Faultline just accused the Undersiders of being stupid. Maybe that means it’s Tattletale’s turn to talk, given how much she hates being called stupid.

“And we will,” Trickster said.  “We just won’t give up our territory to do it.”

“Because you’re hoping to expand further and faster while the Nine occupy the rest of us,” Hookwolf growled.

How about this: Anyone who does that must give themselves in to the PRT and face the consequences associated with abusing an Endbringer situation.

“We agree to this like you want, and you attack us from behind.”

Like you can be trusted not to do the same.

“We haven’t given you any reason to think we’ll betray a truce,” Grue told him, his voice echoing more than usual, edged with anger.  The darkness around him was roiling. 

“You have.  You’re refusing the terms,” Purity said.

That is…

That’s just stupid.

“No,” Grue echoed me, his voice carrying across the rooftop.

Defiant Undersider chorus?

Maybe Undertraveler?

“No?” Coil asked, his voice sharp with surprise.  Was there condemnation in there?  It was very possible we weren’t going the route he wanted.

Uh oh. He’s not used to them going against him.

Maybe it’s time to part ways from the Undertravelers’ sugar daddy and make the territories independent? But that doesn’t work well for Taylor, who relies heavily on Coil’s money for improvements to her territory, and on being a good employee to save Dinah.

Grue shook his head, “We’ll help against the Nine.  That’s fine, sensible.  But Trickster is right.  If we abandoned our territories in the meantime, we’d be putting ourselves in an ugly situation.  That’s ridiculous and unnecessary.”

Well put.

Trickster nodded at his words.

“If you keep them you’ll be putting yourself in an advantageous position,” Purity intoned.

How?

“Don’t be stupid, Undersiders, Travelers.” Faultline cut in, “You can’t put money, power and control at a higher priority than our collective survival.  If Coil’s precog is right, we have to band together against the Nine the same way we would against an Endbringer.  For the same reasons.”

Are you guys just not listening? They said they would help. Hookwolf’s the one trying to keep them out of the fight, with the “hotel” thing.

In those weeks or months it took to retake territory and slog ahead with constant opposition, there could be further delays.  It would mean that my plan to efficiently seize the Boardwalk and surrounding Docks would fall apart.  I’d have to pull away from my people and my neighborhoods to help the others fight off attacks.  I wouldn’t be able to offer exemplary service to earn Coil’s trust and respect in the mess that ensued.  The opportunity to free Dinah would slip from my grasp.

Aaand we’re back to Dinah again. THIRD BASE!

Wait, shit, that Who’s on First reference sounds so wrong.

Worst of all, there was no reason for it.  We’d claimed more of the city as our territory than they had assumed, and now Hookwolf was building on that, giving them reason to worry we had other sinister motives.

He doesn’t seem to be quite as skilled at manipulating the individual as Kaiser was, but he knows how to direct a group’s thoughts.

“No,” I murmured, barely audible to myself.  I could see some of the other Undersiders -Grue, Tattletale and Bitch- turn their heads a fraction in my direction.

Ooh.

Defiant Taylor speech?

*starts chanting* Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!

At this point, I don’t think they’ll be actually properly talking about the Slaughterhouse Nine until next chapter.

Taylor could use a hotel vacation, though.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Sierra and Charlotte react to the news.

I really didn’t like that idea.

“Easy decision for you guys to make,” Trickster said, chuckling wryly, “You’re not giving anything up.

You tell ‘em, Trickster!

In fact, if we went with your plan, there’d be nothing stopping you from sneaking a little territory, passing on word to your underlings to prey on our people, consolidating your forces and preparing them for war, all while we’re cooped up in that hotel or wherever.”

Yeah. This whole scheme leaves the Undertravelers’ territories defenseless while their enemies prepare.

He was right.  I could imagine it.  Not just weeks, but months lost.  We’d just lost the element of surprise thanks to Hookwolf outing us here, and the local villains and heroes were now all too aware of the scale of what we were doing.  Add the fact that they would get a breather?  A chance to regroup and prepare?  To retaliate?  Regaining any of the ground we lost while we helped hunt down the Slaughterhouse Nine would be excruciating.

Yeeeah.

And it doesn’t sound like Hookwolf even wants you on board to help with that, either.

“Hey, howsabout you guys just sit on your asses for a while? No reason.”

Coil deliberated for a few seconds.  “I think this makes the most sense.”

Coil, you’re a manipulator, surely you see the loophole?

Then again, you did stumble with the wording back when Dinah was introduced.

Skidmark and Purity nodded as well.

Coil’s response caught me off guard.  He was throwing us to the wolves to maintain his anonymity in things.  I felt my heart sink.

Yeah, he is, but part of the whole territory deal is intended to benefit him in the overall takeover. He wouldn’t do this if he didn’t think the territories could be reinstated afterwards without much difficulty, I suppose.

It made sense, on a basic level, and I could see why the other groups were agreeing.  I mean, our territory wasn’t worth risking that the world ending.  Coil was apparently willing to delay his plans, or pretend to delay his plans while he carried them out in secret.

Yeah, that’s true. A territory dispute is a bit small-fry compared to the apocalypse.

But I would be giving up my territory, condemning Dinah to more days, more weeks of captivity.

And that? That’s even more small-fry on the grand scale of things, at least when it comes to Taylor’s territory. She cares especially much about saving private Dinah, but she’s also helping lots of people along the way.

Coil clasped his hands in front of him, “I knew you might come to these conclusions if I volunteered this information.  You all should already know I am not a stupid man.  Would I weaken my position if I did not wholeheartedly believe that what I was saying was correct?  Jack Slash must die, or we all die.”

He makes a good point here. The only flaw is that yes, he would, if some hidden benefit of successfully convincing everyone to go after Jack Slash would far outweigh the loss.

“And to maximize our chances for this to happen,” Hookwolf added, “The alliance of the Travelers and the Undersiders must concede to our terms.  They hold no territory until the Nine are dead.”

Until they are dead? That’s a loophole and a half. The Slaughterhouse get chased out of town, some of them perhaps killed, the truce ends and Hookwolf can be like “No, guys, we agreed that you wouldn’t hold territory until the Nine were dead. The Nine aren’t dead, they just left.”

I think the other villains would take that as the bullshit it is, but many might support it because they don’t want the Undersider-Traveler takeover either.

Coil added, “She took a week to decide, then contacted me during one of her attacks.”

Okay, no, this part I’m sure is a lie.

Of course, the heroes weren’t about to take his word for gospel.  Miss Militia’s lips pursed into a thin line.  “Could I contact her to verify this?”

That would make sense, but at the same time, Dinah would have reason to lie, unless she felt desperate enough to beg the heroes for help at the cost of getting no candy for a while.

“No.  For one thing, I have no reason to let you.  Also, the process of gaining control of her power requires that she be kept strictly isolated from outside elements.  A simple phone call would set her back weeks.”

Oh, sure.

“So Coil has a precog,” Hookwolf growled, “That explains how he always seemed to fucking get the upper hand when he pit his mercenaries against the Empire.”

Well, it’s part of it.

“You think Dinah is Coil’s source.  That makes a lot of sense.”  Miss Militia turned from Weld to Coil, and her voice was heavy with accusation, “Coil?”

“Did you kidnap this girl?”
“N… n… yes. I did.”
“Shame on you. Now, about this threat…”

“I did not kidnap her.  I offered Dinah training and relief from the drawbacks of her abilities on the contingency that she immediately cut off all contact with her family and friends and provide me a year of service.”

Oh sure…

Actually…

That’s completely within Coil’s MO and does explain why she was okay with accepting the candy in the first place when she was so clearly aware of what it actually was. These days she’s definitely there against her will, but it’s very Coil to first get her on board willingly by offering her something she wanted very badly.

He lied so smoothly, flawlessly.  What really rattled me was hearing him refer to her as Dinah for the first time.

Oh damn, that’s right, he didn’t ever call her that until now, even when Taylor wasn’t present. Hell, not even in his narration.

*shudder*