Chapter 362: Deals make the world go round
*Bing-Bong*
The writer of this work would like to make it known that he is aware that it seems mildly annoying to have all of these chapters focused on antagonistic side characters, but would like to make it known that this is important for the later chapters and not because he has writers block and is trying to stall for-.
|Stop calling me out!|
MAKE ME, BITCH!
*Bing-Bong*
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“Jasper. Why did it get dark all of a sudden? And why does it smell so bad in here?”
“I’m not sure Janice, but I’m going to stop cutting open the bag for now to try and stop the smell from coming through.”
“Okay.”
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“So we’re lost and somehow ended up in Rot Oyster, great…,”Simo grumbled.
Graff for his part just stared daggers at his companion.
He had been the one steering the gondola for the past few hours and did not appreciate all of this sass from a guy who’s main job was essentially making a blanket made of energy.
Graff was very tempted at this point to pull the paddle out of the water and smash it over Simo’s head, but stopped when an unexpected voice called out to him and his friend.
“Hey guys! You alright? You two look lost as hell?”
“Huh?”
“Who’s the guy with the messed up teeth?”
The person who called out to the two of them was a skinny fellow with an outrageous looking set of teeth.
Judging by the sheer number of teeth and how they seemed to grow every which way and back, the two of them assumed the man to either be a bloodliner or born with some kind of condition, they just didn’t know which one it was.
The man in question was currently smiling at them, and while most of the time such an action would alleviate concerns and put one at ease, something about this man’s particular smile felt…greasy.
Then again, that feeling of greasiness could have been coming from the putrid water they were floating in or the local fried “meat” stands cooking nearby.
They had asked someone what the “meat” was one time…they got three different answers, none of them good.
(Un)aware of Simos and Graff’s feelings however, the skinny man continued his spiel.
“The name’s Victor, and you two look like you need a guide,” the skinny man said as his smile seemed to grow wider.
“Uhh…”
Simos and Graff stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do with Victor’s friendly demeanor.
They knew that Rot Oyster had a reputation for being deceptive, so they weren’t sure if they could trust this toothy man or not. He seemed friendly, but they knew such a persona tended to be coated in poisoned barbs.
‘Hmmm, maybe I should throw them a bone?,’ Victor thought to himself, as he sensed their weariness towards him. He needed them to access Miss Venus, and the best way to get someone trust you is to do them an impromptu favor.
Usually.
“Tell you guys what,” Victor began to say in his friendliest voice, “as a sign of trust between me and you, I’m gonna let you on a little secret for free.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a hole in your bag.”
“What?!”
Graff and Simos freaked out the moment Victor said those words and proceeded to look over their bag with increased focus.
Seeing the aforementioned hole, the tow of them worked quickly to seal it up via a quick aether patch job.
“Fucking told you we should have bought a new bag.”
“This is new!”
“It’s used!”
“Same difference.”
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‘Shit! They found the hole!,’ Jasper mentally cursed as he watched the hole repair itself.
He still had the coin so he could cut open a new one, but now he had to be more careful as to not catch the kidnapper’s notice again.
Hopefully he could make the hole big enough for at least Janice to escape.
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With the hole now patched, Simos and Graff let out sighs of relief, alongside developing a newfound sense of trust in this weird toothy fellow named Victor.
“Thanks for the warning,” Simos nodded in gratitude, “We almost lost our pay day.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Victor replied while waving his hand off in dismissal, “now then, is it safe to assume you two are heading off to the slave market then? I don’t think any of the ones who handle in minor affairs are in for the day though.”
Graff looked at Simos, looking for approval on whether or not they should share their plans, receiving a nod from the latter in turn.
“Actually, we’re looking to try and make a deal with Miss Venus. Ever heard of her?”
“The Peddler of Thousands? Of course I know of her, any black marketer worth their salt know of her…wait, you two are trying to cut a deal with her?” Victor feigned surprise. He had already figured they were going to do so, knowing the reputation of Miss Venus’s activities, he just needed confirmation.
As the two of them nodded, Victor’s smile grew just a touch wider than before.
“Well then, my new friends, today is your lucky day. For I happen to know where Miss Venus is going to be and how to arrange a meeting with her,” Victor said with a touch of flair.
Simos and Graff were about to tell Victor off about knowing where she was, even they knew where she was, they just didn’t have any sense of direction. However, the moment Victor mentioned about arranging a meeting, the two of them stopped themselves from doing so.
“Uh…arrange a meeting?”
“Why of course,” Victor chided with a laugh and a shake of his head, “you two didn’t think you could just walk into whatever venue she was performing in for the evening and a cut a deal that quickly, did you?”
“Uh…”
“Honestly…yeah.”
Victor’s smile turned a tad stiff at this answer.
‘What the hell am I about to get myself into?,’ Victor asked himself as he realized the ineptitude of the people he was dealing with.
On the one hand, this meant that he could easily manipulate the two of them into doing whatever he wanted or needed from them. On the other, this meant that he had to put in more effort in making sure these two idiots didn’t do anything to sour the deal and/or get themselves killed.
‘The things I do for my teeth…’
“Well then,” Victor continued without missing a beat, “in that case, why don’t I propose something? A…win-win deal, as it were.”
“Uhh…okay?”
“You two are in need of a meeting with Miss Venus, correct? In that case, for a small percentage profit you two are sure to make from such a meeting, why don’t I help to arrange in the first place?”
“…”
“Well?”
“…how much are you asking for?”
“Twenty percent?”
“What?!”
The moment Simos and Graff heard the frankly outrageous amount being asked for by Victor, the two of them immediately became outraged.
“That is way too much money!”
“Pfft! I think it’s a fairly reasonable sum given the circumstances,” Victor mused while blowing air through his teeth, “but fine, if you don’t want to, I can just go and find something else to do. I’m sure you two can figure out how to contact her people, how to arrange a proper venue that is respectful for someone of her status and I have no doubt the ‘goods’ you’re attempting to sell her are of the highest quality and meet her very, very specific demands. Good day gentlemen.”
After finish saying all of this, Victor proceeded to turn around and walk in the direction opposite of the way Simos and Graff were floating towards.
This was a deliberate move on his part.
When Victor explained about all of the little “details” that Simos and Graff seem to not understand in regards to dealing with Miss Venus, he made sure to pay attention to their expressions.
Over the course of this little speech, Victor watched as the two of them went from looking downright angry, to surprise to utter dread as they realized that they were essentially way over their heads.
Victor only had to walk a few feet forward when he was called out by the two.
“Hey! Wait!”
Victor immediately stopped walking, but he slowly turned towards the duo with a punchable smile on his face.
“Yes?”
“We can’t do twenty percent,” Simos stated, “but we are willing to give you a percentage of the profits.”
“Oh?”
“Can you introduce us for…eight percent?”
“Pfft! Eight?,” Victor repeated in offense, “you want me to arrange a meeting with one of the most prolific traders in the underworld for a measly eight percent? At least make it eighteen!”
“No way!”
“Good bye then.”
“Wait!”
This back and forth went on for awhile until the three of them settled on a nice and even twelve percent.
It would have been ten, but Victor managed to push just enough to get them to go a touch higher than that.
‘Cool…now I just need to contact a few people…’
If everything went according to as Victor planned, this time tomorrow, he would have brand new teeth.
Of course…life had a way of making even the most well-laid plans a touch more…chaotic than necessary.
