The first ransoms came with relief. Nero initially worried sure if they'd been too aggressive, but they hadn't. A whole rickshaw of machetes, wooden clubs and jerricans of petrol rolled in one morning three days after they got their new guests.

The lady, Maria turned out to be the most pragmatic of all his hostages. She'd quietened up immediately she was isolated in her new room, and even suggested the numbers Nero should call to negotiate.

The first load was hers, and he'd been very careful to treat her well, as he'd recognized that apart from respect, he also needed allies. He'd listened to her complain about how she came to the city a decade earlier, and had steadily fallen down the ladder until she was left as a prostitute in the shadiest place she could imagine. Undaunted, she explained that she'd managed to work her way up from walking the streets to a madam in the isolated and out of the way neighborhood she controlled.

But she had two problems, every time one of her neighbors got a new boss, they expected her to roll over for them, literally and figuratively. And some of her girls had started abusing drugs, heavy drugs to get through the day. She knew better than making an order none of the would have followed, ordering them to stop.

But she was worried about the source, the purity and the effects the harder drugs would have on her business.

Here, Nero recognized an opportunity to partner with her. He could solve both these problems, he promised autonomy, her money was hers to make, apart from a standard fee he'd use to justify his men patrolling her plaza. As well, he swore none of his men would touch her girls without consent.

As for the drugs, the word had already come from his runners that one of Muite's lieutenants was supplementing his protection racket with drugs that filtered in from the city center proper. He promised is people would tail the girls, unobtrusively. They'd make sure the dealers knew they were watched and make sure nothing truly dangerous was offered to the girls.

While tinged with distrust, this at least was the beginning of driving a wedge in Muite's people.

The second plaza in Muite's stable folded when they found out out about Maria's defection. From them, they managed to get the fuel, and a substantial piece of the smuggling business. Nero promised the man they'd find ways to expand his business, and protection from Muite. Nero was excited about this, to protect the smugglers business, his people had to be involved every step of the way, they'd learn it, take it over, or implement something new from the home plaza.

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The rest were all related to Muite, All four of them, but he was able to use the resentment arising from how they singled out the people who were offered up as sacrifice to have them question their loyalties.

Muite himself refused to talk until he was put in the same room as one of his more traitorous nephews. It was not a shock when the fight broke out. But it was when the hard living Muite managed to choke out the younger man in anger. Nero watched the whole thing, he almost expected it.

Muite was a man who knew he'd lost control of his territory, so it was barely a negotiation to get him to go home with a group of ten men from Nero's territory, five who'd joined up after the success they had pacifying Muite. They were going to be his bodyguards, and would also solidify the hold Nero had over Muite himself.

He also agreed to supply weapons to Nero's plaza as a final exchange for his freedom. So he and Nero's men left on the morning of that first delivery, they had strict instructions to protect Muite regardless of situation, and to be as public as possible doing it.

There were 2 more men who'd offered to give up Nero in the pub while trying to save themselves. They controlled one plaza between them, and after seeing the body of their fallen man, agreed to give it up wholeheartedly to Nero himself. He'd sent his men to the plaza, and it was even poorer and more isolated than Nero's own. But what it had was large condemned government buildings, rumored to have been built during colonization. Nero hoped it would synergise with the smuggler's operation otherwise protecting the area would just cost money and resources.

He was already feeling the pinch with the new bodies who came round when news of their triumph had spread. They all needed handouts, cash and drink, but he kept them around because he needed the extra underlings to govern his new territories.

The other men in Muite's party were loyal, but they were old. They also folded quickly after Muite himself capitulated. Nero's runners told him the rumor was they'd also fallen out of touch with their rank and file, and needed extra protection. Nero ignored that, a little chaos was good if it hurt his enemies. So apart from a lump sum payoff, he didn't even offer to let them hire him for protection.

What he was really paying attention to was the lieutenant who had expanded into drugs. There was potential there.

He was loyal to Muite and controlled a plaza, so he demanded enough cash that the man couldn't finance his business without borrowing money from Nero to buy his product. The money he'd just paid as ransom. As well as a cut of the daily revenue. This druglord held off for a while. But he gave in after Nero brought Muite to ask them man to agree to the deal.

This one he sent off with Sherry's girl, the sharpest runner he had, Ora would look at the druglord's books and keep him appraised. Four men went with her, veterans, men who were personally introduced by Sherry and people he knew.

It was a week after the abductions when the rooms above Sherry's place were finally empty. Muite's man's body disappeared to the same place the taliban man had gone.

He waited anxiously for the first of his hostages to test the chains he had around their necks.