Testing Boundaries

Now, Leo was starting to get used to the lobby of this dark bar.

Sipping the whiskey that Jordan had handed him, Leo thought back to what Jenny had said.

"Yeah. You're not here to just keep chasing bounties, are you? To be honest, if you want to be a bounty hunter, there are plenty of places with better conditions than here."

Leo nodded slowly, his mind turning over her words. The job of hunting bounties wasn't something he disliked, but it certainly wasn't what he had envisioned for himself in the long run.

"I know you really like this job, but let's be honest, unless you capture a high-risk criminal with a death warrant, your pay is limited. Or do you really want to chase after such lunatics?"

"That's not true," Leo admitted.

The Balkan governments themselves placed massive bounties on the worst criminals they hunted, with some rewards reaching hundreds of millions of cells. But Leo knew that hunting such high-profile targets was a dangerous gamble. These criminals often had power beyond what was visible, powers Leo was not yet prepared to face.

Jenny took his silence as an opportunity to continue.

"Of course, I'm not that kind of loser to stop you from doing what you want to do. But if it's like you said last time, it'll cost you a lot of money to get a new identity, right?"

"… … .."

"There are many ways to make a lot of money with your magic. Surely you haven't forgotten about my nonsense about testing your abilities yet?"

Leo chuckled softly. Jenny was good at persuasion, weaving in praise with a touch of challenge. It was obvious she was trying to lure him into taking on more lucrative jobs, and he didn't mind the direction of her thoughts.

"Okay. What would you recommend?"

Jenny's face lit up with a smile.

"Good idea. Do you know how many jobs in this world require a wizard? You can just pick any one."

She motioned for him to follow her to the back of the bar, away from prying ears and curious eyes. They settled in the corner of a room Lennox had previously seen when they had brought in Taylor Evans' body. Jenny handed him a file, and Lennox began reading through it as she explained.

"The newly completed Charlotte Enterprises cosmetics manufacturing plant in District 42. 80% of the construction cost was covered by city government subsidies, so there was a controversy over collusion. There's also testimony that the skin lotion they were supposed to manufacture had undergone extensive human testing."

Leo's brow furrowed as he read about the experiments.

"At this point, isn't the truth already revealed? What else is needed?"

Jenny shook her head. "True or not, Charlotte Enterprises won't give up the factory over photos like this. They even poured government subsidies into the project. This isn't about the truth; it's about money and power."

She continued, "It wasn't the city government that planned this. It was Baritz Corporation. They've recently started branching into the cosmetics business, and they want to keep Charlotte from expanding."

Even Leo, new to the city, had heard of Baritz. Their products were everywhere, from groceries to vehicles.

"Baritz sent a request with two conditions: destroy the manufacturing plant beyond repair and obtain the data on the algorithm for the production process of the lotion. 50 million cells for the first condition. 300 million for the second."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that I can get paid if only one of them succeeds?"

"Exactly."

"I guess the second condition is virtually impossible to achieve."

Jenny smiled. "Right again. It's more of a decoy than a real target."

Leo considered her words, understanding the challenge. "Okay. I guess it's possible if we just destroy the factory."

Jenny smiled. "Great. Now, let me introduce you to your partner for this job."

At her cue, the side door opened, and a man in a dark leather jacket and a wrestler-like mask entered.

"Dylan O'Casey," Jenny introduced him. "He's a mercenary. Your partner for this endeavor."

Dylan extended a hand to Lennox. "Dylan O'Casey. A mercenary, as she said. So, you're a wizard?"

"… Yes. I use lightning magic. What does it mean to be a partner?"

"It means we'll be working together to complete this mission," Dylan replied. "Jenny thought it was too much for one person."

Leo sighed, shaking Dylan's hand. "I wish I'd known there'd be a partner."

Jenny quickly added, "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Despite the surprise, Leo wasn't overly displeased. It made sense in a job like this to have varying partners.

"So, the 50 million cells are split 50-50?" Lennox asked.

Dylan scratched his head. "Should we charge her a fee?"

Jenny responded, "No commission this time. Consider it an apology for not informing you about the partner."

Dylan chuckled softly. Leo didn't fully trust Jenny's sudden change of heart but decided to let it slide for now. He would play along until she gave him a reason not to.

Jenny clapped her hands. "Let's get to it. We need to go over the factory blueprints."

The group got to work, each preparing in their way. This was just the beginning of what promised to be a challenging mission.

Later, as they walked through District 42, Dylan commented, "Jenny thinks highly of you."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, she doesn't give up her commission easily. She must think you're worth it."

Leo remained silent, contemplating his next move.

Dylan pulled out a business card and handed it to Leo. "Antares Office. You should consider broadening your options. There's a lot to gain by knowing the right people."

Leo took the card, chuckling. "You're already selling me something?"

"Just expanding your network," Dylan said, shrugging. "It's good to have choices."

Leo smiled faintly. "We'll see how good you are first."

"Just wait," Dylan replied confidently.

This partnership was already shaping up to be an interesting one.