Augustine strolled along the road, passing all kinds of shops ranging from food to clothes. Being midday, the shops and venders were decently busy. The stares of the shop owners pierced him, but when he would look at them they scurried back to work.
I hope Sky will get along with Jay while I’m gone…
A couple of kids rushed from the inside of a building just a few feet in front of them. When Augustine and Trist were spotted, the kids stood frozen, staring. Their assumed mother stuck her head out the window and made a couple “tsk” noises while waving for them back. They obeyed and ran inside.
“We don’t have a good reputation, do we?”
“No we do not,” Trist confessed.
“Why?”
“Oh, a couple reason. For starters, we tax them heavily. Then when they try to leave, our old boss sent us to stop them. The ones who kept trying to run would make attempts at night; some made it.”
“That sounds shit awful, what the hell…”
“The boss always said the longer they stayed the more we got paid.”
“From now on we don’t tax them. At all. We’ll call it… Autumn Relief. We’ll let it last for a few months before we decide what to do.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course,” he said as they continued on their path. “They already have the government taxing them, if we tax them it needs to be the bare minimum. It’ll help them grow as well. Make more money and spend more money. It’ll help increase production too. Honestly, your so-called smart boss was not so smart to tax them so much. Why else do they hate us?”
“Other than our members just acting out, we don’t stop the crime around here. Thieves just kind of run around.”
“Thieves that aren’t ours?”
“Correct.”
“By the gods,” Augustine sighed. He massaged the bridge of his nose. “So we don’t do anything? We just own a couple buildings and tax the hell out of people in our territory?”
“I mean… that about sums it up I suppose. But we do other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like stir up trouble with Kingsman. Rob some buildings in his territory; interfere with shipments, things of that sort.”
“Gods…”
“What now?”
“Are you trying to go to war!? This isn’t some petty, pickpocket, spend the night in the dungeon kind of shit, okay, this is some territory versus territory, bloodshed, end of a gang kind of shit.”
“Okay, what would you have us do then?”
“First and foremost, no more messing around with Kingsman. I’ll go talk to him myself.”
“I’d advise against that…”
“I gotta talk to him anyway. Second, Autumn Relief, we went through that already. Third, no more crime: we get our members in line and stop the random thieves that pop around.”
“Speaking of,” she said and nodded behind him. He turned to see a man dressed in black holding a woman by the arm. In the other arm he held a knife. Behind him was an alley which Augustine assumed would be his escape route. Augustine rushed over. The thief grabbed the woman’s purse and turned to run. He saw his chance when the thief turned his back to Augustine.
Gotta stop him quick… a kick to the leg. Thigh? No. Calf? No. Behind the knee? Yes. Which knee? Right? No. Left? Yes. If I kick him there, it’ll stop him and almost make him fall over. He’s on his guard, so his first response should be to swing his knife at me. Kicking the left leg should bring the knife around to the right…
Just before the thief broke into the run, Augustine lifted his foot up and kicked as hard as he could muster behind the man’s left knee. He reacted just as predicted. Augustine brought his hand up and caught the man’s wrist before the knife could make contact.
He used his other hand to grab the man’s shirt and thrust him against the building in front of them. Then he repeatedly slammed the man’s hand against the wall until the knife dropped. When he pulled the thief away, Augustine stuck his own leg out in front of the man’s feet and caused him to fall on his face. The man grunted, but made no move to retaliate.
Amateur. Hardly tried to fight me. He only wants attention.
Augustine reached down and pulled the woman’s coin purse out of his pocket. He tossed it to her.
“My god,” she gasped. “Who are you?” Other shop keepers were beginning to gather around the scene.
“My name is Augustine,” he announced while scanning the growing crowd, this time catching their eyes. “I don’t know what the name was of the old gang who ran this territory, and frankly I don’t care.”
“Who’s Frank?” a random onlooker shouted.
“Uh… what?”
“You said: ‘Frank Lee’. Who’s Frank?”
“I… Wha… That’s not the point! Listen, my name is Augustine and I run this territory now. I am renaming the gang: Barren. Without you, we cannot grow. We can’t be better. Starting right now, I’m going to make a few changes around here. If you want to leave, you can. Go. Nobody will stop you.”
The crowd looked around nervously. Augustine continued, “If you want to stay, here’s the deal: We will no longer tolerate lowlifes like this. While you live in my territory, thieves like this won’t bother you. I can promise you that.
“Uh... Starting right now you will no longer have to pay tribute to us. You will be protected indefinitely. And when I say indefinitely, I mean my gang as well. They will no longer do anything to upset or hurt you. I want your homes to be healthy. You, uh, will be safe here, and as the man in charge I can promise you: you will.”
As he began to conclude the speech a guard ran up to him. “You’re the new leader,” he asked.
“Yes…”
“Pardon me,” he said. The guard entered a salute form. Then he reached down and grabbed the thief by the neck and hands. “I’ll take care of this.” The guard walked away with a few other guards.
“You see,” Augustine continued. “You are safe. You will always be safe. I give you my word.” With that, he left. As he walked through the silent crowd, they stared. Anxious, confused. He regrouped with Trist and they began their walk back to his office. “How was that? And we own friggin guards too?”
“Not bad, I suppose, and yes, we own a few guards like that one. You’re very different from Johnny Boy and his father, but I have to admit it will be fun it watch.”
“Oh yeah? What part of starving children is fun?” After Augustine asked this question, Trist shut up. After a moment of tense silence, they arrived at the Rugged Ranger. The same number of people occupied it. They nodded at him as he climbed the steps with his assistant.
“So, do you need me to show you where something is again,” she asked.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“No, no,” he said. “Well… okay, yes. I need a map of our territory.”
“What are you planning now?”
“We need some more community-friendly buildings. Make people actually feel like their home when they’re here. I’m thinking a library and a church to start with.”
Trist scoffed. “A library? There’s only one library on the entire island. They’re all over with the richer districts on mainland.”
“Well I suppose it’s about time to change that, huh?”
“You’re insane.”
“No, no, just deranged,” he said as he sat behind his desk and peered at the map. “There’s also one more thing.”
“Great gods, what is it now?”
“We’ve been in conflict with Kingsman for some time now, but we’re going to have to make it official. We’re going to war. At first, it will have to look like we are getting along.”
“Why?”
“He’s working with some people right now: The Black Hawks. I’d be happier if they were all in the dungeon. We can’t do that without Kingsman.”
“Dungeon? You don’t want to kill them?”
“Gods no! I don’t kill people. I never will. And as long as I don’t, Barren doesn’t.”
“Wait, back up… How are we going to go to war with Kingsman but not kill anyone? Isn’t that the point of war?”
“There are other ways to fight, Trist.”
“So what are you looking for on the map?”
“I’ll let you know when I find it. Oh, damn. I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to take Jay to buy some furniture for our apartment. Don’t spend too much; the apartment itself was already a lot of gold.”
“Sure. Shall I go now?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here for a while,” he said, looking back at the map. “Doing stuff. And things.” Once she left, he pulled some blank paper out of the desk and began to scribble on them. Then he stuffed them into a folder and made for the exit.
Augustine strolled passed the heavy stares of the gang members as he walked through the crowd, holding the folder. “Is this what you do all day,” he asked. “Stare at people as they walk by?” It was a little later in the day, so the Headsman had filled up more than the last time he visited. Though, he was still able to see a few people he recognized.
“Hell are you doing here, punk?” Captain spit. A few thugs grunted in support.
“It was a nice day, so I thought I should spend it inside.”
Captain chuckled with a mocking tone. “So, where’s my bitch you stole?” Without replying, Augustine dropped the folder, threw a quick and fierce right hook, and punched Captain in the face. His large build, however, allowed him to recover quickly. That’s a pro. A con is that he’s easy to read.
Right hook.
Augustine ducked and landed another punch in the torso.
Left jab.
Augustine stepped to the right and landed a third punch. A few thugs surrounded him and moved in to support Captain, who yelled out. The numbers overpowered him and Augustine took a strong hit to the face, which nearly knocked him on his ass.
Oh, god, whoa.
“Enough,” a voice boomed throughout the bar. The fight immediately came to a halt. Augustine looked up to see Kingsman staring down from the staircase. “Augustine. Come.” He nodded and, after retrieving the folder, joined the leader to his office above the bar.
As he sat on top of his desk, he reached for a glass of whiskey and took a sip. “Did you-”
“You know,” Augustine interrupted. “You need to teach those guys manners.” Kingsman chunked the glass across the room. As it hit the wall a few feet away from Augustine, he felt what was left of the whiskey splash on his clothes.
“Don’t you ever fucking interrupt me again! I will throw you back to the fucking sharks downstairs! You fuck!” Augustine stayed silent. Somehow, he managed to calm down within seconds. “Did you bring me something? Something like gold, perhaps?”
“Something like it.” Augustine held out the folder and he snatched it away.
After a moment of looking over the paper contents he said, “What the hell?”
“It’s a written peace treaty.”
“Yeah, I can see that. You took over for that boy who kept trying to interfere with my shipments?”
“I did.”
“What’s this… you’re calling your gang ‘Barren’?”
“I am.”
“What the hell,” Kingsman repeated and laughed. “So you’re coming to me as leader of Barren, is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“Take a seat, kid.” Kingsman walked around the desk and sat in his chair. Augustine took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side.
“Let’s skip the bullshit. You tried to steal from me, I caught you, and so you owe me. A peace treaty? I might as well throw this piece of paper in the trash. You’re going to give me something, or I’m going to kill you right here and now regardless of your position.”
“Territory.”
“Pardon?”
“Two gang leaders are in the dungeon located on the left side of the island. You should know them, one of them owns the territory above yours and the other is to the left.”
“What of them?”
“I did that.”
“You?”
“Me.”
“How’d you put two gang leaders in a dungeon?”
“The same way I got you to hire me for a job. The same way I came to be the leader of a gang. I’m smart.”
“Well, what are you purposing?”
“We fight them. One big battle. If you and I come together, we can take them both for sure. Since I owe you, you can take the larger piece of territory.”
Kingsman sat back in his chair and clasped his hands above his head. “I’m listening. I’m listening. Tell me your plan.”
“On the left part of my territory, there are a lot of gaps between buildings. You’re men will be in the middle and mine will be spread out and hidden. Once they see you, we’ll jump out and trap them.”
“How are you going to get them there?”
“The power of rumors. I’ll go see both of them individually. I’ll tell one that the other is planning on attacking, but I’m willing to help if we split the profits. I’ll tell them that the best defense is a strong offense and we should attack first. They will both meet me where you’ll be waiting and said plan will commence.”
“I’m not sure how you fit through the door with those big balls you’ve got, kid,” Kingsman sighed. “But damnit, that sounds too good to pass up. I’m in. When do we start?”
“I’ll have to wait until I receive word that they were released,” Augustine said. He stood and stuck his hand out. “As soon as I set a date, I’ll get in contact with you again.” They shook hands.