Honestly, I didn't know what to think of Eddie…
He had his own agenda, but he didn't hide it from me. He was someone who joined the Merchants out of desperation considering both the Empire and the ABB would have killed him.
However, he used to be a member of the Marche… I didn't know much about the Marche considering Marquis and Marche were long gone before the canon started, but they were nowhere as bad as the Merchants.
From what I knew of Marquis, he was a man of principle, who refused to lay hands on women or children. Something the Brockton Bay Brigade took advantage of when they attacked him in his home.
Eddie might have joined the Merchants out of desperation, but he hated them. He had never touched drugs before joining the Merchants, but now he was an addict.
He hated this life, but his other choice was to simply roll over and die or skip the city and start from zero…
I could see where he was coming from, but that did not mean I trusted him. At least, not yet. However, I was willing to give him a chance.
"Are you planning to betray me?" I asked while giving him a considering look.
"No?" He answered, sounding unsure and afraid at the same time. I would be lying if I said I was pleased with his answer, so I decided to keep him Mastered for the time being.
The pressure on my mind grew after I Mastered Eddie and his two goons, but the pressure was still far from uncomfortable. It was simply a minor annoyance.
The pressure was not something I could ignore… It was always back there in my mind, reminding me that I had four people under my control, but it was not something bothering me yet.
I finally turned toward Cindy and stared at her, making her eyes tremble. "Fix your make-up and return to your usual routine. Do not let anyone know what happened here directly or indirectly. Do you understand?" I asked after I finished relaying my orders.
"I do" Her eyes trembled slightly even though her voice was steady and normal.
"Good, you may go" I said without using EXPLOITER. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she walked away, her body language giving nothing away.
Then I turned toward Eddie. "Take me to Sdikmark and do not draw any suspicion" I ordered and a smile appeared on his face.
"Alright" He said before coming to a halt, making me freeze. Did he throw off my control or something? I didn't feel anything wrong with my power as I could still feel my power connected to him.
"Uh, we need to take them with us if we don't want to draw any suspicion" Eddie explained. Ah… So, he was able to stop due to conflicting orders.
He could have taken me to Skidmark, but leaving his two goons would have raised suspicion, and I ordered him not to draw suspicion.
I needed to be more careful about my orders… After all of this was over, I needed to sit down and think over all of my orders.
Right now, all of my thralls were working fine except for the most recent hitch. However, there was always a chance that some issues might crop up in the future and they might stop working altogether.
I couldn't have that… The one who I was most worried about was Cindy, but there was nothing I could do right now. Yes, I could free her, but that would be counterproductive to my continued survival in this death world.
However, I intended to free all four of them after I had the Merchants under my control and rehash the orders to them in a much cleaner way…
"The two of you, follow us and don't draw any suspicion. Act normally" I ordered and stared at them to make sure that I was able to get my order across.
Their bodies relaxed and they looked like they were high as fuck. Yeah, now they looked like normal Merchants…
Eddie didn't need any more urging after that. He started to lead me out of the alley on his own. As soon as we were out of the alley, we were the centre of attention. Some people were staring at me with surprise and pity, but none of their gazes lingered for long.
"Come on, climb in" Eddie said to me while pointing toward the pillion seat while he told the goons to climb at the back. I climbed into the car, feeling somewhat squeamish, but the inside of the truck was surprisingly clean.
"Do you guys have any permanent bases?" I asked as I put on my seat belt. The car might be clean, but Eddie was a druggie, so I was starting to feel that I might have jumped the gun with my harebrained plan.
Unfortunately, I was simply flying by the seat of my pants… I could have done everything in a much better way only if I had planned my actions more carefully… I could have done more research.
In fact, I should have done more research… Thankfully, I still had time and I intended to make my next move after careful consideration. Everything turned out fine somehow until now, but my luck would eventually run out.
Until now, I was treating everything like a game, but when Cindy pointed a gun at me, I knew that I might be in over my head. If it was not for EXPLOITER, then I would have been screwed.
This was not a game and if I died then I was going to die for real. It was something I wanted to avoid at all costs…
"Yeah, we do have some, but our Capes keep moving around. Moving the whore houses would be bad for business" Eddie finished before giving me a toothy grin.
Hmm… I hummed while rubbing my chin thoughtfully. "Reach out to one of your friends to see if Skidmark is alone or not" I ordered before I leaned back in my seat. I didn't want any more surprises.
I didn't want to go in just expecting Skidmark and find that Squealer and Mush were also there. Eddie pulled out his phone and called someone, but I froze when I realized my mistake. I didn't tell him to keep quiet about me, but this might be an opportunity to see if I could really trust him or not.
I became tense as he continued to speak on the phone and I wasn't sure if he noticed me or not, but he continued to speak normally. He finally ended the call and I didn't feel he said anything to give me away, but I still wanted to know for sure.
"Only Skidmark and Squealer are there" Eddie said to me and I nodded my head in understanding.
"Did you give me away?" It needed to be asked. Only a single mistake could lead me to my death. You are not paranoid if they are really out to get you and all that.
"No" He answered while shaking his head. "Look, you don't trust me. I get that, but I hate what we are right now" He said and frantically shook his head. "I don't believe anyone can be worse than Skidmark. As far as I am concerned, you have my vote" Eddie explained.
I did not know what to say to that… He was willing to trust a 19 year old Master over Skidmark. That went to show just how desperate he was for some change…
"Alright… I will give you a chance" I finally agreed to give him a chance even if I felt reluctant to do so. I decided not to give him any more orders and it might sound like a risk, but I wanted to see if he was going to hang himself with the rope I was giving him.
"Do either of you have a gun?" I asked, looking at the two goons in the backseat. Both of them nodded after a moment of silence. "Hand me your gun and show me how to use it" I had never seen a gun in my entire life until today, so obviously I had no idea how to use one.
The goon pulled out his gun and handed it over to me with a defeated look in his eyes. "...This is… the safety" The goon explained with some difficulty while pointing at the safety switch. "You just need to load the gun and make sure that the safety is turned off" He added after a moment.
"Then you just pull the trigger" He finished proudly before leaning back in his seat, looking like he had won some kind of championship.
I felt my eyebrows twitch at his callousness… I found his instructions highly lacking, but I guess he told me enough. Guns might be dangerous, but they were extremely simple weapons. You just need to keep the barrel of the gun pointed at your enemy and pull the trigger.
I made sure that the safety was turned on twice before tucking the gun in my belt. Thankfully, the gun didn't go off which was always a good thing in my books…
***
"We are here" Eddie announced as we arrived in front of an abandoned warehouse. The building was debilitated and there was vegetation all over, but people could be seen milling around. "There is a garage by the side. Squealer should be there" Eddie said while pointing at the side of the building.
"What about guards?" I asked while I continued to look around.
"No guards, at least not at the time of the day. You see a bunch of homeless people squatting in an abandoned warehouse? You don't pay it much attention and simply move along, but if you see guards milling around an abandoned warehouse, you would know that something is up" Eddie explained with a grin.
Ah… That made a lot of sense… Skidmark and the Merchants were a joke and while he was incompetent, he wasn't completely foolish or he wouldn't have been able to last this long in this city.
"Skidmark must be somewhere in there. If he is awake then he would be fucking a whore while snorting some powder or he will be just snorting some powder" Eddie added after a moment while pointing at the building.
Skidmark was a threat… Unless he was under my control, he was a threat to me, but Squealer was a more appealing target to me. There was a reason why Tinkers were more sought out than normal Capes even though the said Tinker was a drug addict.
"Can we drive straight into the garage?" I asked as I gave Eddie a look.
He seemed to think for a bit before finally answering. "No, but I think we should park here. The garage is Squealer's dominion and I have no idea what she might be up to in there at this moment" Eddie answered thoughtfully before wiping his face.
"Are you alright?" I asked while looking at him with concern. His hands were shaking… No scratch that, his whole body was trembling.
"Why?" Eddie asked and when I pointed at his hands, he grimaced. "It's just withdrawal. I will be fine" He tried to wave off my concerns, but I don't think he is fine. Well, now I at least know someone who is going to be over the moon over the prospect of being fixed.
"By the way, do we take these two with us?" I asked while pointing at the two goons in the backseat.
"Nah, leave them here" Eddie shook his head in refusal.
"The two of you stay here and don't leave the car. Do not do anything to draw attention and if someone comes to check, tell them Eddie came to meet Skidmark. Do not tell anyone anything about me" I relayed my orders and as soon as I was done, both Eddie and I climbed out of the car before locking.
It was finally time to take the first step in my path of conquest…
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