by G. T. Spoor
“Berk got fired,” Emily said.
“Oh, Berk, I’m sorry.”
He held up his hand in a vain attempt to stop her pity. “Thanks, but don’t worry yourself about it.”
“What are you going to do now?”
Downing his second ale, he pushed the mug aside and looked around the main room. “Does the Bird and Bay need a bouncer?” He laughed but then quickly waved the suggestion away. “I’m only kidding. I guess I’ll have to look into another Merc company, although it’s not going to be easy.”
“Why not?” Emily asked. “You’re qualified.”
“Because I’m on the list now.”
“What list?”
“You get fired from a company, you get put on the list. It’s not supposed to exist, but it does. Companies aren’t too fond of hiring Mercs who were fired from other companies. Still, there’s always a chance. I guess I can try the Yellow Snakes or the Orange Badgers.”
“As long as it’s not the Blue Tigers,” Emily said. “I think I’m still on their wanted list.”
“I do have a cousin in the Black Eagles. He may be willing to put in a good word for me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t try them, mate. Those Black Eagles are as crooked as a goblin’s nose, or so I’ve heard.”
Emily quickly looked up to see Arthur Sinclair standing behind the bar. He was casually scanning the wall of bottles. Carefully selecting one, he poured himself a drink. Before Tom could protest, he set a few fyn down on the counter, more than enough to cover the cost.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Came in through the back door, but you weren’t in the kitchen, so I followed your voice out here,” he answered.
“That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”
“I’m trying to help, and believe me when I tell ya, you don’t what to go joining the Black Eagles.”
“Do I know you?” Berk asked.
“Sinclair.” He extended his hand. “Arthur Sinclair. I’m a close friend of Emily’s.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Emily added.
“Berkeley Jaral Morris,” Berk said as he shook Sinclair’s hand. “Formerly of the Red Wolf Merc Company. So, what’s this about the Black Eagles?”
“They’ve been in the back pocket of Rufus Webster for the last six years.”
“Rufus Webster?”
“He’s the new head of the Hill Clan ever since Trevor died of mysterious causes related to a jitney falling on him.”
Berk shrugged. “Still, it’s not like I have a lot of choices.”
Sinclair set his drink down on the bar and reached into his vest pocket. “Fate is a funny mistress, my friend.” He grinned. “You may actually have one more choice you hadn’t considered.” He pulled out a piece of paper, but instead of handing it to Berk, he handed it to Emily.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Read it. It’s your Merc license,” he said.
“My what?”
“Your Merc license. You’re a Merc. Well, almost. You still have to pay the registration fee.”
“I don’t understand. Where did this come from?”
“Let’s just say my uncle pays his debts. He doesn’t like anyone having anything over him.”
Emily handed the license back to Sinclair. “Tell your uncle thanks, but no thanks.”
“Are you serious?” Sarah asked. “This is what you wanted.”
“Maybe, but I know what these little favors cost.”
Sinclair reached into his vest pocket again. “My uncle knew you’d react this way. He said, if you refused his gift, I was to give you this.” He handed Emily a bit of twine.
She smiled. “I’m guessing this is his way of telling me he’s not holding the other end of the string.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Sinclair said before pouring himself another drink.
Emily looked over the license.
It seemed to be legitimate, the same license Petrova had hanging on the wall in his office. The only difference being that it was made out to her… almost.
“Emil Doyle?”
“You noticed that.”
“It’s a little hard to miss.”
“The Bureau was reluctant to issue a Merc license to a woman, and seeing that the mistake was already on the paperwork you filled out, it seemed easier for all parties involved to go with the more masculine name.”
“And that’s not going to be a problem?”
“Doubt it,” Sinclair said. “It’s not like anyone checks once it’s filed.”
“If I accept this, it doesn’t mean I’m working for your uncle.”
“He doesn’t expect you to. He has enough Mercs in his pocket. He doesn’t need anymore.”
“Then why give this to me?”
Sinclair looked down at his drink as he swirled the contents of the glass. “You have to understand something about my uncle,” he said. “He’s… well… he doesn’t see the good side of people often. He’s dealt so long with the dregs of society, it’s all he knows. To him, the world is corrupt and all you need is enough fyn to buy your way to the top. You, on the other hand, are a curiosity, or possibly, an experiment.”
“What kind of experiment?” Emily asked.
Berk laughed. “He wants to see how long it takes before you become as corrupt as every other Merc in the business.”
“Oh, that’s ridiculous,” Sarah said. “It will never happen.”
“Don’t be so sure. You think Petrova started out accepting bribes and falsifying records? From what I’ve heard, he was an honest Merc before he took over the Red Wolves. It starts slow. You bend a few rules here, do a few favors there to balance the accounts, and before you know it…”
“It’s true,” Sinclair added. “Most of the Mercs who work for my uncle were idealistic dreamers who thought they could change the world.”
“Yeah well, I don’t want to change the world,” Emily said. “I want to help a few people, the people this city seems to forget.”
Sinclair held up his glass. “To another idealistic dreamer.”
“I think Emily is going to surprise you. I don’t think she’s that easily corrupted,” Sarah said. “She’s going to be an honest Merc.”
“She’s not a Merc yet,” Sinclair pointed out. “She still has to pay the registration fee. I’m sure she can come up with the five hundred fyn, unless, of course, she needs my uncle’s help.”
“How much?” Emily asked.
“Five hundred fyn.”
“And that’s only the fee to file the license,” Berk added. “You’ll still have to come up with the operator’s fee, which could be another five hundred fyn. That’ll allow you to work in the city. And if you want to start a company, that’s going to cost you an easy thousand more.”
“Two thousand fyn.” Emily looked down at the license. “I can’t afford that.”
Sinclair grinned. “As it so happens, my uncle did say he was more than willing to float you a loan, should you need the money to get started, at a fair interest rate, of course. You’d also have the option of working some of it off. You know, do a few jobs on the side for him.”
“And just like that, it begins,” Berk said.
“Hey, look, I’m making the offer. It’s up to her if she wants to accept it.”
“That’s only because you knew how much it would cost. You knew she couldn’t afford it.”
“But I can,” Sarah said. “I’ve been saving a bit over the last couple of years, you know, for my wedding.”
Berk stared at Sarah. “Your wedding?”
“Don’t bother,” Emily said. “It gets complicated from this point on.” She looked at Sarah. “I can’t take your money. You need it. What about your plans of moving up? Getting off of this tier and moving to the upper nine.”
“Oh, come on, Em. That’s never going to happen, and maybe it doesn’t have to. I mean, sure, the fantasy was nice, but I’ve been watching you, and I see no
w that maybe I don’t need to get married to make something of myself. Besides, my brother went out of his way to help those in need, and I want to honor his memory.”
“I can’t take your money. I don’t know when, or even if, I’ll be able to pay you back.”
“You won’t have to. The way I see it, if we start a Merc company, under your license, then I can legally help you on your cases.”
“She’s right,” Berk said. “The only way to work a case is to have a license or work for someone who has a license. Most Mercs aren’t licensed. They can’t afford it. That’s why they join companies.”
“So, what do you say?” Sarah asked. “We become partners. Your license, my money.”
“If you really think we can pull this off…”
“I’m positive we can.”
“Well then, all right. I guess we’re now a Merc company.”
Emily reached over the bar to shake Sarah’s hand. Berk leaned in closer. “You wouldn’t happen to be hiring, would you?” he asked.
Sarah grinned. “Are you sure? You’d be working for a couple of women.”
“The way I see it, I’ve pretty much been working for you guys this past week anyway.”
“Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my partner.”
“We’re not exactly established,” Emily pointed out. “I’m not even sure we could afford you.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Berk said. “I have buster jobs lined up already, but I can’t do them because I don’t have a license.”
“If that’s all you need, then… I guess you’re hired.”
“Great. So, what’s the name of the company?”
“Name?”
“Yeah, I have to know what Merc company I’m working for.”
“That’s right,” Sarah said. “We have to come up with a name.”
“It has to be in the traditional fashion. A color and an animal from the old index. As you know, in this area alone we have”—Berk started counting off on his fingers—“the Orange Badgers, the Yellow Snakes, the Black Eagles and, of course, the Red Wolves.”
“You’re forgetting the Blue Tigers,” Emily added.
“How can we forget them?”
“Seeing as Sarah is putting up the money, I’ll let her decide on the name of the company.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up. “I know exactly what we should call ourselves. The Purple Puffins.”
###
