Once again, Arkaneh found himself in Basilham, Rockbury, in the marvelous glass skyscraper where Reus's personal office was. This time, Arkaneh was accompanied by both Griffiths and Talimay, as they were all scheduled to meet Reus after the latest attack made by the Justicars. The meeting was meant to bring Reus up to speed on the casualties and damages, as well as on the recent developments regarding the rat.
Griffiths was holding the car wheel with firm, yet wounded hands. Cuts and bruises were scattered randomly across his hands, arms and face. A rather long, diagonal cut on his forehead looked deep and was sure to leave a scar. During the attack, Griffiths was fighting the Justicars on the other side of the factory, out of sight from Talimay and Arkaneh. Several men died by his side on that front, and it clearly affected Griffiths. Arkaneh had known by now how much the Vex-addicted lieutenant cared about his men. The old man seemed almost heartbroken, remaining silent and grumbling most of the time. Talimay and Arkaneh also suffered some wounds, but not nearly as much as Griffiths.
Upon passing the secretary in the lobby they ran into Corellia, Reus's assistant, who had just stepped out of the elevator. "Corellia, how are you?" Talimay greeted her.
Corellia smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm alright, Miss Singh. It's good to see you, Mr. Griffiths. And you too, Mr. Frye." Once more with the formalities. It makes me sick. Corellia seemed to be in a hurry. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk. I have to take my kid to the doctor. He's had the flu for a week now. Reus is waiting for you upstairs," she rushed to leave the building.
Griffiths snorted. "That was rude," he said.
"She needs to take care of her sick son." Talimay defended her. "You've never had any kids, Griffiths. You wouldn’t understand."
The three got into the elevator and headed to the 44th floor. "Corellia… she'd been by Reus's side for a long time now, hadn’t she?" Arkaneh asked.
"Most definitely," Talimay said. "She served Joseph as well. I think they're still in good contact. During her time with Joseph, she married some guy and had a baby boy with him. But that husband of hers grew violent and started drinking and beating her. For months, she suffered quietly, hoping that she wouldn’t have to tear her family apart by leaving him. She knew that every family in Alataria has more chance of breaking up than staying whole, and she was desperate to beat those odds. She wanted her son to grow up with both a mother and a father." Talimay sighed for moment. "One night, that bastard drank more than usual and started beating the kid. He hit his head several times and eventually he had to be rushed to the hospital. The poor boy suffered brain damage, and to this day, he had never recovered, nor will he ever. Shortly afterwards, her husband was brutally stabbed countless times in their home." It doesn’t take a genius to figure that only Corellia could commit that murder. Every other person would settle for a couple of stabs, but if he was stabbed so many times, the killer must have had a personal score with him. Joseph surely helped Corellia by covering up her murder using his connections with APD.
"Poor woman," Arkaneh said. Yet in a way, she had it coming. Being so obsessed with the idea that she could hold her dysfunctional family together was the cause of it all. She must blame herself every day. Each day, she looks at her son and sees the result of her own foolish ambitions. I'd pity her, but I no longer recognize such kinds of emotions. I can't.
Finally, the elevator reached its destination and the three headed to Reus's office. Upon entry, Reus was already seated, waiting for them, yet he wasn’t alone in the room. On the couch next to him sat Charles Blackburn, ringleader of Code Sanguinary, dressed in a formal suit, with a glass of scotch in his hand and a lit cigarette between his fingers. Reus matched Charles with the same glass and lit cigarette in hand.
"Mr. Blackburn," Talimay said. "I didn’t know you'd be here." She shook the General's hand. Griffiths and Arkaneh followed suit and then sat together on the broad sofa across from Blackburn.
"Charles and I just finished talking business," Reus said. "Charles, you know my lieutenants, Talimay Singh, and Connor Griffiths."
"Of course." Blackburn took a sip out of his glass.
"And this is Arkaneh Frye, one of our latest additions to Men of Midas."
"Nice to meet you," Blackburn raised his glass towards Arkaneh, in recognition of him.
"I was glad to hear that you were exonerated," Talimay said. Arkaneh could smell the hypocrisy in her words. She doesn’t really care about Blackburn. He could have rotten in jail for all she cared. Oh, how many lies and pretends must be blurted out in such meetings.
"Yeah, well, it shouldn’t have surprised you," Blackburn inhaled his cigarette and blew the smoke away. "The case was a farce, it was obvious."
"What are you talking about?"
"I could see it from a mile away. Jonah Dillard never liked the fact that I refused to play his game of bribes, and I personally never liked corrupt men like him." Yet you're sitting with a ringleader who DOES play that game with Dillard. More hypocrisy.
"I see," she said. "So I guess you were never worried."
"Worried? I wouldn’t have worried either way. If Dillard would’ve gone ahead with my trial and put me behind bars, I'd accept my fate."
Talimay looked peculiar "You don’t mind being locked up?"
Blackburn inhaled his cigarette once more, deeply and in length. He seemed calm and at ease. "When I formed my organization during the Tearful Rebellion, I knew how it might end for me. I accepted it. I saw that outcome as very likely to happen at some point. If I'm going to end up in jail one day, so be it. My men would continue my legacy and fight our poor excuse of a government."
"Speaking of your men, they hadn’t shown much activity recently." Talimay pointed out. "Sometimes we tend to forget that Code Sanguinary still exists.
"Let me remind you, Miss Singh, that unlike your organization, ours is targeted at particular people, mainly those who keep themselves shelled in the Segregated Quarter. Our actions are much more complicated and calculated then store robberies and drug trades." Blackburn's sneered. "If it were up to me, the Heart would've burned in flames and the Seditone would've been painted on every wall, but I do not have the manpower or the resources."
"Burn in flames? Do you want another Tearful Rebellion?" Arkaneh asked
"I'd like to bring the men I most despise to a fate most deserving." His fingers clawed deep into his couch's armrest. Finally, something I can agree on with the Deserter General. For Arkaneh, it truly was fascinating to watch the dynamic chemistry between Reus and Blackburn. Business partners dressing as friends. In their hearts, none of them cared for the other and in their heads, each thought to be superior to the other.
"Charles," Reus interrupted. "Let us change the subject to a… lighter one." He tried putting out the fire in Blackburn's eyes. "I heard you recently had quite a lot of fresh tenderfoots joining your ranks."
"Yes, President Conrad sent a squad of about a dozen soldiers to the Middle East to aid our allies there." A gesture of good will made to maintain good relations with our middle-eastern friends in their times of war. "They were ordered to burn down an entire village. Innocent people died. Men, woman and children. Most of them had nothing to do with the war." Blackburn put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. "By the time they were shipped back home, the guilt and scars pushed them to unanimously decide to desert the army and join Code Sanguinary."
"How horrible," Arkaneh said, though looking cold and uncompassionate.
"It is awful," Reus agreed. "At least you have more people for your cause." Blackburn still doesn’t have nearly as many people as he had years ago, and he sure doesn’t have enough to burn down the Segregated Quarter, or even reach inside it.
"Meanwhile, I hear you're actually losing people," Blackburn said.
"Yes, we've suffered several blows," Reus defended. "But, we'll recover, like always."
"It seems that the Justicars had been raining fire on your organization lately, and the casualties keep rising."
"They've suffered just as many because of us," Talimay hurried to defend the honor of Men of Midas. No, they haven’t. Not yet, at least.
"Speaking of which, you might want to be careful," Blackburn drank the last of his scotch. "Another kind of danger is heading your way. One which I'm sure you're aware of."
"Let me guess. Your former soldier and that teen whore." Talimay said with a teeth grind.
"Call them what you want, but don't underestimate that soldier. I don’t know anything about that girl he's with, but Demilan McCloud is a fierce and deadly man. A ruthless sharpshooter and a dangerous threat in close quarters combat. He is a true master of bullet and blade. He was an excellent soldier in my ranks."
"Then why did you kick him out?" Reus wondered.
"A drug habit," Blackburn said with a grudge. So it's true that Blackburn has zero tolerance for drug habits among his men. "That fool was sniffing Vex like it was sugar. Such a shame… he was a fine man… and now his wife is held by your men."
Talimay looked at Reus, thinking. "Odis…" she whispered under her breath. "He used to love doing those kinds of things to those in debt to him… now I see why that fucker killed him."
"So that's why he's been killing our people?" Reus asked. "He's looking for his wife?"
"Yes," Blackburn replied. "That imbecile recently had the balls and the stupidity to reach out to me for help. I turned him down, of course, even though he begged to me. He said that his wife is being held at the Godly Succubi. He'll be hitting that place soon. I thought you'd appreciate a heads up."
"We do," Reus seemed grateful. He turned over to look at Talimay. "Contact Kleon. Make sure to increase security at the Godly Succubi." Talimay nodded in response. "And what about this girl? What's her motive?"
"Maileena Banister," Talimay said. "I've already asked Kleon about her. He said she used to work at the Godly Succubi until she ran away. Kleon and his men went after her and ended up taking her little sister."
"I see." Reus stroked his black, trimmed beard. "In any case, don’t underestimate either of them. I trust my friend, Charles, when he says that this person, McCloud, is dangerous."
"Mr. Blackburn," Arkaneh leaned forward. "You mentioned that McCloud came to see you. Why didn’t you kill him? I mean, I've heard that once you banish one of your men, they're told to never return again. Wasn’t what he did an act of disrespect?" Arkaneh didn’t actually care about it. His question only meant to test Blackburn's response. While he had any chance to learn what kind of man Charles Blackburn is, he would use it as much as possible.
"Like I said, he was a good man and an even better soldier. Yes, what he did WAS disrespectful, but killing a man like him in such a state would be even more disrespectful." I see… so while he's a man of honor of strictness, he also had a more reasonable side to him when it comes to his men. "Would YOU have killed him?" Blackburn threw the question back at Arkaneh.
"Perhaps. Respect doesn’t get people very far these days. You of all people must know that best. Your archenemies who sit at the Segregated Quarter in the Heart have never shown any."
Blackburn showed the hint of a smile. "You're not wrong, I'll give you that. But maybe one day, when you'll be in a place of power such as mine, and you'll be leading groups of men into battles, you'd understand that it's not that simple. It's not just black and white, and it's not just shades of gray either. It's a whole spectrum of colors." Blackburn said. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown, Arkaneh Frye."
"Heavier is the hand that holds the gun," Arkaneh said back.
Blackburn seemed entertained. "You know, I once had a soldier just like you in my ranks. He fought beside me for many years."
"What happened to him?"
"He died in battle at some point… but he took the most fuckers with him than any other soldier of mine to this day." A grin appeared on the General's face. "It was nice knowing you, Mr. Frye."
"Same here, Mr. Blackburn."
"Reus, I'll be leaving now." Blackburn rose from his seat, ready to leave. "Don’t worry, I'm sure you'll overcome any of your hardships. Your father, Joseph, always did." The two shook hands. "We'll be in touch, Reus," Blackburn said.
"Of course," Reus said. Blackburn made his way outside and closed the door behind him. Charles Blackburn truly is an interesting character. A war veteran. A man who stands for his principles against the whole world. A man who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. A man who places his men above all else. On all those aspects, he differs from Reus. Yet, his organization had seen better days. Similarly to the Justicars, the more years passed, the more people had lost hope in his cause.
"Connor," Reus turned to his lieutenant. "You've been awfully quiet so far. Is there something wrong?"
"He's just a little shaken up from the recent attack," Talimay explained.
"Right…" Reus seemed indifferent to the brutal, deadly event that recently happened. Reus cares very little about his men. Members come and members go… that's how he thinks. "How many did we lose?"
"Ten dead. Four are wounded." Griffiths hurried to answer the question. He blurted it out so quickly, as if he was memorizing the numbers in his head ever since it happened, torturing and tormenting himself with them.
Reus got up from his seat, adjusting his suit as he did. He walked up to Griffiths and grabbed his jaw in his hand, forcing him to face him. "Get your fucking grips together!" Reus berated him. Griffiths appeared unprepared for such a reaction from Reus, as he sat there, dumbfounded, his lips twitching with no ability to speak words. "We're in a clusterfuck of trouble, and I need my lieutenants sharp and focused!"
"I-I'm—"
"Don’t fucking answer me!" Reus raised his voice. The slick-haired ringleader seemed more intimidating than ever. "I have the Justicars killing my men, I have a rat in my ranks and there're a fucking drug addict and a teenage bitch who are butchering our guys by the numbers! So you better give me something a lot better than a sob and a frown!"
"Reus, calm down," Talimay said. "Griffiths will recover by the time we'll leave this office. In the meantime, I'm sure you'd like to get caught up on the rat issue."
Reus let go of Griffiths's jaw and seated himself again. "Right, let's hear it."
"Well, Arkaneh figured that the rat must be bugging different members every once in a while to throw us off. He thought that the bugging device would probably be in their SmartWrists and he was right. We let Fenia go through the SmartWrists of the 6 suspects we had and we actually found a listening device in the form of a chip hidden inside one of them."
Reus buried his face in his hands. "I was the one who first brought up the theory that we might have a traitor among us, but I always hoped I would be wrong. Arkaneh…" he lifted his face. "Well done. Truly well done."
"Thank you, Reus," Arkaneh said.
"What else?" Reus asked.
"We interrogated the bugged man and came to know that several men had the opportunity to plant the bug in his SmartWrist," Arkaneh continued the story. "That was when the Justicars attacked. Later, we learned that the actual purpose of their attack was to kidnap Braden, who just happened to be one of the men that were listed as the potential bug planters. So we've concluded that Braden must have been their rat, and the attack was meant to extract him."
"I see," Reus said. "So we're at a dead end, I guess."
"Not exactly," Arkaneh said. "Braden was kidnapped along with his SmartWrist. Fenia is working on tracking its signal down, or at least the last location where it had a signal. We might be able to use that to locate him and the Justicars."
"Alright, keep me posted on that. Now, how are we doing on the drugs front?"
Griffiths seemed troubled before going into that subject. Clearly, it was one that pestered both the lieutenants and Reus. Most of Men of Midas' income came from drug trades, and Odis Maben was one of their best dealers. "Losing Odis landed us a harsh blow," Griffiths said. "I've managed to find him a replacement. Hopefully, we'll be able to recover all of his past clients and get back to our feet."
"That won't be enough," Reus said, decisively. "We need to push our drug trades further. In which districts are we currently selling?"
"Axfield, Rockbury, Westden Fells, Fallhalt and Waterchester."
"I want us to be selling in Silvercoast as well."
"Silvercoast?" Griffiths seemed appalled. "I don’t know, Reus, that's the Ferals' territory. They might prove to be troublesome." Griffiths warned him.
"I'll speak to Jegaar Hill myself, we'll work it out." Reus seemed confident.
"Reus, Griffiths may be right," Talimay took his side. "Jegaar the Wendigo is not the most reasonable person, and you know that the Ferals are a very different kind of gang. They don't have any rules. They don’t have lieutenants or outposts. They only have a ringleader who barely does anything to be called as such."
She's right. Jegaar Hill is said to be demented and ruthless. The Ferals don’t take part in organized crime like other mob gangs. Instead, they just fulfill their dirtiest, sickest, most twisted desires on helpless victims. Their' dictum is 'So be it.' If you wish to rape, butcher or torture someone just because you feel like it, so be it. If you want to steal something or kidnap someone, so be it. You can do whatever you wish in this world. Over the years, the Ferals have gotten into many wars with various mob gangs, including Men of Midas, and no ringleader genuinely likes having anything to do with them. The only reason they're still around is because they have a vast number of members. It's not that surprising, considering the fact that Jegaar Hill is basically subsidizing serial killers and rapists.
"Reus," Griffiths joined in. "Let me remind you that your father warred with the Wendigo in the past. He's not a man you want to make deals with."
Arkaneh knew all about the war Griffiths was referring to. That war was known as the Clash of Rampage. His uncle, Jeremy, once told him that story of that war. It was a war that preluded Operation Cleanser and the Night of Obliteration, and it set up the stage for both of those events. Up until 2035, Servein served as Alataria's main port city, as Herkin Port was yet to be built, but in that year that changed. It was a tricky time. Vex was on the streets for only two years at that time, at its customer base was gaining attraction. The Ferals were running extremely rampant during those times, going on sprees of killings that didn’t seem to end, and Jegaar Hill the Wendigo wasn’t putting much of a short leash on his men. Many thought that it was the new drug, Vex, which made them so. After a few incidents where some Ferals killed clients of Joseph Mallistrom, Henrick Trife and several other small gangs who no longer existed, an alliance was formed against the Wendigo. At first, they tried demanding compensation from Jegaar, but he refused to give any, claiming that he takes no responsibility for his men's actions. Like many say, Jegaar Hill may be titled ringleader of the Ferals, but he's far from being such. That title mainly derives from him supposedly being the founder and first member of the gang, but nothing more than that. He lets him men do whatever they wish and never cares for the repercussions. After that, Joseph, Henrick and the rest of the small gangs warred with the Ferals for several months. During a titanic showdown that took place in the dockyards of Servein, the port was completely destroyed. Herkin Port, which was already under construction, eventually became the main port of Alataria, as funding for reconstruction never came from the government treasury. After that showdown, a truce was finally called between the warring sides, and Jegaar actually agreed to pay some compensation to the allied gangs. The small gangs, however, were almost entirely wiped out by the time that happened, and they naturally dissolved into nothingness. The surviving remnants of those gangs joined the other existing ones. To this day, the ruins of the old dockyards stand there, wrecked and useless, as a monument to themselves. Later that year, as a result of the Clash of Rampage, APD tried wiping off the Ferals with Operation Cleanser, but the Ferals surprisingly managed to survive throughout it all. Jegaar isn’t considered clever or smart by anyone, but he IS dangerous to some degree, having more manpower than any other mob gang in the country. In addition, with Joseph weak after the war, another mob gang called Rage Legion tried to finish him off and take over his business, but ended up being wiped out in the Night of Obliteration.
"I know who Jegaar Hill is," Reus explained. "I've talked to him before. Behind all his lunacy and burning love for anarchy hides a man I can reason with. Start gathering some dealers that we can send to Silvercoast. I'll give you the go-ahead once I've talked with the Wendigo."
Talimay seemed anxious. No one in the room other than Reus liked the idea. "Very well," Griffiths said after a long sigh, looking defeated. Reus is taking quite a risk. If this somehow escalates into another war with the Ferals, I'm not sure Men of Midas will be able to recover very easily from the losses. He's obviously desperate. He's a mighty lion that's been cornered by the zookeepers, roaring and clawing at everything around him blindly… which is exactly where I want him. With so many distractions and struggles, I'll be able to prove him of my worthiness. Once the dust settles, Reus will see me as someone that he'll want to keep at his side. You've called me trustworthy, Reus, but you don’t know me at all. On one does. Not anymore.
