“Yeah, I’ve got more surprises ready now too,” Kingshark said, “Those books were freaky though.”
“They are called horror for a reason, Kingshark,” Ishtar said with a cold smile beh her helmet.
They stopped in front of the door, just like the rest of the building it ainfully nondescript. She Kingshark who kwice before stepping aside. She stood in front of the door and stared at the little hole at eye level, her senses pig up on someone creeping towards the door. When the person stopped and didn’t say anything she frowned a little, Rude, she thought before tilting her head a little and speaking up, “Open the door, Charon.”
The door flew open and a man with pale skin and a mess of hair on his head poked his head out with a panicked look in his dead eyes. “A-are you crazy?” He rasped, “What are you doing here? Why would you say that?”
Ishtar snorted, “Bme yourself for pig a garbage hideout,” She said and owards the humble interior, “Well?”
The zombie ma out a sigh and nodded, gesturing towards the interior, “Mi casa and all that shit, I guess,” He mumbled.
“Thank you, we won’t be long I don’t think,” She said pleasantly and walked past him, gng around the interior as Kingshark positioned himself outside the door, crossing his arms and watg for anyone who might e snooping around. Ishtar took it all in, the simple cloth covered couch, the boxy fts television, the scattered remnants of various old meals, the air of exhaustion and struggle. She couldn’t help herself, “It reminds me of simpler times,” Ishtar said softly, though her voice still came out with that creepy rasp.
“You uh… you used to live in an apartment?” The zombie said, ambling in and throwing himself down into his couch.
Ishtar shrugged, “It was another life.”
“I hear that,” He said and crossed his arms, “You found me.”
“Yes I did,” Ishtar said with a nod, “You piqued my i, I came to do business.”
The zombie rubbed his ned scratched his hair, he let out a grumbling sigh a his arms on his knees. “I dunno dy, st time someone came in saying they wao do business with me they tried to bckmail me. They ended up as one of my drivers,” He said with a frown, looking up to meet her gaze. “Why don’t you tell me who you are, first, yeah? That’s Kingshark out there, right? The big boss of the vilins in New York? And you’ve got him standing guard.”
“You have the right of it,” Ishtar said.
He frowned harder, “So what the fuck does that make you?”
“You’re surprisingly casual despite your situation,” Ishtar ented.
“Is that a threat?” He ughed, “Look dy, I literally ot die. I could probably be atomized and still e back,” He said. “I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but the fear of death don’t bother me and pain is pretty muted so don’t bother.”
“Not a threat, simply an observation. I appreciate you divulging that detail about your power, I was very curious,” Ishtar said aured to a spot on the opposite side of the couch, “May I?”
“As soon as you introduce yourself,” He repeated.
She smiled, “I like you,” She rasped and nodded, “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Charon. I am Ishtar, the first supervilin. You could say that I am Kingshark’s boss.”
Charon raised his eyebrows, “Huh! So the head bit charge shows her face, the spiracy theories are true,” He nodded and pursed his lips in approval, “Cool stuff dy, yeah, have a seat on my shitty sofa.”
Ishtar slipped into the spot and crossed her legs, “So your st would-be ior tried to bckmail you?” She asked.
“Yeah, he covered for me a little whe a me hide my zombies in his ste room,” umbled, scratg his neck, “He was the only person in the plex who realized I’m the one trolling them. He came in here and told me he’d report me to the police if I didn’t give him a stake in what I’m aiming to do. So I had my dog bite him.”
“Dog?” Ishtar asked, gng around.
“Well, hound,” He said tentatively, “My zombie virus power thing works on monsters as well.”
She raised her eyebrows. It has to be a mythic tier ability, no doubt in my mind.
“Very iing, well I assure you I have no i in trolling your business,” She said, “Though I would like to i a little and help it grow if you’re ied. I also have a few suggestions for you that you take or leave at your discretion.”
“Awfully nice, you got a reason?” Charon asked.
“My goal is to see the vilins grow for my own personal purposes and pns. Someone like you, another avenue of support for the vilins out there, is very valuable to me. I want to see you flourish just like any other vilin, more so actually. Because you have the potential to do something that I ot,” She expined.
He furrowed his brows, nodding a little before leaning forward a bit, suddenly a bit more ied, “Aight, I’ll bite, what ’t the Queen of the Bad Guys do?”
“Sell product. I am preparing to design and produce ons and gear for vilins out there but I need someoo let them know that the service is avaible. More importantly, I need someoo hahe transas as a ral third party. They pce the order with you and you direct it to me. You have the potential to start a thriving bck market and even an information bre with a little bit of work.” She eborated, gesturing dismissively.
He pursed his lips together and looked down at his hands for a moment, furrowing his brows. “Y-yeah, with my zombies I don’t even have to be present. I could have shops all over the pot only driving people around, but… all sorts of things. Holy shit, that’s a great idea!” He rubbed his neck, “Not gonna lie, I’ve been kind of winging it. I took a few payments with a debit card and I’m just now realizing that’s probably not a good idea.”
Ishtar stared at him, With a debit card? Is he insane? No, he’s just… a normal guy. She gnced around the room and looked him over a sed time. Just an ordinary guy with araordinary ability, his demeanor is so disarming that even I feel fortable enough to speak freely. Is it a talent or a detriment?
She shook her head and he grimaced, “Yeah, I know, feds track that stuff. But even cash is trackable and it's hard to deposit since, you know, I’m dead.”
Ishtar nodded, “Quite right, which is why I have something that might work on my person. It was made by a friend and I io make more,” She said and slipped her hand into her pocket. She plucked out the tiny objed held it out to him.
He blinked and looked it over, “Is that a ? What’s it made out of?”
“Mana crystal, from a dungeon, charged with a particur frequenake it impossible to terfeit,” She said and pced it in his hand.
He held it and tilted his head, his expression ptive for a moment. He looked up at her for a moment and then down at the , rubbing it between his fingers. “It feels like it’s buzzing.”
“You feel the frequency?” She asked.
He shrugged, “I guess,” He said, “It’s uh… weird. So you want to make an internal currency?”
“You’re familiar with the idea?” She asked.
“Lady, my first job before w taxis was at a lumber mill,” He said with a frown, “It wasn’t long but I’m pretty familiar with internal currehey’re exploitative as fuck, but…” He rubbed his and squinted down at the , “...but it’s a good idea for this. How are you going to get it to vilins?”
“Mass produce them and distribute them initially through Kingshark’s gangs across the try. Then I’m hoping that at the shops I help you set up, you’ll post jobs I have in mind as well as s for loans of the currency,” Ishtar expined, “My ability allows me to receive payments discretely ahe terms fairly. A vilin will take a loan out with an appropriate return payment offered and pay you initially for my services. They’ll receive goods and use them to plete the jobs on offer or pay you for your business. You do well, and I will support you as well with your efforts being the payment.”
“Still feels like I’m w for you,” He said.
“You’re providing me a service,” Ishtar tered, “If you want to feel like we are equals in the business deal, grow powerful enough so you don’t feel unfortable sittio me.”
He bliaken aback by her statement. Not a surprise, it was a direct challeer all. His ability isn’t just mythic tier, it’s peak mythic tier, it’s monstrous and most certainly on a simir level to the Herald’s powers and Broker. It’d be the highest insult to not treat him as such.
He mulled it over, “There’s more to this whole thing, isn’t there?” He asked.
She nodded, “I’m w on it, the currency will evolve if everything works out.”
“I see,” He nodded and scratched his neck, “You got a deal, Ishtar. Let’s see how this goes, if I feel like I’m getting screwed over I’m out, no questions asked.”
She held out her hand, “No questions asked,” She said with a broad smile.
Analyze.
Welp, nobody wo. Bckrazer will be disappointed, he was so fident.
Proceed.
It was the most plicated deal she had made with a shake of her hand rather than a paper trad the feeling from Broker reflected that. She would have suggested writing something up, but she khat the moment she left this pce without a deal, Charon would be in the wind. It was either settle up now or lose the opportunity until she found him again and the reception the sed time around would be a lot less friendly.
She o him as he looked in fusion at his fingers, “The deal has been struck.”
He looked up at her, “What was that? I felt a tingle for a sed.”
He is very sensitive to mana.
“My ability allows me to make deals,” She said, “I made reement binding, temporarily, for both sides. It will hold me to the agreement just as it will hold you. I’m not sure what the sequences of failure will be beyond the other party suddenly knowing that the deal has been brokeher through negligence or scious a.”
He nodded slowly, staring at his fingers, “You said it holds you to it as well?” He pressed.
“Yes,” Ishtar said with a nod.
“Then I got no problems,” He said with a grin, “What do we do first?”
She got to her feet, “Get you into a proper fug ir,” She said with a chuckle, “And into some clothes that fit your new role, Charon, Ferryman of the Vilins.”
He smirked, “You got it, huh?”
“Of course I did, I’m pretty familiar with mythology,” She said and turned away, “Are you ing?”
He hesitated, “Let me just grab a few things real quick!” He called after her and she walked outside without another word.
Wheepped into the thick mist that Kingshark was creating she gnced up at the Supervilin who raised an eyebrow at her, “Why didn’t you just force him to join up? Sounds like he’d be good for the gang.”
“You’d think, but a Queen does not own every business in her domain, no matter what she fools herself into thinking. It is much better to build a friendly w retionship with these ral businesses and support them rather than wainst them,” Ishtar expined, “There o be ral actors or there will be a perception of dictatorship.”
“Isn’t it a dictatorship?” Kingshark asked.
She chuckled, “Yes, but they don’t have to know that.”
He grinned, “So what’s ?”
“Get Charo up,” She said with a breath, “Supply him with what he needs and we’ll o figure out a way to increase the numbers of his zombies without pressing toainst his morals. I have a feeling he does not actually enjoy the act of killing,” Ishtar said, “So we’ll have to py that carefully.”
“After that, I want you to inform your men in Vegas that I will be ing soon and they will o be ready for what I have pnned,” She said, “You o remain here as I said before, secure the home front and tinue expanding.”
“Yonna deal with that lightning guy?” Kingshark asked.
“Yes, and I don’t want you anywhere near him,” She said.
He nodded, “I’ve pyed enough games to know it's a bad match up,” He said gruffly.
“How are things overseas?” She asked.
“I’ve got a foothold in London and Vehanks to that dy you introduced me to,” He grunted, “Tokyo, Cape Town, Mexico City, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and a few other pces. It’s just a start though, I gotta be careful or my boys will be pushed out before we’re set up.”
Ishtar nodded, “Excellent work as always, you’re a natural, Kingshark. You make me feel like a proud mother.”
He grinned even more broadly than before, rubbing the back of his neck, “Thanks boss.”
The door opened behind them, the two turo look at Charon who was lugging a heavy looking backpad duffle bag. “Just gotta get my zombies and I’ll be good to go.”
“How many do you have?” Ishtar asked.
He grinned, “A few.”