PoV Carl
"WHY THE FUCK DO I PAY FUCKING TAXES?" My roar filled the room, and my fist smashed the desk, breaking it a hole through it as I received news of yet another shipment getting taken or destroyed. Another shipment from Waves Ground Transport and Brock and Grock Transportation were interecepted a long with many smaller shipments from other companies.
My secretary, Douglas, a middle-aged vampire, flinched as I roared at him with anger. The Insurance company was paying out another nice bit of gold for my disappearing shipments, but that was hardly the main problem. I did not want gold at this moment; I wanted those goods in my fucking stores! If I had no goods to sell, then people would go to the competition. Sure, I still had the gold, but I would lose faithful customers!
I took a deep breath as I turned to my secretary and asked, "What are the guards doing?" I asked bluntly.
"Sir, the transportation companies hired an Incubus to deal with the issue in the forest, and since then, shipments have made it through," Douglas said, and I smiled for a moment. Good fucking riddance.
"But the Inucbus never showed up again after departing," Douglas added, and I froze my mind blank for a moment as I slowly turned to him.
"What?" I asked, "What rank was he?" Feeling stupid for even asking.
"Mid B ranked," Douglas said, and I frowned even deeper. "They paid a portion up front, but he never returned for the rest of the payment, and it has been a week since then. Clearly, the Bandits have understood that the gravy train stopped, and either the Incubus was injured fighting whoever was there, or they are dead, and the Bandits ran away. With the flow of goods restored," Douglas paused and I took a deep breath.
"So how long till we get goods again?" I asked my voice low.
"The goods that we have been missing since this started should be restored in about a week. Many companies have been unaffected, though, and we seem to be the most affected," Douglas said, and anger surged as I understood his meaning.
"You seem to believe someone is targeting us," I stated, and Douglas nodded.
"Yes, and no," Douglas said, sounding frustrated. "They not only attacked our shipments, but they also hit us the most, though." Douglas paused and then reached up to his hair and growled and tousled his hair, making his usual professional look disappear, "I am going crazy over this. It happened suddenly; there were no signs that someone would set up in the forest with the latest sweeps. Worse, there was at least one B ranker in most of the shipments as a usual security measure. Only the shipments we had B rankers in have gone missing, but only two of the shipping companies we used lost them, and only three shipments in total even had B rankers in them. Meaning it might be a damn coincidence. Our shippers replied swiftly and deployed the Incubus, who disappeared, leaving us with no more information. At this point, he may even just be injured and is recovering! But, you were attacked recently with a manager dying and one of our store's products missing. This looks like it might be an organization!" Douglas said, growled out, and began to smooth his hair.
I watched him and thought about it too. He was not wrong; we had been attacked not long ago. Then these attacks began shortly after. Was I being targeted, but by whom?
The thought of that Tiger-kin entered my mind, but that was crazy. The other was the Necromancer Priates looking for a place on the shore. There was also the fact that this could just be another bandit problem, which seemed to be a growing problem with the growing pirate problem, making fishers not willing to go out.
There was also some unrest in the Devils, but that was usually them just being themselves. So banditry among their species just happened more often because of their more aggressive nature. They try to put a stop to that and use the collesium, but some just want to see the world burn and to show their strength by killing uselessly after learning mana. This might just be some representative's son having their fun.
"I am not sure, we do not know enough," I told my secretary slowly, frowning. "No, now is the time for some action." I decided after thinking, "Get me an appointment with my representative, even if they are distracted with the Ambassador, Bandits need to be addressed. Also, how is the Insurance company handling it?" I asked.
"They are not happy, but they are paying out regardless. We follow their guidelines, though, to reduce Insurance premiums, so Douglas stated the obvious, and I nodded.
"So we are on their shit list, but we have done nothing wrong," I said, and Douglas nodded. "Then I also want you to reach out to the managers. See if they have harmed or annoyed any important people that they have not reported to us. I want you to investigate a bit and find out. Don't just take them at their word if they say they have not. Don't look too deeply, but if they have and don't tell us upfront, tell me," I growled out the last words, and Douglas nodded emphatically.
"I want a report on that as soon as possible, while getting it right." I thought about it more and frowned, "I cannot see it being the pirates. They are sea-bound, and we would have heard of that feeling of inexplicable fear around the undead if they were on land. So I think it is not the pirates," I noted out loud, which left one more person to check on.
"I will check one more source just in case," I said, my voice dark, and thought about the Tiger-kin. B ranked, manipulative, and perfectly happy to live in the darkness of society. That woman is a predator and not just from her heritage. That woman was dangerous, and it seems I will have to send people to investigate personally.
"AS you wish, milord," Douglas said, and I glared at him as he rushed out, and I sneered. I knew that was Douglas's way of getting back at me for yelling at him, but it made me frown deeper.
This better fucking be just bandits.
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