TheBroker

  A few months before the i in The Hague, Charon leaned ba his cou the private box overlooking his club. He slipped a cigar into his mouth and lit it with a bck fme from his fiip, he took a drag and exhaled, his graying skin vanishing behind the cloud for a moment as he leaned forward. He ran his fingers along the small pile of blue s sitting oable in front of them. Ead every one of them had a flexible value based ohe overall value of the new underworld market that he had built. Apparently it was some kind of trick that Ishtar and Mephisto cooked up with their tracts, he didn’t quite get it, nor did he care. They more than served their purpose.

  He rubbed oween his fingers as he gnced out at the open area of the club. Men and women, vilins of all races and backgrounds were here, ing from across the globe to do business with the Ferryman, the great middleman himself. He snorted and twirled his e between his fingers. He watched a couple newers walk over to the bar ahe faint trigger of his puppet standing there read gh its usual pre-programmed motions, simple versation topics. He didn’t have to split his attention as long as they kept it straight forward. Even so, it was fun to listen in.

  He smirked and cast a bit of his mind into the puppet, listening in for a few minutes before immediately being bored and pulling back out. Another far more iing flicker in his mind drew his attention and he shifted his perspective, looking through the eyes of the guard standing at the VIP entrance. A slight figure in a bck coat, bck skirt and bck pantyhose strutted down the hall and out of the guard’s visio up in his seat even more a a few orders for refreshments.

  In a matter of minutes a small spread of simple snacks was set on his table as well as a noxiously alcoholic drink for himself and a colorful drink in a tall gss filled with bubbles for his pretty guest. He rexed and straightened his embroidered jacket befetting to his feet and turning with a smooth motion, a practiced wicked smile on his face joined a ductor’s bow, the skull on his e pointed out, “Mephisto, geous as ever. Wele to the Styx.”

  A pair of glowing red eyes were the first things he saw as the brown haired man stepped out. A pretty slightly-pale face adorned with mascara and lipstick smiled at him ruefully and raised a perfect eyebrow, “All this set out for little old me?” The effeminate vilin asked, sweeping forward and holding out a hand. Charon took it and put a kiss on the knuckle of Ishtar’s Dealmaker, “You’re too kind. Teocrat might get jealous,” The devilish creature said with his usual half-purr before his eyes fshed dangerously. “Not wise.”

  Charon pulled his hand away and stood up straight, “You’re right, of course, I wouldn’t dream of pissing that guy off!” He chuckled, “Had your favorite drink made, at least.”

  Mephisto snorted and walked past him, pig up the colorful drink and taking a sip. He let out a delighted half-sigh half-squeal of delight and slipped into a fortable chair to the right of Charon’s couch. “A Wildebeest, now I know you want something!” Mephisto tittered out a ugh and crossed his legs nguidly. “Okay, I’ll bite, what was so big that you needed me to e personally? I’m a busy man. You have endorsed tracts, don’t you? You’re not out already are you?”

  Charon held up his hands as he sat down, “Nothing like that, I promise,” He said with a nervous grin, “I got someone wanting to ake a deal, a big name, but not a member of the New Underworld yet,” He added quickly, “Masque of the Darksiders needs gear, he says he has something big pnned.”

  Mephisto stopped half way through a sip and looked his way, “Masque? ing here? Today?”

  Charon gri him, “Yeaaaah,” He chuckled, “Figured you’d like to sit in.”

  Mephisto took a long sip from his drink a dowling into the fortable chair, “Why Charon, it isn’t even my birthday,” The dealmaker said with a dark smile.

  It wasn’t long after that when the man of the hour arrived. He came in through the front door like all the newers with a half dozen of his masked thugs surrounding him. Charon peeked through the perspective of his bartender as the masked man approached, his white mask with that twisted smile giving off a strange heat to it. He assumed full trol of the bartender ahe gss it was ing down, “Masque?” He asked through the bartender.

  “Yeah,” Masque said gravely, stopping at the ter and leaning on it. He was huge and way more fit than the goons around him. “Where’s your boss?”

  He smirked a little through the puppet as a rumble of ughter passed through the patrons of the Styx, many of them gng the Supervilin’s way. Masque frowned and looked around, standing up straight, “What’s the meme?” He asked, “What am I missing?”

  Bartender-Charon tilted his head forward and looked Masque square in the eyes, “I am the boss,” He said as the guards at the door also spoke with his voice, “I am here,” The waitstaff turned as one and looked at Masque, “And here,” The bounty board host looked his way, “I am everywhere, and the only people allowed to use their powers iyx are those I approve of. To down or shut it off, Mister Masque. My only warning,” Came dozens of voices in cert, dozens of pairs of eyes all staring at him as one. “You’re in the Ferryman’s territory now.”

  Masque turned around and looked at all of the puppets staring at him as well as the patrons who were staring at him expetly. There were several uandings at the Styx. The Ferryman provided prote, a link to Ishtar, bounties, money, and supplies. He was the beati of the growing society of Vilins. The Styx was ral ground and everyone agreed, no one fucked with the Ferryman. Talking back was an easy way to get enemies sittis away from ao work together for a singur goal. Punish the prick.

  Masque, fortunately, seemed able to at least read the room well enough to know better than to do anything stupid. The heat ing off of his body lessened signifitly though his mask stayed on his face. iled through the bartender as the rest of his puppets went back to what they were doing, “Appreciate it,” Charon said, “Now, e on up. Follow that one,” He added and poio a puppet standing at the foot of the stairs leading up to the raised area where the VIPs sat and the doors to his private box beyond. “Leave your boys down here.”

  A mier and Charon looked up from his couch to see the masked man walk into the private space. He gri the pause in Masque’s steps when he id eyes on Charon. Everyoed like that the first time, he sneered, “Masque, wele!” He gestured to the refreshed spread, “Got some snacks, do you drink?”

  “I’m good, thanks” Masque grunted before looking at Mephisto, “Who’s this? I thought this rivate meeting.”

  “It is!” Charon said aured to the beauty o him, “This is Mephisto, Ishtar’s personal dealmaker and the one who creates the paper the tracts go on. For someone as illustrious as you, I figured having him present to oversee the deal and make sure all your bases were covered would be the least I could do.”

  Mephisto smirked at Masque, “Charmed.”

  Masque stared at Mephisto, “‘Him?’” He repeated, clearly fused for a moment before pausing and then nodding. Something in his posture shifted and his chest puffed out, “I’m gd you saw fit to invite him, then, well met, Mephisto,” He said, f his voice a bit lower.

  Charon repressed a snicker a his lips steady as Mephisto raised an eyebrow, “Right… so, why don’t you have a seat and tell us about this scheme of yours. See if it’s worthy of a deal with the wish-granting queen. I should reiterate that I’m just the middleman here, I work with Ishtar but not strictly for her,” He said, “We all clear?”

  “Crystal,” Mephisto said with a smug smile.

  “Uood,” Masque grunted and sat down oher chair, opposite Mephisto. “So here’s the thing, those losers at the Pandora ittee have been building this fancy-ass new headquarters ihernds for a while. They got a meeting ing up and apparently the voice of the heroes is going to be there herself, that bitch with an ego, Sonya ovna,” He began with a sneer in his tone, “My boys and I want to crash the party, wreck shit, and take ovna,” He flexed his fingers, “My power make any one I see as attractive pliant,” He said, “Among other things,” He added quickly, “I’m gonna make her mihen I’m gonna use her to trol the Pandora ittee.”

  Charon leaned ba his seat, keeping a straight face as he slowly turned his head to a wide eyed Mephisto. Mephisto’s lips were pressed tightly together, trembling slightly. His hands were ched tight and if Charon didn’t know him, he’d think he was about to explode with anger. Quite the trary, though. Mephisto gnced his way with his eyes nearly sparkling with delight. They both shared the same thought, These idiots want to kidnap Ishtar while she’s visiting one of her most beloved pet projects? Oh this is going to be good.

  Mephisto let out a breath, “Well! That is ambitious,” He said a his on his palm, “You have enough people to ha, I take it?”

  “Yeah I don’t need any of your lohugs,” Masque grunted.

  “So gear and logistics, anything else?” Mephisto asked, writing down a few notes.

  “Logistics?” Masque asked.

  “Gotta get you and your boys there without the authorities notig, and you o house them,” Mephisto said, “Buy out a hotel for you for a while, that’ll work, right?”

  Charon squeezed his jaw shut to prevent himself from ughing, he cleared his throat and chimed in, already pig up on Mephisto’s angle, “Flying would be quick but risky, The Hague is oer, maybe a couple boats?”

  Mephisto nodded, “Good thinking, you’ll need unication equipment of course, Ishtar provide state-of-the-art tech ripped right off of the stuff the support panies are making,” He paused and forced a genuine smile, “I have no doubt in my mind she’ll find your scheme worth supp for her ends.”

  Masque leaned bad nodded, “I figured she’d be the type to see sense.”

  Charon looked away and cleared his throat again, Fug idiot.

  “Now let’s talk gear,” Mephisto tinued, “Guns, armor?”

  “Enough for at least five hundred guys,” Masque said with a grave nod, “I’m bringing a big portion of my group with me.”

  “A couple extra over that then,” Charon chimed iing a smirk from Mephisto, “No gear is perfectly reliable, best to be prepared for something not w properly, one only guarantee quality so much.”

  Mephisto’s eyebrows rose, “R-right!” He said, “I’ll add that in,” He scribbled something down then gnced up at Masque, “How about hardware? puters, Monitors? You guys like thht? Gotta keep track of the mission in your war room.”

  Masque leaned forward at the phrase ‘war room’, “Yeah, plenty of ‘em, make the room look impressive when they drag her in.”

  Charon would have cried from holding back his ughter if he was even able to cry with dead tear-ducts, he leaned forward, “In that case you should get a desk too, big hardwood number, friggin sell it.”

  Mephisto raised his notepad up to cover his face for a moment to hide his expression while Masque turo look at him with a serious nod, “Good idea, I need all the supplies I get for this. Something to keep her from using that power of hers too, st thing I want is her toug me somehow and learning my power,” He grunted.

  Mephisto lowered his notepad and cleared his throat, waving his hao his neck, “It’s a bit warm,” He said with a huff, “Anyway, I have a suggestion. Ishtar is rolling out a new product. A copy of the power bihat ASTA is making. They’re expensive, but this is a loan and as long as you succeed, you don’t have to pay us back. Pushing the goals of vilins forward is everything to Ishtar.”

  “Oh we’ll succeed alright,” Masque grunted, “With all this support, we’ll make it happen. I want a meeting with Ishtar o’s all over. So we talk business,” He added darkly.

  Mephisto coughed and wrote something down, “I’m sure you’ll get your eet with her soohan you think. This is a very iing scheme.”

  Masque nodded and crossed his arms, “Good. I also want you guys to keep the details to yourselves, you put that in there?”

  Charon looked away and clutched at his e while Mephisto wrote a few more things down, “Sure,” Mephisto said, “A non-disclosure to st until the day of the event, how does that sound? I’d like to be able to discuss it with her after your success.”

  The idiot crossed his arms for a moment and thought before nodding, “Fair enough, what else is there?”

  “Just matter of payment,” Mephisto said and g Charon, “You usually hahis part.”

  “The debt is ditional,” Charon said gravely, “Should you succeed, Ishtar fives all debts and you are invited as a VIP of the Styx among other perks,” Charon said, “If you fail, the debt falls fully on the debtor or debtors with an ability handling most of the financial transfers,” He expined with a wave of his hand, “Any further debt after all assets are liquidated must be worked off, one way or another,” He rest his hand on his e and leaned forward, eyes glowing with malice, “So the question is, who is signing the dotted line?”

  Masque stared back at him for several seds before clearing his throat, “The Darksiders are one collective, a siity that makes things happen as a whole. We share the load so the anization will sign as a whole,” Masque said.

  “I see!” Mephisto said as Charon got quickly to his feet, walking away for a moment as he forced himself to calm down, his ribs were hurting now. “Well I have everything written down, you look it over and sign,” Mephisto tinued as Charon leaned against the wall for a moment, holding back bone crag fits of ughter.

  “What’s up with him?” Masque asked.

  “Probably just a private versation through one of his puppets, no big deal,” Mephisto said, his voice crag a little, “Here it is.”

  Charon looked back over his shoulder and watched Masque read over the lengthy dot before snatg a pen out of Mephisto’s hand and signing it, “There.”

  Mephisto gnced up a Charon’s eyes, “It leasure w with you, Masque. I’m looking forward to seeing your scheme py out live on tv,” He said with a small smile.

  A few mier and some minor details cleared up, Charon stood at the window looking down into the Styx and watched Masque and his boys leave the way they came. Behind him, Mephisto shifted in his seat, “Is he gohe effeminate man said.

  Charon rembling, a his hands against the window, “Yeah, he’s-” He snorted, “He’s g-gone.”

  “G-good,” Mephisto snickered, “I don’t think-”

  The both of them burst into a fit of hysterical ughter. Charon sank down against the window to sit on the floor while Mephisto grabbed his sides and kicked his feet in the chair. The two of them kept ughing until they were exhausted on the ground. Charo out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling, “This is gonna be good.”