"We got a profile or something on Mr Dragon or did we end blowing up half the paperwork?"
"It just so happens that we do." General Hammond replied calmly, opening one of the draws of his desk to produce the file that he had laid out specially. There was a significant thus when he dropped it on the surface.
"Travis is a man who's brutality is matched by his ambition. That said, he is easily manipulated. He was little people for a long time down here, and even after the old gang fiefdom's crumbled he never really got a chance to spread his wings. By all accounts, he's obsessed with asserting his dominance over the rest of The Pit, and if his cooperation will give us the in-roads we need, I see no harm in allowing him to entertain that notion for the time-being. However, I will not have him running rampant. Do what you have to do to keep him sated, while also making sure the leash can be pulled back at any time. If he proves less malleable than I hope, I will not allow him to become a problem that cannot be quickly snuffed out. Understood?"
===========================================================================================================================
"I mean, no offense, one false move, and you might say something you'll regret later down the line."
Selena laughed, none too quietly.
"You obviously didn't get the memo." she told him, bitterness shining though her inebriation. "I'm our esteemed General's new favourite, his pet. The ***** of Venture Horizon brought to heel. He can do whatever he wants to me, at any time he likes, but if anyone else so much as lays a finger on me without his permission, heads will roll."
She laboured that last clause, while shooting an insolent look at the disgusting specimen who had been leering at her from the moment she walked through the doors, before sliding her empty glass back across the bar to Zach.
"Now shut up, and get me another drink."
=========================================================================================================================
"You ready?"
Nikolai looked down at Lucia and smiled.
"It will be good to walk on dirt again. My leg makes so much noise when I walk here, it gives me a headache."
The big ship took a long time to eventually pull up in the harbour, seemingly wrestling with itself the whole time. As it turned out, The Free Men were all ready long before they needed to be, and practically barged a few workers overboard in their enthusiasm when they were eventually allowed to disembark.
"This is where we must part ways." One of their Songbird guides announced once they had all made it onto the concrete harbour. "We have other business in the port, and from here, you are free and able to go anywhere you please." He smiled at them all. "It has been a pleasure."
Nikolai nodded back, and said nothing. Without another word, the Songbirds turned their backs on the Free Men, and were soon lost in the throng of people all rushing around the harbour.
For how long Nikolai and the rest simply stood there, he couldn't say. From here, they really could go anywhere they pleased. The harbour was full of ships from all over the world, with even more waiting for a spot out in the bay. For so long, Nikolai's only focus had been putting one foot in front of the other, to keep going forward and to stay ahead of all the dangers that threatened to overwhelm them. Now, for the first time, he had choice, so much choice...
"I'm thirsty." He eventually said allowed. "Let's find something to drink."
"It just so happens that we do." General Hammond replied calmly, opening one of the draws of his desk to produce the file that he had laid out specially. There was a significant thus when he dropped it on the surface.
"Travis is a man who's brutality is matched by his ambition. That said, he is easily manipulated. He was little people for a long time down here, and even after the old gang fiefdom's crumbled he never really got a chance to spread his wings. By all accounts, he's obsessed with asserting his dominance over the rest of The Pit, and if his cooperation will give us the in-roads we need, I see no harm in allowing him to entertain that notion for the time-being. However, I will not have him running rampant. Do what you have to do to keep him sated, while also making sure the leash can be pulled back at any time. If he proves less malleable than I hope, I will not allow him to become a problem that cannot be quickly snuffed out. Understood?"
===========================================================================================================================
"I mean, no offense, one false move, and you might say something you'll regret later down the line."
Selena laughed, none too quietly.
"You obviously didn't get the memo." she told him, bitterness shining though her inebriation. "I'm our esteemed General's new favourite, his pet. The ***** of Venture Horizon brought to heel. He can do whatever he wants to me, at any time he likes, but if anyone else so much as lays a finger on me without his permission, heads will roll."
She laboured that last clause, while shooting an insolent look at the disgusting specimen who had been leering at her from the moment she walked through the doors, before sliding her empty glass back across the bar to Zach.
"Now shut up, and get me another drink."
=========================================================================================================================
"You ready?"
Nikolai looked down at Lucia and smiled.
"It will be good to walk on dirt again. My leg makes so much noise when I walk here, it gives me a headache."
The big ship took a long time to eventually pull up in the harbour, seemingly wrestling with itself the whole time. As it turned out, The Free Men were all ready long before they needed to be, and practically barged a few workers overboard in their enthusiasm when they were eventually allowed to disembark.
"This is where we must part ways." One of their Songbird guides announced once they had all made it onto the concrete harbour. "We have other business in the port, and from here, you are free and able to go anywhere you please." He smiled at them all. "It has been a pleasure."
Nikolai nodded back, and said nothing. Without another word, the Songbirds turned their backs on the Free Men, and were soon lost in the throng of people all rushing around the harbour.
For how long Nikolai and the rest simply stood there, he couldn't say. From here, they really could go anywhere they pleased. The harbour was full of ships from all over the world, with even more waiting for a spot out in the bay. For so long, Nikolai's only focus had been putting one foot in front of the other, to keep going forward and to stay ahead of all the dangers that threatened to overwhelm them. Now, for the first time, he had choice, so much choice...
"I'm thirsty." He eventually said allowed. "Let's find something to drink."
