Chapter 166: Securing Hancock. Price discussion and negotiation.

"Alright." You clap your hands once. "Meeting's concluded. Albedo, Rika, Maria, Rin, Erza, Nova - get ready. We're going to Sandra's."

C.C.'s voice drifts through the Telepathy Web from the Stallion cockpit, dry as ever. "I'll listen in. Try not to negotiate away anything I'd find interesting."

The non-essential women filter out - Kurumi wandering off with Riveria, Kurumu bouncing away with a wave, Roxanne padding off to check on Hinata. Asia guides Priestess back toward the viewing deck.

You watch your chosen team assemble quickly. Albedo smooths her white gown, horns catching the galley lighting. Rika efficiently checks her tactical vest. Maria straightens her black dress with professional precision. Rin pulls her black hair back into a ponytail, ready for business. Erza rolls her shoulders, scarlet hair catching the light. Nova's checks her rifle once before waiting sharp.

You raise your hand, "Gate." The air in front of you shimmers, then tears open - a vertical oval of shimmering light revealing Sandra Vasquez's office on the other side. Leather chair behind a metal desk. Filing cabinets. A wall-mounted map covered in pins and string. The smell of coffee and gun oil wafts through.

Empty.

"She's not in," Albedo observes, stepping through first, her wings folding tight against her back as she scans the room. "Her last encrypted message was forty minutes ago. She may be with the acquired travelers."

Rika follows, hand resting near her hip where a pistol would be if she carried one here. She surveys the office with tactical efficiency. "Clean. No ambush indicators. One door, one window - fortified shutters."

You step through last, the Gate sealing behind you with a soft pop. The Bakersfield compound hums with distant activity - voices, footsteps, the clatter of equipment being moved.

Maria moves to the desk, examining papers with quick efficiency. "Purchase confirmations for Hancock and Akame." She holds up two documents. "Sandra's handwriting. These are legitimate."

Rin peers at the wall map. "Her network extends further than I expected. Pins all the way to Chicago."

A knock comes at the door. Three sharp raps.

"Sandra?" A male voice, cautious. "You back already? The Hancock girl's sedative's wearing off faster than expected."

Erza's hand moves to where her sword would be. Nova's psionic presence flickers cold and ready through the web. Everyone in the room goes still, watching the door.

"Erza, please open the door," you say.

The scarlet-haired knight moves without hesitation, her hand closing around the handle and pulling it open in one smooth motion. The man on the other side stumbles forward half a step - mid-thirties, stocky build, dark hair cropped short, wearing a practical canvas jacket over a faded t-shirt. His eyes go wide.

"Shit - you're the VIP buyer," Diego Fuentes says, recognition flooding his face.

You offer a polite nod. "We just arrived and seem to have missed Sandra. Would you please guide us to Hancock? I believe keeping her asleep a little longer would be beneficial."

Diego's nervous energy shifts into something more cooperative. He's seen what your enchantments do to this place - the lights that never flicker, the water that runs clean, the wards that keep the dead outside. "Yeah, yeah, of course. She's in holding room three - the sedative's burning through faster than anything we've seen. Sandra's with her now, trying to figure out dosing."

He leads your group through reinforced corridors, past armed guards who snap to attention when they see Albedo's horns and wings. The compound is well-organized - supply crates stacked neatly, weapons cleaned and maintained, a functioning radio station in one room. Sandra runs a tight operation.

Holding room three is a converted storage space with a single cot in the center. Sandra Vasquez stands beside it, syringe in hand, her weathered face tight with concentration. On the cot lies a woman of breathtaking beauty - tall, pale skin gleaming like polished marble, black hair cascading past her shoulders in waves. Even unconscious, Boa Hancock radiates something. An aura. A presence that makes the air feel heavier.

"She's been fighting the sedative for twenty minutes," Sandra says without looking up. "Whatever world she's from, her body processes chemicals like they're water. I've doubled the dose twice."

"Step back," you say.

Sandra complies, her Texas accent thick with relief. "Glad you're here. I was about to lose her."

You cast "Sleep." - a gentle, magical slumber that settles over Hancock like a warm blanket. Her breathing deepens immediately, the tension in her jaw and shoulders dissolving completely. Then "Spectral Hand." manifests, a shimmering ghostly force wrapping beneath her body, and you channel "Teleport." through it. Hancock vanishes from the cot in a soft displacement of air, reappearing in a side-bedroom of the Magnificent Mansion where she'll rest undisturbed.

Sandra stares at the empty cot, then at you. "Well. That's one way to handle transport."

"Akame's delivery status?" you ask.

"Seller confirmed shipment. She'll be here by tomorrow morning - they're moving her by truck from their northern facility." Sandra sets down the syringe. "But the other three... Tatsumaki's people flat-out refused. Esdeath's sellers need their product within thirty hours or the deal's dead, farther than I can deliver quickly. And Yugito..." She shakes her head. "Those bastards want fuel and ammo. More than I can move without tanking my reserves."

Rika steps forward. "Where's the Tatsumaki seller located?"

Sandra pulls a folded map from her pocket. "Near Tucson. University campus they fortified. Call themselves the Initiative." She taps the location. "They've got two other travelers already not up for sale. Wouldn't tell me their condition."

Albedo's golden eyes narrow. "Two other travelers. And they want laboratory equipment."

The implication hangs heavy in the room.

"I'll deal with Tatsumaki's sellers next," you say, turning to Sandra. "For now, I'll make a Gate for Esdeath's deal. You need to have the materials prepared and radio the sellers that you'll be there within the hour to make the trade. They'll be shocked by the sudden acceptance and method - you need to keep them focused on the deal or they'll start asking questions."

Sandra's weathered face shifts into something between relief and calculation. She sets down the syringe on the empty cot where Hancock lay moments ago.

"You do know where they're at, right?" you press. "Coordinates or a photo would be ideal."

"I've got coordinates." Sandra pulls a battered smartphone from her cargo pants, tapping through screens. "Esdeath's sellers are a military remnant group - former National Guard logistics unit that went rogue three days in. They're holed up in a National Guard armory outside Flagstaff, Arizona."

She turns the phone toward you, displaying a satellite image overlaid with coordinates: 35.1847° N, 111.6513° W.

"They've got her in a refrigerated transport container - sedated, restrained, the works. Their leader is a Sergeant Major type named Gerald Holt. Pragmatic bastard. He wants fuel drums, ammunition crates, and medical supplies. I've got most of it staged in my warehouse already."

Albedo steps forward, examining the coordinates. "The distance is approximately four hundred miles. Well within Gate range."

"Radio them now," you tell Sandra. "Tell them the buyer's representative is arriving within the hour via unconventional transport. Emphasize the deal is happening fast because you want to move the product before sedatives fail. That gives them urgency without raising questions about how you're getting there."

Sandra nods, already keying her radio. "Gerald? It's Sandra. Yeah, the Esdeath deal - my buyer accepted your terms. I'm sending a team to collect within the hour. Have her ready for transfer." A pause. "No, I'm not driving. My people have their own transport. Just have the container accessible and your people ready to receive payment."

Muffled response. Sandra covers the mic. "He's asking what kind of transport."

"Tell him it's classified contractor stuff. He doesn't need details - he just needs to be ready to take delivery of fuel and ammo crates."

Sandra relays it. Another pause, then she nods. "He's grumbling but he's agreed. Says he'll have the container rolled out to the loading bay."

Rika checks her tactical vest. "Armory means weapons. Armed guards. How many?"

"Last intel said twelve to fifteen personnel," Sandra replies. "Well-equipped for a rogue unit. APCs, small arms, maybe a .50 cal."

Erza's eyes gleam. "A dozen soldiers won't be a problem."

"The goal is a clean transaction," Maria says firmly. "Not a firefight."

You study the satellite image. The armory sits on a flat expanse of desert, surrounded by chain-link fencing topped with razor wire. Two large warehouse structures and a motor pool. The loading bay faces east.

"I'll Gate us to a position in the center their entrance, inside the fence." you decide. "Sandra sends her people through with the payment goods. We observe. If it goes clean, we take Esdeath and leave. If it doesn't..." You glance at Erza and Nova. "We handle it."

Nova's psionic presence hums cold approval through the Telepathy Web. "Protocols ready."

Sandra snaps her radio off. "My logistics team can have the payment crates loaded into a truck in twenty minutes. You want me to send Diego and two of my people through your... door?"

"Yes. Sadly the truck won't fit so I'll make the gate on the back, that way it's just moving the crates from inside the truck to their side."

Sandra leads the way out of holding room three, Diego falling into step beside her. The corridor opens into a wider hallway lined with supply crates and armed personnel who give your group wide berth - Albedo's wings and horns tend to have that effect, or it's the danger factor...

The compound's parking lot sprawls under late afternoon sun, chain-link perimeter fencing topped with razor wire visible beyond the warehouse structures. A diesel truck pulls up to the loading bay, three of Sandra's people efficiently stacking fuel drums and ammunition crates into the bed.

"Give them ten minutes," Sandra says, lighting a cigarette and leaning against a concrete bollard. Her weathered face carries the particular exhaustion of someone who's been negotiating for hours.

You fall into step beside her as the group moves slowly across the asphalt. "Have you considered what you want for Hancock, Esdeath and Akame? I exposed a fair bit of what I'm able to do yesterday."

Sandra takes a long drag, exhaling smoke through her nose. "Age reduction for my senior operators. Refill on the water supplies - permanently. Refuel on every vehicle in my motor pool." She ticks items off on her fingers. "Regeneration enchantment on my medical bay. And I want one of those Eternal Rings you mentioned - the ones that keep a person fed and watered indefinitely."

She meets your eyes directly, Texas accent thick. "That's the wishlist. I know it's steep. But I moved heaven and earth to secure Hancock and Akame in forty-eight hours, not sure how we should balance Esdeath, and my network's going to take a hit from the two that fell through."

Albedo tilts her head. "The Eternal Rings are limited production. What would you use it for?"

"Scouting parties," Sandra replies without hesitation. "Send a team into zombie territory with no supply line needed. They can operate indefinitely."

Rika crosses her arms, watching the loading crew. "Age reduction and regeneration are infrastructure-scale enchantments. That's significant mana investment on facilities you already control."

"I control them now," Sandra agrees. "But I'm asking for permanence. What happens if your enchantments fade? I need these things anchored, not borrowed."

Rin speaks up, her analytical tone cutting through. "The facilities already have network connections. Permanence is built into the node structure - they draw from the mana network, not from Brad personally."

Sandra's eyebrows rise. "So they're already permanent?"

"Unless something manages to screw me over hard enough to destroy my multinational mana network," you confirm. "Age reduction and regeneration are advanced effects for a reason. They require additional mana capacity and ongoing upkeep. Your facilities would need regeneration included which is simple enough. Age reduction however."

"What's that cost me?" Sandra asks.

"That's what we're negotiating," Maria says smoothly, stepping forward. "The base payment for Hancock, Esdeath and Akame against the enchantments you're requesting. The differential determines additional consideration."

Sandra laughs - a short, genuine bark. "You brought a contract negotiator. Smart." She stubs out her cigarette. "Alright. Let's talk numbers."

The truck's engine rumbles as the last crate slides into place. Diego gives a thumbs-up from the loading bay.

"Truck's ready," he calls over.

Sandra straightens. "Then let's figure out what I owe you before we go collect your ice queen."

"Refill was already included in my original enchanting list," you say as the group crosses the sun-baked asphalt toward the idling truck. "It's already on your facilities and as permanent as I can promise."

Sandra nods, keeping pace beside you.

"Refuel can make some vehicles self-sustaining, but they're simply inefficient to enchant individually. Have your men gather fuel trucks and I'll enchant a fleet for you - send them with your teams or stash them where you'll need them."

"Fuel trucks." Sandra's eyes sharpen. "That's smarter than I was thinking."

"Regeneration - I'd advise you to skip asking for it on your facilities. It only benefits you if your facility is under attack, which means it benefits enemies just as much. If your men are injured, send them to the airports I've already enchanted with Regeneration set to slow."

Sandra stops mid-stride. "The airports? You enchanted airports with Regeneration?"

"Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno. Ya, it seemed like it'd make sense for the large locations to have."

"And you didn't mention this before?" Her Texas accent thickens with disbelief. "Did you forget?"

"It didn't come up in our negotiation yesterday. Anyone injured can be transported there."

Sandra exhales through her teeth, shaking her head. "Lord. Three airports with magical regeneration and you just... didn't bring it up."

"As for Eternal Rings -" You hold up your wrist, showing the silver Anchoring Band. "These are connected through my phone as an interface to the network. My group gets all the enchanted effects while being mobile, working anywhere on the planet, and they can be disabled and replaced if stolen. Eternal Rings are a blatant pain in the ass to make and completely cut off from anything. If not worn, they explode after ten days. If stolen, nothing can be done except hunt down the thief within those ten days. That's why I've only made three."

Sandra's expression shifts - you watch her process it. The independence appeal warring with the control nightmare.

"They're fancy," you continue. "Sustenance, Age Reversal at 1:1, Regeneration at a low rate. Amazing targets for anyone dumb enough to cross me, and easily trackable because there's so few."

"Yeah," Sandra says slowly. "I can see how that goes sideways fast."

"I'd advise you instead ask for a set of rings attached to a phone-interface, replicating my method for your men. You can track their status and cut off the ring if it's stolen."

Sandra considers for exactly three seconds. "Done. That's better."

You reach the truck's tailgate. From your inventory you pull a plain silver ring - one of the low-quality ones. You hold it between thumb and forefinger, focusing.

"Enchant: Connection." to her facilities network interface. "Age Reversal, ratio 183:1."

The ring pulses once with faint golden light, then settles.

You hand it to Sandra. "Anyone wearing this ring will become half a year younger for every day they wear it. If the wearer becomes a child, it's not my fault they're dumb enough to keep wearing it."

Sandra takes the ring, turning it over in her calloused fingers. Her weathered face cracks into a genuine smile - the first unguarded expression you've seen from her. "Half a year per day. That's... that's a miracle, Brad."

"That's one ring for Hancock. I'll bring the phone and set for Esdeath tomorrow when Akame collected. I'll enchant the fuel trucks after you've gathered them."

Diego appears at the truck's cab window. "Sandra - Gerald's radioing again. Says his boys are getting antsy. Wants a timeframe."

Sandra pockets the ring carefully. "Tell him-" She looks at you. "Right, you didn't need more than a few seconds last time to do your magic portal-door thing..."