Greed God chapter 183

April 4th 2016 Brightedge City, Warehouse District, 7:00 PM EDT

Since  we didn't want to stand around for an hour while we talked, I had Amy  create a pair of amethyst chairs for the two of us. Her constructs were  temporary unless she used real amethyst as a base, but even the energy  versions could last quite a while if she pumped in enough power. They  weren't excessively COMFORTABLE mind you, but they were an improvement  of standing or sitting on bloody concrete.

"So." I said  easily, leaning back in my chair. "I'm interested in working with the  Court to regain control over the city. I assume you have some sort of  plan for that? Because the Justice League WILL be coming back soon. If  we don't have our hooks in then we're going to have to deal with  Superman and Batman both on a regular basis." I didn't mention the Team,  I wanted to manage the Court's reaction to them as best I could. Them  getting murdered would bring way too much heat, and the Court were  exactly the kind of tryhard idiots to pop a few sidekicks thinking they  were so superior it wouldn't matter.

Letting the court  feel involved would help keep them from going off and doing some dumb  shit on their own that would get me killed, so I'd pretend to give a  fuck about their plans. Plus if they came up with something useful I  could co-opt it for myself.

Silver bit her lip, looking  unsure. "I...I suppose if we'll be working together there's no harm in  sharing." Translation: 'If I don't tell you you're going to kill me and I  don't want to die'. But I didn't mind some rationalizing if I got my  information. Despite saying she would tell, it took her a minute or two  to actually work up the nerve to speak, but she finally blurted out.  "The Court is planning a summit! We want to invite the major players  from Metropolis and Gotham to discuss the allocation of power before the  newcomers seize too much of it."

That...that wasn't a bad  idea. Getting everyone in Brightedge spun up with hometown pride would  probably smooth over anyone's path to taking the city. I nodded  thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Who is going to be attending this  summit specifically?" I had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be anyone  too powerful. The Court were bullies, they would undoubtedly want to put  pressure on anyone who showed up, then use the cohesive force they  cobbled together that way to roll up more of the local powers until they  had everyone under their thumb.

Silver looked a bit  reluctant to share, which made me pretty confident my guess was right.  "Intergang, the Falcones, the Maronis, and a few smaller organizations  from both cities." So normal mobsters and randoms with no real muscle.  As expected, the Court liked to pretend to have a big swinging dick  while they bullied the small and the weak.

I chuckled.  "Well, that's certainly not going to be enough. I can help. I have  connections with Tamlin the Falconer, who runs things for the fae in the  undercity. Penguin is on my contact list too. Not to mention Lady  Shiva. We'll make this a grand event, invite everyone regularly active  in the city for a sit down. The Court is right, we can't just let the  newcomers pick the flesh from our bones can we?"

Making it  sound like their idea would be a sop to their ego, but between me,  Tamlin, Penguin, my girls, and Waylon, we should be more than up to  keeping a lid on whoever showed up. Getting everyone in one place would  make it much easier to seize power too. Of course, that was for me,  blowing things up to this extent would functionally invalidate the Court  as a viable candidate for leadership, their Talons were tough, but only  for normal humans.

Silver knew it too, and I saw her lips  twist in displeasure, but she was smart enough not to actually say  anything about it. I was more and more impressed with her as the night  went on. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "I will of course pass on your  comments to the Court. I'm sure they would be ecstatic to work with you,  Mr. Mammon." She cast an uneasy glance around at the meat slurry that  used to be her undead minions. "You certainly seem...efficient."

"Thank  you." I said simply. It wouldn't hurt to remind her what I was capable  of. Before we settled the meeting details though, I had to find out more  about what they knew. "I am curious though." I carefully chose my  words. "Exactly what the Court may have noticed about the new city and  the players that have been flooding in. I suspect the major powers are  waiting for everything to settle a bit with the locals before moving in,  but there must be some inflow."

Obviously more  comfortable talking about a more expected topic, Silver relaxed  slightly. "Ah, of course. We've been carefully monitoring most of our  old channels. Some are now invalid, but at least a few still work. It  seems there is something of an influx of low to mid level criminals at  the moment. Most are being rolled up into existing gangs as muscle, but  there are more than a few independent operators hoping to make a name  for themselves in the novel environment."

Which meant they  either didn't know about the Team, or didn't think I knew about the  Team and didn't want to tip me off. My mask would insulate Mammon and  Nick from each other, making it more difficult to connect me to Donna  and Cassie when they arrived, but I'd still need to be careful. It  wasn't foolproof at only E rank, and this state of affairs was too  convenient to pass up. In fact...

"I have an idea." I said  casually. "I work with a local businessman. Nick Lord. While the Court  is usually Gotham exclusive, he was operating in town for a while before  the cities fused. I can't be bothered to spend my time liasing with the  lot of you. I propose Nick joins your organization as my  representative." The mask would make it impossible for her to connect us  as a baseline human, plus she hadn't seen me in years, so I wasn't  worried about tipping my hand.

Working this way would let  me take over the Court more easily. Internal and external pressure both.  Mammon would have to seize it by force, but with the right moves Nick  could snatch up the leadership positions in the Court through  'legitimate' means, and none of them would be any the wiser.

Despite  my perfect bodily control, I still had to actively try to suppress my  laughter at he horrified look on Silver's face. She opened her mouth a  few times, clearly fighting with herself about whether to complain to  the superpowerful murder machine. Eventually though, she just sighed.  "I'll...pass on the message. I'm sure Mr. Lord will be most welcome  among our number. He comes from an excellent family who we've done  business with on more than a few occasions."

I  nodded solemnly, trying not to let my smirk enter my voice. "Very well.  I trust we'll have an excellent cooperation Miss. St Cloud." I stood  from my chair. "Now, I have another meeting. If you need to get in touch  reach out to Miss. Gordon. I met her through Nick, and she seems like a  competent and driven young lady. She'll make an excellent point of  contact going forward." That would also give an explanation for why the  commissioners daughter was working for me. My civilian identity was rich  and influential enough that it wouldn't be strange for him to know  Barbie.

Sure  enough, Silver didn't bat an eye, simply standing and curtsying low  enough to show plenty of cleavage. With a flick of her wrist Amy  dispersed the chairs and the two of us turned to leave. Once we were  outside, she let out an annoyed sigh. "You know, trying to keep all  these secret identities straight is annoying. You're plenty strong  enough to defend us if some criminal scum want to try to harm any of our  people. Why not just show up in your civilian identity?"

I  sighed. "I considered it. But I think I got too used to operating with  impunity in Gemworld. If I don't get back in the habit of subtlety I'm  going to get swatted like a fly." We were both being careful not to say  anythign that directly linked Nick and Mammon. Discussing my civilian  identity was fine, since everyone with a mask had one, but we weren't  saying anything specific enough that an eavesdropper could make the link  between them directly. The mask could only do so much. If I just  straight up said 'Nick and Mammon are the same person' and someone heard  me, they would figure it out.

Amy  had a point though. Keeping all the lies and who knew what straight was  getting to be a hassle. once I unified the city I was pretty sure it  was time to retire Mammon. I'd let Nick take over the Court and use  Tamlin to strongarm everyone else into falling in line with them like  old times. Actually I might let Silver run things, at least on the  surface. Provide a layer of protection in case the Court caught Batman's  eye when he got back.

As  we headed back for the car, I heard a shift in the air off to one side.  Reaching out I snagged Amy by the waist and and pulled her to the side  as a pair of arrows thunked into the side of a shipping container,  discharging a large amount of electricity into the crackling metal. I  rolled my eyes, turning to look at the person who fired the shot.  "Rude." I said matter of factly.

While  Nightwing had managed to lie in wait where I couldn't detect him, this  person was A, not as good, and B actively attacking me. Nightwing had  stayed out of range, but trying to shoot someone with an arrow when I  was nearby was a fantasy if I didn't want it to happen. The blonde in  the tight red outfit glared at me, drawing another arrow. "I'll show you  rude!"

With a  sigh, the second figure I had already sensed behind the container next  to her stepped out, putting a hand on her shoulder. Another, older  blonde. A familiar one, despite the green costume. Artemis. "Enough,  Arrowette. We aren't here to bring him in. We don't have anything on him  even if we were strong enough. Meeting with THOSE people isn't illegal,  even if it's in poor taste." She gave me a nod. "Mammon. Good to see  you."

It took  me a second to remember Artemis knew me in my mask because I had  retrieved Roy. Who I actually hadn't seen since I got back. I'd told him  he could come back to the Palace while I was gone, but since he hadn't  been around I guessed he'd gone his own way. I wasn't that bothered, but  I'd have to track the kid down. He was an asset I'd put points into. No  use wasting him.

"Artemis."  I said casually. "Something I can help you with?" Seemed Nightwing had  been serious about trying to get the city under control. Having Artemis  contact Mammon was a decent idea. I'd been plenty active last night, so  they would know I was around. Thank the gods for my mask, or even an  idiot would notice the timelines.

She  smiled tightly. "We're here to extend an invitation for a meeting." She  raised an eyebrow. "The Team knew you and I had met so they asked me to make  contact. " She glanced at Amy. "We expected you to be alone, but we're  open to making new friends too. So what do you think? You interested in a  face to face with some of the Justice League?" Well now. How the hell  could I pass that up.