Chương 28: Chapter 27 - The worst hostage taker

*The initial announcement of the Olympic Trials ended with more than a few dropouts amongst the top contenders. As the world looked on in suspicion at all the previous gold medalists. Ajani Bolt stepped up to take his sponsorship slot. - What do these athletes know about fighting monsters? We should be sticking with trained experts, not people that don't know the first thing about real combat. @Dubois (Verified, R9) - I got a title, [Olympian], moderate boost to physical capability and skills.

@AjaniBolt (Verified, R1) Chief enforcer Ami was having the worst day since she had received her promotion. Firstly, incompetent adventurers had let a blacklister with a bounty walk out of the Guild hall. Six to one. Then the Realmers watching the security feeds had lost the blacklister in what was the most surveilled city in the second sector. After they had mobilized and created a net, gunfire was reported off the main road, closer to the Guild than where they were searching.

Ami had arrived before any of her other enforcers and had to wait for their sniper to get in position. The other enforcers stood behind their trucks, making a perimeter, guns out, pointed at the shop. A voice crackled into her earpiece. It was a Realmer manning the security feeds.

"All the store's cams have been cut off. Recordings do show the blacklister tying old Jecharim after breaking his arm." Everyone knew Jecharim, that cranky old Realmer. Ami shook her head. This had to be the dumbest blacklister she had ever heard of. Who came to the most populated city in The Realm, with a thousand coin bounty on his head, just to go to a store that packed medieval gear? She changed the frequency on her comms.

"Sniper?"

"In position." A firm voice answered. That was good. Derrick had been a marine for four deployments before he'd become an adventurer. It meant that he had mental influence training. An idiotic second realm blacklister with a Rare fear skill wouldn't do much.

"Sight?"

"No, he's cautious. He's staying behind the shelves." Ami gritted her teeth. They didn't want to risk storming the store. Asshole or not, they couldn't let old Jecharim get caught in the crossfire. And frankly? She had zero confidence in beating the blacklister with zero casualties. Especially when we have no idea how the hell he disappeared from the feeds. An invisibility skill? A Rare skill or an equipment reward from a boss? Which one was it? Too many variables. A creeping, crawling sensation ran down her neck.

"Take the shot when you have it."

"Roger." Ami took a breath, then started shouting.

"Come out with your hands up! You are surrounded. There is no way out!" Her voice echoed in the streets. She was a [Warrior], she didn't need any speakerphones. A moment went by, then a figure started walking towards the door. No, two figures.

"Son of a bitch. Hold your fire!" She was yelling at her fellow enforcers, not at Derrick. The sniper responded.

"Have no angle. Will reposition." The blacklister stood in the doorway, but he wasn't alone. He stood there with old man Jecharim. The blacklister, holding an impressively crafted shield angled above both their heads, he stood with the old man held in front of him. The team killer was also holding a pistol to the poor old shopkeeper's head, finger on the trigger. Artigan smiled at her.

"I'm out with my hands up, officer, now what?" She'd never wanted to kill someone more than she did now. She could feel her heart beat in her chest. Was this the fear skill? She took a breath and centered herself.

"Let the Realmer go and come quietly. You're surrounded." Her words were weaker than they should've been. Goosebumps rippled across her arm. What the fuck? Artigan laughed, a condescending, arrogant laugh that pissed her off.

"Sorry, Chief Enforcer Ami. That was the third dumbest thing I've heard today. Call the old man's phone and we can continue to talk through that." The color on Ami's face washed away as her body shuddered involuntarily. He knew her name, this was planned. He wasn't an idiot. She took deep breaths and started counting down. Her heartbeat had rocketed, and she had to get it back. Calm, don't make mistakes. Get back in control. I've had training for this.

The fear effect went away as the [Rogue] went back into the shop and out of view. She found her calm, then promptly lost it as one of the enforcers by her side was shoved out of the way. She turned around to see a rotund man bully his way past one of her enforcers.

"Sir, you can't -""What are you doing, Chief Ami? Report the situation right now!" Ami closed her eyes and sighed. That was the mayor.

Five minutes later.

"I want that thousand realmcoin bounty sent into my account, and I want the keys to the truck you just drove in." Ami wanted to slam her fist into the hood of said truck. Rage replaced the creeping fear crawling back in her neck.

"Realmcoin transactions are done on a public ledger. That's a public bounty. Do you really think you could withdraw the money with both worlds watching?" The voice responding to her was taunting, petulant and churlish.

"Maybe I'll donate it to a children's charity. You know, steal from the dumb, give to the needy." A children's charity? Mayor Frelorn interjected before she could process the words. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"And you promise to let Jecharim go?" Ami gritted her teeth. This was not how you negotiated.

"I'll take him with me but yes, I'll let him go alive and safe for you to pick up when I'm away from city limits." Ami cut in before the mayor said anything more.

"We need sincerity from your end. Also taking that bounty and simply giving it to you would be a gross violation of Adventurer's Guild law. We don't have jurisdiction over them." The Adventurer's Guild was a creation of the Tyrants. Legally, they were their own separate entity with their own laws that operated outside of city law. She worked with them, not over them. Artigan didn't seem to care.

"Then bring them into the discussion. I'm happy to wait all day." This cocky asshole. The mayor took her phone and muted it. The mayor glared at his chief enforcer of the leveled zone.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you valuing money over a Realmer's life? That is my citizen's life!"

"Sir, we don't know if he'll do what he says he will. If you give in too easily, he might ask for more." There was a pause as they met eye to eye. Mayor Frelorn was many things. Passionate? Yes. Up for election again? Also yes. A fool? No. The Mayor nodded at her, and she calmed herself. Then unmuted.

"We still need some sincerity on your end. How do we know you're not going to turn around and ask for more?"

"The video." She paused.

"The what?"

"I let Garbolt's team go. I let the adventurers in the Guild go with a warning. I don't kill for no reason. I could have killed every adventurer in that Guild and gone on a rampage. I did not— that is my sincerity." The arrogant words were spoken with such arrogance that she almost believed him. She actually believed he could've taken out everyone in that Guild. Six to one. She felt the goosebumps again. Was the fear skill affecting her through the phone? Did Rare fear skills do that? Focus.

"You broke the shopkeeper's hand. He is a Realmer, a civilian."

"He shot at me first. I've used a healing potion on it already. Pretty sloppy of you not to notice." She hadn't expected that. In fact, she had completely forgotten to note the old man's injury at all. She'd been so focused on not letting the fear affect control her that she hadn't even paid attention to Jecharim's arm. Idiot.

"That still isn't sincerity. It was easier for you to let them live. All I'm hearing is a madman who came to steal money from the public by taking a Realmer hostage." Artigan just laughed again.

"If that's what you want to believe, then fine. Donate half the coin to any charity then the other half to my account. Clear the bounty and you can tell the people you negotiated to donate the money." Ami paused. Was this the plan? If so, it was a bold one. The bounty had started at five hundred coins from that Fourther's team. Then the donations had rolled in until it hit a thousand, more than a million usd. If they just gave the people's bounty away, then far fewer people would be likely to donate in the future.

It would lower the amount of teams gunning for his head. Smart, smart and dangerous. Still, the charity demand threw her off. Did he think he was some sort of children's story villain?

"No deal." She muted before the mayor could shout over her. He was red with anger, actual fury at her callousness.

"What are you doing?!"

"You can either trust me or take over." She said it while staring the mayor dead in the eyes. Mayor Frelorn hesitated. Artigan responded.

"Then it seems we're at an impasse." There was silence for a few seconds, then ten. Ami waited with bated breath for the other shoe to drop. It didn't. He had tried to let the adventurers go, didn't he?

Back in the shop. Ryan didn't understand where the conversation had gone wrong. He was sure he had them on the ropes. Now, the supposedly very sensible Chief Enforcer Ami was stonewalling him. The removal of his bounty was just a minor part of the plan. If the Witch Tyrant wasn't happy with a reduced bounty, then she herself would have to pay it. If she did so, then she'd have to do it privately or make it a public matter. It would be a minor headache for someone like her. He was still happy to do it.

"Hmphg." Jecharim glared from his position. The old man seriously fought him the entire way through. Ami finally responded over the phone.

"We can give you the truck and the keys, but we can't pledge any of the bounty to your account or a charity. The Adventurer's Guild said no."

"You didn't ask." Ryan winced. That sounded bad from his end. He was certain she hadn't had the time to negotiate with them, but he felt like a child saying, nuh-uh you didn't. Ami's response was cool and confident.

"I did. I have them in my ear. They said it's a no go." The chief's attitude had done a complete 180 from before. Ryan scratched his head then stopped himself as he saw Jecharim staring at him, head tilted, eyes furrowed. Ryan coughed, not wanting to look like an idiot. It was time to improvise. His voice went back to being more of a deeper villain.

"Is this how you value civilian lives, Chief Enforcer Ami?"

"We can do a hostage swap for old man Jecharim. I'll be worth a lot more than an old Realmer." He was incredulous.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Swap an old man for an adventurer, one that has both their lives?" A different voice cut in, it spoke over Ami and talked through.

"I'll do it!" The fuck? The guy that interrupted earlier?

"And who the hell are you?"

"I am Mayor Frelorn. I am a Realmer with no powers. I am worth more as a hostage. I will take Jecharim's place." Ami's voice interrupted the speaker. Clearly not at Ryan but at the speaker, this so called 'mayor Frelorn'. Ami hissed.

"What are you doing?" Ryan just had his mouth open, staring at the phone. His mind went blank. The Mayor? …Did they think he was actually that stupid? It was obviously a trick, probably a [Rogue] with a disguise skill, or maybe even a high tier artifact crafted by the Archmage Tyrant for this specific situation. He put some real anger into his voice.

"I am running out of patience with your tricks. No swaps. A thousand realmcoins, if you really are the mayor, then you should be able to pay it into my adventurer-issued account. End of story." Ami tried to control the situation, attempting to negotiate.

"Unfortunately -"" Don't lie to me. Have it done in ten minutes. Start your truck, open the door, and clear the streets all the way to the leveled evacuation gate. If this isn't done, I will step out, and you will see how many enforcers I can put down before I leave." He paused, then grinned.

"You still haven't figured out how I disappeared from the streets, have you?" Ryan hung up. That was better.

Back at the perimeter.

"Damnit!" Ami yelled. Then she glared at her boss.

"I had him!" The mayor wasn't even bothered, he put his nose in the air.

"Enough, you had nothing. I can afford a thousand coins." Ami didn't bother to argue, but now she was almost certain. It was a bastard treating The Realm like it was his playground. Unfortunately, he'd given his ultimatum, and she wasn't willing to risk all of this blowing up in her face. Artigan was more than capable of killing her people. His clothes were still covered in blood from the previous Trial. She took out her com.

"Derrick, in position?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Nobody else is to fire with the hostage around. Understand?"

"Yes Ma'am!" She didn't trust anyone else with that fear skill in effect. It must have been a decent Rare one. The Trial System did love to reward the crazies. Mayor Frelorn cleared his throat. Her heart sank as she wondered if the mayor was going to overrule her.

"Chief Ami?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Good luck." Ami blinked, then saluted.

"Thank you, sir, please get far away from the perimeter." She called the phone.

Sniper position, angle 30 degrees from the shop, one floor up across the street. Derrick expected Artigan to walk out slowly, gun in hand over the Realmer's head. He had angled himself so that he could shoot both the gun and the head of the blacklister at the same time. His skill at the ready. [Enhanced Aim] What he didn't expect was for the blacklister to burst out of the door and sprint into the street—with the old shopkeeper on his back.

Artigan laughed as he carried the old man like a turtle shield, draped over his own body. Derrick's finger trembled on the trigger.

Ryan sprinted into the truck with the old man on his back. He had tied the poor shopkeeper's hands around his neck, then swung him around before he sat down so Jecharim was on his lap. It wasn't the most dignified position, but since when had he cared about that? He put Avale's shield up so that it covered the front and ducked around and shifted constantly. He used a hand to block the first headbutt from Jecharim but didn't stop the old man from trying it again.

His [Dangersense] activated for the first time, he jerked his head back. It was a quiet ringing in his head. A tingle at the left side of his brain. Ryan shifted so that the shield would cover more of that area, and it died down. That had to have been the sniper. Nobody else dared to shoot, not with the old man on his lap. He grinned. He pressed down on the gas pedal. The truck lurched. He looked down and saw three pedals. Oh shit, it was a manual.

Back further from the perimeter:"Do you have aim?" Ami whispered hurriedly.

"I do, but I can't risk it. The fear skill's punching through. The hostage is… moving too much, and I think he knows where I am. The truck's erratic movement is not helping." By 'moving too much', Derrick had meant that old man Jecharim was constantly trying to headbutt Artigan while the blacklister was trying to figure out how to drive her vehicle.

"Manager's fucking abode." Ami bore witness to the escape of the worst hostage taker in history, ride away in her vehicle, in the middle of fucking Ulverra. She was so fired. Then she paused.

"Wait, what do you mean the fear skill's punching through?"