Getting the new Lackeys set up and under surveillance took only a matter of moments. Then Shaggy let his pack disperse to handle their own business. Most went back out on patrol with more Lackeys. But Sybil, Rin and Vud rushed to find Clyde and get him set up. Meanwhile, Seth made a beeline for the portal to Under-Town. Shaggy could feel the kid’s disappointment at himself and judging by the way Rita was glaring at him, the others could too.
Shaggy merely shrugged at the grumpy woman and hurried off to see what else needed to be done. The game never stopped, and he had a couple more hours to play around. He needed to make sure that everything was set and ready for when he logged out. The patrols were scheduled, work orders were in, and all the paperwork had been digitally sent off to be examined. Which meant, after a cursory look at the paperwork, Shaggy would just be helping build things.
He rushed to his cabin and hurriedly entered his living room. He found Bodecker sitting on his couch, drinking a cup of tea and reading through a stack of papers. The big alien tried to stand as Shaggy came in, but he was waved down.
“Relax. I just came to get an update on things.”
Bodecker sighed as he sipped at his tea. “It’s much like it was a few hours ago, boss. City Hall’s nocturnal staff can only work so fast and there is apparently a backlog. However, I found several willing employees for our more… clandestine endeavors.”
“You mean our criminal undertakings in which we are engaging in order to procure illicit credits from unsuspecting civilians?” Shaggy grinned.
“Yes, boss, that! I just wish you would be a little bit more circumspect about it.”
“Bodecker, we are the only two here. I’m not going to start blabbing about our illegal activities. Are you?”
“No! No, I’m not. But still want no part in them.”
Shaggy rolled his eyes at the alien and sat down in an armchair across from him. He leaned forward and looked through the papers that had clearly been printed from the house’s terminal. Shaggy would’ve preferred a tablet or data slate, but paper was fine. He scanned through the list of names and skill sets. Bodecker had been fairly thorough about vetting their Lackeys. Shaggy checked their Loyalty levels as he read through the names and put faces to them.
Most of the proffered Lackeys were like Bodecker. Pen-pusher types that had joined the Legion for protection. A few of them had done some dubious things in the past, but they weren’t straight-up criminals. At least in Shaggy’s opinion. He quirked an eyebrow and pulled a profile out of the stacks of paper, showing it to Bodecker.
“Seriously? We have a literal mind-reader that wants to be a Croupier? Aren’t those illegal in casinos?”
“As players, yes. They can be. But for the casino itself, they are almost a necessity. Unless we can install some mind-blocking equipment in the casino.”
“So, he’ll block other mind-readers from fucking with our games?”
“No, he isn’t that powerful. But he can point out other mentalists for the casino’s bouncers to take care of.”
Shaggy flipped through the profiles in his hands. “I don’t see any bouncers on the list.”
For the first time, Bodecker gave Shaggy a dry look. “Really? You have a whole host of… those types living right over there in that college dorm of yours.”
“Those are criminals, Bodecker. They don’t want to be stuffed inside all day, tossing drunk idiots. And if they did, I wouldn’t trust them. I need people who want to be comfortable and who won’t try to skim a little off the top. Trustworthy bruisers.”
Bodecker rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll try to find some trustworthy crooks. I’m sure that’ll be easy.”
“Just look for the ones that are skilled, but who are over the whole Super-Criminals thing. I’m sure you’ll find some. A lot of people in Under-Town have been worn thin and are just looking for a break. Our casino can be that for them. So long as they don’t try to fuck us.”
“Sure. What about the rest of them?”
Shaggy went through the papers again and grabbed another sheet. “Just one, what’s a Spindlind and why do you think he’d be perfect for a robotics shop?”
“Well, he has the skills and y’know…” Bodecker waved his arms. “He has multiple arms and legs. So he’s probably fast. Is there an issue?”
“No, it’s just Seth was thinking about taking that one. But if we have an actual expert, maybe we can move Seth’s operation to this guy’s backroom.”
“I don’t know if Corvi is going to like that, boss. He’s very particular about his workspace.”
Shaggy gave the big alien a deadpan look and stood up. Stacking the papers on the table, he asked Bodecker.
“Is this, Corvi, still up?”
“Last I saw, he was playing dice out in front of the dorms. But you don’t need to bug him. I’ll…”
“No, I’ll do it. I’m here and I at least need to pretend like I’m doing my job.”
“Boss, please, there’s no need to hurt anyone.”
Shaggy stopped at the door and gave Bodecker a confused look. “Dude, I’m just gonna ask if he minds if Seth runs a weapons shop out of his new store. Calm down. I’m not a monster.”
Bodecker heaved a sigh of relief and Shaggy saw his massive hand shaking as he tried to sip more tea. Shaggy wanted to roll his eyes again, but instead he tapped the door jamb for attention.
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“Why don’t you go home for the night, Bodecker? You can check on the paperwork tomorrow.”
“You sure, boss?”
“Yeah, go hug your little girl and Edith.”
Bodecker froze as he started getting up from the couch and shot Shaggy a look. “I never said I had a little girl.”
Shaggy grinned and left his cabin. Truly, he had taken a wild swing in the dark. But he figured keeping the big man on his toes was a good thing. It would keep him from getting too antsy in his new position. Bodecker was a decent find, all things being equal, and Shaggy wanted the man loyal and a little scared. Checking the Lackey menu, Shaggy noted that Bodecker’s Loyalty Rating was sticking at sixty-eight percent. Although the fear modifier on him made it a seventy-eight. Fear wouldn’t work forever, though.
Shaggy was brainstorming ideas on how to raise Bodecker’s Loyalty when the portal gateway next to his house flared to life. The giant pink gate was always surging when people crossed through. But the supply crew near the gate looked confused as the swirling pink magic flexed slightly. Apparently, a supply drop was early?
Shaggy moved to get a closer look as two figures stepped from the gate. One was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a set of cargo pants, while the other was wearing a large purple robe. They were practically opposites as one started waving at the surrounding Lackeys and the other pulled up his hood to try to hide himself from scrutiny.
“DUUUUUUUUUUUDE!” Dave shouted when he spotted Shaggy.
Slink buried his head further into his hood as Dave took off at a run toward Shaggy. Not knowing what to do, Shaggy put a hand up for Dave to slap. The excitable man jumped at the last second and slammed his own palm against Shaggy’s with a thunderous clap. Shaggy actually winced a bit as his dense bones seemed to shift under the strength of the high-five. Dave’s eyes widened a little and Shaggy felt a shiver go down his spine at the look. Thankfully, Slink hurried over once the surrounding Lackeys figured out what was going on.
“Good to see you, Shags. Hows it going?” Slink asked from beneath his hood.
“Not bad. I hear Levy’s been keeping y’all up to date.”
“And vice-versa. Under-Town is still the same, but new gangs are cropping up all the time now. Pretty soon, someone is going to rise in strength enough to join the Big Four.”
Shaggy shrugged. “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”
“Naw, Dude. The Raks and them UGB dudes are, like, suppressing all of that right now. Us and The Phreaks don’t really care what people do so long as it doesn’t mess with us, though.”
“Thankfully, no one has made an overt attempt into our turf, though.” said Slink.
“What about obscure attempts?” Shaggy asked. “How goes the Shadow War?”
Slink got a sour look on his face as Dave hissed nervously. “Non-righteous, Dude.”
Slink nodded slowly from beneath his hood. “Not how I would say it. But he isn’t wrong. We have an experience problem.”
“Your spies are getting out-spied?”
“Essentially. Spy-craft is an especially deadly occupation. If you're bad at it, you're pretty much dead. And while we’ve had some success, mostly within our own gang’s territory, it’s not happening fast enough.”
Shaggy grimaced. “So you’re here to drag some of our Lackey’s back?”
Both Dave and Slink shook their heads rapidly. Then they both checked over their shoulders at the surrounding Lackeys. Slink waved at Shaggy’s cabin and started toward it. Shaggy followed and led them inside. Bodecker was already gone, probably off to collect his things and then go through the portal home. But the papers were still on the coffee table. Shaggy moved them to the side as Dave and Slink sat down. Slink finally uncovered his face as he did, making Shaggy jump in alarm.
“Jesus! What the hell is up with your face?!”
Slink sighed dramatically as Dave chuckled. He swung an arm over the teenager’s shoulders and smiled at Shaggy as he explained.
“Our little dude is evolving, Shag-man.”
Slink shook himself free of Dave’s arm and rolled his eyes. “Not inaccurate. But really, it’s just my natural alien growth period taking place.”
Slink waved a pale hand up to his face and gestured to the green and purple scales there. They pock-marked his face in odd places and the boy’s ears were pulling back. He looked a little like Petra, with her intermittent scales everywhere. Except Slink’s were solely on his face.
“So you’re turning into a snake?”
“No. I’m not turning into a snake. Just adopting some of their features. Apparently, depending on our connection with our companions, we can gain some of their looks and their… abilities.”
“Dude can spit acid now, Shags. It’s epic.”
“It’s not acid, Dave. Just venom.”
Shaggy still thought Slink was turning into a snake, but he let the issue lie as he went to get a glass of water. Offering the other two some refreshments, Shaggy collected everything and then sat down. Slink and Dave sipped at their drinks for a few seconds before sharing a look.
“So… we’re not here to take some Lackeys.”
“In fact, we’d like to leave some with you. Or Ephemara specifically.”
Shaggy nodded. “Ohhhh, you want to train your spies up here and then send them back down? Will that actually help?”
“Oh yeah,” Slink said. “Our people can hide and disappear as good as anyone. But the actual issue is leveling them up. Once they hit Henchman, we want you to send them back our way.”
“And you can’t do this in Under-Town?”
“Under-Town is tricky right now, Shaggy. Everyone is on edge and fights are breaking out daily. If our people are caught in someone else’s turf, it’ll mean all-out war.”
“We, like, royally screwed the pooch when we took the Quinica’s turf, Shag-man. Now, there’s nowhere for people to have some neutral ground.”
Shaggy shot Slink a confused look, and the boy explained. “What Dave means is that if there was a spot in Under-Town, that was contested turf, we could send our Lackey’s there and get them trained up. But now, all of Under-Town is claimed. The smaller gangs make some waves occasionally, but they are quickly smashed down. Which means…”
“Your people don’t have a place to level up.”
“Training helps a little. But we can only do so much and still protect our turf.”
“Meanwhile, in the past day alone, you’ve had fifteen Lackeys rank up to Henchman.”
“Yeah, our turf above ground is protected from PVP, but we’re a PVE magnet now. Every gang around is trying to push in. We’ve got the Lackeys out patrolling and handling it though.” Shaggy explained.
“That’s what Levy said.” Dave said excitedly.
Shaggy blinked as a thought occurred to him. “Wait, y’all could’ve just sent the Lackeys through with the next batch of recruits. You didn’t need to come over to our neck of the woods. What gives?”
Slink shrugged and grinned. “I needed a break. Besides, I wanted to let y’all know what we were doing. We want Ephemara to train up some spies and make them Henchmen. We’ve got a spymaster working in Under-Town, but we need them all leveled up.”
“Not a lot of sneaking going on up here, Slink. But we’ll see what we can do.”
Dave jabbed an elbow into Slink’s side fairly obviously, which made the boy groan. Shaggy quirked an eyebrow. Clearly, that wasn’t the only reason they had come.
“We got an invitation to a meeting.”
“Another stuffy criminal conclave?” Shaggy snorted. “So what? Vlad loves those things.”
“This one was addressed specifically to you,” Slink said sternly. “It came from the HLO. Some guy named Duke.”
Shaggy froze as he hadn’t expected Duke to reach out through Under-Town. Did that mean the HLO had looked him up? Did they know about Obadiah? Slink and Dave both had hungry looks on their faces as Shaggy’s mind swirled with thoughts. Clearly, they smelled that something was up and they wanted in.
“What did you step into, Wolf-Brother?”
“Yeah, Shags. What’s going on with you and the biggest Hero organization in the game world? Huh?”
Shaggy rolled his eyes as he sat back and explained.