Book Three – Chapter Five – Part Two – The Act of Subterfuge and Sabotage

It turned out that the area Servi first met Carrie was not the cafeteria. It was more like a living/community room for those off duty or with nothing to do. The actual canteen was located further back towards the middle of the base. And like Servi thought, it wasn’t free.

Why would a terrible place have something so organized and neat looking? It doesn’t make sense, and these people don’t deserve it! Itarr commented.

And she was right. Compared to the community room she saw earlier, the spotless canteen didn't befit the criminal organization.  Such cleanliness was right at home in a noble's mansion or an exotic resort for the ultra-wealthy.

Spanning the entire length of the back wall was a self-serve style buffet. But to get to it, one had to pass by a fenced-off area via a gate that held a damaged gray Koena. His left arm was entirely devoid of scales, allowing the pulsing red skin to be on display. The sign nearby said it was a ten dupla a plate, plus an extra five for a spoon. A cup of hot coffee or warm water was an extra 10 or 5 dupla, respectively.

And that was for a single plate. A little note at the bottom of the sign said that if someone wanted to go back for seconds, then it’ll be another 10 dupla.

Servi thought that lunch policy was doltish, but the area behind the fence was nearly slammed packed with ravenous Mafia members vying to fill their empty stomachs.

“25 dupla for a fucking meal and coffee?!” Servi exclaimed.

“Hey, it’s better than having to eat two eyes because you wanted to interfere. You ever tried to eat eyes before?!” A voice came from nearby.

Servi turned to her left and saw a blue Singi sitting at a decrepit table that looked like it was on its last legs. After not replying, the Singi scoffed and shoveled food into his mouth using his hands.

Ignoring him, Servi and Old Man walked over to the Koena.

“What you want?”

“Give me the coffee,” replied Servi. She took out ten dupla and handed it to him.

“I’d rather not waste money, but I gotta eat. Just get me the single plate,” Old Man said.

After paying him, the Koena flicked open the gate and allowed the two to enter. Inside, Servi saw a brown Kobold with no fur or scales. His arms crossed, his eyes scanned long and hard over anyone who wanted to snatch something they didn’t pay for.

When she reached the end of the buffet table, Servi grabbed a cup of coffee and walked out through a second gate. After finding a nearby table, she sat down and waited for Old Man. Considering his age, Servi figured it’ll be a few before Old Man stumbled over, so it was time to survey her surroundings. As she did, she took out a coin and flipped it.

The first thing of note was a Singi with the number ‘8’ carved into his wrist. Orange tail and blue eyes, he was bald with nary a scrap of hair on his head except for his orange ears.

The thought of snapping his neck then and there crossed her mind, but she decided against it. If she wanted to make a 5th come here, then it couldn’t be unwarranted deaths. It would have to be something serious that couldn’t be hand-waved away. She would have to cause a scandal by setting up a fight or a betrayal.

“There has to be something I can take advantage of. I wonder if that cat has any enemies..." she muttered as she drunk her coffee. It was plain, tasting like regular hot water, only littered with a few raw beans at the bottom.  It certainly wasn't worth the dupla she paid for it.

Shaking her head in disgust, Servi glanced around. Other than the bald Singi and a few others, the seats were empty.  She took another look at the buffet and realized that was where everyone else was at.  Until they sat down, her scouting would have to wait, and to pass the time, Servi forced herself to drink the water-like coffee.

“Only the coffee?” asked Old Man when he sat down a few minutes later. His plate was filled to the edge with some type of oatmeal-like substance. Mushy and brown, it didn’t give off the best aroma. He saw Servi stare at his breakfast. “Don’t know what it’s called, but it the only thing they had. Food is good, though.”

“Yeah. Taste like water, though. Don’t recommend it,” Servi flipped her coin one last time and caught it between her index and middle finger.

“Best to use the coffee maker in our room,” he replied with a handful of ‘breakfast’ in his mouth. “And that’s some impressive flipping.”

Servi took another sip right when something interesting happened. From the far-right hallway, a group of two people entered the room.

Both were Kobold, but they were arguing. The topic? Servi didn’t know, but that was fine. She could certainly take advantage of this.

Setting her cup down, she focused on the movements the two made as they paid the Koena for access to the buffet. As soon as he opened the gate, Servi used Telekinesis to slam the Koena’s arm down, closing it in the process.

“Jackpot…” she whispered.

“Hey, the fuck was that for?!” the leftmost Kobold roared. She was light green. Fur and scales covered her large body as she pulled a dagger from her chest sheath. Her total lack of skin was something of a rarity.

The Koena backed up. “It wasn’t me. You’re too fucking dumb to figure that out. Why would I cause trouble for people I don’t care about?! I’m just trying to make some money, that’s all.”

The Singi with the ‘8’ on his wrist sighed and stood up. He made his way towards the group.

Servi noticed his plate and knife were left alone and decided to throw her plan into action. If he didn’t have any enemies, she could make some for him.

Grabbing onto the knife and plate with Telekinesis, Servi launched them at the Singi, who instinctively ducked down. His sensitive ears picked up an odd noise, and he barely avoided the two projectiles by a hairsbreadth.

“AAAHHHH!!” the rightmost Kobold cried out from surprise when the plate shattered off his large body while the knife slammed into him. He was dark green and carried a large sword on his back. With blood pouring from his shoulder blade, he simultaneously drew his weapon and turned around.

“Whoever the fuck threw that, COME FUCKING FORWARD!!! RIGHT NOW!!” yelled the Singi. His bald head pulsed with fury while his tail whipped in anger.

“Well, well. I guess we have some entertainment to go with our breakfast. Say, Williana.”

“Yeah?” Servi smiled. It was like she was the puppet master, and the Mafia her puppets. With just a little bit of imagination, she could manipulate those around her. If someone did suspect her and demanded a look at her ID, that was fine. It said she was a lowly Rank 10 with Protection and a few other Rank 10 skills. She wasn’t blessed. More accurately, she was supposed to be as weak as they came, and she could play off that.

“I don’t suppose you were observing that knife? It looked like it picked up and tossed itself.”

“Did it? I wasn’t paying attention. Hey, how much longer until we need to meet up with Carrie?”

“Carrie? First name basis already? And two hours from now, at 11 AM. The clock’s up there,” Old Man pointed to a corner of the room with a mushy brown hand before going back to his food.

“Alright. I’m going to go see what I can find. If I’m going to be living here, I’d best familiarize myself with everything.”

Amiss the backdrop of the bald Singi and two Kobold yelling, Servi came up with the plan to frame one of them for the other’s death.

“Very well. See you then, I guess.”

After pushing her chair in, she picked the northernmost hallway, or whatever direction she assumed was north and began to walk. As she did, she looked back at the growing disturbance. The Singi had torn the knife from the Kobold’s shoulder, and the two were yelling at each other. Since it was getting interesting, Servi sat back down at a nearby table and crossed her legs. Her one eye watched with great interest.

“I didn’t fucking stab you!” the cat-man yelled.

“Yes. You. Did,” replied the injured Kobold. The light green one held her hands up to push the Singi but stopped when her throat was lightly pierced by the dagger he frightfully gripped.

“Enough!!!” With two swift punches, the bald Singi brought both Kobolds to their knees. “You! The jackass with the red fucking shirt. Take these two to the hole,” after commanding and pointing to a nearby Koena guard, the Singi walked away towards the hallway Servi planned on exploring.

She nodded at him, but that seemed to piss him off even more. Increasing his pace, he stormed down the corridor and took a left. After looking back at the two Kobolds, Servi saw they were being led through a door off in the corner. Whether or not it was this ‘hole’ was unknown to her.

Regardless, the board was set, and it was time for her to move the pieces. Her idea was to kill the Singi and plant it on the two Kobold. They would have the perfect motive. She didn’t account for this ‘hole,’ but she could work around it. Her one choice was to decide how to go about it. If the ‘hole’ was a prison cell, she could absorb the chains and leave the Singi’s corpse near it. Or even inside the cell, if she chooses to.

“Yeah. That’s my option. And if I let off a powerful Smokescreen every night, I can tank Deset’s reputation. Like I said earlier, I just need a single 5th to show up. Momo was kidnapped on Saturday night, yesterday, and today is Sunday… Then I have six days before this event. But the reports are due on Thursday since Friday is for deliberation. That is if Carrie can be trusted. If she can, then I’m a shoo-in. So realistically, Friday is my limit. Let’s say I do get chosen. Will a 5th come here? Or will it be a letter telling me where to go?”

Servi? What are you going to do?

Servi re-crossed her legs. “But if I tank the reputation, then wouldn’t that decrease the chance of me being picked? Or would I stand out more in a field of trash? Would it be like a single diamond surrounded by sludge? Being chosen is the safer route, but I don’t know if the Boss will keep his word. Causing harm until a top dog needs to come set everything in line is quicker, potentially, but it's also riskier….But if a 5th comes here on Friday to deliver the letter or to tell me to be ready for Saturday, then I can grab him, torture the info out, and destroy all of the bases during the night. Then swing by and rescue Momo.

“Because realistically, a 5th or a 4th or any of the other lower ones should have maps of all the bases. I can get the maps, destroy the bases—no, I can slaughter them all and absorb their bodies. That way, it seems like they all disappeared. I know for sure I can do this base in twenty or thirty minutes. But that all assumes…. Damnit, Servi. I guess we’re going to have to play it by ear. There’s no use in assuming since anything could change in a second. Especially when dealing with the criminal life.”

After monologuing to herself once again, Servi stood up and followed the Singi down the hallway. The noise of her shoes accidentally scraping the hallway produced a short but jarring sound. She waited for a moment for someone to come, but no one did.

After rounding the only turn ahead of her, she was met with a fork in the road. Being a place that wouldn’t benefit from it, there were no navigational signs or placards dictating which way went where.

“Guess I should flip a coin,” with heads left and tail right, she flicked it.

Suddenly, it was grabbed out of the air by the same man she was trying to follow. Within moments, she had a bloody dagger pressed against her pretty little throat.

“Here’s some advice, kiddo. Don’t be noisy or talk to yourself like some sort of freak when you’re tailing someone, alright? Now, explain what the fuck you were doing before I rip your head off and skin you alive.”

“Dumb fuck, I’d be dead, not alive. You’d want to skin me first,” replied Servi with a chuckle. With creative use of her Absorption, the dagger disappeared. Alarmed, the Singi stepped back and put his hands up.

Itarr attempted to activate Soul Essence of Primal Combat but failed. As of that very moment, she was locked out of her own powers. It was as if Servi’s soul took over and dominated the soul it was connected to.

I CAN’T EVEN HELP YOU!!! WHY?!?! IS THIS MY PUNISHMENT??!?!?!

“I guess I’d be alive. After all, I can’t die. But I can’t say the same for you. Now, won’t you let me kill you?” Servi replied. Walking forwards, the Singi jabbed with his left and right with enough force to crack a jaw. Unfortunately for him, Servi used enough stacks of Protection to prevent her from taking damage. If anything, the Singi received more damage since he was punching the equivalent of a boulder reinforced by layers of metal.

“What the fuck are you?” the Singi demanded as he kept his guard up. His eyes darted to the left and right. Should he escape? If so, should he double back and run to the cafeteria? Should he race the hall? His mind did the calculations, but they were interrupted by the voice of the girl in front of him.

“I am a Mad Dog,” replied Servi. Her mouth twisted into a mischievous grin as she slightly tilted her head. “Your Boss personally destroyed my cage and tore my leash when he kidnapped my best friend. And although I wish I could make this encounter last longer, I can’t. But let me ask you one thing. Do you know the location of a 5th base? Or a 4th?”

The Singi spat on the floor and punched again. His mouth shared no words with those he considered traitors. When he realized fighting wouldn't get him anywhere fast, he turned around. Running away was his only option if he wanted to survive.

“I figured it wouldn’t be this easy. If only I could take out the whole town…” Servi sighed. A moment later, the bald Singi fell to the floor while clutching his heart and throat. Crouching down, the one-eyed assailant explained. “Right now, I have your chest in the palms of my hand. And I could snap your throat here and now. I want to skin you alive since you threatened me with it, but cleaning up the blood would be too much work. I guess I settle with this, then. Goodbye, 8th. I hope your life had meaning.”

Servi increased her Telekinetic hold on his neck until it snapped 90 degrees to the right. Once a red soul floated to her ring, she absorbed the body and walked down the left fork.

Hey, we got the body. Why are we still walking?

She soon came to a hallway of rooms. None were numbered or marked, so she didn’t know their purpose. After plopping the 8th’s corpse on the ground, she searched the pockets of the Singi's tan pants and found a key. She reabsorbed his corpse and tried the key on each of the five doors until the one at the end clinked open.

“Guess it must be his room. Awfully empty, though,” Servi said. Other than a small bed with black covers, two sets of dressers, and a closet full of tattered clothes, the place was devoid of any personalization. She quietly closed the door and began to rummage, starting with the two dressers.

The smaller one had clothes and dupla, while the bigger one was empty. Servi couldn’t even find a spec of dust.

Seemed like he took care of it. Do you smell soap?

“Shit, nothing. What about the closet?” After making her way to the door, she opened it to reveal nothing. Like the larger dresser, it was also empty and devoid of anything. “Damnit! Maybe he didn’t have any enemies, and he was a loner? If so, then I don’t know how much this is going to do. I want to search some more, but I wished I had something to make me invisible… Wait, can't I... Damnit, Servi, did you forget what you’re actually capable of?”

Summoning her ID, Servi scouted down until she saw a skill called The Shadow’s Embrace. It required the user to be Rank 0, but it eliminated the user’s appearance, smell, and sound. Effectively, it removed her from existence. She could manipulate the physical objects of the world, like touching and moving cups and opening doors, but those who witnessed the events wouldn’t register them in their mind. They couldn’t touch her, but it wasn’t as if they could see her in the first place.

But other than the name, there was something else that caught her attention. The skill's description told her that a blade made of pure shadow would appear around her right forearm. Whatever wound created by the ability would instantly become infected with pure darkness, and that darkness would swallow up and poison the body from the inside. It didn’t say if it was curable, but if it was, then Servi imagined the cure was something extravagant to counteract such a powerful effect.

It also required the user to pony up 700 Potential, but Servi only had a bit more than half.

Once again, Servi sighed. “I don’t think I can kill enough to get the amount needed without arousing suspicion. Guess I need to be careful.”

After breaking her ID and absorbing the residue dust, she cracked open the door to the hallway and stepped out. By her estimate, she had maybe an hour and forty-five minutes to continue her search.

“Better make the best of it,” she said as she tested the doorknob next to her. It was locked. Servi thought about what to do for a few precious seconds before deciding to absorb the whole thing. After stepping through the newly opened doorway, she placed it back up behind her.

“It’s so fucking disgusting…” Servi whimpered. Dirty clothes and trash filled a corner of the filthy room. There was a large desk covered with a brown sticky material that Servi didn’t want to go anywhere near. However, on the well-made bed nearby, Servi spotted a brown journal lying on a fluffy white pillow. She retrieved it using Telekinesis and flipped through the pages.

It was brand-new, and only the first five pages had info, but what Servi found was good enough for her.

“This belongs to a Miss Eletri, an Elf with yellow hair and a lightning bolt scar. It says here she was promoted recently to a 7th. Oh ho, and what’s this? She wrote that she hates Singi and Koena and believes Elves should be dominant? She’s a racist…. Wow, she even wrote down her mission details….. Alright, she’s coming back later today, and I think I know how to frame her.”

After projecting her consciousness inside the ring, Servi began to write a letter that would be critical.

I am an observer for the Boss, and I say this with a heavy heart. Upon investigation of one Eletri, a 7th, I can safely say that she poses a threat to the Mafia and our core values of loyalty. The proof is in her diary, where she stated that she hates Singi and Koena. But that’s not all. The disgusting state of her room is being used to hide the corpses of our fellow members. I expect you all to investigate for yourselves and proceed accordingly. I'll repeat myself for clarity: do not make the wrong choice. If you do, then the full fury of the Mafia will descend upon Deset like the rage carried within the souls of the traitors I’ve killed to protect my home. Once you make the correct choice, use the emergency contact to send the following message, ‘Traitor is dead. We are waiting for further instructions.' That is all. Itarr said, reading the letter to herself.

It went without saying that there might not be such a thing as an emergency contact. But the chances were high. If something unexpected were to happen, then there had to be a way to contact HQ. And if not headquarters, then a high-ranking member, who had the authority to make tough choices, would have to be within reach.

“If that doesn’t get anyone here, then I don’t know what will. Carrie told me that observers are everywhere. Well, I’d imagine a couple Numbered are observers, so this is sure to get the ball rolling. All I need is a few quick lies, and I convince Carrie I found this,” replied Servi. “Oh, I need to forge the diary. Or try to, anyway. If not, then it’s no big deal. All I gotta do is change a few things.”

After absorbing the diary, Servi projected herself into the ring once more. An idea popped into her head, and after trying it out for a few minutes, she laughed. Servi had made an astonishing discovery. While within the ring, she had perfect control over the objects stored inside. That included pencils and other writing utensils. With such precise precision, forging someone's handwriting was simpler than breathing, and Servi took full advantage of that.

The language was symbol-based, but Eletri had a particular way of writing that involved making lines longer or shorter than they needed to be.

“I know I need to start on my plan. To start off, I’m going to kill every single Singi and Koena I can find. It’s a good thing I can hide the corpses underneath the trash. That should hide them long enough for me to come back and dispose of them properly. If I come across Singi or Koena Mafia members, then I should take care of them, too. They don’t deserve to bask and be blessed by the Mafia!!! It’s a good thing I know where the secret exit is,” Servi said, reading the amended entry.

“Haha!!! When they ask for proof in her diary, she’ll obviously give it to them because she didn’t write this. And that’s what makes this so wonderful. She’ll purposely turn herself in. Now then, time to do some cleaning. It’s a good thing the shit bags who ambushed us we're mostly Koena and Singi,” after putting the diary back on the white pillow, Servi removed a few mutilated corpses from her ring. "It's a good thing I kept these."

It was a horrific sight that wouldn’t be out of place in a serial killer’s basement or attic. Once all were decently hidden and disguised under the mountains of trash, Servi absorbed the door, left, and put it back.

Her destination this time was the mysterious location known as the ‘hole.’. Hopefully, she'd have the chance to dispose of the bald Singi's corpse and create a new thread of controversy. She didn’t have the best feeling in the world about this setup. First, it wouldn’t make sense for him to visit the hole to amuse himself at the two Kobolds’ expense. At least, not based on what she gathered from his room. Second, it wasn’t that believable that he would step into the hole where he would have a chance of dying or getting injured.

“Might as well get it over with,” Servi said upon entering the cafeteria. She searched around for Old Man and found him sitting at the same table.

“You still here?” she walked over and sat down, cringing at the squeaking noise the chair made when she slid it out.

“I am. Don’t have much to do until we meet up with 9th to get our next ask. Where did you go?”

Servi leaned back and stretched. “Followed that bald Singi. He didn’t like it and threatened me. I walked away and explored a bit more until I got bored. Say, do you know what the ‘hole’ is?”

Old Man shook his head. “I know it’s down that way, but that’s all,” he pointed towards a door not-so-subtly hidden in the corner of the room. “Why?”

Servi stood up. “I'm gonna go check it out. I feel anxious when I have to rest,” after lying, she entered through the door after passing by tables of her fellow Mafia members. Some had blood dripping from their face and arms. Others were forcing their bodies to stay awake. And two, in particular, were popping back White Monotonia like they were candy.

"Ain't nothing more than goddamn druggies," she whispered as the door closed behind her.