Nathaniel Green, thanks to his new status as one of Despot Nathaniel Starbuck's 'senior employees', was now able to arrange a meeting with a representative of the SilverSword trading company in the latter's new headquarters in San Antonio. Alongside Sedna and Marcus Antonius Junior, he would go to said headquarters and say to the receptionist, "I'm here for a meeting with Damien Black, please. I believe I set a private appointment."
"Name?" The Receptionist looked up from her wooden, dusty old desk to the man that stood before her. The Headquarters was new but the staff were anything but, having been brought in from the Dallas Branch. Its defenses weren't up to par with those of the Dallas Branch, it was reasoned that the cost could be avoided due to the already established government in San Antonio providing for the common defense. The building itself was mainly a construct of old wood and smelted metal on the inside of what had once been an apartment building. Another cost-saving measure made by the administration back in Dallas.
The Receptionist returned to her work, gazing over a series of files with numerous dates and times on them. "Well, Mr Green your right on time. Damiens in his office on the second floor, up that stairway, there" the older lady gesturing haphazardly with a pen at a set of stairs. "Take a right and its the first door on your left." She offered a smile to the man before turning back to the numerous sheets of paper on her desk, deciding that her job was done for the moment.
The young man nodded courteously at the beautiful receptionist, before going up to Damiens' office, Sedna and Marcus in tow. Of course, Sedna had to make sure that he did not accidentally step on a loose floorboard or slip or otherwise be affected by his klutziness, while Marcus Antonius was there to counteract Nathaniel's bad luck. And so they'd reach the office safely.
As the men entered the office they were greeted by the sight of an obviously overworked man with very little hair and stressed wrinkles across his face. It was the father of the Dallas Branch Manager whom poured over the documents and whom dreamed of opening up an official branch in San Antonio during his lifetime. In his left hand a large cigar burned, leaving trails of smoke to rush towards the ceiling. HIs eyes turned up as his door opened, he didn't smile. "You must be Nathaniel and his entourage? I've been waiting awhile for this meeting." He stood from his chair, extending his hand to Nathanial first, then the rest of the party.
A short bow as Nathaniel said, "Indeed, sir; I see that my reputation preceeds me. Including, it seems, my reputation as Tacitus Secundus." A pause as the young man took the merchant's hand and shook it; same for the others. "Either way, I should make this simple; there's money to be made in distributing 'Tacitus Secundus Tracts' throughout the Wasteland, money for the both of us. So I wish for a deal; you distribute the tracts as far and wide across Texas, preferably in areas in the Legion's projected path, and in exchange, I give you the exclusive distribution rights to my intellectual property...outside San Antonio and the areas under its jurisdiction."
Another pause. "Said tracts will include a new edition of 'On the Betrayal of the Twisted Hairs', with illustrations and drawings of Legion atrocities, and 'On the Ideology of Caesar's Legion', also with illustrations and drawings."
"Damien allowed his arms to rest on the desk between him and the San Antonio delegation, his arms folding at his chin so as to rest his head. His eyes closed for a solid moment as he considered the offer, he had of course had prior warning of what the offer might entail so he wasn't entirely surprised. There were of course several qustions that he would be forced to ask before any agreement could be made. Primarily what "Intellectual Property" would entail as well as where the Tracts would be produced and by whom. If they had to take up the job of importing or producing the paper and tracts themselves, it was entirely possible though there would have to be additional costs.
"Your deal is a fair one, though i am no lawyer. I cannot place a value on your intellectual property but i feel that i can still make a profit from it, especially if its a promised monopoly" he allowed the word Monopoly to sink in, usually it had negative connotations but seeing as how the faces didn't contort or display a feeling other than understanding, he himself knew that he was being promised such a deal. "My question, as i'm sure my son in Texas would wonder is this: Are we to produce the Tracts ourselves or should they only be distributed by SilverSwords many Caravaneers? As you may guess there will be additional costs should we produce the tracts along with handling the distribution, which we can do irregardless." He was hastily scribbling down certain key items from the discussion on a blank sheet of paper, his eyes never leaving the group in front of him.
Nathaniel smiled, "Production of the tracts themselves has already been contracted to various publishing houses in San Antonio; artists and illustrations likewise. So it seems that they'll have to be distributed by SilverSwords' caravans. Nevertheless, I want to saturate Texas and perhaps Oklahoma with the tracts, so I'd like to negotiate another deal; should San Antonio be unable to supply the demand for 'Tacitus Secundus Tracts' on their own, I will contribute to the additional costs of publication in Dallas itself." A pause. "Should San Antonio be unable to supply the demand for Tacitus Secundus Tracts on their own, which would not be the case for some months, allowing me and the publishing houses in San Antonio to make profits for that time."
Another question occured in Nathaniel's mind. "Now, question; what will be each party's percentage of the profits?"
Damien gave a short nod, understanding the needs of his potential clients. It was a big undertaking, one that could cause trouble with the Legion if it were discovered. Not that they couldn't preform the undertaking, on the contrary they could do it quite well. The clarification on the matter of production allowed for a small amount of stress relief, it was easier than having to organize it himself. "We can pick up production in Dallas should the current production in San Antonio not be sufficient for your needs." There was suddenly the question of profits and what each party would gain from it.
"Production is easy, distribution is the dangerous bit so we'll have to take a higher percentage. Still, the fact that you'll be willing to put forth the undertaking required to produce the tracts means that significant amounts of caps will have to be spent regardless. 65%. Our distribution channels are unmatched and should push come to shove it will be us who suffer by the legion in terms of reputation should it be found out who is distributing the Tracts. The Tracts themselves should be cheap enough to produce in small quantities, if your goal is to spread this propaganda then we can do it. If your goal is purely to profit from the endeavor, then there is more negotiation to be had. We can certainly provide you with paper from the east if your artists and illustrators can churn them out fast enough for us to distribute. I suppose our payment for the Tracts will be coming from the San Antonio Government?"
"Propaganda requires profit," Nathaniel said, "but I get your point. 65% is all right. As for funding for the Tracts, Despot Starbuck would gladly pay if he didn't have other distractions. But for now, he has, so I'll be contributing a downpayment of 8000 caps immediately."
He then took out a packet from his belt that contained exactly 8000 caps. He then said, "Would that be enough?"
Once again, Damien gave a short nod of understanding. "8000 Caps will be enough, i wouldn't have asked for any more or less than that. I do hope that he reimburses you for that" he looked towards the caps, expecting them to be handed over once the deal was finalized. "8,000 caps now along with 65 Percent of the profit from the distribution of these Tracts. San Antonio will handle production, but Dallas will pick up the production if San Antonio isn't able to meet the demands of our distribution network. We will place these Tracks within and around Legion Territory. " He read off the list of features on the contract. "We can pick the tracks up from here, it'll take a few days to reach Dallas and from there its off to Legion Territory. We'll handle the costs of transporting the Tracks." He offered a smile, "our lawyers can write this into a contract and have it sent to you for review and signing. For now though, if you agree, we can conclude this deal orally until the appropriate documents are filed and signed.
He shuffled the papers and set them aside. "Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"
Nathaniel shook his head, saying, "That'd be all for now; thank you for your time."
He and his entourage would then get up to leave...