Rey didn’t return to the Red House headquarters imdiately after his conversation with Cassius.
Instead, he had the carriage drop him off at a nondescript tavern in district seven—one of the areas where Category C Guards on their payroll operated. The kind of establishnt where information flowed as freely as alcohol, where people talked without realizing who might be listening.
"I need to handle so personal business," Rey told Cassius, who looked uncertain but nodded. "Return to Lady Z and inform her that I’m pursuing an alternative approach to the situation. I’ll report directly to her once it’s resolved."
"Are you certain?" Cassius asked, worry evident in his voice. "If you’re planning sothing aggressive, we should coordinate with—"
"Trust ," Rey interrupted, his tone carrying a confidence that made Cassius pause. "I know what I’m doing. And more importantly, I know what needs to be done."
Cassius studied him for a long mont, then nodded slowly.
"Very well. But if you need support—"
"You’ll be the first to know," Rey assured him.
Once alone, Rey spent the next several hours thodically gathering information. He talked to bartenders, bribed serving staff, listened to conversations from corner tables. His elderly rchant persona made him easy to underestimate—just another businessman conducting casual networking.
But the information he collected was anything but casual.
Sergeant Torvin’s routine: arrived at the station every morning at the seventh bell, left precisely at the eighteenth bell. Lived alone in a modest apartnt in district eight, courtesy of Guard housing. Had a gambling problem that he satisfied at a particular establishnt on his route ho.
No family, few friends, but a younger brother who worked as a clerk in the city’s administrative offices.
The brother was the vulnerability.
Rey also learned which House had bought Torvin’s cooperation—not the Fanged Serpent directly, but the Blue Lotus House, one of the six major Houses in Elkrim’s Dark Comrce District.
They’d been expanding aggressively, clearly intending to absorb the Fanged Serpent Club once it successfully took the Red House position.
’Interesting coalition,’ Rey thought. ’The Fanged Serpent provides the intelligence and insider knowledge from their ti with the Red House. The Blue Lotus provides the resources and backing to bribe officials. Smart strategy, if sowhat transparent.’
By the ti night fell, Rey had everything he needed.
The next morning, Rey visited the central holding facility in district six—not as himself, but wearing a disguise Artifact that altered his appearance to that of a younger man with legal docuntation.
He presented himself as a concerned relative of one of the arrested Red House operatives.
The Guard at the desk was bored and underpaid, exactly the type Rey needed.
"I’d like to arrange bail for my uncle," Rey said, sliding a modest amount of currency across the desk. "And perhaps you could tell what evidence they have against him? Just so I know what we’re dealing with."
The Guard pocketed the money smoothly.
"They got him on possession of unlicensed Technique scrolls. Pretty standard stuff. Bail will be steep though—Sergeant Torvin set it personally."
"I see," Rey said, adding more currency to the pile. "That Sergeant Torvin must be quite dedicated to justice."
The Guard snorted. "Dedicated to his paycheck, more like. He’s been bragging all day about... ah, never mind."
’Perfect.’
Rey bead to himself.
The connection was now confird and, more importantly, becoming common knowledge among the lower-ranked Guards.
That would be useful.
Rey posted bail for two of the arrested operatives—carefully selected ones who were mid-level enough to matter but not so important that their release would be blocked.
He sent them back to the Red House with instructions to report to Lady Z directly.
Then ca the more aggressive phase of his plan.
That evening, Rey visited the gambling establishnt where Torvin spent his nights.
He didn’t approach the Sergeant directly—that would be too obvious. Instead, he spoke with the establishnt’s owner, a shrewd woman nad Marta who operated on the fringes of several Houses’ territories.
"I have a business proposition," Rey told her, sliding a substantial amount of currency across her desk. "Sergeant Torvin has been gambling here regularly, yes?"
Marta’s eyes narrowed. "Maybe. What’s it to you?"
"I need him to have a very bad night. Significant losses. The kind that would put him in financial distress." Rey added more currency. "And I need his debts to be called in imdiately. No extensions, no rcy."
Marta studied the money, then Rey.
"You’re playing a dangerous ga, old man. Torvin has backing from the Blue Lotus."
"Had backing," Rey corrected. "By tomorrow, the Blue Lotus will discover that Sergeant Torvin has beco a liability rather than an asset."
He leaned forward. "I’m offering you triple what the Blue Lotus pays for your cooperation, plus guaranteed protection from the Red House for the next year. All you have to do is follow my instructions exactly."
Marta considered this, her rcenary instincts clearly calculating the offer.
"And if the Blue Lotus retaliates?"
"They won’t. Because they’re about to have much larger problems to worry about." Rey’s smile was cold. "Do we have an agreent?"
The money was too good, and Marta’s loyalty to the Blue Lotus was purely transactional.
"We have an agreent."
That night, Torvin gambled as usual.
And as arranged, the gas were rigged just enough that he lost consistently but not so obviously that he’d suspect manipulation. By the end of the evening, he’d accumulated debts he couldn’t imdiately pay.
When he tried to arrange his usual extension, Marta refused.
"Cash now, or we have problems."
Torvin was furious but powerless. He left owing substantial money with a deadline of three days to pay or face consequences.
Rey’s next move ca the following morning.
He sent an anonymous tip to the Category A Guards—the incorruptible division that even the Houses avoided—regarding Sergeant Torvin’s sudden windfall from the Blue Lotus and his suspicious gambling habits.
Category A Guards didn’t investigate imdiately, but the report was filed, creating a paper trail.
Then Rey visited Torvin’s younger brother at his administrative office. He approached as Modred Helt, respected rchant, with a seemingly innocent inquiry about comrcial licenses.
During the conversation, Rey casually ntioned, "I couldn’t help but notice your brother has been quite successful lately. Working with the Blue Lotus must be lucrative. Of course, that kind of arrangent tends to attract attention from the wrong people—Category A Guards have been asking questions in several districts lately."
The brother went pale.
He knew what Category A Guard attention ant, even if he didn’t know the specifics of his brother’s activities.
"If he’s in trouble," Rey continued quietly, "there might be ways to resolve it. The Red House, for instance, is always willing to help people extricate themselves from complicated situations. Provided they’re willing to reconsider their allegiances."
He left his contact information and departed, leaving the brother to panic.
The next piece fell into place that evening when the Blue Lotus House received an anonymous report—carefully crafted by Rey—suggesting that Sergeant Torvin had been skimming money from their paynts and had beco a gambling addict.
Worse, he’d apparently attracted Category A Guard attention, making him a liability.
The Blue Lotus leadership didn’t wait to verify. In their world, even the suspicion of such problems was enough to cut ties imdiately.
They sent word to Torvin that their arrangent was terminated.
Within thirty-six hours, Torvin found himself in a nightmare scenario: drowning in gambling debts, cut off from his Blue Lotus backing, under potential investigation by Category A Guards, and with his brother begging him to find a way out of the ss.
That’s when Rey, as Modred Helt, arranged a private eting.
They t in a quiet corner of a neutral tavern.
Torvin looked haggard, desperate, nothing like the confident man who had dismissed Cassius days earlier.
"You," Torvin said, recognizing Rey from the station visit. "What do you want?"
"To offer you a lifeline," Rey replied calmly. "You’re in trouble, Sergeant. Deep trouble. Your Blue Lotus friends have abandoned you. Your debts are being called in. And I suspect you’re aware that Category A Guards have a file with your na on it."
Torvin’s hands clenched into fists. "How do you know—"
"Because I arranged all of it," Rey interrupted smoothly. "The gambling losses, the debt collection, the investigation tip, your forr sponsors cutting ties. Every piece of your current predicant is my doing."
Color instantly drained from Torvin’s face.
"You... but why?"
"Because you made the mistake of disrespecting the Red House," Rey said, his elderly features hardening. "You thought we were weak, vulnerable, easy to dismiss. You thought your Blue Lotus backing made you untouchable. You were wrong."
He leaned forward.
"But I’m not here to destroy you, Sergeant. I’m here to make you an offer. The Red House can make all of this go away—pay your debts, make the Category A investigation disappear, even provide you with better compensation than the Blue Lotus ever did."
"In exchange for?" Torvin asked, though he clearly knew the answer.
"Release our people imdiately. All of them, all charges dropped. And going forward, district nine’s Category C Guards work with us, not against us. You’ll receive regular paynts, protection, and the security of knowing you’re backed by an organization that rewards loyalty rather than discarding assets when they beco inconvenient."
"Or..." Rey’s smile was cold. "You can refuse, and tomorrow morning you’ll wake up to find your gambling debts sold to so very unpleasant people, your brother implicated in your activities, and Category A Guards arriving at your door with arrest warrants. Your choice."
Torvin was silent for a long mont, his face a mask of conflicting emotions—rage, humiliation, fear, and finally, resignation.
Then, he finally spoke.
"What do you need to do?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)