Recruiting for the inner circle

[The Association]

[[Marcellus/Jester]]

"So we will have a new branch, bossman?" 

"I wouldn't call it a branch but more of a recruitment center." I answered Domino's question.

"And how is this going to work?" Betty was sitting at the far right. 

Most of the members were present for this meeting… but not all of them. It's to give them an overview of what my plans for the future of the club are. So, everyone's presence was not required. 

I will hold another meeting when the club actually starts functioning.

"Think of it as an attraction center." This made most of them curious. "It will gather the attention of most of the rich and politically influential people. And if they are worthy enough, we can drag them to The Association." The twelve families will be a secret to most of the Hellfire Club members but the inner circle members will have the information about the families.

"But dude." The immortal spandex mercenary butted in. "Out of all the possible names… you chose 'The Association' as our association's name… why?"

"Honestly, I couldn't think of any name for it. So, I went with 'The Association' as it was quite simple." I went through the trouble of creating an actual system that could work in the underworld, but I couldn't think of a good name. *Sigh* My naming sense sucks. "Feel free to suggest. I will choose the one that I like."

.

.

.

"The Badass boys."

"Nope." Domino and Betty instantly shut down Deadpool's suggestion. "There are females within the association." They seemed offended.

"How about the Justice League?" Everyone gave Marc the 'Are you serious?' look.

"You do realize that we are not exactly the good guys, right?" Domino asked him which made him scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

Marc is quite the hero of justice at times, so it's understandable.

"How about… The Order?" Betty suggested.

Now this one is a really good name. We are a group that causes chaos by killing people. We are quite the villains but… we are also organized. Order is something that is nearly impossible to maintain within the underworld, but we did it. We created a group that could work in the underworld with a proper set of rules. We are an organized association… so the name suits us.

"I like it." This is a name that can actually work. "We maintain order within the underworld by bringing all the criminals that cause chaos under us. We are a group of organized mercenaries, so I believe that the name suits us quite well."

Everyone thought about it for a while before nodding.

"I like it too." Domino said.

"Sounds good, bud." Deadpool didn't make any funny comments about the name. That's good.

The rest of the members nodded as well.

"Alright. From now on, we will be known as "The Order."

Finally! After all the brainstorming, the system is working.

…

…

[[Hellfire Club]]

"Thank you for coming here." I said drawing their attention. "As you all know, Edward Buckman passed away yesterday in a car accident." That's the story that everyone knows. "Edward… was a good man and a good leader. His loss is devastating." They nodded. "But we cannot let this affect our club."

When I said this, some of the people frowned. I looked like an asshole for saying that, but it was the truth. Death in the Hellfire Club is a common occurrence and I cannot let it affect the club.

"This club will continue to work like always but few of the members will be newly elected." This caused them to murmur. "Paris Seville will fill you in the details." I looked at Paris who nodded. "She will explain the new rules and the working of the club… till then, enjoy your stay." I said before exiting the stage.

…

…

[[Inner Circle Meeting]]

"There wasn't much to say. Paris will handle the outer circle members. So, we can hold the meeting now." 

There were only four people excluding me within the room.

Selene Gallio, Sebastian Shaw, Silver Sable, and Ulysses Bloodstone.

Selene and Sebastian were already in my list and them being within the inner circle shouldn't be a surprise. But the other two are a totally different case.

Silver inherited her father's fortune after he was killed. The fortune was enough for her to run the mercenary group while hiring many new ones. Also, she was already indebted to me as I helped her.

But even she wasn't that big of a deal. The biggest surprise should be the huge man sitting in front of me. 

He was the same height as me but our body masses were completely different. His body could put even a gorilla to shame, but it was understandable considering he was over ten thousand years old… and very few people know about that.

After his murderous spree ended, he started his own corporation… and the resources he gathered within those ten thousand years were unimaginable.

"And it's an honor to have you two here." I said looking at them. "Miss Sablinova and Mr. Bloodstone." 

Sable remained neutral but Bloodstone smiled. Even his smile was scary… It's no wonder that this guy threw his own daughter to fight a group of great white sharks… and she was only a child back then.

"You must already know why you two were invited here." They nodded. "The club will change from now on, and you two will witness this change from inside as its members… of the inner circle." 

"It's an honor to be a part of the Hellfire Club, but why us?" Sable asked. "We might be rich but there are countless others who will sacrifice anything to be part of it… not to mention most of them are wealthier than us." 

She wasn't entirely incorrect. Her wealth was still not that high as she just started to handle the mercenaries. In the comics, she became rich a few years after becoming the leader of the Wild Pack. Well, she is already rich… but her peak will be after a few years.

Same can be said for Bloodstone, he will become even more wealthy as time passes. His business started in the early twentieth century, so it isn't 'that' rich yet.

But that means they will become rich… far richer than one could imagine and I want them within this club before that.

"Indeed there are people who are wealthier than you two." Neither of them were offended as they already knew that it was the truth. "But I see potential in both of you. Potential that is higher than any of those wealthy merchants." 

They were not satisfied with the answer. "And most importantly, it's because I know that I can trust you two." 

"You just met us." Ulysses finally spoke. "What makes you think that we won't betray you?" 

This made me smile. This was exactly the question that I was waiting for. "Because I know what you went through in the past, the betrayals that you suffered." His eyes widened.

"You don't have to worry. Your secrets are safe with me." No, they are not. "But as someone who has had the experience… you must know those who betray never get a good ending. I make sure of it, just like you do." He looked into my eyes for a while as a laugh left his mouth.

"You are an interesting man, Marcellus. Joining you might not be a bad idea." His statement made Sable curious.

"Are you sure about that?" 

"Don't worry, Miss Sablinova. I won't harm you in any way... instead, I will help you just like in the past." This got her attention.

"Past? What do you mean?" 

"Wel,l the letter I sent you and I also helped you to deal with those pests." Her eyes widened. 

"It was you!"

___________________________________________________