Page 4193

Lozaro looked at Abdul with big, strained eyes but said nothing.

"You're makin' me feel bad," said Abdul, frowning. "In fact, you haven't been your usual, chipper self for a while now, Lozzie. Something eating at you?"

And Lozaro, the one they called the Bloody Professor, seemed momentarily as if he were no more dignified or intimidating than a lost child. But then he regained some of his composure as a scowl appeared on his face. "You were not invited to this conversation, Mari. Leave us."

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that." Abdul's hand left Karkash's shoulder and found its way over to Lozaro's. He brushed up against the unhappy scientist like they were old friends. "If you've got a problem, you know you can always come to me, right? People tell me I'm a great listener. In fact, some say too good."

Karkash, for his part, had already heard enough and so turned to leave the two of them alone, but Lozaro stopped him again. "Headhunter. Request something of me, and I shall make it for you. Any weapon you desire. Any tool. Name it."

"Oooh," said Abdul, cocking an eyebrow towards Karkash. "Hell of an offer. Could I get something, too?"

Lozaro ignored him and maintained eye contact with Karkash.

Abruptly, he was glad that Hoyohté was not immediately present. She would have taken over right here and picked something in his stead.

"Anything I desire?" said Karkash, not caring to conceal the doubt in his tone.

"Anything," echoed Lozaro. He sounded more confident now, but perhaps that was just an act.

It made Karkash want to request something impossible, if only to see how he reacted. He held onto that for a moment longer, though, wondering if he should really take such a risk in pushing the boundaries of proper conduct with someone who was obviously much more important and influential than himself.

And Abdul's smiling presence was certainly not helping, either. The man looked like he was having a grand time. "Go on. Say something, Bolt. Headhunter. Lightning Llama. Sharky Karkky. Which name do you like, by the way? I'm partial to the Llama, personally. Everyone wants to be some kind of tough, edgy animal, but don't llamas deserve some love, too?"

He said that, but Karkash knew for a fact that Abdul had invented that last moniker himself.

Regardless, the correct response was simply to ignore him, just as Lozaro had done. "There is much that I desire, Professor. Perhaps you should narrow the focus of what I may request."

Next page on the 31st

Thanks for reading, everybody.

Page 4192

The meeting continued on for far longer than Karkash would've liked. Lozaro droned on and on about the new trinkets he was providing to them, and if Karkash had the authority, he would've absolutely told him to be more concise.

Especially because the trinkets weren't even that complicated or impressive, as far as he was concerned. They were baubles meant to be distributed to the less powerful members of the each sect. A way of boosting their combat potential.

And there was a lot of magnetization, Karkash noticed. Magnetized knives. Magnetized grenades. Magnetized bullets, even.

Karkash could only surmise that Lozaro had created these things after observing him on the battlefield.

Which was quite annoying, the more Karkash thought about it.

All redundant works. Inferior to what he could more easily do himself.

When the meeting was finally over, Karkash was ready to tear the tented enclosure to pieces just to escape as quickly as possible. Instead, he settled for walking.

Maddeningly, however, Lozaro found him and began talking to him directly.

"A moment, please, Headhunter."

Karkash contained his displeasure and turned to face the man. He said nothing.

"Will you be seeking an audience with Jercash today?" asked Lozaro. His sickly complexion might have made him fit right in with the Venerators--or perhaps he even used to be one.

"No," said Karkash. Why was he asking that?

Lozaro's brow twitched. "...I see. But if he calls for you, what might you tell him of the meeting we just had?"

Karkash's expression was stone, but he had no idea where this line of questioning could possibly be leading. Should he just be blunt?

Pah, why not? The man asked.

"I will tell him that it was a waste of my time."

Lozaro looked absolutely haunted. "I--you--ngh... egh..."

And what was this now? Karkash so badly wanted to try slapping some sense into him, but again, he restrained himself.

Karkash felt a hand on his shoulder as someone else arrived and stood next to him.

"What's the matter, Lozzie?" said the familiar voice of Abdul Mari.

The man they called Lucky, among other odd monikers.

Karkash eyed Abdul carefully. There weren't many people who could sneak up on him like that, anymore. His senses had become highly attuned in multiple different ways, to the point where people kept asking if he had eyes in the back of his head.

And yet he hadn't sensed Abdul there at all.