Interlude: The Empire

“Every goddamned business on the street!” Kaiser was in fine form, Brad thought as his boss, stomped around the room, his armor ringing with every step. He glared at Brad, Victor and Crusader with ill-concealed fury. “And what do we have to show for our investigation?”

“Very little,” Victor said. “Our sources are quiet—those that haven’t been arrested.” He shrugged. “I’d advise against trying to pump them for information right now—this is exactly the time that the BBPD and PRT might be dropping info to catch leakers.”

“And, of course, we have you to thank for not catching him,” Kaiser said, looking at Brad.

“Didn’t know where he was,” Brad commented. He looked at the expensive wine Kaiser had poured and shook his head. He couldn’t tell the difference between it and the 4.95 bottle he picked up every night. “And you sent me out to put the Merchants in their place.”

“Something else that Orb Weaver has done,” Victor said. “It’s likely that our member’s actions made us his priority, where before we were just part of the landscape.” He shook his head. “The trail on the ‘PRT’ agent has gone cold, but I know who it isn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Not Lung. He likes to be seen taking action, and this kind of strategy wouldn’t suit him.”

“Fine. Not Lung. I knew that. Who else?”

“Coil possibly, but it’s always been difficult to place his exact capabilities.”

“His powers. Whatever they are.”

“Correct.” Victor shrugged. “His operations are… unusually lucky. So he might try this, but I’d expect some immediate moves on his part to take advantage. So far, he’s been quiet.”

“Could Orb Weaver have set it up?” Kaiser murmured, coming off of his rage. “Arrange it so a strike against us actually looked like him defending a black? The mob approves.”

“And the kid triggering was just an extra bennie?” Brad asked. “Nope.”

“Really.” Victor folded his arms. “And why is that?”

“Cause the ring is about putting on a show,” Brad said. “If you just toss a couple of dogs into the ring, everyone goes home. You gotta jazz ‘em up, you gotta set the stage.” He gestured at the picture of the E88 businesses, the Orb Weaver symbol gleaming on them. “That’s setting a stage. The fight? That wasn’t, that was Orb Weaver pulling out everyone he had to save the kid. If it had been his idea? Our guys would never have gotten as close as they did.”

“And how does that help us?” Kaiser asked.

“It shows us what he isn’t. If Alexandria was moonlighting as Orb Weaver, would she need a cop? A kid who likes to cosplay Sherlock Holmes? She’d just come down here and take us out. Orb Weaver likes to play…but half of it’s show. ‘I see your destiny?’ if Orb Weaver had that kind of power, would he be wasting it on thugs? We know he had to move fast, didn’t have a plan, and needed muscle for the fight.”

Victor was nodding. “And his other operations were…”

“Him on the attack,” Brad said. “Taking enough time to work the crowd up and play the rock before the cage match.”

“So what power does he have?” Kaiser asked.

“Likely not a thinker power,” Victor said. “Why else would he be using The investigator?”

“Projection?” Crusader muttered. “Maybe something that can’t impact people?”

“And the bugs and crap?” Brad asked. “They seemed pretty good at impacting our own people.”

“I… read the information from our lawyers.” Victor smiled. “Don’t worry, none of them officially connected with us, and none of them have ever received money from the E88—they just understand how the wrong sorts can bring values down.”

“And?”

“They were choked, but it takes very little pressure to hold that flap closed. The insects, rats, and birds moved and our men swear they were controlled, but no stings. No bites. It’s possible Orb Weaver can only use a very little force on someone. The question must be asked: were the insects and other vermin real or merely projections?”

“Only,” Kaiser muttered. “Enough to kill any of us, well, other than you, Brad.”

Brad tried not to smirk. Been a while since you were in a fair fight. Brad didn’t have much in the way of fair fights, but he didn’t pull his hooks out and usually had four or five guys face him at once. What was the point if there wasn’t at least some risk—and it made the boys and girls proud to know that they might have a chance.

“So how do we handle this?” Crusader asked.

“Masters and shakers generally have a fairly short range, especially if it isn’t limited by line of sight,” Victor said. “We need to get sensors for some of our venues, disguised and place them there well before any operation. Then… check to see who isn’t where they should be.”

“Risky,” Kaiser said.”What if he detects them.”

“Then he will either back off, which suits our needs or come in anyway, which will give us a better look at his capabilities. We can set up an outer ring, ready to move in…”

Brad nodded. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than just waiting to get hit. And if they found Orb Weaver…

Brad would enjoy seeing how much of his rep was earned and how much was deserved. Because it didn’t matter what you did to jazz the crowd up—ultimately, it was about the fight.