“These are the big bosses from some fancy Order or something babe, apparently you invited them here”
Mel was speaking to the large man, who had full tattoo sleeves running down both arms and wearing a sleeveless shirt to show them off.
When he lifted the welder’s helmet it revealed a rough-looking middle-aged man as he gave them appraising looks. He wore a sash with the number thirty-one written in permanent marker. Mark figured he must be one of those people Lisa had spoken about, who liked to display their levels openly
“I ain't call nobody here, Jude you little rat, what did you do?”
The young man had barely woken up, but he seemed alert and worried. A look of trepidation flashed across his face but when he saw Mark and Jonathan looking at him he swallowed and steeled himself.
“You told me to deal with all the admin stuff, this was part of it, they usually don’t respond this quickly. I’m so sorry Kenny”
Jude looked ashamed as he defended himself.
While Kenny just seemed pissed.
“Jude just because your name is on the documentation doesn’t mean you get to pull this shit”
The three of them were almost completely absorbed in their own conversion and it was Mel who brought their attention back to Mark’s party.
“Well they are here now, so wouldn’t it be better to deal with this later boys?”
The whole time her eyes were roaming Jonathan's body but the question seemed to snap them out of it.
Kenny frowned at Mel and looked over at Jonathan, as if taking them in for the first time. He looked angry and pulled Mel to himself, crushing her to his side.
“Seeing as you are here, I’ll lay down the laws. We chose this spot so that we could have a nice open stretch of road to ride. If you interfere with that we’ll kill you-”
Jude looked worried and held up his hands.
“Kenny wait, there’s rumors these people are not to be messed with, they have some really high-level people on their side. Not to mention a Force caste-”
“Damn it Jude stop always being such a coward, when dealing with new people for the first time if you show weakness, they will walk all over you, you got that mouse?”
Jude swallowed and looked away, nodding just slightly.
“And what about two? You get where I’m coming from?”
Now, Mark had thought all factions of a certain size had to operate in a certain way, but from the looks of things, there were probably many factions out there with different methods and laws. This kind of internal power struggle was very possibly a more common occurrence. He couldn’t say he liked how Kenny was treating his partner -from the sound of things they were both leaders- but it wasn’t for Mark to intervene.
He wouldn’t put it past them to make good on those threats. Power was a dangerous thing if left unchecked and made even the mature act like children. Mark himself was not some paragon for control, but at least he tried to be mindful of how he threw his weight around.
If these people came after his faction, could he take their lives?
Mark thought every life was important to humanity, but it looked like he needed to alter his way of thinking just slightly.
If somehow they tripped over some non-sensical rule these people had put in place and war broke out, Mark would have to make a choice.
He would hate it, but he knew he’d protect his people from others, whatever that meant.
Mark knew this was the environment they were now in. Sure, the Corrupted were kept at bay for now, but they were playing an entirely different game in here.
There was no police force to go to, and he doubted very much that any of the Major factions would step in to stop infighting unless it caused huge amounts of collateral damage.
Mark hoped it never came to that, but if it did, he would not hesitate this time.
Jude must have been sensitive to the people around him because he was the only one to see this flash through Mark's eyes. The guy bit his lip nervously, never taking his eyes off Mark.
Jonathan simply maintained a cordial smile, turning up the charm.
“Well, we can agree to keep the roads mostly clear but I’ll be direct, cus a man like you clearly appreciates that. Don’t mess with our business and we won’t mess with yours. We can be the best of neighbors and never have to get under each other's feet. But we can also rip each other's throats out and the only ones that benefit from that are the top brass. Suffice to say let's play nice.”
As Jonathan spoke the room got more and more still as everyone in it slowed.
Anger spread over Kenny’s face.
They had come here to gather information and maybe gain an ally but from the way they had started out, Mark didn’t see that happening.
Jonathan's approach was direct, as threats were probably the only way to get through to them.
Mel and Jude were both looking at Jonathan now with very different expressions. Excitement and fear.
Kenny spoke but there was an edge to his voice and at the same time a searching gaze.
“That’s a deal we offer to those who are our equals. I’m not seeing any numbers on either of you. Actually, I’m hearing mostly words”
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All at once the smell of gasoline intensified as Kenny’s Aura leaked into the area. It felt like a single spark could cause the world to ignite against them.
Jonathan didn’t even pause as his own sharp Aura cut through the cloud of exhaust and pushed it back like one would a toddler.
Kenny paled at the ease with which Jonathan drove him back, freezing in place. Mel was the same, in fact, the only one who somehow managed to move was Jude. Mana surrounded him closely in an oddly shaped bubble. His hand went down to a spanner on his toolbelt, even as he shook in fear.
Mark turned to look at him fully, as his own Mana began to coil around himself lazily.
Jude locked eyes with him and Mark gave him a soothing nod. Letting him know everything was going to be just fine, as long as he didn’t pull that weapon.
Mark wasn’t sure if he got the message or if he just couldn’t do anymore, but his body relaxed and he stopped fighting.
The Aura in the room was so stifling that shouts came from outside and their guard unit had to turn to meet people. Jonathan let up slightly
“Do we have an agreement?”
Kenny swallowed looking both furious and weary at the same time.
“I can see we do. But don’t mess with our territory or we’ll have a problem, you got me?”
Even tense as it was, Kenny still managed to grunt out a threat, Jonathan just nodded happily.
“You have our word we will not mess with your territory, as long as you don’t mess with ours. Live and let live.”
As he said this, his Aura retracted completely and the room came back from the edge of the knife.
Kenny seemed to clench his jaw but reluctantly agreed to the deal. They spent some time going over the details. Their main stipulation was not to take up the roads near this building, so they could ride free. Jonathan in turn spoke of their desire to expand, as long as they upheld their end of the deal they would not encroach upon their territory.
Finally, they were both happy and Kenny spoke once more
“Jude, show our ‘guests’ out”
Jude looked over at him distraught, but nodded slowly, walking back through the entrance they’d come through while giving them a wide berth.
Jude took the lead and when Mark turned back he saw many of the Firestarters people had dropped what they were doing and were watching their group.
Jude dispersed them with a look and they seemed to back off, though all of them sent dark looks their way.
As they traveled Jude was silent but kept looking back at them. Finally, as they got to the entrance once more he said.
“Sorry that it went that way, I really am.”
Mark chose to speak, the guy seemed genuine and honestly, he had no idea why someone like Jude was even with this type of faction.
“You don’t need to be sorry to us, what happened, happened. We learned something and in the end, achieved what we came here to do”
Jude listened and nodded more to himself than them.
“Um, could I give you guys a word of advice?”
Mark didn’t mind and indicated for him to go on.
“If you guys are that strong, you should wear badges so people know not to mess with you, It will get rid of a lot of misunderstandings, but that's just my thoughts. Sorry if I’m speaking out of turn”
He honestly did look sorry.
Mark smiled reassuringly.
They had spoken at length about this and it had been decided that they wouldn’t wear badges denoting their strength just yet, except in certain circumstances.
“Thank you for the well-meaning advice but we are still getting a feel for everything here. From what we can tell that system has its flaws. Voices get lost and levels become all at people care about”
Jude looked thoughtful and then said.
“That is true, but it has its benefits too. In the beginning, people with the power tried to give others a turn to speak and that came with its own downsides. Then NAS stepped in and things stabilized. All I’m saying is maybe a combination of systems work?”
He didn’t sound very confident but Mark found the guy insightful. It was a shame he worked for another faction.
Unfortunately what he said caused Mark to frown in thought because that was another point for ‘Might makes right’.
This frown in turn made Jude apologise once more.
“Never mind what I said, just ignore me, here I made this I want you to have it. I promise it's just a gift no strings attached”
Jude held up what looked like a small figurine. Or at least it resembled one. The little thing was a small brass rat, put together by hundreds of tiny interlocking cogs, springs, and delicate metalwork. The detail was so intricate and self-contained that Mark feared that even if he tried he would not be able to replicate the little creature. It was so lifelike it could only have been made by magic with incredible control and an eye for detail.
Looking at the gift and then Jude, Mark couldn’t detect any deceit so he accepted the gesture with a nod of thanks, sending it into his inventory.
They got in the car for the completely unnecessary drive and made their way home.
Jonathan sighed and let his head droop back onto the seat.
“I can tell they are going to be a problem later.”
Mark's brow rose.
“What are you Chloe now? How can you tell?”
“Dealt with many people like that before, Kenny rules that faction with an iron fist. He doesn't disagree now but eventually, he’ll feel entitled to something we have or become angry at some development around us and take things further. Mel could also be a problem, she had Kenny's ear and it was hard to tell how she felt about that exchange.”
Mark just shrugged his shoulders.
They’d have to prepare for it and if the time came they would deal with them. Plus maybe Jude would surprise them, he seems to have his head screwed on properly.
“Well, I don’t know about you but I’m staving right now I could use breakfast. ”
They arrived in no time flat and Mark went searching for food. Joslin the ever-opportunist had prepared breakfast wraps to go for five Sp each. Some people call daylight robbery but if they wanted a proper breakfast they’d have to go deeper into the city to find a place to eat and they were much more expensive. As she put it, she was just ‘filling a market’.
Mark grabbed five and he was glad he had, because, no sooner had he paid for them than Sam found them.
“Mark! Jon! Help, she’s a beast! I need you both!”
Mark was just handing a couple of wraps over to Jonathan when she arrived from nowhere. Swiping one from Mark and dragged them both up the stairs.
Turns out, Ethel was putting her through the wringer. Sam was actually really fast at working with numbers and admin, a blessing of a high Mana attribute. This, in turn, meant she had finished their projections in record-breaking time, which was rewarded with more admin. As soon as she finished something Ethel seemed to find more work. The most recent job was an information correlation check, which was just fancy words for double-checking that their map was accurate.
The massive amount of second-hand accounts left them reeling as they tried to place everything and gain a picture of the faction territories and what belonged to whom.
So all three of them sat in the penthouse pouring over maps and stacks of scouting reports. Mark was convinced Ethel had done this so they would memorize where everything was or at least have an idea of what was where. Instead of letting others do it.
Mark felt his theory was confirmed when Ethel arrived in the room with a shell-shocked-looking Daphne and a very exhausted Chloe. Clearly, she had been using her magic to its fullest extent.
“Right boys and girls, I’m sending you outside on a mission”
All of them blinked, waiting. Without even noticing it they had already pushed it into the late afternoon.
“Go take some time to situate yourselves. Explore our surroundings firsthand, gather some information, and maybe even a grab bite to eat. I hear people have found some interesting ways to cope with the end of times”
They all paused and looked at one another.
Was she saying what they thought she was saying?
“Well? What are you waiting for, go on. Or do you want pocket money or something? Get a little fresh air while I go over Chloe’s projections and figure out the next step.”