Chapter 85- Ascendants and SpaceZ
The man’s hand hung in the air once again. Leo neither shook his hand nor reached to take the cigarette from him.
Leaving David in awkward stance...
David simply stood there, watching Leo’s expression for a long while, the cigarette still held out in his extended hand with two fingers.
For a stretch of time both men studied each other’s faces in complete silence....
The early morning air on Penn Avenue felt heavy between them.
....
David covered his mouth with his free hand and coughed once to clear his throat.
"Ahm.."
"Name’s David. I work for Ascendant Holdings. Well... a subsidiary. You must know Paul. I’m Paul’s guy."
Leo still did not take the offered hand. He only shook his head, looking steadily at the man.
"I don’t smoke... and I know who Paul is."
David finally lowered his hand, though the carefree smile remained fixed on his face.
"I also quit smoking a year ago. But a morning like this calls for it." He took another puff as he spoke, then exhaled slowly toward the sky. "Look, Mr. Stone, I’m going to be straight with you. You should also know we’ve been watching you—this smithy—for a while. It’s on Paul’s order."
Leo nodded once.
"What you might not know is that Paul got reassigned. Or—reined in, depending on how you look at it. There’s a new chain of command upstairs. Bigger than him."
Leo said nothing. He simply stood there with a blank expression.
David flicked the cigarette onto the street and stamped it out with his shoe. "We admire your work. The weapons, the forging—it’s very impressive. Two world announcements and all. The company really would like to talk to you."
"Ohhh, is that why they issued a bounty on me, and all the ambushes? I nearly got killed by you guys." Leo’s voice carried a clear edge of frustration.
"But you didn’t. Moreover, you even managed to kill all of them except for one. That’s impressive for a blacksmith, if you ask me." David let the words sink in, then asked again, "So what do you think?"
"About what?" Leo asked.
"Joining us." David said it the way a man might offer a job. "Ascendant has resources. Real-world protection, in-game infrastructure, guild support. You’re one man in a smithy on Penn Avenue with a target on your back. You’ve got people camping your street at two in the morning. That’s not sustainable."
David state this as he looked at the SUV.
While David delivered the speech, Leo also surveyed the Sedan. There was only a driver inside. Then he eyed the SUV farther down the curb. It still showed no signs of movement.
Leo looked straight into David’s eyes. "I am not joining Ascendant. Why would I join a group who hunted me down?"
David’s smile twitched, but it still remained. "Hear me out..."
"I’ve heard enough."
Silence settled over them again.
...
David took out another stick, lit it, and took a drag. The cigarette’s glow reflected in his eyes. He sighed.
"Okay." David’s voice shifted.......just slightly.
The warmth drained out of it like heat from cooling steel. "Then... let me tell you straight another version."
He took a deep drag of the cigarette, dropped the half-finished stick onto the ground, and once more crushed it under his boots.
His voice serious and cold.
"We know your name, Mr. Stone. Leo Stone. And you were stupid enough to use the same name in the game, which made it even easier to track you down. We know where you live—the apartment near Penn Avenue, landlord named Hargrove. We know about this shop, the lease, the tools inside. We know you train at Rook’s Salle on Sixth Street, six in the morning, although you don’t usually show up there much."
Leo’s jaw tightened.
"We know about the girl. Cindy. Rook’s granddaughter. She runs the front desk."
The air between them went very still.
"We also know that you have a very... VERY good relationship with a blacksmith named Hugh from the Iron Havens." David’s voice was now cold. Flat. Without any of the friendliness from before.
No performance left anymore.
"So if you refuse now, next time there won’t be any handshake and cigarettes. It is a very easy matter for the corporation I work for to make somebody’s life miserable both inside and outside the game."
He continued without pause. "In-game we have top-ranked players. You should know one of them...Thane. You’ve heard of him?"
Leo had. Everyone who played Myth Online knew that name.
"Thane is a player with a legendary-rank class. He works for us. I mean not for me or Paul, but for the real company behind us. So if you really reject us, you might be meeting him soon in the game."
David leaned closer to Leo’s ear and whispered.
"And out here in the real world?" David’s chilling voice sounded. "You are just a blacksmith who seems to have ordered a gun. Do you even know how to pull a trigger? And you are learning fencing from the old man. Like for two days?"
He went on. "Let me tell you something. There are martial artists with superhuman strength in our world hidden from the common people. Families with ancient legacies of martial arts."
David continued with fanatic tone. "This might sound like a fairy tale but they really exist. They can stop a bullet with their body, jump across the mountain and destroy steel doors like paper scraps"
"Ascendant is backed by such families also. So you might want to stay in the game forever. At least you won’t die for real there."
Leo clenched his fists. "Are you threatening me?"
"I am just describing what happens if you say no." David straightened. "I really hope you say yes. Otherwise I will also be demoted like Paul after failing this mission."
Leo listened and answered evenly. "That’s literally a threat."
David shrugged. "Depends on your perspective."
Leo looked at the sedan. Looked at the SUV. Looked at David.
"I’ll think about it."
David shook his head. "That’s not good enough of an answer now, Is it?"
"I don’t care what is good enough for you." Leo replied sharply. Anger lacing his voice.
David’s expression narrowed.
"People beside you might get hurt. We know you are alone right now, but nobody is actually alone. Your house owner. That old lady neighbor of yours. That old man from the salle."
Leo’s anger surged further.
Every word made the veins in his forehead bulge harder.
He could no longer hold it in.
He caught David by the shirt collar and lifted him into the air, David’s feet dangling a full two feet above the ground.
Then he pushed and slammed David’s back against the sedan so hard that David shouted in pain and the SUV’s door dented a little under the force.
David grunted in pain even as an evil smile spread across his face. He took out his phone to call someone.
But right at that moment, the SUV which had stood motionless until now showed signs of movement.
The door opened.
The driver got out of his seat, quickly moved to the rear, and gracefully opened the back door with clear respect.
A long leg in a high heel poked out of the door. Soon the whole thigh became visible.
A girl in a short skirt and a coat stepped out of the car. She wore sunglasses. She walked toward them, her hips swaying left to right in measured steps.
A second figure stepped out behind her—a broad-shouldered and tall man who followed right in her footsteps.
The woman stopped three meters before them. She took off her sunglasses.
"David." Her voice was clipped. Professional.
David had guessed the SUV belonged to them, but his bad premonition had truly turned out correct.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue.
He looked at her, then at the SUV, then at the man behind her. "Fiona. This is a private conversation. You should not be butting in."
"Is it really?" She gave a teasing laugh as she flicked her white hair back and turned to Leo. "Mr. Stone. My name is Fiona Hargrave. I represent Ms. Mosk."
Leo blinked. "Mosk?"
"Elona Mosk. CEO of SpaceZ and Nexus AI. She’d like to speak with you. If you’re willing."
David stepped forward. "He’s in the middle of...."
"He’s in the middle of being coerced? Or threatened by a subsidiary of a shell company that can’t even get its own contractor to follow through?" Hargrave did not look at David. "Ms. Mosk has authorized a direct invitation. No bounty. No ambushes. No threats."
David’s face went pale at her last words.
Leo looked at Hargrave, then at the SUV, then back at David. Seeing David’s expression, he decided to go ahead and meet with this rich woman who had publicly invited him.
Leo asked, "Where is she?"
"SpaceZ headquarters. Texas. We have a car waiting at the private airfield."
"Airfield?"
"Yes. A plane is also waiting for us."
"Ms. Mosk doesn’t do things halfway."
Leo looked back at David. The man stood there, coat hanging, crushed cigarette underfoot, face blank.
David looked at Leo for a long moment. Then he turned, walked to the sedan, opened the door, and got in.
The sedan started, reversed slowly, and drove away without looking back.
Leo watched it go.
Then he pulled out his phone and texted Cindy:
On my way somewhere safe. Don’t worry. Tell Master Rook I’ll explain later.
Leo followed Fiona and got into the car. The vehicle drove away slowly, leaving Penn Avenue behind.