Chapter 518 (1/2)

Tatiana had been doing her best to ask soft questions to this young woman, Adrea, when this pompous ass had sidled up. Although she hadn’t seen the girl in a while, she knew of her; it was the girl who had raised a stink about her brother’s disappearance in one of the Eastern cities a few weeks ago.

To see her now wearing a habit of one of Father Foster’s followers made Tatiana extremely frosty. Truly, that fucking cult would use any weakness to worm their way into the lives of innocent people. Initially, Tatiana hadn’t seen them for what they were, and thoughtlessly attended a few of their services…

Even remembering it now, her eyes flashed dangerously. That Father Foster…

But this girl had stubbornly refused to follow any of the soft outs that Tatiana offered her. Instead, she steadfastly defended the organization and continued to try and spread a pamphlet for a church that would be opening up between the factory village and the city proper. But all steelworkers and their families were encouraged to attend.

Tatiana was considering her next move when the man showed up.

“Please, give us some space,” The man said simply, his eyes sliding up and down Tatiana’s body like an ooze. “We have… some history.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Adrea said bluntly, crossing her arms. Even though she was now a member of the religious organization, Tatiana could tell that it hadn’t been long because she was still alive with life and fire. Tatiana knew from experience that they had ways of getting feisty women to walk around with dead eyes.

Likely she was chosen due to her knowledge of the area, and not because she had gone through enough of their training seminars.

Tatiana turned back to the man, her eyes narrowed into slits. Her grin was vicious, like a shark waiting for a wounded creature to stick its toe into the water. The man seemed to realize the implied threat because he took a loud, audible gulp.

“I… I suppose you may remain.” The man said, his voice shrill. “Look, I just wanted to apologize.”

“I think you’d better leave,” Tatiana said simply, lowering the overt threat in her features. Men generally act defensively when threatened. If they feel in control, they are much more likely to accept a slight. But as she spoke, she sensed movement over the man’s shoulder and looked sharply up. If he had brought friends…

Tatiana blinked. It was that man Baloo, the steelworker with plasma-proof hands. She instantly saw the recognition in his eyes as well, and then his gaze flicked to the other two. His face split into a frown. Instantly, Tatiana’s guard was back up.

Did he know this man…?

Seeing that Tatiana was distracted, the man in the military uniform said quickly. “It was my fault, and I misled you earlier. But I’ve seen the error of my ways. If you again give me $100, this time I will actually-”

“You want MORE money?!?” Adrea screeched, taking a step forward with fists clenched.

The man raised his hands, shaking his head slowly. “Look, there really is a process. I already spent the previous money you gave me, but this time-”

Baloo at one point during the talking took several steps forward and reached out to grab the military man’s shoulder when a sharp crack cut the sky. A bolt of plasma flew out of a nearby window towards the back of the military man’s head.

Tatiana’s eyes widened, and she watched as Baloo’s head snapped around to lock on the plasma bolt with such speed that it left her gasping. In fact, the only reason that she had been able to pinpoint the source of the noise so quickly was he looked at the projectile immediately. His hand landed on the military man’s back and pulled him a half step backward.

The man flailed but moved backward, unable to resist Baloo. The plasma bolt whizzed by his head and buried itself in the dirt.

“You never fail to surprise me.” A short man with golden hair stepped out of the nearby building, holding a plasma rifle. The rest of the street went very still. Another figure stepped out, covered in a thick cloak that Tatiana recognized as marking the figure as one of Father Foster’s enforcers.

For a second, seeing the lack of movement on the street, Tatiana had a small hope that someone would contact the authorities. But then her hopes instantly deflated. She had been staying in this place for a few days now with her girls and knew that wasn’t the case. Unless someone of authority showed up, the people wouldn’t move to help. This town was still too new, too competitive.

“Uh…” The military man was just looking at the short blonde man with wide eyes. But before he could speak further, a yell cut him off.