A Monster Life

54 - On The Job

'It's likely the best opportunity we'll get.' said Ulric over the familiar link while they went down the street after the meeting. Oglevie offered them jobs he thought suited them, and the girls and Ulric said they'd wanted to think it over first.

'I think between the positions offered to all of us, we'll have pretty much their whole organisation covered.' said Elzbieta.

Ulric nodded. 'We'll wait a little before giving our answer so we won't seem too eager and haggle a little about our pay to let them think we're in it for the money.'

'But what about if they ask us to do anything to innocent people, Master?' asked Kaui.

Ulric glanced at another fight between two pirates in the side street they passed. A big one tried to cut his smaller opponent with an axe, but the latter one was quick on his feet and left a dagger in a fatal spot of the big one's body. 'We'll have to deal with that when the moment comes. Luckily there are barely any innocent people here.'

***

'Wait here.' said the servant and left for the regional navy commodore's office.

Tarrence had already taken in the decoration of the regional human navy headquarters abundant with touches of frills, gold, red, and statues and paintings relating to anything to do with the navy, but he pretended to take interest in a depiction of two ships riddling each other with cannonballs during a storm. "Gaudy." he thought while listening carefully to the sounds around him. He'd heard two guards arriving and waiting around the corner of the hall and a whisper between two servants about the chills down their backs when they saw him. He let himself loose and curled up one corner of his mouth because no one saw him.

The servant returned a little later, his expression professionally blank but Tarrence smelled the disgust he had for other species and the disappointment that he couldn't throw the canine demon out. Tarrence briefly thought the servant was lucky that he couldn't, but expected the man to die violently at the hands of a disgruntled demon in the future anyway.

The servant gestured for Tarrence to follow him. 'Commodore Wallace will see you now.'

Tarrence was led into the wide chambers of the commodore, who outdid the garish interior, even without wearing his official jacket and hat, thanks to his thin and upwardly curled black moustache. Tarrence thought he could use it to poke someone's eye out if he treated it right and had the smarts for covert self-defence. Renhard Wallace scratched his signature on a document, dried it, and laid it aside before acknowledging his visitor. Tarrence thought it funny how people in perceived power always needed to look busy with something important when they received visitors. He figured an inferiority complex came with such positions.

Renhard wiggled his moustache like a small rodent. 'I was told you had a request for the navy's help and a proposal that would benefit us. Something concerning Red Cove.'

'Captain Sharktail has something in her possession that belongs to my client, and she's not very forthcoming in returning it. Unfortunately, she is too well protected to retrieve the goods through a covert manner and thus some force is needed. Something like the size of the fleet you command here.'

Renhard poured himself a drink. 'Even thought they're just a bunch of rabble, those pirates have enough ships to present quite some trouble if I send the fleet. It's not really worth for the occasional plundering they do of foolishly unescorted vessels. Why would I go through the trouble of losing a lot of ships and men?'

'Why would you indeed.' said Tarrence as the commodore took a drink. 'Especially when you have a deal that gives you a cut of the profits.'

Renhard's moustache froze for a moment, then the owner finished his drink and put his glass down calmly. 'Baseless accusations will find you inside a cell, mister.'