Halfway through the training, Hunter realized he’d never gotten Tilda’s number. He’d need to correct that as soon as possible. He was punished for being distracted, as Aera’s fist connected with his chest. She pulled back at the last second, so he didn’t get the wind knocked out of him, but it still hurt.
“Focus, Hunter.”
He attacked the pad with as much force as he could muster, which wasn’t much, but she was pleased by his renewed effort. He pushed himself until each punch became a labor. She could almost feel his focus, as he disregarded everything but the pad she was holding, and summoning the effort for the next hit. Afterwards they moved to kicks, and by the time they finished those, she knew that she wouldn’t be getting any more out of him for the night, so they decided to call it quits.
They both sat on the floor, waiting for Hunter to cool off before he dried himself and got changed. She waited until his breath was more even before inquiring into his personal affairs.
“So, tell me about this new distraction you’ve been having. What’s her name?” She asked. Hunter hadn’t been ready for the question, based on the surprised look. He seemed almost embarrased at first, but managed to catch himself and laugh it off.
“The team that one the Youth Artisan Competition, there was a girl with them. The whole team got a sponsorship to the academy, and I met her the other day at the Artisan Department.”
“Something Burner, right? Tilly?”
“Tilda,” Hunter said, squeezing his waterbottle and catching the stream with practiced ease. He’d been working on that one for a while. It had taken him a few sessions before he could gauge where is own mouth was, and another few before he could consistently hit the target without getting water in his eye.
“Right, Tilda Burner. I remember her. A bit of a firecracker, from what I saw. Look Hunter, i’m happy you’ve made a new friend, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Hunter didn’t seem to like where this conversation was headed, but he kept his thoughts to himself and listened, which she appreciated.
“Being an Oberon means that we need to be a bit more careful about who let in to our circle, understand?”
“I guess,” Hunter said, “but she’s one of us, right?”
“You’re right, but sometimes that doesn’t mean much as you think it does, especially at Barnum.”
Hunter shook his head.
“She’s not a Visgold, and she’s been nothing but kind to me so far. I don’t really see the issue,” he said. She could see the protest in his posture, as tired as he was. She tried to see it from his perspective.
Despite the attack, he still seemed incredibly naive towards the motivations of the people around him.
“We’ve got more to worry about than the Visgolds, more than i’ve told you about. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. I’ve been able to handle it all so far, and there’s nothing for you to worry about yet, but I just need you to be careful. Sound her out a bit before you decide to trust her completely, alright?”
Tilda Burner, Aera thought, had already been vetted by a team of analysts. But that was before she entered Barnum. Aera would give her name to the investigators that were helping her comb into the lives of everyone she’d met so far. Tilda would be watched. If she did anything that even hinted that she had an ulterior motive for getting close to Hunter— which, of course she did, even if she didn’t recognize it— she would cut the relationship off.
Hunter wouldn’t like it, but maybe he’d come around to it after she’d presented him with the evidence.
He might have a stubborn streak, but he’d seemed pretty reasonable and open to change up to this point. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she predicted, but that was only in the case that Tilda Burner turned out to be something more than what she was presenting to Hunter.
Hunter shook his head, but he didn’t protest her suggestion.
“Alright, I’ll be careful. But I think you’re being paranoid,” Hunter said. Aera shrugged.
“After seeing what i’ve seen, you’d be paranoid too.”
Hunter tilted his head, as if an interesting thought occurred to him, and he was about to say something but then he seemed to think better of it and let it go. She wouldn’t pry. She didn’t really care, anyways. As long as he was willing to do what he was told, she’d let him think what he wanted.
Once the session was over, Hunter got changed, and they both left for the apartment building. His portion of the session went smoothly, with neither of them having much to say outside of the contents of what they were working on. Once more, she left the session with a lot to consider, but feeling content that she was making good progress. Maybe she wouldn’t be recognized as an Excellence candidate this year, but who knew what the future held? There were still two years of academy life left, and she would push herself to learn as much as she could.
She had full faith in her capabilities— nothing can stop her when she set her mind to something.
After the session, she returned to her apartment and got to planning. She had a whole network of contacts to call, and a lot of information to catch up on. It was going to be a long night, but it would be worth it.
Jason Chan must fancy himself as some kind of master of the shadows, but he was underestimating how many resources a sufficiently motivated Oberon could move. She’d already started to discover some very interesting things about what Mr. Chan was getting up to in his spare time, and had started to take action based on what she learned.
So far, most of her measurements about the man had been taken passively, save for her retaliatory display with Pippen, who was due to be released from the hospital any day now. Now it was time to start taking a more active approach. Aera needed to light a fire under Jasons ass, to see just how far he was willing to go against her.
She would put him in a difficult situation, and his response would decide his fate.
----------------------------------------
Jason smiled as he counted the wad of cash in his hand. There were 50 bills, each worth 100 credits each; a profitable evening.
He’d started with about twice the amount he had now, and half of it ended up going to his new friends in the campus security department. He’d greased his way to having full access to a nice stretch of the campus for uninterrupted business.
They would look the other way every second day, and let Jason’s people sell their goods without interruption. At this point, Jason was sure he was fueling over half of the campus’s party culture on his own— and his family only knew about 30 percent of the operation. The other 70 percent he kept secret. He’d reveal it in time, and present it as a surprise gift for the family, a legacy to prove his devotion to their goal, and his worthiness as a recipient of the Chan family’s growing power and resource base.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
In the meantime, all that extra profit was his to use as he desired. And he had a couple of plans in place, targeted around some of his favorite people.
He smiled as he returned home. His maids left as he entered, having done their best to keep his room clean. They both smiled and bowed as they passed him.
They were students who owed him, and had seen first hand how he handled debts that weren’t paid in a timely manner. Neither of them could afford to pay back the debt on their own, so he offered a deal in return for writing half of the debt off. Keep his place clean, and make it look like he still had his assigned roommates, and in return, they wouldn’t have to be made an example of while they paid back what they owed him.
It was a win/win, and the money they owed wouldn’t amount to much anyways. It was the principle that mattered. What you did was just as important as how you did it. Even if that meant you were a complete beginner, making something utterly horrendous. If you approached it with the intention to learn and improve, doing your best at every step along the way, then you had nothing to be ashamed of. It was important to measure the gain, and only be peripherally aware of the gap. Knowing there was room to improve was different than focusing on just how far you had to go. One step in front of the other, that was all that mattered.
Patience was a virtue that Jason Chan was keen on cultivating. It had proven to be not only necessary, but optimal. He had a whole host of enemies to tear down— most of them didn’t even realize that he had set his sights on them. Most of them wouldn’t, even as their lives crumbled around them and their careers were ruined, and their loved ones and associates turned their backs on them, and Jason stepped in to fill the void that they would leave, they would have no idea that he was the one to blame for their misfortune.
Jason smiled.
Some people enjoyed the vibility, and the glory. He’d been tempted by it once, but he realized that the shadows presented an alluring advantage. He could move more freely, and cause a greater effect. Even if people were aware of who he was, if he played his cards right, his movements would stay hidden, his motives would remain shrouded in a veil of uncertainty.
His phone rang.
“You’ve got Chan,” he said, making his tone as upbeat as possible, hoping to infect whoever was on the other end of the line with his good mood.
“Boss, i’ve got some bad news. Campus security found out about our deal with some of their guys. They’ve started detaining people. Some of them are are talking.”
Jason stilled. He breathed in slowly, doing his best to remain calm.
“Come over to my place, you can fill me in on the details once you’re here,” he said.
“Yes, Boss.”
“Oh, and make sure you have everything. I want every detail, I want to know how they found out, and who snitched after the fact. Everything,” Jason said.
He could hear the man gulp on the other end of the line.
“Yes, Boss. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Jason knew he was being unfair, but his underling’s knew that the price of delivering bad news was only beaten by the price of not being the one to deliver him the news that he needed to hear.
He justified it as a way to motivate his people to excel for him.
But Jason knew better about the kind of man he was. He just liked to hurt people, and there was nothing wrong with that, in his view. It was their own fault for not being in a position of power over him.
Not that any of them would want to be in a position of power over him. They knew that that would only make them a target, and who would want to be Jason’s target?
His underling appeared at his front door, head bowed as he entered. They went straight to the kettle to prepare some tea for them both. Jason waited patiently, and was pleasantly surprised by the snack that the man had brought with him. Jason smiled at the clever little man. Would the gesture appease Jason?
Not likely. He had little tolerance for failure, and his business here was potentially threatened.
Not that he was entirely worried about that, he had the perfect fall guy in place. Jason would be able to rebuild from the ashes of what once was, in the worst case scenario.
“So? Brief me,” Jason said, savouring the uncertainy in the man’s eyes. He was a third year student, a couple of years older than Jason himself. His family had thorougly woven their web around him.
He was practically owned by them, unofficially. Officially he was a free student, sponsored by the Smith Transport Corporation. He would have had a bright future, had Jason not found him. The young man had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was now under the Chan family’s control.
Sucks to suck.
“It took some digging, but it’s clear that campus security was tipped off by Aera Oberon personally.”
“You don’t say,” Jason sighed, “and how did you find that out?”
“I asked the secretary, who owed me a favor, and knew that he’d be interfering in Chan family business by refusing to cooperate.”
Jason leaned back in his seat, crossing a leg as he sipped the tea. It was weak.
The man had failed in his attempt to appease Jason.
“Good work,” Jason said, picking up his mobile phone and making a call. As soon as the man he’d called answered, Jason said “come,” and hung up.
He brought his attention back to the young man in his apartment.
“And who snitched? What’s the damage?”
The man gulped.
“It's bad. They found a few of our stashes, and are taking more of our people into custody as we speak. They’ve called in law enforcement.”
Jason waved his hand.
“It’s no big problem. I can afford the financial loss. I want a list of names, you understand? Everyone who talked. Don’t leave a single. Person. Out. Okay?”
The man nodded, standing to leave and do what he was told, but Jason stopped him.
“Did I give you permission to leave?”
“But, sir,” the man said, smiling to show that he was eager to do Jason’s bidding, “I must get to work immediately. Time is of the essence.”
“I’m aware,” Jason said. There was a knock on the door, and he stood to open the door. The man who walked in made his underling pale.
“Once your punishment has concluded, you will get to work. In the meantime, I have a few calls to make,” Jason said, smiling at the man who just entered and patting him on the shoulder, “Have fun. Don’t break him, he’s merely the messenger. I’ll have more entertainment for you by the end of the night.”
The man grunted.
Jason left him to his devices.
There would be no screaming, no evidence that anything untoward was happening in the suite he just left, but one man would be leaving with a feeling of relief for his pent up aggression and malevolent urges. The other would leave with some bruising, maybe some scars, and an unforgettable reminder that Jason was not a man that he would want to disappoint.
It would serve as a lesson.
And entertainment.
He called his mother.
“Edith,” She answered.
“I’ve some bad news, mother.”
“Oh, Jason. You know how much I love cleaning up your messes. Tell me, what have you done now?”
Jason closed his eyes and bit his tongue. Defending himself would prove fruitless. He told her what he’s just learned, and the actions he was taking in order to address it. Then he told her who they suspected was behind their sudden loss of business.
His mother cursed.
“They’ll get what’s coming to them. The Locke family has blessed our ascension, and we will soon make our move. You need only to be patient for a small while longer, son.”
“Yes, mother.”
She hung up, and Jason was left feeling comforted by the conversation. He would have some work ahead of him, making sure that he wasn’t implicated. He would need alibi’s, and would need to give the law enforcement people someone who they can charge and arrest for the influx of illicit substances into the most prestigious academic institution in the world.
He made a call to one of the guards he had stationed outside of Pippen’s hospital room. The young man would soon be released, and was looking forward to resuming his life on campus.
Unfortunately, Jason had other plans for him.
“Yes, it’s me. You still have the packages I gave you? Good. Put one in his room, and the rest in his apartment. Yes, now. Very good, let me know when you’re done,” he said, concluding the call.
It was going to be a long night, but the downfall of his closest friend would at least prove itself to be somewhat amusing.
Pippen would know Jason had betrayed him, and would be tempted to talk, and whatnot. But most of the evidence would imply that he had a personal grudge against the Chan’s, and that he had been sent by his family to slowly sabotage Jason Chan, ruining his future to destabilize the Chan’s position, ultimately influencing their relationship with the Locke’s. By the time the evidence was all planted, it would just be a matter of influencing the course of whatever investigation was brewing. A rumor here, a confession there. Standard operating procedure.
Despite the circumstances, Jason felt his optimistic mood returning. Business would continue, and he would build it back up. The club was growing, and most of the faculty who were aware of the proceedings were agreeing to look the other way. They didn’t want to get involved in the games of the social elite, even if it did mean that students were being severely injured on a regular basis.
The Chan’s influence would continue to grow, and Jason would be able to rest assured that his future with the family was secure.