Blackrock Mercenaries

"This is more than I expected."

We sat in Callahan's home, or more accurately, Rita, Callahan, Sasha and I, sat. Penny perched by the window, content to watch the world go by, her tail flicking occasionally. While she hadn't directly said anything, I could guess she was watching those sent to spy on us.

The small group of Howlers had waited for us the moment we left Reeds, and hadn't stopped dogging our steps until Callahan greeted us at the door. Then they dropped back, but I hadn't seen where they had gone.

I nodded as I gestured to the papers on his desk. Both the full copies of the original and the summary sat there, and we had gone over it together. When I brought up exactly how much Callahan was being shorted, his face had contorted into genuine anger. He had glanced at Rita, and for a moment, I expected we would get another job offer. Not that I was sure she would take an assassination.

"It's damning. The question is what your play is." I watched him, and he turned to me.

His tail flicked on and then went still. "What do you mean?"

"You mentioned a meeting, talking to the council. What do you want to happen?" I paused and straightened my collar. "Not being from here; I don't know the people involved. But if Linsin is spending this much to bribe the mayor? Well. Without some serious incentives, or safeguards, on your part you shouldn't be shocked if trouble lands in your lap."

He began to respond, but I cut him off with one last line before he could. "Plus, you know I didn't get this information honestly. Do you really want to get the Captain of the Guard involved in this?"

Rita shot me a sideways glance, and Callahan bared his teeth. Sasha frowned, even as Penny flicked an ear towards me. Everyone seemed curious about what would happen next. Callahan stayed quiet, watching me, though it was obvious he wanted me to continue as much as he didn't want trouble.

The issue with what was happening was it could end up being as complicated as deposing the head of the board. It would be messy, especially because we only had a small piece of the puzzle. Who knew who else on the council was bribing the mayor, or even what deals they had between themselves? Without that information, there was little advantage to be had.

No, we needed to do this quietly by dealing with the people, and advantages, that we knew about. That would allow us to finish this issue with haste. I didn't want to be stuck here when we could be travelling to find our potential salvation.

"Look. I need to know, do you want to oust the Mayor?" I asked, words blunt.

Callahan paused, and then folded his arms across his chest before he leaned back in his chair. "I want what I'm owed."

"That's not the same thing. From who? Linsin? If this is about working a deal out with him, we don't need to bring in the rest of the council."

"He's not the only one who owes me." The fist slamming into the desk caught me off guard, and I saw Rita's hand move to her sword. "Mayor Gage. He let this happen, or at the bare minimum, knew about it. All I want to do is do my work, and get paid fairly."

"Who determines fair?" That came from Sasha, and I gave her an approving look, which made her roll her eyes.

Callahan paused. "I. I don't know."

"He is technically paying you what you agreed to. Yes, he misled you, but that's not a crime you would easily get someone to enforce. Not on a contract this old. If you want more, you'll need to build a case or…" I trailed off, baiting him.

"What?" he asked, like I knew he would. "Or what?"

"You hire me."

"Hire you? What can a mercenary company do for me here? I don't want you to hurt him, I just want my money." Callahan watched me, the previous anger diminished.

"They have a level twenty-four fixer who deals with this sort of thing. We can't fight anyone to solve this problem. What we can do is go to the Mayor and make sure he's on your side. As much as they tried to hide it, anyone with a working knowledge of this type of thing can see it's a bribe. Linsen wants him to stay quiet. We figure out why, and we can leverage it against him. Make the Mayor our ally in getting this fixed."

Everyone was watching me now, aside from Penny, but I continued. "Neither Linsen nor the Mayor wants a major change to the status quo right now, I bet. All you want is your money. They should, hopefully, be willing to change what they pay you. Linsin is making enough for expensive clocks, a tidbit we can tell The Mayor if he doesn't know already. But it means we should speak to them both first before we call a full council meeting."

"You've done this before," Rita said, tone accusing.

"Similar things at any rate." I gave her a smile, even as I kept most of my attention on Callahan. "That's my plan. If it doesn't work, or they refuse to play ball, we rope the others in. My bet is that he's shorting everyone in town the same way. You mentioned the council has someone specifically to look after the interest of the town's crafters? They won't be happy."

The expense report hadn't generated that in the summary, as it wasn't what I was looking for, but I was sure it would be there. All I needed to do was check the numbers over again. Callahan gave a small nod.

"Is that true? That he's shorting everyone?"

"I would need to know what the deals they made were to say for sure." My gaze drifted to the papers as I spoke. "It's hard to know without seeing how they feel about what they're earning. I have to admit, I don't understand enough about their industries and without your direct mention of how much you get paid, I might not have spotted it as anything other than an anomaly."

His fingers tapped against the table. "Alright. How much?"

"For straight forward contract work? I often charge anywhere between ten to twenty gold per day depending on project difficulty."

Sasha coughed, and Rita turned to me. Callahan blinked and shook his head. "I don't have that."

"I know." He didn't appear offended when I waved him off. "So I would like a guarantee that we get the first right of refusal on any guarding jobs for the lumber camp, along with ten gold. For the entire job."

"That's… I have it. Barely."

"Five." Rita ignored my look. "A discount for your repeat custom."

"Rita, are you sure you want to do that?" I didn't frown at her, but Poker Face was working hard.

"Yes."

Callahan sat up and reached across the table. "Done."

I watched them shake on it as I pulled out a piece of paper. One skill use later, and the contract was in front of him. Before he could take it, I pressed my hand against it, keeping it in place.

"Prior payment first, thank you," I asked, as I waited.

He sighed and got up before kneeling down. I heard rummaging before the sounds of a safe opening. Soon, he was once more in his chair, a single gold coin held in his hand. It seemed to shine in the light coming through the window, and I reached out to take it. Two system messages popped up at once.

{System Notice: Contract concluded. Payment Received.}

{System Notice: Congratulations, you have earned your first gold for The Blackrock Mercenary Company. You have 999,999 gold remaining to complete your class upgrade}

With a mental flick, I dismissed them. The number I had remaining was huge, too big to worry about now. No. What mattered was getting the contract signed, and getting into the next job. Which would involve meeting The Mayor. Thankfully, that shouldn't be a hard task, provided he didn't deliberately try to obstruct me.

Callahan signed his form, and I shook his hand before standing up. "I'll talk to the mayor then, and then we can have a discussion with Linsin if he's in town."

"He is. Came back yesterday," Callahan confirmed.

I adjusted my collar again before running a hand through my hair. "Excellent. Mayor first, then Linsin, and then a meeting with everyone if those go poorly. What prices are you wanting for your goods? We know he's making twenty gold off sales."

"Six golds per month."

"Regardless of if he earns more or less?" I watched him.

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"Yes." Callahan stood as well. "It works for me in a way, and if he makes less profit, he can be the one scrambling for coins for a change."

"Six it is. Would that be your minimum, or?"

We debated for a while until we came up with exact prices. That done, I shook his hand once more before we left. Rita and Sasha strode beside us, while Penny brought up the rear. A glance around showed The Howlers were following us. Unlike my trip with Byron, I felt no apprehension about it.

The walk to the Mayor's office wasn't long, and we walked inside without trouble. More people filled the desks, and people looked up from paperwork about the festival as we passed them. Mr. Dolby Yates sat at his position before the stairs, and when he saw us, his scowl was almost impressive.

"She's—"

"Banned," I cut him off, waving his complaint away. "Yes, I know. But she's also under my employ, and because of your actions, it's obvious I need protection. Are we really going through this again, Mr. Yates?"

"We are." He folded his arms, his dull grey eyes watching me. "The Mayor won't see you, as he's busy. Perhaps you'd like to make an appointment?"

"Unfortunately, that won't work for my client. Mr. Callahan was rather insistent, so I spoke to him today." The papers tucked under my arm rustled as I shifted them. "It's a financial matter about the Towns Rescue Fund."

Around us, several heads poked up, and I saw people frowning. Mr. Yates's expression turned from angry to nervous. The gold coin I had gotten appeared in my hand before I made it vanish again.

"He would like to donate. I'm sure Mayor Gage would be eager to talk about such a thing?"

"What town rescue fund.." someone muttered behind me.

Mr. Yates' attention flicked around the room before he abruptly stood. "If you would give me a chance to speak to the mayor?"

"Of course."

As he vanished up to the Mayor's office, Rita leaned in and whispered. "Are you often this blunt?"

"No." I shook my head, as my attention remained on the stairs. "But I don't usually have this much power backing me up."

She smiled, a faint thing, but I didn't miss it. Mr. Yates returned just as the whispering got louder, and he gestured towards the direction he had come from. He didn't appear happy, not that his anger particularly surprised me.

"He's ready to see you. If you'll excuse me."

Before I could respond, he pushed his way past me, his movements quick. Rita watched him go, but I moved to the stairs. We entered the office, and I moved straight to the desk. Rita and Sasha came with me while Penny loitered by the door. I didn't greet the Mayor until I sat down, and I could see that it irritated him.

"You said Callahan had business with me?" He asked, clearly not in the mood for small talk.

"Yes." The documents landed with a thump on his desk. "He's hired me to bring you proof that Mr. Linsen, the caravan owner, is shortchanging him."

Mayor Gage didn't make a move to take the paperwork, instead he bristled. "That seems like a personal dispute. Why should you come to me with this?"

"Because you're in cahoots with him."

"Preposterous." He shook his head. "Don't make claims. I work with everyone in the council. As I said, issues like these aren't something I deal with."

"Perhaps. But the sheer sum of money being held back should concern you. After all, as the Mayor, I'm sure you want everyone in your small town to be treated fairly?"

"Of course." He sounded almost genuine.

"Then the several gold being stolen per month from Callahan should be within your interest." I reached forward and flipped through the pages until I got to the summary, along with the contract Callahan had signed with Linsin. "And I'm sure you would support a negotiation?"

"You told me you were here about The Town Rescue Fund," Mayor Gage said, tone nervous.

"I am. The fact that we both know that I know that Linsin is bribing you so overtly is crucial to these negotiations."

As I spoke, his face turned red, and then white. He looked at the door, but I knocked on the table, drawing his attention back to me.

"Callahan wants his money. I want my associates here to no longer be banned from town. How can we help each other, Mayor Gage?"

"You.. you have no power here," Mayor Gage spluttered. "A few undoubtedly stolen financial sheets aren't proof of anything. I could have the guards arrest you!"

"Yes, you could. But you and I know they already aren't happy with you, and Captain Roderick is part of the council, is he not? How do you think a man who is such a stickler for the rules might react? Remember, he wouldn't lend assistance to me a few feet outside the gate. Do you think he would let this go?" My gaze never left his face.

As I watched him splutter out excuses and threats, I couldn't help but feel something was wrong. Had I done this in the wrong order? No. Linsin seemed like the type of man obsessed with appearances from what I had witnessed from his house. He would require leverage to make any sort of deal, I was sure.

Still, Mayor Gage was caving too easily. The panic on his face was like someone who had gotten caught sticking their hand in company funds to divert to personal projects. It was too performative. Most people I knew would have argued, but I sat and listened. He continued, until, slowly, he ran out of steam.

"How much?" I asked.

Penny laughed, and Sasha rolled her eyes. Mayor Gage watched me, and then gave a slow blink, as though he didn't quite understand the words.

"What?"

"How much to get a note saying you want Mr. Linsin to change the deal, and to get Rita unbanned? Because I have an idea that will generate you more money than what he's bribing you with, and I don't need to bring this up to the rest of the council."

Beside me, Rita twitched and shot me a look. I ignored her, as the Mayor slumped in his seat. Briefly, I wondered if he was in trouble or simply corrupt. My hope was the latter. Then he shook his head.

"That last one is not something I can do. My hands are tied." He sounded tired. "Your group was a thorn in the side of the wrong people."

"And the note to Linsin?" I pressed.

"Fine."

I smiled. "And your price?"

"What's your idea first?"

It didn't take long to explain to him what the plan was with the nobles party, and my idea to invite him to the Flower Festival. I had expected him to be excited as I spoke about the potential gold to be made. Instead, he appeared nervous. He licked his lips and shook his head.

"No."

"No?" I watched him with a frown. "What do you mean, no?"

"That's not the type of scrutiny we, I, can afford. I'm sorry, but for you to bring someone like that here? Absolutely not." A touch of his previous bluster filled his voice.

Penny let out a whine, and I glanced towards her. She was glaring at the Mayor, and I knew why. Her hopes had been set on traveling. This would have given her an excuse. My attention turned back to Mayor Gage.

"What are you involved with?"

He didn't answer, and instead stood up and gestured towards the door. "Please leave. This is no longer up for discussion."

"No." I didn't move from my chair, and beside me, Rita shifted in her seat.

Sasha watched the whole thing in silence, as Penny moved to lean against the door instead of in front of it. He was sweating, and looking at the three of us. My smile turned sinister, and I gestured to the door.

"You can shout, but it won't help you. Sit down."

He looked like he wanted to argue, and then he slumped. His hands moved to cover his eyes, and I swore I heard him sobbing. A glance at Rita got me a shrug in response. I didn't drop my intimidation routine. This needed to happen.

When he looked up, it was to me glaring at him. "You're being threatened, and by someone you worry about more than us. True or false?"

"True…" His voice was a whisper.

"Shall we make a different deal?" When he didn't respond, I continued talking. "We would like to offer our services to rid you of whatever problems you have."

Mayor Gage laughed. It sounded a touch hysterical. "You can't fight my problems."

"I'm not a combatant, am I?" My words seemed to penetrate something. "You don't like me, and I don't like you. But I'm going to be honest. If we leave this room without that note, Callahan is going to call a meeting. He'll argue to have you deposed. If you're worried about having some noble wandering around because of what he might find? What do you think whoever knows that you have such information will do when you're not in a position to use it?"

Seconds ticked by, and then the Mayor leapt to grab the papers on the desk. Rita's clenched fist flew into his cheek. Penny laughed, and Sasha jumped to her feet. I didn't move, as Rita shoved him back into his chair. With slow movements, I picked up the papers and handed them to Sasha, who took them in trembling hands.

"Dumb."

"You don't understand who I work for—" It was clear he was going to say more, but I cut him off.

"Mr. Jackal. The Lace Courier Company. What do they have on you?"

His eyes widened. "That.. that wouldn't be in his documents."

"No," I agreed. "It wouldn't. What do they have on you? Don't make me ask again."

"Debts. Gambling debts. One hundred gold, but it's the interest I'm struggling with."

I smiled and leaned back in my chair. When she appeared sure he wouldn't be trying to escape, Rita shoved Mayor Gage back into his. His soft panting filled the room, and I nodded to Rita, who gave me an impassive look back. Her tail flicked with excitement making it clear that she had enjoyed herself.

"Then let's discuss our options, shall we?"

The talks didn't last long and ended with several concessions and a simple desire. He wanted his debt paid and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. My hands tapped his note to Linsin, and I summed up our meeting.

"One hundred gold from us in three months. You're also willing to deal with the nobility coming, provided I get your transgressions squared away first. Rita, is this acceptable?" I turned to her, and she gave a curt nod.

As Mayor Gage whiped his brow, he glanced at the document before him. "This is crazy."

"No. Crazy is gambling enough to get you into this situation. I am. No. We are your single way out. Don't forget that."

Guilt, shame, and anger crossed his face. "Don't act like you're doing this as a favor to me."

"No one does favors for free." I stood up. "Till next time, Mayor."

He didn't respond as we left. It wasn't until we were out of the building that Rita spoke. She didn't sound angry, but curious.

"Did you get what you wanted?"

"Maybe." I looked around. "His terms were too generous. It almost felt that he didn't think it mattered."

"What do we do about it?" Rita asked, as we moved down the streets back to Reed's house and the coach.

"Get Linsin to agree to our terms, ask him about the location of the Noble, and then leave town."

That earned a cheer from Penny, and a raised eyebrow from Sasha. "Why?"

"Because we caused issues and we want to get clear until it dies down. Plus, the sooner we get on the road, the sooner we can earn real money."

"Finally!" Penny cheered. "Come on!"

Before I could protest, I found myself being pulled along to return to the party.