Parallel: United Front

Chapter 27: Grim and Dayle

Outside Kudan.

0640 Hours, July 31st 3039.

"And, who the fuck are you supposed to be? Some kind of good Samaritan?" Gunroy snorted, half in anger and half in disgust. Not only had this unknown man spoiled his fun, but the idiot was clearly a low-level scrub. Did the scrub not realize Gunroy could destroy him with a stray fart? The mercenary's eyes suddenly brightened as he came up with a good way to teach the brat a lesson. "Hey, scrub. Bark one more time and call me daddy, and I'll give these dogs their treat."

Some onlookers chuckled and shook their heads. How cruel. There was clearly no way Dayle would agree to that kind of demand. No true man would—

"Woof! Papa, Daddy, Father, Godfather, All mighty lord of the cosmos." Dayle recited in a monotone voice. His expression remained, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. "Is that enough? Would you also like me to lick your boots?" Dayle's lips inched upward in a cold smile. "Or are you a man of your word?" He glanced at the mercenaries looking for a good show as he spoke.

"Urk! You—" Gunroy stared at the youth in shock. What kind of man would easily call another his father? Did this kid have no pride? No, more importantly, Gunroy realized that with all the onlookers, he had no choice but to honor the agreement, or he would forever be branded as a flaker. With a snort, he tossed the card at Dayle. "Here! You earned it, dog."

Dayle caught the card with a self-satisfied grin. "Thanks, master. I'll make sure I repay you with interest."

Coming from anyone else, this would have sounded innocent, but Gunroy picked up on Dayle's threat. The mercenary's eyes narrowed, but he did not dare stir the pot in public. Instead, he copied Dayle's approach. "Don't worry about it, er—"

Dayle knew Gunroy's intentions, but still happily revealed, "Dayle. Dayle Butcher of FireRain. And you are?"

"Gunroy of Peacemakers." Gunroy gave Dayle a once-over then warned in a low voice. "Watch your back on this mission, Dayle. The Nexus are a crafty bunch. If you're not careful, you won't even know how you died."

"Thanks for the warning." Dayle chuckled and then said with a shrug, "But I'm low-level and poor. I quite literally have nothing to lose. I'm only here for the fun experience." The young man's eyes took on a harsh twinkle as he returned Gunroy's once-over. "You on the other hand... I would advise caution. That gear looks real expensive."

If Gunroy could not sense the threat in Dayle's tone, he might as well have considered his entire life wasted. However, that threat fell flat when he looked at Dayle's team's equipment. He recognized those starter gear anywhere. These fools hadn't even upgraded their gear, yet they dared to cross his path.

"Waste of time." Gunroy realized their was absolutely no profit in entangling himself with these bottom-feeders. Like Dayle said, FireRain was too poor (in appearance) for their losses to mean anything. In the end, Gunroy would just expend needless effort. "Watch your back." With those words, Gunroy turned and walked away to join his fireteam—but not before casting Dayle a scathing glare.

Dayle ignored the merc and instead turned to face the children, who were looking at him with equal parts apprehension and excitement. On the one hand, they were excited that someone seemingly fought for them, but on the other, they were scared that Dayle would take the card for themselves. "Well, someone has trust issues," teased Dayle as he crouched in front of the children. He raised the bank card, and then asked, "Who's the leader of you punks?"

The children collectively looked at a boy, who, at first glance, seemingly had no business being the group's leader. The child, a blue-skinned radi, was the smallest of the group, and looked to be about 8-9, but, considering how severely malnourished the children were, he could have been much older. His sky-blue eyes, however, were strong and seemed wise beyond his years.