“Hear us out one more time. We calculated how much of the city we need. We want an area of the city with a total population of thirty thousand. We have a few areas noted down that we would take. We would not interfere with your business, we would not upset the heroes, and all we would want in return was for you to respect our territory borders.”

“No,” Digger said.

“We’re being very reasonable,” Accord said. The second leader of the Clockwork Dogs.

“I don’t care. No,” Digger said. The biker dug fingers into his beard, scratching.

“Why not?” Accord asked.

“Because fuck you. You two think you’re so smart, and you probably are. It’s a trap.”

“We could do this in a civilized way,” Detente said. “We choose the areas we want. We know what kind of business we each want to do. Let’s divide up the city. If you want to run drugs, take some of the harbor, take the roads. Blastgerm wants to sell drugs and they want some space. You could enter into a business relationship with them, they would take their slice of the city and set up shop. The Brothers can have a headquarters, and our alliance would pay them to be enforcers for the area. They get a big area to run around in, they can go after the PRT, they get money… hm?”

The last sound was an inquiry.

“Could do,” one of the Mullen Brothers said.

“As for Four…” Detente said, trailing off.

“Do you know what we want, Detente?” the question came from the woman with the cysts all down one side of her face.

“We know,” Detente said. Accord nodded.

“We need more than a slice of the city.”

“Whatever path you choose, whatever location, you’ll end up fighting. You need more than a slice of a city or part of a neighborhood to raise an army. What we offer is help. We form an alliance across four districts, seven teams. You give up on these areas here, we give you another area.”

The woman frowned. Damsel could see the shadows deepen as creases formed around the mouth, the eyebrows drawing together.

“Not saying yes, but what area are you thinking?”

“Hyde Park is the biggest problem and warzone right now. We don’t like the groups fighting for it. Most of you don’t either.”

“We were vying for Hyde Park,” Rotten Apple said.

“You’re here and not there,” Accord said. “You’re willing to walk away and consider other options. You’re… messy, but you’re a mess we can live with.”

“We’re messy?” Blasto asked.

“You lost control of one of your creations. It caused a stir.”

“My dog ran away,” Blasto said.

“It was only part dog, and it caused a stir. You deal drugs, and people who are under the influence create messes.”