Negotiates with Bakuda

“Well, these are Endbringers that you can actually fight,” I said. “And the thing about your bombs is that you don’t have to be there. A woman who saved New York, Washington DC and Boston? People would pretty much have to admit that she’s a hell of a Tinker.”

“Hmm,” she said.

She kept her voice noncommittal, but I could tell that the idea was taking root in her mind.

“The government couldn’t officially give the city to you, but unofficially? The woman who tamed the ABB and saved the world could get pretty much whatever she wanted. Equipment, money, respect. Everybody always plans for the war, but they don’t plan for what comes after the war.”

“I can see five moves ahead of everybody,” she snapped.

“It’s why you can see the value of what I’m proposing. Lung was powerful, but he was complacent. He was content to be a big fish in a little pond, and look where that got him?”

***

“The more heavily armed the better, I’d think,” I said mildly. “I’d also be worried about agents of the Fae trying to undermine the whole thing. I’d expect them to try to start riots, or straight up try to assassinate people.”

“Not selling your case very well,” she said.

“If we go into this, it’s with open eyes,” I said. “I’m not trying to trick you, just use you to get something that we both want. I want a strong city that will be able to defend itself. You need a city where money is actually worth something. There’s no point in being a warlord over a starving, dying population. You’ve got the intelligence and resources to protect the resources in return for your own cut; I’ve got the connections to get the resources in the first place.”

She was silent for a moment, then finally said, “Where will the delivery be, and how can we stay in touch.”

I smiled at her, and said, “We’re going to rotate the locations of the food drops. There’s no point in letting the Fae have a chance to bomb the locations in advance, and dropping food off in different parts of the city will give families an equal chance to get at least some food.”

***

“You don’t think she’ll betray you?”

“The minute the lights are back on and food is back in the grocery stores? Absolutely. Until then, she understands that this is like a semi-informal Endbringer truce. She’s not sure that she believes me about the invasion, but she’ll start preparing just in case, and that’s something that we need.”

***

Deal-Professionals