As the flames engulfed my body, I was surrounded by a flurry of nanobots that moved with incredible speed and accuracy. The nanobots worked tirelessly to rearrange atoms, forming new molecules and chemical compounds in order to create a powerful fire-retardant. In mere seconds, they had created an invisible layer of protection over me - a personal extinguisher made up of ammonium phosphite. As soon as the fire touched this coating, it was extinguished almost instantly. All that remained was a thin layer of soot and smoke wafting through the air in the aftermath of what could have been a devastating encounter.
"Now," I said as the fire stopped, and Rick was taken down by five of the bugs wrapping him in thin wires. "Who is the other leader for the Bloods?" I asked, allowing the bug that was on Rick's head to release tension in his jaw.
"You aren't going to get away-'' Rick started to say, but his mouth snapped shut as my bug tightened the wires tight enough to cut the skin at the edge of his jawline.
"If you enjoy being alive, even a little bit, you will answer my questions and nothing else. You aren't even the leader, so I see no problem with killing you, and then the rest of the people in this room if you don't answer my questions. The two smaller gangs seem to be just toys for Kaido and Zaraki, so it might be in my best interest just to remove both gangs," I said, and then released his jaw again.
"Brad is outside still with his men. Only Shadow Rats are in the building."
"Much better," I said, and then released the bugs from only him. "You are going to go down and get him, and then we are going to have a talk," I said, and the man stood up.
"What makes you think Brad will come up here?" Rick asked as he touched his jaw, where blood was dripping.
"Clear out the building when you go down, and I am sure that he will come, right Brad?" I asked; our conversation broadcasted to a bug on Brad that I had found fairly fast after listening to the conversations of the men below.
"Huh?" Rick asked, looking around.
"What?! Where did that voice come from?!" The man named Brad asked, and the voice played from a speaker on my chest as I brushed the fire retardant off me.
"I put a bug in your ears, so when Rick comes down to get you, you will come with him, or I will make the bug explode," I said, and then looked up from my task at Rick. "I suggest that you tell all your men to stop any fighting, or their fate will be the same. I will make examples if I have to," I warned and then released the other men that were still on the ground.
Rick nodded with a fearful look, putting a hand up to his head as the others got up and dashed to get out of the room. I watched as they went, but then I switched comms. "Kilna?"
"Yes?" She asked.
"Can you put on the headset? I need you to patrol the area, so I know if any Order of Salvation or any city guards starts getting close. I will patch some drones for you when you are ready," I replied and waited for a moment to receive a reply again.
"Back in the office, and I have the headset on. Fawna is with me, and she is going to work with me to make predictions," she said.
I patched over two of the drones and kept the other five to keep eyes on Coron and watch the four sides of the building. "Good, just stay high for now. If you see important people, try to scan them from a distance, and get pictures of them. You only have to think, and the AI in the drones will take care of the rest," I explained.
"I am not sure what you mean, but I am sure that I will figure it out. Let us know if you need anything else," Kilna said, and I cut the communication, letting the Nanobots finish cleaning me off.
My goal was to see if I could gain a bit of leverage between the two gangs. If these were both loyal dogs to Kaido and Zaraki, that meant there would be some of their men in each gang to keep control. I wanted to break that control and take it for myself. The task that the two families had them doing was good because new gangs popping up was a bad thing if they started to gain traction fast. The problem lay in why they were popping up so fast, and the answer was that crime had become a part of this city.
I had plans to change that. While I liked the darkness of the place, there were too many trying to control the same thing, but there was only room for one in a place like this. Each of the others would have a choice as the boulder known as change came their way.
Normally, you have three choices. One, stand in the way and be crushed. Two, stand to the side and pretend the boulder doesn't exist and live life as it was. The third will be the ones that walk in the path that the boulder makes. I was not going to give anyone a choice to stand by the side. It was to get crushed or fall in line; there was no third way for this lost city. That would be the new way of things.
'Are you sure that this is the best option?' Numera's voice asked in my head, and I nodded to myself, closing my eyes again.
Once I opened them to see her, I spoke. I didn't like her reading my thoughts. "How much of my mind can you hear or read?" I asked with suspicion, but Numera replied plainly.
"As much as I want. It is essential for us to know what you are thinking since you are working in my name, are you not?" She asked plainly, and I frowned.