Chapter 108: Chapter 108
Alvin and Gordon entered the Saint Heirländ Cathedral. Thankfully, they did not have to ride a carriage all the way. Gordon borrowed a teleporting mystical item from the church, and they were there in less than 10 minutes.
Gordon took him to a confession room at the side of the church. He showed the priest there a badge, and the priest opened a trapdoor in the booth. From there, they walked towards the east underground.
After walking while through a few turns, they entered into an underground hall. In this hall 7 people were seated.
"Greetings Bruce" said Gordon to the man in the lead
"Gordon" replied the man stoically. His eyes then fell on to Alvin and asked, "So he was the one who saw the green flames?"
"Indeed. Why don't I show you the whole incident?" asked Gordon.
Bruce agreed, and Gordon pulled everyone into a dream. In the dream, Alvin imagined the entire sequence of events, right from Marvin contacting him, to him suggesting a bounty hunter, to the explosion and the green flames. Gordon gave him total control in his dreams, hence he blurred Xio's face and voice and skipped the girl who also saw the green flames entirely.
"The girl next to you is a Beyonder?" asked Bruce.
"A Sequence 9 Arbitrator. I think she has some connections to MI9" said Alvin straightforwardly.
In a way, he was telling the truth. As he remembered, there was a former subordinate of Xio's father who still had gratitude towards him. This, while not exploited yet, could still be called a connection.
Bruce nodded, and did not ask further. He then turned around and said to the remaining 6 people, "That's that then. You have all seen the green flame. That is your sole clue for now. Investigate both the cases in detail, and try to find out who is behind this. Freeman will coordinate with the church and provide you with the help you may need. Luca, Fred, I will not insist that you do not participate in the operations. But I will trust you to remain in control. Find a location near enough to the location of the incidents, and start" said Bruce
He then left.
"Sir, other than the Sealed Artifacts we will apply for, I ask you disburse 500 pounds as preliminary funds for the rent of a location, finding informants in the East Borough, and such other purposes" asked the man who appeared to be the leader of the squad of 5.
"You know, Alvin has a bar right in the location of the incidents. And he has plenty of connections in the East Borough. You should go there instead" interjected Gordon from the side.
Alvin realised that Gordon was trying to give him some 'work' as he was complaining about the lack of money previously. While the Machinery Hivemind did not have the best background when it came to Beyonder ingredients, mystical items, and potion formulas, purely in terms of pounds, they were richer than other churches. This was because they had shares in the steam train network all across Loen and Intis, along with many other mechanical factories, not to mention they were subcontracted to supply part of the weapon stocks of both the Loen Kingdom and the Intis Republic. While they weren't filthy rich, they were quite close. The salary of Machinery Hivemind in Leon was quite a bit higher than the Nighthawks or Mandated Punishers.
And as he heard from Kevin, while they had much lesser inclinations to reward members with Beyonder ingredients or mystical items, in terms of pounds, they were the most generous.
If Alvin did offer them help in their investigation, he would surely be rewarded with a sum of pounds at the end.
"Indeed. My bar has plenty of open space both inside and in the form of a courtyard next to it. Also, there are plenty of rooms available. It will be mostly deserted for most of the day, with business hours only in the evening. The rooms are soundproof. Plus, due to those incidents I don't think patrons are going to visit anyway. So I might as well close the bar for customers and lend the space to you" said Alvin.
The leader of the group looked towards Freeman, who nodded. The leader then turned to Alvin and said, "We will be bothering you then. My name is Sven. These are Harrold, Luca, Fred, and Harry"
"Alvin Jonas. A pleasure to meet you" said Alvin. He then proceeded to give the exact address of the bar and took his leave. Gordon used the mystical item to go back to the church, while Alvin was left to find a late night carriage to go back to the bar.
He arrived back more than 2 hours later. He saw that Riccardo was still awake and waiting for him.
"Tomorrow, there is no need to open the bar. You can have the day off. Before you go to sleep, contact Frank and ask him to enquire for news about a gang peddling arms, a ghostly green flame, and any radical group that has been heavily targeted by the Machinery Hivemind in the past. Also, ask him to write a letter, asking to meet at the location of the previous mission at 10 in the morning, with the signature Mr Hunt, addressed to Xio and give to an informant called Williams, who lives in 1 Dharavi streets, Apartment #03-06 and frequents the pub there" said Alvin.
This was the contact method he had agreed with Xio. She had good that she would visit Willims in the morning, and to send a letter to him if he ha something to tell her. He wants sure when the Machinery Hivemind would arrive after making their preparations, so he and to set a tie to meet to prevent her from coming by.
While he had passed her off as an informant to the MI9 for now, he still wasn't going to let her come into contact with official Beyonders just in case.
Riccardo nodded and left the bar. After briefly dusting all the unoccupied rooms, Alvin shut the doors of the bar and went back home.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone