Following right on Cipher's heel, Charlie glanced at one of the thugs as she walked by, trying her best to seem aloof. Feeling a tingle in her fingertips, she clenched her hands slightly. 'Gotta keep this in check Charlie, stop being so nervous.' If it weren't for the baseball cap on her head, the girl was positive her hair would have stood on end a little.
As the pair entered the building, Charlie quickly stepped in line next to him. "Where'd you find this guy anyway?"
"Organised crime has adapted to the digital age as any international business must." Cipher told her "It's simply a matter of knowing where to look, not to imply that they're easy to find to a layman."
As they continued up an empty, echoing stairwell, Cipher divulged another sliver of information about his past.
"I've had business with men such as these before. Though usually, I prefer to avoid face to face encounters for obvious reasons. For gangsters, leverage is as valuable a commodity as any product they sell. Often, when it has been necessary to avoid standard routes when travelling, I pay my fees with personal information on local public figures. Always make sure to disappear as soon as immediate business is concluded however. I have no interest in long-term arrangements with them; but when you live outside the law, consorting with criminals worse than yourself cannot always be avoided."
"Was it information you gave these guys? Or was it just straight up money?" Charlie had to admit, the idea of being able to leverage information, and pull pretty much an unlimited amount of funds from the massive expanse that was the internet was a pretty sweet deal. "Can we trust these guys?" The girl rolled her eyes. "I mean, as much as we can trust these people, you know what I mean."
"Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both, depending on the needs of the other party. In this case, I plan to give them a lot of money." Cipher replied. "We can trust them as far as our business with them runs parallel to their self-interests. Cartels and mobsters may be brutal from the perspective of law-abiding citizens, but that doesn't mean they don't have patterns that govern their behaviour. If there are maniacs among their numbers, they're rarely the people negotiating."
He stopped, and caught her wrist, suddenly, but not roughly, just as they were about to arrive on the fourth floor.
"I cannot promise the actions we take beyond this point will not have consequences." He muttered, looking intently at the floor. "We may be forced to run, or fight, if we do not want to co-operate. At this point, you still have a life here that could be thrown into turmoil... You don't have to do this with me, if you don't want to."
Looking down at her arm, Charlie flexed her fingers slightly, a small smile curling her lips. "Throw what into turmoil?" The girl chuckled. "My crappy paying job and tiny apartment?" Cipher could feel a tingling sensation in his fingers as he held Charlie's wrist. "You of all people should know that I don't exactly have the most varied social life. I could disappear tomorrow and the only person who'd notice is my boss wondering why the fuck I didn't show up for work, and my landlord banging on my door asking where the damn rent is." She shook her head as her face softened sadly. "That's it."
Charlie placed her free hand on Cipher's shoulder. "I dunno why you singled me out, or why you were interested in being around me, but, I dunno." The girl blushed slightly. "I kinda want a friend, who's... like me, you know? And you need my help." She grinned. "Not very often anyone needs my help."
Cipher simply nodded, releasing Charlie's arm and rubbing his scalp. Even such limited contact with Charlie had caused him a minor headache.
They continued down a hallway to the apartment number that Cipher had been directed to. Taking a breath, the man knocked on the door three times. Almost instantaneously, it opened, and they were waved inside. Once over the threshold, Charlie and Cipher were immediately flanked by two men, who, not waiting for any kind of permission, started waving black, plastic, instruments that emitted a low whine over their torsos. Metal detectors.
While they stood there, Cipher took in the room. It was fairly sparse, with two men watching a small TV in a corner from a threadbare old sofa, cradling sub-machine guns in their laps, and not a lot else. There was an archway, separated by hanging beads, through to the kitchen, where Cipher heard at least one more person milling around, and the door to the bedroom was closed. Doubtless, there would be more men in other apartment down the hall, on standby in case they were needed.
At the far end of the room, under the window, a final man sat at a battered desk, talking on the phone. He looked slightly older than everyone else (Cipher estimated early thirties). He dressed like a man who wanted to give the outward impression of some degree of class, but was let down by his roots. His suit and waistcoat were shabby, and he had no tie, where instead he had left the top two buttons of his shirt open. Cipher also counted at least three gold teeth when he opened his moth to talk. Cipher, naturally, could hear the entirety of the conversation from both sides, but the rest of the room only heard this man's responses.
"He said what?" The man gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Son of a ***** thinks he's a big man now eh ... No, don't put the word out ... cause the cops are on red-fucking-alert right now, and the MHRB's in town. You want to bring down all their heat by putting a hit out on a Meta?! ... Don' worry, we'll handle it. Nobody screws with our guys. We just need to be more careful than that right now ..."
"They're clean." one of the enforcers who was examining Cipher and Charlie called out.
"... I'll get back to you." The man at the desk put the phone down, before turning disdainfully to his subordinate.
"The *****'s packing in the front-right pocket of his jacket, you fuckin' moron! Jeez! I can tell from over here, you can't?"
There was nothing Cipher could do as his revolver was yanked roughly out of his pocket, as other goons stood up in threatening postures, while the ones at the door stared dumbfounded at their metal detectors.
"Everybody keep your seats." The man said, raising his voice slightly "I'm sure it's just for self-defence. See he get's it back when we're done." Shooing his men away from his field of vision, the man learned forward and smiled at Cipher impressed.
"You tricked the metal detectors? I guess that's the last proof I need of who you are. You're an interesting man, Mr. Cipher..."
Charlie crossed her arms over her chest as she glanced at Cipher from the corner of her eye. Better for them to find his gun now rather than later, or things could have gotten awkward. Returning her gaze to the man behind the desk, Charlie's expression remained neutral as she addressed him. "So, how we doing this?" She didn't want to hang around any longer than she had to. This whole situation put her on edge.
"I know how I'd like to do this..." one of the men standing guard piped up, leering at Charlie.
"Miguel!" The man at the desk did not look impressed. "You look tense. Go find a magazine to jerk off to someplace out of my sight. Go! Before I change my mind and decide you need to see me after class."
When Miguel had retreated from the room, the man held his hands up apologetically.
"Forgive my associates. Gang-bangers don't often make excellent hosts, but every man has their uses no?" He smiled a polite, yet disquieting smile. "First, the pleasantries. You can call me 'Domingo'. Mr. Cipher mentioned he would be bringing a friend, but beyond that I don't know anything about you. Care to tell me your name, chica?"
Forcing a smile, Charlie nodded her head slightly. "Charlotte." She said simply. "My friend here needed someone to tag along, and I needed the extra cash, so I thought why not?" She shrugged her shoulders. Probably best not to seem too attached to Cipher, keep it strictly professional, or something, she saw it in a movie somewhere.
Domingo nodded, continuing to smile. "That's very interesting, Charlotte." he replied "Another thing that's interesting, is that you come here without a weapon. Hypothetically, you're not much use to Mr. Cipher if he has to do all the shooting himself. So, I have to conclude from this, that you don't need a gun or a blade to kill me. Am I right?"
"I hadn't planned on killing anyone." The girl chuckled, keeping her body language relaxed. "Glad to see someone in this line of work who actually pays attention though." Charlie smiled, narrowing her eyes. "You're right, I don't need a weapon."
"I don't plan to spill any blood today either, Charlotte." Domingo agreed "However, I am not ignorant of the effect people like myself can have on more reputable citizens. Why do you think I am being so forgiving of Mr. Cipher's transgression."
Opening a small brown box on his desk, Domingo produced a cigar (not exactly high quality, but still expensive stuff compared to a pack of cigarettes), before striking a match on the edge of the desk, and lighting it.
"The Doctor is upstairs." He told them, waving the smoke that now hung between them away. "Don't worry. His rooms are much cleaner than this one. I don't pay him to give people post-operative infections after all. Before you meet with him, however, I was wondering if we could discuss some mutual opportunities..."
Raising an eyebrow, Charlie glanced at Cipher from the corner of her eye. "What did you have in mind?" The girl asked. "Mind if I smoke?" Probably better to ask before she started reaching for pockets.
"Please, allow me..." Domingo grabbed his box of cigars and offered them to Charlie.
Cipher who had been content to until now to listen, and monitor there surroundings (A pornographic movie was being filmed two floors below on the opposite wing. Many of the participants appeared to be below the age of legal consent) decided now to speak up.
"You are already being paid a lot of money." he said, warily.
"I already have a lot of money, Mr. Cipher." The first hints of coldness crept into Domingo's tone as he turned to the other man. "I don't complain, but if I wasn't so good at knowing how I can make more money than I am being offered, I wouldn't have as much money as I do now..."
Leaning back in his chair, Domingo took another long drag of his cigar.
"For example..." he continued "I, and those above me, do a lot of business with friends over the border in Central and South America. The authorities make this difficult, and circumventing them is costly. You tricked the metal detectors my men used on you, Mr. Cipher. You were given no warning, and yet you did it without trying. I wonder if you could do the same sort of thing at an airport, with their detectors and full body scanners? Maybe you could even dupe Immigration and Customs' electronic record keeping, I wonder?"
Domingo's smile was broader, and uglier, now. Yet, it was also more sincere than before.
"You could make our lives a lot easier, and in return, you'd both be repaid fittingly. I don't suspect that you, Mr. Cipher, have much use for my money, but perhaps I have a more tempting offer? It is a dangerous time to be a Meta-Human in this country presently. The cops can't seem to help anyone, let alone characters like yourselves, but we... we have more men, more guns, and more ears to the ground than any police department in the state. Your help, in our business, would buy you both a lot of protection."
Gripping the cigar in her teeth, Charlie reached into her back pocket and pulled out her lighter. Puffing on the cigar, she ensured it was lit properly before returning her lighter to her pocket. 'Remember not to inhale.'
As Domingo spoke, Charlie furrowed her brow. Back alley surgeries were one thing, but what this man was suggesting was outrageous. She failed to see the allure, especially with Cipher's ability to wipe them both off the map, what need would they have for the their protection.
Pretending to consider Domingo's offer, Charlie blew smoke from the corner of her mouth as she turned to look at Cipher. "What do you think?"
"You want me to help you smuggle narcotics?" Cipher asked "Weapons? People?"
Domingo held up his hand to stop him. "I am a supplier, Mr. Cipher. A generous man. I believe the will of people is a more powerful thing than petty and temporary concepts, such as borders and laws. You need? I provide, without asking questions, just as I haven't asked you what you need to see my Doctor for, or why visiting a free clinic does not agree with you. That is the nature of how I do my business, Mr. Cipher, so it would be best for you, also, to not ask questions."
Cipher sat there for a moment, thinking hard. Domingo was proving to be a sharper operator than Cipher had hoped for. The man wasn't infallible, for he had missed the switchblade that Cipher kept concealed in his inside pocket. Not that it was of use to him now. If he tried to attack Domingo with it, he'd be dead before he left his seat; and, for all of Charlie's well-acted confidence, Cipher doubted she had ever had to use her ability in anger before. In any case, they needed Domingo, and Domingo knew it, which gave him all the cards. That was always the way it was going to be, but it would have been fortunate to have met with someone just a little less sure of that fact.
"I will think about it." Cipher answered, which at least brought him a little more time.
"Thank you." Domingo grinned broadly "I am not asking for any signatures on the dotted line at this time. We're just having a friendly conversation..." After that, his tone grew more business like. "Dominic will show you the way to the Doctor, come back down to see me when you're done with him."
Charlie nodded her head in agreement with Cipher. They could at least try to ruffle as few feathers as possible, at least until after their business with the doctor. Before Domingo's man led them away, Charlie stubbed out her cigar in the ashtray on the man's desk. "This is really good, I'll be back to finish it later." She smiled at the man before following after the others.
