“The digging has been going. The retention has been surprising.” Riley spoke up when it was clear no one else was going to say anything.

  “Retention?”

  “When you don’t put a collar around a human, they’re prone to run.” Riley shrugged.

  “Spoken like a true human trafficker.” Katarina made a bitter face.

  “You don’t like me very much.” Riley looked over at the other woman, although it didn’t come off as a question.

  “You can tell that, can you?” Katarina glared at her.

  “Katarina…” I spoke up, but Riley lifted her hand.

  “It’s quite alright,” Riley stated. “Former colonists are the predominant prey of many raiders looking to sell to slavers, and I can’t say that slavers don’t go out of their way to buy former colonists. Katarina was likely hunted down by people in caravans, not unlike my own.”

  Katarina looked away, her lips tight. “I just don’t appreciate how you do business. Anyone can claim anyone else is a slave, and as long as they have the power, they could put you in a collar. Daniel could have put you all in collars if he wanted to.”

  Rather than look offended, Riley nodded thoughtfully. “It is true, Daniel could have put us all in collars and forced us to work for him. No authority in Argos city would have stopped him, and even if places like Twin Elms might frown on it, they wouldn’t allow such a thing to risk tarnishing a potentially profitable relationship.”

  “And? That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Katarina asked.

  “It is my luck that I ended up in Daniel’s camp.”

  “Luck?” Katarina’s lips curled.

  “If you are saved by a group of generous Wastelanders instead of a group of raiders, wouldn’t you consider that lucky? One might give you water and send you on the way, while the other would take your resources and possibly even more.” Riley continued calmly. “It was our fortune that we ended up in the care of Daniel. This was the point I was trying to make. Despite being set to work digging, surprisingly few have attempted to flee.”

  “Whatever…” Katarina leaned back, seemingly becoming disinterested in the conversation.

  I wanted to say something to soothe the situation, but I was a merchant, not a diplomat. Katarina had always been a prickly person who didn’t trust others easily. It was odder that she had come to treat me with respect, considering how she typically saw everyone. I knew it was hard for her to work together, especially with people like Riley and Red, people who would have been her mortal enemies a short time ago.

  “Have you shown them the conditions for staying?” I asked, focusing on Riley.

  Riley nodded stiffly. “They’ve been shown the conditions.”

  “And?”

  “They are quite harsh, aren’t they?”

  “They’re welcome to leave, aren’t they?”

  “It’s not that I disagree with your methods.” Riley shrugged. “After all, I used many of them. However, knowing Wastelanders, few would agree to give up their freedoms.”

  “It’s not a matter of giving up freedom,” I growled. “It’s just about ensuring they don’t betray us. If they want to leave, they’re welcome to take off the collars whenever they want.”

  That was my ultimate bottom line. My business couldn’t work unless I could trust the employees in it. The only way I could ensure the people here remained trustworthy and didn’t do something to try to betray me and hurt the people around me was to put them in collars. These collars would monitor all of their actions. If they wanted to betray us, a single order to Cecelia could cause them to lose their head. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, I wouldn’t use the collar. It was just there to maintain compliance.

  “Even if you say that, many won’t believe it,” Riley explained quietly.

  “Even my tribe didn’t allow you to unanimously enslave all of them,” Red added in support.

  That was a sore spot. I had conceded because of need and fear. Red’s group was too large and my group was too small. I had to make a deal that we both could accept, something that gave me power over them but not too far. If our conversation had degraded and she had gotten into her mind that she’d take over Ascension, I wasn’t sure that I had enough to defend it. Of course, that was before I had gotten the backup of additional robots and cameras from the mall. It still would be a problem if they attacked, but we wouldn’t be outright destroyed.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  That said, there were no take-backs in business. If I even tried to walk back the advantages I had already given them, it’d only cause problems. Anything I took back would have to be done under the barrel of a gun, and I wasn’t willing to resort to that at the moment. At the very least, I was trying to build something here, not tear it all apart.

  “Have they given any counteroffers?” I asked.

  “I think they’re waiting to connect with the Rink before deciding,” Riley explained. “That’s only a few days away now.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that in a few days, I might have a max exodus of employees.”

  “Or a mass hiring of former temps.” She smirked.

  “And which group do you fall into?” I asked.

  She blinked. “I thought that was obvious? I would like to continue to stay, although without a collar around my neck.”

  I frowned. “The collar comes with the gig.”

  She leaned back with a pouty expression. “I was hoping that you could make an exception for me. I have skills that could help you. I can help manage your employees, your large multi-vendor venues, and of course, your many caravan routes. I wish to have a position in Ascension. I can take on a lot of responsibilities currently in the hands of people… less qualified.”

  Katarina shot her a glare but thankfully didn’t say anything.

  “And you could betray me just as easily…” I added.

  “Come now, Daniel, we’re both business people. I’m very interested in seeing your grand bazaar experiment play out, but I’m not some random employee. I won’t continue to dig holes and carry heavy objects.”

  “You don’t do that now.”

  I knew everything that was going on within sight of our security. Cecelia sent me everything that Riley had been doing. Although many of the people with her were sent down to dig out the tunnel, Riley hadn’t been one of them. Instead, she had created a role for herself organizing everyone else. I hadn’t given them any particular guidance other than to clear the space. Riley had organized all of the people into groups. She created a shift system so that no one was overworked. She made sure the sick got to rest and that everyone got fed. This was why I had left her alone without saying anything.

  In truth, if any of those workers did decide to stay, it was because of her organizing everything. I had just planned to use the group of them. I had no interest in them overall. They were merchants, slavers, and people from smaller raid groups. Generally, a group of unskilled people seemed like more trouble than they were worth. I mean, if they were willing to put on the collar, I’d find their work to do, but I wasn’t going to negotiate with them or go out of my way for them either.

  Of course, I had to ask myself if Riley was an exception. She had shown her organizational skills with the group on purpose, not that I needed to be shown. She had managed to set up the entire slave auction, including raiders, traders, and merchants. They had managed resources, shops, and countless personnel, and this woman was the head of all that. She was extremely capable. Perhaps, she was too capable. I still didn’t know her game. What was she hoping to accomplish? Her slave caravan was all but wiped out. Was she looking at using me to rebuild it? I wasn’t sure if such a thing sat well with my conscious. I would make use of slaves when it was convenient to me, but I wasn’t going to help perpetuate the system.

  “Either way,” Riley spoke up. “It would be a waste of my talents to do such menial labor. I’m looking more for a partnership.”

  “We’re not partners!” My eyes flashed as I spoke up. “You may have some skills, but you’re not bringing much to the table here. If you’re talking about negotiation, don’t forget you don’t have a leg to stand on.”

  Riley’s mouth fell open in surprise. I knew what I said was a bit rude, but I wasn’t so smooth a talker yet that I could spar with someone of her skill. I knew that the more I let her talk, the more advantage she’d gain, so it was best to just shut her down immediately.

  “You should let her join.” A voice cut in, causing us all to turn to Katarina in surprise.

  “What?” I asked in confusion.

  “Riley would be an asset to Ascension.” She spoke slowly and stiffly. “You would be foolish to not bring her on.”

  First, Katarina was practically jumping down her throat, and now she was saying she should stay. All of my experiences with my mom and my sister, and I still didn’t understand women at all.