awalterj: I think you're confusing the merc trade with bounty hunting, birds of a different feather! But according to British Intelligence I'm supposedly a "secret agent of the Swiss", remember? As in, well...secret!
ddickinson: Nope, I meant mercenary. A bounty hunter usually has to operate within the law,
a mercenary is simply a goon for hire, someone who will do anything, so long as the money is good. Also, there is nothing stopping you being a Swiss agent and moonlighting as a mercenary on the side.
Maybe elsewhere, but here this was a county-level quality export business. From the mid 15th century on, the Swiss mercenary business was highly official with county governments regulating things and making contracts with the French Crown, and from the 17th century on with Spain, The Netherlands, Savoy, England, Austria, Hungary and various city states in Italy. Those were not individual little hired goons that signed up with some shady lord but entire regiments and battalions consisting of thousands of mercenaries who were subject to contracts and laws. Of course there were loopholes and plenty of corruption and whatnot to work around whatever laws were inconvenient (as with everything involving money) but in the larger picture the mercenary business was the official main export and vital for the economy (import of grain and salt etc) and for keeping up diplomatic relations with foreign powers - no one is going to invade you if your country is the main supplier of mercenaries for their militaries. Calling a mercenary a "hired goon" wouldn't be good PR so I must protest a little bit. It's all about branding, branding!
Prussian King Frederick the Great respectfully raised his hat to a group of Swiss mercenaries during the battle at Rossbach when he was kicking the French forces left and right and the only ones in the French army who put up serious resistance were the Swiss mercenaries. That is good PR: You don't have to win a battle for your employer, but if you put up a hell of a fight so that the opposing army's leader is impressed, they will say "who are these guys? I want me some of those too!"
I'm going to piggyback off the good reputation of my ancestors in order to make you pay a lot of money, 'tis is my design.
awalterj: If he hadn't capitulated, I would have used the mercenary fee to buy pizza for Enebias and myself at whichever local pizzeria he recommends and then we would spend the rest of the money to make giveaways on GOG.
ddickinson: You would not be going in alone, you would have been accompanying me as we both hunted down Enebias. You would not have had the chance to enjoy pizza and giveaways, I would be there to keep an eye on you (treacherous Swiss mercenaries, can't trust anyone these days, next time I will pay extra for a Commando Ibex). I would use your expertise to find him, or at least use you as the hired goon to get some information on his location and, if need be, to take the blame if we are caught. It would be all your idea, I would just be the sweet innocent lady who was forced to come along :-).
Another problem with your plan, is that it was cash on delivery, no payment until the job is done. You did try to resist and ask for partial payment upfront, but instead of money, I simply offered a truck full of Swiss chocolate, and we all know how much you Swiss love chocolate. What you don't know, and something you will only discover after you have served your time for going AWOL, is that it was not actually Swiss chocolate, just a truck full of knockoff Chinese imitation chocolate.
Hm..."cash on delivery " does sound like bounty hunting though and as for your offering of truckloads of Swiss chocolate, that is the funniest (and wackiest) idea I've read on the internet in a long time: You might as well try to sell refrigerators to an Eskimo village! Think about it :D
Also, read the small print in my mercenary contract which says I'm allowed so and so many toilet breaks per day. I'm allowed to go potty by myself so you can't supervise me there. I'll use these toilet breaks to warn Enebias via SMS whenever we are too close to catching him. Plus, I also get to have my own room so when you're sleeping I can sneak off and in a city like Milan there's bound to be some decent late night dining so that Enebias and I can enjoy our pizza sessions.
Employing a Commando Ibex might not be a good idea: After the initial shock at seeing this mighty animal, the Italians will sneak up on the ibex at night and turn it into delicious Ibex Salsiccia. You know how the Italians love cured meats!
It seems you're stuck with me instead - but since Enebias has capitulated already by entering the giveaway and since I entered as well, you already have things going your way and it seems the two of us mainlanders are safe from you - for now!
Enebias: A fine plan, sir! Here, have the first slice of "Pizza alla Diavola" to metaphorically celebrate your professionalism!
By the way, excellent review and thanks for recommending Mother Sarah! I never heard about this title before, but between the names behind it (Otomo-Nagyasu) and the premises, it look more than interesting!
Thanks for reading, especially since it's a bit long (2400 words)
Btw there is some trouble with my employer paying me (see above) but Pizza alla Diavola? Hell yes, anytime! My employer is sleeping right now so this is a perfect time.