Broker

Chapter 254

Sonya spent a little time chatting with some of the members of her Inner Circle before sending them off to explore the ship and set themselves up. She made sure to tell them to maintain their public persona’s while on the ship and keep their power usage to a minimum. For all the world, they would appear as a party of wealthy friends she’d brought onto her ship for her world tour. Which wasn’t too far from the truth. 

She watched Blight, Charon and Tenebra leave and glanced to the right towards the last remaining party. Beyol stood in his usual stoic silence, his cold eyes fixed on her. Her eyes drifted past his face towards the other two with him. The big man with scars and the tan woman with yellow eyes. She looked back to Beyol and turned fully to face them, her arms behind her back. “Are you going to introduce me?”

Beyol stepped forward and raised his hand to his heart before bowing at the waist, the other two followed suit, replicating his poise. “Headmaster Blackrazor greets the Mistress. This is Provost Maler and First Dean Chamak. They are my immediate subordinates in the Night Society.”

She tilted her chin up. “You rarely introduce me to your people, dear.”

Beyol kept his eyes on the ground, his bow solid. “This operation goes beyond the scope of any previous one, and I believe it is the opening move of your greater plan. As such, I have decided to leave nothing to chance.”

Her eyes flashed. “I’m pleased with your decisiveness, Blackrazor. You three may relax,” she said, her chest swelling with approval. She turned her mechanical eyes towards the other two. “Maler and Chamak, Painter and Shine. As I understand it, the leadership are all specialists. Tell me what you bring to the table.”

The three of them stood up straight and the gruff looking man stepped forward. “My ability is Color Theory, Mistress,” he said in a deep chest rattling voice, his eyes glimmered with rainbow lights. “Paint and other applications of color, when handled by me, gain various effects. I am Heroic-tier,” his grim face turned a bit wicked. “As for my specialty, I craft Serial Killers.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You craft them?”

“Yes, Mistress,” he rumbled. “I perform elaborate ritualistic killings according to a methodology I design. This is in order to conceal the primary target or create circumstances that will lead my target to exposing themselves. I design my killers around a particular individual in order for them to ultimately take the fall once the crimes are ‘solved’,” he explained. He didn’t even blink as he laid out his style of killing.

The Night Society truly is built different, Sonya thought with a raised eyebrow. “Nefarious. It’s a pleasure to meet a skilled planner like yourself,” she said and extended her hand for him to shake. He took it with a nod.

<You have acquired the Product: Color Theory>

She turned to the woman. “And you are?”

“Chamak, Mistress,” she said with a sweet smile that was laced with ice. “I perform magic utilizing yellow light, Citrine,” she said and Sonya had to restrain herself from grabbing the woman’s hand. Chamak inclined her head. “My ability is most proficient in illusion and the warping of perspective. As an Assassin, I am most proficient in corporate aggression and sabotage leading into hostile takeovers concealed as simple business. I am also adept at creating nuanced shell companies.”

Sonya’s brows rose even higher and she looked at Beyol. “You brought out the big guns, didn’t you?”

“All is for your success, Mistress,” Beyol said with a stoic nod.

She barked out a laugh. “Your loyalty never ceases to astound me!” She extended a hand to Chamak. “Well met.”

The woman took her hand delicately. “It is an honor to meet you face to face,” she said before adding. “I hope this does not come across as sycophantic, but knowing it is you behind the mask of Ishtar is nothing short of revolutionary. I feel like I am a student standing before a grandmaster of my own craft.”

I like this one, Sonya thought with a smirk before analyzing her as well.

<You have acquired the Product: Citrine Sorceress>

She let the woman’s hand go. “You and I will have opportunities to talk, I’m sure,” she said before gesturing to the door. “Why don’t you all relax for a while. Enjoy the sun. It’s quite nice, even this time of year.”

The three of them bowed again before making their way out. Sonya watched them go until the door shut, leaving her alone. Her lips curled up into a smile and she held out her hand, a sparkling sphere of yellow light appearing over her palm as she drew Citrine Sorceress from her warehouse. And there’s another one for the collection. Four of seven I’m assuming. I should make arrangements to run into Mimir’s little friend soon so I can grab hers. 

–

The Idol of Venus pulled into view of Sydney Harbor just a day later, taking a leisurely course around the southern part of Australia while Sonya’s people settled in on the ship. She spent that time working out her plans for testing the Australian heroes and deciding which one she would pick for her sponsorship. She stood at the window of her office on the ship and peered out towards the city beyond while Ishtar reclined in the office chair behind her.

“You really don’t think there are enough high-level heroes?” Ishtar asked.

Sonya shook her head. “I’ve pushed the balance towards the villains a little too hard during my blue period,” she said with a small smirk.

“Blue period!” Ishtar laughed. “Not a bad name for it. You say that, but you’re also orchestrating all those dungeon raids.”

“That’s just to get the heroes motivated,” Sonya said. “There needs to be a balance between their attention to the villains and the dungeons.”

“You aren’t giving them a chance to see one another as enemies,” Ishtar nodded.

“Right,” Sonya said. “The trick here is not creating any one villain or group that could start a war like Liberty or Otis in the past.”

“Erebus.”

Sonya nodded. “He’s gotten a little too big for his britches,” she said thoughtfully. “I could leverage him with the soul contract to get him to calm down, but that would create antagonism between us. He’s a smart man, he’ll look for loopholes and find ways to undermine me if I do that,” she turned back to Ishtar. “Anything interesting on the news?”

Ishtar turned the computer and tapped a few keys before pulling back. “Have a look.”

An anchor appeared on the screen next to a box that said ‘Villains on the Move?’ in big red letters. She glanced at the collar of his shirt and the inconspicuous pin on his lapel. Sonya smirked and the man started talking. “Numerous reports around the globe have surfaced of active villains going dark or being spotted in population centers outside of their usual territory. A reliable source connected with the villains has indicated that a bounty has been issued by Ishtar on dungeons worldwide.”

Sonya snickered. “Anonymous source my ass.”

Ishtar laughed. “Your club leaders have been doing a lot of recruiting.”

The anchor disappeared and footage of Carla talking with a small group of heroes appeared in his place. Sonya smiled a little. She’s looking good. 

“Pandora Committee Chairwoman Carla Mint has already issued orders to guilds worldwide to begin monitoring activity around their assigned dungeons. Private Sector guilds as well as National guilds continue to respond well to her leadership. Over the past two days, Chairwoman Mint has been the spearhead of a corruption purge within the global organization after the still unsolved assassination of Liberty in her own cell,” the anchor continued as Carla continued speaking with the heroes.

They came clean? Not surprising that Carla would shoot for brutal transparency.

“A number of PC representatives have already been brought up on corruption charges within the organization and impeachment votes are being scheduled. There are currently no reports on which representatives have been accused. However, an insider reported that a group of representatives arrested Hero Harbinger of the United States and interrogated her. According to the insider, the interrogation nearly caused the promising young hero to lose her life,” the anchor continued. “Hero Harbinger is reported to be in good health as protests break out over her treatment in the United States.”

Sonya raised her eyebrows. “Uh… that wasn’t me.”

Ishtar nodded. “I figured. This was a few hours ago. Have you gotten any calls?”

Sonya checked her phone, but there were no relevant messages, just the usual texts from her friends and lovers. She slipped her phone back in her pocket and crossed her arms. “If the Committee isn’t complaining about it to me, then it must be someone in the Committee pulling this.”

“If those representatives start disappearing,” Ishtar mused, “After this report it will be pretty obvious it’s you retaliating.”

Sonya pursed her lips. “Leiandra Firth. Couldn’t get my word on not retaliating so she decided to try to push me into a corner,” she smirked. “Two can play at this game.”

Ishtar grinned. “Create a forest to hide the trees in?”

“We did just meet a specialist in that,” Sonya agreed.

“The next few months are going to be utter mayhem,” Ishtar said and got to her feet. “If this doesn’t rally the heroes, I don’t know what will.”

“One can only hope,” Sonya said. “The biggest blow will come later.”

“Are you sure about that part of the plan? It’s a tremendous risk. It could backfire, especially with Colin here on the ship,” Ishtar pointed out.

“I’m actually counting on that part,” Sonya snickered.

–

Sydney was absolutely beautiful and the Sydney Football Stadium was as magnificent as the images online would suggest. Charon had been kind enough to provide a speedboat to take them from the Idol of Venus to the port where one of his taxis were waiting. From there, it was a quick shot to one of the luxury hotels and then to the suburb where the holding company branch that managed it was headquartered. The massive insurance company had only been too happy to loan the stadium to her for the event with the promise of plenty of money coming in as well as good press for supporting the Hero Movement.

That inevitably led her to be standing in the main viewing box of the stadium, overlooking it while Amos was on the ground directing ASTA personnel and his dolls in the overhaul of the grassy stadium into something that could be utilized for her purposes. Watching humanoid robots and civilian workers teaming up to build what amounted to a battle arena was nothing short of fantastical and she enjoyed every moment of it.

What she enjoyed even more, though, was the presence of the very uncomfortable looking man standing next to her.

“Doctor Carter certainly has a lot of tricks under his sleeves,” Representative Sowards said hesitantly. His permanent scowl made his otherwise nervous and sweaty face look constipated.

“You have no idea,” Sonya said smugly before glancing back at Marta. Her maid was as stoic as ever though she had a bit of tension in her shoulders. “You good?”

Marta cleared her throat. “Just looking forward to the event, ma’am,” Marta said easily.

“Excited, are you?” she asked.

“Something I’ve wanted to experience for a while,” Marta said without missing a beat.

“Are you two talking about the competition?” Sowards asked and flinched when Sonya shot him a look. He relaxed a little when her stare turned into an easy smile. “Of-of course you are.”

Sonya just hummed noncommittally. “How is the Australian government reacting to my impromptu party?”

The man who had played a part in torturing her daughter wrung his hands, “They’re of course supportive, Miss Chernovna. One of their own getting such a unique sponsorship is very desirable. Though I am a little confused about the special reward that was promised as part of the sponsorship.”

Haven’t you learned your lesson, idiot? Sonya thought. She shrugged instead of snapping at him though. “You’ll just have to wait and see. Handmaiden here will be providing the demonstration.”

He gave Marta a sidelong look before clearing his throat again and turning his scowling face towards the field. “Do you really intend to have light-touched fight one another in a crowded stadium?”

Sonya barked out a laugh. “Why not?” She rested her hands on her hips. “Throwing them at dungeons won’t provide any entertainment value, and I don’t think the public will be satisfied with my choices unless it’s something they can see for themselves.”

“Will the public care that much?” Sowards pressed.

“Don’t be pushy, Sowards,” she warned him with a cold stare. “You’ll learn what you need to learn when it’s time. If you have a hero that you’re favoring, I suggest you get them involved. That is the only tantalizing hint I will give you. Pushing your luck with me is unwise right now.”

He froze and turned away, swallowing hard. “U-understood.”

Two sharp knocks came to the door of the viewing box. That’s the clear signal from the security team. She turned her technopathy towards the cameras outside the viewing box. Her eyes narrowed a little. “Enter.”

A pair of security guards wearing the black and white ASTA uniforms and combat armor walked in with a brown haired young man between them. She turned around and fixed the boy with a stare. She hadn’t expected to see him at all, especially after what had happened in The Hague. She crossed her arms and looked at her security guards. “Explain.”

“We found him poking around outside. When we caught him, he immediately surrendered and asked to see you. We checked him for weapons; he’s clean. He even volunteered to wear power suppressors,” one guard said quickly, indicating the bands around the young man’s wrists.

“Get those off of him,” Sonya said with a frown and the two guards hurried to take them off while she looked the boy in his bright brown eyes. “Hero Nietz, what on earth are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in The Netherlands?”

The young hero straightened his back a little and returned her stare. “I took a leave of absence after I saw your press conference, ma’am,” he said quickly.

Sonya narrowed her eyes. “You want to participate? You aren’t an Australian hero.”

“Your invitation was for all heroes, ma’am,” he replied.

“Bold,” Sonya said and tilted her head. “You think you can take advantage of my wording to get your foot in the door?”

He held his ground, setting his jaw. “If I have to.”

“Why?” she asked. “You’re personal security for a VIP hero and associated with Euclidia. What use could you possibly have for my sponsorship? You have thirty seconds before I send you back.”

He didn’t even blink. “I want to join the International Team. I’m a growth-type hero, but I need to be on the field in order to grow. The Security Team is holding me back. I’m not strong enough yet,” he said quickly. “I’ll participate in every round if I have to, but I need your sponsorship so I can have a better chance of being picked during the next selection.”

“And why do you need to join the International Team all of a sudden?”

He hesitated and she narrowed her eyes, he cleared his throat. “Solo Internationals get to pick their support staff,” he said and shot a glare towards Representative Sowards. “I have a friend who needs my help.”