Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 12

I had to admit, making deals was not something I was good at. I was far less cutthroat than what was needed in Zaun and I couldn't quite gauge the value of what I was offering. For all I know, I was at the disadvantage despite having something to offer.

There was the fact that I was going to deal with someone closely associated and is in fact a relative of a Chem Baron. Chem Barons weren't just your typical CEO's, they were more akin to the Titans of the Gilded Age. They were the Rockefeller's, the Carnigie's, the Morgan's of Zaun and they were far more violent and more overt about it and the Vereza's were one of them.

Her eyes locked onto me as I spoke out, offering something she clearly wanted yet there was not a hint of any emotions in those cold blue eyes. "Go on, I'm listening"

Sweat dripped down my brow as I made my pitch. My hands trembling slightly as I put on my friendliest smile and the false bravado of a snake oil salesmans.

"Ma'am, how attached are you to the bee's currently infesting your greenhouse?"

"Are you suggesting that we kill them? Kill every last bee whose worth far exceeds your life?"

"I'm not exactly suggesting it but there's not exactly a way to stop them right now as you say. Our window to fertilize these flowers is closing fast and while it might be expensive to stun or possibly kill these bees…" I clasped my hands before pulling them apart to let her see the sparks arcing between my hands. "My process will far outstrip these natural pollinators. Ma'am, you are currently in a position that many would kill for. You have the chance to not only be the first to employ my method but outright corner an entire market. The Vereza's can have a monopoly on the Vanilla market with how much Vanilla I can guarantee you"

My heart was beating hard against my chest while my feet felt colder than ever before as I extended a hand towards her. "So what do you say ma'am? Do you trust me to show you the future?"

There was silence between us and only the buzz of the swarm of bees behind those doors was all I could hear.

"Mr Ark, if you were any less competent, I would chalked off your speech as nothing more than the rambling of a sump rat yet…

I feel that it is in the best interest of the House of Vereza to accept this offer. Name your price Mr Ark but be aware that the generosity of House Vereza can only go so far"

"Before I speak about my price, why don't we write this deal down Ma'am?"

The woman smirked as she replied "Are you insinuating that I would dare tarnish the honor of House Vereza?"

I raised my hands in an appeasing manner. "Oh no Ma'am, like the denizens of this district, I find the Vereza's to be the best among the Chem Barons but I'm just being a realist ma'am. I believe that it would be the height of foolishness to not define the parameter of my service. After all, how can I know that I'm under performing if all we had are vague words"

The woman narrowed her eyes a bit, daring me to stand with those words but I dared and stood my ground. I was not to be pushed around when I have the cards in my hands

After what felt like an eternity, she finally relented and nodded. "Very well then. Why don't we drop by one of the offices? Going to my office would take far too much time to go to"

I agreed and soon we'll find ourselves in one of the many offices of the Cultivair. The structure wasn't just a pleasure garden after all but an actual business. Each and every expense is recorded by the clerical workers employed by the Cultivair which made almost everything recorded on paper.

Once we were inside and Miss Carmen was drafting the contract, I made my demands. "First of all, I want the Veraza family to sponsor me in the upcoming scholarship program of the College if Techmaturgy"

"Reasonable"

I started my demands as high as I could. was an untested individual, an unknown who didn't even have an education background in this world. I was a risk that they would take, I-... Wait what

I slowly turned towards her, confused at the turn of events. "Aren't my demands high?"

"Oh not at all, it's perfectly reasonable actually and you do know what this entails right?" She asked as the scribbling of her fountain filled the room

This wasn't just a financial investment from a rich family, it was a two way street as the benefactor is obliged to serve the families interest. Who else was going to take them in after they graduated. It was akin to swearing fealty to a family and it also entails the consequence of reneging on this ancient tradition"

"Of course ma'am"

"Mhmmm, Is there anything else you'd like to ask for Mr Ark?"

I was tempted to ask for an apartment and allowance from this but I had another thing in mind already

"I want to keep my job here Ma'am."

"You do know that the College of Techmaturgy is a full time commitment"

"Yes but I could always work part time and I would like to earn my keep"

She smiled softly as she wrote it all down.

"I'd also like to do this alone ma'am"

This had her frowning slightly as she stopped writing. "Why is that Mr Ark?"

"I would just like to have an assurance ma'am." As much as the Veraza's were nice to their employees, I still keep my guard up. They were still Chem Barons.

Her brows scrunched up before she sighed as she nodded and continued working on the contract.

"Now we move on to collateral. So Mr Ark, what can you offer in case your idea fails. While the bees might not try and feed from every flowers as we would have intended while controlling them, they would have still pollinated some flowers

Your method might ruin an already ruined batch even further so we want something Mr Ark, something that would reassure us that we will have something of value in the off chance if things dont pan out. Trust but verify no?"

It was already hard to be on the receiving end of your own words but I don't have a choice on this matter. This was as close as I could get to getting an easy way out of this life and I'll hold on to it with my dear life.

"I offer myself in bondage and everything I have as I have nothing else to offer" This was my deal and only I will have to deal with the consequence

A quick contract and copy of the contract was drafted. I had to sign in triplicates and my New Piltie signature sure did stand out in a Zaunite document. That got me a raised eyebrow but for all intent and purpose, Piltovan was still an accepted language in Business.

With all that done, my work started. Electricity arced between my hands and soon it spread across my skin. My hair flowed like I was underwater as I covered myself in electricity. Doing this wasn't too hard as it was merely a full body exercise on making my magic flow.

"I know I'm letting you in without supervision please do try to hold back Ms Arc" The Woman said. What was it with these people? Can't they decide on my gender already? It was far too early for me to complain about this

I entered without much fanfare and was greeted by the biggest bees ever seen. It's one thing to see a bee that was as big as your thumb, it was another to have them fly at you. They're large bulbous eyes honed in on me as they flew right at me. I could see my reflection in those eyes as they hit my field.

Their black gossamer wings singed as the electricity dancing across my skin licked at them.They dropped like a fly against a fly swatter as I walked deeper into the Rainforest section.

There were some unconscious, I do hope they were unconscious, bodies here and there. From here, I could see that some of the workers had jumped into the river to try and lose their insectoid pursuers. It looks like I have some people to rescue

Shining brighter than even the strong chemtech lights inside the massive greenhouse, I've made myself quite the target for these bees. They swarmed towards me and for a brief second I thought they'd overwhelm my defense as my vision was blotted by the cloud of insects only for them to start dropping around me as they got too close. It took a while but soon enough I managed to stun the majority of them.

I'm not sure if they're still alive but I still had work to do. My nose wrinkled as the stench of burnt chitin seeped through my mask.

"It's ok now to go out!"

Soon, the workers that were hiding in the river came out as the smells spread throughout the greenhouse. I garnered some thanks from these workers as they went to gather the fallen bees and get out of the greenhouse after some prompting and prodding

I found myself a sturdy enough stick from one of the palm fronds and got to work. The Vanilla flower was weird. Why evolution made it so that it cannot self pollinate was beyond me. Just looking at it gave me a headache. The only thing stopping the stigma from meeting the anther was this membrane. I had to lift this membrane and then make the stigma meet the anther.

The first one was botched as I tore through the flower thanks to my shaking hands but I managed to calm down enough by the second one to start doing it properly. I kept going, pollinating more and more flowers. It felt like hours doing it alone but it was necessary. I didn't want to teach it to her and get screwed so did it alone

Finally, after what felt like a hundred flowers, I finally managed to pollinate them all. I destroyed my little tool before walking out. Miss Carmen greeted me as I walked out

"So I take that you're done"

"There was one mishap but all of them are fertilized ma'am"

"Understood. I take that you're tired. The workers lounge is open to your use then. There are some snacks there and some water. You'll find better use for it compared to my former employees"

"Thank you" I was sincere in my gratitude. While I love staying inside the Rainforest, it was far more tiring compared to the other sections due to the humidity.

As I walked away, Miss Carmen reminded me "Ms Ark, you do remember what's at stake right?"

"Of course."

And so I walked out of the room with the heavy spectre of my contract hanging above me. The weight of the possibility of failure clings to me. I know that it can work but there is always doubt in that little corner of my mind