Chapter 5: Aggressive negotiations
Gaddes was sure he could say without anyone disagreeing that he was a man of courage. Relatively young he may be, but he had seen more than most, and then dealt with it too on top of that. Thieves never got their way with him, and deadly assassins frightened him about as much as a kitty with particularly sharp nails. So, no, he was a hard man to scare.
What never failed to get him were nerves. The man carried his nervous system in his puffy sleeves, so it was a given that it would inevitably pop up if one were to shake him up a bit. Right now, he was thinking along the lines that the situation was the very definition of "shake him up a bit", as he sat down in between two unidentified, but very put out members of Curtiwald Zänninger's entourage.
After mentioning Reeden, Gaddes had been "cordially invited" to sit at the table with the man. Meaning, sitting there was the only way the other would listen. Now, that would not have been much of a problem, except that the two men on either side of him were pushing against him, trying to squeeze him off of existence, and every single person on the table was looking at him with a "talk or I'll kill you because I'm bored" expression.
Oh yes - he told himself while attempting to find the friendliest face, the least infuriated one, to focus on. Turned out it was Zänninger himself. - He was definitely nervous.
"I'm here because of a friend of mine, Mr Zänninger-"
"Please, we are among friends. Call me Cutty", the man injected. His tone was silky, but the impression that crept through it and the half-lidded gaze was one of hateful disdain.
"... Cutty, then. You put up a bounty for this friend of mine, Cutty, a very large sum of money, in fact. I'm talking about Reeden, as you already know." Scoffs and glances were immediately exchanged throughout his small audience, and Gaddes suddenly knew these people were about to dismiss him. "I was wondering if there was some alternative solution we might... negotiate?"
That regained everyone's interest, for they suddenly quieted down and looked at Cutty with looks so meaningful, Gaddes didn't even try to guess what might be behind them. Cutty would no doubt enlighten him in a few moments, in any case.
The man leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table top. Then without a break in the movement, leaned further still to rest his chin on top of his hands. All he said was:
"Oh?"
o
"Reeden, my friend! What a pleasant surprise!" The lanky man leading the group of armed men greeted with a smile. The two knew each other, but were far from friends, and the proximity of this encounter with the fact that Cutty wanted him, was enough to let Reeden know there was nothing of "surprise" involved here.
"Sonje..." Reeden spat the name back.
Sonje was a tall man that looked like he had never been paid enough to eat properly. He worked for Cutty, so it was most likely true. No one knew for sure where he came from, or if his name was even "Sonje", but his features were unmistakably that of a foreigner. Thin white-blond hair and small icy eyes cut into skin that was never meant to be exposed to the sun for too long were not the regular traits of an Asturian.
Reeden knew the man well enough from his dealings with Cutty, since Sonje was one of his favourite employees. He delivered messages from time to time, but his real job was much more bloody than that. That was why Reeden kept an eye on the swords so openly displayed. For now, they were only talking, which meant maybe, just maybe, Sonje was not there for him.
The smiling blond was standing just in front of Reeden, making full use of his height against that of the short man. "So. How have you been doing?"
Reeden almost rolled his eyes. This was why he hated this man. He was basically Cutty's lapdog, and still he acted like a Duke. Hell, he had no trouble imagining Sonje cutting someone's arm off and then politely asking if they knew the time. "Cut the crap, Sonje, why are ya really here?"
"Now, there is no need to speak like that", he said with an exaggerated aristocratic accent and cringe. "But you are correct, if I am to be perfectly honest, I must admit that there is little of coincidence in my being here. My friend."
Reeden almost blurted out "no shit", but kept it in. He'd go cross eyed if he had to hear another patronising lesson on manners from someone who had no moral.
"As it is, it has come to my knowledge that you have upset our dear friend, Curtiwald."
"Oh shit", this time he couldn't keep it in. That was the confirmation he did not want to hear. "You're here to kill me, aren't ya?"
Sonje's smile widened dangerously.
o
"I am a business man, Mr Gaddes. What Reeden has done to me... what he did to my commercial dealings has caused great injury to me and my reputation. Surely you understand this?" Cutty calmly said, openly fixing his gaze on Gaddes and analysing the man's discomfort.
"Of course, what Reeden did was wrong, but-"
"In that case," he interrupted, "you must also see that I am left with no other choice but to take action. If I let this occurrence slide, who is to assure that others won't do as your friend has done, Mr Gaddes?"
"Certainly, but I'm sure we can-"
"And your friend Reeden has frustrated me greatly with his foolish 'antics'." Would this man let Gaddes please finish a sentence? He was patient by nature but did not appreciate being brushed aside like that either. "Did he seriously think I would not notice what he was up to? No, my friend. Nobody cheats on Cutty and lives to tell the tale. There is nothing to negotiate here."
o
"Hey, Reeden!... whoa!" Katz said upon entering the hangar and being confronted with the situation there. Pyle, Ort, Kio and him had just gone to see if Reeden had finished his work and if he was interested in a game of cards. Instead, they were met with a group of unknown individuals who had their swords drawn and were apparently disturbing Reeden.
"What is going on here?" Pyle said, moving from behind Katz and stepping up front. Unlike Reeden and Katz, who were both stringy, Pyle was a big man and wore steel armour over his regular uniform. When necessary, he usually made good use of his intimidating figure, as was the case now.
As soon as Reeden saw the group of fellow soldiers, he hastily retreated next to them, putting some very nerve-calming distance between himself and Sonje. The white-haired was not too pleased with the disruption, but Reeden would have liked it even better if he had looked a bit more ruffled about now. Could he possibly think he could still kill Reeden in the presence of the newcomers?
"Heh, Sonje, why don't we leave this for another time. My friends and I have stuff to do right now."
Sonje had lost his smirk, but his eyes were still narrowed dangerously. He looked at his men, then turned back to the group of Asturians. He still had a numerical advantage of about three-to-one. "We're taking them ALL to Cutty. Tie them up and get them on the ship", he disinterestedly ordered.
A chorus of acknowledgements was his response, as the men, free to do as their more violent instincts dictated, started towards the group of five. Before anyone could have done anything to defend themselves, Katz and Ort were lying unconscious on the ground, victim of two simultaneous blows to the head.
Pyle had fared better, having his armour to protect himself, and Reeden was just too small and agile to be easily caught. Kio on the other hand, who was also a big fellow, didn't even have to move, as all it took was a good punch to knock his attacker out of commission. Still, their numbers had been reduced to three, while Sonje's men remained.
It didn't take them long to subdue the three Asturians, but in the end they had plenty of their own numbers to drag back to the ship. As Reeden was unceremoniously dumped inside the cargo hold, he could hear Sonje softly laughing and giving the orders to take them to Cutty.
o
"However... we will be in touch in the near future, Mr Gaddes. I can assure you of that", Curtiwald Zänninger said by way of dismissal.