Chương 91: 4 - CITY ON THE WATER

T'balt bent over the binoculars. He saw mostly water, but in the distance, a faint cyan speck.

"I can't really make it out."

"Me neither," Ellie said.

"It's so far away, it barely has a form."

"Are you unsatisfied?" German asked with a touch of indifference.

"Not enough to let you off the hook, playboy," Cannon announced. German grimaced at the nickname.

"I do not play, and I am a man, not a boy. Don't worry. I won't leave until you all confirm Graceland yourselves."

"How noble of you," Ellie said sarcastically.

"I believe in the sanctity of contracts. If one can't uphold their end of an agreement, then one can't do business."

"But it's hard to believe someone could build a city so far out in the middle of the ocean," T'balt wondered.

"What better place to be least affected by the monster swarms. Not many of them are willing to swim that far out, I'm guessing. And as long as you're above ground, the fish-based ones won't get to you either. As far as how it was built, I assume some form of loot is responsible." It made sense. Loot could do some pretty unexplainable things. Why not be able to build an island city in a few days? But that left the question of how they get there.

There didn't seem to be a bridge, a boat, or even a hot air balloon to take people to the island.

"But how do people get in and out?"

"Most don't. As far as we've been able to tell, once people go in, they don't seem to come out. If they do, it's by a method that no one's able to uncover."

"You sound like you've been scoping the place out for a while." Just then, German drew his eyes downward, as if the idea was shameful.

"There is someone there, who's escaped me."

"Escaped you?"

"Someone who has flaked out on a previous contract." The others tried to analyze the response, but the flicker of emotion on his face was gone as soon as it appeared. So they thought it best to move on.

"So then how are we supposed to get there?" Cannon asked.

"You think maybe if I run fast enough, I can run across the water?" Acelin started stretching, as if he was going to try no matter what anyone said. Ellie grabbed hold of his arm.

"I have no idea, but we're not gonna have you try. If you get stranded out in the middle of the ocean, we don't have any way to come get you."

"Ugh… no one ever lets me have any fun." But that did give T'balt an idea. Maybe there was some loot that might help them get there. He fetched his duffel bag of loot out of the trunk of the car to search through it.

"Ellie, did we pick up the flight loot before we left?"

"There's a flight loot?' she said, bewildered.

"Yeah, you used it when we fought… never mind." A different iteration. A different Ellie.

"Neon and smoke would let you fly for a while if you stagger them, but I don't know if I'd be able to make it all the way out there, let alone bring everyone with me." German stood over him, analyzing the inside of T'balt's bag like it was a pot of rare jewels. The look on his face was so serious and yet at the same time lustfully curious. It made T'balt territorial.

"Is something wrong?"

"That's quite the collection you have. Mind if I take a look?" T'balt found himself amused.

"For a price."

"Fair." German backed off.

"But I doubt anything you have will bypass whatever security system they've got out there."

"Security system?"

"Yes. As you can see, there are no boats at this port. They're all scraps at the bottom of the sea. You don't get there without someone's permission."

"Are you trying to tell us that there's no way there?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I'd doubt it'd be much of a paradise if anyone could just waltz in there."

"But they have to come out sometime. There's no way they have enough supplies there to last forever."

"The right loot will give you everything you need." Cannon crossed his arms.

"Then how exactly do you plan on upholding your end of the bargain, playboy. I don't see no city. I don't see no people. We got no real way of knowing that any of what you're saying is true." German looked around at them.

"Are you unsatisfied with the information I've given you?"

"Not enough to part with our only ride." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. T'balt spoke up.

"I mean, it's plenty of information, at least—ow."

"Shush." Ellie hit him hard on the shoulder. After a moment of silence, German said, "Then perhaps you'd be willing to come with me to the place of my employer. There you might find better help."

"We get to meet Corlander!?" Cannon said like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Wait, I thought you weren't willing to show us the location of your employer," T'balt pointed out.

"I've reconsidered," German said flatly.

"As a part of our deal, I will accompany you all until you're satisfied with the information I've given you."

"And you think Corlander will help us?" German smirked, his cheekbones stretching the diamond on his cheek.

"He is just as invested in reaching that island as you are." It wasn't long after that when they arrived at the location of German's employer. And what they saw was the most impressive showcase of opulence that any of them had ever seen. It was a large mansion estate with a property line that seemed to stretch on forever. A giant-sized metal fence surrounded all sides of the area with uniformed guards patrolling the inside, armed with guns and loot.

The grass was freshly cut and glowing green, with sprinkler systems still operating to keep it fresh and thirst-free. A giant pyramid fountain was in the center of a circular road leading in and out of the five-story mansion it led to.

"It's so beautiful," Ellie commented in the car.

"This is too rich, even for me," Cannon said. Acelin pressed his face against the window, practically drooling at everything he was seeing. German pulled the car up to a large gate in the front, still a field away from where the mansion actually stood.

"Yes, it is well kept, and the cleaning team will appreciate it if it stays that way."

"You have a cleaning team!?" Acelin spouted. T'balt imagined a team of maids keeping the place upkept. Which wasn't odd except for the fact that the world had effectively exploded, and these people still bothered with maintaining their day jobs. It seemed so unreal. German patiently waited with the car parked. One of the guards approached the car as he rolled down the window.

"Welcome back, Mr. Casas," the guard said, scrutinizing everything in the car.

"These are my guests."

"You know the rules. They'll have to be searched, and pending approval, we'll let them in."

"You're forgetting that this vehicle isn't registered with the Hunter's Club. It will have to be searched as well." The guard stiffened, suddenly embarrassed.

"You're right. My apologies. We'll search the car too." T'balt raised an eyebrow.

"Search for what?"

"Just a security measure. Don't be alarmed."

"Ok." German got out of the car and straightened his tie and collared shirt. The guard noticed the painting of dried blood on his lower half.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Far from optimal. I need to see Mr. Corlander."

"Right. He's waiting for you in his office." German bent over to speak to the car.

"I'll be right back. Until then, comply with anything asked of you." Everyone in the car didn't feel they had any choice but to agree and watch him be escorted by two guards up to the mansion. T'balt got a shaky feeling in his chest. It appeared to be their turn with the guards. They were asked to vacate the car and brought to a side location outside the gate. They watched a group of armed men scrutinize every inch of their car.

"What do you make of the place, T'balt?" Cannon asked.

"It's not what I was expecting."

"Right."

"It's drooling with opulence. I can't remember the last time I was at a place this fine-looking. I mean, how's it so untouched by everything that happened after Zero Day?"

"Maybe this place is the real paradise?" Acelin said.

"Maybe…" T'balt considered.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't take that." The guards had found his stash of loot in the trunk and were tearing it apart. T'balt ran over to them but was halted by the barrel of a rifle aimed at his chest.

"Calm down, sir." The guard said calmly.

"It's a routine check for contraband. We need to mark down everything that's inside, and it'll be returned to you pending approval." There was that phrase again.

"Pending approval from who?"

"Mitas Corlander." German Casas was escorted up a long flight of stairs to a door on the top floor of the mansion. It was a tall, black, double door with lit candles on each side and gold handles with lines sculpted into them. The guards then stood on each side of the door and waited. German hit the buzzer next to the door frame.

"Come in," the intercom said. The door opened automatically, and German stepped inside the dim, candlelit room. He straightened his neck and held his hands behind his back like a soldier reporting for duty. The man in the room was sitting at a large desk made of expensive wood and marble. His face was lit by blue light, emanating from a computer screen in front of him. It only unveiled enough for German to see the X-shaped scar next to his emerald green eyes and the outline of a three-piece business suit.

"I see you've come back empty-handed," Corlander said in a voice made of concrete absolution. Eroded, low, but certain of every word.

"The convoy was ambushed… by the phantoms. They used heavy military weaponry and a coordinated strike force. They also had an EMP-type weapon that managed to disable all our trucks. We lost twenty-one men and ten trucks. Along with the weapons we were transporting." German paused, waiting for a response, but there was no reaction from Corlander. He didn't even look up from his computer, so German continued.

"The truck beds are covered and on an unused road, but it's still highly likely that they'll be looted if we don't recover them soon. Shall I send a retrieval team?" The man started typing on his computer.

"Don't bother. The purpose of the convoy was to draw out the Phantoms from their hole. Did you take a note of what kind of loot they were using?" German hesitated.

"I'm sorry. You intended for us to be attacked?" Corlander slowly stood from his seat, now staring bloody daggers into German's chest.

"What kind of loot?" he flexed his hand, showing the covering of tattoos on each of them. Circular tattoos.

"Nothing you haven't seen before," German answered. Corlander sat back down.

"Then it was a waste of time and resources. You would think they'd have something special to be such a pain in my side. Forget them. Were you able to uncover any loot whatsoever?"

"No," German felt the air in the room begin to boil. He had to loosen his collar so he wouldn't sweat.

"But the entire trip wasn't useless. I happened upon a group of travelers. They were searching for the Looter's Paradise." The man scoffed.

"Who isn't?"

"I know. But I have reason to believe they may have information on the Redeemer loot." Corlander suddenly jumped up from his seat with a large, ravenous smile on his face, and the room suddenly started to fill with that aura of black smoke.

"The Redeemer?"

"Yes. I have them down by the gates. What would you like me to do?"

"Bring them in. Let them earn their keep. Watch what they do. And when I'm ready, I'll arrange a meeting with them."