Vivian froze, and frankly, so did Taylor, Lisa and Amy for that matter. Had she heard him correctly? Taylor wasted little time messaging Jacob and Kurt to get to Lisa’s room as quickly as possible.

“What the fuck?” Vivian hissed. “What are you even on about? Who the fuck is Jacob?”

Lung let out a reverberating chuckle. “Do not insult my intelligence and I will refrain from insulting yours. I long suspected the Nine might come for me, so I did my research. Imagine my surprise when I discovered his newly adopted daughter was a perfect match for Bonesaw. It didn’t take long from there to figure out the rest.”

“Well, this is amusing,” Jacob said, watching the monitor alongside Taylor. “It is always entertaining when someone figures us out.”

“This could prove troublesome,” Kurt countered. “Lung was capable of holding his own against Leviathan for hours, we may need to act quickly if he proves hostile.”

“He won’t,” Jacob said. “He knows Vivian could kill him easily, he is without his power at the moment.”

“He’s stalling?” Amy asked.

“Probably,” Lisa said. “But Jacob’s assessment is accurate. He’s content with the situation, doesn’t feel he is in any actual danger.”

Taylor nodded in agreement, and opened a call with Vivian.

“Vivian, Lung’s being genuine, play along, see what he wants.”

Vivian groaned, then took a seat on one of the tables. “Peachy. Just so you know, the rest of my compatriots are watching and providing commentary.”

“That’s fine,” Lung said, grabbing a bottle from the side table before popping the lid off with his thumb. “Obviously the Nine has objectives in the city. I am merely curious.”

Jacob chuckled, leaning forward. “Taylor, can you hack his phone from here?”

Raising an eyebrow, she linked herself into Vivian’s cyber brain and checked the cell signals. Both Lung and Oni Lee had phones on them, so Taylor linked into what was obviously Lung’s and dialed the number through Lisa’s control console. The phone rang, prompting all three to turn to where it rested on the table as Lung reached over and picked it up.

“Put it on speaker,” Vivian said.

Lung did just that and Jacob stepped over to where Lisa indicated the microphone was located. “Kenta, I trust you know who I am?”

“Jacob,” he answered pleasantly. “I’m guessing something pissed in your cereal if the Nine are visiting my city. If it was the fault of my people, well, I’ll take the warning and see you on the field.”

“Your people weren’t involved,” Jacob confirmed. “Tell me, what do you know about the assassinations that occurred the day the Undersiders hit Brockton Central?”

Lung sighed. “One of the people targeted in that mess belonged to you, didn’t they?”

“Belonged is a strong word,” Lisa said. “Still, getting a hole in the chest fucking hurt.”

“Or watching my father be gunned down by mercs pretending to be Empire,” Taylor added.

“Yet it seems the PRT misrepresented the casualties,” Lung said with a chuckle. “To say you have intrigued me would be an understatement. I will need to see about checking my people in the PRT, this smells of deliberate misdirection.”

“Because Coil is alive and active,” Jacob said. “The entire thing was a trap he set for multiple people to get them off the board as well as to cover his own tracks. We know who he is and can confirm he has PRT ties.”

“As do you,” Lung countered.

Jacob chuckled. “So I do. My team cleans up messes that threaten to disrupt national stability, or just prove to be a threat that needs to be dealt with. If you’re willing to cooperate, then attend the meeting that will be called soon. All I ask is that you play along and your holdings will be largely intact following our activities.”

“The alternative?” he asked.

Vivian held up a grenade. “Gray Boy special.”

Lung barked out a laugh. “Ah, I do appreciate when negotiations are this straightforward. Kaiser always tries for subterfuge, thinking me the fool, this by comparison is refreshing. Very well, I will avoid interference when possible. I assume we’ll need to stage something to keep up appearances, so do keep me informed.”

“Pick a brothel to lose,” Lisa said. “The Butcher has a habit of hitting those to free the girls. I’ve done my research. I know the whole ‘forced prostitution’ is mostly Nazi propaganda, but it still happens with girls who have fallen on hard times. Figure something out to get them better lives and thin out your less desirable minions.”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“A reasonable offer in exchange for cooperation,” Lung agreed. “I would prefer to lose none, but that would draw unflattering attention. Worse, you could leak that you supplied me with the target ahead of time if I refuse to play, thus ruining my reputation as is.”

“You could always join,” Jacob mused. “You would lose your holdings, but you would only be expected to go on Nine runs, otherwise you would be out of the public eye.”

“I like my life as it is,” Lung answered without missing a beat. “Though I am honored by the offer, there is too much that needs my attention here.”

Lung then ended the call, though that would only be a minor inconvenience if Taylor wished to force the matter. It didn’t change that Vivian was still in a room with two villains that wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. The only saving grace was that both of them were without their powers at present.

Vivian stood, stretching as she did. “Well, this didn’t go as expected. I had this whole over the top speech planned and everything. Way to spoil the fun.”

“You could still give it, if so inclined,” Lung said with a smirk.

Vivian waved him off. “Nah, you ruined it. You ruined it and I’m leaving.”

“Do take care, little Hanabi,” Lung said.

Vivian flipped him off on her way out the door. She didn’t take long to find an out-of-the-way alley and slip in to open a portal back to Toybox. She stumbled into the room through Lisa’s portal station and tossed the gas mask aside.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she flopped onto the sofa. Amy moved over to it and settled in beside her. Vivian leaned against her and the tension bled from her frame once Amy started massaging her scalp, the Tinker practically purring at the ministrations. “I’ll give you an hour to stop.”

“I could accomplish all this with a single tap instead,” Amy threatened. “But you’re enjoying the process as much as you will appreciate the result.”

“Damn right,” Vivian said. “Could also really go for a drink while we’re at it.”

“We all could,” Lisa said. “Pity alcohol doesn’t work as well on those with cyber brains.”

“Or at all on those with shells,” Taylor added with a grimace.

She hadn’t been happy to learn that, when Alec talked her into trying alcohol for the first time. Not only did it taste horrible, it did nothing for her except cripple her liver. Amy hadn’t been pleased to clean up that mess and it set her back twenty grand because the girl was learning the game far too well at this point.

“Carol is such a bitch,” Amy muttered after a moment.

“She really is,” Taylor agreed. The Major was currently in the back seat of Carol’s car, frowning as the woman took every moment to glare back at her through the mirror, her lips moving wordlessly as Motoko had turned them off thirty seconds into the rant. “She’s convinced we’re corrupting you.”

“Not entirely wrong,” Amy said. Vivian flopped to her lap then flicked her nose. “Hey!”

Vivian grinned up at the pouting girl that she was currently using as a cushion. It was an adorable sight, one that reminded Taylor of why they were doing all of this. If the Empire caught wind that Panacea was gay, there was a good chance she would suffer an ‘accident’. What happened in Arcadia to Taylor might have been a Coil plot to discredit the Empire, but it fit with some of the things they had done in the past.

Taylor linked dozens of deaths of underage youth to the Empire in the last three years. For a city of a quarter million, that didn’t seem like much until you realized most LGBT people fled for safer waters in Boston or New York as soon as they were able, or just never came out in the first place. It was damn near impossible to prove, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if the numbers were actually in the hundreds.

Amy grumbled for a moment before relaxing once more, letting Vivian settle in more akin to a playful cat than a person. No doubt picking up on the shape of Taylor’s thoughts, Lisa leaned over in her chair, letting her head rest for a moment on Taylor’s shoulder.

It was a touching moment, one that she would savor in that tense calm before the coming storm. A jolt of jealousy came from the Major and she could feel her counterpart’s eyes on her. Carol was one spark away from carving through her own car at the Major despite the promised conversation having yet to materialize. Then there was Victor…

“How long until the Empire is ready to put on their little show?” Lisa asked.

In answer, Taylor tossed up Victor’s visual feed on the screen. The Empire capes were seated around a table at a restaurant near the rally site, finger foods and drinks arrayed around them but largely untouched. Taylor had Victor picking at one of the chips and salsa plates, focusing on the taste of the food rather than the sensation of his body. She doubted she would ever be comfortable controlling a male shell or puppet, but she also recognized this would hardly be the last time she did it. So long as a male personality never emerged, she could probably deal with it.

Victor’s immediate concerns were inconsequential, he was minutes away from outliving his usefulness. The only concern was just how many of the Empire they wanted to remove with the play. Kaiser was a nominee, which meant he was the only one that needed to survive for the coming games. The rest were optional, but he needed the support otherwise it would be all the harder to remove the greater movement.

Victor had called for a full assembly, a show of how many supporters they had, knowing full well it would bait the Nine into action. They wanted an enemy they could point to and rally the troops to face. That the Empire could assemble over a thousand people in less than an hour was unsettling to say the least, and proof that such a move was necessary.

Never mind what had happened with Rune. Crusader was a target of opportunity, yet it still represented her first life taken, and the first blow of the coming battles. Two capes removed, then she killed Krieg when he took a bullet meant for Kaiser. She and the Major agreed on that much, they were still too close to being the same person back then.

Follow that up with their seizing of Victor and Othala, then Melissa’s execution of Purity and the Empire was already wounded. It was simply time to make that wound a mortal one. Othala and Purity would weigh on her mind, a victim and a mother.

She wouldn’t sleep easy for years to come, that much was certain, but that was for future Taylor to deal with. She had a job to do, and Taylor couldn’t let herself get cold feet, especially not when Nazis were concerned.

No matter how great of an atrocity it would end up being.