Enlightened Violence 60

Chapter 60: From The Ashes

"All the scheming shenanigans aside..." Vilhelm said from the side with a grunt. "What's our next move?" he asked as he lit up a cigarette.

"Depending on how things go, we can either start recruiting fresh blood into the group," Kaden replied with a smile. "Or we can start expanding aggressively by taking out other groups on our level and secure more recourses and better equipment," he added, his smile becoming predatory. 

"In either case, we need to lie low and take on a wait-and-see attitude for now," Kaden explained in a decisive tone, waving his hand to the side. "Until shit hits the fan, at least..." he concluded with a shrug.

"And how would we go about recruiting more people, exactly?" Vilhelm asked with a frown, blowing out a cloud of smoke from his mouth. 

"Well, we're a new, small group that effortlessly managed to take out a sizeable chunk of the local gangs," Kaden replied in a careless tone. "People are bound to take notice of our potential and come to us on their own," He added, causing Vilhelm to nod in realization. 

"I can see that," Clark remarked from the side, adjusting his glasses. "Anyone looking for a group will most likely come to us because we're still small, and that would give them a better chance to interact with the group's leadership and prove themselves," he added with a thoughtful look. 

"that's the gest of it," Kaden said with a nod. "But at the end of the day, the backbone of our group is and will most likely always be the original game survivors, so we need to make sure they don't feel left out," he added while gesturing to the side. 

"Indeed, I'd much rather entrust my back to the people who crawled out of that hell with me than any other punk from Fallout town," Vilhelm said with an approving nod. 

"But, in any case, if we're going to expand, then we need to name our group as that would help in building our reputation," Clark said from the side as he looked at Kaden. 

"It just so happens that I already have a name in mind," Kaden said with a smile. "Call everyone to the compound's yard. They will need to hear this," he added as he turned around and started walking away. 

"Kaden sure enjoys his drama," Vilhelm said with a shake of his head as Arden chuckled carelessly, and Clark went to call everyone, saying nothing.

"It's more fun this way, so why not?" Briar said with a chuckle as she watched Kaden's shrinking back, a strange glint in her eyes. 

...

As he stood over the compound's walls, Kaden smirked while walking towards the edge. He calmly looked at the gathered warriors in the compound's court as they murmured among themselves in curiosity and raised his hands, prompting them to go quiet.

"With today's victory, we have proven that we are a veritable force to be reckoned with, and no longer a band of outcasts as our enemies, and that man once thought," Kaden exclaimed as he paced around the compound's walls.

"But I'm not here to give a victory speech," Kaden said with a smirk. "Our victory was so quick and overwhelming, it isn't even worth gloating over it," he added with a chuckle.

"However, as a newly emerging power, we would require a fitting name, and that's I'm here to address," Kaden said as he stood in place, causing the warriors to start murmuring again, in excitement this time.

He smiled and paused, waiting for his subordinates to stop murmuring, building suspense.

"We were all once outcasts with nowhere to belong," Kaden exclaimed in a calm tone. "But the hell we have survived has forged us new in its fire," he added, spreading his arms to the side. 

"And like a phoenix, each one of us emerged from the ashes of our former selves, forever changed," Kaden added, closing his eyes as he paused for a second. "And so we will be known as the Phoenix Wings, from now," he remarked, opening his eyes as he materialized a pair of flaming wings on his back with aura.

There was a sudden silence in the compound as everyone looked at Kaden with astonished expressions, seemingly trying to process his words. 

However, that only lasted for several seconds before someone started cheering and clapping, only to be followed by everyone else. 

"Victory is yours today, my friends! So savor it!" Kaden said with a smile, without bothering to wait for the warriors to stop cheering. "And with the victory, the rise of outcasts!" he added, making the flames on his back bigger. 

"With this victory, the rise of the Phoenix Wings!" Kaden concluded, pouring as much energy as he could into his flaming wings, causing a pillar of fire to shoot into the sky as the gathered survivors, no, Phoenix Wings, continued to cheer.

...

Charmaine looked at her computer with a neutral expression, watching a live broadcast being transmitted from one of her many properties as she sat in her office.

The broadcast showed Tony's shivering form as he sat in a metallic chair, bound by chains, with a masked man standing over him. The man would occasionally grab Tony's head with both of his hands as they glowed in sinister purple light, causing Tony to shiver even more intensely.

The man then would remove his hands and start asking tony some questions, which the latter would reply to without hesitation for several minutes and start resisting after that, prompting the masked man to repeat the process. 

However, a sudden knock on her door forced Charmaine to look away from the computer. She sighed as she pressed a button that lit a red light in the interrogation room, causing the masked man to halt his actions.

"Come in," Charmaine said as she turned to look at the door with a frown as Viktor walked inside with a calm expression on his face.

"There seems to be some slight problems, ma'am," Viktor said as he stood in front of Charmaine with a neutral expression.

"What is it this time, Viktor?" Charmaine asked with a sigh, messaging her forehead in exhaustion. She would not typically show such a side of her in front of her subordinates, but Viktor already knew all there was to know about Charmaine, and so there was no need for pretense in front of him.

"It's about the information Mr. Solomon provided for us about the northern gangs," Viktor said as he paused for a second.

'Why am I not surprised?' Charmaine thought to herself, holding back a sigh as she gestured for Viktor to keep going. 

"Several of the clients we contacted in hopes of selling the information to them claimed they already purchased this particular piece of information from another source much earlier," Viktor added in a troubled tone. 

"What?!" Charmaine exclaimed in a somewhat loud tone. "Did that brat trick me again?!" she added, gnashing her teeth in frustration, but took a deep breath to calm herself after a second. 

"But that makes little sense; none of my clients would take him seriously..." she murmured with a thoughtful look, her shifting as they settled on her desk. "Which means the brat might have been in contact with one of my competitors somehow..." she added with a sigh.

"Get me a list of the clients who claimed to already know about it," Charmaine said as she raised her head and looked at Viktor again with a severe expression. 

"I already have it," Viktor calmly replied as he put a piece of paper on her desk, unphased by the constant changes in her mood.

"Thanks, Viktor," Charmaine said with a sigh as she picked the paper with one hand while gesturing for Viktor to take his leave with the other.

'Now let's see...' Charmaine's eyes flashed as she browsed the list of clients, settling on one particular name; Owain Lawgoch. 

He was the leader of a big mercenary band operating in the wasteland, with his base being in Fallout town, and he was one of her first clients.

She began fiddling with the watch on her wrist and promptly contacted the man, and it didn't take long for him to pick up the call. 

"Mr. Lawgoch," Charmaine nodded in greeting as the scarred face of a middle-aged man with a thick, long beard appeared on the small monitor of her watch. 

"Lady Charmaine," Owain nodded back in greeting with a neutral expression. "What can I do for you today?" he asked in a polite tone, contrasting his brutish appearance as he paused, waiting for an answer.

"One of my subordinates contacted you to sell a valuable piece of information, but you refused to pay, stating you already purchased it from another source," Charmaine replied without bothering to beat around the bush. 

"I need you to tell me who sold you that information and when," she concluded in a calm tone.

"You know I can't do that, Charmaine," Owain said with a frown, shaking his head. "You should know about the unspoken rules better than anyone," he added in a decisive tone. 

"I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important," Charmaine replied with a frown of her own. "You owe me that much, Owain, so stop wasting our time and spill it already," she added, waving her hand to the side.

"You..." Owain said with a sigh, his expression one of exasperation as he trailed off. "Fine, it was Oracle, but that's all I'm willing to say, and it settles my debt to you," he added as he resumed a neutral expression. 

"I see," Charmaine said in a calm tone. "Thank you, Owain," she added, earning a nod from the bearded man as she hung up the call, her expression immediately distorting in rage.

"That fucking bitch, of course, it had to be her!"