40

Abjuration 4.4

The night after the meeting with Bakuda we had a lot of clean up to do.

I had let Bakuda choose the location of the meeting, then spied on her to find where it was before she told Coil. All of her preparations and ambushes came to naught as we saw all of it beforehand, then crashed the meeting between her and fake Coil.

Even though Bakuda tried to scan for monitoring devices when she arrived, I just waited until she was done scanning to get Skitter to bug the warehouse, and we ended up filming the whole encounter.

Bakuda herself had been too paranoid to try and rely on anyone but her own gang as backup, and there weren't really any other options for her in the city even if she wanted to bring anyone else. So the meeting was kept secret, and we completed the plan without a hitch.

The mercenaries who had been with fake Coil had been identified by myself, Heroux and Reynolds as being disloyal and an obstacle to my future ambitions, so they were not informed of the true nature of the operation.

The vast majority of Coil's organization, despite being under my effective control, had still believed it was Coil running the show.

The Coil body double was released back into my employ for a job well done.

Bakuda was taken prisoner and moved to Earth M in a separate containment area from Calvert.

We did not stick around to give any statement to the PRT, nor did we notify them immediately. Instead, we stealthily mopped up the rest of the ABB first and went around to some of Coil's other hideouts and bunkers to film some other useful scenes.

This was supposed to be Taylor's big win, and we had to make sure we looked good.

And it was important that the public focus on how much good we did rather than some of the implications of what we had done.

That night we also seized all ABB assets that could be liquidated and moved Bakuda's workshop as well as all of her bomb supply to Earth M.

Like with Calvert, Bakuda was forced to tell us how to move everything safely by way of Amelia's narcosynthesis. She couldn't make a full truth serum, but it was fairly effective if she induced and managed the effect directly via touch.

Still, I had Coil's grunts now to do the dangerous work for us, so I ordered Major Reynolds to send some men to handle it instead of risking any traps going off if Bakuda omitted anything.

"Kaleidus, why do we need to move her workshop too?" Amelia asked me as we sat back in Coil's comms room watching the work being done by Reynolds' men.

"Bakuda's bombs are too valuable for us to pass up. She has one of the only powers that are effective on Endbringers. She'll need her tools to help us make more bombs and maintain the ones we've already taken," I said. "I'm sure we can find a way to persuade her to cooperate eventually."

She gave me a hesitant look. Then she looked to Taylor who was trying her best to make herself look smaller.

"I agree," she said quietly without making eye contact. I had discussed this with Taylor privately beforehand and found that she was very supportive of making Coil and Bakuda work for us, but wasn't willing to say it out loud before when Amelia didn't volunteer the use of her power. This, on top of Amelia now being her only female friend, made her very uncomfortable voicing her actual opinion.

"Well, if you guys both agree…" Amelia trailed off and didn't say any more.

Other than that, we worked on planning out the video we were going to upload, but this time instead of editing it all myself, I had hired a freelance video producer to be on standby to work on this overnight. A professional team would have been better quality but getting a team like that to do overnight work was not easy.

I was going to hire a dedicated marketing agency or building an internal marketing department next, but there hadn't been enough time to do it yet.

Instead, for now I had to be satisfied with just hiring a bunch of shills and paid influencers to share and promote our stuff all over the web.

Meanwhile…

Major Heroux and Reynolds and with the Coil body double were gathered in a conference room at Coil's base. Heroux and Reynolds sat on one head of the table, Coil on the other.

Captains Reed, Bateman, and O'Donnell filed into the room and Coil gestured for them to sit at the long edge.

Agate floated opposite them in the air, wreathed in a dark billowing flame-like cloud, to signify the active presence of their true master.

The captains looked slightly confused as to the sitting arrangement and Agate at the front.

Coil stood up. "Captains, tonight I have the honor of introducing you to our organization's true sponsor, Lord Infinity," he said, gesturing to Agate. "This is his avatar."

"Good evening, gentlemen," Agate spoke in a deep metallic voice.

The captains nodded with only slight hesitation and gave curt greetings.

"We have called you here tonight because you have earned a seat at this table, as our organization moves into the next phase of its development. The reports from Coil speak well of your performance, and Majors Heroux and Reynolds have had nothing but praise for your loyalty."

We said that so these captains would understand the reporting structure in which both Coil and the Majors reported directly to me, and to give Heroux and Reynolds additional authority, giving the appearance that they were previously my secret agents in the organization that had been observing everyone else.

The captains showed the barest hint of surprise on their faces and only Bateman snuck a glance at the two we identified as Majors.

"Tomorrow, our organization will undergo a significant restructuring. Before we explain what will happen, Major Heroux will share with you some observations about the state of the world and our organization's true aims."

Major Heroux stood up, and Agate flew to the side while a holo-projection appeared over the white wall showing a professional slidedeck.

"Earth Bet has been slowly collapsing under the strain of the Endbringer attacks and cape violence. World economies have stagnated despite the introduction of Tinkertech based new technologies, due to the destruction of cities every three months. Today, numerous countries have already fallen to cape warlords and totalitarian rule."

Heroux manipulated the slide with a pointer and showed a world map, which then highlighted key points.

"The greatest concentration of independent cape warlords is in Africa, which has historically suffered from lack of effective government and frequent ethnic warfare," he said. Several red points were enlarged. "The chaos has reached the point where conventional governments have generally collapsed around these clusters, replaced entirely by roaming warlords and mercenary groups. Reed and O'Donnell have had some personal experience with this with East Pine's work, isn't that right?"

Lines encompassing much of Namibia, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, the Congo, and West Egypt demarked the known "collapsed" areas.

"Yeah, we were in Botswana for a little bit. It was pretty bad over there, must have been like seventeen different factions vying for control. Twenty years ago it was a miracle of prosperity and growth, a real diamond in the rough. Think they used to call it the African tiger or some shit. By the time we arrived in '08 it was just another bloody dump like the rest of shitholes around it," said Reed.

"There for three months and didn't even get to swipe any diamonds," O'Donnell said with a head shake and a sigh.

Heroux gave a chuckle before continuing.

"Africa is quite the mess now, but what we're seeing isn't simply an extension of the chaos that's historically been there since the end of the colonial era. Similar fragmentation and disorder has appeared across the world, particularly following a major Endbringer attack, such as in Japan and Russia. The destruction of Canberra in February is already showing similar trends for Australia. Even places relatively untouched by Endbringers such as China and the UK have suffered from revolution and rebellion."

The slide deck continued to show various images of the different areas Heroux mentioned.

"I think you three understand where I'm going with this. None of us would be in this business if we thought we could get by with a nice cushy desk job with a stable pension to retire with a few decades later. Times have changed. There's never been such high demand for private security. For now, the greenback is still king, and cash can buy safety. But sooner or later, when enough cities are hit by the Endbringers, when the criminal elements start overwhelming the lawful authorities, the rest of the world is going to start looking more and more like Africa…"

He paused to observe the three captains.

"Might as well make bank and live it up before everything goes to hell, is that what I'm hearing, boys? YOLO!" Bateman said with a hearty cackle and slapped O'Donnell on the back.

O'Donnell glared and growled back. "Keep your hands and retarded ideas to yourself, Bateman. I don't think Lord Infinity would have invited us here just to tell us how society is going to collapse without a plan in mind."

"Just tryin' to lighten up the mood here, man, don't be such a downer," Bateman said, huffing and crossing his arms.

Heroux glanced at Agate, who made no move to interfere.

"That's enough. Nothing wrong with a joke every once in a while, but O'Donnell is right. When civilization crumbles, you will have two choices. Number one: you can work for a faction vying for control of dirt, scraps, and ruined cities."

Images of the ruins of Moscow, Japan, and burning and destroyed towns in Africa, all played on screen again.

"For everyone else, that's the only choice," Heroux said, raising his voice.

He pointed dramatically at the three captains. "You, however, have earned with your performance and loyalty a seat at this table," he said, moving his finger to point at the table.

"And by sitting here tonight, you are receiving the opportunity to make an alternative choice!"

With a flourish, Heroux gestured with both hands to Agate, who floated back to the center at a higher altitude as Heroux shifted to the side.

The lights in the room dimmed slowly until the only source remaining was the haunting glow of Agate's billowing aura of purple and red.

"To follow Lord Infinity, who shall lead us to new and rich lands beyond the reach of the Endbringers. While the rest of Earth Bet shall fight over leftover ruins, Lord Infinity shall establish an empire across countless worlds!" Heroux shouted.

Simultaneously, below Agate a glowing white line cut through the air and slowly expanded into a shimmering portal. Bright daylight filtered in to the room.

"What the fuck!" Bateman exclaimed with wide eyes.

O'Donnell was visibly surprised, but said nothing.

Reed blinked a few times before speaking up. "Is that another dimension? Like Aleph?"

"Correct." Agate flew down and moved right in front of them.

"Tonight marks the end of the criminal gang known as Coil's Organization. If you choose to continue working for us, you will be held to a higher standard. You will no longer be simple mercenaries, but the beginning of a true disciplined army with a dedicated cause! As such, you will be required to swear your allegiance to us. Otherwise, you are free to quit and leave unharmed, so long as you swear never to reveal what you learned in this room. What is your choice?"

There was a long moment of silence as the captains looked at the portal, Agate, and themselves with varying degrees of surprise and wariness.

"Can we think about it?" Bateman asked with complete seriousness.

"You have 5 minutes."

Heroux sat back down.

The time passed slowly in silence as the three men grew visibly unnerved by the unrelenting stares of Heroux and Reynolds. Coil continued to sit silently to the side without the slightest move.

"So, hypothetically speaking, if I just want to stay a free mercenary, you really don't have a problem with that? You'll let me go safely, without any tricks?" Bateman finally asked after three minutes had passed.

"Lord Infinity has no need of tricks. If he says you're free to quit unharmed, then you're free to quit unharmed." Heroux said.

"You will be allowed to leave unharmed and without pursuit. If you truly wish to remain a hired mercenary, my agents may have other, less lucrative jobs for you in the future. But we will require an oath of silence from you. We warn you now that it will be binding, and we will know if you lie, in which case you will be silenced by other means."

"Ah…of course," said Bateman as he nodded with a forced smile.

"I will accept," O'Donnell said suddenly.

"Good. Go through the portal and wait on the other side."

He got up and did as told.

"Well if O'Donnell's doing it, I might as well too," said Reed, who got up to go through the portal without prompting.

Bateman remained seated as he watched the other two look around the grass and the river in the distance curiously. O'Donnell took out his phone momentarily before putting it away.

"Time's up. What is your choice, Captain Bateman?"

He stood up abruptly, face full of sweat. "Alright, alright. I'm in."

Once the three captains were gathered on the other side, Agate floated over as well, then Coil and the Majors followed shortly after.

"You have chosen well. Kneel."

Agate continued after they each got down on one knee.

"Lord Infinity offers you the honor of vassalage, protection, and awards as you deserve according to your service. You renounce any other master, and submit to him and his will. You swear to be true and faithful to your lord, to obey his commands and give aid voluntarily, and you shall never with will or action, do or cause, or allow by knowing inaction, that which is displeasing or harmful to your lord, his recognized subjects, or his possessions. Do you agree and swear this upon your soul?"

"Yes." "I agree." "Alright."

"Fill. Set. Bind. Life is the essence, soul is the foundation. Your oath is sworn and acknowledged by the three words of power."

Through Agate, I felt three new connections being established.

O'Donnell and Reed both shivered with a hitched breath. Bateman gasped and grasped at his heart.

"It is done. Return to the conference room for additional instructions."

With that, Agate phased out, and the group was led back to the room to be debriefed on the official surrender and merging of Coil's Organization to CRUCIBLE.

The two Majors and the Coil double had given me their own oaths already. It was the first thing I did after successfully replicating the Geas spell in my experiments.

They were minor curses that caused discomfort when attempting to go against me, and outright immobilized them if I directly commanded it.

There was still room for improvement, but it would have to do, for the expendable ones.

Even if it didn't completely prevent them from betraying me, they would have to think twice as they didn't know exactly what the consequences would be.

O O O