Boundless

Sleeping Beast

Thedus' mercenary trade point was busy, boiling with frantic energy, like an anthill.

Those locations were like a farmers' market of the organized criminal groups - mafia if you will. It was also the best place for networking and job hunting if you are inclined to make a living in the underground economy landscape.

Newcomers into the underground circles would usually find trade points quite tame. At a first glance, most of the open trading could be also found in neighborhoods with high criminal activity. One could almost read in the rookies' eyes 'Where are the slaves, the big guns, the alien fauna?'

Hidden, of course.

Hierarchy and access to organized crime societies were anything but simple. Most regular people who walked away from a straight life into the underworld were probably expecting a landscape with more possibilities, more access, hierarchy mobility. In other words: dreaming of a land where carving a place for oneself was easier.

But that was all it was. A dream. Nothing about the underworld was fair, democratic, equalitarian or easy.

What they found: a harsher, predatory, authoritarian reality. Life expectancy of your garden-variety-mercenary would not surpass 45 years old. And barely zero prospects of retirement.

(Very few people were ever able to successfully escape the shadows of the underworld after setting foot on it).

But the cash made up for it. Or most of it anyways. For a good portion of the new arrivals, money was a thrilling high, and they would ride it for years. The illusion of power, of freedom, of success that money would impress upon rookies, is the exact reason that keeps more coming.

(Sure, there's also the adrenaline fix).

On another hand, inequality and stability had different contours. For the underworld, you are who you know. And if who you know goes down, better cover your ass, because you are next on the hit list.

(For similar reasons, being a social butterfly was really good for business. A good portion of Brokers had a close relationship with lobbyists, and some were lobbyists themselves. Charlie's alcoholism started a "social drinking thing", but when you are socializing every night, things might get out of hand).

And Fer-de-Lance was fairly aware of how things worked in mafia circles. If the ship hauling Charlie's package was also transporting organic products, he sure had some big stuff happening. And was willing to entrust her better contracts now.

Sounds like success right? For Lance and her team, sure. But what about Charlie?

After the successful raid at Cardinalis' market, all activities concentrated there were dispersed to other trade points. Moreover, a vacuum of power emerged on all levels, due to the number of people who lost their lives.

Tragedy and catastrophe weren't strong enough to stop the black market engines. Hell, if the apocalypse took place today, tomorrow people would be going back to business. Nothing could prevent the mafia to trade and make money.

In regular circumstances, most big clients and 'businessmen' would not risk their luck with unknown brokers and suppliers. However... Crisis and opportunity walk hand in hand, and Charlie was making a grab for it.

Poor Charlie, he would probably be the cause of his own ruin. The broker knew how the drug market worked very well and was quite knowledgeable about the ins and outs of negotiating and transporting such products: what to expect, which gangs were looking for what, a bunch of crooked law enforcement agents, good routes. But didn't have the discipline, the allies, or the contacts to venture into dangerous waters and stay afloat for long.