Chapter 187 - Upstart

Near the crack of dawn in Raktor, just as the first rays of daylight pierced across the boundless skies in a never-ending streak, two human figures snuck up to a half-completed Seven Snakes apartment construction site. They crept along the sidewalks, keeping close to the temporary grid fencing of the site and observing in, noticing that the work was still going on non-stop, with the night-shift construction workers toiling away.

“Fucking hell, building through the night as well? That’s madness.” One of the figures spoke softly, whispering under his breath as he pulled out a thick pair of wire cutters, checking for an exposed part of the fence to break in while chewing on Euria gum.

“That’s how they got the first apartment building up in just a week. It was only four storeys, but still a feat in itself.” The other replied as he shifted his flat cap to get a better view of the roofs of collapsed buildings around the site, keeping an eye out for any guards or observers while his hands rested on the handle of a hidden handgun inside his jacket.

“Good, means they must be lacking in security. Look.” The first man pointed to an unguarded pile of construction tools – bolt wrenches, screwdrivers and vibration piledrivers. “Those will do just fine.”

“Righto, I’ll give our driver a signal.”

“Wait!” The first man quickly grabbed the second man and pulled him out of view as a Seven Snakes guard patrol was doing their rounds within the site, nearly spotting them beyond the fence. They quickly ducked, avoiding their gaze. “We got three minutes till the next one, I don’t think we can fill up the wagon. Let’s grab what we can, then hit the next site instead.”

“Focus on getting this site done first.”

The two worked in tandem, one keeping a constant watch and ready to fight while the other silently snapped through the fence, matching the cutting sound with the dull thuds of hammers coming from the incessant construction. The first man soon made it inside easily, quickly grabbing two sacks of heavy tools and lugging it over. “Quick, I can’t hold this myself!” He urgently whispered, prompting the second man to alleviate the weight.

As soon as they cleared the fence, they placed the sacks down and slapped a piece of paper over the emblem of the Seven Snakes on the sack. They then took off down the alley at a brisk pace, acting like they belonged.

It wasn’t hard to blend in, as the sound of the morning bell ringing already had thousands of locals moving in and out of the street, each of them carrying their own sacks of only Yual knows what. It would be in this movement that the two would disappear into, easily making their way to the pickup location.

A nondescript arctech wagon was already waiting in place, their third partner, the driver, tapping the wheel impatiently as he smoked a pipe. He spotted the two of them from a distance, quickly readying himself and putting down the pipe. The moment the two got on board, the wagon drove off at a fast pace, rattling towards the end of the South Sector bordering the East.

“What you get?” The driver asked.

“Bunch of tools. Each sack could go for five thousand rakels, minimum.” The first man grinned, checking his spoils. While the tools were fairly basic, they were still arctech equipment, so could sell for a good price, and definitely more than the basic wage the Seven Snakes were paying now.

“Hah! Nice, a month’s work settled! Next site?”

“What you think?” The first man asked the second.

“I’m getting the creeps, and I think its best to lay off the heat for a while. Splitting ten thousand is enough for us to survive a week or so. Lets not rush too much.” The second tapped The driver’s driver seat.

“Aight, you’re the boss.” The driver nodded, driving off to a known location.

As they drove past the throng of workers heading to the hypermall for their daily or contract jobs given by the Seven Snakes, the first man sneered at the exhausted and tired-looking faces. “Idiots. Why work when you could just take? Look at them, slaving away for a meagre sum while those vipers at the top make all the money. I feel like we’re the only sane ones in this area.”

The second man nodded in agreement. “The Seven Snakes started out just like us. Only smart ones like us can rise above the common folk.”

“Damn right.” The driver mumbled.

The wagon drove out of the main Seven Snakes districts into the outlying districts where it was formerly owned by the Red Lions and Wretches. While those gangs had been subsumed by the Ardent Cretins quickly at the start of the war, the peace treaty meant they never gained back their independence and control.

As such, the five districts on the border were basically lawless land, ruled loosely by the main headquarters of the Seven Snakes. No Sanctum enforcers could be seen on the street, but hundreds of thug gangs and upstarts were now trying every day to make a name for themselves. They congregated on the side of the street in the open, loitering and fighting for respect and food.

“Which fencer do we go to now? Same one?” The driver asked.

“Fuck that guy; he nearly burned us the last time and sold us out to the other smugglers.” The first man was clearly angry. “Find another one!”

“There’s one fencer, two junctions ahead, collapsed hotel on the left.” The second pointed straight in front

“You know him?” The driver replied.

“No, but I heard of him from Sam. New in town, though.”

“Sounds like a plant.”

“Or sounds like someone who wants a business relationship. We could be one of the first and get preferential rates.” The second smiled.

The wagon soon came to a halt outside a collapsed hotel, the three of them hauling the sack into a basement where two guards frisked them for weapons. “Handgun, out.” The guard motioned at the second man.

“You must be out of your mind if you want me to remove my gun. I don’t even know your boss.”

“Weapons are not allowed inside. If you want to keep your gun, good luck finding another fencer.” The guard snorted in response.

“You think we can’t find another fencer?” The first man glared at the two guards, squaring up.

[Let them in.]

Entering the room, they were surprised to see that they were not the only ones in the place. In fact, it was far from just being a simple room to sell their ill-gotten gains. There were close to a few dozen others like them, drinking, gambling, and simply hanging out.

“Tony! You finally found this place, huh?” One of the customers draped his arms around the second man, grinning widely. “Best fencer in town, guaranteed. Probably the best anything in this district. Can you feel it?”

“If this is some sort of a resurgence of the Wretches, I’m not going back there, Sam.” Tony squinted his eyes, noticing quite a few of his former mates, though there were a few remnants of the Ilysian Punks and Red Lions in place as well.

“Idiot, this is a new congregation! A new power!” Sam nudged Tony with his elbow. “If the Seven Snakes think they can keep all of us down, they will be dead wrong. Look, they don’t even have enough manpower to stop sloppy thug rackets from happening.”

Tony agreed – it was clear that the Seven Snakes had yet to integrate the district yet fully. This could be an opportunity. He patted Sam on the back, heading with his crew to the back of the room, a fenced window where a towering man stood behind with a pierced nose and smiled at him. The fencer doesn’t look like a local.

“Do I know you?” Tony was wary as his partners lugged the sacks of construction tools over.

“I’ve heard of you. You used to be a big shot in the Wretches.” The fencer smiled.

“You don’t look nor sound like you’re from around here. Tul’e Da’li? The East Sector planning on expanding?”

“And depending on which side you choose, there are profits to be made.”

Tony could see where this was going. “I don’t really have a choice now, do I?”

“Don’t make it sound like you’re forced. You came here of your own accord. Let’s see the goods, and we can talk more after.” The fencer motioned with his hand, prompting them to dump the sack of construction tools on the table.

The fencer leaned over, examining the construction tools. “A few arctech in here as well. This is good, but it won’t fetch that high a price compared to other types. I’ll give you twenty thousand rakels for the lot.”

Tony’s eyes lit up at the high price, his partners nearly unable to control their outward excitement. However, Tony caught himself in place, knowing that if something was too good to be true, it probably was. “What’s the catch?”

“Consider it a first-time bonus of sorts.” The fencer grinned, Tony getting the implications immediately. With such a large power vacuum in the five districts, it would be unnatural for no one to rise up and fill it. Everyone had to answer the question: would the new gang be enough to deter an attack from the Seven Snakes?

“Sam is already in. Most of the people here already are.” The fencer continued. “You could be one of the first movers, cashing in if you want.”

“The Seven Snakes control most of the supplies moving into the South Sector, they could easily starve our districts if they wanted to. We still buy food and other basic essentials from the malls – the locals won’t be happy about being cut off.” Tony countered.

“Looks like Sam was right about you having the brains.” The fencer chuckled. “But the Seven Snakes are not the only ones able to do supplies.”

So the Tul’e Da’li is really moving in. Tony weighed his options on the spot, knowing that he could hardly go neutral. If the major gang of the East Sector were now weighing in, every minor thug racket would eventually be caught between a rock and a hard place. No doubt he would be the same as well.

“Will the Seven Snakes really let this all happen without trying anything? I’m not playing cannon fodder in a proxy war.” Tony replied.

“It’s a free society – do what you want.” The fencer shrugged. “We’re open to you anytime.”

Tony and his crew left first, wanting to make the right decisions. They had just left a war, and Tony was not entirely sure he would want to get involved in a potential conflict again. They shuffled past other squatters and homeless thugs, loitering in the streets. Many kept a clear berth of Tony, recognising him as one of the former top fighters of Tony.

As they walked, Tony’s feet kicked a melted barrel of an arctech rifle, leftover from the conflict. The barrel clattered as it rolled down the street, joining its fellow scrap parts in a nice little pile. The first man squinted as he squatted to pick up the pieces, checking them. “Bah, useless. But hey, there’s loads of war equipment left behind. I heard some thugs got hold of an entire warmachine yesterday.” The first man waggled the melted barrel at Tony.

“Don’t bother, I don’t want to clash with the Tul’e Da’li, especially when we’re still on amicable grounds. They probably have their eyes set on dominating the entire area here before the Seven Snakes really weigh in.” Tony waved his hand dismissively, not stopping.

“Would they really try to move in? That counts as aggression against the Seven Snakes, no? I don’t think we should join them: we’ll be caught up in the fighting again. Plus, I never really liked Sam.” The driver remarked.

The first man nodded, patting Tony on the back. “Look, we can go alone, stay small and make enough cash to live out the rest of our lives in luxury, right? See? Twenty thousand rakels, all in a day’s work. Hell, it’s not even noon yet!”

Tony smiled, returning the pat. “Sure, let's hit the casinos.”

“That’s my boss!” The first man grinned widely.

“Or you could give them rakels over.” A young man suddenly stopped in front of them, flanked by four larger thugs. Tony and his group suddenly found themselves surrounded by more than ten other thugs covering their exit points. The thugs had clearly scavenged war equipment, half-damaged point defence armour and working rifles, frightening the surrounding loiterers and other thugs to scram.

Tony squinted, examining the young man, who had a unique streak of white hair running through the side of his red buzzcut, hands placed on a handgun holstered on his belt. Tony placed his own hand on the handgun in his jacket; his body tensed and ready to move.

Never seen the guy before, new upstart? “You’ve been trailing us since the fencer.” Tony motioned with his chin.

“I’ll trail anybody holding twenty thousand rakels nine in the morning.”

“Do I know you? Because you better know me.”

“Of course, I know you. Tony Hawken, top fighter of the Wretches. Pretty slick shooter too. The rest of your crew, not so much. Maybe Wretches? Red Lions? Who knows how the big boys get around nowadays, acting like the cocks of the town.” The young guy sniggered.

“Then you know not to mess with me.” Tony’s eyes darted around, exchanging looks with his crew. It was clear that they were not going to get out of this unscathed. “I’m dealing with the Tul’e Da’li now, so you better back off if you know what’s good for you.”

The young guy groaned, slapping his forehead with a bandaged left hand. “Ah, of course, everyone should bow and worship the major gangs! Follow the hierarchy! Stay in your place! Of all the things you’ve learnt from the conflict, that’s the only lesson you took away from it?”

In the blink of an eye, the young guy pulled out his handgun, firing right at Tony’s handgun, which was half out of his pocket, sparks flying as the metal was dented. The young guy pulled the trigger two more times, killing Tony’s crew with a single shot each, burning through their heads. “Well, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Tony grimaced as he nursed his wounded hand, the surrounding thugs grappling him to the ground hard, his lips kissing the cold asphalt on the ground. Is this guy crazy? He wants to start a war with everyone in the district – that’s a death sentence.

“You see, the conflict has enlightened me to the true path. In my gang, we are all equal. Only pure violence and sheer strength will get you to the top. Fuck contracts and fuck your ‘laws’ or peace treaty! Kyle didn’t give a shit about the major gangs and rose to the top, so why should I? Why should any of us?”

The tip of the young guy’s metal-capped sole smacked right into Tony’s jaw, his teeth knocked out by the sheer force as he coughed. “Hah, I can see you think I’m crazy for doing this. You think I’m suicidal. But you’re just a dog – all bark no bite, unwilling to do what needs to be done. Well, I’m different.”

A blade entered Tony’s mouth unwillingly, the young man’s bandaged hand somehow far stronger than his jaw, prying it open. “The major gang treats us young men like cannon fodder for their wars while they sit in their ivory towers, the enforcers treat us like scum as they wax lyricals about morals, and the locals treat us like a disease and spurn us!” The young guy spat on Tony’s face.

“Well, it's time for the disease to rise to the top. It’s time for the strong to rule the weak. Fuck the Seven Snakes and the Tul’e Da’Li who try to rule through connections, money and economy – they are weak! I’ll tell you what the new currency is in this city.”

“It’s violence.”