The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 157: Black Arrow Returns! (2)

Harry cursed as he moved behind the doorway for some protection from the Powers being launched at him. Although the hunters were trapped in one room, they could easily overwhelm him if they stopped caring about potential casualties. 'It looks like they don't want to cause too much damage to this place...'

He sighed as he thought about it. Maybe it was a good thing that they were fighting it out down here. It prevented them from using anything too powerful against him. After all, there was no telling if they would end up causing the building above to collapse in on them. Harry sighed right before he felt a stinging sensation on his arm.

A wave of flames had just come through the doorway and although they did not touch him, the heat was enough to burn his skin. 'I'm probably going to die down here...' Harry sighed as he started reminiscing about his life in general between firing the Viper into the room. 'If I'm going to die anyway, I have to find a way to make sure these guys never leave...'

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"Just give it up! You won't win this!" Lorna shouted from behind, an overturned metal table that had been punctured by several bolts. "That weapon you're using is the one that killed the man known as Wraith, right? Here's the deal then... We're all sure that it was your grandson that committed the crime. How about you confess to it instead? That'll save young Jason from an execution."

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Harry hesitated as he listened to her words. He slowly chewed on his lower lip as he considered it. "How do I know I can trust you? Who's to say you won't just kill me and go after Jason, anyway?"

"You can only take my word for it! It's not like there's anything I can say that you won't doubt!" Lorna shouted with a smug grin as the other hunters paused their assault.

Harry frowned as he considered it. 'She's right. If we continue on like this, then I'll definitely die. But I can't be sure I can kill them as well. So Jason would still be caught by them.' Harry hesitated, as he knew where his thought process was leading him. The only chance Jason would have was if he took the chance on Lorna's proposal. 

"Damn it! You've got a deal!" Harry shouted as he made his decision. In the end, Jason's life meant more to him than anything else. 'I hope you can forgive this old man. Make me proud and really do something with your life.'

"Put the weapon down and come out then. We only want the money so we don't care who gets the blame." Lorna shouted as she slowly stood up from behind her cover with a beaming smile.

Meanwhile, about half a day's journey from Highrise, Jason was eagerly looking over new schematics in his mind. 'With this I can upgrade the Arbalest and Viper! I just need to say I was interested in the weapon that killed Dani's dad, so I tried to recreate it! That'll allow me to sell these to the Empire! It's not a gun but it will help even the playing field with Alliance by a large margin!'

"Do you think they'll go for it? You know everyone will be looking for any excuse to pin the blame on you if you bring something like these out!" Syssie cocked an eyebrow dubiously as she reviewed Jason's plan.

"Of course! Let's face it, who'd believe that I could kill him anyway? And the Empire will be happy to get their hands on a weapon like this that can be mass produced! There's too much in it for our side for them to allow me to be accused. Plus, with Sentinel's backing and the plaque from the Emperor, my word is almost as good as gold right now. Why not leverage it a bit? Then I just need to plant the originals on someone else." Jason grinned as he thought about how perfect his plan seemed to be.

"What about your legs? You're not exactly stealthy enough right now to be able to plant anything. You'd be caught in the act if you tried it." Syssie frowned as she tried to dissuade him. She did not believe it was a good idea to draw more attention to himself by doing something like this.

"That's why I'll release this weapon and put out a bounty on the 'killer'. It'll divert attention away from myself long enough for my legs to heal. Come on, it's a good plan!" Jason chuckled as he drew a few strange glances towards himself. His ANT-V was too far away for anyone to hear him, but they could all see him talking to himself.

Zach's eyes had a glint to them as he stared at the young inventor. He knew that face all too well. It was the face that any craftsman made when they had a new idea. Which usually meant that there would be a ton of profit to be made! Zach signalled the driver of his waggon to move towards Jason as a friendly smile appeared on his face.

"Jason! You look pretty happy! I know that face, you've just came up with an interesting idea, right? Why nor tell me about it so I can help you figure out its marketability? Hm?" Zach shamelessly began to pry so that he could strike while the iron was hot.

Jason frowned as he glanced at him, but then he thought that the merchant might actually be useful. If the merchant was to spread word that Jason had been working on the idea during their journey from Bridgend, it would give his story more credibility. He would just have to delay releasing the weapon for a while.

"Hm, do you know about the bounty that's been placed on a killer in Highrise?" Jason cocked an eyebrow at the merchant as he put on an act of wanting to share his idea. 

"Sure, most merchants will have heard about it by now. What's your point?" Zach wore a confused expression as he wondered where Jason was going with this.

"Well, the killer used some type of ranged weapon to make his kill, right? The person the murderer killed that earned them their bounty happened to be my friend's dad. So, I've been trying to figure out how the weapon works to recreate it. And I think I just figured it out!" Jason feigned excitement as he stared at Zach with wide eyes and a broad smile.

Zach's eyes went wide when he heard Jason's statement! He could already tell that this revolutionary weapon would be a big deal! He had to do all that he could to gain the rights to buy and sell it from him at favourable prices! 'Lucky! If this guy had come up with this after we parted ways, I would've missed a huge opportunity!'

"Oh, that sounds interesting... There would undoubtedly be a large number of interested parties in all corners of the Empire! You know? How do you plan to get them to these people? After all, you'll have Lords, guards, merchants and probably even the Emperor wanting to buy these weapons!" Zach tried to contain his excitement as he pointed out the issues Jason would have. Naturally, this was all to try to steer him into realising that Zach himself could fill this gap in logistics for him!

"Hm, I haven't thought that far ahead yet, but you're right! I'll definitely need to think about it. The first step would be creating a working prototype once I get back to my workshop. Once I have a working version of it I guess I'll just sell it in Highrise for now. It'll take a lot of time for word to get out so it should be hard to sell at first..." Jason sighed as if he were troubled by this issue.

"Well, if you need to advertise, how about I stay behind in Highrise for a while and help you spread the word? I could take a prototype on the road and take advanced orders for you as well? That way you only have to fill the orders as needed meaning you don't have to store large quantities for extended periods! What do you think?" Zach smiled sweetly as he waited for Jason's response. 'Take the bait, kid! You're going to make me a lot of money!'

'Haha! What an idiot! He took the bait!' Jason released a shocked expression, followed by a friendly smile. "You'd really do that? That would really help me out! Thanks, Zach. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't suggest it..."