Super Sales on Super Heroes 4 -Ch18-

Chapter 18 - Neutrality -

Felix had been sitting with Faith for a little while now. They were simply watching from the top of Jay’s mobile home to see the comings and goings of everyone.

Miu had gone earlier in the morning to tell Jay to set up a meeting with David. That there’d clearly been some changes in the local scene and Felix wanted to know what was going on.

He’d also been clear with Miu that she needed to convey to Jay that this wasn’t a demand. This wasn’t a command.

This was a request from an involved party and nothing more.

The last thing he needed was David thinking that Felix was actually a problem or a solution. His entire goal was built up around the idea of simply not being a target for anything.

“He’ll come,” Faith whispered. Most of the lights in the community were out by now. People having gone to bed a while ago and turning in.

Morning alarm-clocks waited for no-one after all. Regardless of who you were.

“He’s just making sure this isn’t an ambush or you working with whoever he’s fighting against,” continued Faith, her head rotating from one side to the other. Her eyes picking across all that was laid out before them. “In fact… I’m pretty sure that’s their cars in the distance. Before you ask, yes, I really can see that far.

“The… my… you’re my tree, Felix. It is literally growing within you. You are growing in power, as it grows in power, which in turn gives me more power.

“I’m already twice as strong in magic as when we first arrived here. While that isn’t saying I’m back to my original power, it’s saying a great deal.

“I’ve also noticed my skin has gotten softer, my nails are much harder to break, and my hair has a lot better bounce to it. Betty never mentioned any of this but… I think their grove is weaker than… er… than my grove.

“That’s not to say they’re unhappy with Evan, just that he isn’t the same sort of power you are. Ugh, I’m making a mess of all this.”

Grinning to himself, Felix couldn’t deny he’d expected her to make mention of other things, like having more strength, being faster, or seeing further.

There were times that he forgot Faith was probably the most feminine of those who were with him. Second to that would be Goldie.

Miu and Andrea didn’t typically care about most of what a modern day woman. Or at least they didn’t seem to.

“I get it. Though… you never answered me when we first… err… made me a grove. Is it just you and me?” Felix asked, staring out to where Faith had indicated. He was pretty sure he could see movement but no headlights.

“Uhm, depends on how many Dryads Betty has set aside for you by the time we return,” answered Faith. She lifted her hand and pointed at the spot Felix was looking at. “Their headlights are off. They’re coming.”

“And how many do you think Betty will set aside?” Felix asked. He’d known getting a power increase from Faith could run a risk like this and he’d deemed it acceptable.

“Probably ten or twenty to start. She won’t think you can take on as many as Vince can. At least… not at first. You’re more mental, he’s physical,” Faith answered with some reluctance. “You might be able to get it to stop at that so long as you convince all the Dryads in your grove that’d be best.”

“You’re the grove-mistress, consider that your first order of business. I don’t want others. I’ve got too many as it is,” Felix said and then stood up. He adjusted the mask that he had already been wearing and made sure it was resting over his face suitably.

Faith stood up a second after that and then the three Andrea’s on nearby roofs all looked to them. They were there to make sure no-one did anything stupid.

Goldie had wanted to come, but she was still clearly on the mend.

“Let Shadow know we’re going,” muttered Felix and then moved to the edge of the mobile home’s roof. He jumped off and landed lightly. Moving forward several steps he parked his feet on a spot that’d make Miu happy.

Close enough that David would see him, far enough that she could act if she needed. On top of that he was wearing the ballistic vest she’d stolen from the squad car.

Anything less then a head-shot that hit him in the brain and he could get away from it. The regeneration testing he’d done previously had revealed that he was a lot more like Goldie now given his status as Faith’s tree.

Her grove, as she called it

He’d even gone so far as to cut a small chunk out of his forearm.

Which had filled in and healed completely over without a scar left behind.

Right now, he was feeling far more potent and able than he had in his previous life. Being able to modify himself had opened almost too many doors for him.

Stepping out in front of him Miu eased herself up to stand just before him. In her hands was an SMG. The arsenal they were picking up was increasing and he wasn’t quite sure from where.

“Robbing people?” Felix asked under his breath.

“No. Illegally purchased. No paperwork, costs a bit more, better than not having it though,” she answered. “I’ve got written records for all our expenses and where it goes if you—”

“Nope,” Felix said, resting his hand on Miu’s waist. “You’re our money person. I trust you. You know what my goals are and I’m sure you’ve budgeted it all out appropriately.”

“I… yes. Thank you for trusting your M… your… your me. Thank you for trusting your me. Your me loves you and can’t wait to —”

Miu’s rambling and chaotic words stopped dead. The cars Faith had pointed out were pulling up now.

Two Andrea’s and Faith all came out of the darkness around the other side of Jay’s home. They were all holding SMGs, but they all had them against their chests. None of them were pointed, nor were they held in an aggressive way.

Felix wanted David to know that Felix had more than just a “pet Dragon” so to speak. That he had normal weaponry and people as well.

There was a soft rumble in the distance that caused Felix to look up.

A light sprinkle of rain began to fall, washing down and over everything. Standing there Felix wasn’t very happy about that, but scurrying inside wouldn’t do him any good at this moment. It’d just make him look weak.

The trio of vehicles came to a stop and everyone got out.

Surprisingly, David was one of the first to pop out. Waving a hand at Felix as he did so.

“Ah, good to see you. I’m actually glad you called this meeting. I hope you don’t mind but I brought a bunch of product for you to do your thing with,” David said with more than a little excitement. He pulled up the collars of his coat and then motioned toward the door to the trailer. “Let’s go in, it’s just going to really start pouring here in a bit.”

Felix nodded his head and followed David into the trailer. Faith, Miu, and the Andrea all came with.

Reminder to self, make sure to brush out Three, Four, and Five’s tail. They’re going to get soaked in this. That’d be a nice reward for them.

They’d love that.

Jay was seated in the corner of his own living room. He was looking rather nervous. Leaning forward with his hands pressed together in front of himself. His eyes were also on the floor.

It was obvious he was trying to “not be there” despite reality not permitting that. Jay was the focal point for the meeting as he was their in between.

“Something wrong?” Felix asked, looking to Jay. He was already rather positive that those he’d put down had all been here for Jay.

His current posture made it easy to question him directly.

“I know there was an incident in this community earlier. I heard about it from someone I pay to watch over the area,” Felix offered as a lead-in to the conversation. Walking over to one of the couches he sat down in it and then crossed one leg over the other. “I take it you were the target Jay? I’ve also heard a lot of corpses are turning up lately.”

“Uh, yeah. About that,” David said and then grunted as he sat down in the love seat across from Felix. “Yeah, I’m at war with a contact I had in a cartel. One of his dealers, too. They really don’t like the fact that I don’t need to go to them anymore.

“They’ve lost the power they had over me. They can’t control my expansion anymore. Can’t hold me back. They’re trying, obviously. Not doing so good.

“Already killed at least forty or fifty people. Most of them from my original contact who got me my stuff. He brought up a lot of thugs from the south.

“They didn’t really fit in well with the population though. They stuck out so bad we just started shooting them on sight. Soon as they met up with ”

David laughed and shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands up.

“You’d think he’d have figured it out by Stephen it was obvious who they worked for. Executed the day they arrived most of the time. I’d been planning something like this forever. Just never had the opportunity,” explained the man.

Ten duffel bags had been brought in and dumped to one side of Jay’s home. Another several were brought in and put on the other side.

“You mentioned the quality didn’t matter much so I spread it around a lot. Then re-bagged it and brought it over,” continued David with a chuckle. “You know, your rates are so reasonable that I raised them myself. I don’t want you thinking I’m taking advantage of you. You’re a lot cheaper then Stephen and a hell of a lot nicer to deal with.

“All you want is money. Money? I’ve got money. Lots of it. Happy to give it to you. Best deal I’ve made in years.”

Felix glanced to Andrea who was standing near the bags that were probably filled with cocaine. She immediately realized what he wanted and she began dragging them over to him.

He was fairly certain he had the points to spare to convert it all. Not to mention he wanted the money.

Cash was exactly what he needed right now.

It left no trace of how he got it or where it was going.

Perfect for all the things he needed to do with it and keep himself off the radar.

“I of course didn’t involve you or mention you as you said you wished no part of any of this,” David promised and then sighed. “They did come for Jay though, thinking that he somehow had something to do with this.”

“We can’t use him then,” Felix stated firmly and then opened up the bag. It was exactly what he expected. Letting his eyes move to the other bags he figured it was all the same.

He wanted to change all the bags to a pure quality at the same time. Using whatever they were blended with as points to help fuel it.

“You said you were paying me more?” Felix asked, contemplating the window.

He’d been slowly building everything back up by patrolling the city and emptying dumpsters.

Pushing at his power, he pulled up his point balance.

Everyone’s scores went up again.

They’re all functioning at full power, yet I’m getting all the points for them. I wonder if that’ll change after the day of awakening.

Probably.

“— increased it significantly. You’ve got about four-hundred thousand dollars in those bags there. Well more than half of what I would’ve saved and I still make a lot of money,” David confessed. “That and I stole a lot of that from Stephen. I’m sure he’s raging right now.”

Felix spent the points and gladly so.

That much money was what he needed. He could easily start pushing things.

“Done,” Felix remarked in a dry tone and then zipped the bag back up and pushed it to one side. “Now, as to Jay. We can’t use him. We need a new neutral ground.

“Got any properties in Hardysburg we could utilize? Preferably something we can kill intruders at if they decide to try and crash the party.”

David clapped his hands together and then rubbed them against one another. He looked incredibly pleased.

“I have no idea what kind of voodoo that you do, but I don’t give a damn,” David chortled. “You know, I won’t lie, if I hadn’t seen a Dragon turn some of my people into chewing gum I’d say this is all crazy.

“But… whatever. I’ll take it. Never look a gift… Dragon… in the mouth. As to Hardysburg… no. Nothing. I’ve got a warehouse up there but you wouldn’t want to go there. Damn FBI is watching it like hawks. Anyone I send there is just so that they can get tagged.”

“I see. Well. I’ll see about acquiring a location up there,” Felix said in a off hand way. “In the meantime… we’ll use an out of the way place. There’s a swamp… where was it?”

Felix turned to look to Faith. He knew she’d been talking to the trees and they’d been relaying locations to her that’d work out for them.

One particular question had been a good place to dispose of a body.

“Between Hardysburg and New Augusta. It’s off the road but you can drive right up to a farm that backs up to the land.”

“I know the place,” David put in quickly before Faith could continue. “I can meet there easy. I haven’t put any bodies into that swamp but it’s definitely out of the way and not somewhere people go.”

“It’d also let us know if someone is coming for us. There’s hardly any way to get to that farm without taking the only road to it,” Felix added and then gestured at the money.

Andrea moved to the door and opened it. She stood there for several seconds, saying and doing nothing.

Then she shut it and came back over.

Before he could ask her what was going on, two more Andrea’s entered. They were masked of course and wearing SMGs.

They looked to their Prime, received and unspoken command, then picked up the three duffel bags between them. Then they were gone without a word.

“Your people are… very good,” remarked David. His eyes had followed the Others as they worked, only to move back to Felix. “It’s a wonder you aren’t… interested in other things.”

“They’re my Legionnaires. I run an organization called Legion. We don’t get involved in the day to day stuff. We just want money,” Felix reconfirmed again.

“Legion First,” stated Miu, Andrea, and Faith in unison.

He’d forgotten that the typical response to any mention of Legion almost always brought out the motto.

Both Jay and David were looking at the masked women. After a handful of seconds passed they ended up looking back to Felix.

“What does that make you?” Jay asked, looking up from the corner and peering at Felix curiously.

“A Legionnaire of course,” Felix replied with a grin that they wouldn’t see. “Now… is there anything else I need to know? Is this contact of yours going to be a problem for me?

“It seems like he came to Jay to try and find out how you were getting your product. I imagine that means getting to me.”

“I’d say yeah,” agreed David. “Chances are you’re right. He was looking for a way to get to you and Jay was a means to an end. Probably just put two and two together after talking to some folks.

“Probably try to continue to make trouble for you. Sorry about that. I’m working at it. Stephen is a tricky little shit at the best of times. When he decides he wants to make an ass of himself it just gets a bit much.”

“Fine. You might want to send him a professional courtesy note. He shouldn’t look into what you’re doing too deeply,” warned Felix and then stood up. “Because even for you I’d be a problem. I don’t have much control once I let loose. I can’t stop until I’m satisfied the problem is over.

“I really don’t like problems. People shouldn’t come to me with problems. They should come with answers.

“Because unfortunately I solve problems. Then I make sure the problem doesn’t come back. Often that includes everyone who was part of the problem.”

David and Jay were now watching Felix like a person would eye a wolf that was inching closer to them.

“It’s a lot like a cavity. You get rid of it and then eliminate the surface around it. Make sure only the good bits remain. Anything even possibly soft gets drilled out,” Felix said and then looked to his people. Then back to David. “Also, would you be willing to sell me gear? I imagine you probably can get me a better price. My people go through it rather fast.

“They’re not very… gentle… when it comes to things. They can be a bit klutzy and break things.”

“Like a Dragon dropping a mobile home,” Faith pointed out helpfully.

“Just so,” agreed Felix and then turned and made for the door. “See you in a week David. Just send any messages by way of Jay until we get the farm setup.”

Exiting after Andrea pulled the door open and went out first, Felix kept right in line behind her. His eyes were on her shoulders as she led them out into the rain.

She made a small hand gesture with her left hand and then turned right, pulling them along the side of the home.

Another turn and they were going out the back of it.

Walking straight out into the pouring rain, into the dark itself, Felix did so with a smile. He knew that other than himself, his people would see in the dark well enough.

I should upgrade myself with that, shouldn’t I?

Nightvision.

Humans don’t normaly gets an easy free pass like Miu. She just focuses on what she wants and how she views it and it’s multiplied.

Even small things can become massive for her.

Well… farm next. Lay a trap. Have Miu and an Andrea get ready to welcome guests there. Because I’m willing to bet David has a spy.

An insider that’s passing on information.

He’s under-estimating how much his opponent knows of his organization.

With any luck… we’ll find out who this Stephen is since he’s decided to become a problem.

Take prisoners, bring them to Goldie, let her ransack their minds.

Lemon Peesy, Easy Squeezey.

Smirking to himself, Felix was feeling quite happy about everything. Only Stephen was the issue at the moment.

Oh! I need to brush some tails.

Where’s my poor waterlogged Elex ladies?

Turning his shoulder he found Miu on his left, Faith on his right, and behind them were four Andrea’s.

They were all in their true forms. Including Andrea Prime.

Looking ahead, he found the Prime’s tail looked quite soaked as well.

Well. That’s what he meant when he was talking about them. They clearly weren’t human. Oh well.

That’ll throw him off the trail of finding us.

Tail brushings for all.