I instructed my new employees to stack the crates of trash outside the door.  I stayed outside with Sierra and Grue when they went back in to get more.

Talking time?

“You’re going to have to watch those ones,” Grue said.

“I know.  Listen, I want to send Sierra down to meet the boss, pass on word about stuff I need.  Can you escort her part of the way?”

Any particular reason for that?

Honestly, I’d like to see the conversation they might end up having on the way.

“Sure,” he said.

“If you’re willing, Sierra?  I know it’s somewhat dangerous to cross the city, and our groups don’t control all of the territory between here and there.  I could send one of those guys with you.  Bit of a walk, though.  Maybe forty-five minutes both ways.”

Ah, I guess that would be why she’s sending Grue with her.

“No, I can go alone, if it’s not too bad.”

“Good,”  I said.  I turned my head to see a trio of young men who were approaching us.

I think if I were in Sierra’s shoes, I’d probably prefer going alone too, over going with these former ABB members I just met.

I couldn’t think of a response to that, and nobody volunteered anything further.  Instead, I said, “Come on, let’s get to work.”

It wasn’t the nicest of jobs, but my new employees worked without complaint.  Or, to be more specific, the girl and shaggy-hair complained often but they didn’t direct those complaints at me or the job, specifically.

More at things like the conditions of the garage, maybe?

Since the usual means of communication were out, and it might be some time before cell phone towers were out, I’d have to use messengers to pass word on to Coil.  I began explaining what I planned to do with the space to Sierra, outlining the need for bunk beds, a cafeteria or kitchen and an area for people to sit.

This is going to be pretty nice when they’re done.

The area wasn’t a quarter of the size of Lisa’s shelter, but it was a refuge, maybe.  A place where people could congregate and get some peace.  And, ideally, it could be a barracks for my soldiers.

I like this plan.

“Can I ask what they are?”

I looked around, and it was Grue I looked at while I spoke.  “Having everyone in the Docks spread out like this, over this wide an area?  It’s a problem.  We’ve got single families living in warehouses and factories that could comfortably house three to five families, and they’re dealing with problems that we could handle far more easily as a group.  And there’s the logistics of it, getting supplies to everyone when there’s only three to six groups of people on a given city block.  I want to bring people from the fringes in, so we’re not so spread out.  Get everyone working for the collective good.  Build a community and tie everything to a smaller area.”

That makes a lot of sense. If this plan extends far enough, it would also put a lot more people within the range of Skitter’s bugs.

“There’s going to be resistance,” Grue spoke.  “People aren’t going to want to move, and they’re too spooked about run-ins with Chosen and Merchants to trust one another.”

Of course. There’s always going to be stubbornness and fear. I doubt the patriarch is going to like this.

“If-” Sierra started, but she stopped when Grue snapped his head around to face her, intimidated.  She tried again, “If she’s going to try it, now would be a good time.  Word’s getting out.”

About the Mannequin fight, like what brought these former ABBs to Skitter’s doorstep? Or?

“About what, specifically?” I asked.

“You fought Mannequin, you said you’d make him pay, and then you did.  And you did it to save people, people from the docks.  I think people are realizing you’re for real.”

Yep. She’s proven herself, proven that she’s willing and capable of really protecting them.

And with the Slaughterhouse Nine in town, they’ll be well aware that there’s something to protect them from, and since Taylor beat Mannequin, they’ll know she’s not going to back off when faced with such a foe.

I opened the doors and strode inside, followed by the new members and Sierra.  Grue followed at the tail end of our group.

It’s going to be interesting to see what Grue has to say about this decision and Taylor’s behavior afterwards.

The square building had been a garage for the biggest sorts of trucks or for boats, and sported three sliding metal garage doors, only one of which still opened.  A cargo container sat in the back corner.  I had my suspicions that boxes of recyclables had been piled up along the walls when Leviathan’s wave hit.

With a little TLC, it could become a nice little hideout for these people.

Now, scraps of metal, paper and other trash littered the floor inside until the floor was barely visible.  “If you’re really interested in joining, you can start by cleaning this place up.”

“Why?” the girl asked.

So you can live in it! And so you can show that you’re willing to do work that’s not just “punch this, shoot that”.

“If my say-so isn’t good enough-”

“No,” she raised her hands to stop me.  “Just… can’t I know what the point is?”

That’s fair.

“I want you somewhere accessible.  This is close to my command center, it’s dry, it took a hit from a tidal wave and it’s still in remarkably good shape, and it’s spacious enough to serve our purposes.  At least to start off.”

Dry?

A look passed between the two boys.  Which of my points had given them that momentary hesitation?  Still, they nodded again.

I’m guessing that last one.

“Do you guys have a place?”

“Nah,” said shaggy-hair.

“Come on,” I said.

Welcome aboard.

I led them to the nearest spot to get from the beach to the old Boardwalk, and into the Docks.

I had our destination in mind.  During my stay in the area, nobody had occupied it.  A thorough check of the structure found no splintering supports or framework, and there was no crumbling masonry.

Oh, neat, she’s giving them a place to live separate from the Hive.

Wait, didn’t the one with the thick accent talk about a “neighbor”?

The second Japanese guy spoke up.  He was in his early twenties and his accent was thick enough that I didn’t realize he was speaking English at first.  He pronounced ‘girl’ more like ‘gurru’.

That’s pretty thick.

“Other day, girl was knocking on neighbor’s door, talking about you.  Said you was good boss.  Nice, generous, fair.  But we think that means you weak, before, not so much of that now.”

I like this sense of payoff.

I shook my head slowly.  “No.  I’m not weak.”

“We know you has trouble with Lung and ABB before.  Not friendly.  But they gone, we still here.”

I suppose that means they no longer really identify as “ABB”, though they’ve still been shaped by their experiences in the gang.

“You should know this isn’t about preying on the people in my territory.  Just the opposite.  If you’re looking for an excuse to bully the people around here, you’re in the wrong place.  The only people we fuck with are our enemies.”

Good to get that out in the open where everyone can see it, yeah.

There were nods from all three.

“No starting violence, no drug dealing, no prostitution, no threatening people, and no drug use or drinking unless it’s a hundred percent limited to your own time.”

Gonna take a bit of getting used to, maybe, but these seem like reasonable terms.

He didn’t look like he had much muscle, but I wasn’t about to comment on that.  If nothing else, I was a little too stunned at what he was offering to say anything witty.  “Pretty much.”

It makes a load of sense. Skitter’s a villain who lacks muscle willing to work for a supervillain. They’re muscle who lack a villain to work for. The pieces fit together beautifully.

I wonder what Lung would think if he learned that parts of his gang had gone to the annoying bug kid for work.

“We heard you took on Mannequin,” the girl said.  “That’s ballsy.”

It really was.

“Thanks,” I said, in my driest tone.  Stupid as it was, that statement meant something to me.  Nobody had really congratulated me since my fight with Mannequin.  I hadn’t congratulated myself.

Yeah, see? It was a victory.

It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that they respected me for what had happened with Mannequin.  A victory was a victory, but people had gotten hurt, I’d gotten hurt.

Yes, and thanks to you, way fewer people got hurt than if you hadn’t stepped in.

It was torture to actually get my limbs into the legs and sleeves and zip up, and to contort myself to attach my armor.  Especially doing it quickly.  I ended up enlisting Brian’s help with the armor at my shoulders and back.

This is more relatable than it has any right to be.

I could feel Sierra’s steady but insistent tapping on the cube all the while.

“Come on, come on, come on…”

Seems like whatever the people around her want, they’re pressuring her.

They were a short distance down the beach, but they started walking towards us a little bit after we entered the storm drain, and met us halfway.

How did they know to start walking?

Sierra was in the company of a pair of Japanese boys and a petite Chinese girl with a pierced nose and a thousand-yard stare.  There was a degree of attitude coming from them that was all too familiar.  Gang members.  Of course.

I should’ve known the ABB wouldn’t stay entirely irrelevant.

Just because Lung and Bakuda were no longer around didn’t mean there wouldn’t be scraps of the ABB in the area.  They wouldn’t be liked, but they were there, they were equipped for trouble and criminal activity was all they knew.

Yeeah. And if they find another leader, they might come back in force.

“No, I don’t think he would.  Her talents are too valuable for him.  But that doesn’t explain your attitude lately.”

I shook my head.  “I-”

I stopped and raised one hand.  Sierra was outside, not too far away, and there was a small group of people around her.  What had gotten my attention was the fact that she was tapping her finger against the origami cube.  She’d wanted to signal me without doing anything overt, maybe.

…um. Citizens, perhaps, wanting Skitter’s attention and going to the redhead they’d seen going around gathering information for her?

The tapping would then be because she didn’t want Skitter to attack the people.

Or without my calling a swarm down to her location.

“-Something’s going on outside.  Come with?”

Sounds good.

Brian nodded.

I headed upstairs and got my costume on in record time.  I couldn’t help but note how dusty it was from last night’s encounter, and how the one arm was still crusty with old containment foam.

Alright, that confirms it – it wasn’t called attention to (maybe meaning it’s happened before, offscreen), but Sierra has now seen Skitter out of costume.