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Niffty saw the monster coming from a distance, with his smile and his refined manners.
“That’s the radio demon,” someone whispered behind his back.
He stepped forward. He was a handsome man. Very human despite his gray complexion. He smiled without flinching, his teeth sharp.
“Which one of you runs this place?”
Niffty took a step forward.
“I do.”
People were often surprised. Because she was small. As far as she knew, because she was a woman too. The radio demon’s smile flickered, but his gaze didn’t change. He was judging her. And he thought she was capable. Niffty turned to her men.
“Get out.”
And they did, though not without anxious glances. Niffty stifled a twinge of disappointment. She would have thought them more ruthless, more... bad boys. The radio demon, for his part, simply watched them leave.
“Miss,” he said when they were alone.
Niffty lifted her head.
“Niffty.”
“My dear Niffty. You must know why I’m here.”
Niffty clenched and unclenched her fingers around her weapon.
“Because you want this place.”
Not a neighborhood, not a thriving business. Just a small block. And people—only about sixty people, but every single one was counting on them. In Hell, every single soul and every square inch of territory mattered.
But victories mattered too. And Niffty could at least deny her that.
“...and I’m ready to surrender.”
The smile faltered, as if the radio demon had momentarily forgotten how to do it. He recovered just in time, and his face froze into that grin so funny that Niffty dared to laugh.
“You want to…”
“Surrender.”
The radio demon’s expression returned to its usual self.
“Why?”
He seemed genuinely curious. Niffty shrugged.
“I can’t be everywhere. I’ve lost men, and it’s getting harder and harder to defend us. It was inevitable. You’re the Radio Demon. This is by far the best offer I’ve received.”
“The best…” he repeated before bursting into laughter. “My dear, I’m not making you an offer. I’m not here to negotiate.”
“Yet you’re still talking to me,” Niffty pointed out.
He shot her a dark look—and yet, a little bit… curious.
“What would you have to offer me?”
“My soul,” said Niffty, folding her hands behind her back. “I am an overlord. My soul and my strength are yours. As is this place.”
“Nothing’s stopping me from taking it by force,” he remarked in a vaguely impressed tone that deeply pleased Niffty.
“You could try.”
“My dear, I wouldn’t just try. I could kill you right here and now and broadcast your screams on my next show.”
“What if I win?” asked Niffty, tightening her grip on the handle of her knife, ready to pull it from her belt. “You’d make a pretty decoration. Are you ready to try? Even if I don’t manage to kill you, I can surely walk away with a tooth or two. Your smile would be less charming.”
That interested, almost fascinated look again. It was so gratifying to see the radio demon paying attention to her.
“That’s an offer,” Niffty repeated, putting her knife away. “I live, my territory is yours. You let my men leave with whoever wants to go. Without hurting them.”
“Interesting,” he said. “But what’s to stop me from torturing you once you’re mine? You don’t know what I’d do to you. You could end up on my show like all the others.”
“You won’t do that because I won’t scream,” Niffty replied with her most beautiful smile. “You can do whatever you want to me; I’ll accept it with pleasure.”
Because he wanted a fight; that’s why he’d come. She could sense it behind his politeness and apparent kindness. She took satisfaction in leaving him speechless.
“What if I said yes?” he asked her. “What would you want in exchange?”
“Your protection,” Niffty replied. “I want security more than power.”
“Security,” he repeated thoughtfully, his eternal smile fixed on his lips. “You’re the first person to think I can provide that for them.”
This place wouldn’t have lasted long anyway. Niffty stood there smiling, calm and composed, her hands behind her back.
“The Cannibal Town,” he finally revealed to her. “They’ll have to follow certain rules, but their overlord, Rosie, never harms the local population.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Niffty.
“And…” (He hesitated, but not for long.) “You’ll have it. My protection. You’ll have to do everything I tell you to do…”
“That’s fine with me.”
“…but as long as you’re under my command, no harm will come to you.”
Niffty nodded with just a touch too much enthusiasm.
“And I’ll let everyone go wherever they want,” he finished, his smile a little more forced this time.
It was Niffty who reached out his hand first.
“Deal?”
He shook it with all his might. When it was done, he was the one who watched the chain disappear from around his hand, as if he feared he might regret it.
“Sure,” he admitted, clearly reluctantly. “It was the first time I’d ever made a deal like this.”
“You’ll see,” Niffty promised him. “I’ll be more useful to you alive.”
There was a laugh.
“I don’t doubt it, Niffty.”