the fallen - [MEETING]

[Stryker]

STRYKER ☣ COTC ☣ KINGPIN

Now seemed like a good time to start. A crowd had formed and eyes were on him. He spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. Ninazu, Chaz, Caesar per usual. Summer and Ezrakel decided to show their faces too. Good for them. Stryker allowed a few more to to gather before clearing his throat and beginning. "Thank you for gathering promptly," the lion remarked. Thin lips pulled back into a smile. "Today I have plenty to talk about-" As if he wasn't talkative in the first place. "-so please pay attention." With that, the real news began.

"Starting off, I have talked to Hani and Alani within Elysium." The duo were their former espionages. Nevertheless, their priorities laid elsewhere these days to Stryker's disappointment. He couldn't help but resent their loyalty to their new home. "While they have not accepted an alliance, they have agreed on a neutrality for now." They would need to look elsewhere for a proper alliance then before proceeding forward with their takeover on The Typhoon. "Needless to say, we don't step on their turf and they don't step on ours. Capisce?" Slitted eyes surveyed the audience. There seemed to be no answer. "Capisce."

Stryker went onto the next topic with a smirk. "I have also heard of some monthly gathering on the mainland," he enthused. "While I know we're supposed to lay low, I have been attending in secret for intel." The lion couldn't help himself after the first meeting. Good lord, that was a shitshow. He was surprised they met for a second one after all that drama. "Now, I will allow all of you attend if you please, but under several rules." As always, breaking the Code of the Coalition would result in a long, painful death. The same punishment applied here. Exposing their secret was a felony. "You will show up, stating you're a loner or a mere wanderer of the neutral grounds." All types of losers attended that meeting anyways. They wouldn't suspect a thing... Minus Caesar. The exiled bastard was probably a dead giveaway. Argus too perhaps. "Afterwards, keep quiet and listen. You're there for information and that is it." Besides that, they would leave in silence. Their duty was to attend, gather intel, and relay it back to Stryker as soon as possible. If they wanted to move closer to the mainland and leave this wretched island, their lives depended on that info.

His gaze moved over towards Ninazu next. "Now I would like to thank Ninazu for taking over while I was gone-" He let out a soft cackle. "-but perhaps we could deal with less plants next time, don't you agree Ninny?" Stryker, while he was fond of the carnivorous plants, found that the rest of his members weren't so pleased by their presence. To him, they had useful assets. "To address that, let's start by clearing out the ones left on the island..." He paused momentarily, questioning his decision. At the last moment, he changed his mind. "But leave the ones near the island's borders. They're good for intruders and fantastic deterrent. Plus, if we happen to have prisoners, they'd be marvelous guards." Keeping the weaker animals in their mouths was not out of the question either. The Kingpin surely had plans for them.

Now that the more important announcements were out of the way, Stryker took a moment to reflect. "Any questions or comments before I continue on?"

THE WEAK ONES ARE THERE TO JUSTIFY THE STRONG
DON'T BOTHER TO RESIST OR I'LL BEAT YOU

— Reggan