38. Nightfall
“Do you know what this old man's greatest strength is?”
Enoch flinched, tensing up. He had no idea how to answer when an elder asked a question like that. But one thing was clear: a wrong answer here could earn him pointless resentment.
“You have such a fine build...”
“Haha! A fine build? Don't be ridiculous, boy. This old man wasn't testing you. I was just letting you know in advance.”
With that, Salvador pulled a thick, heavy-looking envelope from his pocket and set it on the table.
“This old man doesn't delay settlements.”
Another one landed on top. Enoch's eyes widened.
“When you finish a job and come back, I pay the settlement without fail. Whether you carried out the client's wishes to the letter or smashed everything to hell in a way they didn't expect—I don't quibble or haggle. I just hand over the fee.”
Thud—another one.
Enoch gaped at Salvador.
“It's money going out anyway. If you've completed the job, it's owed even if the world splits in two. So I put it in your hands first, then say what I have to say.”
Thud, thud, thud—nine envelopes in total.
Only then did Enoch realize what they were. Nine matched the number of mobile unit survivors. Each must contain ten million credits—the price on their heads.
'Ninety million credits... plus this job's pay makes a hundred million...'
Enoch's hands shook. A hundred million was what he'd earn working nonstop for ten years—without spending a dime.
Honestly, he'd thought he wouldn't see the money he'd squeezed from the mobile unit guys. At best, a fraction. But here it was, the full amount—for catching just one chimera?
'Just one... well, not exactly.'
Without Soo, he never would've caught it. Back then, adrenaline had him in a haze, but looking back, that thing's regeneration was insane. Alone, Enoch would've lost.
“The gear you stripped from them? Laundered clean with the proceeds. Spend it easy. And this is your pay for this job.”
Thud—a new envelope. Different material from the others: blue leather stamped with Salvador's seal.
“Killing a corporate exec, and the pay's peanuts. Don't you wonder why?”
“Because it was just blowing up a hovercar.”
Soo answered casually. For offing a megacorp exec, the pay was laughably low. But the job was simple too. Viktor Kral's route was mapped out in detail, accurate to under five seconds. Figuring out a megacorp exec's movements was the real challenge—even other execs in the same corp couldn't do it.
So, no real work. Just blow the hovercar and run. Any seasoned merc could've handled it, Enoch and Soo aside. If they hadn't named the target inside, they could've grabbed any merc off the street.
“Yeah, that's why I asked—if you had gripes.”
Salvador chuckled, glancing at Enoch. That look alone said there were no complaints.
“Now to the point. With this money on the table, even if you get chewed out, it won't sting as much. Right?”
“...Frankly, yes.”
Soo's face was her usual blank, but Enoch felt like he could take a slap and grin.
“Good. But from here on, this isn't connector-to-merc talk. It's man to man. No matter what you say, it won't end our professional ties. Got it?”
Salvador leaned back, eyeing Enoch's hardened expression. He turned slowly to Soo, still looking drowsy.
“First question, Enoch.”
“Yes.”
“Why bring this one back alive?”
Salvador thumped the trunk.
“I know you have your lines you don't cross. And this guy's way over it—a total monster. Killing him would've been fine. But you didn't.”
Rescuing the kid? Understandable—human decency. But Viktor Kral? No excuse there. Salvador needed clarity: Were they soft and couldn't kill, or playing a bigger game?
Mercs often dressed up bullshit heroics, but Salvador had seen it all. He could spot a greenhorn's lies from a mile away—two years short of that, even.
“Any special reason?”
“I didn't want to become a corp puppet.”
Enoch answered without hesitation. Shaking over money moments ago, now he spoke with the same firm resolve as Soo. No need to scrutinize—pure truth.
“Sure, taking corp money this time is the same, but if I have to swallow it, I don't want to choke it down quietly.”
“So you spared him because the corps deserved a black eye?”
“...Yes.”
He hadn't said “black eye,” but yeah—that summed up Enoch and Soo's feelings. The corps' bullshit pissed them off enough to do it. Not wrong.
“Hm.”
Salvador's steady gaze shifted to Soo.
“Did you suggest keeping him alive first?”
“Yup.”
“Didn't think it was too risky?”
“I was confident.”
On the Westtown bridge, Soo hadn't touched the mobile unit. Salvador had watched the scene—he knew. Someone like her could've wiped them in seconds. But she didn't. Because Talos stepped in. She didn't fight lost causes.
“I see.”
From Soo's actions so far, Salvador had gleaned her nature.
“This old man misjudged you two.”
With that, he swept the nine envelopes off the table. Only the job pay remained.
Enoch stared in shock. Just asking before, you said? Then why take the money back...?
It was Salvador's to take, sure, but giving then yanking it felt harsh...
“You're a more thorough, calculating duo than I thought.”
“...What?”
Enoch, lost in thought, blurted dumbly. Thorough and calculating? Sure, maybe him, but Soo was the opposite.
“Tch, sly foxes. Scheming at your age—what'll you be like when you're this old man's age?”
“I don't age. Stuck like this forever.”
“This old man was like you once. Thought youth lasted eternal.”
Salvador clucked his tongue and stood. Enoch's face fell further, shoulders slumping.
Seeing it, Salvador burst out laughing.
“That face... guess the sly one's just you, Soo.”
“I'm not a snake. Enoch's the lame nerd, that's why.”
“I'm... not a lame nerd either. Earlier...! I jumped up 'cause I thought you might cause trouble.”
“No way I'd cause trouble already.”
“Already? You mean you sniffed out Lena... er, Director Lü Chen's identity?”
“Who knows.”
Soo grinned and stood. Enoch, giving up on reading her, rose too—tucking the job envelope into his pocket like treasure.
“Not gonna ask?”
“I figure you have your reasons, sir.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Salvador set cash on the bill, then pulled a blue card from his pocket.
“Planning to find an office in Westtown, right?”
“Yup, somewhere with a shower.”
“Yes.”
“Figured. You two seem homeless. True?”
Enoch shook his head firmly.
“I have a place.”
“Enoch, that ain't a home.”
Soo rarely frowned. Not very threatening, but showing emotion at all surprised Salvador.
“Ha, no need to say how bad it is—I get it. So this old man prepared something.”
“...Pardon?”
Salvador pressed the card and an address note into Enoch's hand.
“I gave them a heads-up. Go straight there—no detours. Won't get scammed. Show this card first when paying. Even if you use your own money, seeing mine keeps the small-time crooks honest.”
“Th-thank you...”
“How many credits?”
Soo asked what Enoch couldn't. They synced perfectly in moments like this.
“Nine mil from the mobile unit scum. Special bonus: five mil. Total, 140 million credits. Bonus ain't done—more based on results. Keep that in mind.”
“Sp-special bonus... huge...”
Enoch wobbled, legs buckling. Sparing Viktor alone netted five times the base pay. Sure, Lü Chen's director made it valuable, but this was touching. And more to come.
His pockets heavier, his head bowed lower.
“Thank you, sir...”
“Don't bow like that, merc. You earned it fair. This old man paid fair.”
No boasting, Salvador grabbed the trunk with Viktor and headed out.
“I'll call soon. See you then. Soo, answers to your questions—I'll send 'em.”
“Take care.”
“Yeah, thanks. Bye.”
They stood until Salvador vanished. Didn't take long—mercs and connectors parted like the sea for him. Everyone in Nightfall knew Salvador. Him, or the mercs with him.
Spotlight shifted to Soo and Enoch: the young mercs dining with the legend.
All the sunset glow focused on them. Nightfall's lights lit just for them.
Skin prickled under countless stares—but it wasn't unpleasant. Even the envy and jealousy tasted sweet right now.
“Let's go.”
Enoch's lips twitched; he offered a fist.
“Yup, let's.”
Soo smiled brightly, bumping it, and stepped into the dazzling sunset.
*****
Through the sunset, under Eden's night sky...
They wouldn't emerge.
Their job ran into the night; cleanup and dinner with Salvador totaled under twelve hours. Leaving Nightfall, it was early dawn.
No matter. Tense all day, bodies ached, stomachs growled. Crash and sleep like the dead? Easy.
But the world said no.
“...Soo.”
“Yup?”
“We parked nearby, right?”
“Yup.”
They'd stashed the trunk's contents in high-end private storage, parked lightened nearby.
“...No tow notice, so...”
“Oh...”
Enoch's junker was stolen.