Broker

Chapter 7

Sonya clenched and unclenched her hand, glancing again at Amos. He either paid her no mind or didn’t notice, his focus was more on Marta who was walking alongside them. She looked away, her mind whirling. He has multiple abilities but he only was public about one of them. Is it active? How do I ask? She bit her lip, More importantly, can he possibly be the only one? If he has multiple, why can’t others? Who else? She thought about how untouchable Otis had been in his hayday. I thought it was just some absurd power, but what if there was more to it? Each power has rules, limits, restrictions. If he had more than one, could he have had more than one restriction?

She glanced again at Amos, I’ve been too cocky. I think. Broker made me feel all powerful, but… I have a bad feeling.

“You alright Sonya?” Marta asked, glancing past Amos and towards her. There was concern clear on her face. 

Damn, I was emoting too much. Sonya chastised herself, “It’s nothing, just collecting my thoughts, it’s been a busy day.” Man half-truths are harder than I thought.

“We did just move in!” Marta laughed, she seemed so calm after fighting those things.

“What about you?” Sonya asked, giving her a meaningful look. Amos shrank a little between their exchanged glances.

Marta hesitated, “I may have been… over excited about it,” Marta admitted, looking down at her hands as she knit her fingers together at her waist, she sighed, “I’m angry.”

“Your husband?” Sonya asked.

“Mhm,” Marta murmured, “I wanted to feel like it was worth it.”

“Was it?”

Marta let out a sigh, “I feel better, I guess.”

“Um!” Amos cleared his throat, “Should I be listening to this?”

Sonya snorted and shook her head, “Probably not but you’re here anyway,” She chuckled, glad that she was able to divert the attention from herself. She glanced at Marta who seemed to realize what had happened and frowned at her. Sonya winked and glanced back at Amos, “So where is your shop?”

“Right up ahead, around the corner,” Amos said, gesturing just ahead to a lonely looking street corner. 

Sonya glanced around, this part of town was remarkably quiet for how she remembered New York. She guessed people in less secure areas weren’t as confident about being protected from the monsters. It’ll be more and more often, until the dungeons start appearing at least. Sonya thought grimly as they rounded the corner and spotted a group of men standing outside a particular storefront. They were hitting the windows with bats and laughing. 

Amos brought his hands up to his head and practically tugged at his hair, “My store! What the hell?”

Sonya grimaced, she hadn’t stopped him in time. The gathering of men all turned as one, eyeing the trio. They all looked at one another before starting to approach. Sonya clicked her tongue, she’d hoped to come to an arrangement with the thugs after getting a better lay of the land but it seemed like she’d been right. She’d overestimated how easy this was going to be. They didn’t look at all inclined for a civil conversation.

“Whoo ee! Look at that! Amos! You scored!” One of the men shouted and was joined by the others in a few cat calls and jeers.

“What are you doing? I told you I’d pay!” Amos barked, ignoring their mocking.

“Not quick enough,” Another one said, slinging his bat over his shoulder, “Obviously you had better things to do than figure your situation out anyway. Hey ladies! Why don’t you come hang out with us, yeah?”

Marta growled and Sonya reached out a hand to forestall her, “But!”

“You’re not invincible, just strong, those beasts were one thing but these guys know how to fight as a group,” Sonya said quietly, watching how they crowded round one another. She’d seen this kind of mentality a lot as a scout, it was unrefined, but there were definite signs that they’d had each others backs for some time. It made her miss working in the Guild. “Unless you can take them down in a few seconds, you’ll die.”

Marta winced and relaxed her shoulders, Amos looked Sonya’s way but Sonya ignored it. She needed to think! She needed- her lips twisted and she reached into her warehouse, pulling out Genius Level Intellect. She wasn’t sure how it would affect her mind, but- a shock ripped through her skull and she almost lost her composure. Instead she just grunted in a way that sounded like a chuckle. The men frowned at her as she stared at them, her eyes flitting left and right. Information processed so fast she could barely handle it all, was this how Amos lived? Or was it because she had a mind trained for observing combat situations? Regardless, she came up with a few ideas.

Sonya stepped forward with a smile, “Boys! I’m so sorry to interrupt your fun, I was actually hoping to get in touch with your boss. Shark, right?” Sonya said as casually as possible, sending the group a disarming smile, “You wouldn’t be opposed to me talking to him, right?”

“He ain’t here,” One man grunted.

“Really? That’s a shame,” Sonya said, raising her hand to her heart, before gesturing to Marta, “We heard his power was really impressive, it would be interesting to meet someone like ourselves, you know?”

The men froze, a few of them growing a little tense. They looked at one another uneasily. Yes, that’s right, you’ve seen what your boss can do and you don’t know what Marta and I are capable of. We’re an unknown variable and possibly a threat, and there’s two of us.

Marta tensed, she knew enough about Sonya’s power to know that it really didn’t have any combat application. Sure, Sonya could draw on Heroic Strength herself if she wanted to but she didn’t know how long it would last or how effective it would be in her hands. She wasn’t Marta who was made for it. She only hoped Marta wouldn’t give anything away with her posture, these guys were sharper than they looked.

“Why don’t we talk business inside Amos’ shop?” One of the guys suggested, gesturing to the cracked window, “One of us can go get the boss while you wait.”

Get us in an enclosed space with superior numbers, fat chance idiot, Sonya groused inwardly, scanning the men, “It’s no big deal,” She threw out with a shrug, “I’ve been meaning to get some fresh air. We can wait outside.”

One of the men frowned, Got you, the man who had made the initial offer shrugged his shoulders, “No problem, hey, go get Shark and bring him here. Let him know he’s got company.”

“Right,” One of the bigger men grunted, eyeing Sonya with open hostility before stepping away from the group and hustling down the street.

Amos whirled on Sonya, panic in his eyes, “Are you nuts?” He hissed, “Shark will kill you!”

Sonya lowered her voice and glanced his way, “I bought us some time,” She said, “Now what do you need to do your work? Anything from your shop?” She pressed.

“Uh… just my notebook, I’ve got years of work on it, everything else in there is basically just junk hardware and tools that I can replace,” Amos admitted, looking away.

“Then do yourself a favor and forget about the store,” Sonya said quietly, “I’ll get you inside, you grab your notebook and get out, got it?”

“Forget- what?” He blurted, drawing the attention of the men in the distance. “No way!”

“Amos!” One of them shouted just as Sonya shot him a scathing look, “What’s going on over there? Trouble in paradise?”

Sonya looked between the men, she shouldn’t have trusted Amos’ description of them. Her first thought had been to try to buy them off and sow some discord, but it was obvious that they had a sense of unity. In times like these, that unity was only going to be stronger. I could just incinerate them, I have Firestorm. But that would be showing her cards and even though nobody else was on the street that didn’t mean she was free of watchful eyes. I’m sure those cops put a tail on us. I need to get to the root, cut the head off, and do it without making a spectacle of my powers. My products need to stay behind closed doors, the world has to think I only have my eyes otherwise I won’t be able to play both sides. I need two personas, essentially. But maybe… An idea occurred to her. That could work.

“Just talking business!” Sonya called back, “I’m something of an entrepreneur, that's why I took an interest in Amos!”

“An investor are ya?” The guy taking point amongst the thugs said, “Got some money to throw around?”

“I’m always looking for new opportunities to expand my portfolio,” Sonya said back with an easy smile, “Why, do you have any suggestions?”

“I could use an investment,” One of them laughed, drawing a round of laughter from his friends.

“Maybe I’ll consider it,” Sonya said with a shrug, “But the atmosphere isn’t very good for business, boys, my friend here can’t even go into his shop and check on it. That’s a shame,” She said with a frown and tilted her sunglasses down, her glowing eyes bright enough to be seen across the distance. The men hesitated for a moment and looked at one another. “Come on, guys, it’s not like he can do business, he just needs to grab a notebook. A notebook isn’t worth your time, is it?”

She lowered her voice, “Amos? When I say go inside, you go and you stay there until I tell you otherwise, no questions,” She hissed, “Understood?”

He stared at her in confusion before she started walking towards them, she had to be careful now, they shifted a bit and she held her hands up casually as Marta hissed her name urgently from behind. She waved her hand to calm the girl down, Now or never Sonya, time to weaponize this thing. The men looked amongst themselves uneasily for a moment as she approached.

“How about we make a deal? I try to work out a business arrangement with your boss and you don’t cause any problems for us until he comes out, I think that’s fair, right? I’m sure you guys could use some better gear, maybe a few cars, who knows?” She offered, drawing in even closer.

The men exchanged looks again and grinned at one another, they had no intention of upholding the deal, but that wasn’t their call now was it. There were seven of them present. Seven quick handshakes. He just needed one of them to take point on the deal. The one that had been leading the conversation took a step forward as she reached them and extended a meaty hand. “Sure, lady, deal,” He said and she took his hand.

No time for Appraisal, Process Exchange!

Be blinked, surprised, just as she darted away from him with a brilliant smile, “Oh thank you boys so much!” She said, shaking each of their hands in turn, they grinned awkwardly when she touched them, one even blushing, “I really do appreciate you agreeing to this for me!”

“Hey!” The first one called even as she turned around and waved to Amos.

“Amos! You can go inside now!” She called, he didn’t hesitate, he darted for the door faster than she’d expected he could run. He fumbled with his keys.

“Hey!” The thug barked and she turned to face him.

“We made a deal! Is there a problem?” She asked.

“You’re damn right there is! What did you just do, my hand tingles,” He growled and the other men gained dark looks on their faces. One of them lowered his bat to his side and stepped forward. “What kinda bullshit are you pulling, lady?”

“Amos! Get inside the building, now!” Sonya barked as the men started to crowd her.

Hurry you idiot! She snarled inwardly just as the door chimed. Amos stepped over the threshold just as one of them pulled his fist back to strike her. He froze, a confused look on his face. I can’t believe that worked! I guess technically I didn’t lie, I told them it was a deal after all and he shook my hand willingly, but that was really testing the boundaries there. Shiiiiit! She breathed out a sigh of relief and shot a thumbs up at Marta who gave her an incredulous look.

The man at the lead of the group grunted and tried to step forward but froze as well, he looked down at his feet. “The hell is this?”

“I told you,” Sonya said, turning her eyes on him, “We made a deal.”

He blinked at her, confused for a moment, and then horror exploded onto his face. Her smile widened as she loomed over him, “As agreed, I’ll try to work things out with your boss. Let’s hope it goes well, mm?” She tittered as Marta approached. Marta looked at the men who were standing in awkward poses of near violence and then looked back at Sonya. “They agreed not to be a problem until Amos comes out of his shop. Make sure Amos stays in there until I call you,” Sonya said cooly, looking the men over. They stared back at her with hate in their eyes as their postures relaxed. She supposed it would be troublesome for her if they were all frozen when their boss got back.

Marta let out a breath, “That was reckless.”

Sonya turned away from the men and pat her friend’s shoulder, “I know,” Sonya said, trembling a little. Marta looked back at her, surprised. “I didn’t know if it would work,” She said in a low voice, “But I had to try.”

As Marta went into the shop, Sonya chewed her lip. She wasn’t sure exactly what the limits of ‘being a problem’ were. She couldn’t control their minds or make them behave a certain way, she was sure of it. Not without a mind control product, anyway. She shuddered at the thought. He’ll know something’s up if they don’t say anything or move, but there’s nothing I can do about that. At least they won’t be able to join in with their boss if this turns into a fight. 

She took a deep breath just as she heard conversation coming from nearby, Alright Sonya, time to make good on your side of the deal.

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