The Agent

by Brock E. Deskins

  “Me? What about you?” Adam asked.

  “I need to make contact with some of my other agents.”

  “You’re leaving us alone again?”

  “You’re fine. Everyone downstairs is essentially your bodyguard. They will make plenty of noise and provide you ample time to make use of the bolthole should anyone come. There are people waiting at the far end who will take you in hand in such an event.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “He said to every woman everywhere,” Liam quipped.

  Adam scowled at his cousin. “You talk a lot of crap for a kid who has likely never even seen a naked woman.”

  “I’m fourteen!”

  Garran scoffed. “By the time I was fourteen, I’d had sex five—”

  “Farm animals don’t count,” Liam interjected.

  “—two times already.”

  Adam shook his head. “You are so going to hell.”

  “And skipping all the way there whilst whistling a jaunty tune!” Garran agreed enthusiastically.

  ***

  The hour was late, but Leva never truly slept. There were still enough people meandering through the streets and occupying the city’s nighttime hotspots that Garran was able to move freely without attracting undue attention. Even so, he performed several route deviations and double backs to ensure that no one was following him before entering the moderately posh drinking house located in the heart of one of the middle wards.

  Garran entered the drinking house and took a seat at the bar. It was not crowded, but a fair number of mostly middle-aged and older middle-class men and a few women sat at the tables drinking, cajoling, and playing various games, most often involving small, petty wagers.

  The agent sipped at his drink and was on his third one when someone took a seat next to him. Garran flicked his eyes to the side without turning his head and took in the man’s long, dark coat, expensive garb, and unrepressed sense of superiority.

  “Philip,” Garran said in greeting before finishing his current drink in one gulp.

  “It is Dean Kelsey to you.”

  “I’m no longer your student.”

  “Nor are we friends.”

  Garran Shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “I must say, I am beyond surprised to see you are still alive and in the city, with Prince Adam still in your charge as well. Your continued success, however accidental it must be, is going to cost me a fair sum of money.”

  “I thought you would have learned not to bet against me by now.”

  “Old prejudices die hard, but it takes only the weight of a single ‘I told you so’ to balance the scales in my favor.”

  “Speaking of hard, how is your wife?”

  “Do you really want to make this conversation unpleasant?”

  “Isn’t it already?”

  “Any interaction with you is unpleasant regardless of topic. Speaking of I told you so, I have some news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “This is not the place for it. I will get up and leave. In a few minutes, you will go to a room in the back and exit through the door into the alley. I will await you in my carriage.”

  Garran nodded and Philip left without another word. Garran consumed another drink, making it last a few minutes before standing and going through the door Philip had indicated. The room was used for storage and was filled with a few tables, several chairs, and an assortment of odds and ends. Another door stood barred from the inside at the far end. Garran lifted the bar, opened the door, and stepped into the alley. He strode to the carriage parked at the end and climbed aboard.

  “So what do you have to tell me?” Garran asked as he took a seat across from Dean Kelsey and the coach began to move.

  “It is more of a surprise than a briefing.”

  Garran crossed his arms and slunk into his seat. “I hate surprises. Surprises usually end up with me needing medication for an infection or having to push a woman down a flight of stairs.”

  “Your selfish depravity truly knows no boundaries.”

  “That’s me, boundless—except when I pay for a good binding.”

  “How you have managed to achieve any measure of success is truly baffling.”

  The coach clopped and rattled up the illuminated streets for several minutes before stopping inside the gated inner courtyard of a respectable manor. Armed men closed the gates behind the carriage and stood guard as Garran and the dean emerged and went into the house.

  “Garran!” someone called out the moment Garran and Philip entered the parlor.

  Garran turned toward the voice. Aniston shambled in on crutches, his legs and torso bound in what appeared to be some bizarre, iron birdcage. Hinges at the knees and hips allowed a small measure of movement.

  “What the hell happened to you? You get in fight with a psychotic blacksmith or something?”

  “Aniston,” Dean Kelsey said, “you should not be out of bed.”

  Aniston ignored the dean’s admonishment. “I tangled with a nasty bloke by the name of Zeegers. I heard Gordon sent him after you. Did he find you?”

  Garran shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, he found me.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “Yes—well, I’m about ninety percent sure he’s dead. I didn’t really have the time to stick around after I stabbed him.”

  “That’s good. It’s not like you to miss your mark.”

  “Yeah…”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Funny thing. It turns out he was my father.”

  Aniston furrowed his brow. “That…actually explains a lot about the both of you.”

  “It definitely looks as though he got a piece of you.”

  “He got more than a piece, the sneaky bastard. The physic gave me only a fifty-fifty chance of ever walking again. Even so, I won’t ever win any foot races.”

  “You run like a girl anyway. What else has happened? I hadn’t gotten any messages in weeks.”

  Aniston nodded. “Yeah, after I got found out, Dean Kelsey thought it was too risky to contact you anymore. I still can’t believe you two are working together. I thought you hated each other?”

  “Oh, we most certainly do,” Philip affirmed. “It just so happens that our agendas currently coincide. I warned Remiel on numerous occasions that he put far too much trust in Gregor, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “How is Evelyn faring?” Garran asked.

  “Well enough I suppose,” Aniston answered. “The dean still has people on the inside keeping an eye on her, but I haven’t been able to contact her at all. She probably thinks I’m dead. Do you know she’s pregnant?”

  “Yes, but the palace is full of stairs. Anything could happen.”

  “It better not! Gordon is not the father.”

  Garran took a step back and frowned. “Then who is?” Garran interpreted the smile that nearly touched Aniston’s ears. “Get out of here, you dog! It’s nice to see you haven’t been lying down on the job—then again, I guess you have been.”

  Philip cleared his throat. “Speaking of jobs—”

  “You want to give me that surprise now?”

  “Aniston was the surprise.”

  “Oh. You’re not very good at surprises. Bit of a letdown after such a buildup.”

  “Yes, my wife said much the same thing about you.”

  “Ouch, that’s hurtful. What did I ever do to you?”

  The dean sighed and shook his head. “Speaking of jobs, what of your plan to bring in men to take the palace and secure the city? Gregor has doubled the guard at the docks and at all of the gates.”

  “It’s underway as we speak. In a couple of days, Artemisia’s armada will sail past Leva flying their banners and putting on a show before sailing out of sight. When night falls, they will close within a couple miles of the shore and enter the city by swimming into the harbor. I assume you have men ready to take the gates to let our army in?”

  “I have managed to gather nearly a
hundred men committed to our cause with eyes on close to three hundred more sympathizers. Once the invasion is underway, my people will contact and try to recruit them. This way, those who are not on board will have no time to betray us to Gordon or The Guild.”

  “We should have some of your people cause a commotion near the docks to divert the soldiers’ attention away from the water.”

  Philip nodded. “I can do that.”

  “What about Evelyn?” Aniston asked.

  “Adam and I should have her in hand and out of the palace before the siege begins. The last thing we need is for Gregor or The Guild to use her and the future king as a bargaining chip. What about the constabulary? They represent the largest fighting force in the city.”

  “Let’s be honest,” Philip said, “this will not happen without a lot of blood being spilled. I think I have enough of my people in place that I can slow their reaction and even turn many of them to our side, but there is going to be a natural reaction to an invading force we cannot avoid, especially if your mercenaries start slaughtering indiscriminately.”

  “They know that The Guild is the enemy, not the people of Anatolia.”

  “I certainly hope so. If this turns too bloody, Evelyn and her son’s rule could be very brief.”

  “Don’t worry; this is all working out exactly to plan.”

  Aniston looked down at his ironbound legs. “Really? Exactly as planned?”

  Garran rolled his eyes. “Don’t make this all about you. Seriously, you can be such a narcissist sometimes.”

  “I’m the…remind me to kick you in the nuts when this is over.”

  “Yeah…I’ll probably have to lay on the floor for you.”

  “Ass. What do we do now?”

  “You two sit tight. I’m going to go get me a little bind and grind action.”

  “Honestly, you think that’s what you should be doing on the eve of our greatest moment?” Philip asked.

  “Hey, you’re the one who brought it up.”

  “I did no such thing!”

  “You most certainly did.” Garran sighed. “Am I the only one capable of taking personal responsibility around here?”

  ***

  “Cyril!” Madam Lulu called out when she spotted Garran entering her brothel. “Or is it Lanny or Rupert this time? Oh, never mind. I don’t care as long as you pay up front.”

  “Why do I have to pay up front?” Garran demanded, feigning insult.

  “Because I don’t feel like nailing the shutters closed! And don’t even think about faking a fit and escaping when they carry you away to the hospital.”

  “Fine, but your lack of trust is very hurtful.” Garran dug into his pocket and retrieved a fistful of coins. “What’ll this get me?”

  Lulu made a quick count after Garran dumped the money into her cupped hands. “One girl and a cleared debt.”

  “I want two girls, half my debt, two bowls of opium, and drinks.”

  “One bowl and nothing from my good stock.”

  “Booze or whores?”

  “Both.”

  Garran curled his lip as he shifted from foot to foot. “Fine! It’s been a damned stressful few weeks, and I’m beyond being choosey.”

  “Lucky for you, so are some of my girls.”

  “Again with the hurtfulness.”

  “If you don’t pay off the rest of your tab, I’ll show you how hurtful I can be.”

  Garran waved over his shoulder as he followed two women up the stairs and into a room. One packed a pipe with opium while the other poured a glass of whiskey. With both hands now occupied, Garran lay on the bed and let the women go about their business without his direct involvement for a time.

  Garran looked from the now empty glass to the opium pipe as his head swam. “Not her good stock? Seems pretty damned good to me,” he slurred.

  The glass and pipe fell from his nerveless fingers. Garran watched the tumbler roll across the floor as one of the prostitutes took the pipe away before it could scorch the bedsheets. The door opened, and Garran struggled to make sense of the men’s faces as they entered the room.

  “Garran Holt, I knew you would show up here eventually,” Edmund Coulain announced.

  “Whah muh faug?” Garran muttered as he tried to force his mouth to form the words flitting through his muddled brain.

  “Damn, Mr. Coulain, he drank enough tranquilizer to knock out a team of horses,” one of Edmund’s thugs said.

  “Now you understand why I took so much care in debilitating him. Grab him up. This little prick has cost me enough profit without his blood rendering the room unusable.”

  “Nuh gah!” Garran protested as strong arms lifted him from the bed and carried him from the room.

  Garran fought to remain conscious. He reached for his transcended power, but it lay far beyond his grasp. His stomach revolted and threatened to heave its contents as his body bobbed up and down as they descended the stairs. They carried Garran out into the alley, down several side streets, and into the basement of another building.

  There, they strapped him to a stout table stained nearly black with the blood of countless others who had crossed or displeased Edmund over the years. His wrists and ankles secured, Edmund loomed over his prostrate body, a small but sharp knife held loosely in one hand.

  “Normally, I prefer my subject be completely coherent before I go to work, but I am not foolish enough to take such a risk with the likes of you. I hope you appreciate the fact that your death will be far swifter and less painful than I desire.”

  “Whah—wait!” Garran cried out as his flesh began to part beneath the lightest pressure of the knife’s blade. He shook his head in an attempt to clear away some of the fog and groaned, “I have got to stop falling for that trick!” He forced his eyes to focus on Edmund. “I can pay you—with interest.”

  Edmund smiled and shook his head. “It ceased being about money long ago.”

  “Bullshit. At the end of the day, money is all that matters. I can get you far more than I owe and favors you cannot possibly earn without me.”

  “The word on the street is that Gregor Ward is nearly as displeased with you as I am. I think that line of credit has reached its end—as has yours.”

  Garran winced as the knife opened a long but shallow wound in his side. “Not Gregor, The Guild, and likely Gordon too!”

  A frown replaced Edmund’s smile, but he lifted the knife. “The Guild would grant me a boon? They are a bigger threat to my organization than the constabulary has ever been. What sort of favor would they offer other than a swift death?”

  “I have something they want more than you. Not only will they and the King pay you for it, they might be so grateful as to allow you to operate without interference.”

  “What could you possibly possess that is so valuable to them?”

  “Get me my clothes and I’ll show you.”

  CHAPTER 38

  Startled, Liam and Adam jumped and prepared to defend themselves when the secret panel in their room swung open. They relaxed when Garran stepped through the opening but tensed once more when several unknown men followed him into the room.

  Adam, his voice heavy with confusion and concern, asked, “Garran, what’s this?”

  “Sorry, kid, it’s a change in plans.”

  “What kind of change?”

  “The unavoidable kind. You’ll need to go with them.”

  Adam took a step back, the look on Garran’s face filling him with dread. “Where are they taking me?”

  Garran sighed and his shoulders slumped. “They are going to take you to Gordon.”

  Adam backed away until his back pressed up against the wall. “No, you can’t do this! You need me!”

  Garran shook his head. “No, I don’t. I haven’t needed you since the day Callum’s ships set sail.”

  “How can you do this? I…I thought we were friends.”

  “You were a means to an end. Nothing more. I told you as much several times, but you never liste
ned.”

  “But our end was to save my sister and remove Gordon from the throne!”

  “No, that was your end. I don’t give a damn who sits on the throne. Gordon is no better or worse than your father was. Remiel drafted thousands into slavery to build his road, which led to many of those people’s death, my friend’s amongst them. Since he is already dead, my end is destroying The Guild, and I can’t do that if a bunch of thugs cut my throat.”

  Liam raised a knife and charged. “You backstabbing sonofabitch!”

  Garran caught the young man’s wrist as he plunged the knife toward Garran’s chest and delivered a powerful blow with his other hand. The punch struck Liam square in the jaw and dropped him to floor.

  “Garran, you can’t do this!” Adam shouted.

  “Can and did.”

  “I’ll tell Gordon and Gregor what you are planning.”

  “If you do, then they will win, and we will accomplish nothing. My plan is still in play, and I might be able to rescue your sister as long as you keep your damn mouth shut.”

  “I never should have trusted you. I despise you!”

  Garran hung his head. “Me too, kid, me too.”

  “We got what we came for. We should kill him too,” one of Edmund’s crew said as he bound Adam’s hands behind his back. “What’s to keep him from coming after us if we let him go?”

  Garran held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I have no issue with you, Coulain. Whatever has happened between us is just business and I can respect that. I’m the guy who just handed you over a fortune, and it’s likely not going to be the last time we can benefit each other.”

  Edmund scratched his chin and thought. “My colleague has a point. You are a dangerous man when crossed. It would be foolish of me to think you won’t hold a grudge for forcing you to betray your friend.”

  “Like I said, he was never my friend.”

  “So you say…”

  “You need me to prove I don’t care about these people?” Garran bent down, picked up Liam’s knife, and buried the blade into his chest. “They don’t mean anything to me. Are we done here?”

  Adam’s mouth dropped open, his mind numb at the unexpected brutality. “Garran, what have you done?”

  “What I always do—eventually.”