“Contract?” Rene asked, wondering what he meant. If it was what he thought, then it meant that there was a price on his head.
“Pretty sure… pretty sure the Snakes and the Ravens put a hit out on you. Don’t know if anyone’s taken it yet, since it’s so new but… yeah,” Davis mumbled.
“Oh. Alright. If anyone shows up looking to kill me, please tell them I’m in here,” Rene said walking over to the desk.
Davis jumped out of the seat and scrambled to the other side, holding it for Rene.
“Also… also the other… lieutenants left,” Davis murmured, clearly expecting problems with that statement.
“Left? Alright,” Rene said. That would change his plans slightly, but nothing too terrible. “Don’t bother them and leave them be. We don’t need anyone lacking in courage, after all.”
Just have to hire new lieutenants. And that’s not too hard. Just find the right people and pay ’em.
Inconvenient, but not a problem.
The Monster in his head grumbled, but didn’t say anything. From what Rene could feel of it, it was more annoyed about the lieutenants leaving than Rene was.
“Put together everyone you think would be suitable as a lieutenant,” Rene said, sitting down in the chair.
“I… uh… I don’t know…”
Davis’ voice trailed off, clearly unsure how to answer.
Great. He’s incompetent.
Looking at Davis, Rene contemplated how to handle this. Davis was more likely to steal from him and be incompetent the entire time.
The likelihood that he had been a lieutenant for reasons that had nothing to do with his abilities was rapidly becoming apparent.
There was a heavy knock on the door.
“Enter,” Rene called looking away from Davis.
An older woman, perhaps in her forties, walked into the room after the door opened. She was dressed in a fashion that made him think she was the madam of the establishment.
Her hair was starting to gray, and she had a scar that went from her eyebrow into her hairline. As if someone had gone to slash at one of her gray eyes and missed.
If Rene didn’t miss his guess, she’d more than likely worked the sheets once upon a time.
“It’s you,” she said bluntly.
“It’s me,” Rene said. “I need a second-in-command. Can you handle it?”
Opening her mouth, the woman looked like a landed fish.
“I… what about-”
Rene looked at Davis and then pointed at the door.
“Leave and don’t come back,” he commanded even as the woman spoke. He didn’t need Davis and didn’t want him. He’d rather have the madam at this point. She probably knew more of the business.
Davis didn’t wait around. He scurried out of the room as if his pants were on fire and the only water in the city was on the other side of it.
“Can you handle it?” Rene repeated, looking at the woman again.
“I… yeah. I can,” said the madam, her shoulders lifting slightly.
“Name?” Rene asked.
“Dephan,” the woman murmured, one hand coming up to rest on her neckline.
“Dephan, you’re the second-in-command now. Do you know who we’re currently bribing, who we need to bribe, and if we’re working with anyone in the guards?” Rene questioned.
“Ah, I know most of all that I think,” Dephan said, still looking unsure. “I handle anyone we just pay off with some coin and a few trips on the house for some of the girls. Pay the girls the difference and we come out ahead.”
“Right,” Rene said. “And the guards?”
“I don’t know those,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and holding up her free hand in front of herself to match the gesture. “That was always handled by someone else.”
“Fine,” Rene said. “As my second-in-command, you need to figure out who we need to promote to handle all our avenues of business. I’m going to hold you to your recommendations, so make sure they’re good ones.”
“Ah, I… okay,” Dephan said, looking more and more perturbed with every word. “I can do that. Do you care if they’re… working girls?”
“No, as long as they can handle themselves and can run their side of whatever it is you’re proposing,” Rene said. “Though I’ll be handling all money. Daily profits will be collected and brought here. Anything we take a cut out of will come here as well.
“Anyone working directly from us gets paid weekly. You keeping up so far?”
“Yes. Yes, I am,” Dephan said, nodding her head.
Rene didn’t quite believe that. She looked to be far too deep already.
“Start with all that, and we’ll go from there,” Rene declared. He was glad he’d taken in the entirety of the guild’s finances the last time he’d visited. If he hadn’t, it was likely his lieutenants and Davis would have stolen or squandered it all. “The better you do, the less you’ll see me. Do incredibly well, and you’ll be the guild leader with me as just a silent partner.”
Dephan once more nodded. While it was clear to Rene she was beyond out of her league, it was obvious she wasn’t going to let this chance go by.
This was an opportunity.
There were several taps on the door behind Dephan.
Turning, the madam opened the door and peered through the crack.
A hushed conversation was conducted before the madam looked to Rene.
“Uhm, sir, there’s a noble who wants to see you. His name is Master Junk,” Dephan said.
Haha. Really?
Huh.
Well, better me than the Snakes or the Ravens, but that works out fine for me.
I can swindle the little toad of a man for money. I wonder if he wants me dead, or just robbed.
Both, probably.
“Send him in. I also want you to reserve several girls for me at all times, Dephan. Find me women who’ve just arrived, who haven’t worked the sheets. Set them aside for me,” Rene said. “They’re never to do bed-work, and we’ll pay them just to be on retainer for me. Do you understand?”
“Of course, boss. I’ll take care of it immediately,” Dephan said and then left the room.
We could always just see if Odelia wanted a lay; I think she’d be more than willing to do so without feeling gray.
Don’t want sex. I want them to serve as personal maid-servants. But the only way I can get them to work exclusively for me is if everyone else thinks they’re just toys.
Huh.
Well, I kind of want sex. It’s been a few months now.
Rene didn’t respond to that, though he was momentarily disturbed by that request. The Monster had never wanted anything but blood before. The fact that it was feeling lonely for the fairer sex, and hadn’t rhymed, made him rather nervous.
The door opened and in walked the fat master of the Junk house.
“Good tidings,” Junk said, trundling into the study.
Rene nodded his head at the other man.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, pitching his voice lower.
Junk didn’t even balk at the immediate shift towards business. Nor did his facial expression change.
“I need someone robbed of everything they own,” Junk said.
Ha. Easy.
“Alright,” Rene said. “Who’s the target?”
“Rene Anatolis. Recently moved here to Felicie,” Junk said, sitting down in a chair directly across from Rene. The fat man began blotting at his face with a kerchief he pulled from a pocket, as the sweat rolled down his cheeks. “No violence to the child himself. Just take everything from him. I’d rather not have his father show up and start asking questions. A robbery though? Those things happen.”
“Fine,” Rene said. “I need five thousand gold up front for the job. I’m well aware of who Rene is and who he’s employed.”
Junk had begun sputtering almost instantly.
“No! I’m not paying you to rob someone, you can keep the gold you lift from him and—”
“No,” Rene said, then held a hand out to the door. “Have a nice evening.”
“Now, listen here you—”
Rene stood up quickly and leaned over his desk. In the time it took to exhale, his mask was pressed nose to mask with Junk.
“I’ll not rob the Anatolis house and take on the mercenary company working for them for anything less than twenty thousand total. Five thousand now, the rest when the job is complete,” Rene whispered. “Because the simple reality is, I have no idea what they even have. They might have two gold, they might have two hundred thousand gold. You’ve offered me nothing, but you came into my space, my home, my place of business and presented me with a request.
“Now you demand to set my price? No. You pay or you don’t. The end.”
Junk didn’t flinch away from Rene. The beady-eyed pig of a human in fact stared right back at Rene.
Laughing suddenly, Junk leaned away from Rene and ran the fabric down from the top of his head to his chin.
“Fine, fine. That’s fair,” Junk consented. And with far more assurance than Rene was expecting.
Mildly… unnerving. Not what I was thinking he’d do either. Is everything a ploy?
Maybe Junk is deeper than I was expecting.
“I’ll have your pay tomorrow. When do you think you’ll have the job done?” Junk asked.
“A week or less. I’ll let you know in a few days. Have to scope the area, figure out what’s going on, and how best to break in,” Rene answered. “Best you lie low and not involve yourself further. I imagine the law will come looking once it happens.”
“Course, course,” said Junk. “I can do that. Well. I think I’ll go avail myself of some of your wares and then head home for the evening.
“Wouldn’t want anyone to think I visited your establishment for anything other than the expected bit of business.”
“Mmmm,” Rene said, sitting back down in his chair.
Junk got himself back up out of the chair with a grunt. Waddling his way out of the study, the man left Rene alone with his thoughts.
Rene frowned, not sure how to take any of that. Part of him was now worried Junk was more than he’d originally credited the man for. Another part felt like it’d be a better idea to simply eliminate the man tonight and consider the whole matter closed.
Distinctly, Rene had the impression that this man was going to try and betray him.
Yet I can’t eliminate him outright. If I kill him, it’s quite possible people would link it to me simply because I’m his most recent enemy.
Let’s let things run for now; we’ll simply have fun, but how?
Shaking his head, Rene put his elbow down on the desk and then rested his chin in his hand. There was going to be a lot of work to do.
He could put Junk on the back-burner for now, since all it seemed he wanted was for Rene to be robbed.
Maybe he wants me robbed so he can purchase that letter of credit on the Delacroix family.
Though if that’s what he wants, why does he want it so bad?
Odelia’s family is nice enough, but they didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.
Frowning, he gave up on it for now.
He needed to go meet this Lieutenant Ronder and see if they could come to an agreement. Rene had no doubt his gang was going to run afoul of the law. If he could get them squared away sooner, rather than later, it’d be all the easier to get his people back, get new people, and spread his influence.
His goal was simple. Control the underground, and then feed those he didn’t want to himself as the Black Hood. He could work both sides for the same goal.
Let’s hope Ronder sees reason. Because while I’ve only met a few people I couldn’t convince to take a bribe, making corpses of everyone who refuses could end up becoming quite a bloody business.
Oh!
Maybe we should invest in a cemetery. We just have to make sure we charge them maintenance fees for anyone interred. That way we’re always making a profit.
Only you would think that’s a good idea.
How isn’t it a good idea? We would be generating the corpses, robbing them, and then being paid to bury them.
Self-producing market!
Captive market.
Rene left the Tramp’s Tail and ducked out of sight, making sure to get deep into stealth the moment he left the doorstep. He needed to maintain an absolute split in his personas at all costs.
Chapter 20
Rubbing his index finger back and forth along the edge of his mask, Rene peered through the slats of the shutter.
He was watching Lieutenant Ronder. The man was going through what Rene could only assume was his end-of-day routine.
He was slowly packing up the small office he worked out of. A number of papers, small books, and odd bits and bobs were vanishing into a satchel.
The man was obviously a member of the nobility. Judging by all the accessories he was wearing in addition to his uniform itself, he clearly had some money and upbringing. The material was different than the standard city uniform, the colors were brighter, and every metallic surface had a high sheen.
Even the man’s boots looked to be leather which was cared for regularly and of high quality.
Except, despite all of that, Rene would say the man was in the lower rungs of the noble class. He wouldn’t be serving as a junior lieutenant in the city guard otherwise. If he were higher in the social standing, he likely wouldn’t be working at all or would have a commission in the military.
Certainly higher than we are, though. If we tried to get into soldiering, we’d be given a spear and told to join the conscripts.
Part of the nobility? You question our ability.
I’d rather we be hung than be part of that dung.
Rene shrugged his shoulders at that.
Being part of the noble class didn’t seem that bad to him. Though a lot of the expectations they put on themselves would likely be more the issue.
Ronder moved over to the corner of his office and pulled out his belt knife. Using the tip, he pried up a floorboard and set it aside.
Oh? Having a stash would definitely indicate we’ve got the right guy.
The man quickly began pulling small purses out of the floor and dropping them into his satchel.
After seemingly emptying his stash, or at least judging he had enough, Ronder replaced the floorboard and then went back to his desk.
Ronder looked over his desk once more before exiting his office completely, door shutting behind him.
Rene pulled out his pry bar and wedged it into the window where it latched shut and pushed it in. Working quickly, he knocked the hook out of place. He dug his nails into the edge of the shutter and pried it open to one side.
Moving in through the open window, Rene went quickly to the corner. Using his pry bar, he tapped around for a second before he found the loose board. He wedged it in and popped the board out of place.
Inside was a small book and a number of pouches.
I really do hope that’s his little black book and his accounts.
Reaching into the gap, Rene fetched out the book. It was the only thing that held any value to him. Coins weren’t needed, given how much his father had sent over.
And that doesn’t even include our own funds, which are inevitably going to show up.
For now, we’ll use the lender start-up coin.
Money isn’t an issue.
But, knowing everyone who Ronder is being paid-off by is invaluable.
Opening the book, Rene began to casually flip through the pages after staring hard at each one. Spending a few seconds on each, trying to commit everything to memory as he did so, was a worthwhile investment.
He certainly couldn’t take the book with him—that’d give the game away.
Closing the book when he got to the last page, Rene closed his eyes and concentrated on remembering everything he’d read.
As if the book were in front of him, he could mentally tur
n the pages and read each entry as though he had it open.
Testing that, he opened the book, flipped to a middle page, then opened his eyes.
Comparing that page to the one in his mind, he found everything matched.
Just like The Elemental Way then. It’s not just limited to books that teach.
Our benefactor, our benefactor.
I hate and love him.
To loathe and cherish him.
I hate us.
Likewise. And yet… the gift was given and—
Damn. Junk is here.
Rene was looking at the last page that had names in the small book. After this, all the pages were blank. Logically, the entries here would likely be the newer ones if one was adding names as they went.
He must be trying to get ahead of us. Pave the way, so he can have us robbed and no one will look into it.
Or worse, to coerce.
To have Ronder go yonder and collect the Mask as his task.
Grunting at that, Rene seriously considered the possibility. He’d be able to get a better read on the man once he talked to him.
After putting the book back and then the board, Rene snuck free of the office and back outside.
When he looked down to the ground below him, he was struck by how glad he was that he could climb so well. Forty feet below him, everyone was going in every direction.
But there was only one exit from the barracks.
Rene peered at the ground, trying to track his target from here.
Nothing happened.
Sighing, he scrambled down the side of the building. When he reached the ground, he was able to pick up Ronder’s trail.
It led straight into the streets and away from the barracks.
Time to track him down and see if we can’t come to an agreement.
***
“Hello, there,” Rene said as Ronder entered his own study.
Spinning on his heel, the lieutenant pulled his sword and had it pointed at Rene in a flash.
Rene didn’t move, didn’t twitch, and didn’t speak further.
The sword tip hovered in the air as Ronder stared hard at Rene. His black hair was falling down around his head in a way that made it look unkempt. His hard brown eyes latched on Rene.
Monster's Mercy Page 20