7th Exploit: St. Costas 1

A Chapter by Jeffrey J Dotson

Our protagonists have reached the bustling city of St. Costas, known for being just as active during the night time as it is in the day, but its night business isn't always so lawful...

7th Exploit: St. Costas Pt. 1

The lights were everywhere. Every street corner had a light post and every building a lit sign of some sort to make whatever business its representing stand out. The setting star was nearly buried behind the building landscape, still showing some day but the sky and natural light was choked out by the illumination of St. Costas. Traffic was still thick and the activity, as were the various plazas and banks. Antonio had never seen anything like this; Inizioville was a black ball of a place in comparison to the well lit hive laying before him.

Jace took a few steps forward and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Its amazing!"

"Sure is." Antonio smirks. "Luke told me the city was different but I had no clue it was like this!" Tony looks around, eyeing the various hotels and attractions before looking down at Jace. "Where we goin' first chief?"

Jace lights up as his eyes meet a neon sign above one of the wider buildings. It reads 'Sword and Sandal Arcade', having a sword and sandal on its upper left and right respectively, and looks a little run down with cracks on the walls. The windows are tinted, as if to keep the light from entering the building. Beside the door is a poster advertising some H5 Climax event, though this seems separate from the arcade itself as there are various copies of the poster along other buildings. Jace points at the arcade and smiles brightly as Antonio crosses his arms and nods his head.

"There! I wanna see what their swords look like!"

"I'm fine with that-" Before Antonio can finish his sentence Jace excitedly runs toward the building and haplessly across the traffic. Tony thinks nothing of it until he notices a Semi truck heading right toward him. The man in the truck honks and tries to break. Jace only has time to glance at the truck before Antonio grabs him by the collar of his shirt and launches both of them toward the sidewalk next to the arcade. The man looks out his window and yells at Jace as he starts to drive off.

"Hey Jace..." Jace looks up at Antonio, who has a glare fixed on his face. "Try to be a little more careful alright?" Jace wearily nods his head. Tony looks up at the buildings neon sign as he lets himself calm down. "Anyways what the hell's an 'arcade'?

---

Jace was a mix of emotions. His near-death experience with the vehicle was out of his mind, but the unnatural nature of this 'sword shop' was new to both him and the equally shocked Antonio. There were odd machines all over the place, many lined up in an organized fashion. Most seemed to have people stuck to them and they all made loud noises. Noises that Jace had never even conceived of before. The lights from these cabinets lit the dimmed room only helped to aid in the sensory overload poor Jace was experiencing right now. Antonio took his time to look around, soaking in all this new uncanny stuff.

"What in the name of Dragone is this?!" Antonio scratched his head as Jace frantically looked around. Both were confused to see no swords in the building. A female host walks up to the two. Shes wearing a blue vest over a white shirt with the sword and sandal emblem smack dab in the middle of it, as well as black pants. Tony looks up at her and smirks.

"Welcome to the Sword and Sandal arcade, where everyone has a slashingly good time! Do you need any help finding-"

"Lady lady, what in the hell IS this place?!" The host looks confused. She tilts her head and gives Antonio a look as if hes an idiot. "We thought this place was a weapon shop, this guy-" Tony points his thumb at Jace, who still looks like hes at a loss for words. "-was hopin' to view ya'lls wares, and instead we get assaulted visually and verbally by all these lights and noises!"

The host slowly puts her hand over her mouth, astounded that two such people exist in this world that wouldn't know what an arcade is. "You've never been to an arcade?"

"That's another thing, what the hell's an arcade anyways? Is it a misspelling?! You or whoever owns this place weren't going for arcane were you? That'd be much more fitting since I have no damn clue what's up with this place!"

There is a flat silence between Tony and the host as beeps and dings ring out throughout the arcade. The host does her best to keep a straight smile. "W-well sir, I guess I should explain..."

---

Clark had made it. It was nearly dusk but he'd made it to Inizioville before the solar systems star had fully set. His CX Mosain Plus had just pulled in and parked between the villages triangle stone ring and the dojo in which it belonged to, Lukes dojo. The car roars as its ignition is shut off. Clark and his driver open their respective doors and step out of the vehicle, closing the doors behind them. Clark looks around, almost disgusted to be in this place.

"Guh, these peasants have no sense of style! Its enough to make me vomit!" Clark shakes his head and turns it to the dojo. "I'd like to get this out of the way as soon as possible." The driver nods as the two walk toward the dojo. As Clark and his cohort walk up the steps he grimaces. "You sure this is the right address? The place looks a little too big and gaudy for a no-pocket kid."

"Its his brothers estate, up until his disappearance Antonio lived under his wing. If hes not still ducking here Its likely this guy at least knows where his brother lives."

Clark nods and wearily smirks. "Well, hopefully it won't come to a game of cat and mouse." Clark raises his hand up to the door and knocks on it four times. He taps his foot and waits impatiently. Ten seconds pass, Clark knocks four more times and makes sure they're hard. The door swings open and a annoyed Luke steps out.

"You know I heard the first set-" Luke stops himself the moment he sees the TC on Clarks jacket. He looks up at Clarks smirking face and raises his eyebrows, confused as to why Tai Corps would be out this far. His confusion is only enhanced when he recognizes Clarks face. "...What's one of Tai Corps top brass doing all the way out here?"

Clark adjusts his coat and grins. "Well, Mr. Dragone, to put it quick and to the point. My resources tell me an Antonio Dragone resides, or resided here some time ago. I was hoping to speak to the young man personally about how we could deal with a certain problem dealing with damages of Tai Corps property." Lukes brow twitches. He could put two and two together pretty quickly, and hes not happy with what hes adding up. "So, is he in the house or not?"

"Hes not here and he probably won't be for some time. Tony left for St. Costas this morning." Luke scratches behind his ear and shrugs with his other arm. "You might've passed him up on the way here."

"Oh yeah? Kinda hard to pass up someone with green spiky hair now is it?! We came here from St. Costas and neither I nor my driver spotted any such person! So either you're a f*****g liar or my driver's gonna have a REAL bad night!"

Luke places his hands on his hips and slightly bares down at the two. The driver takes a few steps back, Clark doesn't but its clear he recognizes the intimidation attempt and slowly brings his hand close to where his gun is. "Now listen, Ive told you my brothers course of action and I did so with no sarcasm. If you want to come up to my home and disturb my meditation that's fine, but to do it with an attitude is rude. If you want to find Tony your best bet is St. Costas or the road leading there." Clark looks infuriated. "Is that all?"

Clark considers his gun for a moment before deciding against it. "Yeah. That's all. Thanks."

Clark and his driver begin to walk away from the dojo as Luke closes the door. Clark waits until hes off the stairs before he starts to have his temper tantrum. He jumps up and down indignantly and screams out obscenities. His driver just looks at him, not knowing what to do or say in this instance. Clark stops jumping around and lets his fists shake in anger. A long 'grrr' escapes from his throat as the last remnants of the morning star fade away.

"I-I-I can't BELIEVE I wasted all of my f*****g day coming here FOR NOTHING!!!" Clark draws his Barracuda 7 handgun and blasts his driver in the left foot twice. The man howls in pain as he doubles over and clutches his spurting foot. "This is your f*****g fault pal! You didn't pay enough attention to the f*****g side of the road!"

The driver whimpers as he tries removes his shoe. "S-SORRY SIR!" Clark grumbles as he holsters his still smoking gun.

"Well you'll be even more f*****g sorry if we don't find this prick. Come on, you're driving. Clark marches over to the back passengers side as his cohort wills himself to his feet. He limps over to the drivers side, wondering what in the world hes done to deserve having this monster as his boss.

---

An hour has passed since Antonio and Jace have walked into the arcade. The doors to the Sword and Sandal swing open as several people, including Jace and Antonio, walk out of the establishment. It would seem to be closing time for the place. Jace seems very happy with his gaming experience. Tony meanwhile can't help but look up at the sky.

"Man, it sure got dark fast didn't it?" Jace, who's too excited to pay any mind to Tonys observation, laughs happily.

"Ive never had so much fun inmy life! We need to do this again sometime!" Antonio shrugs and smirks.

"Hey if you wanna come back I wouldn't be opposed to it, but personally speaking I cooled on this whole 'gaming' thing after the initial wow factor. There's not enough risk or reward for me, its all just eye and ear candy." Jace lets a 'pfft' escape his mouth.

"Likely story! You just don't like playing because I kept kicking your butt in Demize Battle II!"

Antonio smirks as he lifts his fist up. "You wanna spar with me for real and see who comes out the winner?" Jace nervously waves his hands and shakes his head comically while wearily smiling. Tony winks. "Thought so. Anyways, its looking pretty late. You wanna turn in?"

"Sure, but where?" Tony crosses his arms and begins to tap his foot while thinking. "You... you weren't thinking of turning back were you?"

"Of course not. I was gonna crash in the woods." Jace hangs his head and sighs. "Hey, for the last three years Ive lived in the wilderness you know. Its been 'eat, train, sleep, survive' without any respite, and that's how I like it. If you have any better idea I'm not opposed to hearing it."

"Well-" Jace pulls out a bundle of the Buci Antonio took earlier in the day. "-we have plenty of this. We can stay in an inn." Tony raises a brow and smirks.

"And here I thought you weren't willing to use too much 'extorted cash'."

"Hey, as long as you uphold your promise then its fine." Antonio rolls his eyes and shrugs. Jace shoves the buci back in his pocket as the two begin to walk right of the Sword and Sandal arcade.

---

The black metallic beast that is Clarks car roars down the dirt road toward St. Costas. The wounded driver sweats and does his best to ignore the pain in his now infected foot. His eyes are sharp, making sure not to tear his eyes off the side of the road. Clark lunges in the back. Hes on his cell phone. Hes speaking to the head of Tai Corperation itself; Tai Delorance.

"Yeah, so hes suing. What's the big deal?"

Tai, who is leaning back in his chair, is wearing a three piece suit. The outer Jacket is dark purple with black silk lining. The second smaller jacket is black and the collar shirt under them golden. He has a gold and black tie going down into the inner jacket. His pants are dark purple to fit with his suit and his shoes black. He is wearing a necklace with some kind of emblem on it that's been split in half. His face is shaded out.

"I don't want bad publicity Clark. If it gets out that Tai Corps top Scientist AND Mechanic is a loose cannon that likes to shoot employees on a whim then its going to make it very hard for me to keep you employed, and neither of us wants that. Besides, this is the third incident. Its not good for morale."

Clark almost breaks out in laughter. "MORALE?!? Pardon the scrutiny sir but why should we give a f*****g damn if these stooges lose their morale?! They don't ship, manufacture or produce! They guard bodies and shofer. They get paid to be our meat shields and deal with our dirty work! And anyways if its a matter of publicity just cover it up like the last two times!"

"They were willing to take a pay off, this guy isn't so easy. He wants you out of the company."

"Well then we should just make him disappear shouldn't we?"

Tai is taken aback by Clarks statement. "Oh that wouldn't be suspicious at all! Clark, you're a brilliant man and you've helped Tai Corp go global. You're irreplaceable but this attitude is going to screw you over in the end! Now, if you don't want to be out of a job you'll do the right thing and talk to Jimmy about what you've done. You're going to apologize and do whatever you need to to appease him."

"Pfft, fine. I'll even speak to him like equals if that's what you want."

"Well, don't strain yourself." Tai laughs. "Anyways, where have you been? Your office's been empty all day."

"Oh, I'm just checking on one of my products personally. There was a small malfunction that I wanted to take notes about. You know, we don't want to ship shoddy things out."

"I see. Did you find out what went wrong?"

Clark smirks angrily. "Sure did."

"Well good. I hope to see you tomorrow. Do not forget about Jimmy."

"I won't. Bye." Clark hangs up his phone and pockets it. He glares a hole into the head of his driver and sneers. "Are you going to rat out to the public about your foot too?"

The driver frantically shakes his head. "No sir."

"For your sake I hope you aren't lying."

---

'Lead and Pete' hotel stood tall in front of Antonio and Jace. It rested comfortably between two businesses a little shorter then it. The beige building was obviously well cared for. The bushes between the door were properly trimmed and the little bit of yard that existed around the hotel was kept short and green. The wooden sign in front of the left bush advertised butter-bean coffee and noted that there were vacancy's. Tony opens the door and lets Jace in before entering the hotel himself. The lobby was as well kept as the outside.

The receptionists desk faced the door directly, though the receptionist himself has his nose stuck in the newspaper. There are two sets of stairs beside the desk that lead up, and a door on the far left wall that leads to the lounge. Despite the 'I 'heart' My Job' on his coffee mug the man looked as if he had no desire to be working in the establishment at the time. His hair is a mess, the top two buttons of his uniform is undone and there's a coffee stain on the white undershirt. Jace and Antonio approached the receptionist. He lowers the paper and gives looks apathetically at Antonio.

"You wantin' a room for the night right?"

"Yup. Perhaps for a few nights. We just got into the city and-"

"Please, for the love of god no tourist stories. Ive heard so many today I might lose it if I hear another." The receptionist reaches under the desk and grabs a random set of keys. "A room is a hundred fifty a night per person.

"A hundred fifty huh?" Antonio thinks the price is a fair bit too high, but pulls out what he needs nonetheless. He sets the hundred fifty down and smirks. "There ya go buddy."

"I'm not blind pal. I saw your midget friend come in with you, and I don't appreciate the slight." The receptionist begins to smirk. "I guess if you're too poor I could see about cutting his price in half, ya know, since hes half a person-" Antonio reaches forward, through the newspaper, and grabs the receptionist by the collar of his shirt. He gives a cold glare at the man. "H-hey!"

"Wisecracks toward strangers isn't always a good idea. That one fifty is for him and him alone." Jace tugs on Tonys shirt. "What?"

"Don't worry about the wisecracks! We don't need to start trouble!" Tony lets the receptionist go and slowly pulls his arm out through the newspaper. "Anyways you're not staying?"

Antonio shakes his head. "Nah, I'm not tired. I wanna see what the night has to offer around here." Jace gives Antonio a concerned look. "Don't worry, I won't cause too much trouble and I'll be out here waiting for you tomorrow, alright?"

"Won't cause 'too much' trouble eh? Well I'd prefer you wouldn't cause any."

"Aw jeez, what do you take me for? I'm not gonna cause any trouble-" Tony turns his head back to the receptionist and gives him an intimidating look. "-as long as my pal's treated well and not made to feel less human because of his size." The receptionist begins to sweat. His day has been long enough without needing this kind of nonsense added to it and its obvious he just wants the big green haired 'bully' to leave with as little duress as possible. "That sound reasonable?"

"Yes! My apologies! I'll make sure your friends well accommodated for!"

---

Antonio has been strolling past various businesses and plazas for the better half of ten minutes after leaving the hotel. He was still in something of an awe with how lively St. Costas was, especially considering the time of day. The traffic wasn't as heavy but there were many pedestrians going in and out of various venues. Street acts were at just about every corner. One street had a large line of Casino and burlesque houses. Posters of various bands and events plastered the side of the buildings and a big billboard advertising the H5 Climax hung not too far off in the horizon.

Ultimately what caught Tonys eyes was the neon sign that read 'The Bitter Belt Fight and Gambling Junction. Below the sign was a staircase leading down to an unlit pit. Antonio smirked and started to head toward the descending staircase, murmuring to himself about what he might expect to find. As he reaches the staircase a tall burly man steps in his path. Hes no Kingistan but he nonetheless stands roughly four inches above Tony. Hes dressed in a blue wife-beater and a pair of jeans. Both appear to be newly purchased.

"You want somethin' big guy?"

"Identification." Antonio raises a brow. The bouncer holds his hand out. "You ought to be flattered. If I didn't think you could hang I'd just tell you to buzz off."

Antonio smirks as he pulls out his I.D. and hands it over to the bouncer. "Is that so, then why do you need to check my credentials?'

"Just making sure you ain't a criminal." The bouncer pulls out a scanner from his back pocket and slides the I.D. into the slot. A hologram appears in front of the bouncers face briefly." The Bitter Belts full of hard asses who think they're hard enough to bounty hunt, and we'd prefer to keep the action in the ring." The bouncer removes the I.D. from the scanner and hands it back to Tony. "Says your clear, but I'd still be a little careful with that last name of yours." The bouncer moves aside and merges with the shadows as Antonio pockets his I.D. He walks down the steps, whistling triumphantly.

---

As advertised, the Bitter Belt was a din filled with a lot of bad attitudes looking for a fight and shady figures looking to gamble. At the base of the stairs there was a booth where three stewardesses were taking bets and booking matches. There was a cage around the booth to assure the safety of the workers. Adjacent to the booth was a bar serving various liqueur and appetizers. Some of the men sitting at the bar looked to be nursing their wounds. Opposite of the staircase were bleachers seating four rows worth of people who'd rather spectate the fights rather then participate in them. Next to the bleachers was a chalk board with several match listings, odds, and win/loss percentages. In the middle of it all was the 20 x 20 ring. It held two men who were beating each-other senseless and a referee. The building itself was roofless and the walls all looked to be in poor quality.

Antonio was practically quivering in excitement. He had seen tournaments in his home village but they were always so official, they never had a rowdy atmosphere like this. He immediately walked toward the booth and began asking a bunch of questions. On the other side standing between the bleachers and the chalkboard was a tall pale looking lad that stood about at the height of Tony. He wasn't muscular but he had an intimidating air about him that no one else seemed to have. He wore a dark grey scarf around his neck and mouth and double lens sunglasses. He had a dark yellow jumpsuit with white trim lines and leather white-dyed gloves. His hair was long and grey, going down to his lower back, and a black 'bang' jutting out from his hairline. This was Jason Esalous, and his path would soon become intertwined with Antonio's.

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