Broker

Shark scowled, there was that ringing in his ears again, he could feel tremors nearby, like the ground beneath his feet but further away. It was unsettling. He’d wanted some time alone, time to recuperate from the way his transformation messed with his senses. He could hear voices when he was like that, sounds and tones that both made sense and didn’t. It was like another language he could suddenly understand. He glanced at Parker as they rounded the corner, the idiot had come running when a pair of people claiming to be like Shark had shown up. His voice had been like nails on a chalkboard. He covered the sharp twinge of pain in his skull with a growl.

Two people with powers? I can’t ignore this, what do they want? More importantly, why had Amos brought them into his turf? I’ll kill the little bitch-boy, he’s had it coming for a while. His work has been sloppy recently.

They stepped out onto the empty street and he spotted the rest of his gang crowded threateningly around a woman out of dreams. She wore tinted sunglasses and had hair as white as snow, just like her skin, it was almost blinding. Her clothes were fitted and clearly expensive. She glanced around for Amos and the other powered person, but didn’t see anyone. “Where’s the other two?” He growled, glancing at Parker.

“Dunno, they were over there when I left,” Parker said, pointing towards a spot near the far street corner.

“Hello!” A cheery voice tore them both out of their muttered conversation. He looked up to see the woman walking over, she was even prettier now that he saw her face. Who the hell was this chick? She had her hand outstretched and an almost silly smile on her face, he could practically see the rainbows and sunshine behind her head. Was she stupid or something? They obviously had warned her that he had powers, yet she approached him so brazenly. She was either insane or dangerous.

Either way, he didn’t smell any blood on her and felt no sense of danger either. Those senses seemed to linger even if he didn’t have his powers active. He still couldn’t fathom the rules of his powers, but he knew there were many. Whatever she was, right now, she wasn’t a threat. Not yet anyway.

She raised a hand up to her heart, “Nice to meet you! I’m Sonya,” She said, sounding like an unflappable cheerleader. “You must be Shark!”

He hesitated and shook her hand when she approached, her smile became more relaxed and she released her grip after a heartbeat. “Can I help you? What’re you doing in my territory?”

“This is your turf?” She asked, looking surprised, “I heard you were the boss but I figured with the kind of men you had working for you, you were part of a bigger operation.”

He tensed, she was observant then, using flattery to dig for information. Parker seemed to swell a little with pride next to him and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Idiot. 

“My guy here says you’re like me, that true?” He asked, crossing his arms.

The woman, Sonya, lowered her sunglasses and he nearly recoiled at the sight of her eyes. They were mechanical! They spun and shifted and whirled inside of her head like they were constantly making adjustments to her surroundings, refocusing like a camera lens. “I’ve got very good eyes, Mister Shark,” Sonya said proudly, crossing her arms behind her back, “I’m pretty good at seeing the potential in people, as well as knowing whether they have powers or not.”

That caught his attention, “You can tell if someone has powers?”

“Yes.”

“You looking for work?” He grinned, now they were getting somewhere.

“Actually, I promised your boys I’d try to negotiate an investment deal with you, you’re a pretty strong guy I’m guessing, and it’s a shame you only have what, a couple blocks to your name?” She pointed out with a shrug, “I happen to be looking for talented men to work for me.”

“Yeah? You got money, huh?” He asked, resting his hands on his hips. So her power was her eyes, he didn’t know if her eyes did anything else but he still didn’t sense any immediate physical danger from her. She’s trying to throw me off to avoid a fight, he reasoned, She’s defenseless. “What about the other one, I heard there was two of you?”

“Marta? She’s inside the shop with Amos, she’s such a sweetie,” The woman said, thumbing over her shoulder. He glanced past her and at his men, they were just standing there. Their expressions were relaxed but he caught something in their eyes that he didn’t like. Why weren’t they moving to stand around her? They should be positioning themselves to overwhelm this chick if a fight broke out, he looked her way and narrowed his eyes.

“What’s up with my guys?” He demanded, a frown forming on his face.

She looked over her shoulder, pretending to be confused, but he caught the hint of a smile on her face, “We came to an agreement, I’d try to work out a deal with you and they’d stay out of my business.”

She wasn’t saying everything, that shouldn’t be enough to get them to keep their distance. What the hell did she do? Was it the other one? The problem was, he couldn’t detect a lie in her posture or voice. Her throat didn’t shift and he got nothing from those freaky eyes of hers. She’s telling the truth? That doesn’t make any sense. “What kind of deal?” He growled, glancing at his men and making a sharp motion. They hurried over and finally formed the ring he’d been expecting out of them. They could still move, that was good.

“Like I said, I’m hiring,” Sonya said with an easy smile.

–

Marta looked out the cracked window and gripped the front of her dress, concern exploding in her chest. Sonya hadn’t said much about her strange powers that involved making deals, but she was beginning to put a few pieces together. Even so, shaking hands and smiling at people was not going to get her out of the situation she had put herself in. Unease had been building since they’d arrived at the corner and saw that group of men. She was sure she could take them, she was strong! Sonya had stopped her, though, was it out of concern or was she angling for something else?

What are you thinking, Miss Sonya?

“I got it!” Amos called, making Marta jump. She whirled on him and he stepped back with a startled look on his face. “Sorry!”

She relaxed, “No, I’m sorry, glad you found your… whatever it is,” She said, “I hope its worth it.”

Amos glanced outside and froze, “Shark’s here. Is Sonya going to be okay? Shouldn’t you go help her?”

Marta looked back at the window and frowned, “She told me to stay here and keep an eye on you until she called,” Marta said.

“And you trust her? She could get herself killed,” Amos said.

Marta watched the exchange from afar, the men moving over to form a ring around Sonya. A lump formed in her throat, “Implicitly,” she lied. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Sonya as a person, she knew Sonya was neither truly a good or bad person, she’d already gathered that from living with her. She had her dark side just like everyone. She also knew that Sonya wasn’t exactly thinking altruistically with her plans for the future, she’d made money off of healing a man’s father. That didn’t matter to Marta. What she didn’t trust was Sonya’s growing bravado.

Maybe it was a fatalistic way of thinking, but she couldn’t help but expect something to-

Her eyes flicked up as movement caught her attention. She looked up at the roof of the abandoned office building that Sonya and the men were standing in front of. A shape, a huge shape, had stepped onto the ledge and was looking down at them. It was black, just like the beasts she’d fought on the street, but at least three or four times their size. Its thick neck turned so the eye on the side of its reptilian head could look down at them. Her heart lurched. No!

It leaped off the side and hurtled towards the ground.

Marta darted for the door and threw it open, “SONYA!”

–

WHAM!

Like a comet from above, a dark shape landed right on top of Shark with all the grace and unflinching certainty of a boulder. The force of the impact sent Sonya hurtling backwards, skipping across the pavement a few times before slamming into the ground. The air was pushed out of her chest and her head spun. She lay there for a moment as shouting broke out followed by a gunshot. Ah, there it is, the other shoe. She thought wryly, This is what I get for being cocky. Arrogant. Overconfident. Of course it’d be a Lurk.

She started to pull herself to her feet just as a pair of hands wrapped around her shoulders and dragged her up. She looked over her shoulder to see Marta holding her up, worry in the woman’s eyes.

“Sonya, are you okay?” Marta gasped.

“I'm fine! Where’s-” She glanced past Marta to see Amos hurrying out of his shop, racing down the street. “Son of a bitch!” She snarled and looked to Marta, “He’s getting away!”

“But-” Marta started but Sonya frowned at her.

“Marta! I need him!” Sonya barked, “Don’t let him get away!”

Marta winced at the ferocity in Sonya’s tone, but Sonya couldn’t feel bad right now. She needed Amos if she was going to get anywhere. He could make everything she needed, he could help her build a business empire and hold the coming society of superhumans in the palm of her hand. He could make them dependent on her. He couldn’t get away, not now, with his brain she’d never find him again. She knew nothing about his history prior to becoming a businessman, there was no way she’d be able to track him down in New York. She’d gotten lucky running into him as it was and he wasn’t going to come back to his shop.

Marta let her go and Sonya steadied herself just as a body flew past them followed by a bellowing roar. “Marta!” Sonya barked, “Go!”

Marta looked back at the beast, then at Sonya, and then back at the retreating form of Amos. She swallowed, but nodded, “Be careful.”

“I will!” Sonya called and turned around to face the monster that was making short work of Shark’s men. They screamed, scattering as one of them was bit and torn in two by a head large enough to consume an entire human, “Go!”

Marta darted away just as an inhuman bellow roiled up from beneath the beast. The creature lurched, its body shifting as something lifted it up from below. It looked down in confusion as a gray-skinned monster with razor sharp teeth in the shape of a man hefted it into the air and hurled it down the street with a titanic effort. “Get the fuck off me!” Shark snarled, “Get away from it, idiots, this ain’t your fight!”

He’s strong and cares about his men, Sonya glanced hastily towards the Lurk as it rolled, But that isn’t going to kill one of those things. Lurks were a stage up in the order of beasts that appeared during the first wave. If you put it into game terms, they were mini-bosses. They appeared rarely and liked to hide and watch in high places before leaping down on groups of easy prey. Just like most of the early monsters, they had no sense of self preservation or danger and would throw themselves heedlessly at an enemy. They were tough, tanking even artillery fire. 

She looked around, Shark was strong but at this point in the game it wasn’t enough. She’d have to pull on one of her products if they were going to survive this. Her eyes searched the street, she needed cover! There!

“Shark!” She shouted and pointed towards a warehouse a few blocks down, “Get it in that warehouse!”

“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch!” Shark snarled, “This is your fault!” He roared, stomping down the street towards the monster.

“Do you wanna live through this or not?” She demanded.

He whipped his head in her direction, “You know how to kill it?”

“Get it somewhere tight, and you can kill it,” She called back, “I have a plan, but your boys are in the way.”

He fixed her with a stare and with her powerful eyes she saw his throat undulate and something in his eyes shift, an extra pair of lenses blinked at her. She still couldn’t believe he was wasting his gift. She’d appraised him the moment they came into contact with one another and had been horrified to see that he wasn’t a shark at all. 

<New Product Acquired: Lord of the Depths>

She wasn’t sure exactly how far those powers went, but she was sure that it wasn’t limited to ‘be a shark man’. He was either refusing to use his full power or clearly didn’t understand what was in his hands. It was infuriating.

The Lurk got to its feet and let out a bellow, people had to be watching from within their homes now. She couldn’t take any further risks. The more she was seen with Shark, especially cooperating with him, the more problems she’d have in the future. He either agreed or she was out of here, he could deal with it on his own, survive or not. It would be a shame for him to die, but she wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

“Fine!” He shouted back, “We’ll do it your way!”

She grinned, that was all she needed to hear. She started for the warehouse while he charged at it, she needed to get set up as fast as possible.