CH11: Virgin Contract

***

CH11: Virgin Contract

The first impression I had of Pyremonte town was... metal.

There was a strong metallic scent in the air. I couldn't help wondering if this wasn't a glaring health hazard.

I shook my head and headed to the town hall.

I had done my research before coming here. I could find a comprehensive listing of available properties at the Town hall.

I intended to by a small two-bedroom cottage to serve as my shelter and base of operations while I was in town.

After haggling the price with the owner, I finally paid a modest amount and got a house in a quiet area away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre.

Apparently, people didn't want to live in a secluded area which was why the price was as cheap as I got it.

The small house had a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen connected to a dining area and a good toilet.

I slept in one of the rooms while I converted the other into a study where I analysed the information I gathered.

I spent the nights roaming the streets of Pyremonte.

The town was quite lively during the nights as well. Pubs and many entertainment centres like brothels and gambling dens opened their doors at night, making the town centre a beehive of activities.

The criminal elements also came out to play.

For the next three months, I carefully gathered intel on the gangs of Pyremonte.

I could say I knew more about the town's underworld than even a local who's lived their entire life here.

I narrowed down on four medium sized groups who had a beef with each other. My initial plan was to cause a feud amongst them, then get one party to pay to have the other executed.

However, an event happened that caused me to change my plan.

While I was on my way to begin implementing my plan, I saw a group chasing down a man.

The man had his body and face hidden in a black robe while the chasing group looked like guards from the biggest indigenous metal and gems store in town.

Clearly, the man was a thief!

The man suddenly activated his Pangea.

He had a violet sheen around him, before his speed increased and he bolted away.

The guards couldn't keep up with his speed and he escaped.

I threw the event to the back of my mind and arrived at my target location where I snuck in and stole the jewellery of the wife of one of the gang's (gang A) leader, leaving behind a message that another one of the four gangs (gang B) did it as payback for a fight that occurred the previous week.

It was supposed to be a warning that the gang B could kill gang A leader's wife anytime they wanted.

I was on my way to deposit the good in gang B's hideout when I came across the thief from before. He was weak and tired after using his Pangea that he could barely walk straight.

I could easily kill him and take the loot. However, how does that help me?

No, I had a different idea in mind.

I shelved my previous plan and followed him.

Interestingly, denizens of this world sense mana in their surrounding to determine if someone was following them.

Since I didn't store mana in my body, this method didn't work on me. All I then had to do was make sure the target didn't notice me by his physical senses, something I had years of experience doing as a member of Taskforce 47.

I eventually tracked the man to his stash house, and then to his home.

Over the course of the next week, I continued stalking him.

The more I learnt about him, the worse of a human being I realised he was and the more the smile on my lips widened.

He ticked all the vice boxes of a lowlife.

He was an unscrupulous thief, a drunk, a gambler, a serial womanizer and abuser all rolled up in one.

Long story short, no one would miss him if he disappeared from the world.

I was walking down the town's main street while trying to finalise my action plan in my head.

The street was littered with shops selling different products and trinkets. I was about to head into another street when I saw something at the corner of my eye.

It was a mask!

**

I was attracted to the mask.

The mask was plain white and looked like it was moulded from someone's face, yet it looked faceless. It had holes for the eyes and mouth. It had a protrusion shaped like and for the nose.

When I got a closer look at the mask, I discovered the protrusion had two small holes under for air when the nose was placed in it.

It was only now that I realised the mask was carved out of wood. I was impressed with the workmanship.

I ended up buying the mask for a sizeable penny.

Then, the mask in my hand gave me an idea.

I returned to the streets of Pyremonte later that night.

This time, I was wearing a black suit with a red tie and I had on the mask.

I arrived at a quiet neighbourhood.

This neighbourhood was unlike my neighbourhood.

Mine was quiet because no one wanted to live in the area because it was a distance from the town centre. In short, it was quiet because it was deserted. This area, however, was quiet because it was strictly for the wealthy.

Everyone in the neighbourhood was wealthy in the eyes of the folks of Pyremonte.

I arrived at my target.

It was a mason's mansion with a three metre fence around it. The top of the fence was also fashioned with barbwires.

This was the first place I had seen barbwires in this life. I was slightly intrigued but I quickly refocussed on my objective.

Although slightly tricky because of the barbwires, I managed to get over the fence and land on the property.

I climbed the walls of the mansion and entered through a window to arrive within the master bedroom.

There was a fat man snoring away in the bed.

This was the owner of the store the thief stole from.

I placed a hand over his mouth before waking him.

"Raise an alarm and you die. Nod if you understand."

He hurriedly nodded.

I removed my hand from his mouth.

"Calm down. I'm not here to harm you. If anything, I'm here to help you."

"Help me? How?"

"I know you lost some goods. I will help you recover them and kill the person responsible."

"And what do you want in return?"

He was a merchant with a shrewd mind. He knew I wasn't doing this out of the goodness of my heart.

"I want a 15% finder's fee for recovering your stolen goods plus a 5% work fee for killing the thief for you. What do you say? And please don't waste my time haggling. If I hear anything aside yes or no from your mouth, the fee will go up, not down."

The merchant who was about to open his mouth, quickly shut it.

I was used to dealing with guys like this. If you give them the chance, they'll haggle down to the last coin.

"I agree. But I can't pay you in gems. I need all of them."

"Fine. I'll take my fee in metals. Prepare samples of every metal you have in your store for me. Make sure you name all of them."

"If you can get me those gems, I'll prepare samples of all the metals available in Pyremonte." He promised.

I didn't doubt him.

It wasn't difficult at all for the owner of the largest indigenous store in Pyremonte to gather mere samples of metals available in the town.

"Alright. I need you to confirm the terms of our agreement yourself." I said to him.

He looked at me weirdly, but he still did as I said.

"As long as you present to me the gems stolen from me as well as the head of the thief who stole them, I will provide for you samples of all metals in Pyremonte worth a combine value of 20% of the market price of all the gems stolen from me."

I stretched out my hand for a handshake.

He took my hand and shook it.

To every merchant on Arun, a deal was sacred. Now that we've reached an agreement, I was almost certain he wouldn't double-cross me.

"Sorry about appearing like this." I said to him after the agreement was reached.

"I hope you'll appear in a more proper way next time."

"We'll see."

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" He asked.

I looked at him with interest.

"Well, there something that will aid my endeavour."

"Tell me. I will prepare it for you if it's within my means."

*

The next day, I appeared in the man's store, once again unannounced, to receive my order from the previous night.

It was the tool I decided to use to kill a speedster.

*

That afternoon, I left a message for the thief to meet me at a secluded dark alley in town.

Why would he do that? Well, I told him the location where he hid his stolen loot.

It was in a cellar of an abandoned house in town.

What's stopping him from moving his loot elsewhere?

The thief might be a scum of a human being, but he was a prolific thief. He had a lot of loot hidden in the cellar. The gems from my client was merely the latest score.

It was impossible to move in a night without risking someone noticing.

I was sure his cowardly mind would be worried I would have eyes on the loot's location. After all, another reason I chose his particular alley was because it was a stroll from the location of the loot.

He would be worried I'd tell someone about the loot if I saw him moving it.

Unfortunately, he didn't know I care more about killing him than the loot.

*

Night soon fell.

This night was dark as only a crescent moon hung in the night sky. It didn't help that this alley, and this area in general, didn't have an artificial lighting source.

Dressed in black suit, red tie and white mask, I leaned against the wall at the end of the closed alley.

The boring wait lasted until I finally heard footsteps approaching.

I saw the figure cloaked in black.

I laughed out loud.

"Dispense with the charade, would you? I already know who you are. I sent a letter to your residence for crying out loud."

The figure reluctantly removed the hood and exposed his face.

It was indeed the thief.

I smiled.

"Did you bring it? Throw it over, then walk away. We'll never see each other again!"

The thief laughed.

"Are you a fool? Did you really think I'll bring it just because you blackmailed me?" He said. "No! I'm going to kill you and no one will ever know. That's for picking the perfect place, idiot."

"Stop! Aren't you afraid I told someone?" My voice quaked.

He roared into laughter.

"You definitely didn't tell anyone. You would be losing money."

As I said, people see others through their mind-set.

Admittedly, I'm a cynical person, so I believe everyone's actions is driven by self-interest while a greedy person like this thief believes everyone is greedy like him.

That's why I trusted he'd come to the alley tonight and why he believed I wouldn't dare tell anyone about the loot's location.

Seeing that I didn't respond, he believed his deduction was correct.

He unsheathed his dagger, then unleashed his Pangea. A violet colour coated his leg.

He shot forward at me.

And then...

There was no then.

The thief died.

[A.N: If you're enjoying the book, please leave a review, vote with power stones and golden tickets. Gifts are also very welcomed. Also, please check out my other book Soldiers of Time. Thanks.]