Open The Slups Completed The Grand Crime Market

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo at this point totally lost comprehension of the topic. But he was capable enough to read into the emotions in the room. The two vixens were in deadly combat of wits and he could see who was at . he moment in disadvantage. Mostly because one side had to play with open cards to even sit at the table. Such however was the world of politics among the criminals. Seeing as the vixen he brought into the Maws was rather defensive and forced to give up all her knowledge made him both sympathetic (a thing he could afford since he left the world of crime) and also a bit worried. He brought her to curry favours, if she were to leave with nothing, he would just waste time, potentially maybe alienate himself from two rather affluent players that he could otherwise use to his advantage.

The vixen from The Great Maws was seemingly pleased at the answer. Albeit it was had to read her maniacal expression, but it seemed tamer than before. She spoke while leaning closer to Marianna, her nose twitching. "That is enlightening... so you speak of us becoming your first major investors? Well..." She took a pause while observing her boss with searching gaze. "You come to us to give a gift that you admit yourself will only be valuable should we further invest into your... enterprise. Clever, but feels a bit cheap you know?" She grinned and side stared into Marianna's eyes.

Ivo decided it was his time to play the game. Risky manoeuvrers were now on he table in order to come on top. And this game as in many, he planned to end up on top. "Well guys, If ya don't wannit, I guess as yer member I'm also eligible fer dis." He spoke casually, almost disinterested while pointing at the stocks on the table. "From all that am hearin' ye wanna either get more fer free now and still buy more leta' in tha future. Makin money on yer own money? Sound investment to me, and I ain't gonna let some free money to pass."

The Vixen during those few seconds went through plethora of emotions, anger, intererst, rage, mania, disbelief were all present for short moments. Ivo just gave his most charming smile while using the atention he turned to himself and his face, stepping a bit forward to Marianna's side and putting swiftly his badge to her paw. If the Maw chose to close on him now, she now had a powerful card of knowing and having a tangible proof that he is a city official. He just hoped that she would find a way to use it well.

The vixen then with a laugh underlined with a growl pounced to him, now standing well in front of him, slightly towering over while snarling. She started speaking so fast that no other beast could follow, albeit it lasted only a second before her boss hit the desk with his fist, snapping her back to reality and making her falter for few moments.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna was readying a remark, a potent quip about being willing to cash out the bonds for equivalent value if the Great Maws were so small of ambition as to prefer cheap coin now to riches later, when the fox who has brought her here spoke up. Her eyes widened as he goaded the vixen into an almost violent, incoherent response. As he pressed his badge into her paw, her eye widened. She couldn't feel the precise contours of the badge, but anybeast with a badge being here was very, very bad. What was he - Misanthropy, Justice, Commerce, Fogey? Any of those options was terrible for her; nevermind that he'd brought her in, not the other way around. Being seen to fraternize with an officer of the law was, in the criminal underworld, a recipe for cement shoes and an express tour of the harbor.

As the boss himself intervened, Marianna held her breath. This would be the moment that would make or break her. "If it please you, sir," she suggested, "I can give you time to consider this offer. My intent was to return tomorrow and speak with the other major players in the market... but, I can always come back here first for your decision."

 

[Ivo Suresight]

The boss stood up and opened his maw to speak. Quickly shutting it as he himself remembered of his shredded tongue making any coherent speech impossible. He put his paw on the stocks Marianna left and gestured with another to stop her from going anywhere. A few of the goons in the room moved to blockade the doors Ivo and Marianna came from.

Ivo knew his plan now was at least in part working. The vixen he brought tried to leave and stiff wasn’t a type to let the opportunity pass like just like Ivo. As such one thing was sure. There would be a deal happening soon, it was a matter of just making it good enough for both sides to make it so Ivo can get something from it.

“Sooo… stiff, ya know I wouldn’ bring ya a dud of a deal.” Ivo started almost sheepishly, charmingly grinning and fluttering his eyes and ears.

The vixen had none of it and clearly wanted to protest. But a simple gesture from her boss made her reconsider. She was already walking thin ice for lashing out and Ivo was glad to put her in check.


“Well then. No need to leave. After all that wouldn’t work well with your words of coming to us first right?” The vixen spoke, clearly in disdain but containing her madness for now.

”Let me be frank, something is off to my nose here. And it isn’t unwashed fur. You want your investment? How about we buy it on the lease. We can buy it half of charge now. Since you can just make them invalid. It doesn’t hurt you that much in the long run. Once your system starts working… we will pay the rest of the cost as a condition to us getting more of them.”

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna tensed as the guards moved to block the exit. This was swiftly going downhill, and she was well aware of the risks in being a lone femme alone with a room of hostile males. Why didn't I insist on bringing Falun? Granted, he couldn't have taken them all, but maybe I could have escaped while they were pummelling him to death.

At the other vixen's suggestion, she considered the offer. Half the value of the stock up front was better than nothing, even if it was being bought partly on credit. And, if they bought enough... "Very well," she allowed. "Half purchased at the current price of forty gilders per share. The rest will be held in reserve under your name, with your purchased shares as collateral. Once you make purchase of the reserved shares - at whatever market price those shares may be," she stressed, "whether greater or less than the current market value - then the full value of your shares will be available to you. If you choose to sell those shares you have already bought instead of purchasing the remainder, then the reserve of the remaining stock will be considered void and will be released for sale to other buyers. Is this acceptable?"

It was a gamble, one worth wagering, in Marianna's estimation. If the stocks rose, then the Great Maw were guaranteed an amount of stock available for them to buy - albeit at a higher price based on the success of the stock so far. If the price fell, then they could sell what they had purchased with only a minimal loss, more than offset by the shares that Marianna had given them as a tribute. It was likely the closest they would get to mutual satisfaction... As long as this lawbeast beside her, whoever she was, didn't do something to bring the room to bloodshed.

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Ivo grinned at the fact two vixens came to some agreement. He felt a bit proud of himself, causing chaos that brought advantages was his way of doing things. Neither of the two were seemingly happy about this arrangement but they at least have done it.

The vixen still masked her annoyance with practiced face. Ivo knew if she were to ever rise in the ranks he would be a dead beast. But he wasn't concerned about it. Crazy ones were good at doing stuff but not great at leading massive groups. Such things needed authority and leveled heads. Something Stiff had. Even if used to be just an enforcer back when Ivo still run with Maws, Stiff wasn't dumb, he just couldn't speak without making someone laugh.

"That is... acceptable." The vixen spoke through somewhat clenched teeth, even if she tried to play no more interested in the whole debacle. She turned to Stiff and spoke almost reverently. "Just give me numbers and I will manage the rest." Ivo almost chuckled at her almost meek tone.

Stiff meanwhile took out his claw from index finger, put it in ink and wrote a number 1000 on a slip of paper. Then he showed it to the rest of the beasts.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna felt a surge of relief as her proposal was accepted. She caught sight of the number, and her eyes widened. Was that one thousand gilders' worth of stock, or one thousand shares? She hoped the latter. "One thousand shares split between five hundred purchased, five hundred in reserve, at market price of forty gilders apiece is twenty thousand gilders," she remarked, doing the math quickly in her head. "If purchasing a value of one thousand gilders, that is an additional twenty-five shares, plus twenty five held in reserve per the agreement. If you don't mind me putting the full amount onto a single document, I can validate the sale right now; if you prefer they be split across multiple documents, depending on the number, I may need to go for more paper." Her mind was already calling up one of the ciphers she preferred to use; given a keyword, she could encode the name of the purchaser quite easily, and in a manner that would be unbreakable without it.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

The vixen scoffed at the number but took it and pulled out few sheets of paper from the nearby cupboard. Putting them on the desk. "The boss has spoken, thousand shares will be bought. Use those for your documentation." She grunted, being unhappy but obedient secretary.

Ivo in the meanwhile pulled out his sketchbook sneakily. He started drawing the scene, not just because he wanted to keep it in memory, but also he knew that way he would be privy to all details of it... Keeping both sides in his pocket even if he couldn't get a favour he wanted.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna examined the offered paper. It wasn't quite of the same stock as the shares she'd offered already, but it would do. "I'll put five hundred on one document," she suggested, "and five hundred on another." She carefully, in her neat bookkeeper's calligraphy, began writing out the stock information, the purchase price, share numbers, a serial number, and so on. With the second document she affixed the number of shares, but left the purchase price and stock value off, as well as adding in a 'Reserved' note beside her signature. "I will need a code word," she explained to her new clients, "in order to encipher the purchase in our records for your protection. Do you have one in mind?"

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Stiff scribbled the most complex word he knew, Gallowsbait. This should do in his opinion. He made extra sure to intimidate with his stare everyone in the room other than Marianna to discourage them from peeking.

Ivo looked intently to see what was written on the snap of paper that Stiff scribbled something on. The codeword. He didn't know it and was certainly displeased by it. Oh well, it wasn't that hard to get it in some way. And knowledge is power as he learnt in his short life.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna took one look, then removed from her purse a piece of parchment with a neat grid upon it, the alphabet in full making up the axes of the grid, and shifted versions making up the individual points. She started writing out a long word, devoid of punctuation or distinct capitalization, needing to only occasionally glance at the grid for reference. "There," she declared, letting Stiff see the product of her work on the slip of paper. "This is how your transaction will be logged in our company records - with a few extra letters, INC, LLC, ETC thrown onto the end to throw off any aspiring cryptographers. Not even we will know the purchaser of our stock until you arrive with your password. Total client confidentiality."

She straightened up, offering her paw to the leader of the Great Maw, trying not to let either her subsiding terror or her rising elation show as a tremor in her paw. "It is a pleasure to be doing business with you, sir," she addressed him directly. "May we both profit greatly by it."

 

[Ivo Suresight]

If there was one thing Ivo excelled at, it was being perceptive and having great visual memory. Thanks to that, looking at the small parchment with a cypher, he made sure to memorize it and copy as much of it as he could. A strong card it was. He almost chuckled but kept it within to avoid turning any attention to himself.

Stiff in the meanwhile took the paw of Marianna. Grunting with a nod as he gestured with his other paw at the vixen that was still cooling off. She without a word went into one of the many doors behind the desk and few minutes later returned with a small bag, seemingly far too small to contain that sort of money. She gave it to Ivo, causing him to jump a small bit. She then wickedly grinned. "You chatty todd. Make yourself useful and get our money to the destination to fulfill our contract. After all you may still remember the procedure."

Ivo sighed and turned his eyes at the bag. So that was his punishment. Clever of the vixen... but foolish too of her to assume his interest lied with the Maws. But now he knew that should anything happen to the money, it was his responsibility. He was in a way part of the seal upon the deal. He didn't like it of course, but it made him valuable asset.

He then moved and gave Stiff an old sign, one that only the old Maws from before the culling knew, before speaking again to Marianna. "Well it seems am stuck wit ya lass. Letsgo. Don't wanna hold yer money any longer than needed." The other enforcers moved aside at Stiff's gesture, allowing for the two to exit the Maws finally.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna nodded to the vixen as she sealed the deal by giving a bag to the todd who had brought her here. "Thank you," she addressed her opponent, "for a rigorous negotiation. I look forward to our next such discussion." She'd grown complacent, having only Falun as a debate partner for so long. If she was going to get back into the business of the underworld, she needed to be prepared to deal with beasts who were her intellectual equal again.

Marianna took the todd by the arm, leading him outside, back through the tunnel and toward the market. As they approached daylight, Marianna paused, steering him toward the wall. "It seems," she murmured, putting on her most sultry voice, "that I owe you a great deal of gratitude. I would never have been able to strike that bargain without your introduction, after all." Her paws played over his collar, his coat, feeling across his chest. "I suppose that only leaves two questions left for us to answer..." Her voice turned sharp and low as she hissed, "Who are you, and why shouldn't I go back down there and tell them that there's a government agent spying on them from within?"

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Expecting this, Ivo wasn't shocked about the question and merely smiled most charmingly, giving a small, almost derisive bow with his head. His tail slowly curled as he was knew his role well. "Ivo Suresight, ya can find ma signature on some official maps t'city publish. But I grew up runnin' with them Maws. Used t'be their greatest asset. They still owe me far to much and they're aware of me curren' employment."

Deciding to jingle a bit his cards, he put his paw on hers, almost too delicately brushing over it as he continued in a whisper. "Am playin' only fer meself. And with all I've seen, heard and took to me mind, I recomend not getting in me way. I like me people who treat me as an equal." He finished with a dashing grin.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna scowled at the todd's cheeky reply. "And I like todds who don't use me for their own ends," she retorted, her claws digging slightly into his chest - not enough to break fabric or skin, but certainly enough to make her point known. "What are you hoping to gain from this anyway? If you run off with the Great Maw's money, you know they'll come after you with a vengeance."

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo nodded thoughtfully. "I ain't in need of money. I'ma sick of livin for it. I like to dabble wherevah I can for the far more precious thing. Influence." He spoke the last word with a certain reverence. "I can't build a financial empire nor a crime gang. Am too stupid for those. But I can getcha to anyplace. Get most knowledge and info you wanna with no risky or expensive espionage. The darkest place's undah the candle right? So the whole me being there is favours to use later. Aaand knowledge I can use or not. Depending on which side treats me better."

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna's eyes narrowed as she weighed the fox before her. A mercenary spy then, it seemed - an intelligence broker. There was certainly good money in it - and little trust. To let a beast into your operation, you needed to trust them enough to keep your secrets, not sell them out to the highest bidder. That had clearly been the Great Maw's mistake.

"Well then," she remarked, still standing far closer to him than was proper, "I suppose I should really be asking what you've learned today... And how much your silence would cost." She couldn't afford to keep him on payroll, either in terms of strategy or finances; perhaps, though, she could keep him in contact with her. Somebeast with an ear to the ground in the underworld could provide valuable information.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

He chuckled and wagged his tail, instinctively enjoying both his success and her closeness.
“I’m not after money y’know. You want me silence? I need t’know everything. Trust for trust.”

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna couldn't quite keep herself from biting her lip. He would hardly be the shadiest individual she'd ever jumped into bed with... metaphorically or literally. She banished that thought; she'd learned too many times the dangers of mixing work and play. "If I let you in," she warned, "then I expect you to maintain silence about what I tell you, at least to the other gangs. I can't have anyone kiss and tell, as it were." She blushed at the metaphor. This fox certainly wasn't the type one would want to take home to her parents, if she still had any living. Of course, that red fur of his... Is he red everywhere? She banished that intrusive thought forcibly.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo just nodded as he felt he secured himself a deal of a lifetime. His eye fluttered and he laughed dearly before shaking his head at staring into her eyes. “I kiss and don’t tell. That’s ma rule ‘round here. All ya tell me won’t reach anyone but me. As long as you won’t start kissing around.” He played into the metaphor, seeing as it got the vixen somewhat worked up. Charm, wit and good memory were his strongest suits. And he did what he could to master using those three qualities.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna was grateful for her crimson fur; it helped to mask the furiousness of her blush. 'Gates, she hated charmers. They had an annoying habit of ending up in her bed... which meant that, eventually, she had to kick them out of it. As much as she gave Falun grief for making ill-conceived business decisions, he at least didn't bring his personal life into it too often. She had the opposite problem: she sometimes brought her business into her personal life, with all the mess that entailed.

"Show me that you can kiss worth keeping, and I'll consider it," she retorted, almost immediately regretting her decision to stick with the metaphor. She she leaned back slightly, no longer pressing him into the wall... though she didn't take her paws from his chest quite yet. "The Great Maws," she inquired, her tone still a little tense. "What's their operation? If I'm going to be selling to them, I need to make sure that I'm offering what they want to buy. Today was a rough run of it, and if they have twenty thousand to drop on speculation, that means they have hundreds of thousands more in reserve."