Chapter 5: Gangs (1)

Riley stared at the video that Brant had recorded.

She had to have played the video a hundred times by now.

“Again.”

Three huge monitors were before her, taking up the entirety of the wall.  This was the underground room beneath Riley’s Joint, a place where Brant and she did most of her work.  The behind-the-scenes tasks such as posting on the Deepweb, Surveillance and sometimes even amateur Cybertech Enhancements.

And of course, spying on her potential clients.

She watched as Artemvian turned his back to Brant and did something with his hands, whispering.  Abruptly turning in a direction and always careful to keep the camera angle on his back, Artemvian moved with purpose, unlike before when he was just walking South.

Then heeconfronted the John Doe.

The target must have been a Freak, a Special or some kind of genetic experiment gone wrong.  Figured that a bounty posted by one of the Pharmaceuticals wouldn’t be your typical thug.  But this was all things she’d seen before, what she hadn’t ever seen was what Artemvian did.

The rapid deployment of the Mana Shield.  Some kind of spell to keep the John Doe in place.  Bright glow of something like fire, shooting forward like a lance.

“It doesn’t matter how many times we watch it, boss.  He knew I was there, kept the angle to his back the entire time the moment things got real.”  Brant shivered.  “But I saw it boss.  He used a Mana Shield to keep the guy in place.  Then used Fire.  He’s an Elementalist, a strong one at that.”

“I’m not sure he’s an Elementalist.”  Riley muttered, her eyes glued to the video.  “He’s a Mage for sure though.”

“He used fire!”  

Riley rolled her eyes.  “Which was conveniently not caught on footage.”

“I saw it!”

“There are five different schools of Magic for Mages.  Biomancers.  Elementalists.  Mentalists.  Spatials and Outliers.”  Riley countered off on one hand, “So explain to me which of the five can do what he did?”

“A strong one.  Any one of them can use a shield.”  Brant answered.  “And I saw him use Fire.  He’s an Elementa-”

“How’d he find the target then?”  Riley interjected.

“...Maybe he’s an Outlier.”

“As a matter of fact, which of them can use a Shield to hold down a Freak or a Genetic Experiment?  Stop three bullets straight on?”  Riley crossed her arms, continuing her thought like she didn’t hear Brant at all.  “This guy is one of two things.  Not a mage or an extremely talented one.”

“I want you to put out a request to the Voyeurs.  Footage of the incident.  Anything.”

“You want them to keep watch on him? They’re going to charge an arm and a leg, Boss.”

“No.”  Riley shook her head, a smile starting to play across her face.  “Just the footage.”

“...Boss, do you think he’ll come back?”  Brant made a face.  “Are you going to take him on as a client?”

Riley grabbed a hold of the mouse, reaching over Brant’s shoulder, to replay the video.  “I’m counting on it.”

**Five Days Later**

Artemvian woke up as the sunlight shone through his window and across his face, tickling him awake from the darkness of sleep.

“Rise and shine, Artem.”  He said to himself dryly, looking at the clock.

Everything in this world was so convenient.

No need for a physical cumbersome key.  A simple card sufficed.  Why carry around metal coins? Some plastic cards would do.  And if you didn’t want to carry around cards, you could put everything on your phone.

Artem leaned over, automatically reaching for the ‘tablet’ that Riley had let him borrow the day before.

After hauling the werewolf corpse –which turned back into a human on the way– he had been paid with 25 plastic cards, each containing 200 ‘doilies’, the currency of this world.  Riley tried to explain to him how a blockchain cryptocurrency worked but Artem didn’t bother.  Right now, he needed money and it mattered naught how they were untraceable, as long as they were untraceable.

But it would be handy to learn for the future in case people tried to find him.

“Only if I end up making a name for myself.”  Already Artem was switching on the tablet which he’d used till 4AM yesterday, staying in bed with its blue light flickering across his face.  He hadn’t even needed to cast Magelight, the thing produced light on its own.

Next to his bed was the ‘gun’ which he had taken from John Doe.  He had spent precious few hours trying to figure out how it worked to no avail.  All he could figure out was that it must have some trigger mechanism, like a crossbow.  He could have broken it apart but didn’t want to waste it.

“I’ll ask Riley about it later.”

Then instead of washing his face, brushing his teeth or starting his day; Artem leaned back in bed and turned on the tablet, turning on ‘Meowtube’.

He snickered in bed.

“Ahahahaha! The cats of this world are hilarious.”

He scrolled through countless videos, some of them only seconds long.  It was only when the pangs of hunter grew too great that the great mage decided to roll out of bed.

“Barely a week in this world and I’m already addicted.”  He grumbled.

Artemvian quickly washed his face and got dressed, leaving the inn, which this world called hotels, with a couple of Doily Cards in his pocket.  Within minutes he was outside, walking the streets of Nero City and heading towards Riley’s Joint.  During the day, Nero City lost some of the charm it had during the light.  All its faults and flaws were visible.  

Young teenagers squatting in corners, smoking substances that Artemvian could only guess at.  Women wore clothing far too revealing and as a matter of fact, men wore the same type of clothes obviously designed for women.  He saw a thin woman with more bone than skin lead a man into a building with bright pink lights.  People with wild hair ranging from purple to yellow, all wearing some kind of eye-covering like his own sunglasses, laughing at something known only to them.

A lot of things had changed in the last five days, the ancient magus ingratiating into this new world with alarming speed.

After the job, Artemvian phoned Riley and she called in the Dry Cleaners, an underground organization specialized in cleaning up after particularly messy happenings.  Their main clientele, you guessed it, mercenaries who tended to err on the wrong side of the law.  Murders, gangfights, drug parties, particularly messy experiment gone wrong –you name it and Dry Cleaners would have the site spotless within a day or two.

Artemvian had been paid a total of 15,000 Doilies.  Since Artemvian didn’t have a bank account or a legitimate identity, Riley paid him in Doily Cards which were the equivalent to coins in this world.  From what Artemvian could understand, all currency in this world were ‘Digital’, which he equated to make-believe.  He didn’t need to understand it to spend it though and with Riley’s help, he had booked a hotel only a few blocks from her place.  He also had his own phone now, though it was what they called a ‘Burner’ phone.

Quickening his steps, Artemvian strode into Riley’s Joint.

Besides the elderly couple enjoying a glass of wine at a corner table, the exact same couple as before, the place was empty.  Brant stood behind the counter, cleaning a wine glass and widened his eyes when he saw Artemvian walk in.

“Mr. Moneti!”

“The one and only.”  Artemvian grinned, taking a seat at the counter.  “Good to see you too, Brant.”

Brant reached a hand to his temples, eyes going blank for a second.  Artemvian could’ve sworn he heard something akin to beeping, as the young man’s eyes reflected hues of blue and yellow.  “Boss is on her way.  Would you like something to eat?”

“Do I have to pay?”

“On the house.”

“Then yes, of course.”  Artemvian turned around and winked at the couple enjoying their wine.  “What’s the use of being a mercenary if you can’t enjoy premium access for being a subscriber.”

“...I’m not sure those are the words I would choose, but close enough.  I’ll be right back, Mr. Moneti.”  Brant left the counter and headed to the back.

With no one to talk to, Artemvian reached inside his pockets and took out his phone.  Opening up Meowtube, he began to flick through the videos.  “Ahahaha! They’re making this cat dance! Hilarious! A skit using cats?  The cats in this world are seriously talented.”

Artemvian continued to scroll and then stopped, eyes widening.  A young blonde woman in clothing that covered less than it revealed and clung so tightly to her body that it left little to the imagination, was demonstrating how to do a squat.  His finger paused mid swipe, as he nodded along.

“Why’s your mouth open like that, Artemvian?”

“Gahk! Aghk! Away Succubus! How dare you!”  Artemvian spazzed out, covering his phone with his hand and looking up.  He felt heat flow into his face.  Damn it, was he blushing?

Riley had just come out from the back and was in the middle of tying the black apron around her waist.  She raised her eyebrows at him then nodded as something seemed to dawn on her.  “I see.”

“S-see what?!”  Artemvian sputtered.

“Men are men.  That’s all.  Even someone like you.”  Riley shrugged.

Artemvian shoved his phone in his leather jacket’s inner pocket.  “Succubus.  Evil.”  He had no idea what he was saying or what he wanted to say.  All Artemvian knew was that Riley did not look pleased.

She sighed.

“Really evil.  Succubus.  Supernatural demon powers.”

Just then, Brant ducked out from the back with Artemvian’s favorite meal.  Over the last few days, Artemvian had discovered the joy of Brant’s culinary inventions as well as the advancements that mankind has made in the area of cooking in this world.  Burgers.  Burritos.  Chicken Cutlets, steak sandwiches.  French Fries.

But Artemvian’s favorite?

“Italian Hoagie with a side of Salt and Vinegar Chips.”  Brant set the plate down in front of Artemvian.

The mage stared down at the fluffy pieces of white bread, slightly crispy on the outside but so chewy and perfectly doughy on the inside.  The bread wrapped around pieces of meat –what Artemvian came to learn were called Cold Cuts.  Pepperoni, Salami, Capicola, Prosciutto made the bulk of the sandwich, and the slightly tangy oily salty flavors were complimented perfectly by the fresh crispness of raw onions and tomatoes –all smothered in this mouth-watering spicy cherry-red pepper paste.  Artemvian took a bite and made an audible moan, reaching with his hand and grabbing a bite-sized Salt-and-Vineger potato chip.  

It crunched in his mouth, melding with the Italian Hoagie’s flavors.  The potato chip served a palate cleanser and refresher all at once, a sharp taste that shocked his tongue with the contrasting flavor and leaving his mouth wanting more of the sandwich.  Then the sandwich would call for the chip and…

Less than five minutes later, his plate was clean.

Artemvian sipped on a diet coke.

“You ever think about eating a salad?”

“What’s a salad?”  Artemvian stared at Riley innocently.

She scoffed.  “Never mind.”  Then the mood abruptly shifted as Riley looked around, her eyes turning a bit colder.  It was a subtle shift in her body language but Artemvian knew it well enough, it was when someone was about to start talking about work.

“I looked into the place you mentioned, Ivern’s Tavern.”  She passed him a flimsy folder.  “It’s not listed anywhere in the City’s business listings, nor is it registered as a subsidiary of one.  I’ve looked into the gangs too, mobs, triad, mafia, you name it.  But no luck there either.  Either you’re looking for a super secret organization that is a need-to-know only basis, or it’s something you can’t get your hands on for a mere five thousand doilies.”

Artemvian nodded.  He had expected as much.

After his run in with John Doe (whom Artemvian now realized was not actually named John Doe), Artemvian took the majority of his bounty and gave it back to Riley.  He asked her to look into the things that John Doe had mentioned, namely Ivern’s Tavern and Blackguard Industries  The problem was that if Ivern’s Tavern was truly a safehouse for the powerless in the supernatural community, it would be difficult to find.  There was no point of a safehouse being a safehouse if a lot of people knew about it.

Artemvian accepted the fact quickly, his mind already moving onto the other topic.  “What about Blackguard Industries?”

“They’re much easier to find.  They’re a security firm that’s based out of Tri Vegas.  They’ve been around practically forever and there’s a reason for that.”  She handed him another folder.  “On the surface, they’re all legit.  Consultants for cops, security detail for important people and all that.  But beneath it all, it stinks to hell.  A lot of private dealings with gangs, doing the dirty work of pharmaceuticals.  Some of the nastier rumors say that they even have their own hit squad, a group of in-house assassins that other corporations can keep on retainer when things get messy.”

The mage flipped over the pages, eyes scanning the information.  “Anything else?  Anything strange about them?”

“A lot of things information was what you could get for ten thousand doilies.  That means that we can’t contact the Voyeurs or the Deep Divers.”  Riley explained.  “Their prices start at ten thousand, just to get your foot in the door even.  And that’s not even contacting their main branch, it’s ten thousand to get in touch with one of their low-ranking members that’s doing some work for extra cash on the side.”

“Explain the Voyeurs and the Deep Divers to me again.”

“The Voyeurs… you can say they have eyes all over the city.  They’ve set up backdoor open to a lot of the security cameras, as well as having the manpower to plant their own hidden cameras in various places.  Then there are the drones, no one really knows how exact it is, but some people say that they have their hands on military technology.  Drones so small you don’t even know it’s a drone, if you can find it in the first place.”

Riley took a breath.  “The Deep Divers are hackers.  Now, their price point is on another level from the Voyeurs.  They can alter data, forge birth certificates, you name it.”

“So the Voyeurs are witnesses to almost everything that goes on in the city, while the Deep Divers are like digital mercenaries.”  Artemvian looked up at Riley, questioning.  “That sums it up?”

Riley nodded, folding her arms around herself.  Sometimes, Artemvian dropped that comical persona of his.  It almost always happened when it had to do with their work.  Riley appreciated the professionalism and was surprised to find herself enjoying working with the man, but even then it creeped her out at the fact that he could change himself so fast.

“For my next job, I want something that can get me closer to finding out more about this information.  Preferably higher pay too, if these Voyeurs and Deep Divers are as pricey as you say.”  Artemvian never took his eyes off of the white-haired Broker.

“Do you think you can manage that?”

Riley smiled in reply.  “Well, I thought you’d never ask.”