Chapter 56
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56
Two days later, I headed down to the Lower District to meet up with Gabriel.
"Luka, I rounded up some guys. They'll do anything as long as we pay them."
Gabriel said this while pointing toward the mouth of an alleyway. Five men, cheap cybernetic implants studded all over their bodies, were sucking vaporized liquid through inhalers. I didn't even want to know what that liquid was.
"I told you to find trustworthy people, not junkies."
When I scolded him, Gabriel looked at me like I was out of my mind.
"Trustworthy people? In a place like this? Are you kidding me? Those are the most reliable ones I could dig up!"
He snapped back. Come to think of it, I had no comeback for that. How many people of good faith and integrity actually existed in this gutter?
I walked toward the hideout Gabriel had secured. It was a small building tucked deep in the alley, not far from Gilda's cybernetic repair shop.
From now on, this place would serve as the Gabriel Gang's office.
"Oh, B-Boss! You're here?"
One of the junkies waved at Gabriel. Looking at his unfocused, glassy eyes, I could already feel a headache brewing.
The crew Gabriel had assembled was of far lower quality than I'd anticipated. They weren't the type you could trust with anything important. They'd turn on us the moment things went south.
"Where's Ken Noma?"
"Set up a room for him inside. Like I told you, springing Ken from the hospital cost a fortune. After paying for the hideout and hiring these guys, I'm completely tapped out."
He was fishing for more money.
I pulled out a credit chip, keyed in an amount, and tossed it to Gabriel. He snatched it out of the air with a broad grin.
I wonder how much Heilas will let me get away with.
Probably still within acceptable limits. The Imperial Guard's budget was quite generous.
"How should I introduce you to the boys?"
"Tell them I'm a sponsor."
It wasn't uncommon for wealthy individuals or Nobles to bankroll gangs in order to extend their influence into the Lower District. It wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Besides, it was the truth.
Gabriel went over first and spoke to the men. Soon, a bald man's eyes gleamed as he looked at me.
"So this young master's the boss's boss, huh? Heh heh."
The bald man rubbed his hands together and sidled up to me, clearly angling for a handout.
"I don't care what you do on your own time, but stay sober when you're on the clock."
"Oh, of course, sir! Absolutely."
I stared at the back of the bald man's head. There was an openable drug port installed there. Looked like he cracked his skull open every so often to inject drugs straight into his brain.
"From now on, you're Baldy. You over there, Snub-Nose. Next to him, Dog Eyes. And you, Beard—"
I labeled them with nicknames based on their features instead of learning their names. They nodded, evidently used to this kind of treatment.
Ken—the man I was protecting—was a key piece in tracking down Kinuan's movements. I ordered the men to guard both Ken and the hideout in two rotating shifts.
I inspected the interior. The first floor was one large open room, while the second floor had four rooms lining a central hallway. Run-down, sure, but the layout wasn't bad for a hideout.
The room at the far end of the second floor was Ken Noma's quarters. I creaked the door open to check on him. Ken sat on the bed, drooling, his cognitive faculties still severely impaired.
"Ken's name is probably still on the hospital registry. Unless someone comes to visit him, no one'll even know he's gone. Aside from the guards and nurses we bribed, of course," Gabriel said, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.
I was mildly impressed by how cleverly Gabriel had handled all this. I liked him more than I'd expected to.
"What about that gang? La Vie en Rose, wasn't it? How'd things go with them?"
"They told me to come see them within two days. Otherwise they'd kill me. And they were probably... dead serious about it."
"No point dragging this out. We leave now. Tell me what you know about La Vie en Rose on the way."
It was still hard to swallow, but Martina, the boss of La Vie en Rose, was obsessed with Gabriel. Left alone, Gabriel would either be killed by Martina or dragged into becoming her subordinate.
I couldn't afford to lose Gabriel. I was already stretched thin as it was; without him, my workload in the Lower District would double, maybe triple.
Aleph from the Arena is no replacement for Gabriel.
Aleph crossed my mind, but I quickly shoved the thought aside.
Aleph would follow my orders, sure, but I didn't want to get close enough to him that he could track my movements. He was the type who'd sell me out the instant our interests diverged even slightly.
* * *
I recalled something Kinuan had once said.
"Even scum like them have their uses."
He'd said it about the gang members who kidnapped Gilda. Thanks to those words, they'd escaped with their lives.
There were countless gangs, large and small, in the Lower District. They held an especially firm grip on the shadows where the Empire's administration and law enforcement couldn't reach.
For a gang to carry a proper name like La Vie en Rose meant it had passed through several bosses and accumulated its own history and traditions.
"La Vie en Rose started as a gang of prostitutes protecting themselves. They're one of the two big powers in the red-light district," Gabriel said, eyes flicking around as he smirked.
Even in broad daylight, the red-light district was a barrage of sensory overload. Holographic ads shoved themselves right into your line of sight whether you wanted them or not, lining the main street.
Most of the footage featured naked women and moaning, though occasionally there were men too. There were even "alien prostitutes"—a rare sight in the Empire.
Turning my head toward a corner to escape the dizzying ads, a small one catering to bizarre fetishes caught my eye.
"Animals have been humanity's friends ever since our days on Earth. Dogs, cats, horses—all of them, our companions. Everything you've ever imagined is right here..."
I didn't even want to imagine what came after that. Mercifully, this one had no video.
"Luka, want to duck in for a bit?"
Gabriel asked, pointing to a shop down an alley.
I frowned. A strange, sultry scent drifted from the establishment nestled in the shaded alley. Inside, soft, colored lights shifted in sequence. Behind a frosted window, a swaying silhouette beckoned passersby with a curling finger. It was more enticing precisely because it didn't show everything.
"Hey, if you're not into it, just say so instead of making that face. I only suggested it to build a little camaraderie, seeing as we're already here."
Gabriel shrugged at my expression.
"Cut the crap and keep talking."
"...The most important rule—rule number one—of La Vie en Rose is this: no member is ever allowed to use violence against or harm a 'doll.'"
"Doll" was slang for a prostitute. That rule was surely why La Vie en Rose enjoyed the backing of the red-light district, and it formed the core of the organization's identity. They'd uphold it no matter what. I nodded, waiting for Gabriel to go on.
"Break the first rule, and you'll meet a fate so miserable you'll wish you were dead. Not that anyone really breaks it. Most members of La Vie en Rose were either born here or used to be dolls themselves. To them, the people here are family."
"And the boss? Martina?"
"Martina Diva. Oh, and here's the thing—the boss of La Vie en Rose inherits the title 'Diva' down the generations. And the boss always has to be a woman. That's how they keep the prostitutes' loyalty locked in."
A gang is finished the moment it loses the support of its base.
"If she's taken a liking to you, that means the two of you have met before."
"I've seen her face a couple of times for work, that's all. I used to pick up side jobs guarding their shops. I mean... I do look pretty manly and imposing, y'know?"
Listening to him, it was clear Gabriel knew next to nothing about Martina either.
Before we knew it, we'd arrived. A three-story building in an Eastern style—a rarity in the Empire—rose before us. Carved into an antique wooden plaque was the name "Cheonghaeru."
"I'm here to see Martina," Gabriel said, standing at the entrance. The gang member on guard duty radioed someone.
"Judging by that ugly mug, you must be Gabriel. Who's the one next to you?"
A woman who looked like an officer strode out of Cheonghaeru. She wore an eyepatch over her left eye—quite the distinctive look.
"He's my friend. Got a problem with that? I nearly died twice because of you people. You didn't seriously think I'd come alone, did you? I'm bringing my weapons in too. If you don't like it, we can settle it right here, right now," Gabriel threatened. He carried real presence. He was probably genuinely enraged, too.
"...Fine," the eyepatch woman said, gesturing for us to follow.
The first floor of Cheonghaeru was a club with a stage. Since it wasn't open for business yet, only cleaners moved about, while members of La Vie en Rose glared at us.
On the second floor, VIP rooms and other rooms of obvious purpose lined a hallway carpeted in red. At the far end stood a staircase leading up to the third floor.
"Gabriel," the eyepatch woman said, halting on the steps to the third floor.
"What? What is it? You wanna go right here?"
Gabriel cracked his knuckles, slamming his fists together to stir up a hostile mood. A loud metallic clank rang out.
"I'm warning you—don't turn down the Diva this time. It's the only way you'll keep your life."
"Listen, eyepatch lady, I—"
Before Gabriel could finish, the eyepatch woman stepped up to the third-floor entrance and opened the door. As it swung wide, an indescribably intense fragrance rolled out. It was a blend of a sharp, stimulating scent and a sweet aroma. It could easily have been nauseating, yet it was so perfectly balanced that it made my mouth water.
The eyepatch woman went in. Gabriel and I followed her through the doorway.
...So that's the game.
I sized up the situation the instant I crossed the threshold. That overpowering fragrance contained sensory-disrupting agents. They must have vaporized several paralytic drugs together. The effect was subtle—just enough to dull the senses slightly, hard to catch.
How did I know?
Because even a soldier of my caliber only spotted the gang member ambushing us by the door at the very last second!
Click!
The barrel of a pistol pressed against my temple. A gang member had it trained right on me. I didn't have the luxury of surveying the room.
Combat reflexes, hammered into me through years of training, moved my body independent of conscious will.
In that moment, I was no different from a wound-up automaton. Like a rubber band snapping loose, my body exploded into motion to neutralize the threat.
Click!
The gang member squeezed the trigger. I wrenched my head aside.
Bang!
The gunshot roared, nearly splitting my eardrums. Without so much as a blink, I locked eyes with the shooter. La Vie en Rose had plenty of female members. The one before me was a woman too. But I had no trouble beating on women either.
Whoosh!
I seized the hand holding the gun and yanked it forward. The woman stumbled, her head dipping down.
Crack!
My fist rocketed upward, smashing into her jaw. The impact traveled clean from her chin to the crown of her skull.
Splat!
Her head literally burst apart. Her jaw caved under my fist, and the top of her skull split open like a tin can with its lid blown off. Pureed brain matter erupted from the cavity, spraying upward and splattering across the ceiling.
La Vie en Rose had meant to kill me on the spot. They must have written me off as an obstacle. The plan was likely to eliminate me first, then negotiate with Gabriel.
But I had no intention of dying. If they wanted me dead, I'd simply hit back harder. My body was already flowing into the next move.
Snatch!
I ripped the pistol from the headless corpse's grip. Now, finally, I had a split second to properly read the room.
Gabriel and I stood at the entrance. Beside me, the dead gang member was crumpling to the floor, and the eyepatch woman who'd led us in stood about five paces ahead.
Behind her waited seven gang members, guns already drawn.
"Nobody move. Twitch one finger, and I'll blow your head off," I warned. One of them ignored me and started to swing her gun toward me.
Bang!
My shot came faster. True to my word, I blew her head apart. That made two corpses in the room already.
The tension stretched to the snapping point. A bloodbath was one heartbeat away.
"...Stop. Who told you to disrespect our guests?"
The door to the inner chamber opened, and a voice drifted out. Incredibly beautiful—though whether it was natural or the product of vocal cord modification, I couldn't tell.
There was no doubt. That voice belonged to Martina Diva.