Gula Invidia-Black Market (II): Planning An Assassination

--- Booker H. Freeman ---

With their bus pulled over in an indiscriminate lot, Beez’el gave them his pitch. “Okay, so like we were just talking about there are a ton of shitbags down here that are making everyone’s life worse. People who have done enough fucked up shit that other people are willing to pay other people to make them quit making things worse. Permanently.”

“You mean like an assassin?” Lydia grimaced, her face twisting.

“Eh, I was thinking more vigilante for hire.” The inferni admitted before gesturing towards Booker. “It’s not that different from what Contractors do. Just a little grungier and less exotic than other worlds. You know more a local charity type of deal than professional work.”

(Sloth: No matter how he dresses it up, a hit is a hit.)

(Gluttony: And killing is killing.)

Lydia bit her lip as she glanced his way before looking back at their guide and asking, “But what’s the point of killing someone if they can just come back?”

(Sloth: If that’s a problem you can just make it difficult to come back.)

“If you were to hinder a person’s regeneration, similar to what we saw the Smiling Man doing, you could incapacitate a person indefinitely.” He told his young companion. “And that’s on the more complex end of things. Sometimes a simple cinder block and river can work for years.”

“I’d rather something more permanent but…” Beez’el made a face before letting out a sigh. “Beggars and choosers I guess…”

His younger companion’s eyes darted between Booker and Bee’zel, before she eventually asked, “How, uh, how bad is this guy exactly?”

“A real shit bag.” Beez’el assured them before pulling out a small device from his pocket, and after a moment of fiddling with it showing them several pictures of Inferni and Hume alike looking worse for wear. “This asshole Hume has been running a fight club, nothing too bad given how people from Wrath and Gluttony are, but he’s been forcing a lot of people into making Deals. The kind you can’t back out of.”

(Greed: Holding someone to their deals is one thing, but…)

“When you say ‘forcing’?” He practically growled.

Beez’el nodded, with a frustrated look on his face. “Word on the street is that this guy combs through the lower districts, finds people on their lonesome, and then beats the shit out of them before dragging them off. They haven’t found too many bodies but shits fucked enough that Inferni are afraid to step outside on their own…:”

Their guide paused for a moment, before grimacing with a shake of his head. “Heard they’re also pulling something similar with any fresh meat that falls down here, but… I never dug too deep on that side of things since it’s a Hume problem.”

(Envy: He was more worried about his own people.)

(Wrath: Not something he should be faulted for.)

“Morally I’ve no objections to this path. In fact in some ways I’m even eager for the kill.” He confessed.

(Gluttony: When are we not?~)

(Sloth:... If we’re taking this job we need more details. Don’t want to botch it.)

(Gluttony: See?)

(Sloth:...)

“Unfortunately, given the apparent scale of this operation and our current state of affairs, I do believe more details are necessary for us to make a plan forward.” He added when he noticed Lydia looking at him.

“Fair enough.” Beez’el nodded, with a grin. “Professionals have to maintain their standards after all!”

(Pride: Yes they do.)

“So the Fight Pit is in one of the Gula Invidia Black Markets, a lot deeper in than I’m willing to go by myself but the Market itself ain’t so deep that it’s got an Overlord we need to worry about.” Beez’el told them. “That said, I’ve got some people I can ask for more details about everything when we get there. What I do know though is that the asshole running the place has this pretentious little office where he can look down on his little shitshow and everyone that attends it.”

“Uh, if it’s his fight club isn’t he going to have a lot of people there? Like security guards and stuff?” Lydia (wretchedly) frowned in concern as she glanced his way. “That feels like something we should be worried about. I mean… you said there’s a limit between how many people who can fight while also protecting m-er, us?”

(Envy: We did say that…)

(Pride: Really? Because it sounds like nonsense.)

“Well, he has to be a serious hotshot if he’s a Consortium VIP. I’m sure that if you and I hang back, he could easily kill everyone there.” Beez’el pointed out.

(Envy: We could not.)

(Gluttony: We don’t have enough Sin to heal… We need smaller hunts to prepare for the larger one. And during that time our true prey may escape.)

(Wrath: Or rally a counter.)

(Sloth: Meaning the direct approach is more work than it’s worth.)

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

(Greed: And would cost more than we’d make.)

“A direct assault -while fun- could prove problematic for multiple reasons.” He admitted with a bit of internal debate. “We need a means of sidestepping his defenses, at least temporarily.”

“Right…” Beez’el agreed, sounding a bit disappointed as his tail began to twitch.

“Is there any way we can get close without putting his guards on watch?” Lydia asked their guide/accomplice.

Beez’el seemed to consider that for a moment. “Well, while I know some guys I don’t think anyone will tell me anything that’ll get them killed. Best I can do on that way is get us into the club without too many questions…” The Inferni sighed before suddenly perking up. “Oh, wait! I thought of something!”

“Yes?” He prodded.

“So, the prick running this place is an arrogant asshole, and he’s got to force people to fight for him, right?” Beez’el checked, despite him knowing the answer better than either of them. “Well, he’d probably want to meet someone who wanted to fight for him and could fight well. Like Contractor well.”

“You’re proposing I enter and fight until he wishes to meet me?” Booker realized.

(Sloth: Could work.)

(Greed: Would want to inspect the money-maker. )

(Gluttony: Or the threat.)

“Wouldn’t that mean he has to fight the boss and his personal guards while tired from all the fighting?” Lydia (grotesquely) frowned.

“Hey, I don’t see you coming up with any ideas half-pint.” Beez’el scoffed.

Lydia’s face twitched in irritation before apparently taking that as a challenge. “You said there’s a bunch of fighters who are there against their will, right? Is it possible we could get them to help us? A way to free them from the Deals and have them go after everyone I mean?”

“You can’t just break a Deal kid.” Beez’el disagreed with a shake of his head. “Once they’re made they’re until fulfilled or killed. And I mean that permanently Hume.”

(Envy: Not necessarily…)

(Oh?)

(Greed: Yeah, wording is important in any contract. Poor wording and people can be tricked into a lot of things… or get out of a lot of stuff.)

(Envy: Intent and emotion are important too. A ‘Deal’ is really just a Geas powered by Willingly agreeing to it. The better they understand it, the more binding it is.)

(Sloth: Something they probably didn’t )

(Greed: And when you take that out, the loopholes get a lot bigger for the Deal Signer. Sometimes big enough to unravel the whole thing.)

(Wrath: Malicious compliance also works at times.)

(Interesting…) “Her idea is not without merit, even if the details of the contract are important to how viable it actually is.” He went ahead and interrupted to Beez’el’s shock and Lydia’s joy. “Whether they can simply tell us about our prey’s secrets thus cornering him, or outright help us by distracting the guards, is difficult to say so far away.”

“That’s…” Beez’el made a complicated expression before shaking his head. “No. I might want to break their deals but we don’t know that will work. Taking this guy out will work.”

“Unless he comes back in a few years, meaning everyone will be back on the hook.” Lydia argued. “Getting them to turn on him now will help everyone turn on him when he comes back.”

“Kid…” Beez’el ran a hand down his face, before glaring at Lydia with something… regretful. “Kid, that sounds nice and all but you don’t get it. These guys are beaten and chained down, they aren’t going to fight back even if given the chance. They don’t have the Wrath for that anymore. If we can just… remind them what they’ve lost maybe… Maybe the Envy can give them the kick in the ass they need to do… something.”

(Wrath: He’s speaking from experience…)

Something Lydia seemed to realize as well, her own fight slowly leaving her with little more than a bitter expression.

(Envy: Neither of them is going to stand down.)

(Sloth: You’re going to have to make the choice here, boss.)

(Is there a way to get to the boss and aid the fighters?) The idea of leaving the boss free, and the fighters enslaved did not sit well with him.

(Sloth: Delegation. Send these two to deal with the fighters, while we deal with the actual pit. It’ll mean we’re all on our own should things go sideways but we’ll be able to chip away at both targets.)

(Envy: Surprised you’re offering to do more work.)

(Sloth: Sometimes the boss has to get his hands dirty to get things done.)

(Wrath: An honorable outlook.)

“How difficult would it be to get to where the enslaved fighters are being kept?” He checked, wondering how viable any of this really was.

Beez’el gave him a look before letting out another sigh. “Hard to say, with all three of us though… not easy. All we need is one of the loyal guards to see us or hear us talking and we’ll be surrounded and fucked… without lube mind you! And I am not anywhere near drunk enough for that…”

Ignoring the vulgarity, he instead asked. “Would that be easier if it was just the two of you? Particularly, if I were to cause something of a ruckus in the fight pit.”

Beez’el gave him a considering look. “That depends on what you’re thinking?”

“I’m thinking I could distract the guards with something particularly showy, cause enough of a riot to keep their eyes on me, you understand.” He began. “Meanwhile you two could sneak into the slave room and try to convince them to break their chains and leave, before sneaking out regardless of the results.”

“That’s not a bad plan, I’m fine with hedging our bets even if I still think little bitch is going to get her heartbroken.” Beez’el admitted. “Getting me and her out would be easier, and as long as we take a shot at the boss I won’t complain.”

“But wait, won’t causing enough of a distraction to draw the guards mean the boss is on guard? He might not even want to see you if you make a big enough mess.” Lydia (hideously) frowned.

“Or I could create enough of a mess that he absolutely would want to see me.” He grinned right back. “The fight would be harder, but if I make him lose enough money on a newcomer…”

“He’d want to take it straight out of your hide.” Beez’el laughed with a clap. “Oh, you’ve got brimstones boss.”

“That sounds dangerous…” Lydia confessed with a fair bit of concern. “Especially if there’s no one to back you up, I mean back against the Smiling Man if I’d ran instead of backing you up you might’ve died.”

“True…” As much as it irked him to admit as much.

All three of them were quiet for a moment before Beez’el stuck his tongue out and made a sound. “Look I don’t know what happened with that smiling fucker, but if you’re smiling friend says he can handle himself then as Contractor I’m sure he can kick all kinds of ass. If he thinks he needs back up to deal with pit boss then we back him the fuck up it’s that easy.”

Lydia narrowed his eyes. “And if he wants to try freeing the fighters instead?”

“Then I guess that’s what we’ll do.” Beez’el glared right back, before spinning in his seat and starting the bus once more.

An awkward silence descended upon them after that, and he found himself looking out the window as the greens and purples of Gula Invidia passed them by. Weighting the risks and rewards of each path open to them as he planned this job.