Isaac sized up the man. For some reason, every fiber of his being was telling him to run -- run and not look back. Swallowing his fear, he raised his voice, nearly biting his tongue as he spoke.
“S-so, you’re the leader of the Cutpurses?”
“You heard me.”
“Well, what do you want with us? Are you here to avenge your guys or something?” Marie was already in a fighting stance.
“Who, them? No, no, they were just the leftovers.” The Chief waved the idea away. “All the little bandit-wannabes who didn’t make the cut. And as to what I want with you?” He motioned for them to be at ease. “Just a little talk, that’s all. A friendly tête-à-tête.”
Charles’ eyes flashed to the door. Strong or not, the bandit was out of striking range and unarmed. If he held him off, the rest of them could…
“Sure, you could make a break for it,” the Chief assessed, examining his nails. “Hell, most of you would probably make it. But all I have to do is…”
In the blink of an eye, a revolver was in his hand, pointed at Walter and Riley.
“Bang! Bang!” he mouthed, gesturing with the firearm. “…shoot the knees out from the little ones. They won’t run very far after that, and you don’t seem like the kind of folks to leave them behind. Am I wrong?”
“You’ve made your point, we’re listening.” Charles maneuvered himself between the Chief and the two kids, who were clinging to each other in terror. “You can put the gun away.”
“Good, you’re a reasonable fellow. I like that.” He returned the pistol to his back holster. “Say, you seem like something of the leader of this group. What’s your name?”
“Charles.”
“Charles, eh? Good name.” He nodded. “Okay Charles, here’s how this is going to work. From here on out, this is a conversation between the two of us. If I ask a question, I’m asking it of you. The rest of you can sit on your thumbs and keep quiet. This is a negotiation between adults, not a classroom. Understood?”
“Understood.” Charles nodded, his mind racing.
“There, we’re off to a good start. So, here’s the deal; as I said, I’m not upset you took down “my men”. I’ve got a hundred operations just like this across BRYZ, where I recruit potential members, poach anybody with promise, and leave the rest under some stooge like Nekonečno. Still, rejects though they were, I’m impressed you took down as many as you did.”
He shifted on his feet. “I’d like to offer you and your gang a position, Charles. You won’t be high up, but we run a merit-based operation. Perform, and you’ll see it be worth your while. How about it?”
“Well, that really depends on the details of what we’d be joining,” Charles deflected.
“Heh, want to read the fine print before you sign, eh?” He chuckled. “I like that. Okay Charles, I’ll explain. Have you heard of Basilisk?”
Charles shook his head.
“Oh, I have!” Jason interjected.
“Talk again, and I’ll blow your head off, kid.” The gun was back in the Chief’s hand.
Turning pale, Jason dropped back, not even daring to respond.
Nodding, the Chief returned the pistol to its holster, continuing like nothing had happened.
“Basilisk represents organized crime for a new age. We’ve been in the corners of BRYZ since its inception, and with the recent changes, we’ve tripled in size and are continuing to grow. As for what we do… Well, let’s face it; in an orderly society, there will always be a market for those willing to go above and beyond the legal scope of things. We fill that niche. We’re a customer-oriented business not afraid to get our hands dirty.”
“Now don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “We’re not asking you to start plugging bigwigs or stealing sensitive data right out of the gate, oh no. We’ll start you off with simple tasks, things like making false reports and providing alibis. What with cyber-security being run off their feet trying to deal with this whole “New BRYZ” dilemma, filling their inboxes with false leads can be the most effective way to take the heat off our men in the field.” He smiled at Walter and Riley, another cold, reptilian smirk. “Hell, we’ll even set up the little ones with jobs, if they want. It’s a cutthroat world out there, and the sooner you get a little bread in your pocket, the easier you’ll have it.”
“And if they decide they don’t want to be a part of this?”
“Hell if I care. If they don’t want a position, they’re free to go. They can even write a “tell-all” article about this conversation if they want, no skin off my back.”
“And do you have safeguards in place to prevent any… legal repercussions from effecting us?”
“No such thing as a safe crime, Charles. The best advice I can give you is don’t get caught. We operate on decentralized authority; we can’t risk the whole organization for the sake of bailing out one or two incompetent divisions.”
Charles was running out of ways to stall for time, as he tried to work out a plan. “Isn’t it a bit odd that you’re telling us all this up front?” he asked, crossing his arms as he rested his finger on his shield’s on/off switch.
“How do you figure?”
“It doesn’t seem logical that you’d spill your organization’s inner workings to a bunch of kids who just tore up one of your outposts,” Charles continued. “What proof can you give us that we’ll make it out of this alive if we agree to work with you?”
“Oh? I see it like this,” the Chief explained. “There’s only two ways you’re leaving this fortress. At my side, or in itty-bitty pieces. Either way, you won’t be spilling anything. Even so, I’ve only revealed just what you’d find in a basic Wiki search. And as far as proof goes…”
The Chief grinned icily, the revolver suddenly back in his hands. “There are no guarantees in this business, Charles. Either you join me and risk me killing you later, or you refuse, and die now. You’re a smart kid, you know which is the better option. Now I think that’s about enough filibustering, don’t you?”
“What? I just…” Charles started.
“Shh-shh-shh,” the Chief hushed him. “You had your chance to talk. You there in the back, yes you, the redhead!” He gestured at Isaac.
“What… what is it?” Isaac stepped forward, sweating.
“You must think you’re pretty clever, kid. Summoning your little helper and maneuvering it into position while your buddy buys time? Pretty slick. Did you plan that ahead, or did you two just make it up on the fly?”
Charles and Isaac exchanged panicked glances.
“Aw it’s okay, don’t let it get you down,” the Chief mocked them. “You tried your best, right? Tell you what, I’m a good sport. I’ll let you get one free shot in on me, okay?”
“I don’t think…”
“Take the shot, ginger.”
“Listen, I…”
The pistol was suddenly leveled right at Charles’ head.
“Take the damn shot, or I’ll blow your buddy’s head open wide enough you’ll be able to see him think.”
“Aaaargh, damnit!” Isaac screamed in desperation. “Twitch, SNIPE!”
*Bang!*
The bullet caught the bandit Chief right in the forehead. Standing up from her position beyond the hall’s door, Twitch gave a tiny fist-pump.
“Is he…” Isaac barely dared to breath, as he looked at the rigid bandit Chief.
*tinkle tinkle tinkle*
A small bullet fell to the stone floor, squashed flat from impact.
“Mmm, I felt that one.” Chief smirked, licking the blood trickling down his face. In a single, smooth movement, he snapped off a shot with his revolver, catching Twitch right in the forehead. With a squeak of dismay, she vanished into the ether, leaving the hallways still and quiet.
“How… is that possible?” Isaac gaped. “I shot you in the face!”
“What level are you, kid?” The Chief asked, rhetorically. “Must be around level five. Yours truly is level twenty-five. This is a game, remember? A bullet to the head doesn’t mean jack with a level disparity like that.” He surveyed the team as he slowly approached them, the same mirthless grin returning to his face as he stood in front of Charles. “Now then, are we about ready to make a deal?”
“I guess we don’t have a choice.” Charles choked out the words. “We’ll join Basilisk. Just… let the kids go free, okay?”
“There, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” The Chief patted his cheek. “I’m a man of my word. Clear out, kids. Go home to mommy and daddy, okay?”
Scrambling to their feet, Riley and Walter bolted out the door.
"Now then, gather up please, ladies and gents." The Chief beckoned them toward him. "Let's get your onboarding started, shall we?"
“Target’s name is Juraj Svoboda. Nationality is Czech. Address is Pilařská ***/*, in Plzeň 4, Czechia. Current IP coordinates are…”
As one, the room turned to Tenshi, who was holding the now-activated Ability Grimoire quest item.
“Mission accomplished.” Tenshi nodded, satisfied, as the Grimoire continued to dox the Chief.
“Tenshi, what have you done?!” Isaac exclaimed, turning to look at the Chief.
“I see, so that’s how it is.” The Chief took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his hands. “Sorry Charles, looks like the deal’s off. I think I’m going to really enjoy making you debilní squeal for your lives.” He lifted the revolver.
*Ping!*
The weapon flew from his hands into Charles’ humming electromagnet. “Eat steel, bastard!” Charles yelled, lashing out with his shield at the man’s head.
*Clonk*
The shield glanced off the man’s skull as if it had stuck rock. In response, the Chief simply turned and walked back to the couch, showing no signs of having been impacted by Charles’ hit.
“Hmm, unfortunate,” he muttered, looking at his lost revolver. “Well, no matter.” Stretching and flexing, twin armoured gauntlets shimmered into being over his arms, as he adopted a ready stance. Looking like a fusion between shields and gloves, each weapon consisted of a heavy iron gauntlet with six-inch knuckle spikes, along with a three-foot metal plate affixed to the upper-forearm of the glove, each bearing half a dragon’s face carved onto their plating. The words “Memento Mori” were split across the bottom edge of both shield-plates, dyed in an ominous red ink.
How the heck did he manage to summon his equipment without opening his menu? Isaac wondered.
“He’s just one guy!” Charles called out, shuffling sideways to stand in front of the rest of the party. “Riley, take Walter and get outta here. The rest of you, form up! Level twenty-five or not, there’s five of us, plus the Peppermint Eyeglass girls on the way. We can do this!”
“Couldn’t’ve said it better myself, blondie.” Jason drew his swordstaff. “CLOAK OF THE NIGHT!” He vanished from view.
“COVERING FIRE!” Isaac commanded, summoning his machinegun-toting minions. “Tenshi and I can keep him pinned, the rest of you flank him!”
“I still have two working pod-armed clones,” Tenshi verified, opening fire. “He cannot attack and defend at the same time, so let us whittle away at his health."
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” The Chief dropped back, bringing his gauntlets up in front of his body and crouching down, forming a wall of iron and deflecting the incoming hail of bullets.
“Eat this, Téteux.” Marie picked up chunks of broken rock from the floor, hurling them at the Chief, and letting her class ability turn them into deadly projectiles.
“We’ve got him on the defensive, guys!” Charles exclaimed, strafing the side of the crouching Chief as he prepared to engage. “Keep it up!”
“Well, that’s probably about enough damage stored,” the Chief muttered to himself, as Jason materialized behind him, his swordstaff clutched in both hands.
“SPLINTER!” Jason yelled, lunging.
The Chief didn’t even have time to activate a skill.
He just slammed his right fist back, striking a glancing blow off Jason’s arm.
With a horrible crumpling sound of bones splintering, Jason flew backwards, slamming into the far wall of the room and lying still.
Rising to his feet and ignoring the bullets bouncing off him like hail on a steel roof, the Chief turned to regard the downed Jason.
“Hmm, you’re still alive?” he called out to the twitching assassin. “Oh, right, game rules. I have to hit you a second time, yes?”
He took a step towards Jason.
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