Then get the ZTB involved See if they can cause trouble even if itÆs just raising the fare on the branch track Finally send over a message from us to Erickson Steel requesting assistance on a joint venture project
WhatÆs the project The subordinate asked
Evan Crane chuckled Let them know that weÆve discovered a method to use Engravings to imbue a Skill into equipment That should certainly catch their attention
After bowing hurriedly the subordinate left leaving Evan alone in his office Enjoying the silence Evan took a long inhale and then released a thick cloud of smoke
Well Erickson Steel letÆs see how foolish you really are Then with relish Evan Crane began to eat his salmon topped salad
After an extremely long night of raising objections and Randidly simply laughing them off Tatiana felt rather exhausted And if she was being honest slightly unappreciated But in the face of his confidence what could she say As promised they took a brief break to eat a meal and Randidly managed to cobble together a working train car In the face of results Tatiana kept her mouth shut
Finally Tatiana looked at Randidly and asked Alright so what will you be doing now
Randidly rubbed his hands together First I want to see what Erickson Steel has managed to come up with since I left Then IÆll probably spend a fair chunk of time smelting IÆve certainly missed it
Nodding Tatiana pressed a button on the desk Only a short twenty seconds later a young man pushed open the door to her office and bowed to the three of them Tatiana turned to Randidly This is Mark Since my assistant is busy he will be the one to show you around the different facilities If you have any questions or needs ask him directly He can get you anything we have here
For the first time since Randidly arrived he appeared genuinely excited as he walked over to Mark Then at the last second he paused and turned around to look at Tatiana Oh one more thing WhatÆs the name of your receptionist
Tatiana blinked Her head was already pounding from all of the arrangements Randidly had insisted upon these last few hours And from all of the threats that they had left unaddressed during their planning session It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with his rapidly shifting thoughts Ah the receptionist I think her name is Clarry Why
Shrugging Randidly simply said I scanned her a little and she seems skilled I just wanted to suggest moving her to a position that takes advantage of her abilities
TykesÆ eyes gleamed as he looked at Randidly Mr Ghosthound even if you own the company you canÆt talk about entry level employees that way anymore It ainÆt the 1950s
DonÆt even joke about something like that Tatiana said poking Tykes as hard as she could in the side Even as a joke not good to normalize that sort of scenario
Tatiana was rather disgruntled that her full strength poke barely managed to make Tykes twitch let alone driving the smug smile from his face Then she turned to Randidly trying to understand what he had meant by that comment She did her best to give Randidly the benefit of the doubt regardless of the conclusion Tykes had jumped to
To TatianaÆ surprise Randidly blushed slightly I looked at her Skills and Level I just wanted to draw your attention to it in case you didnÆt know SheÆs talented
Then Randidly shrugged and hurried away with Mark
It seems even our fearless leader can be embarrassed and flustered about things so long as they arenÆt the presiding government of our area Tatiana thought wryly Then she cast her mind around to try and recall what she knew about Clarry
The woman wasnÆt someone that Tatiana brought over from the agency she was just a hire they made as Erickson Steel was expanding a few months ago So far she seemed to be performing satisfactorily But also even after exchanging a few words with the woman every morning for three months Tatiana didnÆt have a single strong impression of her
To put it bluntly Clarry was pretty but bland
Tatiana looked toward the door Well for his sake IÆll look into it a bit
Then she turned to Tykes who was still lounging around her office DonÆt you have some work to do
Tykes shrugged Maybe but I feel like I should get some rest After this the fun will start and not give us much chance to catch our breath But we probably have a few days Even if those idiotic senators notice the change in behavior they will be suspicious Only after they realize we plan on resisting them directly will they start to expose themselves
Can we do it Tatiana asked softly A long time ago sitting on a bench in the park area still intact near the Erickson Steel headquarters she had resigned herself to be bound to Randidly Ghosthound as a subordinate When he revealed his prior lie about his name they had lost something a budding intimacy Stillborn their friendship collapsed at that time But they also created a base to build their current relationship
Although she was distantly aware of RandidlyÆs personal power and had heard rumors about what he had done against DonnytonÆs best Squads it seemed another leap to resist the combined power of Zone 1 Once they took this course of action they wouldnÆt be able to recover easily To treat Zone 1 lightly now cut off their ability to back down
Yes Tykes smiled evilly CouldnÆt you feel it The air around him something changed This version of Randidly gives me goosebumps
Tatiana hadnÆt felt anything but then her focus had never been on the same areas as Tykes If Tykes claimed Randidly was stronger Tatiana believed him This was her role to surround herself with experts and allow them to give her opinions With that information she someone who was not as smart or capable as her specialized subordinates would use her general experience and guide the company forward
So now she trusted that Randidly knew what he was doing and let go of her misgivings
Instead of dwelling on it and the direction that Erickson Steel was currently heading Tatiana waved Tykes out of her office and knocked on a secret compartment behind her desk Instantly a small fold out bed stretched out from the small alcove into the middle of the room Tatiana rubbed her hands along the silk sheets and shivered
Because of how constant the threats on Erickson Steel had been the last several months Tatiana had no choice but to shift most of her life here But even if this was only a work bed there was no way that she would subject herself to a low thread count Randidly did get one thing right despite the tariffs Erickson Steel was still the most profitable business in the whole Zone
With a helpless groan Tatiana collapsed onto the bed and allowed sleep to take her into its warm embrace Although her current body didnÆt need much sleep Tatiana still felt psychologically off kilter when she didnÆt get at least one good night of rest a week Which meant that she got one night of sleep a month If she was lucky
The rest of the time she just laughed quietly to herself and made ghoulish faces at her reflection in the mirror
As with most of those mornings that seemed to dawn peacefully the sound of her intercom woke Tatiana up Her first response was to gurgle in annoyance Then when the infuriating piece of machinery refused to take the hint Tatiana had no choice but to roll off the bed and onto the floor
She took the sheets with her and then sat up as she rubbed her eyes The wood panels of the floor were both cold and uncomfortable Then she stood stretched and finally answered the intercom
What is it
The voice that replied was the junior of her two assistants Jacob Two things First Lenna is finally giving birth so Crosby wonÆt be in to manage the foundry today Second you should turn on monitor number four Immediately
While TatianaÆs mind grappled with the fact she would need to produce a replacement for Crosby from thin air her body mechanically went over to the display on the wall and clicked the switch for number four Immediately the terminal displayed for Tatiana a view of the main gate into Erickson Steel where two figures were standing face to face The first was a yellow eyed young woman with her sleek brown hair done up a ponytail and the other individual was a bespectacled man