After finishing their meal, they got up, ready to go their way. They continue to explore the streets of the Capital and buy some interesting souvenirs. After a couple of hours, the time for Lia to go to the house of her parents was drawing close, so they said a temporary goodbye.
"I'm going now. Please try to not get in trouble or hurt in any way." She said, with worry in her voice.
"Come on, I told you that we were just going to do business. We’re trying to stay under the radar."
"But every time you go to do some business, you end up hurt. This is not like the city of Raind where you could get by with a little bit of money. If you cause trouble, they’re going to send soldiers after soldiers."
"Don’t worry, we can handle a few soldiers" He said without any concern.
"Mmm... It's not the same. If you defeat the soldiers, they’re going to send sergeants and even captains to arrest you."
"Is that so?"
"YES, sergeants are strong, and captains are even stronger. My brother Aubin recently became a Captain, he told me, so I know how strong you need to be to reach that rank." Lia spoke proudly of her older brother.
"I get it. I swear I won’t cause any trouble that would attract the army's attention." Thanatos raised his hand in a sign of good faith. "So, go enjoy the party with your family."
After those words, Lia got inside the carriage that Castess was driving and parted ways with the group.
The three men started their mission by recruiting people to open a new division in the Capital. They made their way towards the less populated areas of the city, away from the high-class buildings and the big merchant stores. With fewer guards and soldiers patrolling. They go to low quality bars and dark alleyways, far away from the public's eyes.
Thanatos would have trouble trying to discern where to go since he had zero experience in the matter. Luckily for him, Adel and Eric were experts in these streets. They told him the places to go and the people to talk to. Since the Capital was full of people, the syndicates were overflowing with people looking for opportunities to make a name for themselves and generate bigger profits. One must be careful not to intrude into the territory of another group unless they are ready to start a conflict.
Since so many thugs were eager to make it big, new syndicates popped up every week. That means new conflicts and battles to establish territories and partners. At the top of the food chain were the 3 big syndicates: The Red Dragon, the Black Rose, and the Blue Wind. Those 3 were the biggest names in the country, and, of course, they controlled the most territory in the Capital. The problem is that any syndicate that managed to make it somewhat big was approached by one of the three and given an offer. Join them and work for them or be destroyed.
Thanatos knew his answer already. But Adel already informed him of many fools that chose to fight and were killed without a second thought. So, to avoid starting a head-on conflict, their best bet was to do business with only a select few that could keep their mouths shut to avoid alerting any of the syndicates.
That was why there were going to only a few places that both Adel and Eric knew were trustworthy. They made their deals by offering services to the bosses and small groups to work for them and receive benefits.
"Come to work with us and we will pay you double what you are making right now."
"If you want to make a profit, you should start selling our drugs. They are high quality and cheap. If you don’t take it now, then you have given it to the competition.
"You want to transport exotic animals from the kingdom? Then we are in the best position for that job."
The words were effective, and the deals were made. Transporting exotic animals, trafficking weapons and drugs. It was almost too easy, but Thanatos realized that it was because all of these guys were looking for the next big opportunity. All of them want to make it big, win money, status, and power. Even if we end up being destroyed or arrested, they can start looking for a new partner. None of them has given us too much of an investment. They’re testing the waters.
After making deals, Adel took a moment to speak to Thanatos.
"Master, I know this is a selfish request, but would you be willing to listen to me?" His voice was serious.
"What is it? You look preoccupied." Thanatos asked.
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"You know, I was a member of the Red Dragon. It has been two months since you attacked my old base, and since everyone else ended up dead. The Red Dragon doesn’t know exactly what happened. At this moment, they think I'm dead. I want to go to the base here in the Capital and present my resignation from the syndicate."
Thanatos was surprised by this development. He didn’t think that Adel had that much respect for his old syndicate. Before he could speak, Eric responded.
"Wait a minute. If you do that, our cover is going to get blown. All the work that we did today is going to be for nothing. Are you mad or did you decide to betray us and return with your tail between your legs to beg forgiveness from your old bosses?"
"I haven’t betrayed you, Master. You know exactly my reason for following you, and even if they torture me, I won’t reveal any information about you or the syndicate. My reason for going is that there is a person in The Red Dragon that I respect. He was the reason that I joined in the first place. I couldn’t care less about the Red Dragon, but I need to apologize to that person."
Thanatos heard the words of his subordinate. He took a moment to think and then said his answer.
"Ok you can go. If you respect that person so much, I won’t stop you."
"Re-Really? Master, thank you so much for entertaining my selfish request." Adel bowed down.
"Just make sure that you return alive. I still need a lot of help to manage operations in the syndicate." He said, with a smile on his face.
"Of course, I still need to become stronger, and you are my path."
Adel retreated towards the alleyways alone. Eric looked at his back and asked.
"Boss, I know this is a dumb thing too, but... Can I go follow that idiot to make sure he won’t end up dead in the street?" Eric was concerned about Adel's security, even if they spent most of their time bickering with one another. Anything could happen with the Red Dragon. Depending on which superior was at that moment in the base, Adel could be tortured to spill all the information or given a few hours to leave the Capital and never come back.
"I was going to ask you just that. I don’t want to lose him so soon. And neither do you. If things go to shit, just run to the hotel where we are staying. I protect you, or in the worst case, we take Castess and the carriage and go back immediately to Raind." Since Lia was with her family, she would be safe. That was another reason that Thanatos insisted she stay away from Underworld business.
"Got it Boss, leave it to me, but are you going to be okay handling the last place alone? They are a bit hard to please."
"You guys worry too much about me. I'm not an expert, but I think I´m starting to get the hang of it."
After that, Eric followed Adel, and Thanatos made his way to the last place on the list. The Sleeping Bird.
The Sleeping Bird was a low-quality bar on the surface, but that was just a front. In reality, it was the base of operations of a trafficking syndicate with the same name. Their specialty was information. They had spies and informants throughout the whole Republic. They managed to stay independent because if any of the 3 big syndicates tried anything against them, they would sell their secrets to the other 2 in retaliation. Unless the three were going together to crush the Sleeping Bird, then there was nothing to fear. Because none of them would give up the opportunity to learn the weaknesses of the other two.
"Welcome to the Sleeping Bird. What drink can I offer you?" The bartender asked to the new guest. It was a man dressed in fine clothes. The clothes were of high quality, and the technique matched that of the Comtes Tailor shops that were abundant in the kingdom. The man was tall, with green eyes and black hair. Even if he was dressed as a noble, his attitude was different, more like a common man.
"Hello and good afternoon, Sir. I would like a jar of your finest beer." Thanatos asked as he sat down at the counter.
The bartender gave him a beer that was not much different than the usual one. Thanatos drank it with glee.
"AAAAAHHHHH... Good beer. Say, friend, do you happen to know any places that bring beverages from outside the Republic?" The bartender's eyes lit up.
"Are you interested in exotic drinks, perhaps?"
"Drinks, animals, potions, Drugs… A lot of things really."
"Well, there sure are a lot of groups that could give you access to those things."
"How about one in particular. Have you heard of Underworld?" The bartender stopped for a moment before answering.
"No, not really. It seems to be a group that mainly acts on the border of the Republic. They don't have any presence in the Capital."
For the time being, at least, but what if I told you that is about to change? Underworld wants to expand their business and is looking for your help. What do you say, partner, interested in making some money?"
Before the bartender could answer Something broke the silence…
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH. You're fucking funny boy! HAHAHAHAHA" A man seated a few meters behind on a table began to laugh.
"What's so funny, man? Please tell me" Thanatos was clearly irritated. None of the places he had been before gave him an answer like this.
"Oh, you don’t know what´s funny? Well, hearing a noble boy trying to make big talk about his little attempt at a syndicate It's very amusing." The man was clearly mocking him without a second thought.
"Sebir, please don't interfere with the costumer." The bartender asked him polity to shup up.
"No, no Lenard. I don’t care that you don’t feel anything by taking money from little boys like this one, but I'm the one that has to retrieve the bodies and take them to the parents and explain to them that their precious little angel got himself killed by messing with syndicates." Sebir stood up, and he looked at Thanatos.
He walked up to him and looked him straight in the eye.
"Go home to your parents' boy. I don’t have a fucking clue who convinced you to try this stupid plan, or maybe you did to rebel against your family. I know one thing for certain: you are going to end up dead." After saying those words, Sebir started walking towards the back of the bar.
"WERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?" Sebir didn’t stop or pay any attention to the voice behind. He was about to cross the door, but the shattering sound of wood stopped him. A table was thrown with such force that it caused it to explode into pieces.
Sebir looked behind him. Thanatos had thrown the table to get his attention. He was looking at him with pure rage in his face.
"Cheeky brat..."