Chapter 1036 (1/2)
Randidly blinked. Well, that’s certainly not what I was expecting…
“I’ve gone over your shipping manifests for the last several weeks. Item by item, and certainly, the confusion because of the peculiar status of Erickson Steel’s import and export process makes it quite the hassle to track everything flowing into and out of your company… but did you really think you would be able to explain away the sudden surge in production by hastily adding a provision about mineral extraction to our deal?”
“The extra volume of materials was extracted from a Dungeon, I assure you,” Randidly said rather dryly. After his own internal crisis about how other people viewed him, this accusation of interzone trade violations felt rather surreal. Although he could understand the Senator’s confusion. Randidly had spent a year within the Dungeon harvesting with his Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil, and even then, he wouldn’t have been half as effective without his Riders.
Randidly had come back to Earth with hundreds of tons of metal and rare wood. For someone who wasn’t aware of the mind-boggling amount of Skills that Randidly possessed, it made sense that they would assume foul play.
But what Randidly couldn’t understand… he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Senator Cliff Heathridge. The man’s silver hair and almost apologetic smile were invalidated almost completely by the sinister aura that was wafting away from him. To Randidly’s Grim Intuition, it was clear that this man wasn’t here to peacefully arrest him for violating an import law. He stunk like trash left in the sun for a week.
So why are you really here?
Randidly’s eyes flicked sideways to Evan Crane. This one he knew. This was that peculiar individual who coveted Erickson Steel. But already, Randidly could tell that being present while he unleashed his focused image for the future of this city had deeply affected the man. Honestly, if he hadn’t come to confront him with such a sinister figure, Randidly would consider allowing the man to stay.
Because it was clear that if the rot was removed from Evan Crane’s heart, what he possessed was a genuine appreciation and admiration for Erickson Steel.
As for the third person…
Randidly didn’t recognize him at all, although based on his title it seemed he was involved in Erickson Steel’s business. Briefly, Randidly considered sending Tatiana a message to ask about him, but it really didn’t seem like it was worth it. This wouldn’t take long.
It was a small diversion to draw out the flaws in Erickson Steel. Nothing more.
“Mr. Ghosthound, if I may,” Chuck Ballard drawled. “I’ve enjoyed my time working with Tatiana immensely. She’s a good enough girl to handle business while you are away, but really, business like this should be done between equals, like us. Let’s not think about this as an arrest, just a chance to share a meal and work out the finer details of where your materials are coming from…”
Even through the complex exosuit he was wearing, Evan Crane’s smile was vicious. “Believe me, no matter how staunchly you believe your customers will remain, their mood will shift very rapidly when the entire company is disgraced. You will be ruined.”
Chewing his lip, Randidly considered Evan for several seconds. When Randidly’s attention was focused on him, the man’s shoulders bent like he was enduring a great weight. But then Randidly turned back to the central figure. “I don’t have much time to play; what is it that you want?”
“Mr. Ghosthound,” Senator Heathridge’s teeth were pearly white as he beamed at Randidly. “I’m only doing this because I admire you… all I want is to be partners.”
*****
Senator Heathridge took a step forward along the metal catwalk. The closer he was able to get to Randidly Ghosthound, the easier his fallback plan would go. His eyes briefly focused on the small woman next to Randidly. Not a threat. His focus pivoted back to the young man with burning emerald eyes. “Fine then, let’s bare our hands. The trick you pulled with the ‘mineral extraction’ clause was a work of genius. Two goals accomplished simultaneously by an innocuous and understandable request. Were you inspired by the floating city of the Royal Sea? Don’t try and play coy, I know exactly what your plan was.
“Over the past several months, you’ve been making connections with various political factions. Bargains with Zone Seven to act as an intermediary to fence their raw materials is just the tip of the iceberg. All to leverage your connections at the World Summit in a few weeks and nominate Erickson Steel as the new world capital!
“And when people complain about its location, you will have the perfect response; that it can become mobile. I know that your “mineral rights” wasn’t just a method to fudge the numbers on your imports… it was also a justification for when you will eventually take away the entire city and break the deal with the Zone 1 government. But at that point, what could they do? You would house the world capital. They will be nothing for you.”
Senator Heathridge took several more steps forward along the dimly lit catwalk, measuring Randidly Ghosthound with his eyes. Before the System arrived, the Senator had always prided himself on being able to tell what sort of person someone was with just a glance. It was his secret ability that saw him rise from an aide to a Senator himself.
Yet now, when he looked at Randidly Ghosthound…
Nothing. He feels nothing.
The smile on Senator Heathridge’s face grew forced. He raised his voice as he continued to walk forward. “Such a large ambition, you have, Mr. Ghosthound. Truly, do you think you can keep it all to yourself? All we want is a piece of the pie. To relocate some of our own business interests to Erickson Steel and obtain shares in the city. For that, we will ignore your import transgressions and even throw our support behind you at the summit.
“We all desire the same thing, Mr. Ghosthound. Let’s do this civilly. Trust and partnership are the foundations of any great venture. So, what do you say?” Senator Heathridge barred his teeth. Behind him, he could hear Evan Crane’s extremely loud breaths echoing in the vast chamber around them.
The question hung in the air for almost a minute. Senator Heathridge’s eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to press the issue, but he found that he couldn’t. Blinking rapidly, the Senator also realized that he couldn’t even move, let alone breath. He was frozen in place by Randidly’s emerald gaze.
It’s not that Crane is a hapless mouthbreather, Senator Heathridge realized in horror. He’s… struggling to breathe even with the help of the exosuit.
Then Randidly Ghosthound laughed, abruptly breaking all of the tension in the room. Senator Heathridge gasped and staggered backward. Swaying on his feet, his face flushed with blood. Fine then, we do it the hard way.
“If you refuse to go peacefully, we will force your hand. No one wants that.” Senator Heathridge spat out. “Least of all you.”
“You… have no idea what I want, Cliff.” Randidly grinned at him. The flush on Senator Heathridge’s face deepened.
“Everyone else may think you are an invulnerable warrior and a masterful inventor,” Senator Heathridge’s chest heaved. “But I’ve been too long in politics not to recognize what you are: a charlatan. A little bit of illusion magic from Zone 32, the right sort of timing and tone to your persuasive speeches, and suddenly you can make people believe anything. But although the world has changed, one thing remains the same: people are still people. They are WEAK-”
Senator Heathridge balled his hands into fists. “GREASY-”
He took a step forward and jabbed his finger toward Randidly Ghosthound, who continued to watch the trio in amusement dancing through his emerald eyes. “-and FLAWED. You are no different! You aren’t better than any of us. In fact, I expect to find some very sordid secrets when we finally pry away the glamour with which you’ve shrouded yourself.”
Randidly didn’t respond at all. His eyes seemed to gleam as he continued to watch Senator Heathridge.
Senator Heathridge opened his mouth before Randidly could conjure that strange weight again. “Evan Crane! It’s time to demonstrate that we mean business.”
The servos on Crane’s exosuit hummed to life. Moving with purpose, Evan Crane shouldered past the other two men and strode toward Randidly Ghosthound. The extremely small and slight woman next to Randidly took a step forward, looking toward Crane with interest. But Randidly Ghosthound, damn him, simply laughed again.
“Actually, this is perfect. I’ve wanted to have a test run of this. You’ll be my guinea pigs. Time to wake up the heart.”
Senator Heathridge was trembling in fury as Randidly turned away and pressed a few buttons on the terminal. A low yellow glow began to shine out from some of the glass windows to whatever was within that tall cylinder.
Although most of his outward expression of emotion was a front to cause Randidly to underestimate them, at its core was a thread of truth. Because Heathridge always instinctively knew when one of his accusations had hit the mark. No matter how good of an actor someone was, there was always a flinch when something struck too close to home.
But since they had arrived, nothing had phased Randidly. It was like this was a fucking game to him.
Roaring, Evan Crane sped up to a dash. With all the grace and momentum of a freight train, he careened down the metal walkway toward the core area where the two figures were standing. But as Crane began to accelerate, the entire building shuddered. The yellow light grew brighter and then turned white. And when Senator Heathridge looked around, he realized that strange lines were flickering to life along every surface.
Senator Heathridge paled. Those are… Engravings?!?But the size-
“Crane! Stop! It’s a trap!” Heathridge yelled, but it was too late; Crane had built up too much momentum. And what was even more aggravating was that it appeared his shouted line set Randidly to laughing so hard that he slapped his knee in amusement.
After the Engravings surged to life, motes of forest green light began to shoot out from every surface and gather in a huge ball directly in Evan Crane’s path. Rather than slow down, Evan Crane activated the Meteor Impact function that was the culmination of two year’s work for Senator Heathridge’s design team. The entire exosuit began to glow cherry red and radiate waves of ghostly flames.
Those motes of light congealed into a two-meter tall golem that seemed to be made entirely of moss. It released a deep trumpet noise and took a step forward to meet Crane.