"Here's one, come to bask in the glory of De Meck."
A few of the Sottan's entourage laughed and chuckled. Some just stared at Kai, as if he were totally alien. There were many near De Meck, no doubt sucking up to the plastic crime boss.
"What are you? A worker? Come to buy some EZ; it's great for keeping the tools in hand. This city won't build itself."
"I'm not in construction, and I don't take chems," Kai replied coldly.
Drug dealers were the lowest of the low; perpetuating misery for profit.
The Sottan had a fabric bag strapped to the lower half of its face, and every so often it would move of its own free will. Folds of fat rolled from its face to body, and with each slight movement, the flesh jiggled.
"You don't do chems? Why? Everyone uses them for one right reason or another." The Sottan replied, blinking out of sync. "Some use them to work harder, some to think clearer, some to stay awake, some to sleep, some to fuck, some to get fucked. I got all kinds."
"No, I don't need anything." Kai wanted to step away, to leave, but something kept him standing there. As if the Sottan had a gravity well activated.
"You're not a worker, and seem too serious to be a pilot; flyboys like flying, after all." De Meck let out a laugh that disturbed every inch of flesh on the mound. "I know, you're a killer. You got the eyes of a killer."
Kai was no stranger to death. "I fought in the war, yes."
"Maybe I have use of a killer, maybe." De Meck eyed him up and down, slowly. "Yes. Someone like you might help someone like me."
The Gnosians sitting on either side of Sottan wore different ink. The Blue blocks of the Uthanga clan, coupled with the red spirals of the Eeys Clan were an unusual sight to see.
"What about your Gnosian friends, they seem like capable warriors," Kai said.
He wasn't lying. They were heavily worn and scarred creatures, and anyone who knew anything knew that Gnosians were a force to be reckoned with. Tough, but they bleed the same as anyone else.
"I could send them, and they would go, but I don't have to do that," Sottan said as he took another drink which spilled once more down his front. "No, a wandering gun is better suited to the job I have in mind."
"What's the job?" Kai asked. He wanted work. Wanted money. He didn't want to do anything stupid though. "I'm not cheap."
"Self respect is a necessity in Zeelis." The Sottan chuckled. "Too few posses it, these days." He cast a wandering eye at a few in his retinue. "It will involve going to The Dead Zone."
"The Dead Zone?" Kai asked. "This whole world seems fairly Dead."
A grin grew on De Mecks face. "Oh, Zeelis is very much alive. As is The Dead Zone. It lays far to the west, beyond the reconstruction efforts."
