipped out of his house and toward the exit tunnel. Careful to avoid direct contact with any of the Lackeys. He wasn’t avoiding them, but he made it clear he wasn’t taking requests or hearing grievances. It was when he was in the maintenance tunnels when another idea hit him.
“Have these tunnels been scouted out?”
A random alien lackey heard him and glanced up. The big woman was helping to move some boxes down the hall. She squinted at him, eyes almost screaming that she was trying to work out who he was. When it occurred to the big woman, her mouth opened in an O shape and she quickly started speaking.
“I don’t know, sir. But I can find out. I think someone sent a magic team to seal doors.”
Shaggy raised a hand at the speed of the woman’s words and nodded. “Alright, that’s fine. When you're done, get a team together and find out how far out these tunnels go. Start with the north and south tunnels. Don’t go down the east one, that leads to downtown. In fact, get some people and seal the east tunnels up.”
The alien woman nodded hurriedly at his words and almost dropped her box. Once she got a hold of herself, she rushed past him and back down the tunnel to the cave. Shaggy had more to say, but the woman was long gone. Shaking his head, Shaggy rushed back up and into the deli.
Franklin was at a counter in the kitchen, carefully slicing up large chunks of meat. He gave Shaggy a head bop of acknowledgment, but kept to his work. Shaggy returned the nod and rounded the corner to the front of the deli. Stanley and Vick were seated at the table in an awkward silence. Vick was smoking a cigarette as Stanley drummed his fingers on the table. Shaggy drug out a seat and sat down with a sigh.
“Big sigh, boss.” Vick said. “Trouble?”
“Not really. The organization is pretty much on autopilot right now. We still have to clear out space for more Lackeys. But we don’t have the resources to start building out dorms for them. I’ve gotten the ball rolling. Now all I can do is play the waiting game.”
Vick nodded as he blew out a plume of smoke. Stanley winced at the smell and turned to Shaggy.
“That’s part of it, boss. But we can feel something deeper in there. What’s the trouble?”
Shaggy grinned at the boy. The teen was sitting ramrod straight and shooting glances at Vick as if expecting approval.
“It’s the grunts.” Shaggy sighed. “They are getting a little stir crazy down in the cave. They need some play time. You and Cekrass putting them through their paces with training was helping. But I think the boys need to get out.”
“They get out. We let them do supply runs and they get regular visits to Under-Town.” Vick offered, looking out the deli’s window.
“Oh, come on, Vick. You know that’s not enough. These are criminals and we’ve got them doing scut work. They need to stretch their legs.”
“Them or you, boss?”
“Yes!”
Stanley’s veneer of professionalism broke as he chuckled at Shaggy’s answer. Catching himself, the kid covered his mouth and turned his head. Both pack members were looking out the front window as Shaggy nearly whined between them. It hadn’t even been that long since he had logged in, but he was already getting bored.
“I’ve asked some lackeys to do some scouting down the tunnels. Maybe if we have one that leads to another block, we can vent our combined displeasure upon another neighborhood.”
“Shouldn’t that be Ephe’s job?”
“Yeah, but she handed it off to Tone. So you can guess how much of it actually got done.”
Stanley nodded as Vick gave an angry grunt. Both of them still weren’t looking at him. But through the link, he could tell they were working on his problem. He didn’t get exact thoughts, but Vick’s mind was racing while Stanley's was methodically going through options. Shaggy paused as he suddenly pinged another pack member. Cekrass was up the street, headed their way. Tom was still down in the cave, asleep. Again.
Shaggy pinged the giant lizard, but all he got were feelings of failure and self-recriminations. He almost bolted from the deli, but Vick put a hand up and stopped him. Shaggy glared down at the cowboy until Vick blew out another puff of smoke.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Levy’s fine. She probably just ditched him, is all. If it was anything else, he’d be running back instead of walking.”
Stanley nodded along as Shaggy plopped back down into his seat. Vick was right. Levy probably ditched his entire pack or something. Or sent Cekrass back because he was too noticeable. Calming himself, Shaggy sat and waited for his pack mate to report. It took a few more minutes, but soon the giant green alien was ducking his way through the door, a chagrined expression on his face.
Shaggy tilted his head in question and Cekrass cleared his throat.
“Ahem. They have initiated the Girls’ Night Protocol.”
“Do what?” Shaggy asked, caught off guard.
“Sybil and Ephemara have declared their outing a ‘Girl’s Night.’ Therefore, I was sent back.”
“Sybil? I thought she was at her auto-shop. Did Levy stop there on the way to downtown?”
The big lizard nodded glumly and Shaggy pieced things together. Meanwhile, Stanley scratched his head.
“But it’s the middle of the afternoon?”
“It’s not literal, kid. Sybil probably wanted to do some fighting and found the nearest excuse to dump Cekrass. Should we go back them up, boss?”
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Shaggy shook his head. “Naw. Between Sybil, Rita, and Ephemara, that group is already dangerous. Then you add in Levy, Xiv and Mell? Shit, Tone won’t know what hit him. Besides, having Cekrass back helps us, anyway?”
“It does?”
“Sure, we can use you to boost morale. You and Stanley can head down and get some training in with the grunts. They can’t bitch if they are tired.”
“That’s what you think.” Stanley muttered, but he got up from his seat.
But, again, Vick put a stop to things.
“Boss, why don’t we use these two for that other project you were mentioning?”
Shaggy racked his brain for a few moments until it hit him. “The tunnels?”
Vick nodded. “Yeah, we attach some boys to Stanley and Cekrass and send them north and south. We know what’s to the east, and the west is still Wild Bunch turf, if I remember right. So we can get the grunts to burn off some steam and maybe find some prime crime spots along the way.”
“I like it. But neither of you push too far. I’ll take a team and head west, though. Vick, you’re right, that’s Wild Bunch turf, but that just means we have to be vigilant. I don’t want anyone to get the drop on us from below.”
“Yeah! Wouldn’t that suck?” A childish voice said from the door.
All four of them turned toward the door. Shaggy, Vick, and Stanley leapt to their feet as Cekrass whirled around and hissed. Vick had his rifle halfway to his shoulder and Stanley was going silver when Shaggy recognized the intruder.
The small teenage girl was grinning like a madwoman as Holly adjusted her glasses at her side. Just behind them was Forn and Trevor grimacing as they stepped through the deli’s front door. Shaggy could see Maven’s power armor just outside the store as the young girl waltzed right up to their table. Unbothered by Cekrass’ growling and Vick’s rifle.
Shaggy sighed. “Not a smart move to go scaring innocent business owners like that, kiddo. Especially in this neighborhood.”
Maven snorted. “Pfft. Please, I scrapped the forums for info on you. You’re practically famous, or should I say infamous?”
Shaggy sat down and gave his pack a mental order to pull back to the deli counter. Stanley and Vick slow-walked backwards. But Cekrass wasn’t budging. Guessing at the lizard-alien’s thoughts, Shaggy decided it was fine and had Cekrass stand at his shoulder. Maven’s own people took up positions as well. Forn clung to the left-most wall and stood there glaring at him. Trevor sat at another table and placed a metal baseball bat on top of it. Holly stayed by the front door, her tablet still in her hands.
Maven took a seat across from Shaggy and looked down at the empty table. Quirking a blonde eyebrow, she asked.
“No food?”
Shaggy smirked. “How about we see how this conversation goes before I feed you, rugrat?”
Trevor leapt from his sit, baseball bat in hand. But Maven put a hand up as Shaggy heard the whine of Vick’s rifle. Maven glanced past Shaggy’s shoulder.
“That’s one of the trooper’s rifles. Been requisitioning things already, huh?”
“Hey, we are in a guerrilla war. We have to procure equipment where we can. Thankfully, the troops in white were very generous with what they had.”
Maven and Shaggy ignored the clatter of Trevor throwing his bat back on the table as the angry youth sat down. Maven studied Shaggy's face before she asked.
“What’s you goal here? You’re a Villain. A pretty well-known one after the Cog raid. But now you're found in some shitty neighborhood in West Austin? What’s going on here?”
Shaggy shrugged. “Just looking to make some cash and lying low. Nothing to see here.”
Maven nodded slowly and seemed to think on his words. Shaggy noticed a tiny expansion of the girl’s iris, like she was surprised, but nothing more. Behind her, Holly tapped on her tablet. Noticing his gaze, Maven asked for something else.
“So you have no plans to take over this neighborhood from its rightful owners?”
“What would you do if I did?” Shaggy smiled, expecting Trevor to leap up again.
But he was mistaken. It was Forn this time. The snake-woman coiled her legs and leapt at him, slim black nails growing from her fingertips. Cekrass stuck a meaty arm out and caught the woman by the torso. But she remained undaunted as she wrapped around Cekrass’ arm and tried to bend it. Cekrass gave a grunt and used his other hand to pry the snake-woman off his forearm and tossed her toward the door. Shaggy caught Holly’s shocked expression as Forn scrabbled to her feet.
“Shit, Maven! The lizard’s a Tank!” Forn hissed, a forked tongue sticking out between her lips as she spoke.
Maven nodded as she stared at Cekrass. “We knew that, Forn. He’s a werewolf with a pack, remember? His pack is estimated to be Super-Level themselves. And that was before the Cog stuff. We don’t know what they are like now.”
Shaggy felt some pride as he basked in the awesomeness of his pack. But Holly, tapping at her tablet again, drew his attention. Maven again spun to look at him, but Shaggy was still looking at Holly. A displacement in the air near her was the only sign he had before he blinked and spotted Tom. The thin man grinned and ripped the tablet from the woman’s hand. Holly blinked in shock, but it was too late. Tom threw her tablet to Shaggy and dashed away.
Shaggy caught the tablet and studied it as a minor scuffle erupted in the deli. Trevor bolted for Tom, but Vick shot the teen in the shoulder. Forn jumped for Shaggy again, but this time Cekrass and Stanley caught the snake woman and slammed her to the floor. Holly crouched near the front and tried to make herself a smaller target. Maven sat at the table, a small frown on her face.
Shaggy grunted as he read over the tablet. With a few quick swipes, the Maven hologram was dismissed, and he looked at the other readouts on the tablet surface. Somehow the device was getting his heartbeat, heat signature, and pupil dilation and displaying it. On the right-hand side of the screen was a chat box with a series of questions. All of which Maven had been asking him. He waggled the device as he stared out the window at the armored suit.
“This was tricky, but not exactly a nice way to have a conversation.”
The tablet in his hands blinked, and Maven’s face appeared. Behind her, he could see the suit’s interior. She was wearing her normal pilot’s suit and a frown.
“You are a known criminal in the game. Few are as nice as you. Most have tried to kill us outright.”
Shaggy nodded. “That’s fair. But how about you step out of that suit and we have a productive conversation?”
Maven bit her lip worriedly. “If I say no, are you going to frag my friends?”
“Hey, I’m a villain, not an asshole. As far as I’m concerned, my ventures in this neighborhood are completely legitimate. Which means my people and your team aren’t enemies.”
“What about other neighborhoods?” Maven asked.
Shaggy smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Does your contract extend to other neighborhoods? I mean, you guys are vigilantes. Which isn’t much better than Villains in Austin. So why concern yourself with them?”
“He’s got a point, Mav.” Holly said, getting to her feet.
“Rico! You’re supposed to be on my side!”
Shaggy blinked as he looked at the woman who he had been told was named Holly. The woman blushed as she waved him off.
“IRL stuff. It’s rude to ask about it.” Shaggy nodded, but Maven spilled the beans, anyway.
“Her last name is Federico. So I call her Rico. It’s much cooler than Holly, right?”
Shaggy let out a sigh as Holly rushed toward the tablet, a red blush filling her face. She tried to grab the tablet from him, but when that didn’t work, she plastered herself to his side and glared at Maven’s image.
“Oh, and is Maven cooler than Madeline? Or is it just something you picked up off the net five minutes before the game started?”
Shaggy wanted to plug up his ears as he ordered his pack to stand down. Vick stopped firing at a crouching Trevor and Stanley and Cekrass released the snake-lady. The two players looked like they wanted to keep fighting, but the sound of their friends bickering stopped them short. Shaggy held out the tablet to Forn as Holly kept yelling into its surface.
She gave Shaggy an apologetic look as she used the tablet to lead Holly to the far side of the deli. Trevor downed a red potion and glared at them all before he picked up his bat and joined them. Shaggy rolled his eyes and ordered his pack to start on the tunnel plan. There was some push back from Cekrass again. But Shaggy waved a hand at the four players. They were consumed by their own nonsense now. Vick was still on overwatch, and Shaggy was sure he could dominate the four teens.
Both Stanley and Cekrass eventually agreed and hurried off to grab some Lackeys. Vick lit another cigarette near the bar as Shaggy took his seat. He watched the kids argue as he sat back and let out another long sigh. He really hoped this wasn’t going to be the rest of his evening.