Chapter 58

"Listening..."

"Quiet, I need to meet your runners."

"DeShawn, call them. Why are you distracting me?"

"They don't return my calls and..."

"And what do you want me to do?"

I cut him off not intending to hear him complain about my girls.

"Am I supposed to drag them by their hair? How do you even envision that?"

"Just tell them and..."

"Say what? DeShawn, if they don't want to talk to you, do I have to make them?"

"I..."

"You. You've been interrupting their work with your calls, and when one of them sends you away, you decide to call me? However, judging by the time that's passed since you called, you decided to try calling the other girls first... and were you successful?"

"Quiet, don't piss me off..."

"DeShawn, don't piss me off. You're just a fixer and you're not permanently in Postmortem, in which getting your hands on you would be somewhat problematic..."

Well, not that it's a problem, but I just don't want to ruin my relationship with Bestia, so if I have to deal with DeShawn's issue, I won't be dealing with it on her turf.

"...and a large caliber rifle at a kilometer range will solve the issue very well..."

"Are you sure you mean what you say?"

"DeShawn, you don't have to be so innocent. You're the one who started with threats, even if you didn't make them into something concrete. I'm just not in the mood to beat around the bush. Over and out."

I dropped his call and still added him to my blacklist.

"You're in a bad mood..."

"DeShawn called. I got a feeling this fat asshole too confident in his untouchability as a fixer and not used to getting rejected. So I blacklisted him..."

*** A day later. ***

"So this is what you wanted, huh?!"

Saul burst into my Hippo and stared at me with rage. But I didn't care about his rage... I didn't give a shit about his rage. So I calmly looked up from my tools and looked at Saul.

"Saul, what's your beef with me?"

"Which ones? What?!"

"Saul, calm down and look at me. I don't give a shit who the head of the clan is, and that's probably why you came here, am I right?"

He flashed his eyes angrily, but nodded.

"So, I don't give a shit about that, I'd be ready to just be a member of the clan, just to work for its benefit, even if not forgetting about my own. I, as the head of a solo group, understand what a pain in the ass it is to manage such a mob that you manage and I didn't want to hang this yoke around my neck. But I don't have a choice."

"А?"

"B. Panam. She loves this clan. And she herself said that: either the "old timers" nominate me to be the head of the clan, or she leaves."

"Well, then get out!"

"We'd delta..."

I nodded.

"...except I know Panam, this move will make her unhappy. And I don't want my girl to be unhappy. So, if I have a choice, I have no choice but to run for the position of clan leader. But I just want you to think. Could I do this out loud?"

"Yeah..."

He was unpleasant to admit it, but we both realized that if I told him about my desire and showed him my kush, which I was ready to give to the clan for a small sum of money, the clansmen would not forget about their personal welfare, and Sol would be kicked out of his position.

"But at the same time I called Mitch and Scorpio, the "old timers" who have been in the clan for decades and are able to evaluate all the prospects. I suggested that they talk to the other "old timers" before coming to you, and only then did they quietly and peacefully approach you."

"You..."

"I. Saul, you're a good man, you may have turned a little bit on Biotech, but you're not a bad man. I don't need an enemy like that, and that's why I asked you to keep it quiet. You'll keep your authority, in fact, you'll be respected even more, because you're so wise, you saw someone who brought such a benefit to the clan and gave way to him..."

I look carefully into his eyes.

However, you can see from Saul that the first emotional explosion has already passed and he is rapidly calming down.

"Is that even true?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, about the Basilisks and the Manticores..."

"Really. Although the latter will have to be dismantled, the Clan will not be allowed to own them, but the engines and reactors can be put to work, the same Basilisk can be equipped with engines, and the reactors can be used to ensure the energy independence of the Clan."

"Eh..."

He collapsed on the table and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"I must have gotten so old. I just want some peace and certainty. You think I don't understand what joining Biotech would mean for the clan?"

I shrugged.

"I understand, but, uh... how many young men I've sent out on orders and they've died? How many kids have died because the clan didn't have the right medical supplies? How many times have we been attacked by Steelers and solos just to make a profit off of us?"

"And you were hoping that Biotech would shut you out of some of these problems?"

"Yeah..."

"But you do realize that there will be other problems... and the problems of a corporation like Biotech are far more... more unpleasant than the problems of the average clan."

"I totally get it...boy, you'll take care of the clan, right?"

"You make it sound like I'm going to kick you out and you can't look after the clan yourself and intervene..."

"Aren't you going to kick me out?"

"No..."

I shook my head.

"...no one is going to kick you out. Moreover, the clan will definitely not have any combat operations in the near future. We'll have to prepare the equipment, prepare the men, a lot of things to do. And after that. I don't think I'm going to be fighting any big corporations."

"Okay, uh. I... I'll resign. but I'll keep an eye on you."

"Uh-huh...

Saul stood up and slowly left the Hippo.

"How long are you going to hide for?"

"Well, uh. I was just covering for you."

Panam showed up embarrassedly from the adjoining room, which was where she had been throughout the conversation, while the other girls were now sunning themselves outside.

"Were you worried?"

"Well, uh. yeah. I know Saul, he can be a stubborn bastard. And if he got something in his head. he could do something stupid."

"So you wanted to intervene if things got hot?"

"Uh-huh...

"And which side?"

"А?"

She looked at me confused.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Panam, it's obvious that I could have gotten Saul without your help, that's why I'm asking when exactly and on whose side were you going to interfere? Although, uh."

I looked at her with a sly look.

"Probably wanted to intervene when I was twisting Saul to stop me from doing certain things, right?"

Panam nodded embarrassedly.

"Uh, uh. you're such an embarrassment. Come here."

Panam walked towards me and I grabbed her waist and sat her on my lap.

"Be careful! You just lost an arm and a leg!"

"Nothing to worry about, Vic knows his business and such little things as a very slender girl on my lap will not harm me."

"Uh, uh. okay."

She wiggled her ass in my lap.

"So, did you want to save old man Saul, who took care of you and the other kids?"

"Well, uh. yeah."

I grinned.

"Well, he wasn't in any danger, even if the unthinkable happened and he decided to attack me, I would just disarm him. But in that case, it would be dangerous to leave him in the clan. Who knows what else he would do?"

"Eh..."

"But I think he's gonna be kind of like my deputy. He will work for the good of the clan, distribute orders, monitor reputation, and I will extract resources and determine the course the clan will take."

"I see..."

Panam breathed a sigh of relief.

"So?"

"What?"

"Well, you've tied me to the clan... Knowing my character, you realize that although I will not give free stuff to the clan, but now the clan will get impressive discounts. And I won't be able to leave the clan if it has problems. My character won't allow it."

Panam lowered her gaze to her lap in embarrassment.

"Through me, well, and yourself, you also tied Judy to the clan, although the benefit is not so obvious, but still she is a good technician and runner, and also knows about brans... But what I'm really curious about is how you're going to tie Becca, Lucy and Kiwi to the clan?"

"А?"

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, I won't believe you."

"Thought..."

This she said very, very quietly.

"So?"

"Well... through you..."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Through you. you think I don't see you looking at them? And Judy. she's still holding her own and she still cares about you, but she's got her eye on them, too. So you two are the way I was planning on tying the whole team to the clan."

"Evil little genius... although, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh."

I lowered my gaze to her breasts.

"...Far from being a small, but still evil, genius..."

"You're not offended?"

"No... like I said, I was considering joining a clan. It's not a good prospect to spend a lifetime in Knight City. I've got an idea, but it would take more money than all of us have at the moment."

"An idea?"

"Well, uh. I want to explore space."

"А?"

"Actually this idea came to me not so long ago and I'm just thinking about it, but if you think about it, what prevents you from setting a global goal? Let's say, build a spaceship and fly to explore the solar system?"

"Uh..."

Panam was confused at my words.

"But for now, it's just that. dreams. Before that, I was thinking of just traveling with the Clan, fulfilling orders in different cities and maybe settling down with the Clan where it would be more peaceful. However, one thing does not prevent another, you can first find a safe and quiet place, and then go into space..."

"Was someone talking about space?"

Lucy entered the Hippo.

"Uh-huh... here's David sharing his crazy plans...

"Why crazy?"

I shrugged.

"Now let's get me back to normal and still go to the moon like I promised our Lucy..."

Lucy flinched at these words and looked at me with shock and disbelief.

"...and on the flight we will understand whether we should think about building a personal spaceship and become noble pirates, or just wanderers who will visit different planets. But my immediate plan is to take you all to the moon."

"Yeah... you're jumping from topic to topic..."

"Not at all, it's just that every word I say brings out a new side of me. So get ready. I'm thinking a month, month and a half from now. And the clan?"

"What about the clan? Can't Saul do this without my guiding hand?"

"It'll work out, just..."

Panam, it was you who wanted me to be the head, not me...

"Well..."

"So now we'll work with what we have."

"Wait, you became head of the clan?"

Lucy looked at me in surprise.

"Not yet, there has to be a general meeting during which Saul will resign and hand it over to me."

"Uh... I see."