Chapter 82 Bargain.

Chapter 82: 82 Bargain.

Passing through the doors I entered Arman Glint’s private bar where bourbon the price of apartments gleamed in dull lighting.

I’d been in there once before, when Arman had made me an offer I couldn’t accept.

A huge desk dominated the middle of the room and a large window at the back looked down on the entire Death Rumble. It was supposed to be like a private viewing centre—the elites of the elite.

All around the walls were shelves with glass barriers which showcased a collection of rocks that would give a geologist raptures.

The lights in the room were low, dulled because had they been brighter, Arman’s skin would have blinded me.

There were a lot of rumors about Arman Glint, but most agreed that he used to work as a hitman for the mob. But that was before he allegedly found an artifact that allowed him change the composition of his skin to anything—anything but skin.

But weirdly he stuck with diamond most of the time. Maybe it was for the grandeur or maybe it was to compensate for a tiny dick, you could never know in this city.

He was absolutely huge, filling the chair and towering over his desk like a statue unearthed from some ancient empire, his silica skin glittering in the gloom.

His craggy features shifted like tectonic plates as he smiled a glinting grin.

A dark suit clothed him, leaving only his diamond head and hands visible. Hands that were currently toying with a rough, uncut crystal. I wondered if it was the one that gave him his powers?

Instinctively I sensed the presence of others in the room and casually glanced to either side, finding a pair of bruisers standing at attention in either corner, arms crossed. One’s stony skin was red like a brick wall while the other’s was limestone grey.

"Polaris. So glad to see you," Arman said, rising and gesturing at the chair across from him. "Please. Sit."

"Sure. Thanks," I said, but I pointed over at the bar. "Can I make myself a drink?"

"Sure." He said. "Didn’t realise you have talents behind a counter. Where’d you pick that up?"

"Past life." I said rummaging through his liquor. "You want something?"

"Sure. Can I trust you?" I added with a smile.

"We’ll see."

Arman nodded to himself, picking up the crystal he’d been toying with and moving towards the display case on the wall. "I heard you wanted to speak to me about something. I must say, that is a bit of a surprise."

I grabbed the two glasses and headed back to the seat in front of him. "Is it?" I glided one over.

"Oh yes. After all, you did take my best singer, I couldn’t help but wonder what else you were about." He opened the display case and gingerly put the crystal on a velvet cushion, his massive hands closing the glass door with stunning delicateness.

He turned back to me, his eyes seeming to glow in the fissures of his face. "And that’s after you quit the ring, too." He took the glass and gave a firm sip.

"I thought we left on good terms?" I said, sipping mine as well.

Arman chuckled, a sound that rumbled through the room like the thunder of an approaching storm.

He crossed back to his desk, his stride making the floor subtly shake. "Yes. Good terms. Good enough, as I recall. Which is why I’ve agreed to meet you. You could have been great, Miles,"

Arman said as he took a seat once more. "We could have done great things indeed." He cracked open a box and turned it towards me. "Cigar?"

"No. Thanks." I said with a wave. "You know you really shouldn’t mix those two."

"Psssh." He scoffed. "They’re excellent."

Arman took one out and brought out an old-fashioned and flicked his finger as guard from corner came to light it up.

He lit his cigar, taking a slow drag of it. I could actually see the smoke swirling about inside his crystal body. Had to say, it was a bit disconcerting.

"Mmm. Excellent stuff. Now that I don’t have to worry about lung cancer, it has such appeals to me. But I digress," he said, flicking shut the lighter. "I’m a busy man, Polaris. I hope you appreciate the favour I’m doing you."

"I do," I said. "I need information."

"Information? Why, Polaris. What a strange request. You make it sound like I’m some sort of broker or criminal."

"Yes. What a farfetched idea," I said drily.

Arman chuckled again and blew a plume of smoke into the air. "Indeed. But for the sake of argument, let’s hear what you want."

"I need anything you know about a man."

"A man? I know many men."

He was being intentionally coy with me. I didn’t like it. That wasn’t like Arman.

I leaned forward, resting an arm on the desk. "Don’t play koy. Let me narrow it down. I need information about a Delirium. A mad scientist and arms dealer."

With slow, deliberate motions Arman tapped some ash from the tip of his cigar. "And whatever makes you think I have contact with a man like that?" he said as he took another lazy drag.

I actually laughed. "Come on. You’ve got cyborgs and people crossed with animals down in your ring every night. If you’re not paying for some of their alterations, you know where they’re getting them. And don’t even get me started on the Nights."

There was a subtle change in the air. Arman looked at me, his eyes smoldering in their glow.

He took out the cigar, stubbing it out on an ash tray, grinding it down with a sizzle.

"An interesting theory," he said in a tone that implied such ’interesting theories’ tended to meet rebuttals armed with baseball bats in back alleys. "And perhaps I do know something of this... Delirium .

"But I have a theory for you as well," Arman continued, folding his hands before him, looming in his seat, looking down on me like a mountain getting ready to bury a village with a rockslide. "Say, perhaps, that you were not the only interested in some information from me. Oh yes. Perhaps another had some questions just like you. A man who, it seems, had been thwarted very recently by someone with powerful magnetic abilities. And this someone was very keen to learn about him."

"You see Miles, you have nothing bargain here—" Arman’s words were cut off by a hacking cough that didn’t let loose.

"Khh—khh!" he rasped on and on, watching as water trickled down his eyes. "Hrk!!"

His men were already exchanging confused glances at one another.

"You see I told you not to mix those two together." I said swirling my glass and looking at his internal to see the bubbling. "Now I have something to bargain."