The giant bird monster and the Champion began fighting. Jennifer winced beneath her mask when Thundersky was hit by the gust of wind but the group cheered once more when the video showed the giant bird monster flying away. Even her father smiled at the sight of the monster flying off, and he was there.

When the cheers died down again, her father turned to Owlgirl. “Any word on where that monster is now?”

“Not really.” The hacker replied. “Unverified reports have the monster flying north towards the Carrion Mountains but with all the Gaps, no one really have the time to track down one monster right now.”

“Are there other monsters like this giant bird coming out of the other Gaps?” Walker asked. “I would think that a monster that could go toe-to-toe with a Champion would be a priority.”

“It is, but the heroes main concern is closing the Gaps, and protecting civilians. Hunting down the monsters still roaming around are a secondary priority till the incursion is over.”

“Any report on when that might be?” Sweet Fist asked.

Owlgirl shook her head in reply. “No. All the chatter is that the State of Magic is hard at work, but there’s nothing on that front yet.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone digest the news. Then, Jennifer spoke up.

“In better news, several shops in the neighborhood have approached us for ‘assistance’ in case another series of Gaps opens up.” Jennifer got the group’s attention almost immediately and continued. “They saw how the crew was protecting certain properties during the Gap and are enquiring if they could offer financial help in our endeavor.”

“Meaning they want to pay us to protect their property in case the Gaps begin opening again.” Bradley scoffed. “Our crew isn’t that big. We can’t protect the whole of the Kings.”

“Agreed,” Jennifer said with a nod. “The exact size of the crew isn’t common knowledge, but this is a chance to expand our influence. A chance that may not come again any time soon.”

The group turned to Sweet Fist, who began rubbing his chin in contemplation. “What are they offering?”

“It’s more like what we can offer them.” Jennifer looked at her father and explained. “Like Bradley said. We are not big enough to protect the whole of the Kings. We will need to pick and choose who to protect. And what can we offer the businesses in the neighborhood?”

“Well, we aren’t protecting them for free.” Sweet Fist looked at his good friend, Jolly Bar, and asked. “What is the rate for protection nowadays?”

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“Sweet Fist, that’s too old-school.” Jolly Bar said with a smile. “Every corporate villain operates on a tier system.”

“Tier system?” Sweet Fist asked. “What in the name of the Gap is that?”

“You had signed with H.A.V.E, right? That makes you a corporate villain, and corporate villains work in a tier system.”

“Oh!” Jennifer murmured, “He is right.”

“You know what this idiot is saying?” Sweet Fist asked his daughter with a scowl.

“Yes, and you are absolutely going to hate it.” Jennifer began pressing several buttons on her tablet, and the screen of the television changed to show a bar chart.

Jennifer waved at the screen with a flourish. “This is what Jolly Bar meant. The H.A.V.E tier system for racketeering.”

“WHAT?”

“You are joking.”

“Is this for real?”

Several members in the group expressed disbelief, and Jennifer could only laugh in respond. She had a similar reaction when her father’s agent first showed her the chart. Jennifer began to explain.

“So, this is how it goes. H.A.V.E have a corporate standard for villains who wish to go into the racketeering business. It is surprising simple, and very legal.”

“Yeah, right.” Walker scoffed.

“No, it’s unbelievable, but it is really legal.” Jennifer said with a chuckle. “First, the crew will need to set up a subsidiary that offers security and protection services. The subsidiary will be our front and offer security and protection services to local businessmen. The customers may choose to be in one of three tiers. Tier A is the lowest tier at three hundred a month. For that, we will protect their business in the event of any extreme event. They can also call out hotline in case someone is making trouble on their premises.”

“What hotline?” Sweet Fist asked.

“Our subsidiary will need to set one up.” Jennifer continued. “Tier B is at five hundred per month. For that, we will protect their business in the event of any extreme event, and have some minions showed up at their premises to patrol, buy stuff…basically, make their presence known. If they are lucky, a villain may show up. At least once a month, unofficially.”

“Tourism money.” Mister Black said with a knowing smirk. “They are aiming to get tourists to visit their stores with our presence.”

“Exactly!” Jennifer said, trying her best not to bust out in laughter at her father’s look. “The best plan is Tier C. That is at two thousand per month. For that, we will protect their business in the event of any extreme event, and have some minions showed up at their premises. Also, we will guarantee that a villain, in full costume, will show up at least once a week. Customers in Tier C can also arrange the day they want the villain to show up. In case they wish to arrange for events, photo ops, interviews with local reporters etc.”

“Can the businesses really cover the cost with tourism?” Walker asked. As a businessman, he was interested in the specifics of the system. “That seem like a big ask.”

“Well, we do offer protection. The tourism money is just the icing on the cake. There’s also the merchandising.”

“Merchandising?” Sweet Fist shook his face. “What merchandising?”

“They can sell signed posters of the villain, signed CDs of the villain’s theme song, maybe some action figures,” Jennifer mused. “The stores can also provide exclusive promotional services like a bakery may sell “The Sweet Cake’ in their store. Or a diner may have ‘The Sweet Breakfast’ or ‘Fist Coffee’ on their menu.”

Sweet Fist glared at Jennifer. There was no question in anyone’s mind which diner she was talking about.

“No way am I doing any of that. I am not going to be a mascot.”