Tap the Brakes

Sometime later, Robin and QJ headed toward the GnG Gate in Exodus. They walked side-by-side, talking in hushed tones.

"Are you worried, QJ?" He had told them everything, from Annabelle giving him the baby to him testing her.

"No, the story will work. Even if it didn't, Ravenwood is our backyard."

[Welcome to Guns and Gore, the Phoenix Server.]

Location: One Problem Guild Keep

Time: 0700 hours

Server Population: 29,890 Your current level is 30.

They ported directly to the Keep Courtyard, both staring in shock the moment they arrived. They had been prepared for changes, but these were incredible. Chainy was the first one there; she, too, was staring at the Keep.

"This is way beyond what a Level 2 Keep should look like." Chainy's guild on the Legends Server had a Level 2 Keep, so she knew exactly what the changes were.

"Maybe it's different because this wasn't a Player-built Keep, but rather one owned by a powerful Maelstrom faction." QJ counted the windows going up and shook his head, "it's four stories."

The Keep walls were higher and thicker than before. Battlements lined every wall, and the moat around the Keep resembled a small lake. The balcony that marked Robin's office had moved up to the fourth floor.

Robin whistled, "going to have to hire more people."

"Yep, at least more guards. Damn... hope my workshop is okay." QJ walked in the doors and headed up the stairs; Robin followed close behind. The hallway on the fourth floor was longer and wider than they were used to. QJ stepped into his shop and froze in place. It had doubled in size; a larger window had been added, along with some tables and chairs in the far corner. There was a very comfortable-looking couch next to the bookshelf.

Robin opened the door that separated her office and QJ's shop. A suite and a small kitchen area had been added. A door on the far end of the room caught her eye, so she walked toward it. A quick peek showed her that it was a bathroom. "Um... QJ?"

He walked in a minute later, "something wrong?"

Robin nodded, "take a look."

QJ poked his head in, and immediately, he felt a hand push him further in. He stumbled to keep from falling into the bath. "Damn... you could fit a dozen people in that tub."

Robin had already turned on the water and was undressing. "Think so?"

QJ smiled at the orange-haired rogue and then started taking off his armor. Even though he had more to take off, he was the first in. The steam in the air was already thick when he sunk down into the water. "Gotta say, Robs, this is nice."

Robin slid easily onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "The new office is very nice," she agreed. She kissed his forehead and smoothed his hair back. "Working here... is also very nice."

QJ's hands were resting on Robin's hips; they sat together, talking. Occasionally Robin would bend her head for a kiss; after a while, she reached between them and guided him in. She moaned loudly and pushed against him.

Afterward, they clung to each other for a long time. QJ discovered that she knew a lot of dirty jokes and didn't mind whispering them in his ear. Robin glanced at the time, "half an hour til roll call."

Reluctantly they got up and dressed. They kissed quickly before QJ stepped into his workshop. He left the door between them open.

He rummaged through his component shelves, gathering parts together that he needed to make four of the 'One Shot' rifles that dropped off of the Vampire Lord.

He started on trigger housings. After disassembling them and removing imperfections, he was able to upgrade them to pristine trigger housings.

Your Gunsmith ability has increased to 65.

QJ then moved four barrels to his bench and clamped the first onto his lathe. By rotating the barrel instead of the rifling bolt, he was able to create a cleaner spiral for the .30-06 rounds. By the time he finished the rifling, it was time to head down to Guild Hall. The barrel work had paid off. He had leveled up to 31 and increased his Gunsmith ability to 72.

Ringo waved to him when he came down the stairs; the Guild Hall now had a nice-sized lounge attached. QJ stared at it while he walked toward her.

"It's big, right?" Ringo shook her head, "sooner or later, someone is going to try and take it from us."

QJ nodded his head in agreement. "Some poor fools will try it once; then they will see how strong we are."

"Take your seats, everyone." Ringo turned on the wall hud and brought up the leaderboard. "As you can see, we continue to set the standard for this server. That being said, what I'm about to ask will seem odd."

QJ grimaced slightly; although Ringo hadn't mentioned it, he knew what was coming. She wanted to break the Doubler Canyon record, which meant the entire guild had to be between twenty-eight and thirty-three. "Some of us need to tap the brakes?"

Ringo smiled. "I promise that this is the only time we'll have to do that. Looking at our progress, I believe we will be ready in five days."

"Okay then," QJ replied. "I'll work on the raid brief. We'll use the four-shooter strategy like before."

[Top Guild Level]

1) One Problem 24.5

2) Old Skool 21.1

3) Chupa Lupa 18.7

[Class Leaderboard]

Range Rider: Junzo-Lvl 23

Gunfighter: Ringo-Lvl 28

Brave: Laffy Taffy-Lvl-22

Tracker: Carlotti Hottie-Lvl 22

Shaman: Three-Tails-Lvl 24

Field Medic: Suga Pie-Lvl 23

Wrangler: Kingslayer QJ-Lvl 31

Scout: Sato Lvl 25

Commanchero: Breeze-Lvl 26

Cavalry: Iron Lou-Lvl 22

Raider: Devil Woman-Lvl 22

Gambler: Pinnacle-Lvl 23.

[Top Five Ranking]

1) Kingslayer QJ

2) Ringo

3) Lotte

4) Oldman Crane

5) Breeze

QJ stepped forward and took over. "Let's touch base on a few things quickly. The Star Crossed ball is in three weeks. Right after that is the Goodwill Games, so our focus after Doubler Canyon is grinding levels and getting ready for the Games."

QJ's hud blinked at him, but he ignored it. "Are there any questions?"

Breeze raised her hand. "Help me level up today, QJ! I need some of that XP that follows you around!"

QJ grinned and shook his head, "any real questions?" He paused for a moment, ignoring the Breeze, who had raised her hand again. "Extra Duties after lunch and then the range. Be prepared to shoot your best. Dismissed."

QJ stood next to Ringo and motioned Lotte over. "Why don't the two of you do an instance with Chainy? She's already climbed to 21."

Ringo glanced at Chainy, who was standing off to one side. "Curious request."

QJ smiled at the guild leader. "Trust me."

Lotte was adjusting her holster while she listened. "Can you come over at lunch and help me with pool work?"

"Yep, make sure to feed me properly!" QJ continued his way up the stairs; he had planned to raise his Gunsmith ability high enough to try the rifle diagram.

His hud blinked again; QJ opened it and smiled at the dark elf on the other side. "My favorite Majordomo. What's up, Aji?"

"Quite a few people showed up this morning, boss."

"Should be the five from Maelstrom. Three men and two women."

Aji shook her head, "And thirteen special guests."

"Oh, I see. Fine, I'll be right over. Have them wait in the mini-casino" QJ reversed directions, and a few moments later, he was galloping toward Briar Rose.

The workers were making good progress, even though it had only been a few days. QJ walked in the front door of Briar Rose and made his way to the mini-casino. He stood in the doorway, taking a moment to give everyone the once-over. The five people from Maelstrom prison had cleaned themselves up nicely. The Silverleaf women all wore head wraps that covered their blonde hair and pointed ears. Aji stood off to one side, a curious smile on her face.

"I'm QJ. Since you have arrived at Briar Rose, that means you've decided to work for me. I'm going to make sure that none of you regret that decision."

QJ noticed the man standing by himself. "You must be Dave the Baker?"

The baker was slightly tubby, his curly brown head nodded. "I'm Dave, sir."

"Kitchen is down the hall, second right. You own it. I expect great things from you."

Dave's face blushed deep red. "Thank you, sir! I won't let you down."

"You can head over there now; no need for you to stay for the rest of this. Let Aji know what supplies you need. Put in a standing order of three dozen assorted pastries sent over to the Keep every morning."

"Yes, sir!" Dave walked quickly out of the room, a huge smile plastered on his face.

QJ turned to a smaller man who was leaning against a blackjack table. "You are Lonnie?"

The man nodded; he was a bit over five feet tall and thin as a rail. He kept his blonde hair cut short, his dark eyes darted everywhere nervously. "I'm Lonnie."

"There's a pistol called 'Little Bang' on the desk in the office of the Keep Commandant. Bring it to me, and I'll reward you with 50 thousand credits."

Lonnie stared at him, "Steal from the Keep?"

QJ nodded, "I'm a Viscount, which means I can get you out of jail whenever you get arrested, as long as you don't seriously hurt anyone."

Lonnie nodded his head quickly, "I like the sound of that! I'll take it in gold coin if possible."

QJ laughed at his expression, "sure." He turned toward Gillispie; the man had purchased expensive clothes and was immaculately groomed. He could definitely pass for a gentleman if needed. "Welcome, Gillispie. I look forward to working with you."

"Just call me Gil, sir." He gestured to the woman standing closest to him, "this is Ugly Kate, and one to the left of her is Fat Alice."

QJ scratched his head, looking back and forth between the two women. Ugly Kate was just about the most stunningly beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Fat Alice was a pint-sized woman with twin ponytails; she reminded him of Anna. QJ pulled a file from his inventory and handed it to Gil. "From now on, you are Cedric Wirth. Background and everything you need to know is in here."

Gil looked at the file in his hands; he didn't bother to hide his excitement. "Call me Cedric from now on."

Aji... why don't you show Cedric and Lonnie to their rooms."

"Yes, sir." Aji lead the two men out the door and closed it behind them.

QJ activated the security on the mini-casino. No one would be able to enter or listen in. "Take off the head wraps, please." Mali instantly unstealthed, causing both Alice and Kate to scramble backward. They stared in shock at the pointed-ear women; every one of them was blonde and beautiful.

Mali padded softly over to QJ and pushed his soft muzzle into his face; his eyes were sky blue, signifying vision transference. "Nice to see you, Mali." He scratched the big panther's ears before turning back to Kate and Alice.

Kate was the first to recover; the strange women didn't give off any kind of threat. Even the big panther seemed more playful than anything else. "Just call me Kate, sir."

"That big cat scared the crap out of me." Alice put a hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

"Sorry for that. I'll be straightforward. I want the two of you to train these 12 women to work in a casino. Can you do it?"

Kate's pale green eyes didn't leave his face. Her wavy hair was as dark as night, and she had pale, delicate features that reminded QJ of Angel. "There are thirteen women here."

QJ nodded, "the thirteenth woman is Belle. She will be the hostess and need not learn the mechanics of casino gaming."

Alice moved closer to one of the Silverleaf women, staring at her ears. "You are outworld women?"

The Silverleaf woman nodded. "I'm Jila, at your service."

Kate pursed her lips slightly, "how long do we have to train them?"

"Three weeks," QJ answered.

Kate exchanged glances with Alice, "that's enough time, but just barely. They'll have to work hard."

"We will work hard." Jila bowed slightly, "please train us accordingly."

Kate nodded, "I'm assuming that Alice and myself will also work at your casino?"

QJ nodded, "yes, I'll tell you more after their training is complete. No one is to know that they are outworlders. Everything we do is secret."

Alice smiled at the Silverleaf women, "let's get started then."

The Gunsmith had worked hard all morning. He had diligently inspected and repaired all the 'One Shot' components and was slowly assembling the first rifle. His Gunsmith talent was soaring upward, having just passed into the 80s. Eighty to ninety-five was considered Master level, while anything above Ninety-five was Grand Master.

Your Gunsmith Ability has increased to 84.

[You have created a Masterpiece work. Please name the piece.]

"Famine."

[Famine]

Rifle: Masterpiece

Extended Range

+ 200 Range, +150 Accuracy.

Description: Custom rifle

built by Master Gunsmith QJ.

*Ding* 32

Within a few minutes, he had assembled three more. Ringo opened his shop door just as he was finishing up. Chainy was with her.

"Hey, guys!" QJ sat his tools down and stood up to stretch.

"You leveled up just sitting there; that's hardly fair." Ringo leaned a hand against his workbench.

Chainy gave him a small smile. "Making rifles?" She picked one up and whistled softly. "Very nice, QJ." She looked at all four and read their names aloud. "War, Famine, Death and Pestilence."

"Take your pick, Chainy; we are doing the Doubler Canyon Raid again soon." QJ glanced at the hud; almost lunchtime.

Chainy smiled at him while running a hand through her short snow-white hair. "Named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? I'll take War then." She slung the rifle over one shoulder and walked toward the door; stopping in the hall, she looked back. "Since I'm now the 4th rider, aren't you going to ask if I'm good enough to take part in your Doubler Canyon strategy?"

QJ shook his head. He already knew she was an expert rifle marksman. "Why ask when we both already know?"

Chainy exited without saying anything further, but her laugh echoed in the hallway.

Ringo closed the door and walked back to the bench. "Smart call, having us group with her."

QJ grinned; he had played a hunch. Chainy was at the absolute top of the food chain as a slinger. Even though she was playing a rider, he had hoped she would give Lotte and Ringo advice. "Learn much?"

Ringo nodded, "a dozen different small things, but when added together... It was a great morning."

"Good..." QJ rolled up his sleeve. "Feeding time?"

Ringo licked her lips, "I could go for the neck this time." She leaned forward, her single black braid falling against him.

QJ nodded nonchalantly, "go ahead." He leaned his head to one side.

He felt Ringo's hot breath against his neck; she had placed a hand on his shoulder. She hovered for a moment before stepping away. Her face wearing an amused look.

"Damn..." Her blue eyes stared at him. "How did you know I was bluffing?"

QJ rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm. "I didn't; we were both bluffing." He laughed at the look on her face and then quickly turned away when she bit him.

When she was done, she pulled a chair from the corner and sat next to him. "We'll cure this curse in a few days."

QJ started putting his tools back in their proper place. "You sure you want to?"

Ringo shrugged, "what are my options, really?"

"Simply put, cure it or run with it."

"Run with it? Become a Vampire Lord, with familiars and everything?" Ringo stared at him in surprise, "is that really an option?"

"It's an option. I would at least consider it." QJ finished with his tools, "hey, you have a date for the Star Crossed Ball?"

Ringo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Plan on taking two of your teachers QJ?"

"No, but I have a good friend in Maelstrom from one of the noble houses. Seems like he can't get an invite." QJ kept a straight face; Exodus Academy had no problem acquiring invitations, but that wasn't the case for other players or NPCs.

"No blind dates; show me what he looks like."

QJ nodded and opened up his hud. A moment later, a man of approximately thirty stared back at him. His black hair was combed straight back; he wore a fashionable suit and tie. "Hey Cedric, want you to say hi to a friend of mine."

Ringo leaned closer to him so that her face was in view. "Mr. Cedric, was it? I'm Ringo."

"Cedric Wurth, at your service Miss Ringo."

"Call me Ringo, please." She glanced at QJ and nodded.

"Ringo has an invitation to attend the Star Crossed Ball; unfortunately, her date has become indisposed. I mentioned to her that you were interested in attending."

Cedric's face lit up in genuine joy, "I would very much like to go. Perhaps I'm a poor replacement for your date, but it would be my honor to attend with you."

QJ watched the interaction. Ced was a born con-man, and QJ needed him at the ball to mingle with the guests.

Ringo nodded, "very well. I shall look forward to it."

QJ said goodbye quickly and then closed his hud. He felt Ringo's eyes on him. "Thanks; now his family owes me one."

Ringo leaned closer, "and now you owe me one. Remember this at tomorrow's feeding." She licked her lips, a smile playing on her face.

QJ made a face at her. "Very funny."

"I want you to take the next two days off." Ringo held out a hand to stop any protest. "We'll get by without you; work on the raid, our alliance with Angel, and visit the Maelstrom Palace."

QJ frowned slightly. "I can do all that without taking time off."

"I know." Ringo's expression said she wouldn't take no for an answer. "Attend roll call, and then disappear."