Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:42 am

Book 2: Chapter 42

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The next few days were quiet, and Garrett took the opportunity to rest up and start training everyone in their new roles. He was planning to completely overhaul the way that the members of the Family operated, and the first step was ingraining the various principles in the structure they followed. It was strange for people who had all lived in a competitive, tumultuous situation for their whole lives, but the presence of the dream flower took the edge off, ensuring that they at least gave this new way of operating a solid try.

Many of the principles were ones that Garrett had insisted on from the very beginning, and so the members of the Family who worked on the security teams were at least familiar with them. After spending almost an entire day talking with Garrett, Obe had brought each of them in, one at a time, and then reorganized the entire force, splitting into a few different groups. Those that were not as interested in fighting were given the chance to move to the work crews working on the docks or were assigned to the citizen response group, which maintained kiosks in the areas under the Family’s influence and was responsible for helping citizens solve issues.

Those who showed the highest commitment to ensuring the safety of the communities around Dreamer’s Inn were kept on the security team and set on patrols, to ensure that if there were any physical threats, they would be dealt with quickly. The last group, those who either had a knack for fighting, or a particular desire for conflict, were organized into a single group that Obe began to train in some of the military tactics that he remembered, forming the seed of the Family’s private militia. This had been Obe’s idea, and Garrett was happy to not only approve it, but provide funding for both training and arming the men and women in this group.

Most of the Family’s strength lay in the forces that Garrett controlled directly, but using them was problematic in many ways. It was great to have the safety of a horde of monsters that lurked under the city, but they were a double-edge sword as using them would turn him into the most wanted villain in the city in a heartbeat. Furthermore, Garrett believed in diversification, and adding a publicly visible team of personal soldiers would go a long way in allowing him to hide the less public forces the Family possessed.

Obe wasn’t the only one who had taken to the new command structure, and Garrett found himself spending a lot of time talking to Ryn, who showed a surprisingly adept hand at understanding how to best use the people under her. Within a few days, she had re-written many of the roles, incorporating work that Garrett had not considered in his first draft. Though he knew it was slightly premature, Garrett decided that if she continued to develop in that direction, he would just make her the chief operating officer, giving her control of all of the visible operations under the family.

Apart from Ryn and Obe, the two other people who reported directly to Garrett were Viper, who was in charge of the clandestine activities of the group, and Gavon, who Garrett was going to give a special role. Viper was simply a direct extension of Garrett himself, so there wasn’t any friction there, but Gavon was different. Calling the leader of the meat packing plant in, Garrett could sense the tension the man carried even before he entered the room.

“Please sit down. Would you like a drink? We have juice, we have wine. I can have Francis get you a beer from the bar.”

“I don’t need anything,” Gavon grunted, lowering his bulk into one of the seats.

“If you change your mind, let me know.”

Wheeling himself out from behind the desk, Garrett handed a piece of paper to Gavon.

“You should have seen the new structure that we’re going to be using, but I wanted to specifically talk to you about your new role, and get your feedback on a few problems I’ve been mulling over. Your group is very important to us, and I want to thank you for making the transition so smooth. It's clear to me that you take your commitments and responsibilities seriously, and that is apparent in the way you’ve conducted yourself during this process.”

Noticing that Gavon was starting to glaze over, Garrett coughed and got to the point.

“But that's not what I want to talk to you about today. We are planning on bringing other groups under the umbrella of the family, and I want you to lead that effort.”

“But, we’re already part of the family,” Gavon said, his forehead furrowing.

“What I mean, is that I want you to be in charge of bringing new groups into the family. The same terms that we gave you. Independent leadership, but under our flag. They’ll have to adopt the principles of the Family, and sign off on the agreements to act in the best interest of the Family, but the leader of each group will form an independent council, of which you’ll be the first chair. The first chair will speak to me, and be on equal footing with the other three primary officers of the Family, who are currently Ryn, Obe, and Viper.”

Surprised by the offer, it took Gavon a moment to collect himself. Whatever he had been expecting when he walked into Garrett’s office, it was not this. Ever since he had signed the document agreeing to join his gang to the Family, he had been waiting for the underhanded tactics to begin. In his experience, there was no gang in the world that wouldn’t try to consolidate its power and having an fiercely independent subordinate gang was a recipe for disaster.

Instead, the Family had done exactly as they had said they would. They deferred all decisions about what happened on Heifer Street to him, supported his forces when they ran into problems, and proactively helped the citizens who worked in the plant. There had even been a strange change in the air on the street, almost like someone had opened a window and let in fresh air and sunshine. Much of the gloom that typically hung over the plant was gone and even rainy days now seemed full of life. It was a strange shift, but looking at the smiling man in front of him, Gavon knew that he wasn’t imagining it. The other shoe had dropped, but the result was not a sneaky way to co-opt control, but rather more responsibility. Finding his mind lost in visions of what it would mean for him to be the leader of the independent forces under the Klein Family, Gavon had to pinch himself, bringing himself back to reality.

“Why do you want me to do it?” Gavon asked, leaning forward in his chair. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll use a position like this to build up my own power?”

“I hope you do,” Garrett said, grinning. “Initiative is one of our principles, after all. But to better answer your question, I’m not worried about it at all. It’s in the Family’s best interest if you and the other groups are as strong as possible, which means letting you do what you’re good at without trying to manage every little thing you do. Don’t get me wrong, betrayal will be met with swift and fatal retribution. That’s part of the role that Viper’s group will play. You might think of it like this.”

“The Family is a giant wheel. I serve as the driver, making sure we are heading in the right direction, and watching that we don’t hit any bumps that will shake the wheel apart. You are the spoke that connects the independent groups who are under our banner. Ryn will do the same for the various businesses that we control, while Obe will handle the average citizens and communities in our territory. Viper is like the wheelwright, who will ensure that any problematic parts of the wheel get fixed so everything can keep spinning. It’s not a perfect analogy, but hopefully you can understand what I mean.

“What I want to do is simple. I want to equip you to find other groups who have value to provide, but are blocked in their growth by larger gangs or other circumstances, and I want you to convince them to join us. You can use your own success with us as the starting point, but I’d also love to see you come up with your own reasons for why it's a good idea. Are there benefits that would have made it an easier decision for you? If so, I want to develop them. Are there problems or considerations that we haven’t considered? Let's start considering them. From my position, success looks like you presiding over a few dozen groups that are all united in their independent goals, working toward a future that allows all of them to grow.”

It was obvious that Gavon was overwhelmed, but Garrett didn’t let that stop him. He knew that Gavon was the right person for the job, so for the next two hours he patiently worked through all of the changes. By the end of the conversation, Garrett was exhausted, but Gavon had grown energized, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. Some of the positive mental energy that was flowing around Heifer Street seemed to have infected him because he found himself uncharacteristically positive about the future as he left Garrett’s office. Massaging his neck, Garrett let out a big sigh, happy that he had finally reached the end of the most challenging conversations. While he was sure that there would be more of these sorts of conversations in the future, this was the last of them that had to happen now.

Lunch had come and gone, and Garrett was getting hungry, so he made his way out into the great room. Before he got there, he could hear a commotion, and he saw Francis, the cook, running toward him. Normally laconic, Francis was in a flustered state and a look of relief came over him when he saw Garrett.

“Boss! Thank goodness. There are a bunch of crazy people who just showed up and said that you had agreed to let them stay here. They ate lunch but they don’t have any money and one of them is holding a live fish! He even took a bite out of it!”

Frowning, Garrett was about to ask for a clarification when he suddenly remembered Chief Fellix’s strange expression when he mentioned helping out other exorcists. A bad feeling stole over him and he hurried into the great hall with Francis. There he found three people sitting at a table in the center of the room. The most noticeable of them was a middle-aged woman who had what looked like a stuffed bear tied around her shoulders. The bear’s fur was dark and matted, and its paws were bound together with rope, turning it into a backpack of sorts. Next to her was a woman who looked completely normal, if not for the fact that her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying.

On the other side of the table was a man so thin he was practically a skeleton. His face was listless and he clutched a fish in his hands, his fingers holding it tight as it tried to wriggle out of his grasp. He was mumbling under his breath as he stared at it, almost like he was trying to psych himself up. Looking at Francis, Garrett saw him shake his head.

“I have no idea, boss. They don’t seem dangerous, but I don’t know.”

“Thanks, I’ll talk to them.”

Nodding, Francis left the crazy people to Garrett and headed back to his kitchen. Wheeling himself into the room, Garrett approached the table and waved.

“Hello, I’m Garrett. Are you folks colleagues of mine?”

As soon as Garrett came close, he knew exactly what was going on. From a distance he had not been able to sense it, but each of the people at the table had a faint aura of the dream around them that was tied to an item they possessed. For the first woman, it was the bear she had tied around her, while for the second it was a needle in the collar of her shirt. The man on the other side of the table barely looked up from his fish, but Garrett could see that the plate in front of him was tied to his spirit. If he was correct, he was looking at three people who were plagued by mysterious artifacts.

The woman with the bear stood up and bowed, her gaze drifting to Garrett’s legs and missing hand even after she straightened up.

“Hello. My name is Collette. This is my bear, Silly. My companions are Julie and Roy. Chief Fellix said that you were willing to take us in so we wouldn’t have to live at the office anymore. Thank you.”

“Of course, it's my pleasure.”

“I’ll still have to eat fish,” Roy grumbled.

“Pardon?”

“Don’t mind him,” Collette said, “it's his curse.”

“Are all three of you cursed?” Garrett asked, looking around the table.

“Oh yes,” Julie said. “If I don’t prick my finger every hour, my needle will start sewing people’s mouths shut.”

“That’s… unfortunate.”

“It is! I hate the sight of blood, so I cry every time.”

“What about you, Collette?”

“Um, my teddy, Silly Bear transforms into a bloodthirsty monster if I’m not hugging him. He won’t stop attacking other people.”

“Ah. I’m almost afraid to ask about Roy.”

Looking up at the mention of his name, Roy just shook his head and lifted the fish in his hand.

“I’m so hungry,” he moaned, putting his head down on the table.

“Roy’s plate is cursed,” Collette said, looking genuinely sorry for the thin man. “Anything he eats turns into a live raw fish.”

Hissing through his teeth, Garrett wheeled himself away, as if afraid he might catch the curse. The other two were bad, but he wasn’t sure that he could think of a worse curse than not being able to eat anything but raw fish.

“That sounds really… uncomfortable.”

“It's disgusting,” Julie said, not mincing words.

“It is, but maybe I can help.”

All three of the people at the table looked at Garrett, their eyes going wide.

“What do you mean by that?” Collette asked, her voice full of caution.

“I mean that I might have a solution to your curse. I’m not a hundred percent sure that it will work, but if you want me to give it a try I can. However, it might be a bit uncomfortable.”

“You can chop off my ears if it takes this awful fish away,” Roy said, staring at Garrett with madness in his eyes. “I’ll do anything to get rid of it. You can even kill me, just let me taste a piece of bread first!”

Taking a breath to gather her courage, Julie nodded.

“Even if you want a pint of my blood for a secret ritual to summon the devil, I’ll do it.”

After hearing the other two’s wild promises, Garrett turned to Collette, half expecting her to say something similar, only to be met with an uncomfortable look.

“What? Why would I want to get rid of Silly? He is great.”

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