John was rudely awakened by a knocking at his door. Seeing no immediate threat, he put his weapon back in the holster and glanced out the window. ‘It’s not even light out!’

“Who is it!” He yelled in annoyance as he sat up in his bed trying to blink the sleep away. A yawn escaped his mouth as he rubbed his eyes. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since he closed his eyes.

“Messenger, Sir.”

“Who the hell sends a messenger at this god-awful hour?” he grumbled quietly.

He made his way over to the door and jerked it open, staring a very surprised young man in the face. “Well! Don’t just stand there. What’s the damn message?”

“…Mr. Novarez wishes to see you as soon as possible.”

“That’s it? Are you kidding me?”

“Um, no, Sir.”

“That was a rhetorical question. If that’s all, you’re dismissed.” When the young man didn’t move to leave, John quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

“It was payment upon receipt, Sir.”

Of course, his jackass of a boss wouldn’t pay to send this message. The cheap bastard. John ground his teeth in annoyance. “How much?”

“Uh… maybe I should just go?” John grabbed the youth before he could scamper away.

“You did a job, you deserve to be paid. How much?”

“Five copper,” the young man swallowed thickly.

John snatched up his hand before the kid could react and slapped a five-cent piece into it. “Tell your boss that they should change their payment model. Someone else might not be as understanding if they're expected to pay for someone else's message.”

“I- I will,” the lad replied, hurrying down the hallway as fast as he could.

He watched the person until they were out of sight before shutting his door. John shook his head. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to charge the recipient for a message instead of the sender?

This wasn’t the first time he had gotten a messenger from Mr. Novarez but it was the earliest he had gotten one. John was sure whatever had gotten his boss in a tizzy, probably wasn’t urgent. The man just liked to act like everything revolved around him. Still, if he didn’t make an effort to show up as soon as he could, he knew the man would find some petty way to punish him.

If the man hadn’t been the son of someone he felt a deep respect for, John would have put two bullets in the prick's head long ago. Even with that connection, he was still tempted on days like today.

John quickly buttoned his shirt, then threw on a grey pinstripe vest over it. It took him a moment to tuck the tie in behind the vest but he took the time to make it look good even though he was in a hurry. He knew the boss wouldn’t appreciate him showing up looking slovenly. Not that he much cared what Daniel Novarez thought, but annoying the man would only come back to bite him.

He had done his best to wipe himself down with the bowl of water next to the nightstand but he could still smell a bit of funk. It would have to do, he doubted Junior would appreciate him taking time to order a bath.

With the tie tucked in cleanly, he slid his shoulder holsters on, checking his guns to make sure they were in place. Once he was sure he could get at them easily, he hurried over to the coat rack and donned his coat and derby hat. Then he stepped out of the room and made his way out of the hotel.

The street was already bustling as he stepped outside and he quickly moved aside to avoid a group of dirty youths sprinting down the street. From their shifty gazes, they were clearly out looking for easy marks. One of the kids eyed him, but a quick glare and a flash of his piece had the youngster turning away to hurry after his friends.

John nodded and turned in the opposite direction. He could flag down one of the auto-carriages but he didn’t much like the noisy steam-powered devices. Besides, it was too early for them to be operating anyway. Walking it was. While it might not be the fastest way to get downtown, it allowed him to enjoy the city.

New Gata was one of the largest cities John had ever lived in. It seemed to always be alive with noise and people. A bit much for him at times, but he had grown used to it in the five or so months he had been here. The massive sprawl of humanity was one of the oldest cities in Fareen, it was also the biggest thanks to being situated along the coast with a wide river that split it in two at the end leaving the Central Island. It made for a perfect port and natural destination for those coming over from the old country.

Central Island was his destination and also where the original settlers had founded the tiny fortress town on these new shores. Considering how large the city had grown, it was hard to believe that was barely a century ago. John still recalled the papers talking about the planned voyage across the ocean. He remembered it clearly because he thought those people were all insane back then. Guess he was wrong.

The Central Island was a large parcel of land, larger than most cities back in the old country. Being the core of the city, it housed the movers and shakers of Fareen.

His boss considered himself among those esteemed personages. And while it was true, the man was powerful and wealthy, most of that came from his family name. Which was always a sore topic for the little bastard. The rest of his wealth and power came from running his businesses like a tyrant. Which unfortunately worked.

Sooner than he would have liked he arrived at the street that housed Terminus Mining headquarters. John glanced up at the towering stone edifice. He still couldn’t believe people were capable of building something so grand. If someone had told him man could accomplish this just fifty years prior, he would have laughed at them. Before he left the old country, the tallest building John had seen was the Irtishian Royal Palace. And that had only been four floors. Although it covered an area larger than a New Gatan city block.

After ensuring no carriage was barrelling down the street, John crossed and made his way inside the imposing structure of stone and steel.

It was like walking into another world as the door closed. The serene marble interior of the first floor housed a bank. The receptionist smiled at him and he nodded back, removing his hat as he did. He continued past the desk and toward the elevators at the far side of the lobby.

His hands always grew slick with apprehension when he was forced to ride these cages but he couldn’t afford the time it would take to climb the stairs to the twenty-fourth floor. John forced the feeling down as he pressed the button. It didn’t take long before there was a ding and the doors opened. He stepped aside as people got out and then quickly stepped in. Thankfully nobody else got on with him so he shouldn’t have to stop at any other floors.

“Top floor,” John stated to the liftman. The man nodded before closing the doors and pulling a large brass lever all the way to the top.

The box squeaked and squealed, occasionally jerking slightly as it made its way up the building. He did his best to breathe calmly through his nose, ignoring the motions of the elevator. Eventually, a ding alerted him to their arrival. He opened his eyes and waited for the doors to be opened. When they were, he thanked the man and tossed him a nickel before stepping out.

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The penthouse floor of this building didn’t only house his employer, it also housed other moguls as well. It was a veritable who’s who of New Gata’s rich and powerful. John had even met a few of them, they were all pricks. His boss fit right in.

He stopped at the door marked with ‘Terminus Mining’ in gold filigree. He checked his appearance in the frosted reflection of the door before pushing it open.

The two other men hired to guard Mr. Novarez were sitting off to the side playing cards. They only gave John a cursory glance before going back to their game. He frowned at that. John was only here because multiple people had already tried attacking Daniel. John had been forced to stop three attacks since arriving. In only a few months! It was ridiculous. John had served Daniel’s father for sixty years and in that time he had never had to defend the man against any threat.

The son was just such a bastard that there was no shortage of people who wanted him dead. John was among those people, he just wasn’t willing to pull the trigger. The issue was, if he had been here to harm their boss, he could have easily killed both guards before they were able to even draw their weapons.

If it was up to John he would have fired the two on the spot. But it wasn’t up to him. Daniel had hired them personally after his first attack. Having John assigned to him like a misbehaving toddler by his father always chafed the man.

The receptionist at the desk seemed to agree because she was giving the two the stink eye as well. She turned to John and her demeanor instantly shifted to a slight smile and blush. “Mr. Smith, Mr. Novarez has been waiting for you, please head inside.”

John wasn’t his real first name, and Smith wasn’t his actual last name, but it’s what he went by these days. He nodded to her, “Thank you, Miss Cynthia.”

He knocked on the thick wooden door that led to the boss’s office.

“Enter,” a gruff voice demanded from inside.

After suppressing his annoyance at being summoned like some lap dog, John popped his hat on the coat rack and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

His eyes quickly scanned the room before landing on the man behind the desk. Daniel was busy writing something down on a sheet of paper so John waited patiently by the door. Anyone from back in the Empire would recognize his pose as parade rest, but he doubted Daniel even noticed nor cared. After about five minutes, the man placed the pen back in its stand and set the sheet off to the side.

“Are you familiar with my mining operations in Ember Creek?”

Being called in like some lap dog and then made to wait was a common tactic Daniel used when he was in a mood. John kept his next words flat of emotion. “No, Sir. Should I be?”

There were a variety of reasons he never dug too deeply into Daniel Novarez’s businesses. First of all, it wasn’t his concern. He also feared if he dug too deep, he might learn something that would make him disregard the promise he had made to Bartem, Daniel’s father. A man he respected and admired, unlike the sorry excuse of a son in front of him.

The severe man cracked a smile at the response before leaning back in his chair slightly. It creaked as the man crossed his leg and reached over to a lacquered wooden box. Daniel pulled out a cigar and snipped off the tip before lighting it.

John managed not to wrinkle his nose as the smoke wafted past him. He had grown used to the smell over the years, not that he enjoyed it. Although he suspected Daniel knew of his distaste for cigar smoke as he only ever seemed to smoke them in front of him or other people that annoyed him.

After a few puffs, his boss pointed the cigar at John. “There are some problems plaguing my holdings in that area. I am sending you to go deal with them.”

“Sir? …Your father tasked me with protecting you. I don’t think it would be wise for me to be gone for an extended time.” He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as it came out, but it was too late now.

Daniel glared at him before snuffing out the cigar in a dish on his desk. “My father isn’t here! And I remember exactly what he said. He said to protect me and follow my orders. Well… These are my orders. You are to take the next train west. When you arrive in Ember Creek, you are to take charge of the town, find out why production is slowing, and deal with the issues. Am I clear?”

This had to be punishment for him calling the man out after he beat a butler unconscious after the man scuffed his shoe. John ground his teeth. “Yes, Sir.” It wasn’t, not at all. John had been a soldier, a trusted guardian. He was a blunt instrument, he knew it. He wasn’t whatever Daniel expected him to be. But arguing that fact would be pointless. The man would have his will followed, or simply ban John from the building, making it impossible for him to do his job.

Not that John wanted to be here. Had Bartem called him back, he would have gladly leaped onto the next boat heading back and wished Daniel a short happy life. Because someone would eventually put an end to him.

“Good.” The man slid an envelope across his desk. “Here’s your ticket.”

When John reached for the envelope, Daniel held it. “Don’t fuck this up, John! I have a lot of money invested in that town and the mining rights surrounding it. If something doesn’t improve in the next month or so, I will be sending additional resources. And I will be terminating your contract. Then you can go crawling back to my father to tell him how you failed.”

John snatched the letter from the man before turning and exiting the office. How someone so caring had sired someone so vile always shocked John, and he had watched both the father and son grow up. They had both been raised wealthy, but where Daniel’s grandfather Jeziah had been a military General and raised his son in a very strict fashion, Daniel’s father had taken a softer approach to raising his children.

He couldn’t fault Bartem for assigning John to protect Daniel. He cared for his children despite their flaws. But the son… the son was a ruthless bastard who wanted to make a name for himself. So any time Daniel was compared to or reminded of his lineage, he did not take it well.

When the door shut, John saw the two local guards laughing and glancing over at him. As he grabbed his hat and coat, he got an idea. He put both on and strode over to the table.

“Having a good game, Gentlemen?”

Both men stopped chuckling.

“Hey, John,” the one that went by Sammy responded with a smile. “Just laughing at a joke.”

The other one chuckled at this.

John just nodded as if he understood. “I’m glad we can relax and have fun.” Then without warning, he burst into motion.

Before either man could reach for the pneuma rifles they had set off to the side, John held a barrel under each man’s chin.

“Get your lazy asses up!” his words oozing menace. With the barrels pressed firmly under their chins, the men rose from the table, their hands up in a placating manner.

John guided them none too gently toward the door where they should be standing guard. Their backs pressed up against the wall but John didn’t stop pushing until the gun barrels started to choke them.

“Do I have your attention?”

Both of the men nodded as best they could.

“Good. You were hired to do a job. I expect you to do it. Not to sit around and play cards. If Mr. Novarez comes to any harm while I am gone…” He made sure to let his words sink in before continuing. “I will hold both of you personally responsible. Is that clear?”

Again both men nodded frantically.

John smiled and his guns vanished back into their holsters just as fast as they appeared. “Have a good day Miss Cynthia.”

The men coughed and rubbed at their necks where a circular red mark was beginning to appear. They were lucky, John had done worse to people for less.

“Bye, Mr. Smith,” the unflappable secretary responded as John exited the office.

As the door closed, he could hear the two men rush over and grab their weapons. It was always possible they would attack him for what he did, but they didn’t exit the office. He smiled at that. It appears his reputation wasn’t completely forgotten.

His levity soon faded though as he realized he had to pack. John didn’t own much, but it was always annoying to move.

***

Daniel Novarez had actually paid for a private room aboard the train for John. Which was a surprise considering how much of a tightwad he was, but a welcome one. The room wasn’t anything fancy, but it was better than sharing a bunk with a random stranger or being stuck in the common train with the rest of the passengers. This was a train short of amenities.

A grunt and clatter off to the side drew his attention. Seeing what it was, John cursed. “Careful with that!” he shouted at the porter. They had dropped his trunk. Thankfully the thing was rather sturdy. He walked over and lifted it with barely a grunt before sliding it onto the luggage car.

“Sorry, Sir,” the porter bowed his head before hustling off to load more luggage. It took two porters aboard the train, both grunting with effort to haul his belongings off to one side. John made a mental note of where the luggage was stored before he walked off and handed his ticket to the clerk.

The man punched it and handed it back to him. “You will need to keep this on you as there are three more stops where it gets checked.”

That was annoying, but John just nodded before grabbing his satchel and stepping aboard. He already knew this train ride would take over a week to get to Ember Creek. It was also already becoming rather crowded. Which shouldn’t surprise him. There were all kinds of people trying to head west in search of work or just to escape the confines of the cities.

More than a few sported the crest of the Terminus Mining Company. Replacement workers, or additional workers, he wasn’t quite sure. He knew these men would have to work off that clothing along with anything else they purchased while working for his boss. It was part of the deal they signed. Certainly not a good deal though. Then again, John knew all about bad deals.

Nothing came for free.

He found his room, set his bag inside, and shut the door.

An hour later, the train gave a loud whistle, followed by an all aboard from the conductor. A few minutes later it rolled out of the station.