31

Date

2011 January 26th - Wednesday - Earth Bet Time

Danny looked at the Merchant thugs and sighed with exasperation. Apparently, fate didn't like his happiness.

Still, it could be worse, because it seemed they came without their parahumans.

He straightened out, dusted off some imaginary dirt off his pants, and called out.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?"

In answer to that, some of the druggies laughed, and their leader's smile became even bigger.

"Of course you can help us! We are here to collect the local tax!"

Apparently finding himself hilarious, he joined in the others' laughter, while Danny just grimaced.

A shakedown. How quaint.

In his long career at the Dockworker's Union, he was approached several times by all the gangs for all sorts of things, but they always hid it behind a thin veneer of legitimacy. Even the Merchants managed that in their drug-addled state, so either they stopped playing by the supposed rules, or this one forgot about it.

Danny went with the second option. It was a Merchant, who knows what goes through their brains.

While the druggies were laughing themselves sick (he saw one of them vomit next to their car) he looked around to assess the situation.

The Merchants were arrayed before him, slightly fanned out, holding both guns and simpler weapons. Unfortunately, not all of them were laughing, and they were keeping an eye on him. So he couldn't use this as a chance to run for cover.

The only thing keeping him this calm was that recently Taylor managed to put together a simple shield emitter that doubled as a belt buckle. They didn't really test it, but she assured him it would stand up to most gun calibers.

The idea to trigger the emergency button on his communication watch didn't even enter his head. He didn't want Taylor anywhere near these degenerates, power or no power.

His best hope was that Dragon would interfere. She told him she placed several protections around the Facility, but based on the PRT's behavior, he didn't expect her to act unless the drug-addled fools attacked the building directly.

He saw that the Merchants were coming down from whatever made them laugh, so he refocused on them.

He also calmed down a little when he saw a little distortion behind one of the druggies on the edge of the group. The distortion was conveniently at the same height where Dragon's drones usually hovered.

"Haaa, that was funny, old man!" exclaimed the leader, wiping tears from his eyes. "Now, let's get to business. Because you are doing business stuff around here, and we own the stuff here, you owe us some money. So pay up!"

The last sentence was punctuated by several of them smacking their hand with their weapons.

Danny just looked back at him incredulously. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. I do not own this building. You have to…"

The druggie immediately interrupted him. "Don't lie to me, asshole! I know you are the leader of these fuckers Helber or something!"

"Hebert." he quietly corrected the man. "And yes, I work for the Dockworker's Union, but we were just hired for this job. We own nothing here."

"Even better! Then you can pay a job tax, and whoever the uck owns this thing can pay the building tax!" spoke the man, seemingly proud of himself for coming up with that.

"I'm afraid that is not possible."

Another man next to the leader spoke up this time. "And why the fuck not? Too good to pay your due, asshole?"

Danny just sighed. "Well, no. I just don't want to. And the building is owned by Dragon, so good luck there."

Several people began to laugh again, including the leader.

"Right, Dragon. Pull the other one, fuckhead! Come on Johnny, you can't believe what those PRT fools say! No way would Dragon come here and build something!"

"Pfft, of course not! That was just the PRT trying to show how big they are!" replied Johnny to his underling, then turned back to Danny. "Don't try to play me, fool! I know this place. There is no Dragon here."

"Just Lung!" came the comment from the back row.

The Merchants started to laugh again.

Danny was really hoping Dragon would intervene because he was close to not giving a fuck and just decking the guy. Their obnoxious laugh was very annoying, not to mention the smell. He would need several showers just to get rid of it.

"So, asshole, what will it be?" asked Johnny after he managed to get control of himself. "Pay us, or get hurt?"

Danny was about to tell him where he could shove it when another voice interrupted them.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Johnny."

"Who is that? Who wants to get smacked around?" Johnny asked, but Danny could see that his eyes were darting all over the place.

Suddenly a blue light blinded them for a second, and when they all regained their vision, a blue, obviously holographic woman was standing next to Danny. At the same time, several drones uncloaked around the group, humming menacingly.

"Allow me to introduce myself," spoke the woman, his voice lacking the usual warmth. "My name is Dragon, and you are trespassing."

While Danny could see the Merchant wasn't as confident as before, he still spoke up. "Yeah, and I'm Santa. Pull the other one!"

Danny glanced at the woman, who was sporting a tight smile but said nothing, content in the knowledge that she could deal with them.

"I'm not interested in a discussion. If you do not vacate the premises in post-haste, then I will have to make you."

"Heh?"

"Leave. Now. Or. Bad. Things. Happen. To. You." came the reply from the exasperated woman.

The Merchants clearly understood this time, and several of them began to back away slowly towards their vehicles. However, it seemed Johnny was not the smartest and decided to try to intimidate Dragon.

Danny sometimes wondered how the Merchants survived this long with this kind of survival instinct. It wasn't directed at him, but he still shivered at the woman's tone. Only a fool would go against Dragon.

"Hah, I ain't afraid of no bitch, who isn't even here!" spoke the aforementioned fool. "Your pissy little helicopters are not scaring me!"

Danny had to cringe at the man's grammar. Dragon just sighed.

"How about this?"

And with that, one of Dragon's famous suits decloaked behind the holographic projection, hovering almost silently in the air.

The druggie gulped angrily, then immediately turned around and ran towards his car. His cohorts followed him after a few seconds of dumbfounded silence, yelling incoherently.

He watched them leave hastily, tires screeching and old cars protesting against the speeds they demanded from them.

Unfortunately, Johnny decided to leave a message. "This ain't over, assholes! This is Merchant turf!"

A few minutes later he was sitting in one of the offices of the facility that doubled as a break room, sitting on a comfy couch, sipping warm coffee. In the background, he could hear the low hum of machinery working.

In front of him was Dragon's projection, her face much more friendly.

"I'm sorry that this happened," she spoke in an apologetic tone.

He smiled back wryly. "No worries, Dragon. The blatantness was new, but the violence not. You live here long enough; you get used to it." He took another sip, then looked into the woman's eye. "Though, I have to wonder why you waited so long to interrupt. I'm not as tough as your suits."

"I apologize, but I felt it was necessary," she explained, frustration clear on her face. "In recent days, there has been an increased effort to halt or inconvenience the operation of this facility, and in a roundabout way, mine."

"Oh?"

"The usual: lost paperwork, people suddenly on vacation, permits not checking out, missing inventory. The same thing happens when I go somewhere with elevated corruption levels. There have been a few tries at vandalizing the building."

"And you think this group was part of the effort?"

"Yes. I wanted to see if they give away something. Not even the Merchants could be stupid enough to challenge me this openly. Not when the Empire and Lung have done nothing."

"Could it be one of the other gangs?" asked Danny.

"No. The PRT has knowledge of several major players of those gangs and, using that knowledge and some of my own magic, I ascertained that they decided to see what happens. I traced back several attempts, and they did indeed lead to the other gangs, but it was obvious somebody was framing them."

"Who else could it be? I don't think the other villains have the manpower or capability to do something like this."

"My best guess is Coil," answered Dragon.

"Coil? That sounds familiar. I think I heard of him. Wasn't he with the mercenaries?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Why would you think it was Coil?"

"At this point, it's simply a process of elimination. Though I'm still looking for other culprits."

Danny thought about it, but because he couldn't really add anything to this conversation, he left it as is.

"Very well, then I wish you good hunt, but next time please step in earlier, I'd hate to leave Taylor alone."

The woman nodded with a smile before answering. "Of course, Danny. Though that shield belt buckle would have stopped their weapons."

Danny felt his face go white and his back cold.

"What belt buckle?" he replied nervously.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't ask where you got it." said the woman dismissively. "Just wanted to let you know, I know about it."

"Thank you."

"Though I have to say, it was rather smart of you to get it. One can never be careful."

Danny's answering smile was a little shaky. "How did you find out?"

"Oh, I scan everything that comes into the building, to make sure nothing bad gets smuggled in. I found dozens of bugs this way. After that, it was child's play to figure out what it was for."

Danny nodded in understanding, then drained the last of the coffee and stood up.

"Thank you for the save. But if you don't mind, I would like to go home and hug my daughter."

"Of course, Danny!" she answered cheerfully. "Do you want an escort?"

"Sure. I'm sure they left somebody behind…"

"Excellent," she answered. "And I will be preparing for their inevitable return!"

"Good luck with that."

Date

2011 January 27th - Thursday - Earth Bet Time

He leaned back in his chair and contemplated the last few days.

He took his considerable resources and concentrated almost all of them dealing with Dragon. While he knew that most of his efforts were mere annoyances to the powerful woman, he still took satisfaction in them.

While Dragon was dealing with the bureaucratic roadblocks that he set up for her, he began to incite the Merchants.

If he could get it right, and he would get it right, his power ensured it, then the Merchants were capable of destroying the facility and causing other setbacks to Dragon.

He would make sure they destroyed the facility (and then his men would loot it for anything interesting), and if Dragon started again, he would repeat it as long as the woman stayed in the Bay.

It was his city; he didn't need another dragon to contend with. Lung was enough trouble already.

Though thanks to Dragon's arrival, both he and the Empire were lying low, not wanting to get her attention. Or at least trying to work out how to get around it.

He preferred it this way. He could concentrate on one thing without having to make sure that the other gangs didn't interfere.

This was his favorite part. Using patsies and fools to do his bidding, while nobody knew he was pulling the strings.

That small group of Merchants who tried to accost the workers had returned to the hideout, tails between their legs, and with the aid of several of his disguised people, would rile up the rest of them.

He could hardly wait for that.

Though there was something odd going on with Dragon when he turned his attention towards her. He couldn't really point out what, but his power nowadays felt a little off.

Currently, it wasn't affecting him, but he made sure to examine the phenomena when he was done with the current project.

If Dragon was working on some kind of anti-thinker project, then he needed to destroy it.

Date

2011 January 27th - Thursday - Earth Bet Time

The room stank of alcohol, sex, and who knows how many drugs. The original color of the walls was a mystery, and what furniture there was in this repurposed warehouse saw better days.

Currently, there was a low-key party going, and as always the booze was flowing, people were talking, shooting up, or fighting.

There was a stream of people who came in, picked up something, or deposited something else, then left, but the people deep into their high ignored them.

In the middle of the room, however, several people weren't having a good time.

"What did you say, asshole?" yelled the black-skinned person sitting on an old couch, while a well-endowed blonde was barely paying attention next to him, clearly high.

The man he was yelling at tried to speak up, but he didn't let him.

"Some hussy Tinker thinks they can build on our turf?"

"Yes! They tried to pretend they were Dragon, but I saw through it!" exclaimed the man proudly.

"Hah, as if that bitch would come to 'ere!" came a comment from one of the onlookers.

Several people expressed their agreement, sometimes rather obscenely.

"Probably some shiteater new Tinker thinking they are the big shit!"

"We could take them!" came from somewhere in the room.

"What if it is really Dragon?" asked worriedly somebody else.

"Ah, don't be an idiot, that was just PRT trying to be smart! They think they can scare us with fake flying suits!"

The room immediately devolved into an argument about the supposed Dragon suits, and how could the PRT theoretically fake them.

After almost half an hour of intense argument, that man on the couch stood up, and immediately several purplish-blue fields appeared around him, under the people. Those standing on them stumbled and fell back onto the other people.

The room immediately quieted down.

"That's enough, assholes. The only thing that happens is what I decide, and I decided to show this new bitch who is the best around here. No fake Dragon will stand against us, right, babe?" he yelled out, throwing his arms up, then turning to the blonde on the couch.

The woman giggled, and her answer slurred a little. "Sure you are, Skiddy! I even have something really nice to use!"

"Hell yeah, babe! Can't wait to ride it!"

The resulting cheer from the onlookers drowned out anything else he may have said, and the room quickly turned into a much more energetic party.