A thin mercenary with a bad haircut dragged a metal chair across the floor, setting it some distance in front of Jill Yemonto. Nobody had to gesture or anything; Mr. Foot just walked up and sat in it. Classic Mr. Foot.
“So, Mr. Yafoot. Would you perhaps be willing to share what you know? Or is the control of the monsters too powerful for you to overcome?” Miss Yemonto asked, seemingly rhetorically. She knew more than she was letting on, so it was safe to assume that Yelah’s more detailed information had reached her ears.
“I think you know. Or, you think you know. I’m positive you’re underestimating the Queen, so make of that what you will. That was an unfiltered answer, by the way.”
A bit of a stare-down took place, one I was very uncomfortable with. Mostly because it felt like Mr. Foot could be gunned down at any second. Of course, he was more worried about the wrinkly old woman sitting across from him than the knives and swords and pistols.
“Perhaps another approach. What does your master want? This… ‘Queen’ seems frighteningly intelligent, to the point that I am convinced it does not wish simply for human eradication.”
“Oh, you know. Conquest and such things. Circumstances just resulted in this big bloody conflict, so I’d ask that you don’t blame her for what happens to your employees.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Yafoot?” Miss Yemonto didn’t seem bothered at all by the thinly veiled threat, her mouth just curling into a more stark sneer. Well, she was confident.
Mr. Foot, on the other hand, simply smiled and winked at Yoho, whose frown deepened. He had done a great job trying to help Yelah, to my annoyance. Maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for, even knowing what Yelah thought of him. He might not have saved all of Yemonto Co., but ensuring that she was out of my hands was… bothersome.
Miss Yemonto suddenly spoke, standing up with surprising grace.
“My grandfather founded a mercenary organization called Yemonto Company. He did so in a time when mercenary companies worked differently, had different values and procedures and ideas. His vision was a business that not only enforced the whims of wealthy fear mongers, but that catered to the desires of whoever had the coin to spend. It was a magnificent success; very few companies that existed at the time could compete, unless they changed themselves. His mentor, Hayrey Morsehn, practically stood by and watched his own highly successful mercenary business crumble, until he finally listened to his sons’ advice, sons who happened to be the best friends of my grandfather.”
“Since then, Yemonto Co. has passed hands twice, once to my father and then to me. In the time since, the world has drastically changed, even disregarding the tumultuous last few years. Yemonto Co. is an international organization now, and new mercenary companies rarely pop up with any relevance. Do you know why?”
“Uh, may-“
“Because we don’t let them. My grandfather’s vision was a noble one, but he was not actually a noble man. If any of you are surprised by that, you may be in the wrong business,” she snapped, as some mercenaries began to mutter.
“His business acumen was good, but his ruthlessness was better. His motto passed to my father and to me was this: ‘Advantage is taken, not earned.’ Those too weak to take advantage of any and every opportunity lose. This is the way of the world. So. What are your ‘Queen’s’ goals?”
I instructed Mr. Foot not to answer yet. She was probing him, trying to find out what side she should be on. And judging by the looks on the faces of Yoho and the other mercenaries, they definitely weren’t expecting this. Well, neither was I, so touché.
One fact had been consistent among the scariest people in this city: they were ruthless opportunists. Harven, the more threatening merchants, the City Lord, and now Jill Yemonto. On the other hand, an organization like Hayrey, who was headed up by a group of bosses who had taken over the company some time ago, senselessly followed the easy money of the City Lord.
She would be a terrible ally. But she would also be an amazing worker. I had to have her.
There were ways to make an impression. I focused hard, putting all my concentration into the trick I had learned recently. As I concentrated, small objects in the dark house shuddered, then rose into the air, and several mercenaries stumbled in surprise. Jill was still unfazed, so I did something I’d never tried before.
My Link was just that: a connection between my Mind and the Mind of other creatures. For the conscious creatures under my control, I could influence their thoughts and actions in subtle ways. But it meant that I could also take full control.
I made a show of it. Mr. Foot slumped over, shuddering and grunting as the room itself shook slightly. Miss Yemonto’s sneer was finally fading, so I employed the coup de grâce.
“Hey there, Jill Yemonto. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Wanna join my crew?”
_______
I watched as Yafoot began to convulse like a man possessed, which I suppose would be an accurate description. Young Yoho whipped his head between Yafoot and me, which only made concern continue to creep into my thoughts. Nothing like this had been described by Yelah or her fellows.
Going into this confrontation, I had been more than confident. It was certainly an odd coincidence that Yafoot had managed to find our temporary ambuscade, but even this strange hired muscle stood no chance against us.
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Rather, it was a fantastic opportunity. Yelah’s information had been limited at best, and unhelpful at worst. This man, who had been confirmed as being under the control of the mysterious beast attacking the city from the shadows, could be a wealth of data with which to more effectively confront the enemy. So, in some way, I became excited when small objects began to float in the air and the house began to shudder.
Until I realized something. The Mind to blame for these phenomena did not belong to the man quivering before me. It belonged to the monster. Who was, supposedly, nowhere nearby.
I felt my smile unconsciously drop into a frown.
Yafoot suddenly stopped moving, then stood up with twitchy, disturbing motions. His head snapped up to stare at me, his eyes distant and odd as a voice spoke with his mouth.
“Hey there, Jill Yemonto. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Wanna join my crew?”
The voice was a booming, uncanny noise, sounding not quite like Yafoot, but as if a dozen people were speaking at once. The man’s grin I had seen several times prior did not stay still, shifting between a toothy smile and rough, inaccurate lip movements. Overall, it was the image of a horrifying spectacle of evil puppetry and a disturbing Mind.
“Oh my Person, what’s happening?!”
“I’m getting the fuck outta here!”
“Nope.”
Imbeciles. Though reasonable.
“Whoah whoah, all of you chill. Especially you. Yeesh, your shrieks are so loud the whole hive can hear it. Well, I guess they technically already can…”
“Good Person, men, calm yourselves!” I yelled as the monster mumbled, trying to regain control of the mercenaries.
Its display was offputting enough, but I was more concerned with the monster’s words. No, this ‘Queen’ was no monster. It - she - was a highly capable and dangerous being whose influence was on the verge of swarming my city.
What should I do?
My thoughts raced as I motioned for the mercs to stop running. Some had dashed for the door in response to the Queen’s display, and we couldn’t afford to be interrupted in this delicate situation. Not that the rest of the city wasn’t preoccupied. I could tell they were more concerned about the showy display than the demonstration of higher thought.
I lacked information, and this creature possessed information aplenty.
“Greetings… Queen. It seems introductions are not quite necessary, seeing as how you know of me. I must say, your capability to speak is impressive for one who I have only heard referred to as a ‘monster’ or ‘beast.’ I-“
“Uh, how much longer are you going to stall? It’s easy to monitor the entire Yiwi situation, but keeping my focus here also isn’t what I want to be doing necessarily,” the Queen said. Truly, the tone of its voice was fearfully inhuman.
“I apologize. However, I must ask one question. Is what you are doing… painful, for Yafoot there?”
“Eh, not really. Probably not. Anyways, let’s get on with it. You going to join me or what?”
It was insistent on adding me to its ranks, which meant it either needed me or wanted me. Which was encouraging. If I could negotiate, perhaps even make myself invaluable, then Yemonto Co. might not just survive this conflict, but rise to even greater heights. If, of course, I was willing to debase myself to the lows of betraying my species. The benefits were appealing, of course. But one other piece of information had become clear.
The Queen was inexperienced. Both with negotiation and with her own capabilities. I already had my suspicions when Yelah had somehow broken free from its supposedly flawless control, but its lack of understanding of what Yafoot was going through confirmed it. She had certainly given an effective performance, but it was just that: a performance. Meant to frighten and intimidate, to force me to recognize her true power. And yet she simultaneously exposed her desire or even desperation for obtaining me.
This situation had to be navigated carefully. As young as this creature was, it did possess great power. Siding with it would not be pointless in any capacity, and opposing it would also be a reasonable option.
“Perhaps. But you have still not answered the question I asked Mr. Yafoot prior. What are your goals? I maintain you are not a vicious monster, so I do wonder about your intentions.”
That made it hesitate. So then, she was not accustomed to being questioned about the validity of her goals, either. I forced my mouth to remain in a subtle frown, assuming the Queen did not appreciate cockiness. As my mercenaries calmed, my confidence steadied.
“I’d say the only thing you need to know about is that my hive should expand, and I want to keep my… children safe. Yiwi is at least a bump in the road for the first, and a major issue for the second. This whole thing could’ve been avoided all the way back when the City lord first sent mercenaries to my doorstep, and now here we are. So, unfortunately, Yiwi needs to be brought to heel, and time-“
She suddenly paused, as if listening to someone speak. Perhaps she had been about to reveal something important, and a competent advisor stopped her. A revelation of said advisor, which was additional information.
“Well, that’s really all you need to know. So, all in all…”
She continued rambling, which was confusing, until I realized something. I had been so focused on the Queen’s presence and strategy that I had almost not noticed a tiny creature crawling towards me. I snatched it up before it could escape, inspecting it. It was a bee, fairly ordinary in every way except for an oddly wavy stinger. Yafoot had stopped speaking, and I glanced at the man. Or Queen.
That was somewhat confusing.
“A clever strategy, but crude. Very crude. I can see why you hesitated to take action against the more prominent figures in the city without insurance. I suppose you somehow captured Yafoot before Harven, because such a tactic would never have worked on that old fuck.”
“Ah, well. You know how it is.”
So. The illusion falls. Working together with the Queen might not have been a bad idea, but I had absolutely no intention of being under her direct influence through this presumed Mind controlling bee.
“Was there ever a chance of working together without you putting me under your control? I can be more trustworthy than you might expect.”
“…Is that so? And if my forces begin to lose this war, you would not ‘take advantage’ and destroy me? Betray me? No, I wouldn’t expect you to be trustworthy enough to overcome how massive of a security risk you are. How about this? Willingly join the hive. We have more Linker Bees. It’s pretty nice, actually. We’ve got knowledge you couldn’t dream of, the ability to communicate with merely a thought, unparalleled information gathering capabilities, just to name a few things.”
“And you speak of me being an untrustworthy variable? I think our discussion here might be over,” I said as I crushed the bee I was holding, just as Yafoot turned to run. The mercenaries aimed their weapons at the man, who was just returning to normality. Too slow.
I thrust my hand forward, my Ability [Insolent Indication] removing Yafoot’s leg from his body. My mercenaries either stood in shock or attacked ferociously, and I watched as Yafoot barely batted an eye at his myriad of injuries. Such an interesting man. He hopped on one foot towards the door, bullet after bullet and sword after sword leaving wounds on his body.
“This is nothing personal, Queen. Simply the more appealing option. I will no longer be underestimating you, so be cautious moving forwards. I hope that, if you do happen to win, we can have another pleasant chat.”
I thrust my hand forward thrice more, leaving Yafoot a dying torso attached to a head. He was still alive, but fading quickly. I walked over in time to see a series of bees emerge from his clothes, presumably the additional ‘Linker Bees’ mentioned by the Queen. I quickly grabbed them with my Mind, crushing each one. Even if she had an endless number of them, reducing its resources would surely be beneficial.
“Investigate his body. Perhaps we can garner some clues about the bees and their Link. Throw the parts in the river afterwards; no reason to keep them around. Yoho, I want you to communicate with Yelah about this situation and coordinate our collaboration effort. I will join them shortly.”
I strolled back to my chair and sat, making sure to not show my weakness to my employees. My Ability was not one without consequence, and they needed strength at the moment, not weakness. Speaking with the creature made me feel the city wasn’t under direct threat by them, but it couldn’t be resolved so easily. The only way to overcome this without excessive violence would be to come to an agreement between the bees and humans.
But the path to reach such an understanding continued to elude me. For now, I would have a few words with the City Lord’s desperation army.