Valerie and Samantha sat on pleasantly cushioned seats in a meticulously clean square room with no windows and only one entrance. It somewhat reminded the huntress of the chamber they fought the undead in which was supposedly an old expansion to the church they just built over and left to rot, an oddly convenient excuse she didn’t quite believe. What kind of church needed iron bars over the windows and a throne in the centre? This place however was much more inviting, a number of snacks had been prepared for them as well as warm drinks set out on a table. Across from the girls sat a large and intricately decorated desk with a simple wooden chair behind it that was currently vacant. Joanne had come through in organizing a meeting between the girls and a low-level crime lord, the kind that had a network of goons who called him boss but wasn’t too high up to be on any hitlists.
The pair were told to walk into a certain barber shop in Adventure Town, ask for a specific haircut and sit in designated seats. Despite being told the exact combination three times the girls still forgot what seats to take and what to request come the day of the meeting. Thankfully their earnest demeanour and clear lack of preparation had won the kingpin over, no undercover informant would be that dedicated to a bit he reasoned. Thus, the girls had bags placed over their heads before being shoved down a series of alleys, sewage pipes and finally forced to sit in a boat for around ten minutes. It was all just for show as they were ultimately led back to the barbershop and taken to a secret stairway whose design was very reminiscent of a certain dwarven spring. Finally seated and de-bagged, the pair were told to wait and that the boss would be right out. They finished off the sweet treats over a half hour ago but the duo were still forced to wait until the door swung open to admit the man of the hour.
“Ay sorry for the wait, had to get blood out of my nice shirt.”
The man in question was, in a word, greasy. His brown hair was slicked back to show more of his slightly tanned complexion as well as handsome rectangular face. He wore a pink buttoned up shirt that hugged at his chest a bit too tightly and there was no doubt if he popped a button a forest of chest hair would be waiting underneath. Despite being clearly human there was something elven about his gait, the way he gestured with his hands and accentuated his sentences. The man was an enigma, charismatic when he wanted to be, intense when he needed to be and all around not what either expected. He looked like he would either make a great cart salesman or a terrible politician. The kingpin circled round to sit at his large desk, quickly checking through drawers and bringing out a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
“So, I hears you two are looking for some work? Well, I am happy to oblige but, I got some ground rules I gotta set out.”
The two nodded and let the kingpin begin.
“First, the names Darrian. That is what we in the biz call an alias and you will never know my real name. You can try to find out, but I wouldn’t recommend it or you’s is welcome to guess but it ain’t gonna be right.”
Valerie and Samantha had a brief hushed conversation before addressing the kingpin again.
“Is it… David Ryan?”
Samantha asked guessing the first name that came to mind. The kingpin did not react, did not tense up, did not twitch an eyebrow or let out a single note of surprise.
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“No.”
David ‘Darrian’ Ryan lied, all his plans for the afternoon suddenly being thrown out to investigate these two immediately. He had already done his homework by having someone else monitor and report on the two for a couple days. Now however, he would do it personally and pull on every favour and resource he had at his disposal, from guild informants to government nobodies if he needed to. That was the beauty of being a “small” kingpin everyone underestimates just how far your reach actually was.
“Aight moving on, rule number two I am the boss. You don’t have to call me boss but so long as you are in my house I am, say it with me, the boss.”
Both girls gave a half-hearted attempt to copy Darrian and call him the boss. Never letting his calculating gaze off the pair, he continued with a friendly smile.
“Number three, we can all agree we like money around here. I like money, you like money, who doesn’t like money? So, you make money for me, I make money for you which will probably make more money for me. Yada yada yada we all want money, agreed? Good.”
Holding up his hands and drawing both girls attention, he clapped and pointed a finger gun at them.
“And that’s it. Any other rule is implied like don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with you and so on. But those three are the main ones, capeesh?”
The two nodded much to the fast-talking kingpins satisfaction although they weren’t exactly sure what the third rule was other than money was the name of the game.
“Great, fantastic, amazing now let’s get down to business. I’ve been told you two are members of the Adventurers Guild, for which I hold the highest respect. As such I have to ask, either of you taken on an extermination contract yet?”
The girls shook their heads answering with a gentle no. Nodding at the response Darrian continued.
“And would either of you, just for talking sakes ofcourse, be opposed to the idea of merc-ing a couple of less than reputable former associates of mine?”
The question hung heavy in the air for a second. Valerie wasn’t sure herself, sure she killed those ghouls but they were already long dead and not even human anymore so she couldn’t have saved them even if she wanted. Samantha meanwhile focused on a different problem.
“Would they deserve it?”
Darrian answered immediately.
“Possibly, possibly not, they might just be people doing their jobs. They might also be hostile to yourselves if they learned you were currently in a meeting with myself. If such a thing were to occur and I am not saying it will, but if it does, would you be okay with a little…”
He gestured cutting his own throat, the actions meaning lost on Samantha entirely.
“If there’s no other option then… yes. ONLY if there’s no other option.”
Valerie replied resolutely and without exception. The kingpin held his hands up in mock surrender letting out a light chuckle.
“Hey, hey, hey, I am an upstanding member of our community and hope to be a father someday so that can set a good example to the little tikes like yourselves. I would certainly hate to be a bad influence on any of the youth of today. You say you don’t want to kill, that’s fine, not killing is in fact one of my favourite pass times. Well, not dying I should say eh but tomayto tomahto right?”
He spoke with such calm coolness neither girl could tell if he was a master manipulator or a buffoon.
“You two are in luck though I have a job perfect for a stealth specialist and a tracker. No killing, all you have to do is pick me up an itty bitty package. Bring it back here, and bing, bang, boom, were golden.”
No killing was good but, Darrian attitude didn’t exactly inspire much confidence that this “job” was going to be as simple as he made it out to be. Ultimately, Valerie wasn’t interested in the lip service or fancy words she just wanted to know one thing.
“What about our pay?”
Darrian let out a genuine laugh that lasted far too long. Wiping a tear from his eye, the kingpin rested both hands on the desk.
“You wanna talk about money? You don’t even have the package yet! Or know what it is for that matter. And still, you wanna talk about your cut? I respect it to be honest. Tell you what, you do a good enough job and I’ll double your pay. I’m talking you pick up the package, you get back here and no one is any the wiser. You do a great job and I’ll trip… nah I can’t, I can’t do triple. Double is my max for nobody, and I mean nobody, knowing you were there.”
Thievery was yet another indiscretion neither Valerie nor Samantha had been specifically told not to do. In fact, James always stressed survival was more important than morals or ethics. It was arguable their current situation did not count as life or death but neither would be the first to say anything about it. Samantha was all for the clandestine operation, she didn’t have long so there was no waiting for next time which Valerie agreed with. In the end this was just another challenge, another hurdle to cross and be better for when all was said and done. Getting up to shake the kingpin’s hand and seal the deal, the pair felt confident they could pull off the job. After all, what could possibly go wrong?