"That is where things get tricky. From what I have heard, Razor trusts no one and places devices inside of people to make them listen," He replied, and Naru's eyes spread open wide, and Stephan laughed. "Yeah, I thought the same. Sounds like he uses metal bugs for it; creepy as shit, but this is why you have to go over it completely. I think that any type of espionage will get you killed. No, what I want is a deal, and since you are one of my best and provide a service he is likely to use, I think this is my best way to get concrete information."
Naru nodded, not happy with the news, but she understood. No one else in his organization was able to do what she did. She had an almost supernatural level of understanding of how people moved and their habits. This allowed her to become one of the deadliest assassins in the city of Wendall, and the name Blood Witch was known outside of Wisteria by many and feared by all.
"So, you will be looking for hard proof of what he is up to, but you will only report what he allows you to. I can get what I need from your mind without him even knowing when you come to visit, even if he is standing right beside you," Stephen explained, but Isola stood up, crossing her arms.
"I don't think you should send her alone. Machine or not, he is still a man," Isola said and gave Naru a look, but Stephen shook his head.
"No. She goes alone, but if that is your worry, I can tell you that you can throw that notion out the window. The two men I had working for Miles were let go today, but before they were let go, they were all warned by Miles. Now, you have to understand that Miles cares nothing about women, and I am sure if I sent you to work for him alone, you would just kill him. Today, Miles told all his men that none of them are allowed to drink on the job, nor can they do anything to abuse women," Stephen said, and both women gave shocked looks.
"Miles said that?" Isola asked with a stunned look on her face, and Stephen nodded.
"That is how scary this Numerian is. He turned a dark and brooding man that cared nothing for women's feelings into a sniveling coward. Sources even go as far as to say that Razor is now monitoring the brothel I own. I am actually headed over there tonight to talk to Geoffrey about things. The brothel is close to Miles' shop, and his men are the biggest customers. In less than 24 hours, we have gone from at least 250 clients to less than 5 visits since sunrise," Stephen explained, and Isola was forced to sit down.
This information was hard for her to process. Women were considered equals and could do anything that men could do, but while a strong woman could defeat some men, a strong man could defeat all women. This was just a fact, and Isola had been taken advantage of by one of the politicians she had been controlling. That man was dead now, thanks to Boss Zaraki, but that moment of powerlessness had stuck with her. It caused her to become extremely cautious around men and much more vicious with her magic.
"Are you serious that he is like that?" Isola asked slowly, but Boss Zaraki shrugged.
"If Naru gets a place with him, we will find out soon. I will not hear arguments. What I will hear is how things are going with the Agriculture minister?" Stephen asked, but Naru put up her hand, and he nodded. "Yes, you can go, but I think you will have to wait till tomorrow. He disappeared after the Meeting with Rick and Brad, but I know he is doing a job for Alizra tonight. I was supposed to be sending her a guard, but I got a message this morning that the deal was off. At the same time, another source told me that she let Kilna go, and she went to Razor. I have two Farseers with open gates constantly watching the area, and the Order of Salvation has been sneaking into the area."
"Hmmm, I might go watch with them if you have nothing for me to do? I am curious to know about my new master," Naru said, and Boss Zaraki nodded, gesturing for the door.
"Go ahead, but stay out of the area. Tonight is the first real test of the new crime boss, and what happens tonight will pave the path for how things are going to happen in the future. Something tells me that Wendall is not the only one that will feel this change... Or he will end up like every other Numerian," he said, and Naru nodded and then bowed before leaving, and Stephen used magic to close the door behind her; looking to Isola, who still looked to be confused and lost, but the incident had only been a year ago.
"I am serious about what I said. While I would never get away with an order like that, Razor will not hesitate to kill anyone from what I can see. We all know that champions come from other worlds, but wherever this one came from, it must have been much worse than this one, or he was a crime boss in his past life. Where he came from doesn't matter, but what he does here does," Stephen said, but it was just to fill the awkward silence between them. Stephen still blamed himself for this and should have forced her to be harsher from the start. That was his failing, and he had made the man pay for hurting one of his children, but that didn't heal the damage done.
"After everything you have said about Razor, that just is hard to believe," Isola said quietly, and Stephen nodded.
"I feel the same way, and you know I make sure all the girls are treated well, but I feel like the men need a place to get released," Stephen said, and Isola looked away.
"I guess we'll just have to see what the future brings, but thank you for telling me about this. I was worried about you sending Naru. She is deadly, but she is barely twenty, and she is a woman," Isola said, and Stephen nodded.
"She is more mature than we give her credit for. I think that if she survives this experience without experiencing too much damage, she will come out stronger in the end. It will be a process, but I think it is what she needs right now," He replied and then stood up to stretch. "I should go check on the girls at the brothel. I need to make sure they are still safe and figure out how I am going to fix this. That is a huge loss of revenue," he said as he walked to the door, and Isola smiled.
"Maybe this new creature will find a way that we don't need a place like that. No woman should have to do that," She said quietly, and the boss put a hand on her shoulder as he walked by.
"Don't do that. Hope is nothing but a disease that will destroy you in this world. This Numerian could die tonight, and nothing will even have a chance to be realized."