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BARREY HENDERER
Barrey Henderer was a decent man. He worked hard, but he also played hard. He got on with people and bonded well with his colleagues.
But, you see, Barrey Henderer had a penchant for fair play. For this reason, he only gave Barney Kuld's heavies what he thought Barney Kuld's cut should be. This didn't lead to sunshine and roses. No. This led to pain and suffering, and eventually justice. Eventually. But that would take time. Revenge was a dish best served tepid.
See, Barrey Henderer was a successful businessman, one of a number of Stall Holders in the heart of Freeride, the commercial House of the Droke, currently under the tutelage of Barney Kuld, a deeply unnecessary man, cruel in intention and practice; a Ruler without a conscience. Nobody liked him, but he didn't care. He paid people to like him. He paid others to protect him. He kept the sycophantic close and his enemies even closer. Barney Kuld demanded a huge tithe from his Stall Holders, more than was reasonable, but no one stood up to him.
How could they? They were only a handful of disgruntled business people. What could they do? So they paid the man, and went without. Not Barrey Henderer. He wouldn't accept it, so took the law into his own hands, keeping some aside for his future.
Barney found out, by one means or another; it didn't really matter how. Barney took offence to this greatly, as though Barrey had come to him and slapped him in the face personally. So he sent a heavy to Barrey's stall, smashing it to pieces. Splinters flew everywhere, as did the produce.
Barrey stood up to the bully, and received a metal pole right in the mouth, breaking his teeth down to rubble, like the rubble outside the Houses, chipped and bloody; broken. Barrey fell to the ground in considerable pain. A second blow from the pole onto his skull would have killed him, if the heavy didn't drop like a stone before he even lifted the pole. Someone unseen wrapped a blanket around Barrey Henderer, concealing him from prying eyes, and whisked him away into the shadows.
For all intents and purposes, Barrey Henderer died along with his business that day. In truth he was in the shadows, with his people; the Hidden.
And pretty soon he would find out. Find out why they saved him, and for what purpose. But all he knew right now, was he would awake in the dark with a mouth full of silver, and not know where he was.
Luckily, a man was sat next to him, on a small armless chair. He would explain.
"Ah, you're awake, Mr Henderer. My name is - unimportant. But you may refer to me as Del. I suppose you're wondering why you're here?"
Barrey thought about speaking, but didn't trust his mouth right now. So he nodded.
"We are known as the Hidden, for want of a better description. We - work in the shadows. Our oeuvre is politics in all its forms. Now, to why you are here? We have need of your unique talents, Mr Henderer. What talents are they, I understand you may ask? We are clever people, Mr Henderer, but what we are not is charismatic. The gift of the gab, call it what you will. For this reason, we need a man with such talents. And that person is you, Mr Henderer. Now you might further ask why you in particular? Let's call it opportunity. Right place, right time, so to speak. Oh, and the silver? I'm afraid enamel is a commodity rarely come by. Trouble is, people like to keep their teeth in their head, it would seem. So we repaired your mouth with the only commodity we have in abundance, that being silver. It's quite safe, Mr Henderer. It might take a day or two getting used to the new teeth, but I feel you are the kind of person to take it in his stride. Now, I must leave you, as I have pressing business in Prudence. Someone will be in shortly to help you with eating and the like. It is genuinely a pleasure to meet you, conscious at least, Mr Henderer." said Del, offering his hand to shake.
Barrey took it, "Shiver teef." he tried.
"Sorry?" asked Del.
"Caw nee shiver teef."
"Silver Teeth. Alright, as you wish. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Teeth." nodded Del curtly, leaving the room by the one lonely door.
Silver Teeth looked about him. The room was small and dusty, but it was cosy to a point. His bedsheets were clean and so were his clothes. He had been well looked after, he couldn't deny it. He sat up in the bed, as it creaked and moaned against his weight. There was a window, but it had been darkened by moss and damp over weeks of neglect. Still, it gave enough illumination to the room for Silver Teeth to see by.
He was considering getting out of the bed to look around outside the door, when it opened, and in walked a bald man, mostly by his own design. He held a bowl of soup, of undefinable flavour.
"I'm Darik Wynter. How are you, Bar -"
"Shiver Teef."
"Sorry. Del did tell me. Silver Teeth. I've got soup -"
"I'n nock hundry."
"You need to eat. Here, just a spoon -" Silver Teeth pushed the spoon out of the way. Darik tried again. And again. And again. Then another person entered the room hurriedly. They gripped Darik Wynter tightly by the shoulders, whispering into his ear. Darik carefully put the soup bowl on the floor and exited the room.
"Sorry there. Darik has - anger issues. We're keeping them under control, but, you know? Gail by the way. He is right, you do need to eat. Del has plans and they need to start soon. He's going to need you in tip-top condition." Gail tried the spoon this time and, although suspicious still, Silver Teeth ate. When the bowl was finished, Gail left the room with a smile. And Silver Teeth drifted back to sleep.
#
Within the three weeks of his recovery, Silver Teeth dug deeply into the world of the Hidden. He learned from Darik the need for calmness, and in return taught Darik some meditation techniques he had learned from a dubious source. His speech improved as he got used to the new teeth, only drawing blood on his gums and lip a dozen or so times. But at least now he spoke without a lisp. Del, when he wasn't so busy, would teach Silver Teeth the intricacies of Politics, from how to gain power, up to and including how to maintain that power.
Del wasn't deceitful. He made sure Silver Teeth understood that he was a figurehead to the Hidden movement. Of that movement, only Del really knew its extent. He made sure little pockets of Sleepers were dotted about the Droke, ready to act when called upon.
This little cabal contained Silver Teeth, Darik Wynter, Gail Merrey, Tods Cuva and Yenny Hoat. They each had a skill to bring to the table. Darik had Happy Face, Gail had the kindness of a Mother, with the viciousness of one also, Tods was a minor part in a large political cog, while having access to the higher echelons when needed. Yenny was, well, Yenny. No one quite knew her skill, but that didn't matter. They bonded. As Del wanted. Well, it's fair to say Del knew, hence why he picked them all.
#
Fairly soon, Freeride would have its annual Broker's Ball, a function for the elite of all four Houses. Everyone who was anyone would be there. It was this that Del had been waiting for.
"It is at this function we shall strike the blow." he explained to the gathered of Silver Teeth et al.
"How? Explosions?" asked Gail.
"It must be surreptitious. Hidden." said Del calmly.
"Are you saying we take them all out in one fell swoop?" asked Silver Teeth. He had been a good student for Del, who smiled his approval.
"Right. And not explosions?" continued Gail.
"No Gail. It must look like a natural thing, as far as it can." said Silver Teeth.
"The Houses understand political intrigue and murder for power. Trust me, they would respect the move if only because they would envy our planning ability. Besides, no one likes Barney Kuld. They would be glad to see the back of him, but they cannot do it themselves. It has to be - internal." said Del.
"Hence us." said Yenny, stating the obvious.
"Precisely." agreed Del.
Silver Teeth spoke up, "So how do we go about taking them all out at one time? I mean, there are only, what, five of us? And there are -"
"Fifteen." said Tods.
"Right. Fifteen of them. Thanks Tods." finished Silver Teeth.
"Then we shall use the tried and tested methods of elimination." explained Del.
"What, you mean poisoning? Silent kills?" asked Gail.
"Poison, yes. There is a person I know from Godenheim who can make a poison that will take exactly as long as we need it to act and ultimately kill the recipient. We wouldn't even be there when it happened." explained Del.
"Delivery method?" asked Tods.
"Poison tip darts, poison tipped canes. The options are incalculable." said Yenny with a shrug.
"Well." said Silver Teeth, "Best get to work then."
#
When it came, it came swift and deadly.
It was the morning of the Broker's Ball, and the commotion around Freeride was tremendous. Silver Teeth and the others were able to walk about without retribution. No one paid attention to the help, and the five of them wandered about serving food and drinks, while accidentally bumping into this man, or dropping something in front of that woman. Each had their targets, and all delivered their payloads to where they were meant to go.
It was too easy, but then why shouldn't it be? Meticulous planning had gone into it, with every piece on the board calculated, collected and curated, so that no stone was left unturned. Contingencies were also carefully devised, just in case. By the time of the Ball, fifteen people were mysteriously dead, some in their homes, some in shops as they were buying outfits for the evening. Some died in the Outhouses, while others were caught in flagrante with a prostitute, or in a drinking den. An investigation would have to go into the deaths, but right now there was the Broker's Ball, so investigations would have to wait until the morning.
But by then, it would be too late. Power would have changed hands, and the deaths would be thankfully swept under the proverbial carpet, never to be spoken of again. But there was one last face that needed taking out. Barney Kuld.
#
The door to Barney's office burst open. Barney was there, behind his desk, clutching his chest as the poison took hold. Barney watched with despair as a man he though dead strode in, confident and sporting a silver smile. Triumphant.
"How?" tried Barney, but he couldn't stop Silver Teeth's advance. Silver Teeth took his time. He paced up to the desk, walked around it and leaned in.
"It's what you might call a hostile takeover." whispered Silver Teeth, into Barney Kuld's ear as he died.
And so began the reign of Silver Teeth, Ruler of Freeride.
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