The plane touched down on a private runway in the capital city of the Fulgoth Kingdom, Fulgoth City. After a few moments the airstairs lowered and a few well dressed men waited at the bottom with 3 cars. Kye stepped off the plane With Sebastian following closely behind. One of the suited men stepped forward and gave a quick bow.
"Master Kye, Mr. Marken asked that we take you on a tour of the surrounding area when you landed to get you situated in the villa he had prepared. Is there anything we can provide for you to make your stay more comfortable?"
"Not presently no. However, you could put me in contact with a few people whom I intend to meet."
"Do you have any names?"
"Just one presently, guy named Slate, you heard of him?"
The man visible recoiled upon hearing the name.
"Yes, I know of Slate, but I don't think the master should-"
"Get me in contact with him as soon as possible. I have business to discuss with him."
The man looked incredulously at Kye.
"For what possible reason would you want to meet with a lowlife like him?"
Kye smiled at the question.
"Well, I would like to cut him a bit of a deal. The details of which are none of your concern."
The man just nodded and walked towards the cars, opening one of the doors for Kye and Sebastian. The two of them climbed into the car and waited for the others to finish their security brief. Kye looked to Sebastian.
"You armed?"
Sebastian nodded and pulled back his suit jacket to show a concealed pistol. Kye nodded and checked his own pistol in his jacket, ensuring it was loaded and the spare clips were all suitably hidden in the lining of his jacket.
"I don't trust anyone in this city but you Sebastian, make sure you tell me about anything you spot as suspicious."
"Of course young master."
The cars took off and they passed through the large streets that often accommodated large industrial vehicles. The buildings were often a dull grey and made out of concrete which were covered in a thin film of dirt from the constantly working smoke stacks of the factories. Those that lived in the outer city were often debt slaves who worked in the factories to pay off a static debt they owed to the kingdom, often used as a punishment to keep jails free for more heinous criminals. Productivity was everything in the Fulgoth Kingdom, having criminals being the only ones who didn't work didn't make sense from an administerial standpoint. While debt slaves like the ones that lived in the outer city would have no fewer rights than an ordinary citizen, nothing they owned would be theirs at the end of their sentence and would be liquidated by the kingdom. Kye felt the practice was a morally wrong premise, but the practicality and logic of the system was one that Kye couldn't refute.
"Sebsatian, what do you think of the kingdom?"
Sebastian brought a hand up to his chin and adotped a thinking pose before answering.
"I think it's very efficient."
Kye shot him a sideways glance.
"And?"
"... And I think they lost a lot to make it this efficient."
Kye nodded once.
"What did they sacrifice along the way? Well, I think looking around is a pretty good answer. The vibrancy of the city is gone, it's just a hollow concrete jungle for husks with jobs to wander around in. People live, but are they alive?"
"I would argue not, young master."
"I think so as well. This is why i'm willing to work with the gangs, you see."
Sebastian tilted his head.
"I'm not sure I quite follow young master. What do you mean?"
Kye closed his eyes and leaned his head on his arm that was propped up on the windowsill of the car door.
"What do the kingdom officially classify the gangs as?" Sebastian didn't reply and waited for Kye to continue. "It's rebels, Sebastian. Legal wording is a pain the the ass but to claim that someone is a rebel means that they go against the general 'will of society' and desire change, usually for thier own benefit. If this is the 'will of society' in this kingdom, then i think the gangs here might be the most well adjusted people in the kingdom."
"It is also possible that both sides are just as bad as one another."
Kye nodded.
"Of course, they're not saints. If they were, they'd be focusing on developing some kind of city in the Free States. Instead, they're using a broken system to get the benefits of opposing it. I can't say that I like that more, but i'm more willing to give them a chance is all."
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"Young master is very wise for his age."
Kye smirked and put on his best dumb child voice.
"But i'm just a 14 year old boy, there's no way I could hurt anyone at all!"
Sebastian gave a chuckle and pat his chest.
"Of course, the young master is just a spoilt child who grew up wanting nothing after all."
"Exactly Sebastian, i'm glad you get it."
The car ride continued until a gate that led into the middle district. A kingdom soldier walked over with an automatic rifle slung on his shoulder and knocked on Kye's side of the glass. Kye rolled down the window and waited for the solider to start speaking.
"What brings you to the middle city today sir?"
"We're transiting to the inner city. I'll be staying in a villa there that my father owns."
Kye handed over his passport to the soldier to confirm the details. He opened the pasport and flicked through the documents before nodding and habding them back.
"Thats alright, you're free to go through."
He stepped back from the car and the gates raised allowing them to travel through. The middle city was the lifeblood of commerce for Fulgoth City, with many storefronts selling factory direct stock that they aquired through manufacturing licences negotiated by the merchant and the factories. Some storefronts were commission booths, where certain requests for equipment could be made to factories through these solicitors. Kye noticed that many of the citizens in this part of the city were walking around rather happily, even with the constant noise that was associated with the central business district of a major city.
A faint smile touched Kye's lips as he watched an older brother walking his younger sister down the street with thier mother and father just a little bit behind them. Kye thought of Ellie and how they would bond when she get a bit older. The car ride was just as uneventful as before and they passed the border check into the inner city just as they did to get into the middle city. The car finally came to a stop at a 2 story villa with ample room. The villa was one of Ashton's many work retreats that he would use when away for work. Kye helped Sebastian bring the luggage in despite Sebastian's fervent insistance that Kye didn't have to do so. They entered the villa and were greeted by the head maid of the villa. She gave an exagerated bow, lifting up the hem of her skirt.
"Welcome young master, may I take your coat?"
Kye gave her a thankful smile but held up his hand.
"Not necessary thank you. I'm sorry but I wasn't given anyones name, may I ask?"
"Of course, my name is Clara, I am the head maid of the villa and will be your personal attendant during your stay here. If you require anything of me, please do not hesitate to call for me with this button."
Clara gave Kye a black remote with a single red button on it. Kye gave the remote to Sebastian who tucked it into his coat.
"Thank you Clara. Now, can I leave it to you and Sebastian to sort out the luggage? I really must be getting down to my business as soon as possible."
Sebastian nooded but Clara looked somewhat confused.
"Are you certain you don't want to rest young master? You must be very tired from the flight."
"I assure you Clara, I am fine. Now, if you could get a driver to meet me at the front asap, I would appreciate it."
Clara gave a short bow.
"Of course young master."
Sebastian gave Kye a look before bowing himself and picking up a suitcase. Kye internally sighed and looked at the servants that Clara had assembled at the entrance. There were a healthy mix of men and women among them, with all of them having the air of elegance one would expect but a few of them stood out. They were doing their best to hide it but two men and one woman had the air of a warrior. It was something Kye was used to seeing after having many spars with different opponents Ares would bring him. Though this normally wouldn't be unusual, Ashton had informed Kye ahead of time that there would be no battle servants in the villa as he needed them to fill some vacancies at the main house. So these people were not here for good reasons, most likely corporate espionage. They probably assumed Kye was here as a fledgling businessman acting on his fathers orders and that the young man was an easy target to steal some secrets of the God's Wisdom conglomerate. Clara gave all the servants orders and they dispersed from the entry hall and went their seperate ways.
Kye waited for ten minutes before a car finally pulled up around. The driver and passenger seat had the two men he had noticed earlier and the woman he took notice of got out the back of the car and opened the door for him. Kye gave a small smile and got into the car. The man in the driver seat spoke in a gruff voice.
"Where do you want to go young master?"
"Old entertainment district. There is a bar called The Boiler Room."
The man nodded and the car took off. The woman was sitting next to Kye and was occasionally sneaking glances at Kye, as if to check if he was awake. Kye gave a sweet smile to the woman after one occasion where they locked eyes.
"Where abouts are you from?"
He asked. She remained silent for a bit before speaking in a meek voice.
"From this city."
"Oh interesting. Where I grew up, there were barely any factories so it's kinda cool to see so many."
Kye was playing up the airheaded act to lul them into a false sense of security. The car continued onwards but it was taking a lot of detours. Kye had remembered the route they took from the border to the villa and this was not the direct route they took. Kye decided it was time for some decisive action. Kye pulled his pistol out and put the woman next to him in a headlock, holding the pistol to her temple. The man in the passenger seat spun around going for his own gun but stopped when he saw his companion in Kye's grasp. Kye gave a little smile.
"How about we pull over and we talk this out like rational people huh? Or would you rather clean your friends brains off the car interior?"
The car pulled over and the man in the driver seat turned around.
"How did you know?"
"I memorised the route out car took from the border to the villa and this route wasn't even close to it. Even when Clara had you all assembled, I could tell you guys weren't normal servants from your posture. You're all spies or something right?"
The man gave Kye a death stare. Kye's smile widened.
"I'll take your silence as a yes. Well, I hate to disappoint but i've not got any company secrets on me. In fact, i'm not even here on behalf of my father."
Kye looked down at the struggling woman who was breathing heavily with the gun to her head.
"I really don't wanna kill you guys, but you're not giving me much of a choice y'know? This ends one of two ways, you guys die here, or you end up in the labour camps."
The woman pulled one of her hands free and pulled a black knife from a thigh holster.
"I don't think so!"
She yelled and stabbed it into Kye's thigh. Instead of letting her go, Kye just laughed.
"Hahahahaha, oh man, that is fucking hilarious. You think a little cut like that's gonna hurt me?"
The womans face went pale as Kye reached down with the hand belonging to the arm that was wrapped around her neck and pulled the knife out. A wound that deep would take a good hour to heal fully but the pain didn't bother Kye, he had been through much worse during his training. Kye brought the knife up to her throat and pointed the gun at the driver.
"Now, how about we make that deal, like I said earlier?"
The driver, pale faced, nodded. Kye's grin grew wider.
"Now that's music to my ears. Lets talk."