Chapter 338: Killing a king (3)
"Not everyone wishes to display their gun. It presents a bit of trouble," said Tyrion.
"See, this attitude is why I like you, but you’re making a grave mistake. You probably came here with your knights, thinking the numbers would scare me, but you see, I am hard to scare. When you have to crawl from the bottom, you witness a lot of bad things," Victor explained.
Victor proved his confidence by pushing his gun away. "Your knights aren’t going to get to you in time to save you. I don’t want to die, and you most certainly don’t want to die, so let’s not do something foolish with our guns."
Victor trusted his ability to reach for his gun and fire as soon as Tyrion made the mistake of reaching for his.
"Yes, I wanted your wife, but so does every man in town. She’s the dream for many of us who are considered to be at the bottom of the social world," Victor said, his smile widening the angrier Tyrion became.
Victor continued to say, "My deal with Warren is over, so how about I make a new deal with you. I’ll forget about your wife, but how about we become friends? Then I’ll offer you a few ladies when you get bored and invite you to meet with my other friends."
Victor offered his hand for Tyrion to shake. His patience was quickly slipping away.
"I’m starting to not like how cocky you royal bastards are. You’re looking down on me, aren’t you?" Victor asked, the last of his patience snapping.
"Oh no, my king," Tyrion said in a taunting tone. "Why ever would I look down on a king?"
Tyrion’s response pissed off Victor, but rather than grab his gun and shoot Tyrion dead between the eyes, he laughed.
This was how a man with power should act.
"You, you really are just the kind of friend I need. You have a smugness to you, like you believe you’ll get everything you came here for. I wonder what the plan is. Did you plan to come in here to shoot me and you’ll walk out unharmed?" Victor wondered.
"No, no," Victor shook his hand. "You thought your knights would have been able to storm my brothel, and they wouldn’t be met with men on my side. Perhaps you thought that I would have allowed you to come in here with guards."
Victor wished Tyrion would stop being so secretive and open up about his plans.
"I’ve been in business for longer than you have been alive. I’ve grown this business from an idea to what it is now. See, my sister was the first woman I used to make some money. Then she killed herself, but that pushed me to do whatever it took to get more girls," Victor shared.
Tyrion chuckled.
He never met a man more ignorant to share what he had done wrong.
"If I had been king, my first order would be that the red light district needs to be torn down-"
Victor’s laughter overshadowed Tyrion’s voice. "Do you truly think that if you get rid of the brothels, this business will be over with? There are secret places where women are gathered and taken to where men from your circles can use them."
Victor stood up from his chair. "Times have changed, Your Highness. Not everyone is a prude when it comes to intimacy. Only you nobles act like intimacy is taboo. I can give you names of ladies who came here wanting to learn about a man. You need this place."
Where else could one satisfy their fantasies?
"Rather than destroy the red light district, you should put one person in charge of it so it’s better controlled. There are too many owners with too many rules. Let me rule it, and I will keep it to your liking. I’ll get rid of all the other meeting areas," Victor promised.
Victor held out his right hand to Tyrion for the deal to be struck.
"You must act fast. Others are offering me better deals," said Victor.
Tyrion stared at Victor’s hand. It wouldn’t be any different to making a deal with the devil.
Victor lowered his hand after Tyrion wouldn’t budge. "You’re not going to get what you came for so I suggest you get yourself some rum, two ladies to your side, and enjoy yourself."
"You don’t want to die," Tyrion said.
"No one wants to die," Victor replied, thinking Tyrion had lost his senses.
"You don’t want to get into a gun fight with me tonight," Tyrion clarified.
Victor’s attention went from Tyrion to the light creeping in under the door. "What are they doing?" He muttered.
Victor looked back at Tyrion, wondering if this was part of his plot.
"This is quite a quiet room. How do you make it so the sound from outside isn’t heard here?" Tyrion asked, looking around.
Victor stepped to his right, trying to see what the light was. His gun was still within reach, and he was keeping a close eye on Tyrion.
As soon as the door creaked open, Victor reached for his gun.
"Boss," Jonas’s voice was heard. He walked into the room with his hands up.
What caught Victor’s attention wasn’t the knight walking behind Jonas. It was the flames in the background.
Victor gripped his gun, the muzzle still pointing at Tyrion. He looked away from Jonas and the flames that could destroy his brothel to find that Tyrion was now pointing a gun at him.
"I’m fast too," Tyrion said, his gun pointed at Victor’s chest. "I was stuck with a lot of training in the palace for every weapon you could think of."
"I gave you a good welcome yet you come in here and set my business on fire. Do you think threatening Jonas will make me lower my weapon?" Victor asked, humoured.
Victor didn’t care that Jonas died now. If he didn’t need to keep his gun aimed at Tyrion, he would have killed Jonas himself for letting a fire be started.
"Sit down, Victor. We’re not done with our talk," Tyrion said, seizing control of the conversation.
Victor laughed at the audacity of Tyrion thinking he could order him around. "This isn’t the palace. You’re standing on my ground. I rule this place."
"Yet it only took a day of watching how your business operates to know how to overthrow you. The men get drunk and busy themselves with the ladies. It also helps that I have enough knights to surround you. Sit," Tyrion ordered Victor.
Victor stared at Tyrion, contemplating where he would go from here. If he was going down, he was taking a royal down with him.
A single shoot whistled through the air, closely followed by two more.