his bloodlust wasn’t fully satisfied. Seeing no challenge from his men, Rex turned and strode back to his quarters, well aware of the cowed men watching him.
He had taken over one of the city’s finest antebellum mansions. His office and personal quarters were on the top floor of the three-story home. His honor guard officers were quartered on the lower two floors. Rex’s “office hours” consisted primarily of seeing a stream of informers. Men paid to bring information on the goings on of the city. Payment was generally made in canned goods, but sometimes it was made in favors, such as eliminating a particular thorn in an informant’s side.
Rex had initially joined a small band of raiders when he’d returned to his home city. Within a week, he had taken over the group by killing the leader in front of the men. He told them, “He was stupid and weak. Do what I tell you, and you’ll be rich by comparison.” The men believed he was telling them the truth. More importantly, he deeply scared them, and they fell in line immediately. He recruited more and better men until his crew had reached four hundred. It was the optimum size for the region’s available resources. Once he reached the optimal level, he continued to recruit better-trained and more highly skilled men. When he brought in a new man, he would dismiss the worst man he had, maintaining his crew of exactly four hundred. During the initial weeks after taking over the original crew, they had taken food, water, and women from individual homes. When those resources became scarcer, and as his crew became larger and better trained, Rex upped the ante and changed his method of operation.
There were scores of gangs operating throughout Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. Rex recognized these gangs as opportunities. Each gang, in order to survive, had accumulated food. Rex and his crew identified these groups, found their base locations, and moved in and took the loot, leaving just enough for the raided gang to survive. Rex didn’t kill off the gangs; he let them accumulate more food and took it again. The amount of food gathered was greater than hitting individual houses, and required less overall effort, so it was a more efficient operation.
The trick was to locate where they had hidden the food—this is where the informers came in. The gangs were generally undisciplined and cowardly. Rex’s men, by contrast, were superior in every way. Better armed, better trained, better fed and disciplined almost to a fault. Rex had trained the men similarly to the way he had been trained in the Army, instilling combat skills and discipline that he had learned in the far corners of the world. Theirs was a deadly army, quickly spreading fear throughout the region. He had a loyal cadre of forty hand-selected men, his honor guard. These were men that were given special positions and rewards and were rarely punished. They were his protection against rebellion from his troops. They were intensely loyal because of their privileges, and were uniformly feared by everyone. Rex sometimes took prisoners, occasionally recruiting the best of their lot while personally killing the rest. These were his substitute for sexual orgies, and he lusted for them as a satyr.
Rex had progressed to operating much like a rogue government. Citizens could come to him requesting favors or protection and Rex often complied, but only for a profit. He had recently begun thinking about rounding up women and prostituting them. Only his aversion to sexual matters had kept him from thinking of it sooner. They were a commodity that could be controlled and much profit made from. Another line he was working on was growing marijuana. Seeds were still frequently found, and he could use slave labor to grow and process the plants.
He already controlled the liquor market. He had recruited several men who were knowledgeable in the skill of moonshining and had them set up a distillery. Any competition he discovered was quickly crushed. His latest venture was growing crops. Food was the number one commodity on the planet. By taking over local farms and utilizing slave labor camps, he would soon be producing fresh food that he could sell at any price he demanded. Rex was creating an empire, and was evolving into an emperor. He would soon be recruiting more men, and there were plenty of men who would do whatever it took to eat. Rex’s future was looking very bright,