Syndicates //

iii

"See what I mean? Fiery."

Harry closes the door behind the boss, a wide smile on his face as he takes the seat across from me. He's absolutely beaming cheek to cheek. I guess we're buddies or something now?

"I've been cut short on a gig or two. I know how to negotiate."

"Well, no, it's just that you were the one who was kidnapped and interrogated and you turned the entire situation around onto Cobalt. He was more desperate for you to join us than you were to escape."

"Is that you admitting to kidnapping me," I quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Let's call it 'setting you free at a secondary location,'" he says and points down. I look down at my ankle and see the monitor removed. I almost forgot I even had it on.

"That sounds stupid," I groan. "So am I'm free to go now?"

"You signed all the papers. You're a free Cobalt Legion woman." He pauses, "Well... almost."

"What do you mean almost?" I snap at him. I stand up from my seat.

"You're stuck on the Estate for one-month training and supervision," Harry says. "Conditioning. If you want to leave, it's supervised. So I would have to chauffeur you or even one of the 04, and Cobalt would have to approve it." I can't really argue with that. It's a smart move on their part to keep me contained until they can prove that I'm loyal to the cause. That doesn't mean I like it.

"Are you gonna give me a tour?" I ask.

"Might as well," he looks down at his clock and shrugs. "I can show you where you'll be staying."

Outside of the interrogation room is a blueish-gray concrete hallway that seems endless. It's dreary and exactly how you'd imagine a crime syndicate's interrogation chambers. It's their own little prison.

We wrap around a staircase and head up. We must be in a basement or on a floor of a building with no windows. I'm not too sure.

At the top of the stairs is another little hallway leading to a receptionists' desk and double glass doors. The woman at the desk presses a button and lets us through.

Sunlight. I've missed it. It's definitely early morning with not a cloud in the sky- a rarity. I look around and realize we're on one of the Nightport Bluffs- the cliffs that overlook the ocean. The bluffs are either protected nature reserves or multimillion-dollar mansions. I had no idea the Cobalt syndicate had an entire plot of land on the bluffs. It's hidden in plain sight.

It's hard to believe that below us is the cold, grey cells. The estate looks like a resort and the land is massive.

"Over there is Cobalt's manor," Harry points. "Entirely off-limits unless you're his staff or personally invited. I've only been inside a handful of times." It's modest... for a mansion. It's more than one man possibly could need, but not as big as some of the other houses around the property.

"Beside his manor are the Villas. That's where most of the members of the syndicate stay. Staff lives off property" It looked like a far bigger mansion with more windows, probably meaning more rooms.

"So is that where I'm staying?" I ask him. I noticed we weren't walking towards the Villas.

"No," he shakes his head, continuing walking along the dirt path. "You're with us in the 04."

"The 04?"

"It's the ranking of our units, kind of like the military. 01 is Cobalt himself. 02 is his family. 03 is his personal bodyguards. We're 04- special unit- the top guys he sends out on his most important missions."