Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
Shorter chapter this time.
I found this chapter kind weak but we're getting closer to more interesting things.
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"Wait, what happens when they specialize in large-scale projects, like a vehicle or a building?" I asked.
Barghest, Cú Chulainn, and I were chatting with Assault and Battery at the moment. We were waiting for the additional transport that Assault requested to take us to the PRT.
The troopers already finished gathering the goons and tinker tech and loading them up in the truck. Now they were passing a fine comb just to make sure that there wasn't anything left.
All of that did made a lot of noise that brought the residents of the building around us to see what was happening.
"There's a standard budget that all tinkers receive monthly that's made to accommodate all of their expenses. But in that case, the budget would suffer the necessary adjustments to meet the tinker necessities," Battery shrugged.
"What happens if they require more resources?" Barghest asked.
"You make a request to Director Piggot and wait for an answer," Battery said. "If you want a more detailed description it would be better to speak with Armsmaster."
"Huh, seem's rough to be a tinker," Cú Chulainn said.
"All powers have downsides to them, you just have to find a way to work around them," Assault said.
Since we're talking about tinkers, I'm going to ask about the rifles.
"How much do you think it cost to buy so many rifles?" I asked.
"A small fortune, that's for sure," Assault said immediately.
"To think that Coil had so many of them," Battery said.
"This's just one of his safe houses," I reminded her.
Battery frowned at the thought that Coil could own even more tinker tech.
"Does this mean that Coil has a tinker working for him?" Barghest asked curiously.
"...I will be right back," Assault said.
Assault walked to the truck that had the weapons crates. He opened one of them and inspected one of the tinkertech rifles. After a moment he closed it and walked back to us.
"Just as I thought, those rifles were bought from Toybox. They're the only ones that can sell tinker tech in large quantities," Assault said.
"Toybox?" Cú Chulainn and Barghest asked.
"A group of tinkers that sell their inventions on the black market," I explained.
I know that Da Vinci will quickly become one of their best customers.
One of their members is capable of creating devices that create pocket dimensions. And they are willing to sell it.
Even by my standards, that's ridiculous.
One of the troopers approached Battery and Assault.
"We finished checking the place and found nothing else," The troopers said.
Assault nodded, "All right, make sure those rifles are sent to Armsmaster."
"It's going to take long for the van to get here?" I asked.
Assault turned to me, "It shouldn't take long for-"
Assault stopped talking when a truck stopped next to us.
The driver lowered the window.
"I'm here to pick up Magus and his familiars," The driver said.
"-And it looks like your ride is here," Assault said.
This was a nice chat.
"It was a pleasure to meet you two and until next time," I said.
"Later," Cú Chulainn said.
"Goodbye," Barghest said.
Assault gave us a thumps up and Battery gave a small nod.
Barghest, Cú Chulainn, and I entered the truck.
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The trip to the PRT was done in silence, I could tell that the driver was tense around us.
I told Hassan to not follow us and stay away from the building as I was certain they had countermeasures against 'Strangers'.
The truck stopped and the door was opened by another trooper who was waiting for us.
We were at an underground parking lot.
The trooper that opened the door wasn't alone as there were three more with him. They quickly got into a formation that encircled us.
"This way," one of the troopers said.
They led us to the elevator that took us to the last floor of the building. Exiting the elevator we walked to the door at the end of the hall.
"Director Piggot is waiting inside," the trooper said.
Entering the room I saw Armsmaster and Miss Militia standing behind a woman that was sitting behind a table.
I have seen her plenty of times on the television.
That's the director of the PRT, Emily Piggot.
There were three chairs in front of the table.
I walked to one of the chairs and sat down. Barghest and Cú Chulainn didn't sit down and were standing behind me.
"Would you two not like to sit?" Miss Militia asked.
"We prefer to stand," Cú Chulainn said.
Director Piggot fixed an intense gaze on me, which I met unwaveringly. We kept staring at each other for a few moments before she spoke.
"Thank you for coming. I'm director Piggot," Piggot said.
"Thank you for having us," I said.
"You seem to have brought someone new," Piggot glanced at Barghest.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Saber," Barghest said respectfully.
Piggot kept looking at us for a few moments before sighing.
"You been making a lot of ruckus," Piggot said.
"It's inevitable when there's a fight between parahumans," I shrugged.
"That's sadly true but I'm more surprised by your targets," Piggot said.
"It's hard to continue a war if you're lacking resources," I said.
"You could reach the same conclusion if all the capes from the gangs were taken care of," Piggot said.
"It would be nice if it was that easy," I said.
Piggot raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And why isn't it?"
"There are two reasons: The first would be that the last cape from any of the gangs would be forced to hide and wait for the chance to break out their comrades. They know that if all the capes are caught then the gang will lose their standing in the city," I said.
"Even with all the capes gone, the gang is still a problem," Miss Militia said.
"That's true but they go from a problem that needs the intervention from the PRT/Protectorate to a problem that the police can handle. After all, you guys are called to deal with the parahumans members of the gang," I explained.
"And the second reason?" Piggot asked.
"The second reason is the critical one: eliminating one of the gangs without the necessary precaution would create a void that could bring other problems," I said grimly.
Director Piggot, Armsmaster, and Miss Militia also grimaced as they knew what I was talking about.
The Boston Games.
Chaldea needs to be more stabilized so that we can prevent something like that from ever happening in Brockton.
"Hm, normally new capes prefer to try to make a name for themselves by attacking the gangs without a care for the consequences of their actions," Piggot commented.
I can see the logic in such a tactic, what better way to take down villains and gain fame at the same time.
Unfortunately, that's also how many new heroes meet their end.
"What's Chaldea planning to do?" Piggot bluntly.
Oh, so now we're going for a more direct way to gather intel.
Honestly, I prefer this way it's so much easier.
"Right now we want to end this gang war," I said.
"And later?" Piggot asked.
Kill the Endbringers, deal with the S-class threats, and fix as much as possible the damage done by the Endbringers.
Those are just the first things that came to my mind. There are other things that I have to discuss with everyone.
"We're still figuring out," I said.
"Are you the only member of Chaldea?" Piggot said.
I couldn't help but frown that she was insinuating that I was the only real member.
"Chaldea consists of a wide variety of members," I said.
"And how many would that be?" Piggot said.
"That's confidential," I said.
"Is there anything that you can tell me?" Piggot asked impatiently.
"With all due respect director Piggot, I'm not here to tell you my secrets," I said seriously.
The room was silent after my declaration.
"What're you expecting to achieve here?" Piggot broke the silence.
"I want to emphasize that we aren't your enemies and reach a middle ground between us. And if that isn't possible then at least some kind of non-aggression agreement," I said.
Piggot pinched her nose and muttered some words I couldn't understand.
"You are not what I expected," Piggot said.
I wonder what she was expecting.
"Do you understand how much the presence of Chaldea will disturb the cape scenery of Brockton?" Piggot asked.
"I know me being a Master has all of you on edge-" Piggot interrupted me.
"It's more than that," Piggot said.
I tilted my head sideways.
"Do you know how many 'Masters' that can control people exist?" Piggot asked.
I thought for a moment, "There's Teacher, Heartbreaker, and...huh" I can't think of anyone else.
"Exactly, Masters like those two are rare to appear. Now I won't say the fact the way your familiars act and their appearance hasn't bothered a few individuals here," Piggot said.
"They prefer to be called servants," I said.
I ignored the looks director Piggot, Armsmaster, and Miss Militia gave me.
"Anyway, one of the things that's puzzling us is how...sentient they appear to be," Piggot said.
"They are completely sentient Director Piggot and I'm not going to tolerate any form of disrespect towards them," I looked Piggot in the eye.
Barghest and Cú Chulainn smiled at my words.
"There's never been a report of something like this happening," Piggot narrowed her eyes.
"There's a first time for everything," I said evenly.
Piggot and I stared at each other for a few seconds before she continued.
"The other fact is how strong your fam-servants are, as shown when Berserker fought Fenja," Piggot said.
"Honestly, I didn't see Berserker fight since I was occupied helping an injured officer," I rubbed my neck.
I hope she's okay.
"According to Lady Photon, when Berserker joined the fight it became a one-side beatdown," Piggot said.
Sounds about right. I can't imagine Morgan having any problem dealing with Fenja.
"And when you, Armsmaster, and Lancer easily defeated Krieg," Piggot said.
I didn't ask Morgan what were her thoughts on Fenja but I can ask Cú Chulainn right now.
I turned to Cú Chulainn, "Was he strong?"
"Nah, when you get past that slowing effect he isn't anything special," Cú Chulainn said.
By the looks of director Piggot, Armsmaster, and Miss Militia, they didn't seem to think the same.
"While it's good that those two are out of the streets, your actions have consequences," Piggot said.
I already had an idea of what Piggot was talking about.
"Could you elaborate?" I asked.
"Krieg is one of the Empire lieutenants and Fenja is one of Kaiser's bodyguards, both of them possess powers that make them irritating opponents to face. While both of them have been defeated before, they never have lost so easily," Piggot stressed the last part.
If they're shocked with something like that then they're going to lose their minds when they see a noble phantasm.
"They want retribution," I said.
"Yes, the Empire has been humiliated and as a result, they're going to remind everyone why they should be feared," Piggot said.
I clenched my fists, "Is there any idea of what they're planning?"
"No," Piggot frowned.
Well her mood it's about to get worse.
"I have some information that you will be very interested in," I said.
"What do you have?" Piggot asked.
I grabbed the map and put it on the table.
"What's this?" Piggot studied the map.
"The location of all the safehouses we found so far. The 'X' mark guns and drugs while the 'O' are dog fighting rings and brothels" I said.
"How did you find so many?" Armsmaster looked intently at the map.
I ignored his question, "That's not all. The ABB is planning to make a move on Empire territory."
Piggot frowned heavily.
"When?" Piggot said.
"We're trying to figure it out," I said.
"We can never catch a break in this damm city," Piggot pinched her nose.
Hugh, I know that feeling.
"I have a proposition," Barghest said suddenly.
Everyone turned to Barghest.
"Joint patrols between Chaldea and the Protectorate," Barghest suggested.
I hummed at that and turned to see what's Piggot reaction was.
She didn't seem too keen on the idea until Miss Milita whispered something to her.
Piggot turned to me and I gave her a 'why are you looking at me' look.
Barghest said that and you give a answer to her not me.
Before Piggot could say anything her phone started to ring.
"Excuse me," Piggot answered the call. "Yes?"
Piggot frowns at what she hears, "I will be there shortly." She ends the call and turns to me.
"I will have to end this meeting now. We will give you an answer to Saber's idea later. Do you possess a way for us to contact you or would you require a disposable phone?" Piggot asked.
"You would give me one?" I asked surprised.
I didn't expect that.
"It's an option that we offer to independent capes," Piggot said.
I grabbed the phone Da Vinci made.
"I got one already," I said.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia stepped forward and exchanged numbers with me.
"It was a pleasure to meet you Director Piggot, I hope that in the future we can work together," I said.
"Likewise," Piggot said.
She certainly doesn't seem to mean those words.
"It was also nice meeting you Miss Militia," even if we didn't exchange words. "Armsmaster," I gave him a nod.
Armsmaster returned the nod.
"It was nice meeting you too, Magus," Miss Milita said.
"Oh, you can also keep the map," I said.
Barghest, Cú Chulainn, and I were escorted out of the building by the same troopers that greeted us at the parking lot.
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We were resting on top of a building.
"Got the feeling that she doesn't like us," Cú Chulainn said.
"Well, at least she was polite," I shrugged. "What was with that idea of joint patrols?" I asked Barghest.
"Truthfully it's just an excuse so I can gauge better the abilities of these heroes. Do you have a problem with it, master?" Barghest asked.
"No complaints here, this is a good way to earn their trust," I said.
"What's our next step?" Cú Chulainn asked.
I still want to take Othala off the board.
"Any luck finding Othala?" I asked Hassan.
"Not yet," Hassan said.
Where's this woman?
"Let's focus on the Empire. Hassan finds where Crusader and Hookwolf usually hang out," I said.
"I hope that these two will be a better fight than that masked guy, he couldn't even put up a fight," Cú Chulainn said.
"He was weak?" Barghest asked.
"To everyone else, Krieg was very dangerous but to us...he isn't even worth mentioning," I said.
"We're used to much worse," Cú Chulainn said.
Ain't that the truth. We went from mythological creatures, legendary heroes, and gods to bandits with powers.
I let out a yawn.
What time is it anyway?
I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was almost three in the morning.
"I need to go home, we will go after those two tomorrow night," I said. "Also, please read that document I gave to Da Vinci, it has everything that involves parahumans."
Barghest and Cú Chulainn nodded.
Suddenly Barghest's stomach grumbled loudly.
Cú Chulainn and I turned to see that she was blushing in embarrassment.
"Wanna grab something to eat?" I could grab a bite before going home.
"Yes please," Barghest said quietly.
Let's see what's open at this time.
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