Episode: 5.10

--- Aiden ---

(Well, that went well…)

He ran a hand down his face, his eyes shifting between a nearby tent and the twelve-year old storming off on her own.

(I should probably follow her…)

He knew he should, but…

Eventually he just shook his head and turned towards the tent.

(She’s better off without me…)

“Hello, how may I help you?” A voice asked as he stepped into the tent with a number of snack filled shelves, and drink filled fridges lining the walls.

He glanced up at the smiling dark-haired woman behind a thick metal counter. “Need to see someone down below.”

The woman’s eyes immediately sharpened. “What do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes, before placing a silver coin on the counter. “You know what I mean Alex.”

The woman, Alex, shrugged taking the coin with a burning skull engraved on one side, and a rose bound to a cross by thorns on the other. “Can’t be too careful these days Aiden.”

“Sanctuary uses the market as much as anyone else in New Haven.” He gave a bitter laugh as he shook his head. “Hell, even the ‘Heroes’ come down here from time to time.”

“Maybe but the cult ‘s been acting up lately, and you know how the Market hates those psycho fucks.” The Market woman reminded him before tossing the coin back.

“Surprised you two haven’t devolved into a gang war if they’re really causing that much trouble.”

“Eh, war’s not good for business.” Alex told him, shifting her counter forward a meter.

“Bullshit.” He called without hesitation as he walked behind the counter.

Alex smirked, stomping on the large drain cover her counter had been covering. “Fine…war isn’t good for business, when you’re the one footing the bill.”

“Still, doubt anyone’ll miss the cult if they were to burn.” He pointed out as the drain cover slid itself open, revealing a hidden set of stairs leading down below.

“Sorry, Aiden, I’m just a clerk. If you want to order a mass assassination you’re going to have to talk my manager.”

“I’ll consider it.” He waved back, setting down the stairs.

“See ya.” Alex called as the drain cover slid shut leaving him in the darkness.

After a moment a flickering light turned on, illuminating the four meter by four meter empty concrete room.

Seeing nothing of concern he walked under the light and pulled on the thin string hanging from the bulb.

There was a click, and the light shut off.

(1… 2… 3… 4…) He counted, tapping his foot before pulling the string once more.

There was another click, only instead of the light turning on there was the sound of machinery whirling underfoot.

He idly pulled out another cigarette and lit it, the brief flash of fire barely illuminating the room before the floor began to shift.

(People really love their secret entrances…)

The concrete floor slowly lowered, revealing a metal tunnel lit by the occasional wall light, the hidden lift sinking as it took him down below.

(Wonder if Ember would’ve been disappointed, she was so close to that underground market she wanted to see?)

Then again, it wasn’t like he planned on telling her that the family friendly open market was a front for the entrance to the underground market where a number of illegal deals went on.

(Though lying to her this early probably isn’t the best idea…)

(Does that mean you’re going to tell her about the monster?)

He leaned back against the lift wall and frowned.

(Damn it…)

He ran a hand down his face, more than grateful for the fact that he was alone on the lift, as the malice in his veins began to mess with his head.

(She doesn’t need to know about that…)

(That’s what you told Anna too…)

“It’s not like she even wants to talk to me…” He told the shadows of his mind, more than aware the only reason Ember had spoken to him at all through the day was because she was an Arcane learning so many new things so fast, and she was curious about all of it.

He wasn’t going to tell her but, he owed Ashe for that one.

He doubted she realized it at the time, but by outing Ember as an Arcane, she’d given him the in he needed to try and talk to the kid, because while it may’ve been something of a stereotype that all Arcane were overly curious kittens with no survival instincts, it was a stereotype he’d seen proven right far more times than wrong.

(Thinking about it, it’s the same with M.A.D.s…)

He chuckled thinking about Amelia when she got a little too into her tinkering, before watching the smoke he exhaled rise right alongside the walls.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

(Wonder if the Arcane are connected to madness in the same way as M.A.D.s?)

Everyone knew they were connected, but no one was sure how exactly.

(It would explain a thing or two if they're closer than we think…)

The lift screeched to a halt, cutting off his musings as it stopped roughly a hundred meters below it’s previous height. The doors to the lift slid open, reavealing a hall lit overhead with pale lights that did little to cast away the shadows that clung to both the metal walls and the few people that wandered the labyrinthian underground market.

As he made his way through the dark halls, his boots were barely audible against the faint sounds of machinery, magic, and whatever other mayhem was just a touch too dangerous to show those not bound by blood to the Masquerade.

He idly let his eyes drift around the cold halls, as much keeping an eye for threats as he was giving into an act of boredom.

While the open market above was all colors, decorations, and fun; the underground market, was cold, efficient, and brutal. Up above a person could leave their kid all alone and they’d be safe, down here though… look at someone funny and they’d gut you where you stand, before leaving your corpse to rot or be harvested.

(Wonder what it says about me that I’m more comfortable down here than up there?)

The arena he passed on his right, filled with two Deviants beating each other to death and a number of bloodstains on the floor as a crowd watched and cheered, didn’t say anything nice.

He continued through the dark labyrinth until he found a small shop with a sign that simply read, ‘Lawrence’s Clearances.’

He couldn’t help but stop as he put his hand on the door, contemplating spending the next few hours trying to track down, someone else who might have the things he was looking for. At least until he remembered he still had to track the kid back down once he went topside again.

(Right, the kids waiting for me…)

He sighed.

(Let’s just get this over with…)

Pushing the door open, he stepped into a shop with metal walls covered in various things. From Arcane Artifacts of the ages to Spark-tech that made physics their bitch. There were even a few jars filled with small creatures, or at least the parts of larger creatures, none of which were actually native to this version of earth.

In the back behind a counter, was a short man wearing glasses, while openly counting his money. Several stacks of money.

The short man, Lawrence, paused his counting as he glanced up before clapping in delight with a disgusting amount of glee.

“Why if it isn’t my most valuable customer!” Lawrence laughed, before running around his counter. “How can I help you today, Mr. Caine?”

“Aiden.” He ground out, before taking a calming breath. “And I’ve come to pick up that part for Amelia and Pet.”

“Oh, a new nerve processor of course, of course!” The short man laughed once more while clapping his hands together, before running into the back of the shop.

(Really don't like that guy...)

Aiden sighed, taking his hat off and running his hand through his hair.

(Might as well see what he's got laying around..)

Everyone who knew him, knew Lawrence could get you anything you wanted, be it legal or otherwise. The only problem was he had no issue selling your soul to get it, and even then, he’d expect another arm and a leg before handing it over. Sadly, he was also the only person in a six-hour driving range of New Haven who could get B-Rank Cyber-tech. Something Pet needed whenever she was seriously hurt on the job, because while Amelia could fix most of the tech Pet needed, there were certain parts that she just wouldn’t trust herself to actually make.

As he passed a glass case filled with various magical odds and ends, his gaze stopped on a pair of white gloves with black embroidery in the shape of black thorn vines wrapped around the wrists.

(Interesting...)

The crucifix under his shirt began to vibrate with a cool chill.

(Very interesting…)

“Ah, here we are!” Lawrence cheered, coming out of the back with a black and blue shoebox sized package in hand.

“It’s new right?” Aiden asked as he made his way back to the counter.

“Of course, what kind of salesman do you think I am?!” The merchant cried, in an offended tone.

He gave the shorter man a dry look.

“Oh, fine.” Lawrence sighed with a roll of his eyes. “It’s literally fresh off the back of the truck.”

“Any trackers?” He asked opening the box enough to verify the piece of silver tech, with blue circuitry surrounded by black packaging foam.

“As if I’d let a poorly stolen good anywhere near my shop.” Lawrence frowned, sounding legitimately insulted this time. “I verified they did the job myself, before shooting them all for being witnesses of course.”

“Well, you always have taken customer privacy seriously.” He willingly admitted as he closed the box once more.

“Yes, especially when I’m the one buying.” Lawrence nodded with a bloodthirsty grin.

“Speaking of.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a baseball sized black sphere with red and white markings.

“A void-seed!” Lawrence whispered with a near reverence, as he reached for the seed.

Aiden didn’t bother stopping him, after all he’d done enough specialty jobs for the merchant, that Lawrence knew better than to cross him lest he get burned himself.

After a moment the merchant frowned in disgust. “Ugh, you sterilized it.”

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded, enjoying the other man’s disgust far more than was healthy.

The merchant set the seed down and shook his head in disappointment. “I’ll never understand why you so willingly throw away such a significant cut of the profit.”

“Because if you sell those seeds to some dumbass that thinks they know better, we end up with a dozen void-creeps haunting the city, and ten times that dead or missing before we track them all down.”

Lawrence placed a hand over his heart. “Do you truly believe I’d sell to someone so irresponsible?”

He couldn't quite stop himself from snorting. “I believe you’ll sell it to the highest bidder, even if it was the Corrupter himself.”

“Truthfully, I’d sell it to the Plague-walker if I could, I mean the man does own his own city.” Lawrence admitted with a smile, as if that was a perfectly okay reason.

“A city where he killed off over half the population?” He reminded a little incredulously.

Lawrence shrugged. “Got to break a few eggs to make an omelet.”

He just shook his head. “Never cared for omelets myself.”

“Oh, there’s this place off of eighth street where they are just to die for!” Lawrence waved him off with a laugh, as if he was being silly. “You really should take those girls out and treat yourselves every once in a while! Life can’t be all work, work, work!”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“Well, more profit for me I suppose.” Lawrence shrugged, before turning back to the void seed. “So, the Nerve Processor for the void-seed?”

“So, the void-seed for a Nerve Processor and a four boxes of clear spell crystals.” He countered, knowing both of their first offers were rip-offs.

Lawrence gave him a hard look. “Three.”

He purposely narrowed his own eyes. “Two clear, one charged.”

“I’ll hardly make a profit Caine, and we both know I’m the only member of the Market willing to buy something like this.” Lawrence told him with a bluntness that showed the businessman infamous for selling the corpses of his competitors.

Aiden frowned for a number of reasons, (namely that the little fucker is right) before turning as he made a show of eyeing several of Lawrence’s wares, only to let his gaze fall on the gloves from earlier. “Arcane gloves?”

“Cursed gloves, actually.” Lawrence corrected, because while he was more than willing to sell an unknowing family member a cursed object, he’d never risk one of his cash cows.

“Cursed with what?” He asked, already knowing as he made his way to the case.

“The Black Briar.” Lawrence admitted ruefully. “Got them off of a Wonderlander out by Los Angeles, knew they were imbued, but I hadn’t realized she was already corrupted when I bought them.”

“Easy mistake, if she was still in the early stages.” He consoled the merchant, as he weighed their value, or rather the value Lawrence thought they had. “Neuro processor, two boxes of clear shards, and the gloves for the void-seed.”

Lawrence rubbed his chin, before clarifying. “Shards, not crystals?”

He nodded.

“Deal.” Lawrence nodded before reassuming his more cheerful persona as he packed everything for transport. “Though I don’t suppose you’d be willing to share why you’re so interested in those gloves? I don’t believe you know any Wonderlanders worth killing in a horrific manner.”

He pulled out his black briar rosary from beneath his shirt, after all not even he was willing to walk around with something as dangerous as a corrupted toy.

Lawrence eyed the cross with a whimper, clearly recognizing it for what it was. “I… I… I could’ve charged you double!”