I peered out into the darkness, but there was nothing to see. Then, I noticed a small figure scuttling away in the shadows. I grabbed a handful of nanobots and threw them toward the figure, transforming it into a giant spider. The creature moved swiftly and disappeared into the night.
"What do you think it was?" Kyla asked quietly.
"I don't know enough about the city yet, or the people in it to make that call," I said grimly. "Either way, we need to be more careful from now on."
Kyla nodded, her face pale in the moonlight. We continued on until we reached the Phoenix Four's hideout, being extra cautious this time.
We paused at the entrance to the hideout, my gaze sweeping across the area for any signs of danger. The door was slightly ajar, and I heard voices coming from inside. I motioned for Kyla to stay back and crept forward to get a better look.
Peering through the crack in the door, I saw four people gathered around a table, deep in conversation. They were all young, ranging from 15-22 years old, though something about their demeanor suggested that they had seen battle before.
I stepped away from the door and beckoned Kyla to join me. "Are those the Phoenix Four? The Aquaking spies?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
I nodded. "Yes," I replied. "It's time to put my plan into motion."
We stepped inside, and the four occupants of the room looked up in surprise. They immediately tensed as if expecting an attack, but when they saw us, their expressions softened slightly.
"We come in peace," I said, holding up my hands in surrender. "We need your services. We are looking for information on Aquaking and his plans for Wendell."
The eldest of the group, a 22-year-old man with dark hair and piercing gray eyes, stepped forward. "What is it you seek?" he asked.
"We need intel on Aquaking's plans for this city," I replied. "How many forces does he have? What kind of resources does he have access to? Can he get magical artifacts from here? How mobile is he?"
The man paused and then narrowed his eyes at me. "Do you really think that we are just going to tell you this? And what are you even? A body made out of metal isn't something that is seen here or even legal."
Suddenly, the four started to get closer, their hands hovering near their weapons. I knew they were suspicious of us and that we may have to bargain our way out of this situation.
"We are not here to cause trouble," I said quickly, my voice low and calm. "We just need your help. We will pay you whatever it takes for the information."
The eldest took a step back, his expression betraying his surprise. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "What kind of payment would you offer? Money or something more…tangible?"
I smiled, but it was cold and deadly. "Money is easy enough, but I am not here to make a deal. I have been kind enough so far to deal with your questions, but if you start to make demands of me, I will start to get upset. I am a robot, and yes, I am illegal, but so are the four of you spies, and that is why I searched you out. Now, I am looking for members, and you four are going to be some of them. I want to hear a breakdown of your skills and how you can use them to help me."
"Rax, there isn't a future where we make it out of here alive if we don't agree with this one. I don't know what he is, but he doesn't use magic, and it barely has any effect on him. Illusion spells don't work, and if we touch the captive, our deaths get worse," The one called Fawna said with a haunted look as she stared at me, and I nodded.
"Interesting. Just how far can you see into the future?" I asked curiously. This could be an extremely valuable skill depending on its power and how far its reach was.
"No more than ten seconds at my current level of training, but I don't have a trainer, so I am not likely to advance further than this on my own," Fawna said without reservation as the other three looked at her with shock.
"Fawna! You should be telling a creature like this that!" Rax, the oldest, said, but Fawna leveled her gaze at her brother.
"You and the others had better start talking. This creature has no qualms about killing any of us, so if you want to live, you had better start talking," Fawna said, and Rax sighed, turning to me.
"I have never seen her like this, but I guess we have no choice. Not like we ever really get a choice," Rax said and then started to explain his abilities. "I have an innate magical ability for illusion casting. I can cast powerful illusions that allow me to mask my presence and access restricted areas undetected. Plus, I'm also a sharp negotiator,"
The others started to follow suit, each outlining their abilities and what special skills they had for gathering intel or infiltrating compounds. They were certainly an impressive group of spies, and with their help, we should be able to gather all the information on Aquaking that we needed, as well as use their particular skills to our advantage.
Kyla patted my shoulder, her expression excited. "We did it!" she whispered in my ear.
I nodded back, not allowing myself to relax. We had found exactly what we were looking for - Aquian spies who could provide us with invaluable intelligence, but this was only the beginning, and we had barely scratched the surface. There were still many steps to even establish a small-time crime business, and so far, I have completed 2 of my seven basic steps to becoming a crime lord.
Gaining information and some followers. This meant that it was now time to look for a base of operation and then to work on creating some income, and now that I knew about what my new members could do, I had a few ideas.