"Hahahah" The burly man laughed.
"The city sure has changed since the last time I was here"
He smoked his cigarette as he looked around him. Beside him was his attractively stern secretary. "Karla, what do you think?" He asked her with a wide grin.
"It looks the same to me, though. Maybe it's because I've been here more recently?" She said with her usual serious face, half asking.
"Yeah. I suppose that is true" He replied.
"Sir, where are we headed to?" She asked him.
He removed the cigarette from his mouth and squashed it, throwing it on the street ground.
"Oh, just to see some old friends," he smiled.
They walked the rest of the journey in silence until they finally got to the front of one of the largest establishments in the area.
"Urian Boutique," the secretary read the sign out loud.
She looked at her boss with a confused expression.
"What is he looking for in a store that sells female clothes?" She asked herself.
Knowing the kind of man her boss was, when he said he wanted to see some old friends, she thought he was going to some dark alley or crooked establishment, but this?
"What are we doing here?" She asked him.
He merely smiled and ignored her question. He walked into the large store,almost leaving her behind. She hurriedly picked her pace to catch up with him.
The store looked entirely feminine. With pink and white paint used on the walls and glittery ornaments all around. The decorations were made to appeal to the females alone. Then the commodities, female products that filled up the entire store, were to be expected after all.
Karla silently followed her boss as he walked to the shelves and after careful observation, he picked one of the clothes he found at a far corner. Surprisingly it was a male's outfit
"How is this here?" Karla asked herself.
The Boss walked to the counter with this cloth and dropped it before the receptionist who stood behind the counter with a smile plastered on her face.
"I would like to buy this" He said to her.
She looked at the outfit and her cheery expression immediately changed. Her eyes became a bit serious as she gazed at the man who wanted to buy the out of place cloth.
"I apologize sir, but there must have been a mistake in the placement of goods outside. This cloth doesn't belong to the counter. I will have to return it to the storeroom" She said.
"Why don't I take it for you?" The Boss said.
"That is against company protocols sir" She responded.
"Oh, but you seem to be quite busy. Plus, I do not mind." He replied.
She sighed.
"Fine, do you know the storeroom?" She asked.
"I'm a regular," he answered.
She then resumed her smile.
"Thanks for buying from us customer."
He turned away and went deeper within the store. They passed all the sections where shoes and clothes were displayed and went even deeper down the hallway they found by the corner. The hallway was nothing special, it was also decorated very brilliantly and had several ornaments in it.
"Where are we going sir" Karla asked her boss.
Again, he ignored her and walked down the hall. At the end of it, he saw a sign plastered on a door by the right.
"Storeroom" Karla read aloud.
"Is he really going to help her take this cloth to the storeroom? Something doesn't seem right." She thought within herself.
The boss opened the door and entered the room. Karla expected to see something out of the ordinary, but all she saw was a regular plain looking store. Suddenly a wide smile appeared on the face of her boss.
"Hahahahaha" He laughed.
Karla started feeling weirded out. All the seemingly meaningless activities that her boss just did, plus his current outburst, everything startled her. Had he finally gone mad?
"What's going on here?" She wailed within herself.
"Ah, Borgos never changes" He said, mildly chuckling.
He stepped forward and dropped the cloth on the floor. After this, he clapped three times and said;
"Okay, I've played your little secret code game long enough. I've forgotten the next step so let's just stop now." He said aloud, his voice echoing in the room.
"I have business here that concerns you and the others, especially you" He said with a menacing tone.
Suddenly a distorted noise rang through the room and static sounds were heard before a voice finally came forth.
"For real? Come on. The next step is to put the male cloth among the carton in the second layer of the second shelf, clap twice and say the secret code. You still remember the secret code right?" The voice said.
"What do you take me for? Of course I do." The man said.
He smiled as he inhaled slowly.
"The denizens of darkness and the ones who stay in the shadows need not see the light, but they still do in order to remain hidden amongst them who dwell there"
The static returned, and then the voice appeared again.
"Fine fine. You've convinced me. But next time play the game completely. It's kind of a waste when my rare visitors don't even complete the trial I so painstakingly invented. It ruins the whole thing." It complained.
"Well, you are welcome to just install a simple hidden passageway like the rest of us. No one asked you to overdo your whole charade." The man said.
"Come on, what's the fun in that? In any case, you may come in," the voice responded.
Suddenly, a door mysteriously appeared on the wall, being invisible until that very moment.
"I'm with a visitor. Hope you don't mind" He said.
"As long as they are from you, it means they are trustworthy. If they aren't then they simply won't be allowed to escape."
Karla gulped as she heard this. However, she calmed herself and maintained her calm demeanor.
The boss walked toward the door and opened it.
"After you" He told her.
She nervously obeyed and walked into the room. After she did this, he walked into the room too, closing the door behind them.
The room led to an underground structure, with stairs leading them further down. Karla kept moving down even though she didn't know where she was heading to. However, for her boss not to speak she must be heading the right way, since it was the only way to begin with.
They finally got to the last stair and found yet another door.
"Step aside" He told her.
She obeyed immediately. He opened the door and within it was something unexpected.
A man sat down at the center of the room, facing the door where they came out from. All around him were naked women, some were massaging his legs while others his shoulders. Some danced in the room, offering him entertainment. The room was vastly furnished with many gold and precious accessories and the color of the room was white, with gold laced designs and a purple carpet.
"C'mon, what took you so long? You should've been here a few seconds ago." The owner of the voice said, seating on a massive couch.
"My secretary is a bit of a slow walker." The boss answered, moving to seat on another couch by the right of the man.
"Oh? Secretary, that's new," he smiled, staring at Karla.
Karla stood right beside her boss, trying to maintain a poised stance but she couldn't help but notice the women, over a dozen, who flocked around the man, completely ignoring anything else, including them. Some licked his legs abd caressed them with their breasts, utterly undignifying.
"You don't have to stare so hard" The man said with a smile as he followed her gaze.
"I-I'm sorry sir" She quickly said.
He smiled at her.
"You didn't tell me your visitor was a lady, and quite a catch if I may add" He said, gazing intensely at Karla which made her uncomfortable.
"She's not for sale. Besides, don't you have enough already?" The Boss said sternly.
"Oh, Zad, you know me. I can never have enough of them" He said freely, referring to all the women around him.
Upon closer observation, Karla noticed something was wrong with the women. Their eyes looked dead and some were drooling from their mouths. Others had weird looks on their faces. They were most likely under influence.
"So you've noticed." The man, whose name wa Borgos, said.
"They have all been drugged by my newly made aphrodisiac concoction. It's really famous on the black market, you know? The women lose their minds and become blank tools for fun games such as this. Truly entertaining, wouldn't you agree?" Borgos said with a wide grin.
In all honesty she felt sick within her. Such perversion was too much for her to stand. However, she endured it.
"Indeed sir" She said calmly.
"Enough of small talk Borgos. I've come for business" Zad said.
"Always the killjoy aren't you? Fine. What is it?" Borgos asked.
Zad glared at the women who still rendered services to Borgos even in the presence of visitors.
Borgos sighed and shrugged.
"Fine fine"
He slapped one who was working on his shoulder and punched the stomach of the other beside him. He also kicked the ones by his feet, causing them to crash on the floor since they had no strength.
"Can't you see I have visitors? Leave us now you whores" He barked at them.
Mechanically, they stood up and left the room lifelessly.
He smiled as he watched them leave. He then turned to Zad and gestured for him to continue.
"Now, where were we?"
"A newcomer has been making quite the buzz in the market due to a very unique commodity he is selling. The income he is getting is astronomical to say the least" Zad said.
"So? As rulers of the underworld that's not really our concern, is it?" Borgos said nonchalantly.
"That would normally be the case. However, this certain individual has refused to pay the dues required of him" Zad continued.
The casual face of Borgos immediately changed to anger.
"What?" He said.
"That's not all!" Zad said.
"What he sells are ancient coins. And from my sources he has lots of it. Lots as in, millions of them!" Zad emphasized.
Borgos's eyes widened as he heard this. Suddenly he started to chuckle and laugh aloud.
"Then what else is there to wait for! We discipline him and take over his goods for his wrong actions right?" He laughed.
"Indeed" Zad said.
"Then shouldn't you have called a meeting of us rulers? Why did you have to personally visit me?" Borgos asked.
"For two reasons. One of which is simple, this person is residing in this city, Artia, which is your domain in the underworld." Zad said.
"Oh? Interesting. And the second one?" Borgos responded.
"I would like us to have the coins for ourselves alone" Zad said with a crooked smile.
This statement inspired a like crooked smile from Borgos as well. Both rulers looked at each other with an evil grin.
So, old friend, what do you say to a good ol' fashion plunder?!" Zad asked.
They both smiled in agreement.
"Of course, I'm in!"