Oh, Brother Of Mine

Chapter 10

They arrived at their destination, a small town just a little north of where they'd camped, by midday. Their easy conversation died down, replaced by a tense silence as they approached the buildings. They'd created a plan the other day - Childe would be the one doing all of the talking, the one to approach the mayor and bring up the topic of the debt. As for Diluc... well, he'd be the manpower behind the mission. If things went south, he'd be the one who would deal with the... issues. But it wouldn't get to that. Probably.

They exchanged one more tense nod before going onward. The town was quiet. There wasn't a soul around them. It was almost eerie, how each step they made seemed to echo through around them, how every building seemed abandoned as they walked by. If  Childe noticed it, he didn't say anything. He simply forged on, determined, heading straight for the heart of the town. All Diluc could do was follow him, casting the occasional cautionary glance around them. 

Something wasn't right here.

Childe led the way into a large building, not even bothering to knock on the front door before slamming it open. He strode in as if he owned the place. Then again, from what Diluc had heard about his funds, he very well could have owned it. And then he was racing through the halls, straight, then to the left, to the left again, and then right, and suddenly they were in an office. 

A small man sat before them, his elbows resting on his desk and his fingers laced together. Harsh blue eyes stared up at them, the expression cold and calculated. The very aura around them grew tense, and Diluc felt rather than saw Childe slip into the persona of Tartaglia.

During his time with the Fatui, he'd only encountered Tartaglia a handful of times. Once, when they'd first met, when they'd tried to kill one another, and another time when one of the agents had been suspected of being a traitor. Each time, it was terrifying. The air around him grew electric, as if sparks could go flying at any moment, and there was a murderous gleam in his eyes. That was what scared him the most.

Childe had nice eyes. They were ocean blue, soft when he spoke of his family or joked about something or other. He was not used to seeing them suddenly so dark. 

"Nikolaev," Tartaglia practically snarled. "You had requested the services of the Fatui, and now, you must pay. Twenty million mora was the agreed price, and another five million for stalling. Do you have the mora or not?"

"Lord Harbinger," came the man's cool reply. "I had been expecting you for some time now. You have arrived later than I thought."

Holy shit, this guy had some balls to talk to Tartaglia like that, all while knowing that Tartaglia was a Harbinger. Diluc almost felt some respect for him. 

"My sincerest apologies to the oh-so-noble Ivan Nikolaev," Tartaglia shot back, his tone dripping with mockery. "Unlike a scumbag like you, I actually had work to attend to."

Yeah, Diluc thought, in the form of keeping his camp of agents entertained by showing off his (surprising) juggling skills. 

"I am not denying that, Lord Harbinger," the man - the mayor of the town, as Diluc assumed - replied with a pleasant smile. "I am simply stating the fact that the Fatui are rather known for their promptness. You wouldn't wish for your dear Tsaritsa to discover that you had been slacking off, would you?"

Tartaglia ignored the empty threat for what it was. His gaze turned almost predatory, his entire body sifting into a stance from which striking would be more comfortable. "Stop avoiding the topic, Nikolaev. Are you paying the debt or not?"

There were a few moments of silence during which the man stared at them, eyes travelling  up and down, brows furrowed.  Diluc took the time to analyze his own surroundings - something just... didn't seem quite right here. The office was well-furnished, not at all what he would've expected from the mayor of some small town. Shining ornaments and vases stood on a shelf to one side, and another shelf containing old tomes of Snezhnayan books stood on the other. The door was firmly shut behind them, the windows closed. They were completely enclosed in the room, with no way in or out, so why was it that Diluc felt so on edge? He could practically feel his skin start crawling as his hand reached for his blade, his delusion already answering his silent calls with dark  heat.