All Chapters of Wars and Wealth - Bargains with Exiled Fae: Chapter 51
- Chapter 60
71 chapters
Chapter 51
The drive home felt so much longer that it had the day before. Lost in her own thoughts, sarah was an emotional wreck when she made it back to the apartment.“Was wondering when you would get back,” Said a groggy voice from the couch.Sarah jumped, her heart racing with adrenaline. “Shit, woman. You scared me nearly to death!”“You are the one stumbling in here at noon after being gone all day and night.” Hensley said, sitting up with a groan.“What are you even doing home?” Sarah asked, coming to sit next to her.“I wasn’t going to stay in that hospital when all they wanted me to do was rest. I can do that here just fine.”“Did they say anything else?” Sarah asked, concerned.“Yea, don’t get hit by exploding doors and flying sandbags a few days after being thrown head first into a desk,” Hensley retorted. “I am fine. Just a bit bange
Chapter 52
“Didn’t you know? After your breakup, he tried to hit on me. I guess he came to our room looking for some late night action, and I was the only one left after you came back here. Things were said, and well, he crawled out of the dorms. I am impressed he can even get it up after that.” Hensley said proudly.Sarah snorted, “No wonder he didn’t call for a week.”“See? I did you a favor. Now, leave me alone. I need my sleep.” Hensley said.Sarah shook her head and found her own bed.The next morning, she dressed herself in her formal business attire, braided her hair and set out to confront the family board, made up of her uncles, father, and grandfather.Sarah walked down the hall to see the glass conference room already full. Steven was presenting a proposal for the Harbinger cooperation when she walked in.“Ah cousin. Good of you to finally join us. I was just presenting my plan for a new
Chapter 53
David enjoyed relentlessly drilling the new recruits. It was reminiscent of his early years in the imperial and his later days, working to reconstitute the Huntsmen.The mornings each began with a brisk five-mile run. Nearly two hundred men set out and followed the road through the city’s newest section, where the frames of buildings were quickly taking form. The recruits were slow, taking almost an hour to complete their run.On their first day, the new recruits collapsed at the end. David, who could run ten miles in the time it took his recruits to run five, frowned down at them and explained that if they ever hoped to join his team, they’d need to run five miles in under 30 minutes.There were many groans and even a few men quit on the spot. David didn’t care. He needed thirty men. Anyone who couldn’t make the cut wasn’t worth his time.By the third day, a quarter had quit.“By month’s end, those that th
Chapter 54
Allister reached out and grabbed Davids shoulder to turn him back around, “Don’t turn away from me you bastar-“His words cut off as David spun into the man’s grip and locked Allister’s arm behind his back, applying upward pressure to the elbow.“Don’t ever touch me.” David said, his eyes flicking to the guards that tried to advance on him. He applied more pressure until Allister waved off his men.“Now, anything that happened to your daughter was her own doing.”Allister glared at him as he winced at the pain in his arm, “Release me.”David obliged, releasing the arm and giving Allister a firm shove, forcing him to step back several paces.Allister rubbed feeling back into his arm as he glared at David, “Fine, so the little bitch got herself broken in a million pieces. She is a disgrace anyway. The reason I am here is I was told you are thinking of starting a secu
Chapter 55
The next day when David came down to breakfast at the Guesting house, Meyers want waiting to greet him with a cheery smile and a thick packet of documents.Taking a seat opposite of David, he slid the packet across the table. “The signed deal with Harlow group. Seems you were right about that girl. She finally got her family to send her.”“Very good. The details we discussed were approved?”Meyers nodded. “I checked each clause myself. So long as they uphold their end and Miss Harlow is our liaison, we will all profit generously. Should they fail, well, it will be as you requested.”“Good. You have discretion of the funds but go ahead and make use of local banks. It’s better to secure loans than to deplete our capital. Also, look into the public transportation situation. If we are going to build out the city, we should plan for that now.”“Did you have anything in mind?”In be
Chapter 56
Hensley raised a brow. “Did you think I’ve been waking up before the sun and exhausting myself every day just for fun? I could easily be back home instead of rolling in the dirt and dust of this place.”“Fine. I’ll teach you, but we need more room than this hall affords.” David led her down to the wide dirt yard where the men normally drilled. He turned to face her and lowered his center of gravity, spread his feet a bit wider and took up at fighting stance.“Hold out one hand. Your goal is to not let me land a punch on the palm of your hand.”Hensley nodded, stepping within range and held up her left palm.“Now, be quick about it.” David said and he launched a quick jab at her.Hensley moved her hand out of the way easily.“Good. Again, don’t let me hit you.” David punched with his other hand this time, and Hensley easily moved out of the way.“You ar
Chapter 57
Monday morning, the sun broke over the ocean in a brilliant display of red and orange. As David looked out the window of the Guesting house, he briefly wondered about the islands that he knew sat just over the horizon. Would they be bracing for the storm today?David had his own storm to prepare for. Today, he would take the men to the edge of the Ameranthian forest, north east of the city. Only the outer edges were actually part of the empire, while the majority of the vast five million square kilometers of land were under special treaty that stretched back almost to the founding of the empire.No army had ever been able to breach the Valdarian Plateau that rose above the trees near the center of the dense forest. They would not be crossing the border on this trip, but along the edges, the superstitions and rumors of the locals would be enough to try the nerves of every member of his team.As far as they knew, no fae had made it through to this realm, but if th
Chapter 58
Hensley quickly righted herself and pulled herself back to her feet, extricating herself from David’s arms. “Right. Planning. CALLEN, over here.”David shook his head. She was cute, but if she was going to be working for him, he would have to keep himself in check. It wouldn’t do to let feelings cloud his judgment in a fight.When the transports finally slowed and began the rapid descent, David made his way to the cockpit and slipped a headset on.“Nathaniel, you read?”“Loud and clear.”“We are arriving now.”“Don’t set out, sir,” Came the mocking, gleefully voice of Nathaniel. “Unless you want to join them.”David shook his head and set the headset back on its hook and watched as Hensley was surrounded by the men and they began to disembark, carrying several large supply crates between them.As soon as the last man was off the transports
Chapter 59
That night, no one slept well. From his hammock that he had hung almost three meters up between two trees, David could hear the low painful groans of sore recruits not accustomed to sleeping on the ground.He had been kind in his opinion, providing each man with a sleeping pad from the outdoor outfitter in town. It had been no small expense to outfit sixty five men, plus Hensley and Gallen. He had also gotten each of his Huntsmen new gear at his own expense.While the empire outfitted them well enough, the imperial treasury department was always looking for ways to cut their budget. Now that the biggest war this century had come to a tentative end, they were eager to stem any additional hemorrhaging of funds and start the slow process of refilling the coffers.Being this was his own personal army he was training, all of their simulated weapons, ammo, and supplies were paid for out of David’s personal account.If these people had a lick of sense, the
Chapter 60
When dawn broke over the camp, there were more groans as men stumbled around, trying to relight campfires and get the first brews of coffee going.“Morning men,” David said cheerfully. Despite Nyx’s late night visit, he had still managed to get a few decent hours of sleep.“If any of you want to tap out, all you need do is hike back to the clearing we landed in. There is a satellite phone. Someone will be along to collect you with in a few hours. For the rest of us, its training time. Gear up. The real training starts now.”Several of the Huntsmen appeared out of the woods and quickly had the men broken into groups of five. The thirteen teams then went through the grueling physical tests they had been working on all month, now with only a half hour to complete them.Loud thuds sounded in the woods near by just as they completed the last round of pushups.“Good timing,” David called. “Time for your run