Chương 66: B2 Chapter 9: Reaching for Strings

Lieutenant Colonel Lendet, second-in-command and currently acting captain of the Black Blades, groaned as he pored over his lists of equipment replacement costs yet again. The assassination job they'd taken last week had turned into a disastrous fiasco. More than half the company killed in action and respawned, with all their best gear left behind on the battlefield. And as if that weren't bad enough, failing the mission means we don't get the remaining 3/4ths of the job's pay.

And on top of that, the captain's taking so long to return that we can't afford to wait for him any longer. He shifted to the right a bit to take another look at the lists of company assets and obligations on another section of his desk. They had a fair amount of money in the bank. They could, technically, pay to buy replacements of all the lost equipment. But the next payday for the troops is coming up too.

There wouldn't be enough left to pay everyone, and missing payday for a company of mercenaries is practically a capital crime. He went over his calculations again and shook his head at the number at the bottom for how much they could actually afford to spend on replacing the lost gear. There's nothing for it. To pay the troops on time, we must skimp on the gear. That, or get a surprise short-notice job with a very fast and sizable up-front payment. Lendet sighed and ran his hand through his short hair. Okay.

We have to skimp on something; which items should we skimp on? Could we get a discount on the armor for leaving out the convenience and comfort parts of the enchantments? He grimaced. Going without the cooling during a hot and sweaty fight will be unpleasant, but it won't prevent us from completing a job. He hesitated. Um. I think. Captain Granlan thought that feature was important, but I don't remember all the reasons he explained for it. Something about morale was one, I think? But not the only reason.

Dammit, this is supposed to be his problem to figure out! Why isn't he back yet? Was he captured and prevented from self-killing? Who the hell were those people, and why didn't our client warn us about them? He spent a whole hour scouring the list of lost equipment and writing notes about things they could do without and potential cost-saving downgrades, calling in the quartermaster after the first few minutes to help assess how much money each possibility might save.

By the end of it, he felt exhausted and still hadn't actually made any decisions, but he at least had a list of options. He yawned and stretched, then looked toward the door to the small bedroom attached to the company command post. I'd feel so much better after a nap, and I'm the one in charge here now. He took a deep breath and sighed. No. I'm responsible for the company, I need to set a good example for the troops, and we need this problem handled.

Lendet was muttering to himself, absorbed in picking out the least repugnant options that would add up to enough savings when he felt a quiet presence looming over him. He spun around, grabbing for his sword as he leaped out of the chair, only to falter and stumble in shock when he saw who the unannounced intruder was.

"Captain! You- You're back!" Captain Granlan straightened from where he'd been peering over Lendet's shoulder.

"My apology for my delay and lack of notice. Some surprising developments required my attention." He took back his chair and sat down, barely making any sound despite being fully decked out in his resplendent armor, the enchantments on it muffling most noises.

"Figuring out which corners to cut on the budget, I see. I'm happy to inform you that trimming our budget will not be necessary. I have a new job for us, with initial payment already deposited. Get full replacement equipment, the entire lot. In fact, let's add anchoring and flight enchantments for the entire company while we're at it." Lendet gaped in shock for a moment, then belatedly snapped to a respectful salute.

"Yes, sir! Glad to hear it, sir!" Granlan frowned.

"Before anything else, though, have you already sent the post-mission report to the client?"

"Yes, sir!" Granlan narrowed his eyes.

"When? Can we still abort it?"

"A few hours ago, sir." Lendet lowered his arm.

"If you want to have even a slight chance of canceling its delivery, we'll have to hurry." He held back his curiosity about the reasons. If he needed to know, the captain would inform him.

"Damn." Granlan sprang back to his feet.

"Which route? I'll handle it myself, this is of paramount importance."

"Dead drop Talmer, sir."

"Got it. I'll be back when I'm done with this. In the meantime, confirm our new funds with the bank and get started on replacing our lost gear." With a faint crackle and a sudden rush of wind, Captain Granlan vanished through the suddenly-open door to the outside before Lendet could respond. Lendet stared after him for a moment, then mentally shook himself and hurried out to call for the quartermaster again.

Granlan activated his armor's invisibility and look-away enchantments as he sped out of his mercenary company's home base. That wouldn't stop anyone truly powerful and capable from noticing him, but he could at least avoid causing a major commotion in the crowds of bystanders that were inevitable in any city. With that done, he reached out with his unique senses to the ever-present field of lightning energy that he'd discovered many years ago. This book's true home is on another platform.

Check it out there for the real experience. In his youth, he had only thought to take command of the most deadly and frightening of a storm's dangers, and had put together a whole group of several soul structures to tackle the problem from every angle he could think of. He had been utterly stunned when, after advancing many levels, his structure for sensing the energies and forces that created lightning began detecting those forces, not only in clouds and storms, but literally everywhere.

He had been further stupefied when he discovered that his soul structure for manipulating lightning energies could grab on to that field and physically push and pull on it, even to the extent of using it as a supporting surface to push against for moving himself around. Granlan was long since accustomed to that now, though, and took to the air with practiced casual expertise, supported in flight by the planet's magnetic field.

He stopped moving his legs as his feet left the ground, and he raised a small rune-covered token to his mouth.

"Report is already en route. Pursuing to catch and cancel it now. I'll need some advanced aura tracking in a minute or two." A woman's voice sounded directly in his ears, calm and clear.

"Acknowledged. Standing by." Granlan turned his attention to the vista spread out below him as he flew high and fast over Oshendrin. The city sprawling over the land was a familiar sight, and he quickly narrowed his focus, scanning through the layout of the buildings and streets. Let's see, dead drop Talmer is hidden inside… That building over there. Found it. Wind battered at his front as he flew toward the dilapidated structure at a speed several times faster than he could run.

He landed in the narrow alley beside it and stepped through the empty doorframe into the dark bottom floor. The actual door had rotted away years ago. He turned right, walked two paces, and reached up. Let's see, square brick near the top, with the grooves around it a little deeper than the rest… Ah, there it is. His questing fingers found the brick, and he easily pulled it out and reached into the hole behind it. He flew up a little and actually looked just to make sure, but the hole was empty.

He replaced the brick and spoke quietly to the token he was holding again.

"As expected, it's already been picked up. Can you track the courier?"

"Scanning for aura trails, one moment…" The woman went silent for several seconds.

"There's one from about half an hour ago, one from three hours ago, and the next most recent is five hours old." Granlan nodded, though he wasn't sure if the mage he was talking with could actually see that through the token.

"Three hours would be our messenger dropping it off. The half-hour trail must be the courier. Can you track where they took it to?"

"Yes. Follow the yellow arrow I'm projecting to you. It's visible only to you, and will turn with the trail's path as you follow it." A glowing yellow phantom appeared in the air, pointing back toward the doorway and out, and Granlan smiled.

"Ah, excellent, that's much clearer than verbal directions. Now for the chase." He sped out the doorway, along the alley, and out into the maze of the city's streets, following the turns of the guiding arrow. It didn't take much time for Lieutenant Colonel Lendet to verify that they did indeed now have enough money in the bank to cover full replacement of all lost gear in addition to payday. Much, much more than enough, in fact.

They could afford to go an entire year without a single additional job if they wanted to, and that was after paying out for some expensive upgrades too, all from just an up-front payment that they hadn't even done anything for yet! It was rather unsettling. What the hell kind of job did the captain agree to for this? He informed the quartermaster of the new funds and purchase decisions and left him to handle the details, then returned to the command post to wait for the captain's return.

After a couple hours of increasingly nervous waiting, he was very relieved when Captain Granlan finally walked in. He didn't let his nerves or relief show on his face as he stood up to salute, though.

"Captain." Captain Granlan gave a crisp nod in return as he walked to his desk.

"At ease, Second. Objective achieved, I got the message back." He placed a small envelope on the desk.

"There was a bit of a tussle, but I handled it. They were not happy about me finding the local node of their teleport relay circuit, much less digging through their pile of outbound pending messages to pick out ours." Lendet relaxed a fraction, then cocked his head at what Granlan had just said.

"I'm surprised you were able to beat their concealment and obscuration measures."

"I had help. Very, very capable help. More capable than they were prepared for. The identity and nature of the help is at this time secret, and you do not need to know." Lendet nodded.

"Very well." He paused.

"Permission to speak frankly, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"What the hell kind of job pays that much, up front? What have you gotten us all into? Or is it somehow a personal job that won't involve the rest of the company?" Granlan smiled.

"A reasonable question. In short, the reason that our last job blew up in our faces so spectacularly is that our client, possibly unknowingly, was picking a fight with someone that they really, really shouldn't have. Said someone, whose identity is secret, wants to punish them for it, and has the resources to pay whatever it will take." He gestured at the envelope he'd retrieved.

"Hence the importance of stopping that so that we can prepare and try to trace the report when we send it."

"I see. What roles will the rest of the company play in this?"

"Mostly planning and investigation. Any combat will be limited to whatever arises in the course of the investigation." Granlan shook his head.

"We have one major suspect for the ex-client's identity, and it's someone the Black Blades cannot defeat. Our job this time is only to find proof of who ordered that job. Once we deliver that proof to our new client, they will handle the rest themselves." Lendet gave another salute.

"Understood, Captain. Shall I call the other officers for briefing?" Granlan nodded.

"Yes, at once." As Lendet hurried out, Granlan sighed and muttered to himself under his breath.

"I wonder if Carlos and Amber are having this much trouble dealing with their part of the aftermath of this mess."