It was hard to resist.
I hate being a teenager again. Was bad enough the first time with having to bury all the bodies.
Was definitely harder when we weren’t as sure of ourselves.
That, and grown men and women weigh a lot more than a skinny teen.
Chapter 35
Sitting in the corner of Carden’s office, Rene was bored.
He’d been here for hours. So long in fact, that he’d been going through a myriad of other things to keep himself busy.
He’d already re-read the entirety of The Elemental Way, done some mental exercises through it, and tried to figure out how to better adapt it to his own way of fighting.
After he’d gone through all of that, he’d pulled his guitar out of his inventory and started practicing his fret work. So long as he didn’t make any noise, he could practice almost endlessly.
As he moved his fingers from a C to a G and then F, Rene felt like he was definitely working his hands out.
You’ve gained a point of Agility (44)
Your skill in Guitar has increased (32)
Smirking to himself, Rene just kept moving his fingers back and forth through all the chords he could. It was certainly easier to keep his mind occupied when he could put things right back into his inventory.
More so now that he could sneak without being seen. His previous life would have been infinitely easier with these kinds of gifts.
I’m glad we let our Elven wife know we wouldn’t be back for the night.
To keep our sweet love and darling one awake worrying wouldn’t be right.
Weren’t you just professing your sentiments about Odelia a few minutes ago?
I was. Yes. Then Aurora.
Now it’s Alana.
And let’s not forget our Irini. I bet she’s got a tight little pu—
Actually, yes, let’s forget her.
He really didn’t need the Monster reminding him about his body’s very distinct and high-level desire for female company.
There was a light thump from the small room that led into Carden’s office. Like someone setting down a bag to balance their load.
Putting his guitar away, Rene made sure to get down lower. Just in case he’d somehow screwed up his Sneak ability while keeping himself entertained.
A loud clack as the door was unlocked preceded Carden and three others walking into his office. Two of those people Rene didn’t know, but the third was very well known to him.
Aurora looked tired, but determined. He imagined she’d been wrestling with her conscience once more. She seemed like a rather troubled individual at the best of times.
“Save the morning shit for another day. Report,” Carden said stomping over to his desk and putting his bag down atop it.
“Nothing,” said the first lieutenant-captain. He looked to be a man in his forties with graying hair and blue eyes.
“Not a word,” said the second woman in her thirties with light brown hair. Her brown eyes were tired and she had a worn look.
“I laid charges of corruption on three guards and had them imprisoned,” Aurora murmured. “I’ve submitted all the appropriate paperwork, and made sure I had a good deal of proof before I executed the arrest.”
“You did what?” Carden asked glaring at Aurora.
“I removed traitors,” Aurora replied, lifting her chin up fractionally.
“We… we already look terrible right now,” Carden said, his tone becoming softer. “More traitors will just make us look even worse.”
“Are you saying we should overlook traitors in our midst just to assist with the idea that we… don’t have traitors?” Aurora asked, sounding rather confused.
To be honest, Rene understood it. He’d seen it happen enough within corporations and companies. Sometimes it was better to get rid of the problem without processing it.
Letting an employee quit before you fire them for sexual harassment, so the company wouldn’t have to report it at all.
“That’s… never mind,” Carden said shaking his head. “Fine. Anything else? My day is going to be packed full of the city regent parking his load in my asshole, I’m sure.”
“I met my contact yesterday. The Mask guild is moving faster,” said the male lieutenant-captain. “They’ve taken over every single brothel in the entire city.”
“Every brothel?” Carden asked, sounding surprised.
“Indeed,” confirmed the man. “Every single one. My source told me that the Mask put a mistress in command as his second. Her first order of business was to literally secure every single one. Through any means possible.
“There’s apparently a second Mask. Dark Mask, is what they call her. She does his dirty work and reports to no one but Mask.”
I have a leak. I’ll have to look into that and see who needs to die.
“Did your source say anything else?” Carden asked.
“No. They were quite fearful of being found out. Supposedly, the Mask can be anywhere at any time,” explained the man. “He refused to meet me anywhere but inside my home, after dark, and with all the lights extinguished. It was… very odd.”
I’ll swing by his place later, see who I can track away from his home, and go from there.
We’ll make that source pay the price.
And make an example out of them. We can’t allow that sort of thing.
“Fine. That it?” Carden asked.
All three of his subordinates nodded their heads.
“Great, fuck off,” Carden said and, then down in his chair.
The three exited without another word. When the door closed, Carden let out a heavy sigh and pressed his hands to his face.
After waiting several seconds, Rene stood up and leaned against the wall next to him.
“To be fair,” Rene murmured. “They don’t know you’re as crooked as Rondel was. You’re lucky I took care of him before he could spill about you.”
Carden’s head had snapped toward him the moment he started talking.
The older man didn’t say anything, just stared at Rene.
“What, I spill on myself or something?” Rene inquired, looking down at himself. Pressing his hands to his tunic he gave it a good once-over. Then he looked down to his pants. “Everything seems in order, something wrong?”
“You—how did you get here?” Carden asked.
“I walked. Everyone does. You put one foot in front of the other and kinda like… push… off the ground,” Rene said, exaggerating a single step. “I mean, unless you’re moonwalking. But that’s more pushing your weight against the opposite foot while mimicking movement with the other, like this.”
Rene began to slowly moonwalk toward the door, then turned and came back toward Carden. When he reached the desk, he did a small spin and stood up on his toes, gesturing at the other man.
“You’re…”
“Mask,” Rene said, letting his heels hit the floor with a clack. Then he leaned up against the wall again. “So, I thought we should talk. I got your name from a mutual friend who’ll remain nameless for now. I need to buy some leeway.”
“Who says—”
“More than five people, less than ten,” Rene interrupted. “Let’s skip to the part where you tell me your price. Cause that’s the part I’m actually interested in.”
Carden didn’t respond. He kept staring at Rene. His face was a closed mask of denial, his eyes unmoving.
“I mean, if you’re the wrong guy, I can kill you,” Rene muttered. “And we can figure out who comes after you. Certainly not the little girl. I’m sure I’ll have to murder her sooner rather than later.
“Maybe the older one? She seems pliant and done with everything as a whole.”
That broke Carden out of his mild trance.
Letting out a long suffering sigh, Carden leaned back into his chair.
“Depends on what you want,” he muttered. “I can’t do as much as I did previously with that idiot getting caught. And thank you for ending his life. It
would have been rather difficult indeed if he’d had the chance to talk.”
And done.
Now we just kill him and let Aurora do what she wants.
“Though if anything, I’m going to have to hire you instead,” Carden said putting his chin in his hand.
“Oh?” Rene asked, his thoughts derailing hard in the other direction now.
“Your… peers… are back in town,” Carden said. “The guild leaders of the Snakes and the Ravens.”
Yes! This is exactly what we need. Exactly what we need.
Now I can take over the underworld entirely.
“They’re making nuisances of themselves,” Carden explained. “More than the city can handle right now. More than I want to deal with. They’re going to be meeting at about mid-day bell.”
Not long from now, we’ll have to hurry. We can end this as time will allow, end it all with two to turn to a slurry.
“Can you handle them?” Carden asked.
“Mm, I can definitely do that,” Rene admitted. It lined up with what he wanted to do anyway. “What’s your pay?”
“Ten thousand for each,” Carden offered.
“Ten thousand for each, and I get the young Lieutenant-Captain. She was pretty. I have plans for her,” Rene said.
“You… have plans—you know what, that’s fine,” Carden said, holding his hands up. “She’s yours.”
“Good. Just leave her alone. I’ll deal with her privately,” Rene said and nodded his head. This wasn’t a terrible way to ensure she’d be left alone. That she could go about her business and not have any problems.
“Deal. The meeting is going to be held outside the city walls,” Carden explained. “Small tavern along the road, maybe five minutes from the east gate. Cat’s Yowl. Very terrible brothel and worse bar.”
“Yes, yes, I know the place,” Rene lied. It was always better to lie about everything than to admit anything. “Anything else I should know?”
“Actually, yes,” Carden said after a slight pause. “There was a… business enterprise that’d been going on in the city for a while. A hostage and ransom business that was doing very well for itself.”
Oh ho? You’re involved in this as well? How lovely.
How perfect.
“They ran afoul of… someone… something and have had some losses in the city as of late,” Carden continued. “They’re sending someone to put it back in order. He’s just arrived and is going to inspect a new facility of theirs.
“Any chance you could post some of your people around it to protect it? There’s some crazy new bounty hunter that’s putting a lot of my friends on edge.”
“Maybe. Maybe, I’m not sure. Got a lot going on. You paying?” Rene asked.
“Yeah, I’ll pay. Five thousand for the guard detail,” Carden said. “They’re going to be setting up in the old prison in the noble quarter. It’s more of a museum now, but it’s closed to the public and is practically a ruin above ground. All the cells and the dungeons below-ground are still working, though.
“They have a new load of cargo they’re bringing in today. They’ll be gone before the end of the day and just need a place to settle for a short while. Less than a bell or two. Honestly, I’d say they’ll probably be leaving just after the mid-day bell.”
Fuck.
Shit.
Shit fuck.
“I see. I’ll see what I can do. Can’t promise anything,” Rene apologized. “I’ve got most of my people out hunting Ravens and Snakes all day, every day, for a bounty.”
“Oh? Anything I could collect on?” Carden asked.
“Sure. Just send the heads of anyone you catch over to the Tramp’s Tail. I’ll have someone identify them and send back the gold,” Rene said with a shrug. He wouldn’t be against paying someone for work.
“Great. And if you suddenly find yourself bored with Aurora, I’d pay you to have her eliminated,” said Carden with a flick of his hand. “She’s too rigid, too… moral. I’m almost positive she suspects me, but there’s nothing she can do about it.”
“When I’m bored of her, I’ll get rid of her,” Rene lied, wondering what it’d feel like to let Carden’s life blood run down his hand. To drive the blade so deep through his throat, that it would break off in his spine.
“Fantastic. Well, this has been an extremely fortuitous meeting,” said Carden with a chuckle. “Alright, I’m going to go get butt-fucked by the city regent now. He’s still hopping mad about the attempted robbery on the Anatolis brat. Little shit.”
Rene could definitely agree with that one. He’d deliberately set the city regent loose to a degree. There was no denying that having a new lender in town with a lot of money was very likely to boost the economy.
Having that person robbed so soon after arriving, and by a lieutenant of the guard, was more than just a black eye to the honor of the city.
It was a beating with metal-shod clubs.
Carden started to shuffle some papers around on his desk, looking like he was trying to collect himself.
“Oh, and those two idiots are probably going to go underground again after today,” Carden said, opening a drawer. “So make sure you take care of them or they’re going to vanish for a bit. No telling how long.”
“I’ll put my best people on it,” Rene said, then ducked down low in a crouch.
He vanished from Carden’s sight almost instantly. As if he’d never been there to begin with. As if he hadn’t existed.
“The fuck? I sw—whatever. Whatever, whatever, whatever,” Carden muttered, and he left his office outright. He apparently didn’t want to be in it at all right now.
His security detail will increase after this. We’ll likely not get another chance at him for some time.
That’s fine. We made our point to him and told him what we wanted. Chances are, he’ll ignore Aurora going forward. For a while, at least.
Leaving Carden’s office, and getting out on the street quickly, Rene felt somewhat torn.
He had more information now than he’d ever had before on the kidnapping ring. Knew someone high up was coming, where they’d be, and what they were doing.
This would be a perfect opportunity to get some answers, and to boost his alignment bar up. Freeing that many hostages would probably push him all the way back to the top.
Maybe even get our benefactor to bless us with another gift.
His gifts are generous.
Rene couldn’t argue with that, but he really wanted to get the two enemy guild leaders squared away. It would be a problem if they went underground again.
He could simply slaughter every member of their guilds he came across, but he’d really been hoping to take them intact. To turn their profits, assets, and markets to his own needs.
Right now, he was more or less simply destroying them.
Which enriched nobody at all.
Sneaking through the streets, Rene lost most of his thoughts in a back-and-forth war as he tried to soothe himself.
He didn’t want to run off and end the kidnapping ring just to appease his alignment bar.
Not truthfully.
He also wanted to do it because it felt right to him. It felt like the thing he needed to do. The way to make sure something like what had happened to him, didn’t happen to someone like his sister. Or another young lady like Odelia.
And the problem was, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to turn around, and run straight for the kidnapping ring.
To put on his Black Hood persona and take apart the entire facility. To bring it crashing down to its knees.
Coming to a stop at the gate, Rene considered his choice. He could easily to put an end to the guilds and give himself quite a bit of breathing room.
It’d make his life infinitely easier without the two guild leaders as unchecked boxes.
The kidnapping ring didn’t directly affect him anymore.
Outside of his anger that it had happened to him, he wasn’t really involved in it anymore
.
Trundling toward him was a series of wagons. Every single vehicle in the wagon train was loaded to the brim with crates, barrels, and sacks. Each one was stamped appropriately by the city it’d left and had its content displayed as well as its weight.
To Rene, though, none of that mattered. Scattered amongst the crates, barrels, and sacks, he saw names. Names floating above the wagons’ contents, as it slowly rumbled by him.
The guards didn’t bother to check or stop the wagons. They’d been paid the fines and fees in advance, and likely the bribe, and were more concerned about the wagons going through quickly.
And so goes the next crop those foul villains are expecting.
For that’s them, as once we went, I’m detecting.
Lori would say we’re a hero for saving them, wouldn’t she.
She would.
And she wouldn’t think we’re as much of a hero for letting it happen, would she.
She would not.
We should… we should give up on our goal to unite the city’s underworld right now. Shouldn’t we?
I don’t know.
That’s… something you must decide for us.
I are you, you are me. We are we.
But… I’m not what I once was. I’m but a passenger with a voice.
You’re our driver and navigator.
My personal prison cell and freighter.
Terrible time for you to start taking a back seat.
No. It isn’t. It’s probably about the right time.
I’m not exactly as needed as I once was.
The Dame is long gone and we’re now in our prime.
A shadow of the past and a relic without a cause.
You’re being stupid and morbid.
No.
Just realizing what you’re already thinking, but haven’t voiced yet.
We’re feeling better, with family, friends, and a goal we’ve set.
Even in murder and a bloody profession.
We’ve lost our fatal need and our fanatic aggression.
Rene frowned, staring at the last wagon as it rolled by. One name stood out to him as it did so. It looked to be floating above a rather large chest.
Monster's Mercy Page 37
