Shakedown Part 5

In this superhuman society, I guess you could say that I was always an anomaly, especially in these past few years where I've gone from powerless to powerful and now somewhere in between. And those sets of experiences have made me see people in many different lights.

I don't think any event showed that off better than this moment.

Because at this very moment, I gave Victoria the attention she probably needed for years now as I walked through the city streets without the cape, wig, or costume. Despite all the lives I've saved, despite all the cameras I've seen, the world didn't seem to care as I walked unobstructed without a single person recognizing me in the least bit.

Yet despite all that, I could still feel "it" with every fiber of being. That look of uncertainty, that look of wavering hope, that defining loom of expectation seems to define my entire career. Or at the very least used to as before I could even get a hint overwhelmed that the same numbing sensation grew all the louder, both protecting and fading the streets until there was only me and the mission.

A mission that I would complete no matter what for me and me alone. Especially when considering how much work it took to get here especially when we had so little time to overcome so much.

Between the both of us I didn't even want to think about the amount of sleepless nights we had as we undertook each challenge the Expo presented in relative stride, the three biggest of which being: secrecy, manpower, and info.

Without the first, our surprise attack loses quickly to any whistleblower with real sway. Without the second, we've got nothing to make up for when the element of surprise falls through, and without info, we can't even plan an actual attack, which means that we had to take each problem step by step.

Using our combined experiences, we pieced through every bit of info and data we could on Krimo's respective crime rates up until the rumors of the Expo started. Then, hoping that they could give the pertinent details, we needed a decent estimate of the time.

So by combining further research, trends with the Rev raids and their overall rate of advertisement we managed to figure out that the Expo was soon, which means that our timetable was just as narrow as you could get.

Considering the last one entirely counted on the first 2, we managed to compensate accordingly, using our wealth of connections to string along with our most trusted combat-ready allies and doing the most we could regarding stockpiling superhuman suppression gear.

As Girder said before, whoever orchestrated the trade was high up, which gives us some clues to work with. For starters, we weren't exactly dealing with a foreign element, more so a new one. Each Rev raid I conducted had a very down-to-earth feel and extensive knowledge of Krimo's complex drug routes, things that I've seen many other foregin gangs get wrong in the past.

On top of all that, each place I hit showed a distinct lack of organized crime from more traditional or historical crime networks like the Bratva or triads, implying a secondary theory. Whether it be because of this particular Expo or all of them, one thing was made clear. It was obviously trying to advertise itself to the crime that infested the lower levels.

Rev was always a popularly persistent problem, but it only started to make its current surge of popularity with the appearance of the Mutant Masters. As a result, every raid I conducted took place in locations that nearly had the middle and lower levels with assailants that had their entire lives living in the former.

Either way, it seemed that Rev and, by extension, the Expo specifically seemed to exploit the trend of more unstable, more flashy supervillain teams. Chaotic enough to be manipulated but small enough to be hard to track. Considering all that, our list of suspects grew a lot shorter but not short enough.

Despite the trends and infamy, those at the top wielded connections so deep and varied that they were nearly untouchable and unpredictable, with some saying they were as powerful as the mayor himself. When I said that, though, it was Girder who could piece everything together.

"Maybe we are thinking about this too narrowly."

"How so?"

"Just because there is a new element in play, one that seeks to prefer secrecy a lot more. Doesn't mean that they can't have a partner or a frontman helping behind the scenes, someone powerful but with a pseudo clean record."

"Okay, but realistically speaking, that could represent any person in the upper levels."

"Yeah, except every Rev raid we've had was conducted in buildings that had only recently been cleared out. Specifically through the increased taxes made by city hall near the second half of last year when it came to better funding for private security."

It was at that moment where my mind managed to connect the dots.

"You're not seriously suggesting that-"

"He's the only one with enough power to help clear an establishment that can hold a couple of thousand criminals, and whether he indirectly or not, he was also involved in Rev's biggest advertisement, the Mutant Masters? With enough half-missed allegations to create a rap sheet a mile long? I know it's risky, but if we are going to take a risk, then I think we should only have to take one."

The more we talked about the idea, the more we looked into his history and decided to go with the plan. And what a risky plan it was because, after hours of stalking, I finally managed to find the den of the man that could answer all our questions. I finally found the den of Liam Blakk, the mayor of Krimo.