(Rudo Blackbell POV)
Rudo Blackbell, CEO of Severance Inc., was having a hard time breaking into the middle leagues. He had talked big when he was elected for the position. He would pioneer cutting-edge engineering solutions that push the boundaries of innovation and sustainability.
In a way, he did deliver on his promise. His reputation for finding diamonds in the rough and granting them the opportunities to have their works given the attention they deserved was never in doubt.
In only 5 years, Severance Inc. had grown from a start-up to a major small league company, spanning all 10 districts in Astrohelm. Their rapid expansion, however, was recently stalled.
Breaking into the middle league required two things; Severance Inc. had to have a net worth over 100,000 Rubies, and it needed to have a presence in more than one City. All inventions his Research & Development team could churn out were easily dwarfed by Rustbucket Co-op—a minor middle-league company.
So today, he was out hunting for talent, hopefully one good enough to push him over the threshold.
“Are we close?” Rudo asked his ‘secretary.’ She was an Extractor he met five years ago and the reason he could make bold proclamations such as pioneering solutions and pushing boundaries.
She had been looking at her palm all afternoon. “Very close. They should be around here…” She looked up and asked the coachman to slow down. She then leaned over and looked out the window on Rudo’s side for a moment, then checked her palm once more. Rudo didn’t see anything on that palm of hers, nor did he understand why she kept a rabbit’s foot as a jewelry accessory on her wrist, but she had never led him astray.
“There!” She whispered, pointing at a caramel-skinned woman holding hands with a child in the company of a young man with a forgettable face. “She’s our ticket into the middle leagues.”
Rudo smiled.
Half a year of searching, he’d finally had a breakthrough.
“Do you want me to make her an offer?” his secretary asked as she sat back down.
“No, not yet. If she’s good enough to give the Rustbucket a run for its money, then a simple contract won’t do. Rustbucket Co-op can dwarf any benefits we give her. She’ll jump ship faster than you can say ‘middle-league.’”
“Uhm. Alright. What do you have in mind?”
Rudo leaned back as the carriage moved on, deep in thought. “We’ll have her gratitude, plus a contract of benefits to bind her to us.” He finally stated, “Let word out that she’s a new Extractor and on an Unrestricted pathway. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. Wait until the Mawaki have her then rescue her.”
“I see. The bounties from killing the Mawaki should also cover expenses for the rescue.”
“Attagirl!” Rudo praised, placing his hand over her shoulder, then pulled her close to his chest, “But remember, rescuing the girl comes first. The bounties are secondary.”
She nodded and then took another glimpse at her palm, “…she might actually be enough to move us beyond minor middle league.”
Rudo’s hands trembled from excitement, “High Net-Worth middle league.” He looked out the window fantasizing while stroking his secretary’s hair.
————
**Next day. Zeraki’s POV**
Number 7 was in the basement of the library reading through various documents being processed. Information on the Mawaki wasn’t difficult to stumble upon. ‘Stumble’ being a key word since he could only see what was on the cover pages of the reports, but that was enough to conclude that the Mawaki were a busy sort.
They were a loosely defined gang without a definitive governing body or structure, no guiding principles other than making a profit, and their ways were far from sophisticated.
The Gracie family did their best to clean out Mawaki hide-outs whenever they cropped up in their territory. The more Zeraki listened to how the gangs dealt with them, the more it sounded like pest control.
But with bounties.
The Blackmore Empire offered bounties for every Mawaki killed, while EIPO had bounties for every Mawaki that killed or targeted anyone above an External Associate. The sheer disregard Ani had shown for their humanity—Extractority? Mortality? Whatever—made sense now, even Number 3 found it difficult to sympathize with them.
Zeraki looked over to Hadiza’s table. She and Tara were entirely engrossed in their studies, and he couldn’t help but sigh. The Mawaki were a problem, but worse was that he too didn’t know how bad things could get.
The clock struck one.
‘Number 4, have you noticed anything strange?’
[ No, nothing yet, Otousan. ]
Just as he was standing to head over to their table, Number 3 asked [ Dad, can you see this person? ]
‘Huh?’ Zeraki looked to Number 3 and noticed a man in a black coat and a top hat at a table behind Hadiza and Tara. He was subdued, looked humble and maybe a bit shy. ‘Yes, I see him. Why?’
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She pouted then shrugged, [ Nothing, I just conjectured I was onto something. ]
Zeraki nodded at her and proceeded to tidy up. He didn’t mind the false alarm. She had diligently kept her eyes on them both since they came to the library and called out anyone she believed was suspicious. Number 7 had stopped paying attention to her after the first two false alarms and had gone to look into the Mawaki.
<“Right… Big-man. What are… we having dinner?”> Hadiza asked, practicing her Mother’s Universal Language. She wasn’t picking up languages as fast as he did, but it was still faster than any normal person could ever hope to achieve. At her pace, it would only take a week before she became proficient enough to hold a conversation.
“Lunch. And I have no idea. Let’s see what surprises the bakery has in store today.”
As they walked to the bakery, Hadiza and Tara kept talking while Zeraki focused on the information Number 3, 4, and 7 were sending him. When they got to the entrance of the bakery, Number 4 finally saw something.
[ Number 4: Uhm, Number 3, does he look familiar? ] he pointed to a man in a top hat and a black coat.
Number 3 squinted at the man for a long while and then suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Zeraki, who had already gone into the bakery and was being taken to the VIP section, tensed.
‘What is it?’
[Number 4: It’s the man we left at the library, the one seated behind Tara and Hadiza. He’s changed. I’m not sure how to explain it, but he just feels different. His back is straight, his strides are confident, the air of innocence is gone… he’s… weird. I don’t understand how he didn’t change yet is a completely different person.]
Zeraki turned in time to see the man walk in, and their eyes coincidentally met. The man’s calm facade faded to a slight frown before shifting back. So quick was the change that if it weren’t for the lingering sentiments of irritation he had about him, Zeraki would have thought he imagined it.
He took his seat without a change in expression and waited for Tara and Hadiza to order their food. The menu had been expanded to include some rather unique lunch meals.
“Tara, I’d like us to end our lesson early today. But I’ll make it up to you on Saturday by doubling the hours and giving you my undivided attention. What do you say?”
When he had started talking, he realized Tara’s sentiments had begun spiraling negatively, so he quickly added as much reassurance as he could and calmed down once he saw her regain the color in her face.
“Thank you, Mr. Zeraki.” She bowed.
Hadiza sighed and reached out to tuck the hair strands behind the child’s ears. “You are among friends, Tara. Besides, I’ll soon be done with learning Mother’s language. If big man here is busy again, I’ll fill in for him. I promise.”
After she felt her nod, she gave Zeraki a look, and he forwarded a sentiment projecting a sense of urgency. Her demeanor wavered slightly, but then she continued cheerfully engaging with Tara until their meal ended.
[Number 3: What are you planning to do, Dad?]
‘The Gracie Family consider their customers guests. We head for the dojo and get Hadiza registered for archery or something. Then we leave her there and go get Miss Ola to hire bodyguards for her. The dojo can hold their own.’
[Number 3: Oh… but he doesn’t look like much,] she said while floating in front of the man and sticking her finger in his nose.
[Number 7: One, that’s disgusting. Two, if the man can follow us into the dojo, then we are in the clear. If he doesn’t, chances are that he’s a Mawaki, and we should expect trouble.]
‘So far, no interest has been shown towards me. I’m planning to keep it that way until it’s too late to do anything to us.’
——-
“Alright, big man, spit it out.” Hadiza turned to him after they’d seen Tara off in a carriage. She was heading to Zeraki’s house to continue her penmanship exercises till evening.
“I’m just exhausted.” He simply stated and raised his hands to get another carriage. He projected sentiments from Number 3 that pleaded with Hadiza to trust him.
She shuffled close to him, locked her arm to his, and leaned on his shoulder. She then squeezed once in acknowledgment and simply waited in silence.
[Number 7: Wow. Father, she’s better at this subtlety business than you are.]
A carriage stopped in front of them about five minutes later, which wasn’t a long wait on average. As they settled in, Zeraki leaned back, tense, and Hadiza stayed close.
Number 3 watched the front of the carriage, looking for anything that may suggest an ambush. Number 4 floated above the carriage, keeping an eye on both the left and right sides. Number 7 fell behind, watching for pursuers. Thirty minutes was a long wait.
[Number 4: Otousan, he’s missed the turn to the shortest route, yet the road ahead was clear. I don’t like this,] he said ten minutes later while 200 meters above the carriage.
‘Number 3. Have the horses make the next turn.’
[Number 3: On it.] She forwarded her heartfelt desire to have the horses make the next turn into Zeraki’s mind, who then forwarded the sentiments to the horses without rousing suspicion.
The horses made a sudden abrupt turn once they got to the intersection, and Zeraki could hear the commotion as the carriage driver struggled to regain control over them.
“What’s wrong?” Zeraki asked. If the carriage driver was an Extractor, he would know that the horses’ behavior was anything but ordinary.
“Everything’s ol’right, sir. Dobbins’ just excited, that’s all!”
‘Number 3, can you see his sentiments?’
[Number 3: I can if I try hard enough.]
‘I just need your opinion. With what you see, do you think he’s lying?’
[Number 3: I’m not sure, Dad. I think he’s honestly confused.]
[Number 7: Father, what’s on your mind?]
‘We’ll keep control over the horses. The carriage driver, Extractor or not, doesn’t have any charm of concealment. He’s susceptible to outside influence, but all that is irrelevant if we maintain our control over the steeds.’
The next turn was also influenced by Zeraki, which brought them ten minutes away from the dojo.
[Number 4: Sniper!]
Bang!
The carriage suddenly veered as the horses were thrown into a frenzy. Zeraki had been high-strung throughout the journey, so it didn’t take much to have adrenaline pumping through him. He pulled Hadiza close and listened for Number 4’s voice. Instead of breaking through one of the doors, he braced for impact. The carriage crashed through the windows of a clothing store and tipped to the side.
[Number 7: They shot the horses, but the sniper is gone.]
After receiving the all-clear, Zeraki forced open the jammed door above them and broke through. Though he was hurt, he didn’t mind it. Pain was an inconvenient emotion and one he was glad to be disassociated from.
His gratitude for being alienated from pain, however, was short-lived. Hadiza’s face was contorted in agony when he pulled her out of the carriage. She wasn’t screaming, but the waves of sentiments made it abundantly clear that something was broken. Unlike his pain, which he could ignore, Hadiza’s stirred something within him. A fog-like mass settled in his heart, and he was certain it wasn’t guilt.
Number 3 was fuming as she watched the sniper racing down a fire escape. Number 4 too, floated high up looking into the streets below for any signs of pursuers on foot. Number 7 was with Zeraki and Hadiza, keeping an eye out on blind spots.
[Number 4: Otousan, the store has a back door, use it.]
“Can you walk?” Zeraki asked Hadiza.
She nodded.
“Good.” On closer inspection, it was a dislocated shoulder. It would heal faster than a broken bone, but this did nothing to rid him of the dark nebulous mass in his heart.
As people within the store recovered from their shock, Zeraki and Hadiza made their way to the back entrance, which was thankfully unlocked. Ten minutes by horse carriage, Zeraki estimated they could cover that in fifteen if they used the carriage route.
———