Capítulo 131: 129: A Company of Fools: Operation of Pride II
<Okay, everyone, just be calm, cool, collected, and act like you own the world.> I said as the driver opened the passenger door.
<Got it boss…> Sin said. Nate and Jade both nodded.
I stood and stepped out of the carriage first. I took a long sweeping glance at the line of people waiting warehouse door and chuffed, then took a few steps forward so the rest could exit the carriage as well.
<Sinner, am I right to assume that the guards at the door probably have orders to let Caldifax and company in ahead of the line?> I asked Sin as I glanced over at the front entrance.
Yeah, Draco is going to want as much cash flowing into this place as possible. Rich guys like Caldifax are this places bread and butter.> Sin said.
He stepped out of the carriage next after me, followed by Nate and Jane. The driver closed the carriage after Nate and Jade stepped out, then turned to face me.
"Anything else you need, sir?" The driver asked.
"No, you can return to our hotel for the time being, comeback in a few hours." I said, waving him off and trying to sound as pompous as possible. The driver nodded briskly.
"Yes sir…" The driver said, then turned and got back into the carriage before getting closed the door, he looked to me and added. "…be careful, sir."
With that, he shut the door and spurred the steed to drive off. I turned and started towards the front door of the warehouse, ignoring the line of would-be patrons and walking right up to the guards at the front of the door.
"Simon Caldifax, I'm sure you're waiting for me." I said, using my best Damon impersonation. The red dragons looked at each other with equal parts, disbelief and annoyance. Given their job at the fight club, they probably heard a lot
"Simon Caldifax…" The red dragon bouncer to the right said as he scratched his his head.
"Wait, that sounds familiar…" The bouncer on the left said.
"HEY YOU PANSY SHIT! THERE'S A LINE!" A woman yelled from the line. Still channeling my inner Damon, I looked over my shoulder at the woman, looked her up and down, and then huffed.
"My dear, lines are for the penniless and unconnected. Now kindly mind your own business." I said coldly, then looked back to the bouncer.
"Mind. My. Own. BUSINESS!" The woman roared then stomped towards me. "I'VE BEN WAITING FOR HOURS IN LINE! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I'M LETTING AN ENTITLED SHIT JUMP IN FRONT OF ME!"
[Alpa'nagia, come out but don't speak. Seem like a normal evo.] I told him.
[Yessssss Ssssstar Ssssshaper.] Alpa'nagia replied. I held my hand up, and Alpa'nagia's crystalline structure formed over my crystal and shot a short distance behind me.
Alpa'nagia burst from the structure and stood to his full height, letting out a ferocious roar that made everyone cover their ears but me. His eyes swept the crowd and locked onto the woman who had halted her advance to me and stumbled back a few feet out of fear.
"W-W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" The woman cried out in fear.
"This, my dear, is the difference between the trash and gilded treasure." I said absently, then turned my attention back to the bouncers. They were both on edge. Their farm crystals glowed menacingly as they eyed Alpa'nagia. "Don't worry about him. He's harmless…as long as I'm not irritated. Now! Caldifax, you're expecting me!"
The bouncer on the left's eyes suddenly widened as recognition hit. He smacked the bouncer to the right on the arm and then bowed slightly.
"Terribly sorry, Sir Caldifax. We were indeed notified of your impending arrival. However, we did not expect you so…soon." The bouncer said. The feigned respect in his voice as well as the sudden refinement of his speech didn't escape my notice. "However, I should ask you to please keep your evo restrained in its crystal for the duration of your stay…unless you are planning to participate in the fights?"
"You'd think I'd bring my trump card with me if I wasn't expecting to compete?" I glanced over my shoulder at Alpa'nagia, who on cue hissed angrily at the woman who came at me, then retreated to my flank and coiled his tail protectively around my waist.
"I see. You also have your daughters and son-in-law with you, too. If you put your evo away, we'll let you in at once." The one the left said.
I sighed heavily like I was being majorly inconvenienced and then held my hand up. Alpa'nagia returned to my crystal without a word from me, and I looked at the man expectantly. He turned to his partner, and the two opened the doors without hesitation.
"Enjoy your stay, Sir Caldifax." They both said.
"Mmmm, quite." I said dismissively, then proceeded to walk inside. Sin' Nate and Jade all followed close behind.
<That guy's a knight?> Jade asked.
<Apparently.> I said.
The entrance to the building led to a short staircase that opened up into a massive room that spanned the entire warehouse. Towards the entrance was a massive lounge/bar area.
The space was lavishly decorated with expensive and gaudy furniture. The bar area was packed full of patrons in various stages of drunkenness, while bartenders and waitresses plied them with alcohol and urged them to head to the battling area.
Past the lounge area was the medium-sized booth that had a dozen or so employees bustling behind the booth, taking bets and maintaining the huge board that sat behind them. The boards had several dozen names and figures attached to each name. It's where they took bets and signed up to be in the fights. Beyond that booth were six large circular arenas with coliseum style stands above them. While I couldn't see what was going on inside the arenas but the loud roaring and yelling from the stands told me that there were plenty of fights already going on.
<Where do you want us?> Nate asked as
we came to a stop by the bar.
<Nate and Jade, I wonder around the lounge area and snoop if you can. Try spreading some rumors about Sin and I. But remember, Jade, Sin is supposed to be your sister.> I instructed.
<Got it.> Jade and Nate said in the link.
"We're going over here to have a drink, Daddy. You have fun." Jade said with a wave, and then her and Nate walked off. I looked over to Sin and smirked.
"Well dear, shall we?" I said, motioning to the betting booth. Sin curled his lip up at me, then crossed his arms.
"Don't be cringy." Sin grumbled as he walked past me.
<You're a grown man in a dress, and I'm the cringy one.> I chuckled telepathically.
<FUCK OFF!> Sin snarled. I snickered internally and followed after Sin as he made his way to the betting booth.
I couldn't help but notice that Sin didn't really have much trouble moving around in the young woman's heels. I glanced down at my right hand and looked at my crystal. The spell that I used didn't make it disappear. Instead, it changed its look from a star farm crystal to a circular farm crystal. The spell had done the same for Jade's crystal and made a mock crystal appear on Nate's adams apple.
As we moved, I clocked almost every member of security for the red dragons looked in our direction, if only for a moment. Thanks to Bone-lasher, I had a visual on every member of the red dragons inside the warehouse. I counted at least forty members of the security team wandering around the spacious lounge area alone. At least fifty of them were in the arena areas.
As we approached the booth, a red dragon in an expensive tailored suit saw us and ran out from behind the booth to greet us.
"Sir Caldifax! Lady Sybil." The man said, flashing one of the fakest smiles I had ever seen. Sin looked the man up and down and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Vaudwell…" Sin said with a hint of distain.
<Guy's a two face piece of shit.>
<Pot meet kettle.> I said telepathically. The Vaudwell guy simply chuckled at Sin's cold greeting and flashed her another giant toothy smile.
"Lady Sybil, one of these days you're going to warm up to me." He said.
"Don't count on it?" Sin replied with a huff and looked away. Vaudwell turned his attention away from Sin and to me. He slithered over to my side and flashed that smile again.
"Sir Caldifax, how wonderful to see you again. Are you here to place some more bets?" Vaudwell asked. He placed his hand lightly one my back and herded me over to the betting booth. He shooed a small group out of the way, then rushed behind the long table of the booth and smiled happily at me. "There are plenty of great fighters, and they are even doing a special tournament tonight. The king of the hill, the rules are simple. Combatants will battle to be the top fighters in each of the arenas. You can place a bet on how long a person will remain the king."
<It's a rigged tournament. They place their own people inside the tournament to act as strong kings to make people bet on them only to have them lose when they set the odds at their highest.> Sin told me.
<Gotcha…>
I looked up at the board and saw multiple names with odds next to them. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash that I had pulled from my stash while I was changing. I placed the cash on the booth and smiled.
"Fifty thousand!" I proclaimed. Vaudwell looked like he had just hit the jackpot. He quickly took the fifty thousand and smiled greedily.
"And who are you placing your money on?" He asked.
"Myself. I bet twenty-five thousand that I become the king of the hill and another twenty-five thousand that I remain the king of the hill for ten rounds." I said
Vaudwell froze them and looked at me with a shocked expression. Actually, everyone did behind the booth.
'I feel like that wouldn't be something that Caldifax would do…' I thought. Vaudwell cleared his throat loudly, and every one of the clerks went back to their work.
"You mean you plan to enter the tournament?" Vaudwell asked.
"Yes. My daughter wishes to participate as well, isn't that right, sweetie?" I asked, then looked over my shoulder at Sin. Sin snarled at me and looked away.
"Don't call me that!" Sin snarled. I simply smiled and chuckled heartily.
"Such a lovely girl." I said, then pulled another wad of cash and placed it on the booth. "I place the same bet on my lovely daughter."
"I see…very well! I'll just take your bet right now and then get you set up in the tournament." Vaudwell said. He quickly spun around and put a string around my money with a tag at the end of each string, then put it into a pot that was marked 'Next round'.
Vaudwell then rushed around the booth and started leading Sin and I towards the fighting arenas. As we walked, I noticed that all the red dragon security we passed looked surprised to see us head to the arena.
"Since it is your first time, let me explain the rules of the arena. In order to become the king of the hill, you have to defeat all of the current king of the hill's evos in combat. A splicer is not allowed to enter the arena but observe the fight and give instruction from the platforms on the north and south sides of each arena. While there are no restrictions on how an evo can attack, you will be disqualified if you interfere in the fight either using mana to try and control your opponents evo or using spells. I'm currently taking you two to the waiting room for the tournament. When it's your turn, one of our employees will come get you." Vaudwell said.
<You know this is a trap. You just bet a lot of money on yourself and me. They'll give us an easy win for the first gunfight, then give us huge odds and send experienced fighters to take us on.> Sin said.
<Duh! Why do you think I placed such a big bet for both of us? We're not seen a actual fighters. They think we don't know how to fight, so we'll easily get into a place where we can make big money by winning. And by staying in that position for as long as possible, Jade and Nate can start sowing descent.> I replied and had to fight back a devious smile. <These red geckos won't know what hit 'em, the house only wins if the players play by the house's rules…>
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Hutexa_The_Djinn
Hutexa_The_Djinn Evo Fact: The Orcana was created by a Aztecan splicer at the beginning of World War 3. Meant to be a navel attack evo that sought out and attacked enemy Warlords in an effort to kill them. Oriana prefer to attack in large pods to take down Warlords however they are capable of taking them down by themselves. The Jabba kork was made as a counter measure to the Orcana and they avoid them if at all possible as they lack any way to kill them without death or serious injury.
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