Broker-Chapter 258

Representative Craig Sowards was not a man who was used to failure. Not because he was spoiled, no. On the contrary, he had dragged his way through the dirt and muck of politics to get where he was. Bowing and scraping to those above him and holding those below him to account in order to get his way. He knew that made him a sycophant, but he didn’t really care if people saw him that way. A little bit of cowardice was healthy; it meant you had survival instincts.

As someone who had been a dreg before rising to the heights of power, he respected those who had done the same for themselves. What was important, though, was to follow the proper order of such things. Ascents took time. He had never seen a meteoric rise that didn’t end with that same meteor crashing back down and exploding on everyone around it. Impatience was a recipe for failure, and reaching for a station you didn’t earn was a good way to get yourself killed.

He had earned his position, the power at his disposal.

Sonya Chernovna had not.

And yet that woman has me by the throat! He thought furiously as the crowd roared around him. He’d taken up one of the front-row VIP spots that had been freed up during the subsequent matches as guildmasters and supporters retreated with the loss of their chosen champions. First the botched interrogation of Harbinger. Then the follow-up investigation. They’re investigating me! After all I’ve done for them!

TWING!

He flinched when the clash of steel on steel rang out through the arena. Two figures collided atop the central platform, and Sowards turned his attention to them. Both Finch and Adder were Australian heroes, Heroic-tier, and full of potential. The powers that hovered above him were putting on a lot of pressure to have him ensure, somehow, that the top three prizes of the Australian event were cornered by national heroes. His fingers twitched in his lap as the frustration built in his gut. How the hell am I supposed to do that? Every time I try to talk to Chernovna, it feels like I’m one wrong word away from being eaten by some beast.

“Finch and Adder are in a deadlock! It’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top!” Chernovna’s voice carried over the stands. He scowled up at the holographic display floating near his portion of the stands. The ring of swords brought his attention back to the fight where the pair of sword-wielding heroes ruthlessly clashed. The force they were putting out was far more significant than what any one hero was willing to throw around during the preliminaries.

Adder is private sector, so it would be preferable if Finch won in my case, though either winning would be nice, generally speaking. He let out a sigh and slumped in his seat. There was no point dwelling on it at the moment since he couldn’t get a word in with Chernovna to help him fix the matches. This is all Ma’s fault. I’ll kill that son of a bitch for bringing me into this mess.

Finch, a hero in combat robes not dissimilar to Black Lotus’, darted low with her sword angled up at her side. Ahead of her, Adder, wearing something closer to modern combat armor, raised his weapon over his head in preparation to block her attack. At the last second, Finch dipped so low she was nearly touching the ground before she impossibly changed direction, sweeping her sword across her field of view in an arc. Adder’s swing came back down in response, an illusory afterimage of a snake following his strike down with him. The crowd was on its feet. Light flashed between them, and for a moment, vision was lost.

“This might be it, folks!” Chernovna roared. “Who will stay standing after this-”

The illumination faded, and Finch was on her back, her sword cast to the side while Adder pointed down at her chin with his weapon. She held up her hands.

“It’s over! Adder advances!”

Medical dolls and a few men in uniform hurried out to retrieve the two heroes, while Sowards rubbed the bridge of his nose. He got to his feet only for a hand to touch his shoulder. He turned irritably towards the woman he’d been sitting next to and trying not to think about. Alyssa Quint was the Guildmaster of the Quint Pharma Guild, an unimportant figure in the grand scheme of things, but in this case the proud superior of Adder. She grinned at him and gave him a wink. “Looking good for us lowly private sector folks.”

He scoffed. “As long as Australia leads in this event, it makes no difference.”

“Sure, sure,” she laughed and stood up to clap for her subordinate hero.

Sowards stalked out of the stands, seething as he ignored the pair of Committee handlers who followed him from a safe distance. I hope they don’t think they’re being subtle, he thought. They were the first thing he had looked for after the mess at The Hague. Their presence had confirmed that the investigation was quite serious. There would be no escape if they decided to bring him in. Though it also doubles as security in case Chernovna decides to retaliate.

He huffed as he made it past the seating. It would be a half hour before the next match, and he really didn’t want to spend it sitting next to that gloating bitch. He instead slipped past the public area and approached a checkpoint at a pair of double doors. A pair of guards were standing on either side wearing black and white post-Pandora paramilitary gear. Each of them carried automatic weapons and wore masks to cover their faces. The ASTA logo on their chests made his stomach churn.

These people are better equipped than some Pandora front-line soldiers, he thought irritably. What private citizen needs a personal goddamn army anyway?

He set his irritation aside when he stopped in front of them and flashed his VIP pass. They took a longer-than-necessary look at the pass before handing it back. It took them another minute before they nodded and let him through. I bet that was on your order as well, Chernovna… Anything to slight me.

He ran his fingers through his short hair and stepped through the doors into the short hall that led into one of the locker rooms. Another less than friendly pair of guards checked his pass a second time before he was finally allowed in to see the heroes he was supposed to be representing. freēnovelkiss.com

The locker room was a high-end lounge with lines of chairs and comfortable seating alongside numerous options for warming up and passing time before a match. A few young heroes were off playing pool, while others were sitting in a circle and talking with one another. He scanned the space and spotted a few familiar faces, though he was only interested in one in particular. He found Sol standing near the back talking quietly with Nietz and the enormous fellow who went by Pillar.

He raised a hand to draw Sol’s attention, and the young man glanced his way before turning back to Nietz and shaking his hand. The two men exchanged a few more words before Sol made his way over, while Nietz scowled at Sowards. Don’t blame me for your friend’s misfortune. Politics isn’t fair; get used to it, brat. You’re the reason there’s so much competition now. If anyone should be angry, it should be me.

“Mister Sowards,” Sol said and held out a hand.

“Hero Sol, how are you feeling?” Sowards asked with an easily plastered smile.

“Bright and sunny,” Sol said with a grin.

Sowards forced a laugh. “Hah! Very good. I’m glad to see you in good spirits. You’ve got a lot of competition.”

“More than I was expecting, but it isn’t a problem, sir,” Sol said with a shrug. “I’ll win that first prize.”

“I’m just glad Miss Chernovna decided to limit participants to recent camp graduates. It would have been unfortunate if an international hero suddenly showed up,” Sowards agreed. “So you don’t expect much difficulty?”

“Not at all. I’m more interested in who will take second,” he said thoughtfully.

“Oh? Something you gathered from your conversation with Hero Nietz?” Sowards asked pointedly, glancing towards the young man, who was now fully engaged in lively conversation with the giant next to him.

“Nietz won’t win this one, if that’s what you’re asking. Even he doubts it,” Sol said with a shrug and a small smile. “From what I’ve learned, though, he should do well in the subsequent competitions if he decides to participate.”

“He shared a lot with you then,” Sowards pressed. Is that boy talking about sensitive Pandora topics in a locker room? Perhaps I can leverage that and get him barred.

“Not much. He’s surprisingly tight-lipped for someone so talkative. He’s more enthusiastic about the abilities of others than his own. We’ve also been talking about the local restaurant scene; he’s something of a foodie,” Sol said with a shrug.

Sowards raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask anything more, a chime rang over their heads. “Hero Sol, please report to the arena gate. Hero Sol, please report to the arena gate.”

“That’s my cue. Thanks for coming by, Representative!” he said brightly, and patted Soward’s shoulder. “I have a competition to win for our home,” he added before walking past him and out the door. Sowards watched him go before turning back to find Nietz standing where Sol had been. Sowards nearly jumped out of his skin.

“H-hero Nietz!”

“Representative,” Nietz grunted, his eyes hard.

“Is there something I can help you with, boy?”

“Just figured I’d greet a Pandora rep since he came by,” Nietz said. “Make sure he knew I was aware of him. It’d be rude not to.”

Sowards narrowed his eyes. “Are you threatening me, Hero Nietz?”

Nietz’ expression brightened. “Of course not! I wouldn’t sink so low as to use threats to get what I want out of people,” he brought his fist to his chest proudly. “A Hero demonstrates integrity.”

Sowards’ eye twitched, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to engage this boy on the topic when he knew he was just dragging him for the pressure applied to convince Locke to take action against Harbinger. Sowards shook his head. “Good luck with your matches, Nietz.”

“Don’t need it,” Nietz said. “Just need patience. I’ll get there.”

Sowards turned away. “Of course,” he growled and made his way out of the locker room. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “It’s me,” he said as he walked down the hall. “Hero Nietz is going to be an issue. He’ll be at your competition next. Do something about it. My hands are tied trying to deal with Chernovna.”

The swift response that followed made him frown, but he just let it go. He hung up the phone and glanced down the hall only to pause when he saw something strange. It looked like a hound, but it was white. He felt like he’d seen it before, but he wasn’t quite sure. The creature lingered only for a moment before, with a purple flicker, it was gone. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, looking around. Nothing. Am I seeing things?

He sighed and glanced down at his phone again. The clock said it was about time to return to his seat, but he had the sudden urge to head home. None of these matches are really important anyway, he thought. The top sixteen is the bigger concern. I’ll just head home.

—

Sowards owned a modest mansion in Sydney and chose to stay there rather than anywhere else. It wasn’t especially luxurious compared to some of the other Pandora Representatives’ homes, but it was comfortable in all the ways that mattered to him. Most importantly, it was secure and far away from the stresses of his work.

On the way over, he’d received a call from the Committee telling him to get in contact with Chernovna over security concerns. The American Representative was throwing a fit about her not having an official bodyguard beyond Handmaiden. Since a new ASTA liaison still hadn’t been selected and he was the nearest person, they’d chosen him. He’d tried to point out their poor relationship, but apparently the Chairwoman wasn’t interested in common sense.

He rubbed his temples as he got out of his car and made his way to the door. One thing after another, he grumbled as he put in the passcode and wandered into the living room. “Sophie!” he called. “I’m home!”

Silence followed.

He frowned. Where’d she go? We had dinner plans.

His phone chimed, and he checked it, expecting a message from his wife, and instead saw another scathing rebuke from his superiors in the Sydney office about Finch’s loss. They were still fuming over the helicopters. If I hadn’t placated that maniac, she would have done something drastic; I know it. There’s nothing stopping her from going over the heads of the investigative team. Not with her blasted connections. If she keeps pushing me for things, she’ll ruin me! He seethed and slammed the phone down on the counter with a snarl before marching over to the kitchen counter. “Sophie! Are you here?” he shouted again.

“Your wife is asleep, Representative.”

He felt all the blood drain out of his face as an etheric voice that echoed strangely in his head filled his ears. He whirled on the spot, pressing his back against the counter as he looked into a pair of eyes that looked like pink flames flickering and rising from the front of a silver-white helmet. That helmet was accompanied by a suit of armor made of the same eerie material that seemed to glow in the dim light of his living room. The figure’s odd, luminescent hair floated in an unseen wind.

He felt a lump form in his throat as terror gripped his chest.

“I-Ishtar?” he squeaked. “Wh-wh-what do you want? Why-”

Ishtar’s eyes flashed, and it suddenly felt like he had a blade to his throat even if she hadn’t moved an inch. The pressure weighed down on his shoulders until he hit the ground, his knees flaring up with fresh pain. Where are those damn Committee handlers? What good are they if they don’t catch something like this?

She floated. Literally floated. Over to him before she was only a foot away. She looked down at him like a boot over an ant. A goddess. Blue light flickered over her palm, and a roll of paper appeared in it, accompanied by two other objects. She turned it over, and it unfurled. His terrified mind took several seconds to realize that he was looking at a contract. Not just any contract. An awakening contract. The provisions and demands were steep. He swallowed hard and looked at the other two things. A black business card and… “Wh-what?” he breathed, his guts turning to ice. A blueprint of the Sydney Arena.

He looked past it towards the supervillain. “W-what do you want me to do?” he asked, only to immediately understand. He reached up for the contract with shaky fingers. “Y-you want me to kill Chernovna?”

Ishtar didn’t answer him. She didn’t need to. Her little show at The Hague was answer enough. If he failed, she’d kill him anyway. Pleasing the supervillain was his only way to survive now.

“I’ll need a pen.”