Chapter XXXVII: A Deal with the Devil

 The Night of the Lunatic, as the mercs gathered around the campfire had started to call it, was still just a night and it had to end when the morning came. Even after the death of the madman who had terrorized the residents of the waste processing station, the athmosphere remained tense and fearful. The first rays of sun, filtered through the dense clouds, were greeted with cheers and loud sighs of relief. The darkness was over for now.

For Boris, rest of the night had been a meticulous ritual of cleaning and bandaging of his wounds, cleaning his guns and preparing his equipment. Hip had done the same, although her equipment amount wasn't as expansive as that of Boris. Dima meanwhile had shared with the mercs the adventures of the trio, the journeys before and during the raid to the CNPP. Few still doubted the basis of these stories, after witnessing Boris' squad brave the darkest night the Zone had seen and come back alive.

With the first light, Vector guided them into the sewers below the plant. The journey to Dead City was that of boring brick walls and eternal stench of the sewers. Even in their gasmasks, the filters could not stop the rotten, foul smell from reaching their nostrils. Dima tried to counter this by smoking like a bar singer but it was of no use. Boris meanwhile was far too focused on pondering what would happen in Dead City to mind the smell too much.

Boris was formulating a plan in his mind for the eventual meeting with Dushman. Would he tell him of the Redemption, of the fact that he was no longer employed with Dushman? Or would he leave it out and just play the role of a merc for a little while? Perhaps it was best to only reveal the faction once Boris had enough allies not to get instantly stomped. Bandits could easily be agitated into attacking Meadow if they felt strong enough, and while Boris had managed to keep the loners off his back, they wouldn't help Boris and the Redemption if push came to shove.

Boris settled on not telling Dushman as they group stepped outside from the sewers. They had arrived right outside of the marketplace. Vector nodded to them and turned around, heading back into the sewers once more.

• That man must have the shittiest job in the Zone, quite literally, Dima remarked.

• Don't even start with the puns again, Hip murmured, holstering her shotgun. Dima smirked back but thankfully stayed silent.

Boris headed inside, the two companions following him, and found Dushman arguing with a mercenary about the prices of the 7.62x25 rounds. Boris waited quietly for the bickering to end, and the mercenary almost ran into him when the man stormed off. Dushman seemed not the least bit annoyed or frustrated, and greeted Boris.

• So, our forlorn hope returns? How was it? As fun as switching off X-16 and 19? Bet you found a lot of lucrative info on the way?

Boris nodded and gave him a flashdrive Strelok had given him. Then he explained shortly everything he had learned, down to the tiniest detail. This was what Dushman wanted of him, and if he did it well, the merc boss might not suspect anything. When he ended his lecture on the secrets of the Zone, Dushman was grinning from one ear to another. He had checked the flashdrive as well while Boris spoke.

• This is all very good stuff, our clients will pay greatly for such intricate knowledge. You've done well, Mister Ex-Renegade. However, I still have one question left.

• About what?, Boris said, as nonchalantly as possible. But inside he was panicking a bit. Soon he'd ask about the Meadow, and then all the mercs in the room would turn their guns towards him.

• How the fuck did you scare Sultan like that?, Dushman asked. Boris was taken aback for just a second. He replied with a question, remaining on the defensive.

• How do you know about that?

• As you know, I've got sources amongst the bandits, and I know about your little venture in Meadow. I mean, most people already do, since there's been a steady influx of criminals heading there to be redeemed or some stupid shit. Go do your hippie stuff about redemption there all you want, I couldn't care less now that you gave me this million-dollar flashdrive, but please explain how the hell you broke Sultan? The man has upped security in Dark Valley like never before but doesn't leave his room?

Boris was stupefied like never before. Dushman didn't care? About the Meadow or the Redemption. Was this a jackpot or trap or something, he thought. But since Dushman wanted an answer, he gave him one. He told the story of their little chat with Sultan, and Dushman let out a hearty chuckle.

• Damn son, you sure do have balls. And Sultan doesn't almost have anymore, good job on that by the way, girl, Dushman complimented while nodding to Hip and continued:

• So if you're wondering why am I not hanging you for leaving the mercs, well, honestly. You're just taking the rotten eggs out of our honest criminal society, just look at Dima there. Man lost a few of his mates and now doesn't want to work for me anymore? And you're just a damn softie who is only okay with shooting Monolith and Zombies.

Dushman paused and looked at Boris, who was getting a bit annoyed at this bastard calling his choices soft. But he was partially right. Boris wasn't cut out for the life of a paid killer, he had known it from the beginning. When Boris did not respond, Dushman continued:

• So I first thought I'd just send a squad of my finest to crush your little faction, but then I heard about that incident with Sultan and decided to wait a little. It seems that while you might be soft on some matters, you don't take shit towards your boys. I respect that, I do, and honestly, you might keep the bandits humble and the stalkers happy down there in the south while also taking out all the weak links among the mercs. So you can play a faction leader if you want. If you still do jobs for us, that is. Jobs like you've been doing so far.

Boris sighed. A deal with the devil. More suicide missions. But he could see that Dushman wasn't sure if he wanted to anger Boris. Maybe he still had room for negotiation. Suicide jobs were okay to Boris, he had survived them in the past. He just needed to negotiate the deal a bit.

• I'll accept that offer, if that means not harming the factions were not at war with. And I want a guarantee that you'll help us if we ever get attacked by the bandits. That's all I'm asking, in return for my factions services to the mercs.

• You got yourself a deal then son. Always a pleasure doing business with ya, Dushman concluded and shook Boris' hand. The fate of the Redemption seemed a bit brighter now.