Months of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.
Pre-Fall, Unattributed
Trying to organize the shape of the Talent House, or at least its early incarnation, involved meetings upon meetings.
Johanna was definitively not used to meetings. Her father rarely needed one, except once in a while with Ellis Anasta, and those were not only usually short, she was never involved after all. Save for that time with the Lepus colony. The negotiations with merchants took longer, but they were not true meetings. Here, Miles insisted they needed those meetings to hash out the details, and Ulrich did support him, so she guessed the two men were right.
“So, nobody is interested in enforcing a code of conduct,” she noted, deeply seated in the – comfortable – chair at the table.
She’d insisted on a round table. She might have been nominated chairwoman, but she was not about to sit at the end of a long table. Even on her father’s farm, the patriarch did not.
“Yes. Cameron and Madelynn said no, and none of their crews are interested,” Miles confirmed. “An expedition to the coast, yes. But full-time enforcers? Definitely no.”
“And you think we should keep it separate from the town guard,” she asked again, looking at Ulrich.
“You want a check on power, in general not concentrating too much power on the same people. Okay, you’re a special case, because you are all irreplaceable, which is a power of its own. But if it comes to hunting criminals that are Talented, then you do need professionals that won’t have diluted loyalties.”
She sighed.
“He… said so. He seemed satisfied with what we achieved, but he warned me about requiring a Talented force… a kind of Talented police. To keep Talents under control, once they start to spread to multiple cities.”
“Meaning we need loyal Talented in our employ,” Peter said.
“Meaning more money,” Laura completed.
“We keep going back to that,” Johanna sighed.
“Money makes the world go round,” Laura shrugged.
“Would your old team…” she started to ask, but Miles cut her immediately.
“Unlikely. You saw Julian, he’s got a job and a family. Sethek-Eshes seems to have settled, I haven’t heard about them for years. Ditto Keegan, that dwarf’s probably got kids by now. Besides, it’s a young man’s game, both Ulrich and I are way too old for this.”
“The only one young enough to enjoy doing this might be Snowbound. I sent him a message saying he could get Talents these days, before we started fully this company, by the way. Although you tell me he has some…”
“At least one. I wonder what his specialization is. It didn’t seem as strong as Peter’s, but there are a few with Reconnaissance a rank below Discreet,” Johanna noted. “In fact… I wonder how high a Talent with a proper specialization can go, compared to Artifacts.”
She shrugged off the speculation and focused again on the meeting.
“That means expanding our guard staff,” Peter noted. “Those four won’t be enough if we have to dispatch people to trouble spots.”
“Yes. Admittedly, the city will not like the idea of the Talent House having its own private enforcement arm. And the local lawyers will have conniptions at the mere concept,” Miles said. “I never looked at the idea before. Apparently, you can theoretically build a personal police force, but that requires all kinds of limits, and the head of such must be appointed by the mayor in any case.”
“We do have a working relationship with him,” Johanna noted.
“Even if he’s okay, he’ll use it to extract many concessions and favors.”
Peter raised his hand to interrupt.
“If that’s within the mayor’s prerogative, does this mean we need a specific permanent force within each town where you have Talented?”
Everyone looked at him.
“Just asking.”
Johanna groaned.
“Next up, the Cheat branch setup,” Miles intoned.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Of course, you can set up an additional guard unit for yourself outside of business guards. Provided you pay for them,” the Mayor said with a huge smile.
Miles was with her for this one, as Ulrich was trying to negotiate a better loan with Georgy’s bank.
“And the conditions?” the Metal Master asked.
“If you want a private force, properly deputized to act, then it must also serve as a public force in case of emergency.”
“You want to be able to call on them?” she asked.
“If there is a beast infestation, the city hall wants to be able to call upon all capable fighters.”
As they stepped out of the city hall, she sighed, and Miles repressed a laugh.
“He just wants free Talents,” Johanna said.
“He’ll set up another team soon, but if he can reduce his fees to the Talent House and still have a reserve force… not too surprised,” Miles stated.
“We still have to recruit those enforcers.”
“And make sure they get the right profiles. Talents are a significant force multiplier, as the Ancients used to say, and even more if you have the right combinations.”
“You said it’s a young man’s game, but the problem is Talent energy. Outside of a few cases, people with high Levels are older. Our current guards are good, but we only have one Level 5 with an intermediate specialization.”
“It’s going to be a balance. Right now, for desk jobs, I can still get retired salvagers like that one for the Cheat branch. I know most of them, and like Norton, they ought to have significant levels. But roving ‘bounty hunters’? Not the right fit.”
“You know, I wonder. Because the Ancient just showed us Talents up to Level 9, and that’s all we saw so far. But I know there must be bigger specializations. That vision was clear about that. Fire Sovereign.”
“Maybe you can only get above 9 by being Talented. You shot up in Levels fast, after all,” Miles replied.
“So, we recruit low, and hope they get Levels quickly.”
Miles shrugged.
“Who knows? But you’ll have candidates. People are starting to talk. Rumors are slowly starting. I even got an inquiry from the pastor about ‘miracles’,” Miles added.
She groaned.
“We weren’t about to leave Mrs. Carlin chair-bound. Not once Laura got Regrowth.”
“Ulrich would probably tell you you’ve got a side revenue stream. None of the other Fixers around has got that Talent since it needs Level 7.”
“People call someone like Laura a Saint. Maybe we should keep it that way.”
“That one seems time-consuming though.”
“A bit less now that she’s a Minister,” she replied.
Then she nodded.
“Ordained by the Ancient himself.”
“Almost time,” Zlatan Tadich said, making sure the four others were ready.
His team was only one of three, and he might not have the riskiest target, but it was still dangerous. The idea was to hit every target simultaneously, to avoid any warning. Strike fast, before anyone notices. Zlatan could not be sure of how many Talented were around, and he was not interested in finding out.
They’d followed them very carefully, to avoid being spotted. Once they’d split when leaving their headquarters, the clock had been started as each of the three teams readied themselves for their respective objectives.
Securing those two without the backup offered by their Minister should be easy enough. After all, his boss had their full Talent list. He might not have enough immunity to her fire since he lacked one level to get Fire Master, but Fire Shaper would have to suffice. That’s what he had a Stock Fixer for. Burns were temporary.
He still had difficulty adjusting to the Talents. He’d barely had them for three weeks, mostly spent rushing to New Sandusky before the news followed them. But never mind.
It’s time to nab those targets, he thought, raising his hand slowly and then pumping up and down, and the five of them came out and started to slowly deploy.
Weird? Who are those guys? Moore wondered.
Finding a Level 7 Fire Shaper could happen. Having the specialization did not mean you had skills to match, so the guy might not know he had the potential for sorcery.
But a Level 6 Ranger appearing at the same time? Then Moore spotted a Level 7 Deadeye. And just to the side, a Level 6 Sword Dancer. And… a Level 6 Stock Fixer.
That’s not random happenstance. That’s an actual team, he realized.
Johanna had looked at the store’s window, but nothing was looking good. Tom had been doubtful as well. They were shopping for stuff to finish making their upper-floor section into a real home, not just a barely furnished pair of rooms as they had been when they moved in after the expedition. And while she could expect to get money to pile up only later, it was not an excuse to spend it before it came in for things that weren’t as good as they could be.
But as she looked away, she felt something off. A guy was walking in the street toward them, looking straight at them. While she was starting to get known in New Sandusky, on the account of the burgeoning Talent House, someone coming straight to accost her was not usual.
“Johanna Milton…” the man said as he got close.
“Yes?”
“You and your husband are going to come quietly with us.”
She blinked in surprise, then noticed the two men coming at his side. Both had bows strapped, but one brought it up in a movement that was smooth, and unnatural, while the other was more deliberate.
Is that a Talent? Who are these guys?
“Why?” Tom just asked.
“While we’d like to get you alive, my boss allows me to decide.”
“Your boss?” she asked.
She spotted someone coming at the trio, but a fourth man moved to stop him. She had not seen him move, but suddenly a sword was in his hand, pointed at the citizen who stopped and backpedaled immediately.
That is a Talent. Ambidextrous, I’d wager, she realized.
“Apparently, the Adjutant is very disappointed by your desertion. He liked you, he told me.”
She felt like she had gotten a cold sweat, despite the fact that she no longer sweated since getting Cinder Circle.
“You…”
“Don’t worry. Your friends are being taken care of, just like you. If you play nice, you may even see them one day. And if you think you can fight your way out… well, we do have a Fixer and you don’t. Renzo can fix you… after we shoot you down. If Milos has to cut a limb, that’s just a problem for later.”
The goon from the Montana smiled wickedly.
“Your choice.”
Tom threw a look at Johanna, to see what she wanted to do. Fighting against so many Talented was…
Her eyes had turned blue. A kind of weird light blue covered the entire orb, as if her blood, her iris, and even the depths of the pupil had turned blue. And then her lips twitched, rising slightly in a shadow of a smile.