Second Sin: Little Red and the Wolf (Pt. 4)- Meeting With Covenant's Avarice
--- Mercer ---
“You can’t seriously think this is a good idea.” Scarlet half-growled, half-whispered.
“Eh, it’s more of a neutral idea than a good one.” He admitted. “But if this works out we get out of here with what we want, without stepping on any toes, and without a fight.” (And I might be able to bring up that one thing again.)
He loved bringing up that one thing.
Of the two sisters Bell was the only one who seemed happy with this strategy as he knocked on the front door of the building.
An opening in the metal door slid open and a pair of yellow eyes looked out at him.
“Mercer.” The bouncer greeted. “Good business or bad business?”
“Depends on if your boss can explain a few odd things involving the Way’s kids going missing.” He answered, knowing it would get back to the ones in charge and hoping that they’d have something for him. After all, when he was there for bad business, (well, I’m bad for business.)
The bouncer nodded before looking at the girls behind him. “Guests?”
“Interns.” He shrugged, knowing that his reputation was a mix of snark, piss, vinegar, and blood. (Which is why I’ve never touched a ‘Mercer’s Mercy’ before.)
The bouncer stared at him for a moment before closing the slider, and after a moment opening the door to reveal a large man with slick blue skin, pointed teeth, and a number of dorsal fins on top of his head.
Idly, he glanced over his shoulder and caught both of the girls staring one with curiosity and the other in confusion.
“Staring is rude.” He warned them as he knocked his fist against the top and bottom of Baki the Bouncer’s fist.
“Sorry.” Bell squeaked.
“Don’t worry about it.” Baki told her, before giving him a look as the Amphibios motioned for them to follow. “Heard from Crawk lately?”
“Still in the sewers.” He sighed as they started down a hallway filled with a sort of hazy magenta glow.
Baki shook his head. “Boy needs to suck up his pride already.”
“He’s helped when Killian acts up.” He argued half-heartedly.
“And he lives in a storm drain living off the scraps you toss him.” Baki scoffed before sighing himself. “Just want him to have a life as long as we’re stuck here.”
“Any word on getting home?” He asked the traveler.
“Down to ten grand and counting.” Baki answered with a touch of pride.
He nodded as they stepped onto Covenant’s Club floor. “That for both of you or?”
“Both of us.” Baki frowned as if offended he’d felt the need to ask. “Boss should be in his office, you know the way.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred before tipping the man.
Baki nodded, accepting the money for what it was as the bouncer turned to make his way back to the club entrance.
The main floor of this club was a large open space littered with couches and tables all about, a dance floor in the center, and a bar along one wall opposite a series of curtains with a set of guards standing nearby, each eyeing them cautiously. The fact that only half of the people in the room were human was something he preferred to ignore. (They’re still people after all.)
“Remember what I said, we are not trying to pick a fight here.” He reminded the girls. “You see those guards each and every last one of them is an Arcane, a Practitioner, or a Psychic.”
“What do they hire every Deviant they can find?” Scarlet asked, her eyes drifting between the dozen or so guards on the floor.
“That is the idea.” A tanned man in a white suit admitted as he walked up to them. “Mercer, I hope you aren’t here to cause any trouble.”
He made sure to step between the man and the girls, not trusting him in the slightest. “Just here to see your boss about something, Avarice.”
“Well, I’m sorry to inform you that you just missed him by fifteen minutes.” The wannabe gangster smirked, while pretending to check his watch. “But I’m sure I can help you with whatever trouble you’re having.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
He glanced at the bartender, an Inferni he knew refused to lie on a matter of honor and pride. When the man nodded that Avarice was telling the truth he accepted the fact that he was going to have to deal with this jackass who thought the alias ‘Avarice’ made him cool rather than sounding like an edgy high schooler. (At least most Masks try for something more distinct.)
“Right, so what’s this week’s plot to overthrow your boss and take his position, Avarice?” He asked turning on his comm for Kennedy to overhear, and getting an affirmative from her.
Avarice merely rolled his eyes at the provocation as he took a seat on a nearby couch. “There’s nothing wrong with proving that I’m more profitable to the higher ups.”
“Unless it involves kidnapping any kids.” He pointed out dryly.
“Ah, you’re here for that?” The wannabe leader laughed, waving over a waitress. “One of our… ex-boys summoned something they shouldn’t and it’s pretending to be a child. Unfortunately, with it switching faces every so often they keep grabbing the wrong kids, but we give them back once we’re sure they’re not the monster running around.”
He shook his head. “Not even bothering to pretend you’re not responsible? Even knowing how I feel about targeting kids?”
“If you’re here then there’s no point in hiding the fact that we’re connected.” Avarice shrugged as if it didn't really matter to him. “Besides I’m not actually the one in charge of this little operation, I just know it because they’re passing through my neck of the woods.”
“Ah, that’s your game.” He nodded in understanding. “You’re not responsible so you’re throwing them under the bus in hopes of shaking things up for a bit of upward mobility in the workplace.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who fucked up and drew your attention.” Avarice grinned, accepting a drink from Inferni wearing a revealing cocktail dress. “One thing I agree about with the old man, is that when you get involved survival and elimination is a matter of the Darwin awards.”
“It’s nice to know my reputation precedes me.” He admitted, before giving the wannabe gangster a look. “And if that’s the case I’m sure you won’t mind pointing me in the direction of the people who fucked up as it were?”
“Not at all.” Avarice toasted him, before taking a sip of his drink. “So as I was saying, there’s this asshole, goes by the name of ‘Romulus’ over in the Diamond district. He’s been working on making some inroads with a couple of the non-Deviant gangs, while also managing that district’s club. Anyway, he was looking to summon… something to help give him a little more muscle and leverage on said gangs, only whatever he summoned was a little too wily for him and ended up slipping his contract bindings.” Avarice laughed at that detail. “Fucking amateur.”
“What he’s saying checks out for the most part, there is a flagged Arcane in the Diamond District going by the alias Romulus.” Kinsley confirmed for him. “He’s been around for a while but this seems to be his first big play.”
(Or his first big play to hit the Vigil’s radar.) He thought bitterly, after all, (You don’t become a Covenant Club manager without burying a few bodies.)
“Either way give me a bit of time and I’ll narrow down where he is plus get you any other information I can find on him.” Kinsley told him, before going quiet once more.
“Any details you can give me on what he was summoning?” He asked, knowing that with his luck the thing would pop up sooner than later.
“Like I said, he wanted something with muscle and yet unassuming.” Avarice shrugged. “Don’t know what it was exactly, but the few Catalysts I do know he used involve either something dead or eldritch in nature.”
“Lovely.” He sighed.
“Eh, don’t worry about it too much.” Avarice told him dismissively. “Once you capture or kill -I’m not picky- Romulus, I know for a fact Covenant will throw him under the bus and give both Sanctuary and the Vigils whatever they can to kill the heat. Which honestly, if Romulus can’t find the thing in the next few weeks we were probably going to do either way.”
“Meaning there was going to be a changing of positions regardless of whether or not you help me.” He frowned, knowing that while his reputation would make several gangs more willing to work with him, it wouldn’t make any of them this willing.
“True.” Avarice nodded. “But if you happen to also get enough of the Diamond District’s members locked up while taking Romulus out, more people will be moved around in the ensuing shuffle making it easier to stack the deck in my favor wherever I end up.”
“You sure you want to throw your fellows that far under the bus, throwing a rival under is one thing but offering up a decent chunk of Covenant’s manpower is bound to put a target on your back from the higher ups.” (And I know for a fact you’d never put yourself at risk like that.)
“Just let me worry about that.” Avarice smiled smuggly as if he knew something Mercer didn’t.
(Yet another thing that’s going to bite me in the ass at some point.)
He turned to leave before stopping as he remembered a thing.
“Before I go, have you made any progress on that thing I asked Covenant about?”
Both Scarlet and Bell gave him curious looks, but he just knew they were nowhere near as curious as the eavesdropping Kin-Ken listening in with full intent. After all, a deal between him and Covenant was definitely something the Vigils would want to know about in full detail.
“I… wasn’t aware that Covenant was doing a job for you.” Avarice admitted, cautiously as he lost his smug smile.
“Your boss is doing me a… personal favor by investigating something… important to me.”
The aspiring gangster gave him a calculating look. “Perhaps, if you were to tell me what favor he’s doing for you, I could offer my assistance.”
He worked his jaw for a moment as he considered the offer before giving a decisive nod. “I’m looking for someone I have a… personal issue with, and need a more… mystical method to track down.”
“And who is this person that you of all people can’t find?” Avarice asked with a bit of seriousness.
He briefly glanced around the room, glad his helmet was hiding the fact that he’d spotted the three or four eavesdroppers who would happily spread word of his search in the hopes of making some kind of profit off of the information, not realizing that they were all helping his trap along in doing so.
Knowing that the word was going to spread, he leaned forward and calmly explained that he was looking for, “Dracula,” because “that motherfucking bitch owes me money and I intend to collect.”