“Ah, hey, Dimitry. Felix here. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Your debt is not due for some time. Do you need more money?”
“I appreciate the offer, but this is actually about what happened to your… compatriots? Peers?”
He could hear Dimitry’s breath catch.
“I don’t understand what you’re—”
“I’m responsible for what happened. I had people visit my home who wanted me and my people dead. I took offense to that, and killed everyone involved,” Felix said slowly.
Andrea began to rub her fingers into his shoulders and neck muscles.
“We paid for a communications blackout on your lines today. No one is listening. I’d like to discuss how I can make amends with you and your organization. I’d like very much for us to be friends.”
Felix heard Dimitry’s chair creak as he probably leaned back. It was a lot to take in suddenly without warning.
“I see. You have me at a disadvantage. I did not know there was a problem. Nor did I realize you were… so formidable.”
“There was, and I am. So, how do we make this work, Dimitry? The money you gave me is what allowed me to become as powerful as I am. I consider you an ally and want you to feel the same for me.”
Dimitry grunted. “I appreciate you being direct with me. With reaching out to me before I found out. For not wasting my time. I shall do the same for you.
“I’m now in charge here. We’re in the middle of a recruitment drive, and I am obviously weakened.”
Felix nodded his head; this all made sense so far.
“Money isn’t an issue. Though I will still collect on your debt, as that was previously agreed to.”
“Agreed.”
“I need guards. Guards and favors. You say you made it so this line is free of listeners?”
“For today. Would one of those favors include making it go beyond today?”
“Yes, if possible. That’d be helpful.”
“As for guards,” Felix said, looking to the Andrea in front of the door.
She smiled at him and tilted her head to one side.
“I can send over twenty-five armed soldiers tomorrow morning. They’ll rotate out daily. I would be able to provide this for a month.”
Andrea nodded her head. The one behind him leaned in to the ear he didn’t have pressed to a phone.
“That’ll be good for us. We can gain more experience and keep some of our Others busy.”
“A good start. Very good start. I feel that three additional favors would be required for us to be even.”
Felix didn’t like it being open-ended, but at least it had a number.
“Three favors, though I have right of refusal if I believe it unreasonable.”
Dimitry hesitated a moment. “Done. I look forward to our new partnership, Mr. Campbell.”
The phone clicked and went dead.
Setting down his phone, Felix leaned his head back onto the headrest.
“That’s done.” Felix closed his eyes and enjoyed what Andrea was doing with her hands.
It was fantastic. Her hands seemed to know exactly what to do.
“One of our Others spent some time working as a masseuse. We have absorbed many jobs,” one of the Andreas said
A knock came from the door.
“It’s Eva,” came a muffled response.
Felix opened his eyes and nodded at the door Andrea. The Andrea behind him stepped to the side quickly, flanking his desk.
The door swung inward and Eva stepped in, her hands pressed together nervously.
“What can I do for you?” Felix asked, leaning forward in his desk.
“You’re going to be paying everyone for their work, right?” she asked hesitantly.
“I am.”
“I’ve been working in the shop and… I was wondering if I could get a hold of that money? I want to buy some clothes for school, and supplies.”
Felix waved a hand at that.
“Don’t bother. You’ll receive a wage like anyone else. Use it on other things you want.
“Your school supplies and basic essentials, though? That’s something I’ll provide for you regardless. Put together a list of everything you need and email it over to me. We’ll get a purchase order put in immediately for it.”
Eva nodded her head, smiling. “Uhm, okay. Thank you. Can we go out today, then? I want to go try on clothes and find some things.”
Felix kept himself from rolling his eyes. Barely. He didn’t want to go clothes shopping.
“Please? Me, you, Lily, and maybe an Andrea? I know you’re busy, but… I’d appreciate it,” Eva pleaded.
The Andrea near the door nodded her head enthusiastically.
Relenting, he shook his head with a smile.
“Alright. Fine. Though you’ll have to check with Lily. She seemed like she had plans for the day. If she’s willing to go, we’ll all go.”
Eva clapped her hands together, smiling. Then her face fell, her eyes going to the ground again.
“What?” Felix asked, trying to prompt whatever was coming next to happen, rather than waiting on it.
“Can I see my brother?”
“Oh, sure. He’s across the street right now at the hotel, recovering. Everyone will be coming over here tomorrow and living in their new rooms downstairs. Speaking of which, I believe you have a room there too now.
“Talk to Felicia and maybe she can put you guys next to each other.”
Eva gave him a bright grin and rushed him. She gave him a tight hug even as he sat in his chair.
“Thank you. I really thought our lives were over. We didn’t even have enough money to eat when we were caught. Now we have a home, and I can go to school. A good one. Evan even has a mentor. A great mentor. Lily is known all over the world.”
Felix felt awkward. He gently patted the young woman on the shoulder.
He was great in the corporate world. That all made sense to him.
Emotions, people, and this kind of stuff, though? Might as well have been Swahili.
“Yeah, no worries,” he said lamely.
“Can I take an Andrea with me to talk to Evan and Lily?” Eva asked, pulling back.
Felix looked to the Andrea beside him.
She instantly split into two, the left one holding up her hand. “I wanna go!”
“Have fun, then. I’ll be here. I’m sure Lily has sent me more paperwork and meetings that I’ll have to sign and agree to.”
Felix smiled as the new Andrea and Eva exited the room.
As the door closed, he opened up the terminal set in his desk.
He had forty-two unread emails.
“Maybe I should buy a new phone that I can link to this. Maybe if I try to keep on the emails, they wouldn’t go so bad.”
“I could read them for you,” Andrea offered. “I mean, if I’m going to be your… I hate saying both. From now on, I’m your personal secretary, okay?”
“Okay,” Felix said, grinning.
“If I’m going to be your personal secretary, maybe I should read your mail and sort out what’s worth your time and what isn’t. I can even keep your calendar in order and start getting you where you need to be on time.”
“That sounds great, Andrea. Be sure to put in an order for a phone or tablet or whatever you like so you can do that.”
“Nn! I’ll take care of it. As Andrea Prime, I’ll remain at your side.”
“Thanks.”
Andrea smiled and then hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around him.
“Eva was right. This really is the best. You don’t care about whatever we were before, you only care about what we are now for you.”
Felix smiled tightly, patting Andrea gently on the back.
I don’t really see how becoming a slave is a positive, but as long as they’re happy.
Chapter 16 - The Color Red -
Once again, Felix sat at the breakfast table looking at the blueprints Felicia had laid down in front
of him.
“Everything is done, as promised. Once you go spend your points for the living quarters, they’ll be done. Which is on the point calendar, as Lily requested,” Felicia said through gritted teeth.
The beautiful ex-lawyer and busty Dwarf didn’t really get along. Keeping them in each other’s company was very similar to putting two unfamiliar cats in a box.
“And while you’re down there, you can finish off the dining halls. We made better progress than expected. Training rooms and common areas should be later this week. Since we don’t have a facilities department yet, I put in the initial orders for everything the kitchens will need. Or at least I think I did. Might not be everything.” Felicia shrugged her shoulders. “Not my problem. Off to work. See you later.”
Ioana moved in and pulled out Felicia’s chair as she stood up. The Dwarven woman eyed Ioana curiously.
A thought popped into his head. “Felicia, could you spend some time with Ioana for the training rooms? She’d know best what we need in terms of space and equipment.”
“Eh? I could do that… fine. Come along, then,” Felicia said softly, turning and leaving them there.
Ioana looked to him and gave him a grin.
Felix threw her thumbs-up. “Go get ‘er,” he said quietly.
Ioana took off at a light trot, chasing down Felicia.
“I didn’t know,” Eva said quietly around a forkful of pancake.
Kit smirked and tapped Eva’s plate with her own utensil. “It was very subtle. We’ll work on learning the difference between surface thoughts and things people hide. Maybe after you get home from shopping today.”
“You sure you can’t come too?” Eva asked, looking to Kit, then Felix.
“I can’t. Felix needs people here at the same time. Besides, I’m putting together my department today, remember? It all starts with HR, which means me,” Kit said apologetically.
Lily turned her head to Felix, smiling as ever.
He often felt like she knew something he didn’t.
Too often.
“There’s a public domain auction on slaves in two days. I plan on attending and will need Kit with me. They’re all non-supers, just civilians. It’ll be a chance to pick up some people for specific roles. Any objections?” asked Lily.
“None. Be sure you keep it cheap and run the numbers by Felicia so she can build out accordingly. If our FTE keeps going up, we’ll have to build accordingly. It’s not like we’ll have attrition.”
“FTE?” Andrea asked, dropping a pancake onto his plate as he finished up the third.
“Full-time equivalent, or full-time employee, depending. Attrition is when you fire people. Can’t really fire a slave, though.”
Lily pointed her fork at Felix. “Actually, we might end up having attrition. Not everyone will fit a role perfectly. Eventually we’ll run out of places to put them if they keep fouling up. You’ll need to consider what we do with those people. They’re a poison and would eventually corrupt the rest of the workforce.”
Kit sighed, placing a hand to her ear. Then she slowly shook her head and looked to Felix. “She’s right. I don’t like it, but she’s right.”
Felix shrugged his shoulders. He’d already thought of that to a degree. It wasn’t something that would be pleasant, but a simple answer.
Sausage machine.
Felix pushed his plate away. “Sorry, Andrea, delicious as always, but I’m full.”
Andrea smiled and took the pancake away. Then she suddenly leaned over the table, knocking over an empty cup while doing so.
Licking her thumb, she rubbed it against the corner of his mouth. “Syrup. Messy, messy.”
Felix sat there, frozen in place, staring into Andrea’s face.
“Thanks.” He didn’t know what to do in this situation.
“Nnnn! As your personal secretary, it’s my job. Now, I’m going to go change so we can get going.” Andrea pushed back off the table to her feet and then left quickly.
Lily started to laugh. Then Kit did, followed by Eva.
“Maybe she’ll give us lessons,” Lily said, turning to Kit.
Felix let his eyes wander around the department store. Lily, Andrea, and Eva were all in the changing rooms going through the clothes they’d picked out.
Kit, Felicia, Miu, Ioana, and a team of Andreas were back home working on moving their shop across the street. Lily had completed the purchase, pushed the paperwork along, and even rebalanced their books.
She was really showing a natural aptitude to corporate work. Then again, she’d trained as a lawyer, so it couldn’t have been all that different.
A store clerk flashed by him, asking him if he was okay, and leaving even before he could fully respond.
Shaking his head at the lazy work ethic, Felix turned his mind to the rest of his day.
He still owed Lily her power buildout. Depending on what she asked for, he should have enough points left for the day. Felicia’s finishing touches had cost him a good amount, but the effort hadn’t bankrupted him.
“Flirting with the help?” Lily asked.
Felix turned to find Lily approaching him by herself. She was wearing a black dress that she filled out well. It pulled the eyes into dangerous territory.
“Not really. I don’t really have time for that sort of thing right now.” Felix stuck his eyes to her face and kept them there.
Lily tilted her head to one side, watching him. “I’d like my third power now.”
“Alright. You still haven’t told me what it is.”
“I want to be able to store power. I’d prefer it to be in something physical so I could pass it off to others if needed.
“I want to be able to make Lily batteries.”
“Oh. That’s… not what I was expecting. I don’t think that’d be too hard to add, since it’s more of a utility thing.”
“It differs?” Lily ran her fingers through her hair. “And what were you expecting?”
“Well, yeah. Bigger powers cost more. A utility power probably won’t cost that much. As for what I was expecting… something destructive?”
Lily gave him another one of her feral grins, pearly white teeth slipping free of her pale pink lips. “I’m happy to surprise you. Realistically, though, you’ve given me a number of students to watch over. Being able to practice freely will increase their experience. To practice, they need power. I have it in abundance as of late since I’m not constantly under attack. So, Lily batteries.”
Felix smiled back at her and held up his hands in defeat. “Makes sense. I’m glad to hear you taking your responsibilities seriously. Alright, let’s see…”
He called up Lily’s window and focused on adding a third power to her.
Third Power(Unlock): Energy Transfer
Required Secondary Power: 70 (Unmet)
Required Stamina: 50 (Unmet)
Upgrade?(20,000)
“Huh. Your power isn’t strong enough and neither is your stamina,” Felix said, pulling up her character screen.
Name:
Lilian Lux
Power: Ethereal Mental projections
Alias: Mab, Demon, Soul Stealer
Secondary Power: Mana Manipulation
Physical Status:
Healthy
Mental Status:
Happy
Positive Statuses:
None
Negative Statuses:
None
Strength:
37
Upgrade?(370)
Dexterity:
55
Upgrade?(550)
Agility:
53
Upgrade?(530)
Stamina:
42
Upgrade?(420)
Wisdom:
67
Upgrade?(670)
Intelligence:
88
Upgrade?(880)
Luck:
21
Upgrade?(210)
Primary Power:
64
Upgrade?(6,400)
Secondary Power:
59
Upgrade?(5,900)
“That’s… disappointing,” Lily lamented, pressing a hand to her cheek.
“Gimme a moment. I’ll just push your stats up, then get the power for you. The cost of the power is pretty low, so giving you the points needed isn’t that big a deal.”
Felix tapped in the individual point upgrades, pushing her secondary power to seventy and her stamina to fifty.
“I forgot that you could do that. Any chance you can kick my luck up a bit? You said it was pretty bad,” Lily asked. She tilted one shoulder towards him, turning partially sideways while her hand slid from her cheek to her neck. “I am kinda unlucky.”
The pose was ridiculous and he knew she was messing with him.
Felix pursed his lips and then moved her luck up to thirty-five. It was pretty low, and he could see that going poorly for them at the wrong moment.
“Fine.” He hit the accept button and then gave her the third power.
Calling up the screen again, he confirmed the changes.
Name:
Lilian Lux
Power: Ethereal Mental projections
Alias: Mab, Demon, Soul Stealer
Secondary Power: Mana Manipulation
Physical Status:
Healthy
Third Power: Energy Transfer
Positive Statuses:
Protective
Mental Status:
Happy
Negative Statuses:
None
Strength:
37
Upgrade?(370)
Dexterity:
55
Upgrade?(550)
Agility:
53
Upgrade?(530)
Stamina:
50
Upgrade?(500)
Wisdom:
67
Upgrade?(670)
Intelligence:
88
Upgrade?(880)
Super Sales on Super Heroes Page 18
