“Where were you, Bob?” another merc called out.

“I was on the job,” Bob barked.

“Let her talk.” Alix Simos stepped forward. That was unexpected. I barely knew him.

“Who are you enrolling?” Sonia asked me.

“Him, him, and him.” I pointed to Curran, Derek, and Barabas.

“No,” Bob said. “Don’t you see? She’s using it to avoid the stopgap.”

Barabas opened his mouth. I shook my head. It would be better if I said it.

“Bob, it’s not up to you. I’ve been registered as a corporate member for over a year. I can enroll my auxiliaries any time.”

“She’s right,” the Clerk said.

“You’ll be liable if they screw up,” Bob said.

“Fine, you’re enrolled,” Sonia said. “The Clerk will do the paperwork.”

Bob spread his arms.

“What?” Sonia gave him a look. “I want to see where this is going. The three of you are in.”

I stepped back. Barabas stepped forward. “Cutting Edge invokes the Donations and Charitable Contributions provision. In accordance with financial limits, Cutting Edge donates $150,000 to the Guild, $50,000 per auxiliary member, to be earmarked as follows: $18,000 for the repair of the roof, $10,000 for the repair of the interior, $12,000 to settle the outstanding balances on utility bills . . .”

He kept going. How had he even managed to figure out all of this in less than forty-eight hours? With each item Bob’s expression darkened a little more.

“. . . and finally the remaining $16,000 to restock the supply of ammunition for the weapons room. In the interests of making sure the money is distributed as assigned, Cutting Edge designates me as the treasurer for these funds.”

“All in favor of grabbing this money before they change their mind and appointing that guy to handle all the admin crap with it?” Rigan asked.

“Don’t you see?” Bob pointed at Curran, who loomed next to Barabas in his dark cloak. “It’s him. He’s bankrolling it.”

“I don’t give a flying snake who is bankrolling it,” Sonia told him. “It’s money, Bob! Money in hand!”

Bob ground his teeth. “We all fought for this spot. We earned it. You can’t just let an outsider come in and take it over. He’s buying his way in.”

“Would you care to explain how exactly I am an outsider?” I asked. “That’s mean of you, Bob. My feelings are all injured.”

The crowd snickered.

Rigan turned to Bob. “He isn’t asking for anything.”

Bob opened his mouth and clamped it shut.

Yep, you’ve just been outmaneuvered. Curran didn’t ask for any position in the Guild except for that of an ordinary merc.

Curran smiled.