Vertigo groaned as he watched Commander work his charm on not one but two ladies at once, making his head pound at the thought of having to listen to that all night, and possibly well into the next morning. He had already brushed off one woman's attempt to entice him, finding her overwhelming perfume and expensive clothes offputting. Nathan, on the other hand, was having little to no luck at all, with either men or women. Vertigo tipped back the rest of his drink as something Commander said caused his companions to break out in loud, obnoxious laughter. Setting the glass down firmly on the scuffed bar, he signaled for another.
“Hey, Vert!” One of the men from the corps dropped into the seat next to him. Vertigo couldn't remember the man's name. Ethan? Evyn? Eren? One of the pitfalls of being among the elite – everyone knew him, while to him the others were just a succession of blurred together faces. “He's at it again, eh?” The man nodded in Commander's direction. “You'd think he'd have enough of that by now.”
“No shit,” Vertigo moaned, dismay at Commander's behavior overwhelming his irritation at the nickname from someone who was by no means close enough to him to merit its use. “What's the deal? I mean, he called us here, but he sure as hell isn't doing business...”
“Well,” the man said, “what little he's told us is that word is the powers that be in the next town over need fresh supplies of weapons, and he's feeling that the local underground culture is willing to part ways with a few pretties in exchange for the right price. Thing is, deals like that attract bullshit like you wouldn't believe, so...”
“So he wants us to run courier.”
“Usually how it goes,” the other man said with a shrug. “Thing is, though, that talent is starting to run low around here. Not your kind, th' other.” He made a crude motion at his chest to suggest a large bosom. “Some bastard is hogging all the business and roughing up the good ones to keep them to himself. Takin' more than his fair share, actually, got people disappearin' off the streets. Boss man's thinking we gotta shake the man down a little, get something out of him.”
“What, scare this asshole into giving us some money?”
“No, no, I mean get him to stop being such a prick and actually let business flow. I know Commander don't deal in human cargo, but nobody ain't got money, we ain't getting paid.”
Vertigo frowned as something occurred to him. He got up from the bar, finishing off his drink and tossing several coins down. “I'll check up with him later. I gotta take care of something first.”
“Yeah, I hear ya. You take care, brother.”
“Mmm.” He just barely managed to hide his grimace. You're not my damn brother. He started to make for the door but noticed Nathan heading his way, a troubled expression on his face. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the other man. “What? I'm just going out for a walk.”
“I know. Vertigo, it's been hours. I'm worried about Bliss too.”
“...Fine.” Vertigo opened the door. It was clear that Nathan was also beginning to have suspicions about what might be keeping Bliss, and another pair of eyes would be useful. “Let's go.”
He could already tell that something was up. The general population seemed troubled, which meant that something had happened to spook them. He poked his head into a bar down the street to ask around and found that a fight had broken out across town, a pretty major one. He glanced over to Nathan. “What are you feeling?” Lacking as he was in more traditional powers, Nathan's instincts were rarely wrong.
“Bliss is late getting back and there's a fight in town, and all these people disappearing. I can't help but think-”
“I doubt anyone could abduct Bliss if they tried, but I'm sure as hell not going to give them the opportunity. Let's go have a look.”
It became easier and easier to follow the trail. The collateral damage became more pronounced as they drew closer to the site of the incident, and several bodies that no one had bothered to drag away yet strewed the area. “Hey you,” he growled at a wide-eyed street kid quickly backing away from one of the corpses. Probably picking pockets; the local guard must have just recently finished with the scene. “You see what happened?”
The kid's eyes widened further, his lips pressed into a tight line, and he quickly shook his head back and forth. Nathan sidled up to him and let a metallic sparkle show from between his fingers. “You sure? Are you sure you didn't see a pretty lady with short blonde hair?” Biting his lip, the kid hesitated, then held out a grubby hand. Nathan held the coin up between two fingers. “Talk first.”
“Lady came this way.” His eyes darted side to side. “Din't look happy. Guy tried to get too friendly with her, take her like the other girls, she bashed his head in against the wall. More guys tried to get her, she killed 'em all. Never seen nobody kill that many guys at once. Guy stuck 'er with the sleepyjuice, they dragged her off. Give it now?” He waggled his fingers impatiently.
Vertigo and Nathan looked at each other. “I'll give you two more if you can show us where they went,” Nathan said.
“Nuh uh!” The scrawny youth pointed. “They went thaddaway, thas' Chief's territory. Not going in there, no how. Told you what you wanna know, now gimme!”
Nathan flipped the coin at him. He snatched it out of the air and fled. They both ignored him. “Chief?” Nathan asked, addressing no one in particular.
“Must've been some changes since we were last through,” Vertigo said, recalling the conversation with the soldier in the tavern. Snarling softly, he pulled his weapon, gazing into the shadows down the street where the boy had pointed.
“What are you doing?” Nathan asked. “We should go back and tell Commander.”
“You go back and tell Commander,” Vertigo responded through gritted teeth. “I'm going to find Bliss if I have to tear this town in half.”
Nathan hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Okay go, I'll find you, then we'll find her!” He took off in the direction of the inn. Vertigo didn't doubt that he would be able to find him; Nathan seemed to have an uncanny knack for tracking either of them down.
He turned and sauntered down the dark street, massive sword slung casually over one shoulder. The thing was almost bigger than he was, with a broad blade that reflected the scant light most menacingly, and it was perfect for attracting the attention of some slum lord's goons.
He was right. He hadn't been wandering very long when a couple of armed men swaggered up to him. They were dressed similarly, with a small insignia of a clenched fist at the right shoulder. They weren't city enforcement; they looked like the typical dumb and ugly grunts that any small-time tyrant might hire, with a confidence that far outstripped their skills. “We ain't seen you around before,” Ugly drawled.
“You got business here?” Dumb asked, eyeing the sword.
Vertigo let a humorless smirk stretch the corner of his mouth. “Yeah I got business. It's called making you two assholes tell me what I want to know before I spill your guts for you.” Quicker than either of them could react, his free hand snaked out and snatched Ugly by the neck, lifting him easily into the air. Ugly cursed and flailed, choking, and Dumb took a couple of steps back, his eyes wide. His surprise didn't stop him from pulling his rifle. Vertigo allowed a spark of amusement into his voice. “Really? You that good a shot?” He dangled Ugly in front of him, a human shield. Ugly was trying desperately to reach his own rifle, but every time he tried Vertigo tapped him in the head with the butt of his sword hard enough to stun him for a second.
“Chief don't like people disturbing the peace.” Dumb gestured with his rifle. “You drop him, turn around and leave right now, maybe with a little bit of cash for our trouble, and we can forget the whole thing.”
Vertigo laughed, unforced and genuine. “I'm looking for a friend, gentlemen. Pretty girl, blonde hair, nice ass, bad attitude. Word is pretty girls like her've been disappearing off the streets and I have a feeling that you two dumbasses can tell me where I might find her. Maybe you should start talking before I scramble what little brains your friend here has left. Not that you'd be able to tell the difference.” He let Ugly have another love tap at the base of the skull, just for emphasis.
“We ain't seen her!” Ugly howled, still struggling in Vertigo's grip. “We wasn't even on shift when we killed Rolf and his-” He realized his mistake and shut up, but it was too late.
“I'm running out of patience.” His voice was a monotone, flat and cold. “Thirty seconds. Start talking.”
“Fuck you!” Dumb spat, and snapped his rifle up to fire.
Vertigo dropped Ugly on his ass and thrust his hand out at Dumb. A gout of flame seared out from his hand, roasting the man. Luckily they were alone on the street, and anyone in the buildings lining the road in this part of town would know better than to look out to see what was causing the screams and howls. Commander would be pissed that he was throwing around magic, but that was the least of his concerns right now.
He lowered his sword at the prone form of Ugly, the flames of the thug's burning comrade casting him in red, hellish light. “Start talking.”
