Broker

Chapter 178

The two fighters stared one another down from across the enormous room. The chamber, if you could even call it that, was a oval-shaped space with a hard concrete floor and a solid dome of the same material covering it. Etchings across the surface of the dome and floor glowed faintly even in the persistent light that did not seem to have a notable source. Throughout the area were structures, cubes of concrete, and metal obstacles that added a measure of challenge to any engagement that took place in the building. 

The first of the two combatants was a man in his late twenties with a lanky frame and a shock of hair that had once been dark but had since turned a ruddy silver. He stood with his hands to his sides, his fingers twitching now and then as he sized his opponent up. He wore a simple set of comfortable fighting robes with his wrists bound up tightly, his legs were as well but the binding stopped just above his exposed ankles and bare feet.

His opponent was a steely eyed woman with gray eyes that smoldered with a red-purple glow. She appeared to be younger than the man but not by much. Her hair was long and straight, hanging loosely around her shoulders. It too had turned a whitish color but it was closer to the look of spent charcoal rather than his that appeared to be more from age or stress. Unlike her opponent, she wore her fighting robes loosely with her sleeves hanging comfortably around her hands in which she held a long black-bladed chinese sword.

The man was the first to make a move, a manic smile stretching across his face as he took a step forward. A faint whistle accompanied his movement and he vanished, reappearing behind her an instant later with his fist raised and his leg coming up to collide with her chin. She didn’t so much as move from her spot, seemingly oblivious to his strike as she raised her weapon up and to the left. Even so, as his foot reached her he found that it was caught by her elbow and his trajectory pushed off. His body tilted in the air as she twisted her sword slightly in her grip, catching his incoming fist and deflecting it as well. She let his strike slide across her blade as she turned fully to face him only for that whistle to sound, heralding his disappearance once again.

“Faster,” she demanded as he reappeared, once again aiming for a blind spot. His manic smile was gone, replaced with an expression of absolute focus. He kicked at her head again and she effortlessly deflected it, turning to swing at him as he tried to pivot in the air by twisting his entire body. She nearly caught him across the abdomen when that whistle once more sounded and he vanished, reappearing back at his starting position. She lowered her weapon, “Is that all, Ellis?”

“I think we’ve memorized one another’s habits at this point, Kant,” Sir Ellis said with a chuckle, putting his hands on his hips and tapping his foot a few times. He glanced down at it and frowned.

“Does it still hurt?” she asked.

“It’s no big deal,” he said with a shrug.

“Getting your leg bones replaced doesn’t sound like ‘no big deal’ to me,” Kant said and sheathed her weapon. “You better not choke when the time comes. A little ankle pain is not a good enough excuse.”

He frowned at her, “I said I’m fine,” he growled, “Don’t test me.”

“Say that when you can actually land a hit,” Kant said.

“Ladies, please!” a merry voice chimed in on their conversation, “You’re both pretty.”

The two of them turned to see a man in a dapper looking suit walking towards them. He was rail thin with a mess of brown hair hanging down just past his eyebrows. His eyes glowed like molten lava, blazing so brightly one could feel the heat coming off of them. He walked with an unerring confidence that did not match his visually frail frame. Both of them stiffened at his approach, Ellis in particular shifting a bit on his feet and trying not to meet the man’s gaze. He came to a stop in front of them and they had to force themselves not to take an involuntary step back. 

“Craftsman,” Kant said and bowed once to him. She brushed her hair back a bit to hide the sweat that dripped down her temple, “This is an unexpected visit.”

Craftsman turned his eyes directly on her and she averted her gaze. The man had played the role of a useful if unassuming lackey to Liberty up until the botched raid on the East Coast Camp. Shortly after that point, Liberty had leaned into his expertise more and more as well as raising him up as a de-facto left hand to Philip’s right as far as the rest of the cult was concerned. No one dared point out that he didn’t buy into their beliefs for a moment. After all, the presence the man gave off now was not of some feckless scientist without an ounce of combat power. It felt like standing beneath a pile of enormous logs set ablaze. Heavy, stifling, and hot enough to burn if he wanted.

“I was in the area,” Craftsman said casually. “Her worship is calling for you. She’s already sent the others on their way.”

Ellis flashed his teeth at the man despite his trepidation, “Watch how you speak about her, boffin.”

Craftsman raised his chin and sneered down at Ellis, “How do your legs feel, Ellis? Do you need a tune up? I’d be happy to take you apart again if you’d like. We can take our time together,” he said, the hungry tone of his voice tripping with dark promise. Ellis looked away again and closed his mouth. “I thought so,” Craftsman said with a laugh before turning to Kant, “Do you have something on your mind, Kant?”

Kant lowered her gaze, pushing the dark emotions down into her core even as a chill ran up her spine. “No.”

“Great!” Craftsman said delightedly, clapping his hands, “Now let’s be off, yeah? Halloway is outside.”

–

Stella Hanks, Liberty, was a mountain of a woman, now standing nearly seven feet tall with an inviolable aura that overshadowed all who she surveyed. Her long blonde hair hung neatly around her head in a perfect wave that looked almost artificial at first sight. Her eyes that had once been a faint glowing blue now gleamed so brightly they partially illuminated her face. She wore a suit of armor that shone like silver in the afternoon sun, numerous engravings on its surface radiating an inner yellow-gold light that somehow added to the oppressive air that hung around her. 

Those engravings, of course, were a facade. They hid the truly important engravings on the inner side of her armor that amplified her powers in conjunction with her sword. Her armored fingers wrapped around the handle of the massive blade, improved once more from the original version created for her by Craftsman. She stood straight and tall, unmoving as she watched from her position on a paved platform overlooking a fast-moving portion of the Mississippi river.

Her eyes panned to the right and she looked down at Philip who stood next to her, leaning against the rail with a contemplative expression on his face. He had been brooding ever since returning from his trip to ‘congratulate’ his sister on her graduation into becoming a hero. She’d given him permission to go despite personally finding the matter to be a waste of time. Jessica was no longer a member of the cult and held no more relevance in the world that Liberty intended to create than a cockroach. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Despite him being somehow cowed by his sister during his trip, it had not come without some side-benefits to Liberty. He was suffering from a similar partial memory loss that Halloway had experienced during the raid, adding credence to Halloway’s excuses concerning the origin of the document he had brought to her. The file had been large and carefully written, a manual for expanding the influence of her cult and strengthening herself in preparation for the coming war. It had even included methods by which she could unlock the hidden functions and instincts of her ability, as if the person who wrote it knew her powers better than she did.

She wanted very badly to know who the author was but was now under the assumption that she might not even remember even if she’d met him before. The thought irritated her to no small degree, but such was the way of things in a world rife with strange and mysterious powers.

“Are you going to continue to brood?” she asked him cooly.

He glanced up at her and met her gaze. Unlike the others, he didn’t flinch. “No ma’am,” he said flatly, “Just appreciating the water.”

“Liar,” she said before turning back to the rapids, “You will have your opportunity. Despite the outcome of your trip, you, unlike the others, have yet to disappoint me. Philip.”

He huffed out a breath and stood up straight, his fingers curling around the railing. You forget about my humiliation by Ishtar a little too easily, Stella. In a flash it was coated in a thin layer of frost that quickly gave off a faint mist as it evaporated under direct sunlight. “I’m not concerned,” he said, “My abilities were locked behind the cuffs when I went. When the time comes I will deal with her quickly.”

“You won’t punish her?” Liberty asked, “Curious coming from you.”

“When we confront one another, I have a feeling I will have higher priorities than disciplining her,” he said, his tone bland as he ran his thumb over the rail, “Wasting my time on her would be no better than the showboating during the raid. I will skewer her and leave her to hang for her ‘friends’. She is beneath me.”

Liberty nodded with approval, “Good. I’m glad to see you came out of that experience with a better mindset.”

He glanced her way, “May I speak freely, ma’am?” He asked, getting a nod from her as she looked back to the water. “After you read that document, you changed. I don’t mind it. But it makes me wonder.”

She met his gaze for a moment, searching his face before shrugging her shoulders. “I had intended to dismiss that document out of hand at first. It offended me that someone would suggest they knew me better than I knew myself.”

“What changed your mind?” he asked.

“The opening paragraph was the most accurate description of the inner functions of my ability I’d ever seen. Our spies tell me that the Committee only knows the bare bones but that document…” she trailed off, “...it knew things that I have not shared with anyone. Given that information has not been disseminated even after the document was given to me says that the person who wrote it has an agenda that includes my success.”

“Don’t you resent being shepherded like that?” he asked.

“I am under no obligation to follow the words in it to the letter, and I will not, while most of the advice is sound, some of it I find unpalatable,” she said with a sneer, “It is a tool, nothing more.”

He seemed to contemplate her words for a moment before nodding, “I understand,” he said just as a rush of air and mana behind them drew their attention. A tear in space ripped through the air where they looked and pulled itself apart as if the very fabric of reality had been given a grievous wound. Red lightning danced on the surface of the opening for a moment before it stabilized and four figures stepped out. Ellis and Kant entered first, glancing around at their destination before spotting her and dropping to a knee. 

Behind them came Craftsman with that same irritatingly smug smile on his face and another man with long black hair and a carefully trimmed goatee. The man wore an immaculate black and red suit that fitted his athletic body perfectly. He joined the other two in scanning their surroundings before moving to join Ellis and Kant in a respectful line. Craftsman walked past the trio without a care in the world, humming to himself before he stopped next to Liberty and shot her a glance, “How’s the fit?”

“The adjustments you made were good,” she said by way of a compliment, “You’ve served me well.”

“I aim to please,” he said with a chuckle before turning to look at the trio with her. “They seem happy with their new toys as well.”

She glanced his way, watching how he fixated on Ellis with an expression that caused her guts to roil in disgust. “They are my round table, not fresh corpses to root around in, Craftsman.”

“Sure sure, we’ll see,” Craftsman said without turning to look at her, “Just keep your end up and I’ll play nice.”

“You call cutting one of my favorites open ‘playing nice’?” she asked.

He turned to meet her gaze again, his smile growing cruel, “Yes.”

She scoffed and looked to the newly arrived members of her round table, “Rise,” she commanded and they obeyed immediately. She gestured to her right, past Craftsman, and made a beckoning motion. A moment later a pair of men in cult masks walked over, dragging another man with a blindfold over his eyes to where she stood. He was covered in bruises and cuts, both of his arms bent the wrong way and one leg limp beneath him. He let out a low groan of pain as he lay there on the ground. She scowled down at him and clicked her tongue before reaching for his shirt and grabbing it, pulling him to his feet and waving the two cultists off.

“This insignificant cretin calls himself Renegade, a so-called ‘villain’,” she said and with quick motion grabbed his blindfold and pulled it off, tossing it to the ground. The disheveled man blinked several times, squinting his eyes against the sunlight before looking up into her face and going deathly pale as he met her eyes. “He was caught attempting to plant bombs in the main compound,” she explained before turning and holding him with one arm over the rapids below. He let out a gasp of terror as he hung over the fast-moving water.

Renegade turned his head towards her, “P-please! I told you everything! Heal me! You promised!”

She let him go and he fell into the water with a noisy splash. “Ishtar has issued a bounty on you, my round table, as well as hard targets such as our important buildings, infrastructure, and holdings.”

Halloway was the first to speak, “Will you use the other half of your ability?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Liberty said before her perpetual scowl twisted into a horrible rictus of a smile, “Let’s focus on something more palatable,” she turned back to her Round Table, “We are moving forward on the Seattle plan. Are you ready to reveal your reforged selves?”

Ellis, Kant, and Halloway all bowed their heads as one, “Strength from Liberty. We will bring them to their knees.”

She raised her head high, “Strength from Liberty indeed.”

–

Liberty sat alone, staring into the gloom of the room that had started to look less and less like a temple and more like an audience chamber for a monarch. She leaned forward in the throne of polished metal, her sword resting against her knee. She adjusted her grip and scowled as her thoughts churned over. She could feel her connection to the locations she had declared as her dominion, the presences inside of them, their growing sense of veneration giving her strength. Minutes ticked by until, for one of the locations, a threshold was reached.

I never thought I would be put into a position where I had to use this function, she thought, her instincts guiding her through the process of guiding the improvements to the location. Increasing their physical capabilities and the potency of their abilities isn’t necessary. 

She sighed, No one needs to know.

“Vouchsafe my People,” she intoned and she felt the power seep into her bones before seeming to scatter. If it weren’t for her connection to the place she would have assumed that the ability had failed. She knew that the walls of the buildings in that distant compound had grown stronger, the very air becoming heavy for those who entered uninvited. It would take a force of terrible power to breach her defenses, especially once she gave them time to build up.

You know too much, Ishtar, she thought as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She flipped through the mysterious document-the ‘guide’-again before closing it. It’s time to make my own statement.