The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

Chapter 55

"Who sends eight guys to a weapons deal?" Chesyr asked, looking away from the approaching vehicles just to side-eye Soul. 

"Why, Miss Chesyr, you almost sound worried." Soul drawled, letting his Texas accent thicken up. Chesyr smiled at the way he referred to her. He was all southern charm and colloquialisms, every bit the cowboy he dressed as. 

Vyper bumped her shoulder with his, bringing her attention back to the parking vehicles and the matter at hand. Ten people were getting out, just like she had called it. That was a lot of people for a weapons deal, even with all the stuff they had bought. Nine of them were men, wearing jeans and leather jackets and various jewelry. One of them was a woman, and she was obviously in charge by how she moved. She was dressed stereotypically, wearing a fur coat and a bodysuit underneath it. Her black hair was done up so it was out of the way, and her heels clacked on the asphalt as she gathered her men.

Five of them, including the woman, started towards the trio, while the rest leaned back against their vehicles. The group stopped about five feet from them, and for a heartbeat they just stared at each other. Oracle wondered for a moment if there was going to be a fight to get out of here.

"Soul Dealer," The woman said, her Russian accent thick, but not enough to make her hard to understand. She offered a hand. "It has been too long."

"Missus Karina," Soul said warmly, taking her hand in both of his. "Yer right, it's been a right minute since I seen yer smilin' face. How's the family been?"

"They are doing well. Has your son been keeping out of trouble?"

"He has, certainly more than his old man." Soul's smile faded a bit. "But that's enough small talk for now. Is there a reason ya brought so many a yer friends to a sale? Makes my friends here a right bit nervous."

"Yes, your 'friends'" Karina put strange emphasis on the word. "By which you mean Chesyr and Vyper of the Eyes of Fate, no? Dangerous mercenaries with a bounty on their heads by dozens of different groups worldwide."

Chesyr tensed, and felt Vyper do the same. Before she could do so much as start to disappear, Karina raised her hands, as did the rest of her group.

"Easy, my friends, we mean you no harm. I would not harm the friends of my friend the Soul Dealer, nor would I endanger future business relations."

"Alright," Chesyr said, nodding, "Then if you're not here to try and capture us, why so many men?"

"We have heard many tales of the Eyes of Fate, as you can imagine in our line of business. We have also heard from the Soul Dealer that your leader likes to fight. They were hoping to test their mettle."

Chesyr couldn't help but laugh, Vyper joining her almost immediately. Some of the men frowned, but Karina merely smiled primly while they fought to get themselves under control.

"You know what, I think Fang would love that," Vyper said, wheezing. Chesyr nodded along, barely able to breathe. "He's not with us today though." 

"Perhaps we could meet again after your mission is complete. The Soul Dealer could surely put us in contact."

"You do know that he wouldn't be gentle, right?" Chesyr finally squeaked out. "Like, most people who test their mettle against him die, Russian gangster or not." 

"Is that why you found it so amusing?" Karina asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"No no," Chesyr quickly spoke. "It's just that most people who want to fight Fang, hell fight any of us, they don't ask. They just jump us when we show up."

"Well, we do have our own code of honor, and as I said earlier, I would not wish to endanger any future business dealings we may have."

"With as quickly as you worked, if everything is there and good, I could most definitely see this becoming an ongoing relationship." Vyper said, back to business. "And on that note, could we see it?"