Surprise Kidnapping [4]

Contracts were essentially the same as they were in the past, but the binding power they held went beyond the bounds of legality now. 

Contract paper was created using Aether Engineering in order to bind two people in a more direct manner. Of course, ordinary contracts were still used often. Aether contracts were only useful when what was being signed was too important to leave to the legal system.

For instance, the trade of top secret information and high-level dangerous resources.

When Gio suggested a contract, Raymond already knew what he was talking about. If they used an ordinary contract, Gio wouldn't be able to do anything about it if someone of Raymond's status decided not to abide by it.

However, an Aether contract could manifest real consequences on Raymond as an individual. 

As for what those consequences were…?

They could be set while the contract was being drafted. If one was truly bloodthirsty, death could be stated as the consequence. Even slavery was possible if one abused the system.

This trade was nothing like that, though. Gio had too much knowledge to be an average person. Regardless of what his affiliation was, Raymond was certain that he had connections to the Upper Stratums. If he tried to pull something scummy, he would only be ruining this relationship without any benefit.

What Gio expected was simple as well. The drafting process went much smoother than expected.

Within another half an hour, he and Raymond had reached an agreement on what they would provide.

Firstly, Gio would provide information valued at roughly around 50000 Credits. 

Secondly, in return, Raymond would provide him with Tier 5 Blood Serpent Poison within six months of this interaction. 

And thirdly, if either side failed to deliver what they promised, they would be forced to serve the other side for a period of five years. 

It was a relatively standard contract. Even the consequences were so similar to the industry standard that Raymond was forced to once again be surprised.

Nevertheless, once it was drafted, both of them signed it. The paper glowed with a slight blue haze before a streak of light shot into their bodies.

That small bit of Aether was the exact reason why Aether contracts could do such mystical things, because as long as that little bit of energy was still inside the body, the contract could use its mechanisms to directly punish its owner. 

"Are you satisfied?" Raymond asked with a sigh as he felt the familiar sensation.

"I'm more than satisfied. Actually, I thought I'd end up with Tier 4 poison at most. I didn't think you would completely ignore negotiations," Gio responded with a smile.

Raymond flinched. He did indeed say that he was open to negotiating, but they didn't do anything like that. 

"I decided not to question you any more than I have to. If you're willing enough to sign that contract, there's no need to lessen your pay. The lowest I can get Tier 5 Blood Serpent Poison for is probably around 50000, but I'm willing to pay more depending on the value of your information."

"I see. So you set River Blood Serpent Poison as a baseline. I can work with that."

Gio nodded his head. Raymond may have given up on negotiating, but he didn't guarantee Gio exactly what he wanted.

River Blood Serpents were the most common Blood Serpent variety that could be seen in pretty much any large river with a strong enough flow and the right ecosystem. The monsters they hunted weren't very strong on average, so their poison didn't develop the same toxicity as some other species. 

'I'll need something stronger than a mere River Blood Serpent Poison. He's basically saying if I can pay for it, he'll get me anything.'

"Alright."

It was easy to accept. It was even better than Gio hoped, since there was now a chance of him getting a better bargain than he hoped for. 

"Then…?" Raymond prodded. 

Was he really that eager?

With a smile, Gio gave him what he wanted. 

"Well, actually, I was working at the mine when everything went down…"

He didn't need to segue into the conversation or hide anything. With all pretenses dropped, he spilled everything, telling Raymond about what had happened in the mine site before the Hammer was inevitably dropped.

He spoke about the mutated beasts within and the response from those leading the efforts against them. He spoke about the shady practices of the company and their assumed connections, phrasing his knowledge as if he'd learned it from eavesdropping and poking around. 

As he told his story, Raymond's expression went through several changes, from surprise to concern to a deep frown and furrowed brows that didn't loosen until the story was over.

It ended with the appearance of the Hammer, but it didn't really end there.

After all, Gio wasn't satisfied with what he saw. Raymond wasn't surprised enough to give him the blood he wanted yet.

"It smells like a conspiracy."

He threw the bait and waited for it to be taken. 

"A conspiracy? How so?"

Raymond bit easily.

"I don't know…wasn't it all too convenient? That beam came from the sky as if they had been waiting for the exact right moment to drop it. Isn't it strange for there to be a response that fast and definitive in a place nobody should've been paying attention to? I think I heard them mention something about a va–"

Thud!

Raymond's chair fell to the ground because of how fast he stood up. He slammed his hands onto the table between them and stared into Gio's eyes.

"I know you aren't stupid. You don't need to pretend like you don't know what the Hammer was or like you got this from other people."

It seemed to come out of nowhere, but the sentence was nothing but a precursor for what Raymond actually wanted to say. 

"What you were about to say…you should think very carefully before you let it come out of your mouth."

There was a word, a word that started with the letter "V" that almost came out of Gio's mouth. He knew what it was and Raymond knew what it was, but it was not a word that could be spoken so casually. 

It was not something that could be mentioned unless one had absolute surety. 

Gio smiled. 

Well, even he didn't know for certain if that was really the case. Merely, in the past that was once the future, the most widely accepted theory was that one.

"I won't go further. As I was in the process of saying, I only heard about that part. Whether it's true or not… isn't that what you came to investigate?"

It didn't seem like Gio had done much more than recount his experiences and give some additional context, but that was exactly what Raymond needed.

He was looking for someone, anyone, who could give him more insight about why the Hammer was dropped. 

Because that information was being kept away from even high-level investigative authorities.

'A botched experiment, illegal black market chimera trading, the interference of higher powers, and the possibility of "their" interference. As expected, nothing about this is normal.'

Of course, everything Gio said had to be fact-checked somehow, but Raymond was inclined to believe what the child said. His story was too elaborate to be faked by someone of his age. More importantly, the details he spoke of matched the few details of the case that Raymond already knew. 

He had accidentally snatched a survivor of the event itself. There wasn't a more reliable source in existence.

And if the information he gave turned out to be completely true…

'...this child has spoken words worth far more than 50000 Credits.'