Everything Can Be Bought

Shoushan Tang and his right hand man, Fa Shu, stood outside the front of the tall hotel building. Shoushan was wearing his favorite traditional Chinese suit, deep blue silk with gold trimmings, and held a sleek, black suitcase in his hand. Fa, a tall man with a long mustache, wore a typical three-piece suit, and quite visibly had a large-caliber handgun in his left breast pocket. He had sent a letter to Charon a week prior saying he wished to purchase something he had recently acquired, and he was willing to meet him on his territory to make the deal. True to his word, one week later, Shoushan stood in Charon's territory, outside of his building, unarmed and with only his best bodyguard. The man at the entrance requested they wait out front while they wait for Charon to come down in person. For this acquisition, Shoushan was willing to be patient.

Charon wasn't looking forward to speaking with Shoushan again, but in the middle of a war Charon couldn't afford to piss more people off. Charon moved out of the elevator wearing his black silk suit and approached the two men. "A pleasure to see you both again" Charon said and gave a simple bow.

"So tell me, how may I help you this day? You were quite vague about what exactly you wished to purchase from me"

Shoushan and Fa bowed in return, and when Shoushan stood he tossed a wad of money to Charon. "That is one thousand dollars to whet your appetite. I have a great deal more should you wish to make this deal." He said. "This is a discussion I do not wish to have in the streets. May we go inside to discuss this?"
Fa looked down the street back from where they came, eyes narrowed; Shoushan requested that Fa be paranoid during these meetings so that Shoushan didn't have to.

Charon glanced to the bills, curious as to what exactly this would be about. "Come on in" Charon said as he allowed the men to come inside. They didn't go to Charons office but rather a room reserved for guests. Charon preferred if only people in Tuphon knew where he slept. "Well now I must admit you have my attention" he said as he shut the door to ensure no one would come in on them. "I'm listening"

Shoushan sat down, placing the suitcase on his lap. "You recently attacked a public bar in Mammon territory, and took a handful of prisoners. One of whom was this." He produced a small picture and handed it to Charon; it was a picture of the man with bright purple hair. "Thomas Fulp. A very elusive catch. I was going to extract him from Cerberus quite some time ago, but then..." He made a slight gesture to Charon. "They were hit by you, and Thomas fell into Father's hands. Time and time again, I've learned that Father is not a man who can be reasoned with, regardless of the money involved, so Thomas became unacquirable. With the destruction of the Red Diamonds, Thomas Fulp fell between the cracks, disappearing into the shadows of the city. Thankfully, one of my men discovered he had fallen in with Mammon. He went to extract him from the bar he frequented, and things went... poorly that night, once again due to your meddling. On top of that, merchandise was destroyed. A woman we had been rehabilitating for weeks was stabbed in the fray. But women are a dime a dozen, but Thomas... I have a client with particular tastes." He clicked open the case, revealing it to be full of money. "Five hundred thousand dollars for him. And I have another price to add to it if the deal is not sweet enough."

The jester? That's what this was all about? Charon glanced from the money back to Shoushan, though did what he could to hide his surprise. This was not what Charon had been expecting. Still, the man wasn't very useful...perhaps this was a win win?

"Right now he's reserved for some revenge for my men. He killed some of ours and I had planned on punishing him for it. Howeve, I am a man of reason. Besides the money what else did you come to offer? Perhaps it will be enough to change my mind"

Shoushan clasped the case shut, and a click could be heard on the combination lock. "You are at war with Mammon, a gang known for becoming immensely powerful due to their incredible reserves of money. I am not offering my help in taking them down as I am not an idiot who wishes to be crushed by a titan. But having an idiot like yourself creating such a loud noise in public bars and screaming on their front lawn would allow me to perform some more... covert operations." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Twenty heads of Mammon's men in two weeks. One rehabilitated man delivered in four. And, to show no ill will between us, another fifty thousand, generously offered by Mammon itself. Agreed?"
Shoushan's face gave away no emotion, but he felt this deal would be very beneficial for him; it would finally allow him to acquire easily the most expensive piece of merchandise he'd sell in the next five years, damage one of the greatest threats to his business, and put him in good graces with Charon, making it much less likely he would ever go to Jia's aid should the rat go sniveling to him for help.

Charon didn't enjoy being called an idiot when revenge was the game he was playing. Shoushan certainly knew that Mute had been killed by Mammon by now. He was too well informed to not have learned the cause by now. Charon needed more money and help in this war to see this done.

"You have a deal, but I must warn you that his face doesn't look like it used to. He spoke out of line a few times and his nose might never look the same again. Will that be an issue?"

Shoushan waved his hand dismissively. "So long as he still has the nose. Surgery is cheap, and we can fix him up in no time. Having them come pre-damaged often helps with re-training as well. Still, to ensure that the product is not damaged beyond repair, I would appreciate to view the product before completing the transaction. That way, I can leave this with my prize, you walk away with half a million dollars, and the heads, extra money, and new pet will be with you before the end of the month. Is this agreeable?"

Charon still felt this was too good to be true. Still though, jester didn't know anything about Typhon's secrets to cause any damage. Charon had made sure to change up locations, deliveries, and passwords when he took over. No fleeing members or prisoners could expose Charon this way. "I completely accept those conditions, though I must admit that I'm concerned about the rehabilitated man. Having someone loyal to Mammon so close to me makes me feel...nervous"

"Loyal to Mammon? Friend, I think you do not fully understand 'retraining'. When I am finished with them, they are not loyal to anyone but who I tell them to be. You see, Boatman, you may terrify people, but me? I break them. If I felt I could sell you at a profit, I have no doubt I could have you trained to crawl on your hands and knees begging like a mutt in two weeks. And that right hand of yours you were so proud of? How loyal he was to you? I'd have him slitting your throat in three. I am not saying these as threats, I want to make that clear. I am saying it to make it perfectly clear what I am capable of. Hell, if I thought you had the money to make it worth my while to acquire him, I'd personally turn Simon's mind to putty for you to play with in whatever way you see fit. When I say I will deliver a man from Mammon to you, I say it as simply a point of origin. He will have long abandoned any bonds of fellowship with those snakes, and he will gladly offer any information to you for the asking, and be ready to throw himself at them in your name. But, if you are truly that concerned about, you can simply order him to kill himself upon delivery, and if he doesn't do it, I will come and do it myself, and offer my sincerest apologies." Shoushan leaned back in his chair; Charon's concerns were normal, but pointless. Shoushan's entire life was reprogramming people to obedient slaves, and Mammon's men were only loyal to their gang because of the money. Money was the easiest way to buy someone, and it was the easiest tie to sever.

Charon stayed silent in thought as he pondered what to say in response. He gave a slow nod before turning to the table and giving a last nod. "Very well, we will set up a time to have you meet Jester so you can be satisfied with the deal" he remarked. "We will make sure to have this be a mutually beneficial deal"

Shoushan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is there a particular reason that I cannot view him now? Is he occupied with entertaining the friends of those he killed? In truth, I was hoping to pay you the money here today and leave with him." He drummed his fingers lightly on the black case; as frustrating as not getting Thomas now when he was so close was, Shoushan was a patient man when it came to this sort of thing, especially when the people he was negotiating with were cooperative. Much more reasonable than most of the white pricks I deal with. He thought to himself. I could humor him a few more days if need be.

"He's not here, and with Mammon on my back I wasn't planning on moving my men so openly right now" Charon explained. "That being said, I can call up on skype a friend of mine and he can show you Thomas through a tablet" he explained. "Otherwise I'd rather wait till nightfall to make any movement right now. A lot of blood has been shed lately, and I don't want you caught in the crossfire"

Shoushan paused a moment, and nodded. "I can see the sense in that, and can appreciate it. I would very much like to view the merchandise to ensure it is the correct man, and ensure that he is in usable condition."

Charon nodded before pulling out a tablet and typing a few things. Eventually a man answered the call. Charon made his demands before sliding the tablet to Shoushan. He'd see Thomas bound to a chair and gagged. His nose was broken and he was roughed up, but it was definitely him.

"You'll of course see him in person before we make the deal final, but I trust that he's in decent enough condition?"

Shoushan pulled out a small pair of glasses and perched them on his nose, looking down at the man on the tablet like a jeweler appraising an emerald. "I assume he has all of his digits, still? No missing fingers, toes, ears, so on?" He asked. "If he is wholly intact, then yes, that is sufficient condition. It will be a few thousand to fix him up, but nothing of significance." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Nothing like that missing I give you my word" Charon stated before shutting the tablet off. "I'll make all the arrangements and get back to you as soon as he's ready for transportation"

Shoushan removed his glasses, smiled, and nodded. "Very good." He extended a hand to shake. "I appreciate how reasonable you are. You'd be surprised how rare this is in our line work. You're an intelligent man who knows that everything has a price; I respect that in a man."
As Shoushan extended his hand to shake, Fa tensed up slightly and locked his eyes on Charon; it was his job to be paranoid. He knew better than to intervene with a handshake, but was more than willing to the moment Charon tried anything.

Charon shook Shoushan's hand and didn't even make eye contact with the bodyguard. "Everyone needs to work, I'm just glad our misunderstanding did not prevent a working relationship" Charon remarked. "Your last gift to me is being used nightly" he said with a smile. "I hope we can continue to help each other as we already have"

Shoushan allowed himself a smile. "I am glad to see that you are enjoying our handiwork. I confess, I did not train her myself, so I cannot take full credit." He pulled his hand back from Charon and continued. "However, to be wholly honest, I have little intention of further interactions with you after this deal. At least not until you've dealt with Simon. He is very similar to myself; if he hears someone is affiliating with the person he is waging war with, currently you, then he will have no issue turning his attention to them. Granted, I have more money than he does, and that is where all of his strength comes from, so I doubt he would be idiotic enough to cross me without further provocation, but I am not in the habit of needlessly sinking resources. Once I finish my debt to you for selling me Thomas, I will be steering clear of both parties. If you should survive, perhaps we can make some trade agreements in the future."

Charon nodded. "Fair enough. I suppose that will be it until the war has ended" he admitted before standing up and walking to the door. "Il contact you as soon as Thonas is ready for transportation. I assure you that nothing will happen to him before you pick him up...though I must admit id be very happy if I never saw him again. Until then, take care"