Freelance Heroics (32 page)

“We’ve gotten farther today than we have before,” said Shava. “Our plan is working. There’s no reason to—”

“Because we’re not taking them seriously!” shouted Mazik. “These
children
have proven that they’re clever enough to be a serious threat. I say we respect them enough to actually fight them. I still don’t want to kill any of ’em, or even hurt ’em if we can help it, but if we keep treating them like they’re made of glass, they’re going to kill one of us eventually! Let’s capture one of the little bastards and find out where this fucking bandit is.”

“You’re saying you want to—”

“I said we should try not to hurt them!” said Mazik. “I’m saying—”

“Will you stop interrupting me?” snapped Shava. “We’re not about to—”

“We need to change our tactics! Why don’t you—”

“Okay, okay, hold on.” Gavi clapped her hands, drowning out Mazik and Shava. They whipped around to face her.

Gavi turned to Mazik. “You know you’re advocating that we attack children, right? Things happen in battle. We could hurt them, even if we’re not trying to. They could even get killed for giving us information about their leader.”

“So we take any we capture back to town with us.” Mazik waved smoke away from his head, though he kept his fierce frown. “Besides, there’s something you all aren’t considering: the longer we let them do crap like this”—he waved at the hole in the wall. On the other side Gavi could see a stack of blackened wood, as well as a shredded fire hood and a broken bellows—“the more likely they are to hurt themselves. And if we don’t complete this quest, someone with less compunction about hurting kids might take it next.”

“That’s true.” Gavi sighed. “I’m sorry Shava, but I agree with him. I have a feeling there’s something we’re missing, and . . .” She hesitated. “Well, it would be nice to get more information. And I think I’d rather have us finish this ourselves.”

Shava was quiet for a long minute. She turned to the others. “What do the rest of you think?”

Hectre looked between Shava and Gavi. “I mean, I see both of your points. I don’t want to get serious with a bunch of kids, but we do need more information.”

Raedren and Uard glanced at each other. “As long as we’re careful,” said Raedren. Uard nodded.

Shava sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

As they filed out of the room, Gavi sidled over to Mazik and elbowed him,
hard
. “Can you keep yourself under control?”

Mazik staggered against the doorjamb. He looked at her, brow wrinkled. “Yes, I can. I was just tired of doing the same thing over and over again. What’s your problem?”

“I never wanted to do this quest in the first place, remember? And suggesting that we chase down a bunch of children isn’t a good look on you. Neither is that sash.”

Gavi left a puzzled Mazik behind as she trudged ahead.

It didn’t take long for them to capture one of the New Lyfe Gang members. Though Mazik was the first to chase after every kid they saw, it was Hectre who got in front of the boy, cutting off his escape long enough for Raedren to grab him with barrier binds. The boy struggled, but Raedren’s binds had held orcks and aku, albeit not always for that long. The young boy had no chance.

Once they had tied up their captive—the rope Raedren had taken to carrying with him proving itself useful again—they gathered around the boy in the tight corridor where they had caught him.

“So, who’s going to do the honors?” asked Mazik.

“Not you,” said Gavi, stepping forward. “I’ll talk to him. You go stand guard. Everyone but Shava, please.”

Mazik looked like he wanted to object, but thought better of it. As he and Raedren took one side of the tunnel and Hectre and Uard took the other, Gavi knelt down in front of the kid. Shava loomed over her shoulder, her helmet tucked under her arm and her expression carefully blank.

Gavi examined the boy. He was young, like all the others, maybe twelve or thirteen years old. He had short dark hair cut into a messy bowl, large brown eyes, and flushed cheeks. He wore a ratty tunic and trousers, with the leather pads on his elbows and knees that all New Lyfe Gang members seemed to have. His lips were screwed up into a defiant scowl, and he looked like he wanted to cry, though Gavi suspected he wouldn’t let himself. The boy looked like a survivor to her. She doubted he had cried in many years.

Gavi wondered how he must be feeling right now. Scared, she decided, and defiant, if his expression was anything to go on. Gavi didn’t think scaring the boy any further would get them anywhere, and she didn’t have it in her to do it anyway. She opted for honesty instead. “What’s your name?”

The boy glared at her. His mouth remained firmly shut.

Gavi sat down, crossing her legs. “My name is Gavi Ven’Kalil. I’m an adventurer from Houk. Do you know where Houk is?”

Her question was met with silence.

“We don’t want to hurt you, or any of your friends. But I need you to answer a few questions. Is that okay?”

Still, the boy said nothing.

“Do you have a family? Parents?” When the boy didn’t speak, Gavi added, “We need to know where to take you when we take you out of the mines here shortly.”

This elicited a response. “I’m not leaving!” he blurted. “I have no family.
This
is my family.”

Gavi rolled the silver arrowhead hanging from her neck between thumb and forefinger. “How are you being treated down here?”

“Fine,” said the boy, still sullen.

“They’re not hurting you or anything? Let me see.” Gavi reached out, and the boy stiffened. She stopped. “I’m just going to lift your shirt up and check for injuries. Is that okay?”

When the boy said nothing, Gavi tugged at his tunic, exposing his stomach and chest. He didn’t appear to have any injuries, and he looked like he’d been getting enough to eat as well. She leaned around to check his back. There were several scars, but they looked old.

“How do the bandits treat you?” asked Gavi. “The adults, I mean. Do they treat everyone well too?”

The boy sighed. “Oh. This again.”

Gavi blinked. “What do you mean?”

“How many times do we have to tell you people?” snapped the boy. “There’s no bandit! This ‘Ungerr’ person you’re looking for doesn’t exist! He never did!”

Gavi blinked again. She could feel the others turn to stare at the boy. Ahead, she could see Hectre’s jaw hanging open. She understood how he felt. “Sorry? He doesn’t exist?”

“Have you seen any adults in here?” spat the boy. “No. You’re the only ones. The bandit you’re looking for was a lie our leader thought up after we took over, to keep people away until we finished setting everything up. He doesn’t exist!”

Gavi stared at the boy. Then she turned to Shava. “I don’t know what to say anymore.”

“Let me take over,” said Mazik, slipping into place next to her. He sat down, hands on his knees. He was all grins now, and earnest ones at that. “It was all a lie? Just a story?”

The boy scowled. “How many times do I have to repeat myself? Yes! We made it all up!”

Mazik threw his head back and laughed. “Oh man, that’s great!” He slapped his leg, his sides shaking as he held his face. “I like that! I like you, kid!” he added, ruffling the boy’s hair. The boy protested, and tried to bite him.

Once Mazik got himself under control, he leaned down to face the boy eye to eye, his lips stretched into a wolf’s grin. “I like a good lie, kiddo, so you have my respect. Your leader for the story, and you for giving us lip while we had ya tied up.” He ruffled the boy’s hair one more time, despite his protests. Mazik leaned back. “Now, if you could fill us in with the truth, we’ll let you go. And maybe we’ll figure out a way to get those rich sonsofbitches off your backs.” He winked. “Another story, perhaps? I’m pretty good at those myself.”

Gavi sighed and shook her head. But she didn’t object, and secretly, she was smiling.

“This story again?” said Mas Di’Culot. “No no no, that can’t be right. Certainly not.”

The six adventurers were back in the Di’Culots’ mansion, in the same office as before. It was late in the afternoon, only a handful of minutes before the day dipped into evening. The butler had informed them that they were interrupting the Di’Culots’ dinner, but Mazik had insisted on an immediate meeting anyway. They had rushed here straight from the mines, and were hungry themselves.

Mazik had to stop himself from bouncing from foot to foot. Shava was once again taking point with their quest givers, and the rest of them were arrayed behind her, except for Mazik. What had been an aggravating quest had suddenly morphed into just his kind of thing. He didn’t intend to remain silent.

Business, deceit, and rich people who believe stupid things.
Mazik thought of some of his better deals at his old job. He grinned to himself.
I’ve got a million ways to deal with this
.

The Di’Culots sat together behind their large mahogany desk. Mas Di’Culot had the chair today, while his wife leaned against the desk and looked over her shoulder at the six adventurers. She was wearing another simple dress, this time the color of lilacs, and her hair had been tied in a loose braid that rested over her right shoulder.

Her husband looked nearly the same as before, with his same shirtsleeves rolled up past his elbows. Only his look of disappointment was new.

“This is the third time—has it been three times? I think so,” said the husband, answering his own question. “I’m surprised you believed their story as well. You seemed more intelligent than this.”

Normally, Mazik would have gotten pissed at Mas Di’Culot’s condescension, were he not so amused by the irony. Beside him, Shava’s voice remained calm and business-like.

“It’s our professional opinion that they’re telling the truth. In our three days in the mines, we never once saw an adult, while the young New Lyfe Gang members appeared to operate with complete autonomy. If there ever was a bandit named Ungerr, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dead. There were any number of tunnels the New Lyfe members could have ambushed him from, passageways an adult bandit would have been too large to follow and retaliate.”

“Then how do you explain your defeats?” asked Mas Di’Culot. “And those of the other supposedly talented adventurers we hired. Are you saying these children defeated you on their own?”

“We found several strategy and tactics books in one room. It’s possible they’ve been studying. It’s also possible that they had help early on, or even now. We simply do not believe that help is coming from a bandit named Ungerr, who is also their leader. A freelance tactician seems more likely.”

“That would mean children bested the six of you,” Mis Di’Culot repeated.

Mazik had had enough. He shrugged. “So what? We had our hands tied, since we were trying not to hurt them. If we had fought them seriously, we could have taken them down with ease—though it might have made mining later difficult for you, and sleeping soundly difficult for us. Plus, all those other talented people you hired haven’t been able to find this guy either, have they?”

“Two of the groups saw him,” said Mas Di’Culot. “The first and the . . . another one. They saw an adult man in the mines with the kids. How do you explain that?”

Shava blinked. “As I said, it could have been someone the New Lyfe Gang hired, perhaps a strategist, or even the bandit Ungerr before they slew him.”

“Did those other teams describe this man to you? Did they both describe him the same way?” Mazik folded his arms and smirked. “And are you sure they weren’t just making it up to salve their own pride, or humoring you because you didn’t want to admit that a bunch of kids stole your property and won’t give it back?”

Shava held up a hand to silence Mazik, and Gavi kicked him in the back of the leg. Mazik hopped up and down, still smirking. Normally he might have complained about the harsh treatment, but not today. He was having too much fun.

Once the couple’s attention was back on her, Shava continued. “Mis and Mas Di’Culot, let me ask you a question. Let’s assume that the New Lyfe Gang is telling the truth, and this Ungerr doesn’t exist. What would you do then?”

Mas Di’Culot paused, then visibly deflated. “I don’t know,” he admitted. He turned to his wife. “Honey? What do you think?”

Mis Di’Culot slowly shook her head. “I don’t know either. I would never want to hurt these children, even if they have taken in with a vicious element. I don’t know what we’d do.”

The couple appeared to chew this over for a few more seconds. Then Mas Di’Culot sat up in his chair. “No. It doesn’t make sense. The children we knew would never do this to us. There must be someone else forcing them.”

Mazik inwardly sighed. It was clear that the Di’Culots were too proud, arrogant, or deluded to even consider the possibility that a bunch of kids had bested them—which Mazik could understand, since he didn’t much like the idea himself. But he had seen how the New Lyfe Gang fought. They didn’t fight like they were being forced to. They fought like they had chosen to, like they believed in what they were doing.

So what we have here is a couple of owners who don’t realize that their underpaid former workers didn’t like them.
Mazik had to stop himself from chuckling.
Go figure.

Which meant it was Mazik’s turn. He tapped Shava on the shoulder. She hesitated for a split-second, then nodded. Mazik stepped forward and rested his hands on the big mahogany desk.

“Esteemed Sir and Ser Di’Culot, allow me to present another option. As luck would have it, we asked the boy we captured earlier to set up a meeting between us and his leaders tomorrow afternoon.” Mazik clasped his hands together and smiled. “With your help, I think we can resolve this little situation for you, so we can all get back to business.” He smiled a salesman’s grin. “I guarantee it.”

It was the following morning, and Gavi approached the entrance to the mines alone. Gone was her plate armor, her shield, and her club. She didn’t have her sword or knife on her, nor even her usual brown leather jacket, though that was mostly a concession to the heat. How much armor she wore shouldn’t matter, though. She wasn’t there to fight.