Black Market Merchant

Mrs. Smithy was surprised. She didn't expect that this random, tall young woman to make such an offer, but she had some speculations. This seemed far too coincidental.

"Are you or this Mr. Cline, not worried about the Mad Dogs interfering? After all we would be viewed as a rival." Mrs. Smith asked pressing her black rimmed glasses up her nose some. After being turned down so many times for that very reason, she had to ask to be sure.

"I know that the gang can try if they felt inclined to, but I could care less about them. In fact, I'll be trying to get them to work for me in time." Lisa replied nonchalantly. "That won't be for a while though. I am still on decent terms with them right now."

"Hmm, if you say so?" Mrs. Smithy replied still skeptical. She took Lisa’s comment as her just blowing smoke and then asked, "And Mr. Cline? What would his view of this be?"

"I don't think he will be worried about them either, but you'll have to ask him yourself." Lisa replied confidently.

Then from behind her came the tapping of a cane. Lisa looked back to see the old man holding a small can in his wrinkled hand.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I might have found what you're looking for." The old man said holding up the can to Lisa.

"Excuse me." Lisa said motioning to Mrs. Smithy to wait. Then she turned back to the old man. "Let's have a look at it."

Taking the small paint can Lisa lifted it up to inspect. The label was worn out and the words around the edges of the paper were mostly gone, but what was legible made her delighted. It was nearly the correct color as her skin, but the type of paint was even more important.

"How did you come by this?" Lisa asked trying hide her enthusiasm.

The old man stroked his silver balding head in thought before replying. "I think it was three years ago. A Hover Ship crashed out in the desert south of town. Some looters went out to investigate and this was one of the items they couldn't sell around here. So, they left it and I took it. Just in case of an event like this ever happened."

"So, you don't really know what it is?" Lisa asked reaching into her pants pocket for her money.

"Not really." The old man replied shaking his head. “It’s just paint, right?”

"This is military grade skin tone paint! It's used by special forces to disguise themselves as another person and blend in with the populace." Lisa explained. She then took out of her pocket a folded ten-dollar bill and handed it to the man. "I paid twenty dollars for three mattresses last time. I give you ten for this little can. I trust you understand that it's worth quite a nice bit."

"I do now." The old man replied taking the money without a single thought. "If I come across more would you be interested?"

"Of course." Lisa replied nodding fervently. "Send Tom to get me if you do. He knows where I am staying at."

"Will do. Now I'll leave you so you can get back to the lady waiting behind you." The old man replied with a smile as he turned to go back in his shop.

"See you soon and thank you." Lisa replied and then turned to face Mrs. Smithy. "Well now, back to our conversation."

"I had given it some thought, and I’ll have to comply." Mrs. Smithy replied. "It might seem like a long shot to me but allow me to meet him please."

"Excellent!" Lisa replied. "If you want, we can get going right now. I must meet up with two others and then we all can go to the meeting. Neither place is a far walk from here. So, no need to worry about time."

"That's not an issue. We have all day, so lead the way." Mrs. Smithy said gesturing ahead of them. Lisa nodded politely and did just that.

"Oh, where are my manners!" Lisa said turning to walk backwards. "My nickname is Queen. After the meeting I will introduce myself properly. Wouldn't want you to slip up and mention my real name just yet. They still know me only as Queen. Also, don't mention the ERM until the meeting starts, just to be on the safe side."

"I guess I can do that. Nice to meet you, Queen." Mrs. Smithy replied giving a small smile. Clearly, she had questions as to why use a nickname, but she stayed silent for now. It was probably best that she leaves matters that were not her concern alone for now.

After a short walk down the docks and through the storage unit’s area, the six of them arrived at the dams Powerhouse building. Mrs. Smithy looked around questionably, as did her four guards. The tall, barbed wire fence and blockade of pilled cars looked rather imposing and dangerous.

"What are we doing here? Is this some kind of joke?" Mrs. Smithy said pointing at the piles of cars and metal at the entrance.

"Not at all." Lisa replied going up to the pile. She reached around a hidden hole and unlocked the makeshift door to let them all in. "This is where I and my friends are staying at the moment. This barricade is just to keep others out. After all, who doesn't want to protect one’s home?" Pushing the metal door aside with a metallic grown of protest, Lisa stepped inside.

"Mrs. Smithy if anything happens get behind me immediately." One of the ERM guards whispered to her. Mrs. Smithy nodded in reply and the took a nervous step through the doorway. She had no idea what to expect on the other side.

Once inside, she started to feel silly. The area looked completely normal. She half expecting to see some kind of barbaric display or cultic scribbles, but the area was clean and orderly. A small campfire was smoldering in the parking lot with a pot on it. Off to the west side of the fenced in area was a pile of random metal and wood. Nothing else seemed suspicious.

"Sadie, Zane! You guys ready to go?" Lisa called out towards the main building.

Mrs. Smithy looked over towards the entrance and saw two young people coming out to them. They too, looked completely normal.

"Why am I so worked up?" Mrs. Smithy thought. "I guess seeing the tattooed Skull yesterday is still creeping me out. I need to relax once I get back to the east side of the river."

"I think we are ready, for the most part." Sadie said coming up first. "Zane's paperwork is filled out. It's just that, he needs his weapons. Just like you did, he will have to fight someone to prove that he can be in the MFA." She then looked past Lisa and noticed the five people looking at them for the first time. "Uh, who are they?"

"These people are interested in making a deal with Mr. Cline." Lisa replied with a broad grin. It was best that she does not mention that they are with the ERM. There was no telling how Zane might react to them just yet. "As for Zane's weapon's, I will carry them until the fight happens. It would be hard enough to get everyone into the compound, much less if they were armed."

"Compound? Where are you taking us?" Mrs. Smithy asked. Once again, her anxiety started to rise.

"To a large walled in area, just west of here. It's where the rich people around here meet up. It's for exclusive members only." Lisa replied giving a normal reply.

"That's not exactly right, it's…" Zane started to say, then he saw Lisa's glare and closed his mouth. Those intimidating cold grey eyes told him it would be safest to do so.

"Anyway, it's where they want to have the meeting." Lisa quickly continued explaining. "When we get there just let us do the talking, they don't really like new people."

"Are you sure about this. If they are talking about dealings with the MFA things could get dangerous." Another guard whispered to Mrs. Smithy.

"What choice do we have? So far things have been fine. We can't go back empty handed either, so let's take this risk." Mrs. Smithy replied quietly back. Then she spoke to Lisa. "I guess that's fine. After all you know them better than us."

"Thank you for understanding. I'll be right back, need to get his weapons and change." Lisa said turning around.

Everyone else stood around awkwardly in silence for a moment. Then Sadie finally broke the standoff. "Do any of you need a drink? I have some boiled water that’s already cooled.”

"That would be wonderful." Mrs. Smithy said giving her a friendly smile.

Sadie went over to the entrance of the Powerhouse building and picked up two thermoses sitting in the shade. Bringing them back the small group drank heartily. It had been a long, few days for them.

Lisa soon returned quickly. She had changed out of her casual jeans and shirt and now wore her skin suite and her leather jacket. She had to play her part as Queen after all. Over her shoulder was a drawstring back-sack that contained Zane's Tiger Claws and around her waist was her sword.

"All ready?" Lisa asked.

"I think so." Sadie replied putting the empty thermoses away by the fire pit.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the tall compound metal wall. The five newcomers eyed it nervously, but it wasn't until they got closer to the entrance that they then voiced concern.

"Hey, isn't that the Mad Dog symbol?" One guard said pointing at the wall.

"Yes, it is." Lisa replied calmly. "They do run this area after all. Don't worry, I will not turn you in, if that's what you are thinking. I want to benefit from this meeting and have no loyalty to them."

"Mrs. Smithy, it's not too late to go back. If anything happens to you it would be very bad for all of us." A guard asked urgently.

But Mrs. Smithy had already decided to follow through with the arrangements. They needed the funding desperately and this was all they had to go on.

"Just keep your wits about you and mouth shut. We are going to do this." Mrs. Smithy replied sternly. "We have too."

Approaching the entrance Lisa noticed that it was the same man from before guarding the door. Another lucky break.

"Hey there." Lisa said to the tall man. "Did you bet on me yesterday?"

The tall man had a smile on his face hearing this. "I did. You were right, I won big time!" He looked at the others. "I recognize you three, but who are they?" He asked pointing at the five ERM people.

"They are people here to meet up with a Mr. Cline and other merchants inside. I don't think you know them, but Xander does." Lisa explained. When she mentioned Xander the tall gangsters’ eyebrows raised.

"I don't think I can let them in." The tall gangster replied. "Only Mrs. Sadie has a badge and you have your fighter reputation. If I get caught letting you all in, I could definitely get in trouble."

"What was your name?" Lisa asked him.

"Thomson." He replied.

"Well than, Thomson, if you were to go in and keep an eye on us things would be alright." Lisa said patting the side of his arm encouragingly. "Come on, didn’t things work out just fine last time I had you do something?"

Thomson appeared to think things over for a moment. "Alright, but if you mess things up, I am blaming it all on you." He said while crossing his arms.

"Fair enough." Lisa said giving him a pleasant smile.

Though on the surface this seemed like Lisa was just trying to get the ERM inside, but there was more depth to this conversation. Lisa wanted to eventually take over the gang, and to do this getting on familiar terms with the gang members was a must. Lisa had been mulling over how to accomplish this and, for now, all she could think of was just getting the gang members to trust her.

Thomson nodded and led the way inside. When he opened the gate to the wall, everyone marveled at the sight. Just as Lisa and Zane had once experienced their surprise, so did the ERM people. The area was just as nice as ever.

Once reaching the Warehouse market, Lisa immediately spotted Mr. Cline and the other rich men. The were sitting at a nice a table near the corner of the building. Here was what looked like a recreational or outdoor restaurant styled seating arrangement. When the group came over, led by Thomas, the men noticed right away. There were not that many people here at the market today, so no crowd to block each groups views of the area.

"Ah, there you all are." McMathers called out holding up a glass of wine. "We were wondering when you would come."

"It took a bit longer than expected." Lisa replied apologetically. "Sadie and Zane, you two can go turn in his paperwork now if you want. If he gets confirmation and needs the weapons just come back and get them."

"Alright, we will be back soon I suspect." Sadie answered. "Come on Zane."

The two left and Thomson shifted nervously seeing that everything was as Lisa said. "I guess I can go now too." He said to Lisa. "You were telling the truth it seems."

"See, you can trust me. Thank you for giving us a chance." Lisa replied and Thomson turned to go.

"So, who are these folks here?" Mr. Cline asked curiously.

"They are representing a certain group that I will be possibly working with. It just so happens that they have an offer to give to you. After hearing it, I will give my answer to all of you as to what my intentions are." Lisa replied smiling.

All the rich men appeared interested and looked Mrs. Smithy's way.

“Please go ahead, have a seat and let us have it.” McMathers said gesturing to the old woman.