I was sitting in my office when everyone came in the morning with Miles' skull sitting on my desk. I used the nanobots to clean all the bits off and then reconstructed it.
Fawna was the first to see it, and she froze as all the color drained from her face. Then she looked around the room, which had gotten much bigger. She didn't say anything, and I waited until everyone was in the room and the door was closed before speaking.
"Last night, Miles betrayed us and almost got all of us murdered because of his selfish choice. This is the result of his betrayal and a reminder to everyone of what will happen if you betray this family," I said, and everyone looked uneasy.
"What did he do?" Fawna asked.
"He was working with the Shadow Rats and had told them all our information and my movements. He was hoping that I would get taken out, but I never told him about the Ladies of the Night. There were groups surrounding the complex, and I am sure they were coming to kill all of you in your sleep. I fired all the guards, and now the warehouse will only be watched by my guards, but this puts us in a rough place and brings a lot of attention to us. People will start asking about Miles, and when they find out that he is dead, Ned will try to kick us out," I said, and then pointed at a water cooler that I had made. "From now on, you will all be drinking this water. Ned is putting platinum in the water, and I still don't know how he is going to use it, but I am not taking any chances."
Everyone went to their desk and started to work, but I could see that they were all idly looking at the skull. I was sure that everyone had got the message, and with Ned's ploy, we were all in a tight spot.
I'd need to do more research on our enemies and how they operated if we wanted to make sure we stayed one step ahead of them and kept ourselves safe. But for now, I just hoped everyone remembered Miles' fate and what happened when you crossed me. I needed to keep a tight hold, but I was going to deal with the root of the problem, the Shadow Rats.
"Do you want me and Kyla to go try to bribe the people out of jail?" Rax asked as I stood up, but I shook my head no.
"Everyone is going to stay low for today. I am going to personally deal with the Shadow Rats. Everyone is to work on information gathering on Ned today, and I need all the information on all gang locations in the city. Make sure that information gets to me," I said, and everyone nodded, and I grabbed Miles' skull into my hand, then crushed it and left the room in silence.
I headed back to the warehouse and found Alizra sitting on the operating table in the cage I had built. She looked at me, and I was about to ignore her, but after what happened with Miles, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.
"You look like you have had a long night," Alizra said as I opened the door and entered the glass cage.
"One of my own people betrayed me and tried to get everyone killed. I am sure that you would have joined us all if they had known more about me," I said, and Alizra's eyes went big.
"Who?" She asked, hopping off the table.
"Shadow Rats," I said, and she nodded.
"Makes sense, but I never would have thought that they would try to take you alone!" Alizra said in surprise.
"They sent a good number. At least four groups and a tough guy named Vince," I said.
"Vince?! And you made it out alive?! He was just a young man during the war, but he and Greg, the boss of the Shadow Rats, got in a lot of trouble for torturing Numerians and were forced to come to Wisteria. I am impressed that you were able to survive," she said, but I shook my head.
"Survive is not exactly what happened. I killed him, but he took out my guards. If that had been me, I would have been in some rough shape. Still, I am always prepared for something bad to happen, and I had my original body here to defend the place. I think the problem is that everyone is trying to fight me, thinking that I am like the race that they all exterminated, which I am not," I said.
"So, why did you come to talk to me? Is there something that I can help you with?" She asked, and I shrugged.
"I just want to know that we are still good. I just had to kill someone that I thought I could trust, and with whatever Ned is planning, I am going to have to kill more if I am not careful. I want to make sure that I can trust you, so I don't have to start collaring with people and forcing them to do what I ask for their own safety. I still don't know if that was Miles that chose to betray me or if it was something much more insidious," I said, and Alizra smiled at that.
"Collar me? For my own good? While a collar sounds fun, I don't think I want to become one of your robots. As long as you are keeping my people safe and relaying my orders properly, I have no reason to turn on you. You have me in a tight place, but I know it is for my safety, so I am not being difficult. You also asked for my hand and offered me a place as your queen, so I will hardly betray you when your plans align with mine so well. The only thing that concerns me is how you will get my sister back from Aquaking. He bought her from the same one Stephan Zaraki bought me from," Alizra explained, and I lifted my eyebrow.
"I know, and I will get her back. You don't have to worry about that," I said as I walked out of the cage, locking it behind me. "I am going after the Shadow Rats now, so you should be safe here for a while."