Third Sin: Swansong of the Second Night (Part 1)- Unexpected Encounters And Misdirections

--- Mercer ---

Joking aside, he knew full well that he was on a knife’s edge thanks to Kennedy, seeing as how he had to cover for not only DeWolf and himself but also Scarlet and Bell. The last two of whom were both off of the Vigil’s radar but would be put right at the top if they were connected to him, which would screw him over personally when Vigilance connected the three of them to the lab a couple nights prior.

After all, his tense peace with the Vigils revolved around the fact that he mostly kept to Sinner’s Way. The fact that he’d gotten Nightwatch involved in this incident gave him a bit of leeway to maintain said peace, but him coming out of the Way for two separate incidents of this size would draw far more attention from them than he wanted any day of the year.

(Right, I need to talk fast if I want to get out of this.) He told himself, thinking quick as he said, “So, Swansong, Nightwatch said you were tracking Romulus. Did he manage to-”

The feather wearing Vigil shot a grapple line off before using it to slowly drag a beaten and unconscious Romulus into the light.

“Ah, there he is.” (Right, almost forgot she’s the most competent of the Vigils.)

Which was another wrinkle in the plan to deal with this and get out before the Vigils could interrogate him. When it came to the rest of them he could easily take them be it in a fight or simply making a break for it. Swansong on the other hand was the only one he legitimately considered on his level -if not superior- as far as raw ability went, with his tech and weapons being the primary factor he had over her. (When my armory hasn’t been blown to hell anyway…)

Swansong tilted her head at him, the glowing white eyes of her mask’s lenses staring him down with an unblinking curiosity he’d find intimidating if he hadn’t grown up in a city where all of the heroic Masks used fear tactics. Himself included, if with a fair bit more blood and broken bones.

The Vigil’s gaze drifted towards Bell who was standing protectively in front of the children, having not recognized Swansong as a hero and thus thinking she might be a threat.

(Right, talk faster.)

“I guess since you’ve got him in hand, you won’t mind if I leave the kids and these thugs with you for pick up?” He tried, hoping to make a quick escape since he had no doubt in his mind there was another Vigil lurking somewhere nearby. “I’ll take the kids of the Way to a Deviant clinic, see if we can’t snap them out of whatever effect they’re under.”

“Effect?” Swansong repeated, tilting her head the other way.

“The kids are under some kind of magic effect that…” His eyes drifted to Romulus. “I might actually be able to snap them out of without a doctor…”

It’d mean spending a little more time with his favorite Vigil, but it would also mean that the kids were better faster. (Which is more important than my discomfor- and I just thought of a way to make this work for me.)

He grabbed Romulus by the collar and proceeded to slap the man across the face, earning a groggy groan.

“Come on. Time to wake up asshole.” He told the man with another slap to the face.

“Fuck… Feel like I got hit by a train…” Romulus groaned before blinking through the pain.

“Thanks, good to know those hours of beating people unconscious are giving gains. I mean, couple months ago people would tell me I hit like a car.” He joked, knowing that his cavalier attitude was what the Vigil’s expected of him. (Well that or the bloodthirsty omnicidal rage.)

“Fuck… Mercer…” Romulus cursed before shaking his head. “If I’m talking to you instead of the cops that means you want something. What is it?”

“Blunt and to the point. That’s why I prefer you Covenant types, all business instead of crazy ideologies.” He admitted, before getting to the matter at hand. “You and your boys put a spell on the kids, what is it?”

“Nothing too complicated.” Romulus shrugged, before smirking. “Though if you fuck it up you can easily wipe a kid’s memory completely, leaving them little better than a vegetable.”

He knew that was a lie, or at least a misdirection.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Few people realized it -including their own employees- but Covenant put a special clause in their employee contracts that made sure that their people followed the big rules. And if what Avarice said about Romulus being a club manager held true then he knew all about the Covenant Contract and its… penalties. Admittedly there was a fair bit of wiggle room to those rules, but allowing a kid to be permanently maimed like that by your spell, even if not physically, would be a violation of those rules. One he doubted Romulus would risk when he was already in such hot water.

(Not that I’m going to tell anyone any of that.)

He proceeded to stomp and break Romulus’s leg earning a deafening scream from the man.

“Mercer!” Kennedy shouted over the comms, once more underlining the Vigil’s squeamishness to torture.

Though to be fair, he had found that outright torture tended to be fairly ineffiecent outside of ‘go here to spring a trap on yourself’ style information. (Well, that and distracting goody-two-shoes.)

“Let’s get something straight asshole. Anything bad happens to any of those kids, and I don’t care where you are or where the Vigils put you I am ending you in fucking blood and fire.” He growled out, to underline himself as a violent sociopath to all observers in the hopes of-

Swansong grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him away from Romulus with a glare. “Stop.”

“We need to know how to cure the kids and he knows how to do that.” He falsely justified his actions, to cover what he was actually doing. (Then again, maybe this is one of those two bird situations.)

The feathered Vigil met his eyes, despite the fact he was wearing an eyeless helm and her a lensed mask, her judgment echoing despite the ensuing silence.

“Would it make you feel better if we were to go somewhere they can’t see the big bad beasts?” He asked with the theatrical presence that he knew would draw all attention to him as he gestured towards the catatonic children.

“Mercer you don’t need to torture him when we can have doctors clear the children before the night is over.” Nightwatch told him, a plan he would’ve been all for before she dropped a Vigil on him.

“And what if they get worse the longer we leave them?” He prodded. “What if like he said, messing with the spell wrong turns these kids into vegetables? Are any of us really willing to let that happen?”

Both Nightwatch and Swansong were silent for a moment, (as Vigils tend to get when you risk their black and white morality.)

(Meaning I just need one more push.) “So, unless Vigilance is willing to call a favor with Aurora and have her cure these kids, me and Romulus here are about to have a very… informative chat.”

Swansong inhaled deeply for a moment before giving him a nod. “No kids.”

“Alright, no kids.” He nodded back, as he grabbed Romulus by the shoulder and dragged him away.

--- Bell ---

“Right, we need to get moving.” DeWolf told her the moment Mercer and the woman in black had disappeared around a corner.

“W-what do you mean?” She asked, still nervous around the man after his transformation, but forcing herself to overlook it in the same way she would for any other Malcontent. (Even if… He’s not Malice-Borne…?)

“Mercer said, ‘to go somewhere they can’t see the big bad beasts’.” DeWolf explained. “He wants you, me, and the other girl to go somewhere they can’t see us while he’s got Swansong distracted.”

“That’s…” She glanced at the kids. “Are they going to be okay, by themselves?”

DeWolf gave a snort of amusement. “There’s two Vigils not even a street away, and the scariest two at that. I legitimately pity anyone stupid enough to threaten let alone hurt a kid this close to them.”

“Two Vigils?” She frowned.

“Well, a Vigil and an ex-Vigil.” DeWolf shrugged, before giving a wry grin. “Then again I don’t think ‘ex-Vigil’ is really a thing, given why we consider Vigils a class of their own.”

DeWolf shook his head. “Right, anyway while I’ve got Ruby you go get your… sister? And we’ll all meet up at Mercer’s.”

“Um, r-right.” She nodded, before moving to reenter the building so Scarlet knew to find a different exit.

“And where do you think you’re going with that girl?” A voice asked, causing her to turn around where [X]-a glaring boy in colorful outfit had his staff raised stood in front of DeWolf.

--- Mercer ---

He threw Romulus into the alley wall and crouched down in front of the man.

“Alright, now we’re not leaving this alley until you tell me how to cure those kids.” He told the Arcane. “Now how long that takes and how many pieces you’re in when you leave, those questions are up to you.”

“Fuck…” Romulus glared at him. “You think I’m going to tell you… without some kind of guarantee- Ah!”

He lifted his boot off of Romulus’s broken leg. “How about the guarantee that I am going to hurt you unless you talk? Or the guarantee that I am going to hurt you worse and worse until you talk?”

Romulus looked towards Swansong. “And you’re going to let him do this to me?”

He stepped between them, knowing that he could not let Romulus talk Swansong out of this. “Ah, ah, you put kids in danger and are threatening to turn them into vegetables. As far as the masquerade is concerned you waved your rights to do this the Vigil way.” (Which admittedly would be throwing you off the roof with a grapple line to keep you from dying.)

Romulus spat at him, and he wiped his helmet clean.

(Right, now then how much time and violence am I willing to commit to this guy? And how willing am I to piss off the Vigils to do it?)