Chapter 24
“Just let me do all the talking,” Floria said with a wide smile as she and Domitor walked down the long hallway with heavily armed Kejtdra leaning out of all the doors, watching them with bored expressions.
“Gladly,” Domitor muttered as she laughed and put her hands behind her head, walking confidently down the hall, eyes locked on the door at the end.
Once they reached it she threw it open violently and stepped in, throwing her hands out wide, “Rig! I heard you thought I skipped town with your haul?”
Stepping in behind her, Domitor found himself in an overly decorated room, which did not fit the rest of the building at all. As the rest of the building looked a bit run down,this room was covered floor to ceiling in art and valuables.
A massive desk sat at the other end of the room with a very fit and refined looking male Kejtdra standing before it. He had a displeased look on his face as he stared at them, his white blazer open at the top as its collar flared up dramatically.
“Prove my informant wrong,” he said simply, hands behind his back as he stared at her coldly.
With a laugh she flung open her jacket, revealing all the items she’d stolen the day before. “Got it all right here!”
“And the ONE item I requested?” he asked, looking unimpressed.
“Eh,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “I got distracted…”
“By this thing?” he asked, gesturing to Domitor.
“I’ll get it though! I finally know how to do it, this guy right here has a cool power that isn’t a Thorn!” she said, sounding a bit desperate suddenly.
“Show me,” the man asked, staring at Domitor with a cold indifference.
“Go on, show him,” she said as she looked at him with an almost pleading look.
Domitor didn’t like this, not one bit. But her pleading look swayed him as he sighed and shot a tendril forward and zipped across the room, appearing by the large desk.
This brought an amused smile to the man's face as he turned to look at the stallion who now stood near him. “Now that’s intriguing. Tell me your name.”
“Domitor,” he said, getting a glare out of the man.
“Full name,” the man demanded.
“Domitor… Pompeo,” he said, choosing to use his father’s real last name and not the fake one he used in Equestria.
“Well, Mr. Pompeo, what is this power of yours if not a Thorn?” he asked, standing up straight before him with eyes filled with interest and greed.
“I’m not actually sure,” he said, getting a raised eyebrow from the man. “It was gifted to me by a dark mysterious man in some kind of void dimension.”
“A gift from a God? You’re claiming to have a gift from the Gods?” he asked, looking very amused. “No matter. True or not, that is an interesting and useful ability you have.”
“Thank you,” Domitor said, glancing to Floria, who was looking very nervous.
“Are you going to be helping our young Ms. Feit over there?”
Domitor stared back at him, unsure of how to answer this. He didn’t even know what she was supposed to be doing, as she hadn't been as open with him as he thought she had. “Depends on what it is I guess.”
“Good,” the man said as he turned and walked around his desk. “She’ll inform you of what must be done. I expect results by the end of the week.” As he sat down, he smiled at her, crossing his hands in front of his face as he leaned forward. “Right, Floria?”
“Yes,” she said simply, shoving her hands into her pockets.
A sinister looking smile formed on his face as he gave a single nod, “Go.”
“Come on, Dom,” Floria said, waving for him to follow her.
He cast one last glance at the well dressed Kejtdra before walking after her, his eyes never leaving him.
“Floria, one last thing,” the man said, causing them both to turn just as they reached the door. A large shadow loomed up behind him, a wide smile on its face as the man and this shadow stared at them. “Don’t break your contract. I’d hate for you to face… consequences.”
“I ain’t breaking my stinking contract,” she said defiantly as she grabbed Domitor by the leg and dragged him out of the room. The door slammed shut on its own.
“What was-” he started, but she jerked him hard to follow.
“Not in here,” she said calmly as they walked past all the guards again.
After making their way through the building and back out into the street, she turned away from him, hands shoved back into her pockets.
“So what am I mixed up in?” he asked as he stared at her back.
“I’m sorry, Dom. I’m a fuck up,” she said in a low voice. “I should’ve dealt with this last night before going to bed.”
“What is this thing he’s wanting you to get?”
She let out a sigh and turned around, “there’s a Government official here in the city from the Capitol, and he’s supposed to be picking up a prototype weapon from the labs up in the top of the tree. But I missed my chance to nab it yesterday when they were moving between sections.”
“So he wants you to grab this prototype weapon?” Domitor asked, getting a nod in response. “And you missed your chance already? So what are we supposed to do?”
A cool smile appeared on her face as she leaned back a bit, “well, we’ll have one more chance to grab it. It’ll be when he’s leaving the city, but he’ll be under heavy guard by his personal Gloomers.”
“Gloomers?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, heavily armed fuckers who kill on sight, and are above the law in all ways,” she said, her smile not faltering.
“And we have to somehow get in there, take this item, and get out without hurting them?” Domitor asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’d say that’s impossible.”
“Who said we’re not hurting them?” she asked with a laugh. “These guys are the worst of the worst. I’ve personally seen them kill a group of kids because they were in the way of a convoy. I say they get no sympathy.”
Domitor frowned, as he still wasn’t set on killing someone, even if they’re apparently evil and deserve it. “When is he leaving the city?”
“Two days from now,” she replied back, tilting her head to the side as she smirked at him. “You down, Domitor?”
He stared at her for a long moment before sighing and giving a nod, “I guess so.”
“Awesome sauce,” she exclaimed, turning and walking away down the street.
“Now tell me what that shadow thing was behind that guy,” he said as he caught up to her.
“Ah, yeah that,” she said, her smile wavering a bit. “Rig back there has a Thorn called Contract, and he’s able to make contracts with others for basically anything. And that shadow thing? That’s the Enforcer of the Contract. It makes sure everyone under contract performs as they’re supposed to, and will punish them with the terms of the contract if they don’t follow it. And if you break it, it just kills you.”
“And you’re under contract with him?” Domitor asked with a grimace.
“Yep,” she said, her smile twitching as she tried to maintain it. “I needed food and a place to live, so I signed a contract with him. He makes sure my rent is paid and I do as I’m told. It’s not really that bad of a deal, to be honest. Others have it worse.”
“When’s your contract over?” he asked, not liking the idea of this contract ability.
She just laughed a bit, “don’t worry about that. Right now, we have nothing to do. So I say we go check out that place I was trying to take you to earlier.”
He didn’t like she wasn’t being open with him, but again, he realized sometimes people may want to keep certain things hidden.
“Let’s go then,” he said, causing her smile to return in earnest.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Where’s this boss of yours?” I asked as I sat at the table inside the pavilion, the park around us was mostly empty, as this seemed to be a seedy part of town. But to be honest, all I’ve seen of this place is seedy areas, so I guess I’ll have to use another word to describe shitty places like this.
“He’s been informed of your desire to speak with him, so we’ll know his answer shortly,” the angry looking Kejtdra said as he leaned on the pavilion's railings, mostly ignoring me.
“I’m not waiting forever,” I said in an annoyed tone.
“Alright, leave whenever you want,” he replied back, just pissing me off more.
Instead of continuing to argue with him, I just leaned onto the table and rubbed my face. An hour here just waiting, nothing happening. This was killing my ADHD.
“So, you are the one who almost disrupted an operation and then demanded a meeting with me?” a smooth and suave voice said as I heard someone walking up behind me.
Turning around I was greeted by a Kejtdra in a weird getup, a charming smile plastered on his face. The little golden jewelry on his tail caught my eye as particularly weird. He was flanked by two emotionless guards, both looking very unimpressive.
“Don’t judge them by their looks,” Rosemary said, appearing next to one and pointing to his wrapped hand. “They have Thorn’s, so their threat level is unknown.”
“You this boss they all keep talking about?” I ask, standing up and staring defiantly at his little posse.
“That I am,” he said with a laugh as he stepped forward and held a hand out to me. “Rig Fanden. King of the Undercity.”
Quest complete! 2 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 12 unspent points!
“Self appointed or did you actually earn that title?” I asked with a smirk.
He just continued to smile at me as I took his hand and shook it hard. “You’re a cocky one.”
“I get that from my mother,” I retorted back.
“Where’d you get the ancient Laughing Drake’s jacket?” he asked, a bit of interest on his face.
“Some old guy gave it to me,” I admitted, not thinking I’d need to lie about that.
“Very interesting…” he said as he gestured to the table, “take a seat.”
I just smirked back at him. “Think I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself,” he said as he sat down and leaned on the table. “A VIP access card? That’s what you’re after?”
“Yep, that's something you can do?” I asked as I crossed my arms, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
Holding up his hand, a gold plated card appeared in his hand. “A trivial request.” As I eyed it hard, he pulled it back into his Vacuole.
“What do you want for it?” I asked, getting straight to the point.
A wide smile formed on his face as a large piece of paper appeared on the table in front of himself. “Let’s make a deal, hm? You do a little something for me, and I give you the VIP access card.”
“Depends on what you want me to do,” I said, watching him closely.
“Just a simple job,” he said as words began to slowly burn themselves into the paper before him. “Are you good with technology?”
I rolled my eyes and tapped my wrist, “yep. Need me to delete your internet history or something?”
He laughed, despite clearly not getting the joke, “funny, yes. No, I need someone to break into a certain place and retrieve some data for me. Are you capable of this as well?”
That sounds way too easy, there has to be a catch. “Why not send one of your men to do it? This sounds like the simplest job ever.”
“It is simple,” he agreed, smiling at me. “But I can’t be connected to this job at all. If you’re caught, we never met. I require your complete discretion.”
Letting out a sigh I just shrug and step forward. “So I do this, and you give me the VIP access card? No strings attached?”
“Preciously,” he said with a wide smile as he pushed the paper towards me as it continued to burn words into itself. “Just sign this contract.”
“Why?” I ask, glaring at the paper as it gave me a very uncomfortable feeling.
“To ensure you follow my guidelines,” he said as the words finally stopped appearing on the paper. “Just a simple precaution.”
Rosemary appeared over the paper and read it quickly, frowning. “This says that if you disclose your involvement with this guy to anyone, you’ll die on the spot.”
“What kind of contract is this? If I mention this job to anyone, I just die?” I asked, sneering at him.
He blinked in confusion, as I hadn’t even bent over to read it. “How’d you…” then his eyes flashed a strange amber color as he turned his head right to Rosemary. “Ah, that’s very interesting.”
Rosemary stared at him with a worried look as she took a step back, his eyes following her. “Oh he can see me…”
“And hear you,” he said with a sly smile. “So you have a little spirit following you around? Interesting…”
Without a word, Rosemary disappeared, no longer feeling comfortable being here with this guy being able to see and hear her.
“What’s your game here?” he asked as he turned his gaze back to me.
“I’ve told you, I need that VIP access card,” I repeated, glaring at him. “My ‘spirit’ as you called it is just a part of me. So don’t even worry about that.”
“I think I’ll be the one to choose what I worry about,” he chuckled, shoving the paper back to me. “The only way you’re getting this card is if you sign this, with your FULL NAME and do as I ask.”
I eye the paper, thinking about it. To be honest, this job seemed to be super simple, and all I had to do was not tell anyone who I was working for. I’ve done harder things in the past.
“Fine, deal,” I said as I leaned over, taking a quill fountain pen that had appeared out of nowhere, and signed the contract with my full name. The moment I added my name to the paper, it glowed bright red as a shadow flew up behind him and took the contract, shoving it into its mouth and smirking at me.
Quest accepted! ‘Rank C: Data thief!’
“Ah, Shayla Beltosh,” he said, somehow now knowing my name without having to see the paper. “I look forward to seeing how you handle yourself. I may have more work for you if this goes well.”
“I only need the one job,” I replied as he stood up and stepped back, placing a packet on the table and pushing it towards me.
“I’ll be seeing you, Ms. Beltosh,” he said with a half bow as he spun around and walked away with his two guards.
The guy who had brought me here also walked after them, not even saying a word to me.
Once they were gone, I reached down and grabbed the packet. There wasn’t much in it, just a few pictures and a piece of paper describing what I needed to do. As I thought, this was simple.
Break into some facility, steal the data from some kind of database, then GTFO back to him. Really? I feel like I’m just cheating him out of this VIP access card at this point. Oh well, his own fault for under utilizing me.
Shrugging, I shoved the paperwork into a pocket and began walking for the exit to the park. As I strolled along, my stomach made its hunger known to me.
“Great,” I muttered, glancing around the streets ahead. We’d left the heavily populated area, so there wasn’t much open around here. But I did spot some kind of dinner up ahead. Nothing special about it, from what I could tell, which works for me. I just need some food.
The sign above the building read ‘Belf Street Dinner’.
Picking up my pace, I locked my gaze on the food menu I could just barely make out from all the way over here.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“So where exactly are we going?” Domitor asked as they continued down the street, their destination still very unclear to him.
“It’s a secret,” Floria laughed, skipping ahead of him with her hands still in her pockets. “But you’ll love it, trust me.”
“You keep saying that, but the further we walk the more worried i get,” he remarked, a frown on his face. “You know we need to have a talk right? If you’re going to be traveling with us, you need to be more open.”
“Sure,” she said, still acting carefree.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I,” she chuckled, turning as she continued to walk backwards. “Stop worrying so much, Dommy.”
“Don’t call me Dommy,” he muttered, not liking that nickname at all.
“That one is over the line?” she asked with a smirk, still walking backwards.
“A little bit, yeah,” he said, trying to maintain his hard glare. But her happy and cheerful look broke him as he started to laugh. “Geez, fine, call me whatever you want.”
“You got it, dude,” she said with a thumbs up, jumping a bit as she spun back around and continued forward.
“But really, how far are we?” he asked, looking at the buildings around them.
“We still got a bit of walking, but it’s so worth it, trust me,” she assured him, giving him another thumbs up by holding her hand high above her head.
“I hope it is,” he said with a small grin.
“Hungry?” she asked as they turned onto a street next to a large park.
“I could eat,” he said as they continued to walk down this new street.
She chuckled and picked up her pace. “Then this place up here has the best roasted meat. No idea where it comes from, but it MELTS in your mouth. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!” With that she picked up her pace and ran towards a small dinner on the corner of a street.
As she approached the front door, she slammed into someone, knocking them down.
“Sorry, mate,” she laughed, pulling the person back up and patting them down.
“Watch yourself, kid!” the woman yelled, causing Domitor’s eyes to go wide as he neared them.
“Sorry sorry,” Floria said as she laughed some more and walked into the dinner.
The woman grabbed her collar and popped it back up and turned to continue out the door. Then stopped as she saw Domitor a few feet away.
“No fucking way…” she said, eyes wide.
His eye twitched as he took a step back, blading his hooves back as he prepared himself. “Shayla.”
“Domitor,” Shayla said with a sneer as she rolled her shoulders, preparing herself as well.
He grabbed the little device Lenrick gave him and pressed the button, hoping he’ll be here quickly. Tossing it back in his bag, he scraped his hoof at the ground.
“We really doing this?” she asked as she stepped forward, the doorway behind her.
“Yep,” he said.
“Domitor you coming, or are you just…” Floria said as she returned to the door, but stopped when she saw the two squaring up with each other. She looked confused as she looked at them, then her eyes went wide. “Wait, is this the chica you were talking about?”
“It is,” Domitor said as Shayla glanced over her shoulder, seeing the other woman had returned.
“Oh well shit then, guess we’re fighting first,” Floria laughed as she zipped her jacket all the way up and stepped out behind Shayla, a cocky look on her face.
Shayla glared at her as she took a step to the side, putting both of them in front of herself. “Two on one? Perfect, you need all the help you can get, Domitor.”
“Hey, stop the smack talk and let’s do this,” Floria exclaimed, slamming her fist into her other hand.
This caused Shayla to just chuckle as she bladed her foot back, raising her hands into a fighting stance. “Well, come on then.”