Black Market Merchant

"Alright, that is it! It is time to end this once and for all!"

"Calm down Terry." Dianna griped. “There is no need to bang on the table like that.”

Terry slapped his palm onto the rotting wood table again loudly in defiance. “You are not going to boss me around. It has not been decided who the new Black Rat boss is, if there is to even be one.”

“What do you mean by that?” Dianna asked while absentmindedly chewing on gum.

Terry and Dianna were the only remaining two lieutenants to have survived the disastrous battle with the East River Militia. Currently they were sitting at a table in the main room of the safe house now turned base they had built up. Around the table, leaning on the walls, sitting on the floor or in a few remaining seats were only thirty Black Rats.

“Look around us.” Terry snorted gesturing to the room. “Three more of us left last night. Do you really think we can keep the rest here? Our food will run out in a week, we can’t leave the base without attracting attention, and the ERM are still looking for us. I say we cut our losses and leave. The Black Rat gang is over.”

There was a dissatisfied murmur of agreement and mixed distain that came from the gangsters. It wasn’t something they wanted to here, but the truth was obvious to them as well.

“Leave?” Dianna repeated sitting up in her chair. “Where do you think we can go? Moab City? We wouldn’t last long with the police enforcers always checking IDs or those actual syndicates would probably sniff us out first.”

“No, Moab is out of the question. I say we join the Mad Dogs.” Terry answered.

“You’re joking, right?” Dianna said with a laugh. “You of all people I would have expected to try fighting the ERM and the Mad Dogs before blabbing about joining them. Did you lose your spine out there in the streets?”

“Ha!” Terry laughed mockingly before pointing accusingly at Dianna as he spoke, “Don’t lecture me about being spineless. If I recall you were the first to flee.”

“Only because Gillian ordered us too and its not like you could have done any better against those Mechs.” Dianna retorted seemingly unbothered by his remarks.

“At least I fought back alongside Garret and covered our guy’s retreat.” Then Terry’s voice grew softer. “You didn’t even see how he died. How that Mechs foot splattered him across the road and walls, like spilled spaghetti. He wasn’t the greatest guy, but to go out like that was just messed up.”

“True, but I did see.” Dianna said calmly.

Terry looked across the table and squinted skeptically at her. “What do you mean?”

“I saw how Garret really died.” Dianna answered. She then leaned forward to claps both hands in front of her on the rotting tabletop and looked at Terry with a smirk playing on her plush lips. “He may have been killed by the Mech, but both you and Garret were trying to squeeze into a narrow alleyway to escape. You got there first but couldn’t go fast enough to get out of the Mech driver’s sight. Sense Garret was standing by the entrance he would have given away your escape route.”

Terry gulped once but held a stony glare at her. He wasn’t going to give away his emotions over her provocation. This accusation should not be taken lightly by him, true or not. The torches in the room flickered heavily, only adding to the serious moment.

“You then pushed him out into the road and causing him to be fully exposed to the Mech driver.” Dianna announced. Everyone listening in the room looked at Terry with mixed responses. Terry remained unmoved.

“I did no such thing.” Terry replied coldly. “You are just making stuff up.”

“Am I?” Dianna answered raising an eyebrow. “I saw the whole thing. Of course, this is only my word against yours. Do you remember if anyone else was retreating with you two?”

“It was just us two. Everyone behind us had already been run down. What you say I did is entirely false.” Terry answered calmly. Though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“Really? Everyone was dead already?” Dianna asked in mock confusion. Turning to her left to look at the other Black Rats by the wall, she continued. “That’s not right, is it Mal?”

Mal go off from leaning on the wall and stepped forward with long lanky legs to stand alongside Dianna. With a furrowed brow he answered looking sideways at Terry. “He was the cause for Garret’s death. I had jumped into a dumpster across the street ahead of them. I’m much faster than most due to my height, so I saw the whole thing.”

“Pfft, you lie, Mal.” Terry scoffed hiding his worry. He stood up to shake a fist at the brown hair young man. “You were probably offered a lead spot by her if she took over. I would do the same in your position, but this is still a low blow lie if you ask me.”

“Look, I saw what I saw.” Mal argued. “You are scum, and I wouldn’t follow you anyway.”

“I’m scum? You have no proof. Everyone here knows I did everything Garret told me to do without question. I had never considered going against him, and everything I do is for the Black Rats! Don’t question my loyalty.” Terry was fuming now. “I won’t let you take over us in such a vile manner, Dianna.”

“Terry is right.” Someone called from the left of the torch lit room. Terry and Dianna looked to see that it was Stan, a stocky, handlebar mustache man. “I’ve been on Terry’s crew for a year, and he hadn’t said anything to contradict the boss, ever. Besides, Mal, I know you cheat in dice! There’s no way I’d trust this guy and if you are backing her, then I can’t trust her either.”

The room then broke out into arguments and heated speculation. The gang was clearly getting split into two factions and things were going to get out of hand. Dianna sighed and leaned back in her chair. In turn, seeing her response to the situation, Terry sat back down and cleared his throat loudly which ended up getting the attention of most the Black Rats.

“How are we going to settle this then?” Terry asked with a loaded deep voice.

“Hmm, we could fight?” Dianna mused.

Hearing this, Terry instinctively reached for his assault rifle leaning on the table next to him. Dianna wasn’t one to make false jokes like this.

“Ah, ah! Not so fast.” Dianna responded flicking out a dagger from her black leather vest she was wearing over her red plaid shirt.

Terry froze seeing his disadvantage. His caution had kept him alive, and this moment of emotion nearly killed him. Holding the dagger out halfway over the table, as if she had stopped throwing midway, Dianna continued speaking.

“Listen, I’m not finished yet.” Dianna then waved the tip of her dagger at his hand reaching for the rifle. Terry grudgingly retracted his hand. “We could fight, or we could vote on who’s going to be leader next. However, you were right the first time, Terry.”

“Uh, what?” Terry reacted as if he couldn’t understand her reasoning. “What are you going on about?”

“I’m saying that you were right and that this gang is finished.” Dianna answered lowering her dagger to put it back in the vest. “Both the fight and vote would still split and weaken the gang. We couldn’t bounce back after that. However, joining another gang isn’t a bad idea.”

“So, you think I was right in joining the Mad Dogs then?” Terry asked. The room’s emotions visibly relaxed as the conversation grew less tense.

“No, not them. I say we join the Skull.” Dianna replied.

“Ha! I’d rather join the ERM than those psycho freaks.” Terry scoffed waving his hand and pointer finger in a circular motion by his head. “Those crazies would kill and probably eat us as soon as we crossed over the river into their territory.”

“Oh, and you think the Mad Dogs would be any better?” Dianna countered. “You know as well as the rest of us that they killed off every other gang, group or citizen that stood in their way. Trying to join them is reckless. However, with me being in such good favor with Garret, I had been in contact with someone in the Skull for some time now.”

“Why would Garret be in contact with the Skull?” Terry asked. “Also, why were you put in charge of that?”

“Someone has to negotiate between that gangs. I though you were smarter than this, Terry.” Dianna smirked. “I oversaw the meetings with them because Garret trusted me as one of his top lieutenants. Adam oversaw the negotiations with the Mad Dogs too, but he is not around to back me up on this claim. Not that it matters really.”

“Well, I haven’t heard of this before, so I don’t buy it.” Terry replied. Then he stood up slowly to address the room. “Since its clear we both agree that the gang can’t go on and we can’t agree on what to do next, I’m going to make this simple. I am going to go over to the Mad Dogs and whoever wants to follow me, a loyal Black Rat to the end, can do so or you can join with this she-rat and go get eaten by the Skull.”

“Regrettably, I have to agree. Even if it’s with someone as backstabbing as you.” Dianna mocked standing up likewise. “The Skull will be far more willing to take us in. Oh, and by the way, the boat is mine.”

“What?” Terry shouted.

Dianna let out a laugh and held up the keys to the boat in her hand and jingling them mockingly she continued, “Good luck, Terry. Come on whoever is coming with me. Once the boat leaves, I’m not coming back.”

Terry angrily snatched up his assault rifle and slung its strap over his shoulder. “F*** you, you wench. Come on guys lets head for the docks and find a barge.”

The two sides split, permanently ending the Black Rats for good. Terry was leaving with sixteen of the remaining gang and his face smiled triumphantly as he thought to himself. “Looks like I win the majority, Dianna. If it weren’t for Mal, I probably would have won more. But don’t worry Mal, I will make sure to have you meet up with Garret soon for betraying me like that. Hehe! After all, I know where I sent him.”

Dianna and the other fourteen gangsters plodded slowly across the dock to the sailboat. Though the gangsters had joined up with her, it was clear they were anxious. Dianna ignored their dilemma and sighed happily in thought, “Finally, I am coming back home to the Skull, master!”

As it turned out, neither of the last two Black Rat lieutenants were not as they appeared. Terry wasn’t the loyal man as he claimed. He had been as ruthless and vile with Garret just as he had been towards the townspeople. Dianna wasn’t trustworthy towards Garret either. Her loyalties were always elsewhere. This simple, uneventful split was going to cause more of a stir within the town than anyone would have guessed.