“Twat!” She laughed and pulled the welding torch away from the searing metal. Her auburn eyes flickered up toward Mercury, who was a tall man with broad shoulders and well kept dark hair. He was the CEO of most of the factories and workshops in the Iron Brotherhood, and perhaps the most powerful man asides from the Brotherhood’s Director.

He had also just thrown an orange at the brunette engineer, which had bounced off her visor and sailed into a toolbox behind her, sending a loud crash through her workroom.

“Serves you right for keeping such a messy workplace.” Mercury chuckled. He walked free of care through Tina’s workspace and fixed her toolbox for her, whilst she yanked her visor from her face and let her long ponytail fall behind her strong back. She dumped her gloves ontop of the truck and sat against the khaki wheel arch. She admired Mercury quietly. They were about the same age, Mercury being only a year ahead of her in school. But he was the genius there, everyone knew it. He was breezing through his business and mechanics classes without so much of a glance at his notes.

“It was fine until you came in oranges blazing.” Tina snapped back and crossed her arms with a humoured pout. “What do you want?”

“Dinner for two, but if you’re the only girl worth talking to here, I’ll pass.”

“Funny. Amethyst is here.” Tina guessed at why he was here. He’d asked her for a favour but a month ago, a favour she said she’d had completed around this time.

“Nah, she scares me. She’s an engineer, if I insult her she’d break me in half.”

“I’m an engineer!”

“She’s a good one.” Mercury smirked, taking a spot on the truck next to Tina. But at that, she’d already shot up and disappeared behind a stack of crates full of parts and scrap metal. She called through the obstacle as she rummaged for something. “Well, this not good engineer has finished your rifle. Sorry if it backfires, cunt.” She returned with a weapons case which she placed on the truck’s bonnet. She snapped open the clasps when Mercury joined her and lifted the lid. Inside was a fully automatic IB-48, complete with two tone urban camouflage and laser sights. Just like Mercury had asked. He clapped his friend on the shoulder and reached for the weapon as she disappeared once again. The rifle was lighter than the standard model, the grip comfier and the trigger seemed more responsive. He loaded an empty magazine with a slick click and a snap of the bolt. She’d done a fantastic job, as always.

“Not going to hit that target without any bullets, dumbass.” She returned with rounds, and she quickly loaded them into a magazine which she passed to Mercury. He reloaded the weapon and peeked into the barrel to see the glinting metal of the bullet. His companies manufactured these by the thousands in just a day, and he had them sold to the other districts indiscriminately. Taking sides cuts business, after all.

He closed the barrel and lifted the rifle to his shoulder, his eye turned down to the sights. Tina was there to show him how every added extra worked and her finger flicked a toggle on the scope which projected a holographic range finder and ammunition count. A diamond rested in the centre of the scope. Tina explained that the scope takes a reading of the firing conditions and moves the Diamond to wherever the bullet will land at the expected range. The range finder itself knows if its looking at an object as well and provides the range of everything in front of the firer.

“So it’s an aimbot?”

“Basically.” Tina grinned, proud of her work. Her own firearm wasn’t much different, only it had a much longer range. Reprogramming the scope to work at closer range had been oddly challenging, when she realised that obstacles didn’t bother her own weapon as much with its piercing rounds. Mercury didn’t have that luxury.

“There’s a trading party returning soon. If you come along with me, I can get your workshop on the trading list if you want the work.” Mercury said. He looped the rifle strap over his shoulder and let the weapon hang.

“Sounds like a plan. Just let me close up.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The sun shone above the city, which was a rarity thanks to the busy factories and workshops which spilled thick streaks of grey smog into the sky. Occasionally the smog might clear and allow for sunny days like this, and the pleasant rays shone on the glass spires of the Iron District like diamonds in the rough. They had skyscrapers filled with leisurely homes that even the workers could enjoy, though the penthouses were reserved for business owners, of which there were seven major players. Mercury was top-dog, being at the forefront of munitions and weapons manufacture. There was also Led, who had stakes in the textile industry; Amethyst who had a hundred storefronts selling jewellery; Garnet ran factories producing automobiles; Steele owned the Brotherhood’s aviation industries; Cobble ran the cities construction and Cobalt ran a third of the cities services just in one company. Director Ruby Monroe held councils with these seven businessowners weekly, where they met up in the Brotherhood’s Citadel and discussed everything from business to the defence of the district. Ruby Monroe wasn’t a business owner himself, rather he oversaw the districts policies and military power. The entrepreneurs acted very much as his advisors, meaning those sat on the council had not just business prowess, but political standing as well.

Mercury drove from Tina’s workshop toward the Citadel, which meant they passed the seven tallest skyscrapers where all of these names were hosted. Naturally, Mercury’s was the tallest, though it couldn’t compete with the soaring heights of the citadel, which had towers standing from a five-pointed star, all of which were connected to the tallest central tower.

It took about an hour for the truck to finish the journey, and Mercury was guided beneath the citadel by its guards. They wheeled around in the parking bay before being directed into a vehicle lift which rested beneath the southern Citadel Tower. They called it the Tower of Gold, because it was where the District’s trading centres were housed. With a weary groan the lift ascended, depositing them miles above the city atop the rampart. A short onward drive saw them to the landing pads, just in time to find a chopper landing, the side doors pulled open. Soldiers dismounted before the chopper was even settled, and the traders followed shortly after.

Tina had always found the traders a little obnoxious. They liked to dress in flowing gowns of brightly coloured cotton or even silk, often open at the legs to show leather pants and high boots. They made more money than most factory workers and engineers and looked down on them as well. But Tina would put her own money against a trader in any bet involving actual work.

“Ser Mercury,” one said, spreading his arms in greeting. “How do you fare this fine day?”

“Just fine.” He replied. He knew of Tina’s disposition toward traders. “Did they order?”

“Oh, indeed! But a simple matter of idle flattery and a few tricks of the trade, as it were.” The trader, who was called Magnesium though Tina decided she’d shorten that to Mag, spread his arms wide. Probably to look majestic, but Tina thought he just looked like a git.

“Details, if you would. Time is money for some.”

“The Dragons wish for a stock of two hundred IB-48 standard issue rifles, with ammunition of three hundred per rifle.” Mag looked at Tina with a frown. “That’s two hundred by three hundred rounds, you can work that out slowly whilst the intelligent discuss.”

“Sixty thousand.” Tina snapped back instantly. “I’ve got one-fifty rifles sitting in my warehouse already.”

“Such little stock? Can’t you make them faster, girl?”

“We’ve sold five hundred of them just this week, shit stick, another fifty can be made on the lines in a few hours. I’ll text Irona and have her box up those rounds.”

Mercury smirked at Tina. He had little issue with traders, but he didn’t appreciate their snobby mannerisms. He did, however, appreciate Tina’s fire. A lot of workers either cowered before Brotherhood’s traders or couldn’t be bothered dealing with them. Tina was one of the few engineers who revelled in the chance to yell at one or two of them.

“Shit stick, hm? How… Creative.” Mag snorted derisively. “See that you have them prepared as soon as possible.”

“I’m sorry, are you my boss?” Tina responded without looking up from her phone. “They’ll be prepared when they’re prepared, wouldn’t want to sell your clients misfires, would we?”

“Are you unreliable?”

“No, we just understand something called quality control. Now, why don’t you take you and your tight little cunt back to whatever skyscraper you belong in and sit on your favourite dildo while you wait. Sip tea, masturbate, do whatever it is you lazy mules like to do whilst the rest of us do actual work.” Tina thrust her phone back into her pocket and motioned for Mag to carry on walking. The blonde haired cuck turned his sullen gaze to Mercury, hoping he’ll save his pride. But he simply stepped back to allow him to pass, and Mag disappeared along the rampart in a flurry of his gown.

“I think you hurt his feelings.” Mercury joked, signalling for the deckhands to refuel the chopper.

“What feelings? Those people are about as dead inside as Nightmares.” She snorted, knocking her light brown ponytail back over her shoulder. “Mind giving me a ride back to my workshop?”

“Not at all, just let me talk to the soldiers here a second. The tribes outside the city have been acting up.”

“Against us?” Tina perked her brow, turning her gaze to the nearby forests.

“No,” Mercury shrugged. “Against the trees, apparently.”