Black Market Merchant

"W-what's going on? I was in the river and then…" Zane trailed off trying to recall the incident with little luck.

"Some sailors fished you out of the river, brought you to shore and then I took you in after they dumped you on me. I got you all patched you up too. Now you owe me." Lisa replied seeing Zane struggle to sit up.

"I don't even know you. I am Zane, by the way." Zane replied with a grunt as he gave up on trying to sit up. He then tentatively touched at his side and felt the large bandages. He winced realizing how big the injury was.

"Call me Lisa. The least you could do is say thank you." Lisa said turning to pick up Zane's Tiger Claws from a nearby table. "I was going to return these, but seems you are going to have to earn them back. I deem respect to be particularly important and right now you are lacking."

"Hey, you can't take those!" Zane said trying to get up again, but the pain was still too much.

Lisa sighed stepping forward and pushed back Zane's head back onto the mattress with her foot. "I can. I have. Now earn them back. You owe me your life now, and if you want them, you got to follow me."

"As soon as I get better, you'll regret stealing from me." Zane continued with a bitter tone. He wiped angrily at his forehead where her foot touched him. "I am a lieutenant for the Black Rats and you best listen to me!"

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how cute. You are in a gang. The only gangsters I have met are the Mad Dogs. You are in their territory now and I may not know how you gangs treat trespassing, but I wouldn't flout your relationship with the Black Rats so much right now. I could turn you in, but that has no benefits for me."

Zane realized his error and immediately shut up. He merely glared at Lisa. He knew she could very well turn him in to his rivals, but why it seemed like she didn't intend to, he didn't know. This tall woman didn't seem the least bit concerned that he was a gang member, and that was something to stay aware of.

"I have work to do, so I am going to leave now." Lisa continued. "There's no need for you to try and escape. Heal up for a few days before you try doing something dumb like that. I'll lock the door just to be sure. We can discuss my terms at a later date."

Lisa turned to leave to room, taking Zane's weapons with her. He helplessly watched her go. Lisa closed the door softly and the sound of the lock could be heard. There was a large glass window that Zane could see Lisa walk by to the next room. Then silence.

Looking around, Zane studied his surroundings. He was laying on an old mattress, which didn't have any covers or sheets. Sitting next to him was his shirt, shoes, and jacket. Reaching over to them he felt that they were still cold and damp from the river, especially the shoes. The room appeared to be some kind of office room, and there was a single desk and a box of papers in a corner. The rest of the decaying room was totally empty. There wasn’t anything that clued him in on where he might be.

"I guess I might as well rest." Zane thought to himself, while feeling the aches and pains all over himself. "As long as that monster Dilly doesn't know where I am or the ERM, I can recover here. I hope everyone else escaped. That whole battle was a nightmare!" Zane thoughts wandered, thinking about the terrors he witnessed during the fight. Soon he began to tire and drifted back to sleep.

Meanwhile Lisa had been keeping an eye on him from a hole in the wall behind him. Seeing that he had fallen asleep she decided that it would be fine to leave him alone for now. Sadie had been on the other side of the room rearranging the area for them to stay in. They had moved everything out of the boss’s office that they needed and put Zane in there, to keep him secure.

"There, all done." Sadie announced patting her hand on her pants to dust them off. "Now we don't have to sleep so uncomfortably. There’s also more room to move around in here."

"Looks good." Lisa replied leaving her post. The hole in the wall was next to one of the couches that they had removed from the boss’s office. "Now that he's dealt with for the moment, I want to take a look at the next generator."

"You're going back there again." Sadie replied sounding somewhat disappointed.

"I know it's not really your thing, but I need to work on the dam as often as I can." Lisa said giving the little woman a smile.

"It's not really that, it's just you’re my Match Fighter and I need to ensure that you are training properly. I can't have you going into every fight inadequately prepared." Sadie replied following Lisa as they both headed out of the door.

"I see what you mean." Lisa replied as they walked down the metal stairs. "I will start doing something related to training. Once you are satisfied with my workout, I want you to get another fight setup for me as soon as possible. It won't matter who."

Sadie felt happy hearing this. It was turning out that Lisa was rather easy to work with. "That's fine with me. I'll be sure to pick someone similar to the last Fighter. Easy wins are definitely preferred. Though with your skills, I am sure you will rank up quickly."

…

That night Zane woke up again. When he opened his eyes there was hardly any light. Feeling around in the dark his chilly hand found his shirt and jacket. They felt mostly dry now, despite how cold they were. Since he couldn't put them on due to his injuries, he simply spread them across the top of his chest.

"So cold." Zane murmured starting to shiver. He tucked the edges of his jacket under him best he could. For how many hours Zane laid there in the cold, he didn't know. The thoughts of the battle and comrades’ deaths returned again to haunt him, making it even harder to pass the time. It seemed an eternity of silence had gone by before he saw the faint rays of light brightening the room.

The room was still quite dark when he heard the soft thumping of footsteps coming from outside the room. A tall dark figure passed by the window and then opened the door to his room.

"You awake?" A soft female voice whispered.

"I am." Zane replied with a normal tone, though his teeth chattered slightly.

"Good. I bet you need to use the bathroom and eat. Get ready to move." The woman continued to speak in low tones. “With how cold it was last night its best that we get you warmed up. Otherwise, you are going to get sick from your injuries.”

From the way she was speaking he assumed that other people might still be nearby. She then came up closer to him and knelt closer to him. Now he could see in the dim light that it was Lisa.

"Alright let’s get your shirt back on. It’s already very windy outside. Definitely too chilly to be topless." Lisa said. "Try to sit up slowly. Don't want to tear the stitches."

Lisa put a hand behind his head and grasped his right hand tightly. When she started to lift him up, Zane grunted in pain. He hadn’t had any pain medication and his sides burned as if on fire. However, Lisa didn't let up, she steadily lifted him until he was sitting upright. Next, she handed him his shirt and he gently lifted his arms up to put it on. Then he started to put on the jacket, but it put too much pressure on the bandages wound. So, he left it off and draped it across his shoulders.

"Alright, now let's get you on your feet." Lisa said softly.

Lisa stood directly behind him. At first Zane didn't understand what she intended to do. Then he felt her hands grab him under each armpit. He started to protest, but she abruptly lifted him up, almost effortlessly, onto his feet. He turned to look at her with a hint of surprise. She had lifted him up as easily as a stuffed toy!

"Alright, follow me now. Don't slip on the stairs." Lisa said ignoring his expression and started heading out of the room. She turned to look back at Zane expectantly.

"Come on." Lisa said waving him on.

Zane was still barefoot, but just from touching one shoe he knew that putting them on was a waste of time. Slowly, while holding his side with one hand and the other holding his jacket together, Zane followed Lisa out of the room and into the Powerhouse area. Even inside the building the wind was already stirring. It was going to be a chilly day for sure.

Lisa led him to an area where some bushes were growing near the maintenance building so he could go to the bathroom. Lisa knew he couldn't escape from there with his condition, unless he tried sneaking past her way, so she started to light the fire pit.

The sun was just hovering over the horizon, shining its warm light to the cold lands below. The wind shook the tall grass and trees stiffly. Lisa shivered slightly and soon got the fire going. There was still some of the dinner that Lisa and Sadie had made from the rabbit that was leftover in the pot and she put it back over the flames. Since Zane needed to heal, Lisa decided to let him have it.

When Zane came back out of the bushes Lisa motioned for him to join her. He slowly walked over to stand by the fire and try to warm up. As the soup and his toes started to warm up Zane decided to speak to his captor.

"So why are you taking care of me? Why would you help a stranger?" Zane asked looking down at the tall lady tending to the flames.

"Why would I help a stranger? A fair question." Lisa replied giving a nod. "Most people would say that it's the right thing to do, the human thing to do. As for me, I did it to try and benefit myself. I was going to make the sailors pay me to care for you. I need things that only they might be able to provide for me." Then she sighed and stirred the pots contents slowly, breaking up the thawing soup. "But they left before I could exploit them. So, I improvised. You will work for me, in exchange for stitching you up, feeding and housing you."

Saying this Lisa stood up and looked Zane right in the eyes. He gulped visibly and couldn’t turn away from her cold gaze. Then speaking a rough cold sounding tone, she continued, "Do I make myself clear? You are no longer a gangster. You are my employee."

Zane was slightly surprised and vaguely intimidated from the tone she spoke in. The look in Lisa's grey eyes told him that this was no ordinary woman. Lurking within those grey pools he could tell that she had likely seen things he has never even comprehended. Everything from the way she spoke to the way she moved, told him that now was not the time to disagree or argue. She just had that natural leader feeling about her.

Besides, he was curious as to what she meant by ‘employee’. That and her intentions to exploit the sailors made it sound like she had some interesting plans. His instincts told him that his life could end up being different if he went along with her for the time being.

Zane’s only choice was to go along with her orders, for now. Nodding he agreed.