Gateway Worlds

Assimilation - 3

"It feels a little light."

Maria almost fell over in her haste to spin on the rocky dirt. A tall man, dressed in the fancier layers of a Boss, faced her. The only reason she recognized him was the unmistakable lilt in his voice. Ribbon's words were full of mirth and danger, although the pitch wasn't as deep as she was used to hearing it. Without the darkness to hide his features, she could see that he wasn't some scarred phantom, as she had previously imagined. Aside from the local garb, he was clean-shaven with black, tousled hair that hung evenly to his shoulders. His smile was exactly as she'd pictured it, although the hard edge to his blue eyes left her speechless for half a second while she gathered her wits.

"What would you know?" She glanced at the small sack he was holding. It belonged to The Pirate and was indeed much lighter than it should have been. She had meticulously sold as many of those items as quickly as possible.

"I know what I own, and I know when it goes missing."

Maria felt strangely surprised as she assessed the man again. She'd seen The Pirate many times, but always from a distance. Now that she looked again, he definitely dressed in that Boss's style, but his words and mannerisms were similar to the mercenary who had accosted her the night before. Was it possible that Ribbons the mercenary, and The Pirate were the same man, or perhaps twins? Maria tried to get over her surprise enough to answer as she realized her new level of danger. Her hands dropped in resignation, "I sold them all."

"I know that too, just wanted to see if you were going to keep lying."

"You have everything back that I can give back and as much information about the rest as I know. Leave me be."

"Not likely. You do realize the others want you skinned alive right?"

"Do they know it's me then?"

"Not specifically, but merely giving these things back won't appease them. These are men and women who thrive on control and you took that from them by slipping through the cracks unnoticed. They don't appreciate that."

She wanted to turn and just keep going, to pretend the whole unpleasant incident hadn't happened. "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"I will be, in a bit, but you need to realize that you're not back on Earth anymore. The consequences on this world are much more deadly. There are no prisons here, there are no gateways within the outer city for them to ship you through. These Bosses take matters into their own hands and people like you, without a boss to back them up, can disappear fairly easily."

"Enough with the threats, I have nothing else to give back and I'm leaving the area so they can just get over themselves."

He considered her as she turned to leave, when he spoke next his voice had the same cold, factual tone from the night before, "Don't use my name again to defend yourself unless you plan on becoming one of my servants. For every time you do, you'll owe me a year plus another year for everything you stole and can't return."

Maria ignored him, continuing toward the edge of this section of city. She had probably a mile of empty area to cover before she would enter the next boss's space. By the time she got there, she'd be in the hottest part of the afternoon and nearly scorched, even beneath all of her layers. Wasting any more time chatting was just asking for pain. The only positive was that she'd regained her sturdy clothing and a few of her other items. That combined with the small amount of money she'd held back would be enough to restart. Still, this was a frustrating setback to her plans.

Eight months later she was moving on again. Thieving had once again become her fallback, although this time it was proving far more lucrative. She'd accidentally happened upon a group of lower bosses talking about a particular item they wanted to get their hands on. Covering her face, and dressed in the same drab brown as everyone else, Maria walked into the room and boldly offered her services, for a decent price. After some deliberation, they took her up on the offer assuming she would fail, but when she showed up two days later, goods in hand, they were thoroughly impressed.

The group quickly worked out a system to provide a method of contact and Maria went on her way. Within a week she'd been contacted again and, after another successful heist, business flowed in from all segments. The only jobs she refused were those associated with the bigger bosses. Anyone who ran an operation of more than a hundred workers was too big a risk, considering The Pirate's warning. Aside from that, however, she had no loyalty to any one boss. Often, one night's heist was the next's retributory strike. There appeared to be no honor among them.

Once again she had almost exactly what she needed to be able to buy her way across the wall. With a smile, she packed up her belongings and headed toward the closest of the three gates. Only one problem remained, she would have to pass through the territories of some of the bosses who hated her, but it was a risk she was willing to take to save herself more than three weeks in the Wilds. She hoped to avoid any unpleasantness by traveling those particular roads during the heat.

The first was Tamra's area. Tamra didn't follow the normal Boss protocol of taking on the name of some Norse or Grecian god. She did, however, hold to the tradition of ultimate power, and using that power to force others into obedience. Not many came into her areas unless they were desperate or depraved. Less trust and more physical violence pervaded in her area.

Maria had only found herself cross-wise to the woman once, sunburnt, and nearly blind from her travels, Maria's hopes of rest ended when she dropped to the Boss' feet thanks to a shove from her lookouts. Tamra's goons locked her in a chokehold and Tamra strutted before her, assessing this new addition.

Tamra jumped to the accurate but unfounded assumption that she was running from the other Bosses. The sizzle of a brand behind her was enough for 'Little Mouse' to let The Pirate's name slip, and Tamra grudgingly released her. The evil queen and The Pirate were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Tamra was known for her anger; short-tempered and dangerous. The Pirate was as close to an enemy as the Bosses ever were, and Tamra feared the man. Getting back through the area without running into the evil queen's men would be difficult, but not impossible.

As she approached the area this second time, she kept her eyes alert. Nothing stirred. The entire area seemed deserted, and would remain that way until the suns had dropped. Pressing forward as quickly as she could while trying to maintain her silent steps, Maria pursed her lips and tried not to hold her breath.

Staying against the outskirts of the city wasn't a valid option. It would take nearly two hours to skirt the place. Pushing straight through the center was her best bet, but one that she regretted as her face smashed into the thick chest of a goon only ten minutes later.

Tamra's eyes were glued on Maria's face as soon as the goon released her. Cursing, she righted herself and tried to dodge and run. Maybe the woman didn't recognize her? It was a pathetic hope.

"Stop her." Tamra didn't yell the command, but the goons reacted as if she had. Desert-dressed beings seemed to slide out of the walls as they dove for her. Working together, the group dragged her flailing body into the cooler darkness of a nearby warehouse. Tamra followed at a more stately pace.

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Thoughts and comments?? By this point in, we should have some, right? Give 'um to me :)