Chapter Fifty-Two

We sat in the back of the transport, the three of us exhausted. We nodded, barely awake, as Reign and the team guarded us from above, with Liolet in a cab ahead and behind, their team split in two, making damn sure we got back alright.

It seemed like no time at all, and yet hours, before I was roused by a solid knocking on my armored carapace, and I blinked, realizing I’d slipped from dozing into full sleep at some point.

I shifted, seeing Reign squinting, looking from camera to camera, the tiny bumps here and there giving me all around vision as she tried to work out which to focus on.

“Just look here,” I said, unable to keep a tired smile from my face as I tapped the center of the chest. I’m here, and when you look at the cameras? It’s like you’re staring at my shoulder.”

“You stare at my ass all the time,” she countered.

“You do have a nice ass,” I said, then sighed. “Honestly, I’m torn between wanting to abuse it right now, and the total hope that you’ll let me rest for the night first.”

“I’ll let you rest I think… though you’ll need a shower,” she pointed out, and I sighed, standing in the transport and making it rock slightly as I moved to the exit, my rifle still on my back, and two canisters of nanites in my hands.

I clumped down the short few steps from the back, and the transport bounced on its shock absorbers as I stepped free, Sync and Richie ahead of me striding into the warehouse, backing into position to lock the suits in place, and exit.

I saw both Julius and Liolet hurrying over and I forced myself to greet them as I strode inside.

“Julius,” I said. “Liolet. Thanks for your backup tonight.”

“Anytime.” Liolet grinned at me. “I got paid almost as much as I normally do a full mission, and I got to see you fuckers up close… is that really you in there, Kabutt?”

“Come on,” I grunted, moving in and triggering the transport crate to open. It shivered, moving as the system unlocked, sliding apart as I set both canisters down on a nearby table. I was about to comm Dondo to come over and get the damn things, when I saw him already moving around at the back of the group. I berated myself for getting so distracted and tired I’d forgotten that the fucker was flying the damn aircar.

“This one’s yours,” I said to him. “Or your boss’ anyway. Tell him thanks for the loan, and that I damn well know how much mine is worth. You can take them both, but I want paying by morning.”

“You’ll get it,” Dondo replied unphased, calling a few other orcs into the building from where they were hanging around outside, sending the nanites with them across the road to the warehouse.

I hesitated, that was hundreds of thousands of credits right there… but in the end, either I trusted him, or I didn’t, and I was starting to get the feeling that as much of a dick as the miserable old orc was, Oshbob was actually honest.

For a leader of a crime syndicate, anyway.

Besides, if I needed to, I could always turn him into a greasy smear on the concrete, so there was that.

I backed up into the cradle, feeling the connections automatically mating up with the suit, and approved the linkages, mentally flicking switches and basically telling the suit that there was no need to call for a cleaning cycle—we had no dedicated cleaners for a start—and that I damn well knew about the current suit power and ammunition reserves.

Once all the minor details were done, I reached out and set the suit to open, the seals around the outside of the suit cracking and popping as a rush of cooler air sighed in, mixing with my perfectly regulated atmosphere.

I shivered, flicking the restraining harnesses and straps, then climbed out, nodding tiredly to the others, as Reign was there, taking my hand and helping me as I stepped down from the suit.

“So, how’d we do?” I asked Julius, who snorted.

“Three point nine million the stream reached in the end, and because I’m just that nice a guy? I’ll even give you guys the two, and I’ll have the one point nine.”

“Your generosity warms my heart.” I grinned, then nodded to Reign. “Send it to our paymaster here please, she’ll split it between the entire team and make it fair.”

“Fair?” Liolet asked.

“Everyone gets a share, and we all chip in to pay for the things we need,” Luna added proudly.

“Like?” Liolet asked.

“Like ammo,” I said, forcing a smile. “Sure, ammo for the APS is a hell of a lot more expensive than ammo for the standard rifles, but then there’s missions like tonight. On top of the earning for killing…” I broke off checking the ‘kill counter’ and added in the team details as Richie and Sync, knowing me for so long sent theirs over unasked. “…seven thousand, two hundred and four specters.”

“Holy shit,” Liolet grunted. “That’s what? Another seven hundred grand between you all?”

“Yeah, so near three million for the night’s work,” I agreed, sighing and forcing a smile. “We’ll only be taking a few jobs a week though, boss, that good with you?”

“Certainly.” Julius grinned, knowing that while we’d earned the lions share, we were also sharing that out between us all, he had himself and his partners… I made a mental note to look into that, see how many partners were left now. I’d not shared the full details on the guild deal with the others yet.

Always so much to do.

“So…” Julius said slowly. “You remember the cancellations that were being threatened?”

“Yeah, you said we’d need to work our asses off for a few days, I know, then after that we can drop back to…”

“Most of them decided that they’re fine with an extension clause,” he interrupted me, grinning. “The four that aren’t? They’re small and clearly linked to Trees and his traitorous scumbags.”

“Did we ever find out what happened to Trees?” I asked.

“Did you ever open your gift from Oshbob?” Dondo interrupted, calling across the room. Everyone went quiet, turning to look at the big handsome half orc. “Maybe you should.”

“Fuck.” I grunted, checking my pockets automatically—despite not having any in the damn suit—then squinted around the room, trying to remember where I was when he gave it to me.

There, at the back of the room on a small shelf sat the tiny box, the kind of thing that you saw in shop windows offering cheap imitation watches and shit in, and I moved over to it, pulling a ribbon the big bastard had clearly tied around it for a joke, off, tossing it aside.

I popped the lid and froze, looking down at the little bag inside, and caught between revulsion and surprise, as Dondo spoke up.

“He said I was to send you this when you opened it,” he said, and I accepted the file, playing it, more than half expecting it to be a grisly threat, when instead…

“Kabutt,” the old orc grunted, glaring at me from my Key. “Dondo told me about the little fuckstain that was trying to blackmail you. At first I was tempted to let him squeeze you as well, but this is my territory, and I’m intending that we work together in the future, less as we are, and more…” He shrugged, clearly unable to say anything nice like ‘as allies’ even here.

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“Anyway. I decided to make an example of the stupid fuck when Dondo told me who and what he was. It took less than five minutes to find out it was some cock called Trees and I always hated elves anyway.”

That was it, the recording cut off there, and I glanced down at the sad little sack on the faux velvet cushion in the box and I started to laugh.

“What is it?” Reign asked, moving over, and I grinned at her.

“It’s a peace offering from Oshbob…” I looked over at Dondo, and nodded. “I appreciate it, tell your boss I look forward to working with him.”

“Is that…?” Reign asked, frowning down at the ‘gift’ and I nodded.

“We know what happened to Trees,” I said, closing the box with a click and underarm throwing it over to Julius who opened the box then winced and closed it with a snap.

“What is it?” Liolet asked, frowning.

“He tried to blackmail me for something,” I explained. “I wasn’t in the mood for his shit, although I didn’t know it was him. His identity was hidden, so I passed it to Dondo here, and he had a word with his boss about it. We’ve got a relationship with the local syndicate lord, and he took exception to someone trying to blackmail an ally.”

“It’s his balls,” Reign said. “Someone cut his balls off and put them in that little box, probably gave him a good beating as well.”

“A very good beating,” Dondo assured us. “Within an inch of his life, then cleaned out his credits and gear, I’d have killed him, but we found out that he’s one of those nutters like the purists, but for elven superiority reasons, not just the usual level of idiocy.”

“So you cut his balls off and left him to basically rot?” Julius asked. “His team abandoned him, you took his gear and he’s already been kicked out of the elven territories so…”

“So he’ll die a bum, without so much as a credit to his name.” Dondo said. “We put a pair of people on him, they’ll spend the next month round the clock watching him, making sure nobody gives him much of anything, certainly no work and no weapons. He can’t end it all, and he can’t reclaim anything he used to own. He’s going to spend the next month begging for the food and drink he needs, as an example. After that? We’ll let him end it.”

“That’s…” Julius started, but was cut off by Liolet.

“That’s brilliant.”

“What?”

“That’s brilliant,” Liolet said. “Trees was a fucking prick to everyone, the only time he was even polite was when you had something he wanted, and aside from that? I’d have stabbed the fucker daily if I thought I could get away with it. That he had his balls cut off for fucking with people and now he’s going to live on the streets, reduced to begging for a fucking crust? I’m going looking for him.”

“You can’t kill him,” Dondo warned.

“I won’t,” Liolet said quickly. “I’m going to take my whole team, point out that we could kill your guards—no offence—and free him, but because he was such a fucking turd to everyone ? We won’t. Then I’m going to take great pleasure in walking the fuck away.”

“Here’s his location.” Dondo grinned. “We tagged him.”

I winced, seeing the feral smile on Liolet’s face, and the way the others were acting, then I banished the feeling, reminding myself that the fucker had it coming, and that the punishment matched the crime.

That asshole was guilty all day long.

The atmosphere after that changed, most people moving upstairs to sit around on the few soft furnishings we had. I made a mental note to get more and Richie and Sync moved over to me. I filled them in on Trees and the bullshit he’d been responsible for while Reign, acting as the second for the team, organized food, and more than a few drinks.

I showered, as did Richie and Sync, and by the time we’d gotten back down, the food was here. Richie was shaking his head in disbelief over the setup we’d managed to build in such a short time, and he and Sync were doing their usual dance around each other.

I grabbed their attention, then jerked my head towards the main floor below, leading the way.

“What’s up boss?” Richie asked, frowning. “You know the food just arrived, right? We could have a conversation any time, but the food will only be hot for so long…”

“Richie?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut the fuck up.” I snorted.

“What do you need?” Sync asked, leaning against the wall nearby, as always positioning herself instinctively to oversee the entire room, while being almost hidden by the nearby shelving units.

“It’s not what I need,” I said softly, looking from one of them to the other. “As your sarge I was always warned about this kinda shit, and officially I agreed with it. Unofficially? I never did. You’re both specialists, and while relationships in the same team is generally a bad idea…”

“You’re playing hide the sausage with Reign,” Richie pointed out.

“Yes, yes thank you for that exceedingly subtle interjection into my heartfelt speech, you dick,” I growled at him, not really meaning it. “Seriously though, you two have been looking at each other since you joined the goddamn team. I’ve seen the way you act, and I’ve seen the way you keep your distance. It was no fucking surprise that when I found Sync on a goddamn mountainside, she’d already found you first.”

I smiled at the way the pair of them glared at me, as I dragged it all out into the light.

“Richie, every relationship you’ve had since Sync joined the team has been with someone that was a poor imitation of her. Sync? Fuck’s sake you watch over him like a mother hen, and reserve all your best abuse for him. If that’s not love? I don’t know what is. If I have to pay for a goddamn hotel suite for the pair of you for the weekend I will, and I’ll even order you to share it. Don’t make me give that order.”

“Seriously, I don’t think you could,” Richie babbled, panicking as he tried to get back on ‘safe’ ground “I mean, there’s rules about not having to obey orders like that, right?”

“Richie?” Sync asked.

“Yeah?”

“Shut the fuck up and go grab your things.” She sighed. “We’re taking the room.”

“Uh…” He paused, mouth slightly open, clearly not what he was expecting, before shutting it with a click and grinning widely. “Okay!”

He was off, running up the stairs as she sighed.

“Not exactly the way I’d planned it,” she said.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

“No you were right, and honestly, I’m nervous as all hell right now, but relieved as well.”

“You? Nerv—” I said, only to be cut off when the side of the warehouse exploded inwards.

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