Day after tomorrow.
“Hmph.” Runner moved the two tokens to the fields as well. The time required for that work was suddenly cut by a fourth.
The fact that they would need to march would put a strain on food and supplies. This of course led Runner to where he was—sitting in his private study, poring over workloads, balance sheets, and resource allocation.
It’d be close. Very close. Emptying the food reserves and taking everything they’d need for the campaign would push the country to the brink of ruin. Not to mention the workforce left behind would be a skeleton crew at best.
Shaking his head, Runner felt like he was trapped on this course of action. For all the resources Alexia sent over, manpower couldn’t simply be purchased.
Well, that’s not true. Mercenaries and the like could be bought. They’re all already employed by me though.
“You’ve awful timing, Rike. And for this insult I think I might take my pound of flesh from you, and then several more.” Runner flipped through the tabs of the UI for city leaders and found there was little else he could do.
Every new citizen they gained had a job the moment they gained their papers. Construction, soldiering, or farming. Still, he needed more.
“Going to add her to your goddess collection? You’ve already got fucking three. Is there no end to your bedroom conquests? Asshat.”
Runner looked up from his screens to find Hannah sitting in an easy chair.
“Eh. I hear she’s beautiful but not really my type. Maybe I’ll give her to Minxy to play with. Turn her into a pet. My bedroom remains conspicuously empty, thank you,” Runner lamented with a smile.
Turning back to his screen, he flipped open the map of Vix. His zone of influence and control expanded across the entirety of the southwest and the frontier. Once Faye finished the fort he could begin true work on the city he planned down there.
The rest of the map technically didn’t fall under his purview. Sophia ruled the city of Vix, and Isabelle Letoville.
“You were right,” Hannah said quietly.
“Oh? About?” he asked, smothering the desire to tease or flirt with her. Hannah was under a good amount of stress, and he knew that he personally was one of the causes.
“Multiple groups. We picked up several people we suspected last night with your clearance in hand. Satomi infiltrated each group. Rike, Rannulf, and Lambart are the culprits. The one who tried to kill you outright was Rike. Fucking bitch that she is.”
“Mm. Unsurprising. She seems to have a personal hate for me. Ever since I offered to let her join the Triumvirate. Her loss, our gain. Minxy is infinitely more useful. And honestly she’s fun.”
“Fucking ass. You only say that because she might as well be a sheet in your bed.”
Sighing, Runner pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Hannah,” Runner said sternly, “I have had sexual relations with four women since I’ve come here. I admit that my bedroom antics aren’t exactly morally correct but neither is it a revolving door. Now, did you learn anything else?”
Hannah grunted, folding her arms under her breasts. Her chin dipped down and her hair lightly fluttered over her eyes.
“No. Satomi is still working the last group. Your little police state executive order was really what we needed.”
“Yes, but how many innocents did we hold, question, or kill?”
“Ten or so. We returned those we could.”
“And there it is. Don’t you see? This is not a government Nadine would find pride in. Isabelle will probably skin me as it is, Nadine would have castrated me. Yet it’s what I must do.”
Runner scrubbed at his face with his hands and sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“For what it’s worth, I respect you. I get it. I mean, I don’t quite understand why you’re so fucking worked up over it. I get it, though, what you’re trying to do. I’ve tried to be careful and gentle. Honestly, the ones we went too far with weren’t exactly good eggs.”
Runner gestured with one hand to placate her.
“I know, and I thank you for that, Hanners. It does ease my conscience somewhat. What’s your next action?”
“Satomi is in Rike’s group right now. They’re planning a meeting for later today. I plan on being there with my people to collect all of their asses. Going to fucking put them all in cages until they talk.”
“Anything I can do?” Runner asked, lifting his head to look at Hannah.
“Keep your head down, don’t make yourself a target. It’d be a real fucking shame if you got killed at this point. And that’s a shit show I wouldn’t want to explain to Thana or Katarina.”
“Got it. Well. I’m done here. Going to head down to Lobu’s. See if he’s heard anything.” Runner got up and closed his open windows.
Hannah only nodded her head, remaining seated.
“Good luck with your mission tonight. If I can help, let me know. And uh… keep safe, Hanners. Please. Your life isn’t worth whatever they can tell you,” Runner said. He met her eyes briefly and gave her a fleeting smile.
Nodding his head to her, he left his study. His guard was waiting for him.
“Going to Lobu’s, I’ll wait for you in the reception hall,” Runner explained to the on-duty lieutenant. She was a short Human woman with equipment denoting a melee class type.
She saluted him crisply, and the team set off to change their clothing. Doing as he’d promised, Runner moved to the reception hall and waited patiently.
He didn’t do it often, but on occasion he’d stealth amongst his guard and they’d go down to Lobu’s bar, colloquially named “Mibar.” His guard would act as if they were off duty, and he’d pretend to be nothing more than a patron.
Sitting at Lobu’s wasn’t the best use of his time, but it was infinitely more interesting talking to the Half-Orc than working. Not to mention, as a bar owner, Lobu heard a lot of gossip and rumors.
His guard filtered in, one by one, dressed in their casual clothes. He didn’t do this more often because it honestly put his people at risk. Without their gear, they were quite a bit more vulnerable.
In no time at all Runner was easing himself onto a stool at the bar. Lobu stepped in front of him and set a mug down.
Tall rimmed bowls were laid out on the bar top, each was filled with clicking, hissing beetles.
For whatever reason, that had been the choice of free bar snacks.
It was a quiet night. Only one or two people were there that weren’t part of his guard, either on duty or off duty.
“Hey,” Lobu said in his expansive manner.
“Howdy, Half-Orc. Thanks.” Runner picked up his drink and took a sip.
“What’s the news?” Lobu said, leaning up against the bar.
“Not much. Royalty is in town. They’re holding their conference. Getting ready to head east.”
“Ah. Our friendly goddess of goodness who commands her sheep.”
“Yep, that one.”
“Heard the champions are in town as well.”
“Oh? I didn’t realize.” Runner frowned, taking another sip of his beer.
“Word is you’ve been busy. So, which of the three was best? From what I hear, the lady of night could make any man’s day.”
Runner snorted at that, setting the mug down.
“Wouldn’t know. Whatever you heard was wrong. And where did you hear it?” Runner asked, hoping to maybe track this one down.
“Rumors. Normal stuff. No one in particular.”
Grunting, Runner glowered into his drink.
Maybe I’m worrying over nothing.
“It’s normal stuff. Wouldn’t worry about it. Now if there were details that’d be different.”
“You’re probably right. What about you?” Runner looked around as he asked the question. The bar itself was clean and well lit. It had a reputation for being taken care of and that it had powerful backers.
It didn’t hurt that the city guard, soldiers, and Norwood’s Own frequente
d it regularly.
“Not much. Keep striking out with your personal guard. I think they all keep their bedroll open in case you feel the need.”
“Hah, don’t be stupid.” Runner watched Satomi walk in flanked by men he didn’t know. Remembering what Hannah said, he quickly broke eye contact with the Kitsune. Pushing on his link a little, he immediately opened his connection to her.
Satomi’s mind stumbled through the open door he left her. Before she could recover, he had already given her the rundown of everything he’d learned from Hannah.
“Besides, why the guard?” Runner took another sip.
To her credit, Satomi recovered easily and then mentally sat down inside his head. Runner didn’t toss her out and instead did what he could to provide her with an anchor point for her nerves. Which he could feel easily through their bond.
“You’re kidding, right? Your guard is the best outfitted, the most intelligent, and the best looking. One sec.” Lobu moved off to one end of the bar to serve another guest.
“Names Lobu, welcome to my bar.”
Runner smirked a little. Lobu was spending too long trying to figure out a witty name for his bar. People had started taking his greeting as the name.
Satomi started uploading information to him. Apparently the group she’d infiltrated had been tipped off that he was at the bar. It wasn’t that a spy had alerted them to his presence, it was that the operatives were spending gold in vast amounts.
Satomi conveyed what they were there to do. It was a simple goal. Get Runner to take an interest in their honeypot, abscond with her, get killed. Apparently he really did have the reputation of a ladies’ man who was working his way through his personal guard.
Runner mentally laughed at that. He’d wait for them to make their move. Satomi’s nerves seemed to melt off her with each passing moment in his mind.
Runner drained his beer and slid the mug to the other side of the counter. Lobu looked up from his conversation with the new guest and got Runner a second.
Lobu was a smart man and immediately picked up on the fact that Runner needed some time to himself.
His would-be assassins were already nervous enough without a barkeep standing over him.
Runner took a sip of the second beer, then took in a slow breath. Even in his attempts to take a minute for himself Lady Fate tracked him down. And cock punched him.
A beautiful redhead slid up to the stool next to him, and a dark-haired beauty slid into the seat beyond that.
Runner gave them each a look and returned to inspecting the bottom of his mug.
They weren’t merely in his strike zone, they were his strike zone. Rather than check them out, he decided to have fun with it.
A light tap on his shoulder drew his attention back to the redhead.
“Hi. My sister and I arrived this morning. Our paperwork isn’t done. Have you been a resident long?” she said in a warm murmur.
“You could say that. Paperwork comes back quick. You’ll probably get a job the day after if not the day of. Congratulations.” Runner lifted his mug to emphasize and took a pull from it.
“Ah. Thank you. Maybe I could buy you another drink in thanks?” the brunette said, leaning over the bar and trying to captivate him with her impressive bust.
“Well. Actually, you know, I was wondering…” Runner turned and faced the red-head straight on. He could practically feel the desire from the two women, begging for his attention. So they could kill him.
“Who’s your friend?” Runner asked, trying to gesture in a subtle way at Satomi as she sat at the table with a couple other people. “I noticed you all walked in together.”
Both women stared at him blankly. Runner hid his smile with a sip from his beer.
“Ah, she uh—”
“She’s a friend. She traveled with us but she… she—”
“She’s terribly shy, yes.”
“Oh? That’s a real shame,” Runner lamented, turning partially back to the bar.
“I’m sure we could convince her to join us. I’m sure she has questions too. In fact…” The redhead held up a hand and scurried back to Satomi.
Out of curiosity, Runner asked Satomi to give him a mental picture of who she looked like.
The image he got back nearly made him break out in laughter. Whoever Satomi had taken the place of, she was the definition of average. Maybe even slightly under that mark.
Five foot four, brown hair, brown eyes, average bust. She was dead center on every character slider you could adjust.
No wonder they had sent over the other two women. In a world of supermodels, being average was the new ugly.
Satomi knew what was coming before the redhead got to her. Runner could feel her annoyance leaking from her mind even through her control.
A minute later Satomi had taken the redhead’s stool. The redhead took the seat on the other side of Runner.
Immediately Runner ignored her and turned to face Satomi.
“And what’s your name, lovely lady?” Runner asked, already enjoying this immensely. All he had to do was flirt with Satomi, act interested, and leave with her.
Hannah would already be securing all of the bases these people operated out of. It’d be a cleanup action for the remaining agents once Runner left with Satomi.
“Eris. And yourself?” Satomi gave him a winsome smile. She’d have to act accordingly for this to work from her end.
“You can call me Walker. Get you a drink?”
“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”
Runner poked at her mentally with the word “you’re.” He’d never heard her use contractions before.
“That’d be this beer right here in my hand. Unless you wanted this one? I was planning on ordering you a new one.”
“Ah, sure.”
“Sure? You want this one? Well, here ya go then. Far be it from me to disappoint a beautiful woman.” Runner happily set his beer in front of her. It had about half the glass left.
Way more fun than bothering Lobu.
Satomi gave him another smile and took a drink of his surrendered beer.
Mentally he could feel Satomi’s anger flare out at him. She tried to break the link but since he was the majority partner, and she was in his head, he wouldn’t allow it.
Runner gestured to Lobu for another beer for himself even as he looked to Satomi.
“So, Eris. Your friends didn’t mention what you all do. Maybe you’re a part of an entertainment thing? Like a band? I love singers. Do you sing?” Runner asked her innocently.
Runner almost missed the fact that the brunette nudged Satomi in the side.
“I’m afraid I don’t sing professionally, but I do enjoy it. Perhaps I could entertain you later?” Satomi asked him.
Pity. She dodged that well and lined it up with her goals.
Lobu thunked another beer down in front of Runner and moved back to another customer.
“That’d be wonderful. To my eyes, you’re the most beautiful woman in the room let alone this city. Your eyes alone light up a room and your voice gives the place a vibrancy. I’ll consider myself blessed to hear you sing.” Runner knew he was laying it on thick, but it was hard not to. Taking a drink from the new mug, he noticed the status indicator in the corner switched from “intoxicated” to “heavily intoxicated.”
My tolerance sucks. Need to work on that. Or push my constitution up. Hah. Enchant some drinking gear.
Time to end this before it actually becomes a problem and a danger.
Satomi hadn’t responded to him; instead she watched him owlishly. Her presence in his mind had quieted down considerably.
“What, is there a problem?” Runner asked, looking behind him to see if the redhead was making her move already.
“Ah, no. Merely surprised at your words.” Satomi lifted her mug to her lips.
“As if you haven’t heard that before. I mean, really now,” Runner said, giving her a smile. “With that body, those eyes, and that smile? I bet you
have the city running circles around you.”
Runner made a show of looking mildly confused and touched his brow. “I think maybe I should retire. I’ve had a bit too much this evening.” Runner pulled out several gold pieces and set them on the counter.
“I’ll accompany you. Couldn’t have such a charming man like you wandering drunkenly through the streets.” Satomi set her drink down on the bar and moved to his side.
“Fantastic. Who wouldn’t want a lovely thing like you at his side on a night like this? Maybe you’ll sing for me after all?” Runner dropped his arm around Satomi’s shoulders and pulled her into his side.
Lurching from the bar, he gave his guards three subtle hand signals.
Danger here.
Wait for orders.
I am safe.
His lieutenant caught the gestures and gave him a small acknowledgment signal in return.
Runner pinged the bar twice for Hannah and stepped out of the doorway.
Directly across from him in an alleyway, he saw the shape of his spymaster.
Unexpected and yet not. She’s already here.
“Urgh. This way, it’s a shortcut,” Runner mumbled loudly into Satomi’s ear. Behind him he could hear someone excusing themselves.
Setting his course for Hannah, he tottered along, holding Satomi at his side as if he couldn’t stand without her.
As he passed Hannah he met her eyes for a second.
“Guard inside, waiting for orders, one tail,” Runner whispered as he passed her into the darkness of the alley.
“Fucking bastard.”
Runner wanted to laugh but kept it in check. Maybe he was impaired more than he wanted to admit.
“Damn. Sorry, Vixen. I think I need to get to my bed. Do you need to double back and help out Hanners?” They’d already made it halfway down the alley and were making their way to the keep.
“She is fine. I have no doubt in her abilities to handle the situation appropriately along with the guard you left her.”
“Good, thank you. Can you actually sing?” Runner asked, a little too hopeful for an answer.
Satomi said nothing.
The journey back was silent until Satomi dropped him into his bed.
Runner sighed and pressed his hands to his face.
Otherlife Awakening: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 23
