by Sarah Lin
"The risk is the same: an out of control reaction near the city. But this one is more complicated, entangled with demonic business interests. If we react too aggressively, their corporations will move to block us, and that would be an inconvenience for the Central States Lucrim Authority."
"So that's the reason you're sending us in?"
"Just the top ten candidates."
Rick grimaced. If only he had done a little less well, he could have skipped this entirely. Yet as he thought about it, he decided that he didn't want to be involved anyway. Something about their approach rubbed him the wrong way: sending the top ten at the problem instead of a far more powerful specialist struck him as throwing bodies at the problem.
Maybe it was another test, maybe it was a sacrifice, maybe some kind of power play between human and demonic corporations. He didn't care. Everything in his life was going wonderfully and he didn't want to ruin that. So after shaking the cold off, Rick answered in as confident a voice as he could. "Sorry, but I don't think I'm qualified to help with something like that. I'll pass."
"Of course." Her voice actually had a bit of emotion: troublingly sweet. "Your contract doesn't require you to participate in any extraordinary events such as this, after all. However, you should know that participating will be worth over 100 merits in the rankings... and not participating will deduct 100 merits from your total and 50 from this month's quota."
He froze, the night air around him suddenly biting deep. For a while, he'd let all the positive things in his life lull him into a sense of peace, but the CSLA was a corporation. It had no mercy or humanity.
"Will you choose to participate, then?" She asked the question, but it was no question at all. He tried to calculate if he could take that hit to the month and still make his quota. It didn't seem likely.
"Yes."
"Wonderful." With that, she hung up, leaving him in the cold dark. Rick stayed outside for a long time before he went back inside.
Chapter 29: Demonic Negotiations
As Rick biked toward the location, he found himself wondering yet again if he was making a mistake. Yes, he needed to do it to keep his job. And yes, it was in a relatively public location instead of someplace suspicious. Yet he found his mood trending worse.
Last night he'd forced himself to get some sleep as best he could, but his mind was restless due to lack of information. All he had was the time and location, sent via a strange link. Fortunately it wasn't right away, so he had time to tell Melissa about the situation. He hadn't lied to her about his concerns, but also didn't want to distract her from the upcoming CLAT. Fortunately, his employers implied that the problem would only take a day, so he'd have plenty of time to help her relax when he got back.
The location he'd been given was a strip mall on the western side of the city, not so different from the one he'd visited so many times while working at the House of the Cosmic Fist. Yet when Rick biked up, he realized that the online pictures were out of date. Where there had once been a strip mall, there was just... nothing. A stretch of asphalt without even parking lot markings painted on it.
Why exactly it was left in that condition bothered him, but Rick was more distracted by how bizarrely well-dressed everyone present was. He was five minutes early, but most of the others seemed to be there first. It was suits on the men, dresses or pantsuits on the women - even the one who had nearly blasted him during the initial fight was wearing an expensive-looking outfit and had her baseball cap in hand. What the hell was going on?
Everyone seemed tense, like this was a high stakes political negotiation or something. The only person who looked relaxed was Damian. He wore his usual elaborate suit but lay back on the ground, his arms behind his head and one leg dangling off the other, reclining in a posture of exaggerated ease. Given how his mirror sunglasses covered his eyes, he might actually have been snoring, but Rick would have bet it was faked. All of this was about appearances, but why?
"There you fucking are." As Rick stepped off his bike he saw someone uncrouch from the side of the asphalt and amended his previous thought: there was one person who wasn't dressed up. Unfortunately, it was Jack. The man flexed his tattooed arms and approached. "I knew the instant I saw your name get on the list that I'd have a shot at you here."
"I really don't think we're supposed to be fighting each other." Rick nervously glanced toward all the others. Everyone was watching with mild interest, since there was nothing else happening... but he wasn't going to count on any of them stepping up to help. He might have improved, but if he fought Jack again, he didn't expect to win.
Though Jack advanced rapidly, his tattoos hadn't lit up with aura yet and it didn't seem like he was going to attack. Instead he got right up in Rick's face, seething with malice. "You found some way to hide away in a rathole, but not any longer. Today I'm gonna even the scales."
"You're really going to try to kill me in front of all these fine people?" Rick tried to disarm him with a smile, but it didn't work. Jack leaned in and spoke even lower.
"I don't want to kill you. Just make sure you end up crippled, drop out, and never come to anything. That oughtta be good enough."
They stared at each other, and though Rick didn't reflect any of the hatred coming toward him, he had no idea how to end a face-off like this. Would it be best to just back up and give Jack the satisfaction of intimidating him? Would looking weak in front of all the higher ranked candidates be harmful in some way? In the end he didn't get a chance to act, because a dark-haired man in an immaculate suit stepped toward them and coughed disapprovingly.
"This isn't the time for a street brawl, you two. Don't embarrass us in front of the GLA." As he spoke imperiously, he adjusted his tie.
"Stay out of this!" Jack turned with a snarl, one arm flaring up in a warning swipe.
The well-dressed man responded with a clinically precise kick. Rick could barely even see it, just saw the blur connect with Jack's chest and send him flying back through the air. Given the speed of the blow, Rick had a feeling that it could have caved in the man's chest if he'd chosen. This was just a reprimand.
Looking more carefully, Rick realized that the new arrival must be Pan Zhou, the top competitor on the merit scoreboard. He was retracting his lucrima at that moment, but Rick still got a sense for it and flinched. Pan Zhou had a generation rate of over 150,000 lucrim buoyed by a Birthright Core, but he moved like he had an enormous amount of skill to back it up. Overall he felt stronger than Emily, probably a cruiserweight. This was no idle Birthrighter like Mike: this was the scion of an important family.
And at that moment the man turned and gave Rick a scornful glance. "Can we trust you not to cause any trouble?"
"I never planned to bring any. He attacked me." Rick's protest sounded weak even to him, and Pan Zhou just fixed him with a disparaging look. It wasn't quite a sneer, just a sneer's better-dressed cousin.
"Sorry for the error. It's hard to tell, when you come to this meeting dressed like a thug."
Though he knew he should keep his temper under control, Rick found himself reacting to the provocation. "Aren't we here to work?"
"Heh, do you understand nothing?" Pan Zhou shook his head and stepped closer, threatening in a very different way than Jack. "No, this is just a job to you, isn't it? You only took it for a bit of lucrim and security. Well, you're going to be very disappointed."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Rick knew he was ignorant, but this asshole was going to look down on him no matter what. At least he could get some answers.
"None of this surveying task is a job, it's all an extended job interview. Yes, they want to get some data, but that's temporary. Soon enough the anomalies will be gone and the work will evaporate in the wind. All that will matter is if you've made an impression." Again Pan Zhou readjusted his tie. "And I suppose you've made one. Pathetic ether score, carrying an aura leech, barely able to invest in Graham's Stake... I suppose the most you can hope for here is a bit of lucrim."
&n
bsp; Hearing everything he'd worked so hard for scorned left Rick furious, yet he had a nagging feeling that the words were correct. It was obvious that the anomalies couldn't last forever and everyone had said that the CSLA had other motives. He just hadn't expected to have anyone throw it in his face like this.
Was Pan Zhou trying to provoke him? An instant later Rick realized that of course he was: he wanted to shame two of his potential rivals by making them look like thugs, and weak thugs at that. So Rick just smiled back at him and said, "Thanks for the tip."
He thought he saw a tiny flicker of anger behind the dark eyes, but at that moment a clap suppressed all other sound. They both turned and saw that the woman in the green pantsuit had arrived. Across the field, Jack was rising to his feet angrily, though at least now his anger seemed to be directed toward Pan Zhou.
All of them walked to meet her, Rick now feeling particularly shabby in his normal clothes. Why were they all dressed so well, truly? He didn't think their bosses were shallow enough to be impressed by a few fancy clothes like this was a stereotypical job interview. Were they? The arrogant dismissal had rattled him, so he tried to push doubts aside and focus on what mattered.
"The demonic reps should be here shortly," the woman said. "Some of you seem better prepared than others, but there was no sense in doing a briefing since we don't actually know what to expect. Central offices believe that the reps will have specific requests but that there's also a reasonably high chance of a negative reaction. If so, feel free to engage any anomalous entities, but under no circumstances engage any demons outside of a formal challenge."
She rattled off the information quickly and Rick felt as though he was lacking essential background information, just like he still didn't know why everyone was dressed up. He'd always thought that avoiding demons was the responsible thing to do, yet apparently it left him behind the curve here. Combined with the verbal beating he'd received, it had him in quite a bad mood when the demons arrived.
They showed up in a burning ring of fire and Rick just stared. There were several of them, including a succubus in a business suit and several guards that appeared to be riding human bodies. Most of his attention was drawn by the leader, who could not have looked more stereotypically demonic if he'd tried. And maybe he had tried - with his red skin and horns he looked like he was ready to go down to Georgia to challenge a young fighter to a duel.
Rick thought back to the succubus going by the title of Lilith at the demonic bond office and her implications about how demons conformed to human expectations. She had been subtle, though, changing herself to match him. This demon lord look in the blood red suit was over the top... Rick didn't think that anyone with a position of authority in a demonic organization would be an idiot, so was it a statement?
"Greetings, Lord Beelzebub." The CSLA official stepped forward and nodded to him, for once seeming utterly present in the moment. That name, though... Rick had to assume it was another title. "We're happy to help you with whatever concerns you may wish to bring."
"I rather doubt that." Beelzebub, if that was his name, toyed with one of his cufflinks irritably. "Your entire purpose here has always been to manipulate local aura such that you choke off our access."
"Lord Beelzebub, I assure you, that is not true. Haven't we maintained all agreements?"
"You have. But with the data you're gathering, you could choose to do otherwise, and that leverage has not gone unnoticed."
"Ah, I see." Strangely, the woman smiled and nodded. "We apologize if our actions have seemed aggressive. We assure you, however, we intended no such insult. Perhaps we could begin with a show of good faith... perhaps simple negotiations to ensure there is not an anomalous rupture?"
For the first time the head demon seemed slightly pleased. "Yes, that would be a good start. Such a rupture would benefit no one."
Tension that Rick hadn't realized had slowly filled the air suddenly dissipated. It had been too subtle for him to identify, but both the CSLA representative and the demon leader had been slowly marshaling resources for a fight. Now that they stood down, everyone could breathe easier.
"That is only a good first step," Lord Beelzebub said. "The truth is, the implicit threat of your actions cannot be ignored, even if it is truly unintentional."
"What could we do to alleviate those concerns?"
"You could cease this excessive surveying."
The woman gave a small, lifeless smile. "I'm afraid that's entirely impossible, Lord Beelzebub. Would you be satisfied with the inclusion of fully bonded agents along with our surveyors?"
"Hmph. If the numbers are equal to your own agents. Otherwise there is little purpose."
"That would be a rather large number, and it would make some people on this side feel uncomfortable. Surely we can reach a compromise?"
"Perhaps so." Lord Beelzebub smiled, baring deadly-looking teeth, and folded his arms over his chest. "This may be a good time to follow the old codes. Let us decide the number of agents that will be allowed to join you by the ancient rites of formal duels. I see that you have already brought champions."
"A fine suggestion. We have brought ten warriors, so should we begin ten duels?"
"That would advantage your side, and you know it. No, perhaps three duels would be a more fitting number..."
Rick's eyes bounced back and forth as he followed the negotiations. Some of the exact details escaped him, but now he understood the purpose of the meeting and why everyone was well-dressed. He didn't know a lot about demonic duels, but he did remember that they were combat combined with argument, conflicts that decided matters between two opposed sides.
They continued to debate the appropriate format for the duel, leaving Rick to wonder whether or not he'd be called to fight. Likely not, given that he was the weakest person present. Yet as he waited, he found himself looking past the demons.
There was a rift in the sky, and the air was roiling.
The others were beginning to realize as well, some with dismay and others with puzzlement. Jack lit up his aura tattoos and shot a feral grin in Rick's direction, as if promising to target him instead of the mutual threat. Yet Rick found his attention captured instead by Damian: the young man had gotten to his feet and was putting his sunglasses away with a very strange look of concentration. He didn't seem surprised.
"A rupture?" Lord Beelzebub turned toward it with a scowl as if personally affronted. "Which one of your incompetent underlings caused this?"
"These are our best," the woman objected, unconcerned by the fact that strange half-visible creatures were now folding into existence. "If anything has led to this rupture, it is no doubt your excessive display of force in our world."
Though it seemed that the two of them would continue to argue, there was no time to think about it with flickering creatures beginning to crawl over the asphalt. The main question was if either side would just crush the problem with overwhelming power, yet they didn't seem to be doing so: perhaps it had something to do with the sensitivity they were arguing about.
All the other fighters, even Pan Zhou, seemed to be preparing to fight, so that was apparently the thing to do. Most of them formed a circle around the two leaders and the bonded humans did the same on their side, so apparently this was a defensive game. He could do that.
When the first of the flickering creatures approached the line, he didn't hesitate to kick it, hard enough that it exploded out of existence. Last time they had been a bit of challenge, but since then he'd grown stronger and had gained some experience fighting smaller creatures. Plus, the others naturally formed a rough line, so he had people guarding his flanks.
Given that, Rick felt comfortable looking beyond to the source of the rupture. This one looked a bit different, mist escaping into the air. He didn't know what that meant, but judging from the reactions of both leaders, it wasn't good. Presumably they were trying to do something, but meanwhile there were more entities emerging... and they seemed to be getting bigger much faster th
an before.
Rick ducked underneath a leaping creature and made sure to elbow it in the stomach as it flew overhead, destroying it before it could get behind the others. Someone else wasn't so careful and suddenly there was a larger creature on his flank, almost gorilla-sized.
He lashed out with a blow and the creature rocked back, but only a little. It raised four different limbs that were oddly thin, whipping through the air, their half-invisible state making it difficult to identify them. That was a terrible opponent for his skills, but he readied himself to try to defend against all four limbs and take the thing down before they could get mobbed.
Without warning, a wall of energy rushed past, evaporating the creature and nearly taking off his arm. Rick shot a glance at the woman with the baseball cap, who waved her hands strangely.
"Sorry! But look out!" Her eyes were actually focused past him and Rick turned...
Only to see Jack throwing a fist in his direction.
Though Rick managed to raise both forearms to block and this time his defensive core wasn't torn apart, the blow sent him flying back through the air. A bit shaken by the force of it, he couldn't catch himself, just skipping painfully across the asphalt before crashing to a halt.
He immediately pushed himself up, scrambling away from a massive dog-like shape that snapped at him with semi-visible jaws. Somehow he managed to grab it around the middle and hurl it into the nearest creature, desperately trying to buy time to get his bearings.
The blow had knocked him far away from all the other fighters, which had probably been the plan. It seemed the leaders were focused on the rupture itself and unlikely to give any aid. Strangely, the only person anywhere near him was Damian, who seemed to be moving in his direction, perhaps to help. That was kind of him, but he was probably going to be too late.
A shift in the air was all the warning Rick got that something massive had manifested behind him. He spun as he turned around, barely avoiding a swiping hand. It was difficult to see the features of the thing, it was just taller than him and roughly humanoid.
