"Hey. I know the deal. I told you what I want. Now you ask me what you want for it" Niall snapped irritably. Vlad grinned displaying three gold teeth and released Niall, taking a step back from, his hands going up to pat at his slicked back white blond hair.
"Last time you came to me, you begged me not to break your father’s legs over gambling debts. Wasn't my fault he was loose with his money. Now you come saying my people want to knock off your little brother. Last time I told you to hook me up with that nice Candonese skank you are always stuffing. Turned out she was a starfish mate. A dud. A shitty deal. I still busted a nut though" Vlad growled, his last few words causing him to grab the air and mime thrusting his hips lewdly while making noises for effect.
Niall just stood there, a sour look on his face, beginning to think it was a mistake in coming here.
"Vlad. You going to help me out here or not?" Niall asked, starting to lose patience. Vlad stopped his movements and stepped close, his face right next to Niall's so that he could speak straight into his ear.
"Listen cunt. Six months ago I was a Captain, now I am the second of the Red Cobra. Show me some fucking respect" he growled and then shoved Niall away from him, causing Niall to stagger and nearly fall down the steps. The two bodyguards instantly turned their attention on Niall, their threat implied. Niall simmered just standing there, glowering at Vlad who did a little walk in a circle. Niall noticed all eyes were on him now. Many of the attendee's at this party were watching the spectacle with baited breath. This was not a situation Niall wanted to be in and he wholly regretted the decision to come here now.
Vlad stopped pacing then and instead stepped towards Niall, teetering over the young man from the highest step.
"Tell you what Niall. I'll ask around. See what folks know. I'll get back to you. And then you'll owe me a favour. A freebie. How's that sound" Vlad stated rather softly. Niall didn’t have to look around to know the looks of the spectators. He could practically feel their smirks. Their condescending gazes. Fuck these guys.
"Yeah, sounds good VK. I can live with that" Niall stated, just wanting this to be over. It was taking all his will power simply to not show how nervous and fearful he was. Sometimes he felt like his confidence only ran skin deep.
"Good. We have a deal. Now get the fuck out" Vlad stated and motioned with a hand at one of his bodyguards.
The guy approached Niall and grabbed the young man by the shoulder, and wasted no time in guiding Niall out. The crowd of people simply parted, little snickers coming from a number of well-dressed ladies. Smirk's painted on the faces of the other gangbangers, dressed in a wide variety of suits.
They all disappeared though as Niall was shoved into the hallway and the guard left him, leaving Niall to walk out of the building himself. He did as much, and when he stepped over that threshold, he had to lift a hand to shield his eyes from the suddenly too bright afternoon sun.
He let out a relieved sigh and left the place behind, having no interest in staying in this seedy part of town now that his business was done. He knew that despite all the bluster, threats and indecent acts, Vlad would carry through with his promise. Niall was simply worried about the price the gangster would demand. Niall only had so many hot friends in this city. And few very of them were willing to help Niall out these days.
Leaving the Red Light District behind, Niall instead made his way down towards the bay, where he knew of a small bar run by some of the nicer mobsters in town. The sort that ran trade out of the port. It took him a while to get there, a little under an hour on foot, but he didn’t mind. He only had time to kill for now. As he turned a corner, he caught the full view of the bay, the street running sharply downhill. He could see it in the distance, perhaps three kilometres to the wharves, and warehouses. Doing a quick turn, he meandered down a small street, and came to a flight of stairs that ran down under a large building. A sort of makeshift office block.
Going down, he pushed open the small wooden door and walked into a tiny bar that must have been at best ten metres long and half as much wide, with only a few tables spread around its tight confines. Most of the stools were pushed up to the bar and three were already occupied by those he guessed to be regulars.
"Welcome to Ashley's House of Ale" he heard a sweet voice pipe up and Niall turned to look at the one speaking, a small grin on his face, being matched by the bartender. She was probably in her mid-twenties, sporting a long brown ponytail and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Ah Emily. Fancy seeing you here" Niall stated as he approached the bar and took a seat at one of the few stools. He looked her up and down and grinned.
"Looking pretty professional there Em" Niall stated, looking at her white buttoned up shirt, and the waistcoat she wore over it.
"Only the best at Ashley's right Nail's" Em stated, a sly look on her face as she used his old nickname. Never could shake that one off.
"How long you in town" she asked of him as she leant over the counter, staring hard into his eyes. Niall smirked and leaned in close to meet her, their noses nearly touching.
"I'd say long enough. Enough time for a bit of fun" Niall stated, his self-assurance and confidence coming right back in leaps and bounds.
Chapter 7
* * *
Sain grumbled under his breath irritably as he walked down the street, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoody. Both he and Clyde's hopes had quickly been crushed as they had spent the afternoon attempting to recreate the fire energy transfer with the electrical energy captured within the sword. Sain couldn't understand why, but every time the duo had come close, the energy had gone wild and would have exploded dangerously if Clyde hadn't been there to redirect the blast into the empty storeroom.
Casting his gaze to the darkening sky, Sain's thoughts continued to drift as he recalled how Clyde had insisted on going back to the fire crystals to see if there was a chance that they had just gotten lucky with the transfers, but every time they tried with the smaller scale energy, they succeeded without fail. When they attempted to move the fire energy in larger amounts they had also succeeded, and Clyde had quickly become flustered and impatient, exclaiming that all energy followed the same principles and that they shouldn't be having this difficulty.
As the afternoon had gone on with little progress, Clyde had eventually thrown a colossal tantrum that involved quite a shocking array of swearing and throwing of objects. Clyde did however admit defeat eventually and had sent Sain home saying that they would try again tomorrow, telling him that a good night’s sleep may revitalize them. Sain had been told to come by in the late morning as Clyde had other work to do beforehand and didn’t want to be disturbed.
Arriving at the block of units that he called home, Sain headed up inside in a rather flat mood, feeling way more exhausted then he should have. Reaching his unit, he fumbled slightly with his keys before opening the door only to find both Niall and Regas standing attentively in front of the television set. Curious, Sain moved forward, his eyes fixated on his family’s rigid posture and stern faces. Nudging his way in between them Sain looked at whatever had them both so focused and tense, and immediately understood why they were rigid with tension. An emergency address was being broadcasted. It was on one of the largest news stations and even the news anchor seemed to be tense as she read from a script.
"Last night the Former Kratsch Empire was accepted into the United Federation of Nations and by majority vote, the U.F.N council wasted no time in declaring war on The Holy Gestonian Empire. Following the declaration, General Commander Brach of the U.F.N led an offensive against Gestonian forces garrisoned in the eastern F.K.E. In the surprise move, the commander of the Gestonian forces, Princess Phidel was defeated and in the ensuing and desperate battles, over half of the territory gained by her young royal majesty in the last year has been lost in one night. The Princess has managed to halt the offensive and is now besieged in the city of Liguad awaiting reinforcements from friendly forces. With this move, the world has now ente
red into the second U.F.N - G.E war. And now we go to a live broadcast made by his lord majesty, Emperor Alden".
The television changed to a live feed of the throne room in the capital city of Gestonia where Emperor Alden was situated upon the Imperial Throne and flanked by his eldest son, Prince Louis. At the age of fifty, the emperor was still full of energy and authority. He sat relaxed, and seemingly at ease upon his throne, completely unperturbed by the mass of media surrounding him. There was a line of royal guards before him, all wearing masks to hide their true identities as they kept the media a healthy distance away. Many lights flashed and the murmur of voices could be heard as the media took pictures and tried to ask questions of the Gestonian monarch. He ignored them and just slouched in his throne for a bit more time. After a short time he lifted a single hand and all noise instantly died down. Standing up, the large man swept his gaze about the room, taking in all those before him. Then he raised his arms and left his hand's in the air in a wide gesture that mimicked that of an open hug. He stared some more before he spoke, his voice deep and at ease.
"My people, my nation, my children. A short time ago, the scum of the west, under the banner of the U.F.N made a grievous mistake. They consorted with my enemy. The very people that have taken the lives of so many of my sons and daughters. They accepted the Kratsch into their fold and declared war on our great nation. They have insulted my right to rule and for this insult they will pay dearly. This is not a time for pretty words, but for swift and deliberate action, and I beseech you my people, to support this new war wholeheartedly. To seek out and exterminate the weak men of the west where ever you may find them, wherever you see them. To defend yourselves against them and their oppression. They seek to undermine our way of life, and disrespect our very existence. So my people, we shall remind our enemies of who we are, that we are a nation born of war, a people who revel in seeing our enemies scattered before us, who take enjoyment from the spoils of those we have conquered. So we shall defeat and utterly destroy the U.F.N, and remind the world that we are nothing short of Titans. ALL HAIL GESTONIA!!!" The large man roared, a huge white gloved fist being pumped up into the air eliciting a cry being taken up on the address. Sain swore he could even hear it outside, in the many homes and local pubs.
Regas cursed and moved forward, turning off the television set. He stomped away muttering before he just flopped down onto the couch, a look of anger on his face.
"For fucks sake. War, fucking war, that's all this nation has ever known. I can’t even remember the last fucking time this nation was at fucking peace. I fought for half my fucking life and not a motherfucking thing has changed for the better. If anything shit has just gotten fucking worse. And now you will have to travel half the way around the world to fight in yet another meaningless and pathetic fucking war Niall" Regas practically spat, his rage rather real. Sain was actually pretty shocked and he hung back, eyes wide at the rage that was displayed by his father. He had rarely seen the man like that and it actually frightened him. His wide eyed gaze shot between both Regas and Niall as his brother spoke, watching him like a hawk.
"Look da, I knew what I was getting into when I enlisted. You knew the possibilities when you outlaid the money. I didn't become a recruit to just sit in some political shit hole for some piece of shit desk job. I'll do my duty as a soldier and do my best to stay alive, so you needn't worry about me" answered Regas' eldest son with a rather serious expression. He was meeting Regas' anger with a cool and calm attitude and it seemed to work in assuaging some of Regas' anger.
"I know you will son, I know you will", Regas stated softly as he seemed to deflate, accepting Niall's words.
"But it's never as simple as that. When it comes to war Niall, it doesn't matter how good a soldier you are. Sometimes all it comes down to is how lucky you are" he muttered, a calloused hand being lifted to pinch at the bridge of his nose.
Unable to stand the room’s atmosphere any longer, Sain stepped away, grabbing a coat from the coat rack at the door even as he deposited his back pack by the door. He then turned to head out into the rapidly cooling streets. Walking in on such a thing was not his idea of a good night, and he figured instead of skulking in his room listening to the other two, he may as well take a walk to think. Stepping out into the street, he hugged the coat around him and puffed out some air. He watched his breath mist before him and realized that winter was fast approaching. He started walking through the darkening streets, leaving Niall to deal with their father, his own thoughts starting to wander.
When Regas had sold their house in the suburbs to pay for Niall's education, he had been so proud that Niall was carrying on the family tradition of military service. But in the last few years as Regas had been dealt blow after blow, he had begun to fall apart and second guess every decision he made. He had hoped that Niall's education would get him an officer’s rank in the forces and that he would be able to support his father. Regas had no wealth, he had debts instead and he wasn't going to be able to work forever. Regas relied on his eldest, and now it looked like Niall was going to a war that he may not return from.
Even if Niall did return, there could be no telling when and what physical or mental state he may return in. It was quite likely that he would return an emotional wreck like the veterans that could be seen wandering the streets every day.
Hearing shouting in the distance, Sain furrowed his brow and turned his gaze towards the source of noise. He could see a lit up warehouse on the side of a hill quite some distance away. Every now and then a loud roar erupted from the place. A sound that usually came from a large amount of people yelling at the same time. Not knowing what was going on over there, Sain’s curiosity got the best of him and he started walking briskly towards the place, feeling himself heat up at the exertion. He was wearing a few layers of clothes after all.
It took a good amount of time for him to reach the place, as unfamiliar with it as he was. Upon reaching what he thought was the entrance, he noticed a large crowd clustered around a gate, all clamoring to get in. Sain noticed a few gang members stopping the crowd whilst a few others seemed to be selling tickets. He just blinked and realized it must be some sort of show or something. Opting not to join the crowd, Sain skirted around the crowd and made for the alley that ran alongside the warehouse wall.
Sain could still hear a significant amount of noise from inside and felt his curiosity surge. Now he really wanted to get into the place. He kept walking around the building until he came to an area secured by a tall wire fence. Inside the fenced area Sain could see a door that had been left slightly ajar. A fire exit by the look of it. Looking around him, Sain saw no one in sight, and with a small grin, started climbing the fence. Within moments he was on the other side, landing softly on the ground. He went straight for the fire exit and noticed someone had shoved a brick in the bottom of the door to keep it open.
Not caring as to the who or the why, Sain pulled the door open only enough for him to slide through. As he slipped inside, he was instantly buffeted by a wave of noise. Shouting, yelling, and the distinct sound of flesh hitting flesh. Sain found himself at the back of a walkway that seemed to run the entire building. It was raised a good five meters off the ground with a single railing spanning its entire length. Pushed up to and leaning over the railing everywhere he looked were people. Some holding bottles of alcohol, or even fists of cash.
A little bewildered, Sain squeezed his way to the railing and looked out over the warehouse floor. Again everywhere he looked, there where masses of people packed into the place, all surrounding what looked like a cage. And in the cage were two men, fighting each other.
Sain blinked as he realized he had walked into some sort of competition, or fight night considering it was being run out of a warehouse by a gang. He couldn’t help but smile a little. This was entertainment. Looking back to the cage in the middle of the warehouse, his smile faded rather quickly as he noticed the men fighting each had weapons. One had a long knife, the other a sma
ll axe. A hatchet of some sort. Sain instantly felt a sick feeling rise in his throat as he realized this must be some sort of death match, born from the illegal slave trade that thrived in Rindai. He gulped as he saw the man with the axe hack at the other, the blade slamming into a shoulder. The blade didn’t cut cleanly though, as though it was significantly blunted. The victims agonized cry of pain was quickly lost in the cacophony of cheers and boos from the crowd.
Sain tightened his jaw and suddenly wanted nothing more than to get out of this place. He had no desire to see two bonded men kill each other for a crowd’s amusement. He pushed away from the railing right as he felt a hand drop onto his shoulder and squeeze, causing him to yelp. Trying to turn and twist away, Sain tried to get away from whoever had gotten their hands on him. But the hand was large and strong and gripped him tightly.
He felt another on his the back of his neck and he grabbed at the big fingers, trying to pull the persons grip away. He struggled and kicked as he was essentially dragged backwards away from the railing. One person watching the fights turned irritably around to look at the commotion but once he saw Sain in his predicament, the man swiftly turned away wide eyed.
That did not bode well for Sain as he was unceremoniously dragged out of the fire exit he had snuck in through. Getting thrown at the link fence, he gasped as he bounced off of it and fell to his hands and knees. Looking up, he felt a knot form in his stomach as he looked into the face of Jalel. The man stood there looking down at Sain angrily as a half dozen youths filed out of the fire exit to stand in the small fenced off area. They stood in a semi-circle around Sain, Jalel in the middle. The big man stared at Sain for a bit and then scowled.
The Sky is Endless Page 7
