WnW 4.4

Alek’s accomplice stood in front of me. He was even wearing the same red sweater as when I caught him. Peep he’d called himself then, but it seemed his actual name was AJ. How much did he know? Had he been watching us struggle to survive in the Old Town? I bottled up the anger, he’s just a kid, I told myself as I smiled politely. AJ kept his eyes on the floor.

Vanessa, the girl next to him, giggled. “AJ’s a little shy,” she said. “It’s funny given how much he watches people.” She was a young adult, with fashionable clothes that had loads of little metal hearts and characters dangling off of them. She had especially accessorized one of her legs, which was a hot pink robotic prosthetic covered in stickers. I recognized the brand. Those are expensive. She was clearly living good off of the crime she was involved in.

Vanessa raised her phone and tapped it, making a photo-snap noise.

I started. “Hey!”

“Huh, no social profile?” She raised an eyebrow at me, lips pursed. “You a hermetic monk or something?”

I was more concerned that Nell had been photographed, but I didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Ah, found a match on a grad photo. Nick Harte, studying at Sillwood University. How’s that working out for you sweetie?”

“Great,” I said, gritting my teeth.

Nell was staring at the girl’s prosthetic.

“My eyes are up here, hon,” Vanessa said playfully, taking notice.

Thankfully Graham intervened. “Alright, let’s get the information straight before you all start speculating. This is Nick and Nell. They will be joining our team as of today. They are a Witch and Wolf.”

Terry whistled. “Why are they with us? Sullivan must have some big plans for them, no?”

“I don’t know what the Boss intended,” Graham said, looking troubled. “But we’ll just keep doing what we were already doing. The help will be appreciated.”

Vanessa’s phone pointed towards Nell and I stepped in front of it, giving her a disapproving frown. She just rolled her eyes. “I’m going to get what I want eventually. Sorry you can’t stay dark and mysterious.”

“Vanessa,” Graham said warningly. “We talked about this. Don’t go digging up dirt on teammates that aren’t comfortable with it.”

Vanessa sighed and put down her phone. “It’s not like you pay me to literally do this.”

Graham ignored her and spoke to us, “These are the team members you will be working with, sans one and a half. Vanessa is our internet guru. She has fingers in many useful online spaces. It’s invaluable these days to have someone who can do that.”

Vanessa threw up a peace sign. “I don’t do hardware though, cause it isn’t me doing the hacking. I have online lackeys for that. We hire this person I know, B, to do any physical tech stuff. They’re like an honorary team member.”

Graham gestured to Terry, the man with a teasing smile and a bandage wrapped around his neck. “Terry is our conman, dress-up artist, and second-in-command. He’s also a Cast, I believe you’re familiar with that term?”

Nell nodded. “Single Shape. They can’t change it or hide it.”

Terry grinned and leaned in. “I can hide it fine, thank you.”

“Was it from the drug?” Nell asked. “The one that Sullivan hates?”

There was a flash of emotion on Graham’s face before he stifled it. “Correct.”

I turned to Terry. “What’s your ability?”

A smile crept onto Terry’s face that I didn’t like. He rested a hand on the back of his bandaged neck. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“Please!” Vanessa said, bouncing on the spot. Her phone was already back in her hand. “I’ve never seen Alek or Spike do it, and no one here has anything crazy-looking.”

Graham held up a hand. “There will be time for demonstrations later. Today is just about getting the new recruits up to speed. Now, who hasn’t been introduced?”

Zola raised his hand. I noticed that he was wearing pearlescent white nail polish. “I kind of already did.” He gave me another tight-lipped smile. “Also a Cast, by the way.”

Vanessa raised AJ’s hand for him. “AJ’s a Cast too! That’s the last of you weirdos on the team.”

“What does AJ bring to the team?” I asked, staring him down.

“Surveillance,” Graham said. Sounds about right. “His Shape allows him to see and hear things from far away.”

“Cool, can I see?” Nell asked, catching on to my vibe.

“Demonstrations later,” Graham said. “Richard, are you planning on introducing yourself? Or have you suddenly grown shy?”

Richard’s frown deepened. He leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. The muscles on his arms made his tattoos bulge. “I ain’t shy. I just don’t wanna waste my time.

Graham seemed to grow taller as he stared Richard down. “We’re a team, Richard. You’re going to have to put aside that chip on your shoulder, just like you did for the others.”

Richard shrugged. “I’m the only real gang banger here. Been one for longer than any of you. I know my way around a gun, so don’t try anything fishy, I’m quick with it.”

Vanessa snorted. “That’s about the only thing you’re quick with.”

Richard turned on her. “And you’re all here because you’re so smart, that right? You don’t do anything. You just post a selfie with some cleavage and your horde of internet losers does everything for you.”

Vanessa flinched as he came closer but she didn’t back down. “Graham has a degree, I wonder why he’s the leader, hm? Even though you have seniority. It’s almost like you need smarts after all. And Nick’s going to uni too.”

“Freak’s lucky he can hide his claws,” Richard spat. “Because last I checked, schools only accept humans.”

Nell’s lip curled and I pulsed her with caution. Don’t rise to the bait.

Terry laughed. “Subhuman are we? Every so often, I see your true colours, let me tell you-”

“That’s enough!” Graham shouted. The room went silent.

The muted voices from downstairs grew quiet. Then Henry hollered up the stairs, “Hey! I won’t hesitate to throw all y’all out of here if you keep disturbing my business!”

Graham moved to the door and shut it gently. He turned around slowly and said, “Richard, if you can’t be civil, be quiet. Vanessa, what did I say about prying on the privacy of team members?”

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

Graham’s voice was calm, but his eyes were fiery. “What did I say?”

“Don’t do it,” Vanessa mumbled.

Graham nodded. He sighed. “Why do you all act like children, while the actual teenager and the new recruits have impeccable manners? You as well, Zola, thank you for staying civil.”

Zola shrugged. “Compared to my family, that was pretty tame banter.”

“Banter all you want when I’m not around,” Graham said, straightening his tie. “I prefer not to be interrupted. Call it a hangup from my past life. Now that you’re familiar with the team, let me give you a brief history lesson for some context.”

Graham clasped his hands together. “A year and a half ago, the biggest organized crime group in Sillwood was the Ring. It had tendrils in just about every illegal activity in Sillwood and the surrounding areas. There were larger empires around, the Jiezhi and the Fedyaev family both had a presence in Sillwood, but it was small. Then something happened.” 

Graham pulled his fingers apart and spread them.

“No one has the full picture. It was discovered that the Head of the Ring was dead, and had been dead for some time. Whoever had been acting as the Head disappeared right as this revelation threw the whole organization into chaos. Everyone accused each other of being in league with the imposter. Trust broke down, people’s true loyalties were revealed. The Ring schismed. Fedyaev and the Jiezhi were more than willing to scoop up some of the pieces, subsuming them into their organizations and gaining footholds in the city. The other factions that remain are run by either original members of the Rings, or in our case, opportunists. Did I get all of that correct, Richard?”

Richard shrugged. “More or less. I didn’t ask many questions, I just stuck with Alek. He was the strongest back then. He should have made his own Ring, but the Boss’ death shook him. He wasn’t the same after.”

“Sullivan has deep pockets and a mind for organizational structure,” Graham continued. “He quickly established a hold over many of the casinos and illegal gambling dens in the city. Not through violence, mind you. He made deals and gathered information to blackmail or find weaknesses. It’s a strategy that proved more financially lucrative than sheer force and numbers.”

“I’m getting a bit overwhelmed,” I admitted. “How many Rings are there now?”

“Six. We are Sullivan’s Ring, sometimes called the Gambler’s Ring, you can take a guess as to why. There’s the Jiezhi and the Fedyaev Rings, both with influences much larger outside of the city than within it. Then there are two factions run by original members of the Ring. These are the Wide Eyes Ring and the Red Ring.” Graham frowned. “Just to be transparent, the leader of the Red Ring, Louis, is my brother.”

Nell counted them up on her fingers. “That’s five.”

“The sixth we know very little about. They are called the Ghost Ring. They don’t have territory outside of the Old Town, and even there, they don’t start fights with others. Yet someone has been sabotaging the work of the other Rings without being caught. There are rumours that they have members who can walk through walls and turn invisible. Some have tried to meet with them, but whoever steps foot in the heart of their territory doesn’t come back to tell the tale.” Graham looked at me curiously. “But maybe you know about them already.”

I stared back blankly. “Why’s that?”

“Well, there are rumours that the leader of the Ghost Ring is planning something huge. Something that would upend this tenuous equilibrium we have reached. They call her the Ghost Queen.”

Ah. Alek had made me say something outrageous to Sullivan. I’d help him find the Queen. I just keep digging this hole a little deeper each day.

“Sullivan suspects that the Ghost Ring is behind the distribution of the drug that triggers Shaping,” Graham said, studying my reaction closely.

“H-how often does it end up making a monster?” I asked, trying to deflect the intensity of his gaze.

Graham’s expression grew dark. “There’s no reliable data on that. Enough, is all I’ll say.”

“I’ve encountered a few before, in the city,” I explained, shivering at the memory of the Pianist and Squish. “If there’s more, I can help deal with them.”

Richard scoffed. “If that’s your attitude, you clearly haven’t seen one.”

Vanessa was trying to drag AJ back over to the couch to play more video games, but he was resistant, keeping his head lowered and his feet glued to the floor.

Graham viewed me with a level gaze. “I appreciate that bravery, Nick. You will likely need it. Now, let’s save discussions of the Ghost Ring for later. First, let me explain what we do. Sullivan has us organized into teams. Each team has specializations, like drug routes or enforcing our territory, but we don’t have a lot of members compared to the larger Rings, so every team does a bit of everything. That being said, our team’s focus is on information gathering, the thing that Sullivan is most known for. We need to know as much as we can about the other Rings’ movements, so that we can counteract their plans or avoid them.”

I thought about what always seemed to be on the news channels. “What about the gang wars? Does Sullivan participate in those?”

Graham nodded apologetically. “It’s a requirement of this business I’m afraid. But Sullivan picks his battles wisely.”

Zola raised a finger. “Perhaps it would be good to explain the way territory is divided?”

“Ah yes,” Graham said. “That’s a good idea. Would you care to do the honours?”

“Alright.” Zola gave me a good-natured grin. “I’m the newest on the crew, after you two, so I hope I get this right.”

He walked over to a map that was posted on the wall. It was a map of Sillwood, with different sections of the city highlighted in bright colours. Sticky notes hung in various places, mostly centered around the downtown area and the Old Town. There were a few darts embedded in the map as well, seemingly at random.

Zola pointed to the downtown area. “So each colour represents the general territory of each Ring. As you can see, we have a substantial portion of downtown, mainly where the Boss’ casinos are located.” 

The territory he was referencing was highlighted in green. It had a vague teardrop shape, with the thinner part tapering off to the north-west. “You might be able to tell something all the Rings have in common by looking at the map.”

I stared at the patterns. The territories all differed in size and shape but there was a similarity.

“Everyone has a bit of territory in the Old Town,” Nell remarked.

“That’s right,” Zola said. “And this is because the Old Town gets the least heat from law enforcement.”

“But there’s not much to gain from owning the Old Town, right?” I asked. “It’s abandoned.”

“Yes, but the cops generally only bring in the big guns when civilians are being threatened or the crime is larger in scale. So, the Rings have developed an unspoken agreement. The Old Town is where the Rings can chip away at each other’s power without fear of repercussions from the full weight of a rival Ring or the police. The higher-ups can say that it’s just the hotheaded newbies who are fighting each other and avoid retaliation, all the while posturing for an advantage in the city.”

“I imagine the strategy doubles as a way for Shapers to avoid media attention,” Nell mused.

Vanessa gave up trying to move AJ and rested her elbows on his head. “You’d be surprised what gets dismissed as viral marketing or augmented reality games these days.”

“Still,” Graham said, wincing, “try to be discreet with any Shaping in public. Do you have any questions?”

It was a lot to absorb. I couldn’t think properly while in this unfamiliar place and Richard was still looking at me like he wanted to rip my head off.

“Can we pick this up tomorrow?” I asked. “I have to get back to school.”

“That’s fine,” Graham said. “We don’t have a job currently, so we can take our time.”

Zola and Terry waved as we headed back down the stairs.

On the main floor, we said goodbye to Henry. He handed me a key for the shop and threatened to tie me to one of the barber chairs and give me some new body modifications if I lost it. 

Once we were outside, I took a deep breath and let it out.

“Okay. We can do this. It isn’t as bad as I thought,” I said.

“It’s probably too early to be saying that,” Nell replied.

“True. And there’s one more thing I gotta take care of.” 

Nell followed me around to the back of the building. I looked up and saw that the balcony door on the second floor was cracked open a little. I walked backwards until I judged I was far enough away that my voice wouldn’t be heard from those inside, then I spoke, “AJ, if you can hear this, let’s have a chat.”

There was no response. I only heard cars passing by on the road. I lowered my voice. “AJ, we gotta talk. We’re working together, so I need to know everything.”

AJ’s voice responded a moment later, “I’ll come outside.”