Super Sales on Super Heroes: Book 2

by William D. Arand

  “I’m pretty sure that’d invalidate any warranty the product had,” Charles said with a small upturn of his lips.

  “Oh, and then some. But if you were going to throw it away anyways…” Felix stopped, leaving his open-ended statement hanging.

  It was easier to let people finish the thought on their own. It never hurt to do it, and it always helped with the adoption of new ideas.

  “I… yes. I see what you mean. Well, I think that’s all the time we had. I wanted to say thank you for coming out and talking with us. I know you’re a rather busy man. Especially with your bid for governor,” Charles said, leaning over his desk and holding out his hand to Felix.

  Uh huh. You were hoping to watch me fall on my face.

  Felix smiled and took Charles’ hand in his own and gave it a good shake.

  I’m going to buy this broadcasting station eventually and put your show on at two in the morning, and have it recorded at three in the morning.

  Chapter 18 - Blood Price -

  Felix got into the car and waited long enough for Victoria to slide in next to him.

  Andrea Prime was on his other side, Miu in the front with Chauffeur Andrea.

  “Andrea,” Felix said. “Get me a meeting with Dimitry. Use our secure channels. Tell him we’ll meet him in his office at the time. I’ll need a Fixer or Kit, Victoria, and one of your Others.”

  Miu turned around and stared at him.

  Asking me if you can go, huh? Not this time, my little psycho.

  “Miu, I need you to get ready to infiltrate the police station that undercover cop of ours debriefs at. I want to know what he’s been reporting. You might need to take a Fixer with you, so be sure to take one who can keep up with you,” Felix said, meeting her stare dead on. “Let me know when you’re ready to run your operation.”

  She blinked then nodded. Turning towards the front of the car, she seemed content to know she had her own mission for him.

  “I’ll take care of it, Felix,” Prime said from his side, rapidly typing something into her portable terminal. He couldn’t remember when she’d switched from her tablet, but it seemed like it was working out better for her.

  In fact, now that he looked at it, he was a touch envious. Apparently Felicia had built her a wrist communicator that doubled as her phone, and light terminal entry with an actual display.

  Andrea must have felt his eyes on her as she paused, her ears flicking to one side and swiveling towards him. Then she tilted her head and looked up at him shyly.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Nothing. Sorry, thanks, Andrea. Be sure to include one of your more combat oriented Others with me. You’ll have to stay put and man the ANet for me. Keep me looped in. I can’t deny the ANet has been extremely beneficial and helpful.”

  “I will…” she said, her cheeks reddening slightly.

  “Good. Alright. Let’s get back to Tilen HQ,” Felix said. Pulling out his own light terminal from his bag at his feet, he flipped it over and opened up the email section.

  He needed to get Lily working on a contract that’d work to cover a third party vendor as if they were Legion, with all the same protections a normal member would have.

  Legion had a leak, and he had to plug it.

  One way, or another.

  Kit ripped open the portal directly into Dimitry’s office. Victoria, a combat geared Andrea, and a Fixer in a Legion Security outfit darted through.

  Ten seconds later someone called back.

  “Toss through the bag. Got ears,” Andrea called.

  A second combat Andrea picked up a bag off the ground. Taking a few steps forward she heaved it through the portal.

  Got ears meant that Dimitry’s room was bugged. Either the policeman they’d turned had wriggled out of his contract, or Dimitry had picked up another spy.

  One way or another, it’d be fixed tonight.

  Felix had erred here. He had let something into Legion that wasn’t part of Legion.

  All because he wanted to have an ally.

  Shaking his head, Felix couldn’t help but berate himself again. This was all his doing, and it was up to him to get it resolved immediately. If this had gone any further south it could have cost him his governor run.

  A minute passed in near silence.

  Kit watched him from across the room as she held open the portal. She was concentrating on it, making sure to hold it steady.

  I should up her control over that or something. That or have Felicia put a second gate creator here in Tilen. Having it in Skippercity is nice… but not so useful when we’re working out of somewhere else.

  As if she could hear his thoughts, which she couldn’t he reminded himself, she cracked an eye open and gave him a smile.

  Closing her eye she went back to holding the portal open.

  “We’re clear,” Andrea said.

  Ducking into the portal, Felix stepped into Dimitry’s office. Victoria was standing near the door, Andrea in the corner of the room, and the Fixer right in the middle.

  Dimitry was sitting behind his desk, glaring at the remains of what looked like listening devices on his desk.

  “Clear, Kit. I’ll flip you a text when it’s time to come back,” Felix said, looking back through the portal.

  She opened her eyes, nodded her head, and the portal winked out as if it had never existed.

  “Evening Dimitry,” Felix said.

  The loan shark looked the same as ever. A little older maybe. Touch of gray in his temples.

  He was aging and fast.

  “Felix,” Dimitry said, looking up. “While I’m thankful for this,” he said, indicating the devices. “I can’t say it’s good to see you. You never come without mixed news.”

  Felix had to nod ruefully at that. “True.”

  Taking the seat in front of Dimitry’s desk, Felix sat down and got comfortable.

  “Found ’em,” the Fixer said.

  Felix glanced back at the woman and lifted a hand. “And?”

  “Skippercity government spy. Slipped in a month ago. Been feeding information to the police, Skippercity, and… the guild of Heroes,” said the Fixer.

  “Pop a vessel and let them die easy,” Felix said with a sigh. He put his attention back to the loan shark. “Suppose that answers that. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but that does explain a few things.”

  “Done. Everyone else is clean, though not entirely loyal,” the Fixer said.

  “That’s not unexpected,” Dimitry said, shaking his head.

  “No. It isn’t, but we’re here to fix it,” Felix said.

  “Here to kill me then?” asked the loan shark. He seemed resigned. “I’ve been wondering if you would since the incident with the money drop.”

  “Huh? Why would I? That had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with a robbery,” Felix said dismissively. “No, I’ve come to make you a job offer. You’ll not be part of Legion directly. You’d be more of a… satellite organization. Same benefits as Legion, actual pay structure, non-disclosure agreement, and restrictions. Just not Legion in name.”

  Dimitry lifted his eyes and met Felix’s. “And why should I turn over my organization to you? Hm?”

  “Because I don’t want your organization. I want it to remain as it is, but to support it, and know that it isn’t a loose end for me,” Felix said. “Right now, it’s a liability for our relationship. The moment we turn your organization into a branch of Legion, you can expand.”

  “I can’t even begin to believe that this would all come without strings. So let’s skip to the part where you tell me what I can and can’t do if I took your offer,” Dimitry said, leaning back in his chair.

  “Well. Since everyone would receive a salary, I imagine you might not need to go so deeply into criminal enterprises. At least, not the petty things. I’d say your only limitation is… don’t bring down too much heat. Operate as you see fit, and be sure to benefit Legion whenever you can,” Felix said.

 
; There was a thump from the other room, followed by some muffled voices.

  “Ah, that sounds like you’re going to have a visitor in a moment,” Felix said, looking backwards to the door.

  “Yes,” Dimitry said flatly. Getting up he walked to the door and opened it. “What is it?”

  Someone said something back that Felix couldn’t quite make out.

  “Okay. Dump the body. We’ll send his stuff to his widow,” Dimitry said, and then shut the door. He laid his forehead against the wooden frame.

  “That was the traitor?” he asked.

  “Yes,” said the Fixer. “They were hired and directed expertly on how to infiltrate your organization. I couldn’t get much in the way of who ordered them, as it seems their mind was cleaned. That was the only one so far though. There may be others, if not everyone is here.”

  “I… yes. Not everyone is here,” Dimitry said. “I have your word on all that, Felix? Exactly as you said it?”

  “That you do. I even brought a non-standard Legion contract. Specifically for you and your people. It’s not written in lawyer speak. It’s fairly straightforward. Though I do have to have you sign a non-disclosure agreement before you see the contract,” Felix said.

  “And I’ll be the head of this… satellite… organization,” Dimity said, unmoving from his place at the door.

  “You would be. You’d answer only to me,” Felix said.

  Dimitry fell silent.

  Felix let it grow. Silence was his weapon. His friend.

  Ever his ally.

  “I’ll sign,” said the newest member to be of Legion, and the first employee of the Legion’s satellite group.

  “Probably should come up with a name for your department.” Felix paused to open his messenger bag and pulled out the non-disclosure and set it down on Dimitry’s desk. “There’s the first one.”

  Dimitry came back over to his desk. With a heavy thud, he sat down in his chair and picked up a pen. Without reading the document, he signed, and slid it back across the desk.

  “Good, good. And here’s the contract,” Felix said, picking up the NDA and replacing it with the contract they’d drawn up for Dimitry.

  Again, Dimitry signed the paper without bothering to read it. Sliding it back towards Felix, Dimitry slumped into his chair.

  “What’s next then, boss,” Dimitry said.

  Felix smirked at that, and then attempted to make the changes to Dimitry he’d called “The Buildup” package.

  Power Upgrade: The Buildup

  Expand for List (Over 100 items)

  Upgrade?(180,250)

  He already knew what the cost was to make the changes he wanted. It was a cost he didn’t want to pay since he’d had to convert a number of gold bars to dirt to get the points to make the change.

  “As part of the contract you just signed, I’ll be modifying you to a degree,” Felix said, looking up at Dimitry. He could have just made the change without worrying about it. In this case, Dimitry had signed without even knowing what he was signing.

  “I… what now?” Dimitry asked.

  “Modifications. I’m going to give you some super powers. Strength, extra speed, low grade regeneration, resistance to injury, slow the aging process, and boost your ability in general. You’ll also go back to about thirty-two years in age,” Felix said, giving the man the summary version of the extensive list of changes.

  “You can do all that?” Dimitry whispered. For the first time that Felix could remember, Dimitry sounded unsure.

  “Indeed, and you’re about to go through it. Brace yourself, I understand it’s a bit of a… thing… I guess. Anyways, here we go.”

  Felix hit the button.

  Dimitry went limp and slid out of his chair, curling up into the fetal position on the ground.

  Raising a brow, Felix turned his head to Andrea. “That’s done then. Let’s start pulling everyone in one by one and having them sign. Once they sign, we’ll give them their non-Legion Legion rings. If anyone disagrees or doesn’t sign… well…”

  Felix shrugged his shoulders instead of concluding his sentence. He didn’t have the luxury of time. Which meant he couldn’t be gentle about this.

  So many things to do, and never enough time.

  “Of course,” Andrea said, hesitation in her voice. “Though… when we’re done… can we go get some food? I’m hungry.”

  “Yeah. We can do that, Andrea.”

  Two hours, a mass of signatures, and a single death later, and Dimitry’s entire organization was incorporated. Felix left instructions for him on how to recruit new people.

  He also gave Dimitry a desktop terminal that was encrypted and locked for Legion personnel, and was part of the Legion network. This was to be how he kept in touch without making it obvious. Felicia and Mr. White had taken extreme precautions to protect the terminal from outsiders, theft, or hacking.

  As far as Felix knew, it was one of a kind and wasn’t likely to be replicated without serious effort. Dimitry was the only one off network, after all.

  Both Skippercity and Tilen were connected through a “portal network” that Felicia had installed. They were linked to the same network, closed off from the outside world, and completely hardened. The only way to access the Internet was using specific terminals put in place with that purpose. To Felix, it was a ton of infrastructure he was glad to have, but had no idea how it had all come to be.

  That’s proper management though. Isn’t it? Build, train, and enable your people to make executive decisions without you. To work towards the betterment of the company, without input.

  Leaders are what I need, not grunts.

  Sighing Felix stared out across the buildings below him. The Skippercity HQ had been brought up to the same height as the Tilen HQ building. Everything was mirrored both ways. The buildings were twins of one another.

  A calling card, is the way Felicia put it. A Legion HQ would always be noticed.

  And a wonderful distraction since we all live underground.

  A breeze blew up over his shoulders and Felix hunched into his jacket. Miu had told him to be up here. She had accomplished her meeting and was bringing what he’d asked for.

  “It’s cold,” Andrea said from beside him. She pressed her side up to his and then pressed her icy hands to his sides.

  “Damn, your hands are like a freezer,” Felix complained. He didn’t push her away though. It was only her and him up here right now.

  Kit was only a text and a portal away.

  Felix had realized that she out of everyone was best utilized as a hub, and asked her to remain at Tilen HQ. At least until Felicia could put in a secure portal network that could be accessed from outside either HQ. One that would protect itself from someone getting hold of a portal device and using it against them.

  For now, Kit was their impromptu taxi service. Being used to send and receive Legion agents from all over the country.

  “I don’t like Fall. Or Winter. I like Spring and Summer,” Andrea whined.

  “You can go inside. It’s just Miu,” Felix said. “She’s not going to hurt me in any way.”

  “Nn… I know… I just want to be with you,” Andrea said, her head dipping down and pressing into his shoulder.

  Felix couldn’t help but smile and lifted a hand to lightly scratch at the base of her ears. “Ok. Promise me you’ll head inside when you truly get cold though. No sense in both of us freezing.”

  Before she could respond, Andrea’s head lifted up, her ears twitching around almost randomly.

  Her hands slipped to her waist and came back up with a pistol. She aligned the barrel with the sky above them and began tracking something.

  “What’s wrong? You’re all—”

  Felix was interrupted by something flashing down from above. He saw a flash of Miu, and realized she was coming down fast. As if she’d jumped from something above them or teleported there.

  She crashed down onto the roof, the thump of her feet making him wonder if
she’d just broken her legs or ankles. She fell to one knee casually, as if landing as she did had been nothing more than a hop.

  A second later a Fixer landed behind her. Apparently the power this one had chosen for travel had been flight.

  The Fixer was dressed in standard Legion security combat attire with the Fixer rank insignia affixed to their collar.

  “Sir,” the Fixer said.

  Miu stood up only after catching Felix’s eyes with her own. Her hands moved to a sack attached to her belt. Unfastening the drawstrings, she reached in and scooped out its contents. With a wet splat, she dropped a severed head to the ground between them.

  Eying the bloody spectacle, Felix realized it was the cop they’d turned. Brought into fold as it were.

  “He was using every possible avenue to press the bounds of the contract. He was slowly letting information out about the Legion. Not enough to be harmful, but that’s the reason why the Skippercity agent was there,” the Fixer said. “Or that’s my guess. They’d gleaned some information from the police and used it as a line to trace back to us.”

  Nodding his head, Felix stared at the bloody head. “That contract wasn’t as enforceable without constant watch, or so Lily feared. Thank goodness she’s improved them since then. Did he suffer?”

  “It was quick,” Miu said softly. “He felt no pain. The body is disposed of. He didn’t fight. I spared his family.”

  “Good,” Felix murmured. “Tonight has been a real cluster-fuck. At least we caught it now, rather than later in the campaign.”

  The Fixer rechecked his SMG and unloaded the magazine, and expelled the chambered round. “Permission to retire, sir.”

  “Go. Thank you for your work tonight. You and your department are a credit to the Legion,” Felix said.

  It wasn’t idle words either. The Telemedics and Fixers were indispensable to Legion.

  And the next group, even more so, Felix thought, looking back up to the skyline as the Fixer left.