The rest of the party was, regretably, rather dull. There were a few performances by musicians, as well as a few demonstrations by different individuals with rudementary talents in magic to show off for the magically challenged business men in the room.
Such as a demonstration from the host himself, which just so happened to be Mister Bloom, where he turned an apple to gold. That was trick that they liked very much, even if he was only able to do it once.
Valerie watched and listened, she talked and socialised. She even attended a few additional meetings, and volunteered Jason for even more, with ’investors’ and other kinds who were interested in powerful players.
But after her outburst against Kaleigh, really nothing could compare. At least in Valerie’s mind. To these people, who were clamouring over a simple gold plated apple, it was an event they quickly forgot about and dismissed.
Before they left the party, Valerie made sure to introduce the engaged couple to her friend, and convinced them rather easily to give additional positive reviews and tips of their own.
They even talked to Zhu Li about the possibility of hiring her and others for their wedding, which was nice of them. As if the couple tens of thousands worth of Ollies each as a tip was not already generous enough.
Although with that kind of money, it was unlikely that Zhu Li would still be working for the company when the time came.
***
A few days later, Valerie was stood alone upon the grounds of a long dead forest as she watched a garish golden hover vehicle slowly descend from the skies, alongside a heavily armoured personnel carrier that the military would use.
She felt no danger from this display of power and wealth, only a slight confusion at the inclusion of this carrier.
But even if they had come here to attack her, which they hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been a problem. After the party, she had spent the last few days cleansing herself of the ’rot’ that had been hampering her magic abilities.
She had done so with Ren’s help, but it had turned out to be easier than either of them expected, as something Valerie couldn’t quite put her finger on was helping with the process. Either way, she was in pristine condition now, physical form not withstanding, and if this carrier decided it wanted to attack her she could have turned it into a flaming pile of scrap metal hurtling towards the ground with a casual wave of her hand.
Thankfully for it, they knew better.
The two vehicles touched down gently in front of her, and a moment later the back of the armoured transport fell open with a heavy thud.
Boots thundered against the ramp as a collection of soldiers in black outfits poured out. Their guns raised, sweeping the area with heavy scowls and serious hand gestures to one another, as they spread out into a circular formation that surrounded Valerie and the vehicles.
Only once all of the uniformly dressed and well armed men and women had barked ’all clear’ did the door to the golden transport open upwards with a hiss.
Mister Bloom rose out of the comfortable seat of the transport, a sleazy grin on his face as he kept his hands stuffed in his pockets. His chest was puffed out, as if he was eagerly to show off not just his unearned confidence, but the outfit he had put together for his ’action’
It was a black woollen turtleneck and loose fitting pants, with matching black shows. All of which were designer, top of the range and completely unblemished by any former ’action’. He was like a child’s idea of a cartoonish villain who wanted to steal party mountain from the cool kids through a skiing competition, of all things.
Valerie looked over this ridiculous man with the amount of bemusement and respect that he deserved, before eyeing up the soldiers surrounding them. Alongside their standard ’mortal’ weapons of firearms, each one had either an arming sword, a one handed axe or a pair of daggers hanging from their belts.
Valerie oculd also sense hints of magic from each of them, and could see that their bulky tatical armour had some small adjustments to be able to withstand attacks other than bullets, although that was still their main focus.
Enforcers. Not the main brand of them, so possibly hired mercanaries or Blooms own special task force. Considering the emblem on their uniforms, that matched the one that Bloom himself wore, she was included to think the latter.
"What’s with the toy soldiers?" Valerie asked, glancing apathetically back at the ones that were giving her the stink eye for her choice of dress.
Unlike them, who had taken this all so seriously, Valerie was dressed like she had just rolled out of bed. Which was not entirely inaccurate.
She had loose black jeans on and a slightly oversized T-shirt that read "My other set of wheels is a Tank". It was funnier when she was in a wheelchair.
"You told me that there would be death, danger and daring adventure. So I came accordingly." Mister Bloom answered with a smirk, gesturing to his soldiers who were still scanning the area waiting for something, or anything, to wander into their line of sight so it could be obliterated in a lead storm.
"Firstly, I definitely did not say that last one. Secondly, this isn’t exactly what I meant for you to do when I mentioned danger.
In fact, it would be best if you kept your dogs on a short leash. I would prefer if they didn’t get us all killed because they were too happy on the trigger. So no matter what happens, and I mean no matter what don’t make a move unless I say so. Understand?"
The soldiers glanced nervously at their employer, who gave them a reassuring nod and waved to them to obey the command, to which they slowly lowered their weapons.
Valerie let out a sigh of relief at that sight. Perhaps they really wouldn’t get killed now, that would be nice.
"So then," Mister Bloom asked, "what is it that we are going to be facing? What is this ’danger’ you spoke about? Not another monster like the one that appeared in the streets last week, I hope."
"I sure as hell hope not..." Valerie muttered under her breath, making a few of the closer soldiers begin to sweat at the thought.
"We are going to see a friend. But... It’s been a while since I saw them, so hopefully they don’t kill us for trespassing before we can reunite. That would be a little bit awkward, to say the least."
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