Chapter 49: Gifts
Under the advisement of Tiffany, Butch began looking into things that people around him had an interest in.
It was anything from their favourite television show or somebody they admired greatly.
Anything that would be considered a thoughtful gift needed to be chosen for the individual so that it would be kept by them.
If it was something that was handed out to everyone without much thought being put into it then not everyone would be so grateful when receiving it.
If they did not cherish it then they would not use it or they would put it away and even discard it if given the chance.
That was not what Butch and Tiffany wanted so each gift needed to be personally chosen to suit their tastes.
Some figurines or other displayed home goods were picked out for some while others had something else chosen for them like a bracelet or some other form of jewelry.
Each of them had been chosen based on what they liked while including key parts like having enough of a shape that could be used by Tiffany.
The gifts were a way to reward everyone for their continued loyalty and to promote solidarity between those who remained but there was another purpose for them.
It was to make them let their guards down and make them all believe that none of them were under suspicion.
Some others that were not there that day would be given out some things to make it look like Butch was not showing any favouritism.
If he did things that way then he could still give out several gifts to others who were within his sphere of influence.
Those who received the gifts would never know that the gifts themselves were a trap set by Butch and Tiffany.
It did not matter if they were not completed toys or dolls since many other things counted due to their various similarities.
If they had been made from some materials and had something on them that was based on some living creature or character then it would be enough to put it under the influence of Tiffany.
On a keychain or a necklace that was chosen to suit each person was a character which usually had eyes and ears somewhere on it.
Even a pair of cufflinks or a badge was something that they could wear regularly would be a very suitable gift to choose from.
If it was not jewelry then it needed to be something that they would keep and put somewhere that they lived in and regularly used.
That way it was much easier to catch them in the act when they made any secret calls or had any secret meetings.
Tiffany would not be able to manipulate a lot of them to make them move around so her range of watching and listening would only be around where the gift was being kept or where the owner took it.
It was not considered as a perfect plan but it would be very useful if the gifts were valued enough to have them kept close by during critical moments.
If they did nothing wrong then there was nothing to gain from watching over them like that besides helping to prove that they did not need to be suspected.
If they were up to anything shady then they would soon expose themselves one way or another.
It was a gamble to employ such a method but there were no other viable options available.
The only option available would be a more forceful approach.
Everyone or anyone could be suspected of being a traitor so everyone would have to undergo searches and checks until their names were cleared.
If everyone was supposed to endure such a thing regularly then they would be unable to maintain what remained of their gang operations.
Everyone had some skeletons in their closets that they did not want to be exposed no matter what so such a thing could expose many things that were often best left alone.
Another plan that Tiffany began to put into action was using her current contacts and resources to help build herself a better information network.
With how there had been several businesses that dealt with the sales of various toys, figurines and many other goods that were under some form of influence by Tiffany, she could begin by using them in various ways.
The first step started with using the nearby toy factory to allow her to gain more toys to have an influence over.
Those toys would be distributed to other slightly larger companies that would help to spread them further across the country and even the world.
Hero merchandise was usually the most popular so Tiffany tried to target that target audience first.
The only people who did not actively buy that kind of thing were usually those who were on the other side of the law like villains.
If an adult did not collect anything themselves then they would still have something in their homes if they had a family.
Through the talks that Tiffany had with Butch over how she could expand her range of influence and target certain groups, a new plan emerged.
That plan was quickly put into motion after she contacted the right people to get the job done.
As Tiffany and Butch were still waiting around for anything to happen around them, they were both seated near each other in a room with the television turned on.
Several news reports were shown one after another as they went into detail about anything that had happened recently.
The weather, sports, business and even other reports on political, hero and villain activities were reported by the man and woman anchors.