“Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the first phase of Rosefire’s plan is officially complete. In terms of fighting ability, I can assure you that Rosefire is up there with the city’s best. And soon, the people will see that. Within the week, Rosefire will announce itself to the city with the biggest splash Toronto’s seen in a long time." I paused there, surveying my men as pride welled in my chest. "But that’s for later. Tonight, we enjoy ourselves! Tonight, we celebrate the hard work of the last three months, and the beginning of the greatest gang that this world will see! Cheers!”
“CHEERS!” The thirty-one people around me all happily shouted, clinking together their glass mugs.
I watched with a happy smile as the men around me downed their mugs and dug into the lush feast in front of them, all the while basking in Ren’s heavenly violin music. Just a few days ago, the last member of Rosefire had undergone his Cleanse and had officially become a mage, marking the end of the first phase of Rosefire's development.
Thirty mages with basic combat training wasn’t exactly an unbeatable army, but with the right moves, it was more than enough to unleash chaos upon the powers of the city.
Time flew as the members of Rosefire enjoyed themselves, chatting amongst themselves and the residents of our territory. The occasion was special, so I'd decided to make the celebration open to the whole community. With my sizable funds, it wasn’t hard to arrange a proper party for a hundred or so people.
Around an hour or so into the party, Ren suddenly appeared in front of me, walking stick in hand.
“Theo’s back. He’s got the info you asked for,” he said. “Follow me.”
I nodded and he quickly turned around and dove into the crowd again. Keeping my eyes on his back, I followed him as he made his way through a maze of dark, run-down back alleys. As I did, I marveled, not for the first time, at how well he could handle himself despite his blindness. Aside from his closed eyes and walking stick, you’d never know that he couldn’t see. The way he could respond to nonverbal actions and find his way around places, it was like he had some extra sixth sense that the rest of us didn’t.
After a series of twisting turns, we finally arrived at an empty dead end. No matter how much my eyes searched, I could find no trace of another person, and if not for that feeling of being watched I would think that we really were alone.
Ren gave the ground three raps with his stick, and we waited in silence for a moment. Finally, a scrawny boy appeared behind us, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Ah, my favorite little scout. How’ve you been, Theo?” I asked as I turned around, dropping a little hard candy in the boy’s hand.
“I’ve been good, Leader,” he said, as a small, shy smile adorned his childish face. With the swiftness of a cat, the boy had the candy wrapped and popped into his mouth within the second.
An eleven-year-old boy, he’d always had a knack for getting around unnoticed. When the Crowned Tigers were still a thing, Edgar had often used him to gather information on other small-time gangs. I immediately knew when I was told that Theo would be invaluable to Rosefire’s rise in Toronto. I was fully aware that Rosefire couldn’t possibly brute force its way to the top in such a short time, so I would have to rely on precise planning. And the first step in a good plan was gathering information.
When I had mentioned Theo's skillset to Ren, he'd immediately said that he was going to take him under his wing. In his words, he 'knew a thing or two about discreet information gathering,' and Theo would make the perfect student.
Under Ren’s teaching, Theo quickly became more than adept at his job. And today would be the result of all his hard work. Two weeks ago, I had sent him out with the order to get me a list of Toronto’s powerhouses, and a general outline of their resources.
“Alright, Theo, let’s get you some proper food and a nice bed. You can tell me everything tomorrow morning,” I said as I grabbed his small hand in mine, and began to lead him out.
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“Actually, I’d prefer to tell you right now. I’m not that tired or hungry, and I have a lot to tell you,” Theo said, stopping me.
I glanced at Ren, eyebrow raised, but he only shrugged, leaving the decision to me. Not for the first time, I spent a second wondering how it was that Ren had known what I was saying with my face, but I knew it was useless. I’d find out when Ren felt the need to tell me, I was sure.
Shifting my attention back to Theo, I studied his eyes for a moment, searching for any signs of exhaustion or hunger. Finding none, I sighed and motioned for Theo to take a seat on the ground. Ren and I quickly followed, forming a small circle.
“Alright then, Theo. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
“Well, to start with, I took a look at the IOR’s Leaderboard to rule out every organization that wasn’t in the top ten, since every org not in the top ten isn’t allowed to hide their name. After I knew all the names of the orgs that weren’t in the top ten, it was pretty easy. I just had to find orgs that weren’t on the Leaderboard, and as long as they weren’t just starting out, it was a pretty good bet that they were in the top ten. These are the names that I got.” As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and began reading out. “The Diamond Rebels, The Fight House, The White Fangs, The Flame Cobras, The Copper Jackals, The Brown Swords, The Destroyers, and The Immortals. As for their resources, I’ve only managed to get a rough area of their territories. But all their money should be coming from the businesses in their territory, so you can make an educated guess as to how much money they’re making.”
He handed me the paper he was holding, which held a crude drawing of the map of Toronto. Eight circles of red dotted the map, each with a name inside. Together, the circles encompassed almost half the map, which was incredible considering the fact that there were at least a hundred other gangs that were fighting over the rest of the city.
“Theo… this is incredible. I’m speechless. I had no idea you were so capable,” I said as I patted the boy’s head. Theo flushed and shyly dipped his head.
“Honestly, you’ve done better than I was expecting. You have a very promising future, Theo,” Ren joined in, agreeing with me.
“I mean, I still didn’t manage to get the names of the top two gangs though. I think they were hiding their traces through false names and businesses. Whatever they’re doing was done very well, because I couldn’t find a single lead that wasn’t a dead end,” Theo finally said, disappointment coloring his face.
“Of course, the top two most powerful gangs in Toronto practically run the city. They’ve got connections and influence everywhere. It’s amazing you were able to find out the names that you did,” Ren cut in, comforting the boy.
“Exactly,” I agreed, nodding. “Now then,” I said as I stood up, carefully creasing Theo’s map and placing it in my pocket. “Let’s get back to the party. Theo, go to Mark’s store and tell him that I said you have anything you want.”
Theo looked up excitedly at that. “Really?!”
I nodded with a smile. “You’ve earned it.”
“K, thanks!” Theo yelled over his shoulder, already making his way out of the dank alleys.
I chuckled at his enthusiasm, feeling a strange but pleasant warmth in my chest at the sight.
“He’s gonna leave you penniless, y’know,” Ren said with a small smile as he finally got up too.
“I know,” I sighed, having first-hand experience of how expensive Theo’s candy-eating spree could get at Mark’s if he were left unchecked. After the first time, I had made sure to only let him have one a day, and told Mark that he wasn’t allowed to have any more than that unless he had my explicit permission. “But, he deserves it. With the information he’s given me, and the potential he shows, he’s already one of the most valuable members of Rosefire.”
Ren nodded. “Honestly, I’m surprised you value information as much as you do. You didn’t strike me as the kind of person who understood the importance of planning.”
I laughed. “I understand how important it is – I’d have to be an idiot not to – it's just that I’d much rather just go into every fight guns blazing. All this information gathering and secret plotting is so boring. Unfortunately, we have no other choice right now, since we’re so weak. But trust me, once we have the manpower, the only plan I’ll ever make is ‘pummel anyone who gets in my way’.”
Ren shook his head. “Now that sounds more like the Ruby I know.”
“You really ought to respect your Leader more, y’know?”
“A person truly worthy of respect wouldn’t need to ask for it.”
“Oh shut-”
Both of us were stopped in our tracks by the sudden sound of steel and wood crashing that carried on the wind. But the graveness on our faces wasn’t due to the sound, but the faint trace of Flux it carried.