Apocalypse: Fairy System by Macronomicon (fox in socks read aloud txt) 📕

“Dude!” Jeb exclaimed before Zlesk hauled him back out the door. He’d been hoping for some kind of ‘you attack him, you attack all of us’, but Jeb had made the mistake of hiring sane, rational people.

None of the teachers could compete with someone who could catch a bullet, and they knew it.

Jeb got dragged out onto the mansion grounds, all the children gawking at the seven-foot-tall bone giant who hauled the owner of the orphanage through the courtyard, then over the hedge to the next property over.

When Zlesk dropped him onto the flagstone around the edge of the neighbor’s swimming pool, he seemed to have calmed down in the interim. The former sheriff prodded his rapidly purpling hand, watching Jeb out of the corner of his eye.

“I regret losing my temper. I was…upset.”

“So, Grenore got you fired, huh?” Jeb asked, coming to his foot. It was the only reason he could see that the sheriff might have lost his job and would blame Jeb for it.

“He wanted to discredit or eliminate any witness to his humiliation. I am a Citizen and therefore he could not risk killing me, so instead the tycoon launched an aggressive campaign to have me removed from office and stripped of my standing.

“Mere hours after you had left his office, all your posters were down, replaced with ones that muddied the water and called for my resignation. Hundreds of bulbs changed hands, and in the end…” Zlesk spread his hands. “I received a dismissal from the head office for allowing Ms. Grenore to be kidnapped, and here I am.”

“What about the enforcer?”

Zlesk snorted. “I wish he’d tried. Ms. Tekalis could have put the buffoon out of our misery before his campaign against me amounted to anything. Sadly, Garland isn’t that stupid. Imperial enforcers have a license to kill and very little oversight. He let her be until she simply left on more important matters.”

“Well, how can you get your standing back?” Jeb asked.

“Oh, there are ways, but all of them amount to either greasing a staggering amount of palms or accomplishing some monumentally dangerous task. Climbing back up is harder than falling down.”

“…Would working closely with an imperial enforcer and killing a reaper do it?” Jeb asked.

Zlesk’s brows skyrocketed for a moment. “Honestly? No, no, it would not be enough.” Zlesk cocked his head. “But it would be an excellent start to regaining my status within the empire.”

“I got the job offer right before I left Kalfath. Haven’t earmarked the credit for the kill to anyone,” Jeb said with a shrug. “Would you like to make a Deal?”

“Like your arrangement with Grenore? You might not remember, but I witnessed that farce firsthand. I’ll pass.” Zlesk waved his hand dismissively.

“Most of the setup to lure the reaper out has already been done,” Jeb said. “Help me for the last little bit and all the positive credit for the operation will be owed to you. Someone who can catch a bullet would be appreciated when we finally confront the murderer.”

“Jeb, you can’t lie about who did all the work,” Smartass whispered into his ear.

No, but I can assign credit.

“Whaddya think? I’ll even let you dictate the terms.”

“I think it could be a colossal waste of time.” Zlesk thumbed his chin, cocking his head in thought. “But...if i get to dictate the terms…

“Give me a hundred bulbs as collateral, the price of my heir’s citizenship, and I’ll do what it takes to help you catch your reaper. If we succeed in a spectacular fashion, then I will exchange your money for public crediting of my involvement. If you muck it up and incite public outrage or political blowback again, I will walk away with your money and deny all involvement with you.”

Jeb felt a smile blooming. “Do you take gold bullion?”

“Acceptable.”

“Deal.”

Jeb felt the somewhat more complicated bargain click into place inside him, urging him to fork over a little over six pounds of gold.

And now we’ve got someone who can actually fight, Jeb thought.

While the two were shaking hands, Rufi—er, Colt leapt over the hedge, a sling whirling over his head.

“Get down, pops! I got this!”

Teenagers, Jeb thought, rolling his eyes.

The teen unleashed a lead pellet with the distinctive crack of an object breaking the sound barrier, straight for Jeb’s new hire.

“Stop!” Jeb shouted as Zlesk flickered out of the way, the bullet puncturing the ground behind him.

Shing! Zlesk drew his blade, and Jeb thought he was about to see a diced Colt. The keegan charged forward, using the hilt of the blade to deflect a second bullet before punching for Colt’s head.

Colt responded with a spray of Mystic slime, covering the sheriff and just about everything else in zero-friction goop.

Zlesk’s eyes went wide as his feet slipped, throwing his punch wide before he tumbled to the ground, sliding into the hedge in a lanky heap.

“Take my friends!? I’ll fucking kill you, boney!” Colt pulled out a knife and went for the coup de grâce, and Jeb used a ball of hardened air to jab him in the nose. The boy staggered, clutching his face, giving Zlesk time to get his bearings.

Zlesk’s palm found purchase in the slime somehow, and he flipped, reaching up to catch Colt’s wrist.

There was a hum that was more felt than heard, and Colt’s wrist was dragged down to the ground. Zlesk touched the boy’s forehead and shoulder, and soon he was stapled to the ground by invisible force.

“Let go of me, I’ll kill you!” Colt shouted into the dirt, followed by some more wordless screaming and spraying of zero-friction goop.

“What did I do to offend this one?” Zlesk asked, coming to his feet. From the way he moved, Jeb could tell he was using his Class