"Melvin, you idiot! You goddamn idiot!"
In the kitchen of the Crimson Viper's hideout, Melvin faced Basil with angry eyes.
Basil was much older than him: around fifty years old, he was already an experienced bandit. Melvin was just twenty years old: he could not talk back to Basil. But the crap he was constantly put through was too much to bare.
"You had one job! You just had to buy baked sweets at the closest town! Look at them now, you moron: they are all ruined!"
"It's not my fault!" Melvin uttered "The closest town is twenty miles from here! The road is bumpy! Of course the sweets would get ruined! We can't buy them in our town because people hate us and we fear poisoning! I tried to drive the cart as slow as possible, but the road was just too shitty!"
"Shut up! Let me think!"
Basil scratched his face, covered in bristly grey beard, as he thought of a solution.
"We'll just put the sweets that are still intact on top of the most ruined ones. If we are lucky, at some point they'll be too drunk to notice. Jacob doesn't care for baked sweets anyway. Trevor, on the other hand, is a true pig. He almost beat a new associate to death for a ruined cake, once"
Melvin felt a shiver of fear crawling up his spine.
"Will he beat me up badly?"
Basil gave him a weird look. Then, he sighed.
"Relax. I'll take the blame for it. Trevor won't hurt me. We have history"
Melvin's heart was leaping with gratitude. Basil was a strict bastard, but he was a real good fellow sometimes. He also taught Melvin a lot of useful stuff.
"You would do that?"
" Aye, but this is the last time. If you want to get some respect in this group, you'll have to start accepting responsabilities. Now, quick! The higher-ups are already in the main hall. They'll need someone who refills their cup"
"Yessir!"
The main hall had been set up for the party. At the center of the room, there was a large table with any kind of food; lined along the walls, comfortable couches on which the higher-ups were already sitting, with cups in their hands.
Melvin stood in a corner, holding a jug of wine.
He knew all of those guys by name. Jacob and his two bodyguards,Trevor and Simon; Dorian, a less muscular bald man, who was known for being pretty clever: Jacob held him in great esteem, and listened to anything he had to say. The other two, Angus and Gordon, were pretty much brutes.
Melvin daydreamed about sitting at those couches with them, talking about business like a big shot. He had always been poor: being a homeless orphan, he had been living on the streets, surviving as a thief. The Crimson Vipers taking over the town had been a godsend.
He enlisted without a second thought. He felt that, if he worked hard enough, he could make it to the top in a few years. For now, he was barely making a living, but one day he would have sat on one of those chouches, drinking good wine and eating good food...oh, let's not forget the women. Lots of beautiful women.
Melvin was still a virgin. He hadn't confessed this to anyone. Until now, he had not been making enough money: it would have been stupid to spend all of his savings on a prostitute. But he had finally been allowed into the party.
He heard that after the party, in the morning, there were always women left for lower-tier associates. Basil told him some of them were even too weak to fight back: Trevor and Simon were true beasts who enjoyed beating their victims. Honestly, Melvin found the idea of a woman too weak to fight back pretty arousing.
"I'm telling you" Dorian was saying, looking Jacob in the eyes " that this isn't smart. We need to think about the future"
" Aren't you worrying too much? We got the town under control. We have new people enlisting every day...mostly wanted criminals. Nobody can oppose us"
"You are forgetting about something very important" Dorian said "We are not the strongest guys in the area. The Landlord is. The Landlord has enough manpower to wipe us out in a single day"
"We have a deal with the Landlord"
" Yes...for now. But we are bleeding the town dry. It's a good thing, putting a leash on a dog. But a leash too tight will choke the dog to death"
" Your point being what?"
Melvin admired Dorian. He was the only one who dared stand up to Jacob. He was confident in what he had to say, and with good reasons.
" My point is, soon people won't be able to pay their fees. Our profit may very well drop to zero. At some point, we won't be able to pay the Landlord anymore. What do you think is going to happen, then? He only put us in charge because he thinks we will increase his income. What will he do, to the guys who impoverished his town? How will he react?"
Jacob didn't answer. He just clenched his jaw.
" If we keep this up, soon we'll have two hundred infantrymen knocking at our door"
Jacob knew Dorian was right. He just didn't want to admit it so openly in front of the others.
"So what do you suggest? Stop cashing in on fees?"
"Just let the people breath a little. This way, they'll also have more money to spend on prostitutes. Also...killing one of our best looking prostitutes because she earned too little was not a smart move"
The tension in the air grew. Dorian had just called Jacob stupid in front of his men. He was pushing his luck.
Melvin knew they were talking about Dorea. She had been the sexiest woman he ever saw. He was not happy about her death. To be honest, he had a little crush on her. It's not like he ever talked to her...or that he even wanted to talk to her...he just daydreamed about being rich enough to buy Dorea all for himself, and make love to her each night.
Jacob stared at Dorian with ferocity.
"Dorea didn't die because she didn't earn enough money" he growled "She died because she hit me"
"I also heard she was raped multiple times"
"Of course! That's how a prostitute repays her owner for lack of profit!"
Dorian raised his hands, trying to calm his boss down.
"All that I'm saying, Jacob, is that killing off one of our best girls over a bleeding nose may have been a rushed decision. Prostitutes are a source of profit, after all. We own them. We should treat our own property with care"
"A source of profit, uh?"
Jacob leaned toward Dorian, with a menacing glare in his eyes.
"All you talk about is profit. Profit this, profit that. But as smart as you are, you are forgetting about the fundamentals of the job".
He stood up, towering over his subordinates.
"Staying in this town has made you soft. You talk like a merchant now. But we are no merchants. We are bandits. To us, fear is more important than money. Fear is what keeps us alive. The moment people stop fearing us, it's all over. Forget about the Landlord: the townsfolk itself will have our heads, if they perceive us as weaks. That's why Dorea had to die. That's why her death had to be a painful one"
Jacob took a sip of wine, trying to calm himself down.
"Now" he said "if you have a weak spot for prostitutes, it's fine. As long as you keep giving me good advices, you can even give all your money to orphans. But I can't afford to be weak. Because I'm the boss. I'm the one who has been keeping us alive, since the days we ambushed travelers to make a living. And you should never forget that "
Dorian nodded. He was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth closed.
In that moment, Basil entered the hall.
"Gregory is here with the women" he announced.
Jacob smiled. All of his fury seemed gone now.
"Well, my friends" he said " We'll speak about business tomorrow. For tonight, let's forget about troubles. For tonight, let's just enjoy ourself. Let's just live. For a man can never know when his life is going to end!"
"It's okay" Gregory said " They're going to let us in in a moment"
He hadn't been able to stop shaking for a while. He could only hope that Basil didn't notice how pale and distressed he looked in the waning twilight.
Soon, this place is going to become a slaughterhouse. And after that...what is going to happen to me?
"Is this the place?" Lupusregina asked, clearly disappointed " How boring. Such a modest house. Maybe we dressed too elegantly for this?"
"Just because this place looks shabby, that doesn't mean we should look shabby too" replied Entoma "I even concealed my true appearance with a spell, for this"
"It's better this way" Solution said " The lower their expectations, the stronger the impression we'll leave on them"
"Dorea" Yuri called out " Is it possible, by any chance, that innocent people are going to be attending the party? Servants? Prostitutes?"
Dorea shook her head.
" As far as I know, only associates are allowed in. Most of them are already killers or thieves...and they are waiting for their chance to rape us, after the higher-ups grow tired of playing".
"Can you confirm this?" Yuri asked to Gregory.
Gregory nodded without hesitation: he was too scared to lie. He had lost any will to fight.
Yuri took a deep breath.
"Then it's settled. Nobody is leaving this house alive"
"Okay, but let's take it slow, Nee-chan" Lupusregina suggested "We came here to party, afterall! I don't want to jump in the action right away. Let us savor the moment, first!"
The front door opened.
The man named Basil was back.
"You may come in" he said.
"It's time" Yuri said. Then, she grabbed Gregory's arm. The man almost pissed his pants at the maid's touch.
"You are coming with us" she said " I want you to see what happens inside. I want you to watch"
" Yay!" Lupusregina yelled, jumping up and down with excitement "Let the party begin!"
One by one, they walked through the front door. Unable to oppose any resistance, Gregory let himself be led by Yuri into the depths of hell.