Since Alyssia had protected Ann throughout the journey and endured the harsh heat, she was also feeling a little annoyed so the attitude of the man opposite her made her feel worse.
The man corrected his expression and put on a business smile as he calmly spoke. "I am sorry to say this but we have double booked the performers today. I hope that you take no offence to this and we can try to come up with a solution."
Alyssia shook her head. "She is to perform as stated in the contract as a solo act for a set amount of time. If any changes are made to that or if there are any problems on your end then you must make sure to keep to the contract or be prepared to compensate us."
The manager looked flustered. "This.. don't you think you are taking things a little too far?"
Since Alyssia was being straight forward and aggressive, he started using other tactics as he began to play the victim of circumstance that is being bullied by those using the contract to their advantage as they planned to do so.
The manager did not expect Alyssia and Ann to arrive on time or at all since they must have experienced the same thing many times before and benefitted from it most of the time and even if that person did show up, they had to either accept the terms of change of circumstances and perform or cancel the show altogether after taking a long time to travel to Alabasta.
Alyssia would not be phased by his tactics or give in as she continued to press him. "You must notice that miss Ann has freckles on her face yes?"
The manager looked confused as he spoke. "Yes? What has that got to do with this?"
Alyssia continued. "You see, most artists must maintain their beauty to remain in their position and their image itself and their body is property of the White Storm which you have made a deal with. In every contract we make sure to add clauses about damage or risk to the body of the artist."
The manager interrupted. "Wait.. what?"
Alyssia looked him in the eyes and smirked with a cold threatening grin. "Miss Ann took the risk to come across a land where there is an impending war and risked injury and death to herself and as she arrives, she is told that there is another artist who has to share her time with that was booked beforehand? Not to mention that miss Ann has sensitive skin and light freckles, although this point can be said to be her uniqueness as a star that many know her by… tell me something.. do you think it is fair for someone with such a condition to risk further skin damage by travelling to this land where the risk is much higher but to be told she has to make a choice between splitting her time with someone or forfeiting her chance to perform along with the berries discussed in the contract? Is this fair? Is this what was discussed? Do you even care about the people you make contracts with or do you think that we are all idiots?"
One of Ann's biggest selling points was her light freckles that were cute but if the she developed further damage to her skin and the freckles became more than before then instead of being cute, it would make her look less attractive in the eyes of her fans so Alyssia and the White Storm were well within their rights to use that as a viable argument.
Her gaze towards him became increasingly threatening and scary which made the manager more flustered as he was unable to come up with a retort.
Alyssia waited for a moment in silence before continuing. "Well? What is your answer?"
The manager gulped and finally came to a decision. "Sorry but can you wait a moment. I need to discuss this with someone higher up."
Alyssia nodded. "Sure, no problem."
She remained firm that Ann would perform as scheduled and during the full time she was to perform as stated in the original contract and waited calmly as the manager left the room flustered.
As she sat back calmly filing the nails on her hand, Ann jumped by her side. "You were so cool there! He really did not know how to handle it."
Alyssia blew on her nail a little as she continued. "Most likely he has gone to someone above him or way above to seek help to deal with the problem. In my opinion the best way to handle this would be seeking the bosses help directly and since he has status as a Warlord, there are many things he can get away with while they break some rules or mess in some grey or black areas. So for now our focus is to let you perform or receive what is owed for our troubles."
Ann gulped. "And.. if.. we cannot get either?"
Alyssia smiled calmly. "I am trying to exercise restraint for certain reasons but if they keep pushing their luck then we may have no choice but to act in a way that will help us get our own revenge."
Messing with a warlord was not wise since they had the World Governments protection in some ways which allowed them to usually act within a certain boundary.
There was also the current flow of events that she did not wish to mess with unless it was absolutely necessary but it was difficult to be certain if she could restrain herself enough in front of such unfairness towards Ann.
As she had expected, Crocodile entered the room and sat opposite her but the way of his eyes was as if looking down on her and Ann who were nothing in his eyes as he spoke without feeling any sense of shame. "I have heard what you have said to my manager but I am afraid that there is nothing we can do about this. Since Ann can perform during half of the time, she will only receive half of the payment. Take it or leave it but do you really wish to get into a conflict with me.. Crocodile, over this?"
He was confident in his fighting capabilities and looked down on Alyssia and Ann as if they could not enter his eyes but also believed that any wrongdoing could be covered up and any resistance would soon be meaningless once his plan was successful.
He did not know that Alyssia could use Haki and that he was sitting opposite her who could assassinate him in a split second.
Alyssia stared at him calmly as she did not feel threatened by him. "You know something Mr Crocodile? There are three types of people that get involved with certain powers and take up positions like yours. The first would be those in heed of the power and would become loyal for life to keep that kind of position and stability. The second would he those who wish to use that position to climb higher and exploit it in many ways but are unable to leave because of the benefits. The third would be the most troublesome are those that have no loyalty and only see those above as a stepping stone and are grinding their knife for the day they gain the chance to strike at their backs. Looking at you now.. what do you think I have guessed from your overall demeanour and attitude?"
She smirked towards him as he had coldly been waiting for her to continue as if he was watching her put up a futile struggle. "Someone like you would be the third, you only think of your benefits in such things and are ready to betray if given the chance. You must be wondering why I must be saying this right?"
Crocodile coldly grinned and spoke. "Do tell me."
He was silently calculating many things in his mind to guess what her words would be next but what she said next left him stunned.
Alyssia continued as she spoke. "A former pirate and warlord of the sea, sitting in a land as he opens up type of business that reflects his personality. A casino follows certain rules, probability and bluffs but can also be manipulated to the benefit of the owner so long as it is done carefully. Surrounding that is nothing but sand that is suited to his abilities where he can thrive and there is war going on but the only thing you ever participate in is defeating troublemaking pirates in front of the public. You see.. all that seems suspicious to me. So I thought to myself, such a person who has such ambition… would he simply be settling down to reap benefits from a simple casino and other grey or dark areas in secret or would he have some other bigger plans in mind?"
Crocodiles smile began to turn into a frown as he looked towards her with a gaze that could kill. "You can stop now."
Alyssia continued even without his approval. "If this man had a big plan in mind, perhaps it would be involved with the land where he had settled down. However that is none of my business… now for the main point."
She then tilted her head and spoke in a taunting voice. "If that person was truly smart enough, they should realise not to make more enemies before everything is certain to succeed which could cause a problem to that plan. Here is another what if, what if you fail and lose your protection and have made an enemy you cannot defeat that has set their sights on you?"
Crocodile laughed mockingly as he spoke. "Haha, you? Are you seriously saying that you can be considered a threat to me? You are just an inexperienced kid but you sure have guts to threaten me like this."
He was confident in his organisation and the power he had so he did not feel threatened by what she had mentioned.
However Alyssia continued to look unfazed as she filed her nails. "The White Storm may seem like a small fish in your eyes and you may think you can act as you please but remember this."
The next moment she stopped filing her nails and swiped her finger towards Crocodiles face as it scratched his cheek and drew blood before he could react in time. "I can kill you at any given time if I wish to, the only thing holding me back right now is the power protecting you but it is not foolproof. You can always be replaced at anytime and you know it too, the only consequences I would have to bare would be replacing you. So tell me.. do you really want to go to war over a small matter and develop further hatred? What if you make a true enemy of me and you fail in whatever you may have planned? Wouldn't you be become an easy target for my revenge without your protection?"
Crocodile hurriedly put a cloth over his wound to stop the bleeding as he widened his eyes at Alyssia.
Secretly Alyssia placed her hand in her clothes and dropped the blood on her nail into a small vial as she thought. 'That is one problem solved.'
Alyssia maintained a calm smile as she spoke in a lighter tone. "So how about we just stick to the original contract and not develop any further bad feelings between each other. After all, we must both have our own goals we wish to pursue and do not wish to waste our manpower in other places over such a small thing right? If you happen to hold a grudge over this small matter and have thoughts of getting revenge in various ways then do not bother because that would only result in further conflicts between us."
Crocodile looked towards her seriously for the first time and started calculating everything in his mind before finally speaking. "I will arrange everything but after that, I hope that you will not return to these lands after you have left."
Alyssia nodded. "Of course."
As Crocodile reached out his hand to shake hers, Alyssia stopped herself from reaching for his hand and laughed at him. "Like I said, do not take me for an idiot. This is your last chance."
Crocodile had went along with her words and said he would settle everything but in truth he had developed bad feelings towards her and decided to use his trump card.
A single handshake from his was deadly as all of the moisture in her body would be drained upon being touched by his palm leaving her with a mummy appearance and weakness.
To him, eliminating one more potential enemy that could grow even stronger over time was worth risking using that method if the difference in strength was quite big.
However Alyssia had remembered the ability he possessed so she decided to give him one final stern warning.
If he tried to use other methods or tried to use the same methods of Ann beside her then she would have no choice but to release her restraints and beat him up.
Crocodile looked at her for a little time and then took hack his hand as a cold sweat went down his forehead. "I will solve it."
As he left, Ann looked at Alyssia in shock. "Wow.. he looks so scary but in front of you, he seemed helpless?"
Alyssia shrugged helplessly. "Do not underestimate him, such a person is always looking for loopholes to exploit and weaknesses. He is just waiting for an absolutely certain opportunity to gain an advantage. If it was not for his position then I may have beaten him into the dirt or worse."
If there were people that were incompatible with her then Crocodile was one of them, he was intelligent and ruthless in his calculations to let himself benefit in many ways and towards those he took as enemies, he would be especially cruel and resort to many underhanded tactics.
His poison hook was just one example of his shady methods of combat but there was also the fact that he was readily prepared to use many within the organisation that he built and was ready to discard them after they had fulfilled their use.
Unlike Crocodile, she took a much different approach towards the White Storm and even several traitors had been given another chance in some way, even after they had been used as she intended, she still chose another option to make use of them and provide them a way to live over eliminating them for good.
She patted Ann on the shoulder and spoke. "Now you should prepare for the show and put on your best performance so that they cannot pick out any faults with you."
She then winked as she continued. "With me watching your back, you will be safe during the whole time here."
While she was talking, she made a mental calculation and noted that a sample of a Logia Devil Fruit user had been successfully collected as a result of collecting Crocodiles blood.
The Sand Devil Fruit power was a powerful one with many uses but also had a fatal weakness which she knew was water but she chose to use Haki to demonstrate the gap in their abilities and that she could harm him with ease which meant killing him was easier.
Part of the reason she attacked was due to irritation because of the difficult situation created that would affect Ann's career as a Diva and the reputation of the White Storm once word got out what had happened within Alabasta which would lead to others thinking that White Storm were easy to take advantage of.
However the main reason that she hid was that she maintained her calm and used that as an excuse to hide her motives for obtaining further research samples to fill up the missing category of the Logia types.