Somehow.
*****
Vika was troubled as she walked back to her house and main office with her Thieftaker entourage. She had decided to take a walk because she wanted to get a feel for the attitude on the streets but she couldn’t help spend the time reflecting on recent events. The Governor was a pain to be dealt with but that wasn’t what was foremost in her thoughts. Though she was rarely averse to throwing people to the wolves, and politically at least it had been the right decision, something about the Elena situation was still bothering her. And that in itself was concerning.
The first investigator on the Nightwalker was competent but may have been limited in his imagination. He’d made little overall progress and so was no great loss. And throwing him into early retirement had sent a message that failure was not to be tolerated.
His replacement Elena on the other hand had proven herself somewhat effective over the years, and troublemaker or not she had been an asset to the watch. And getting rid of her was wasteful. It was a shame not to be able to guide and shape people’s talents. Pointed in the right direction, she could have been a useful weapon. Maybe, given time she could be reinstated. And then she would be grateful. Hmm. But before that…
“Do we have the Nightwalker case file Sergeant Elena was working on?” she said to a nearby minion as they arrived back at her residence.
“On the way here, Chief,” he said calmly.
That was an odd way for one of her people to address her. He must be new. She did tend to get through them a bit. “You will address me as either Thieftaker or Lady Vika,” she said.
“Of course, Thieftaker,” he said with a bow.
“Go chase the case file and bring it to me as soon as they arrive.”
“As you wish Thieftaker,” he said. He bowed again and left. Vika watched him as he did, frowning. Whilst his tone was respectful, there was maybe a tiny hint of something shifty about him though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. Bah, it was probably nothing. She’d been busy and was distracted. Perhaps she needed to have a word with her head of staff about his hiring policy though. He needed to be a little stricter with the applicants. Still, it was unlikely to matter too much. She'd probably break the new aide quickly anyway.
Thinking about new aides was a distraction. She had a problem, or a number of linked problems. The Governor was on her back and this wasn't the time to challenge him. Not yet. These murders were proving a diversion from the main business at hand. It needed solving, and quickly.
And she also needed to find out who had reported directly to the Governor, updating him on progress ahead of time. That had to stop right now. Someone wasn’t following the chain of command. And more importantly, was trying to undermine her, either accidentally or deliberately. Either way, that was not something she was prepared to put up with.
Find the murderer first though. The story of the Nightwalker was causing chaos in the city. But how to find him? Elena for all her faults was a good investigator. A keen mind and very determined. Stubborn even. She had to be to have stayed in the city and indeed the watch after all the trouble she’d caused with her brother. That meant she had probably done a pretty good job of analysing the case so far. And there had been two murders since. Or one confirmed and one probable and to be confirmed. And a change of method from knives in an alley to a bow from a roof. That was possibly the most troubling thing. How do you catch someone who doesn’t leave a pattern?
She made her way to her office and sat down hard in her chair. Alone, she put her feet on her desk. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t sure how to proceed. She sat, trying to work up a plan of action.
She was disturbed by a knock at the door. “Enter,” Vika said, lowering her feet. It didn’t do for her people to see her too relaxed.
The new aide came in carrying a box. “I’ve got the casefiles Lady Vika,” he said.
“Put them on the desk and leave. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“As you wish, Thieftaker.” He put the box gently on the desk and left the room as instructed. Once again, she frowned at his back.
Hang on. Did he say casefiles? Vika looked in the box. There was more than one in there. Elena had clearly been busy, sticking her nose into more things that didn't concern her, no doubt. As she seemed to have a propensity to do. Maybe her instructions hadn’t been specific enough. To her or her captain. Still, intrigued, she opened the first file. Something about a missing cart. What the hell was she working on something like that for? It was unlikely to be the sort of thing she’d pick up herself unless she had a personal stake in it. Which seemed unlikely. So she needed a word with the captain of that station. Remind him of the chain of command. She was going to put the file down but there were only a couple of notes to read and she might as well…
Ah. That cart. Though fortunately Elena seemed to have no idea what she had been looking into. It seemed that this case might be useful after all. And Elena had a good suspicion as to where exactly the cart had been taken. That was useful. That might help track it down. The contents were rather valuable and recovering them if possible needed to be a priority. Though perhaps not one for the watch. Too many questions may ensue. But back to that in a bit. What else was in there? A report on some extortionists. Threatening people and smashing up shops in a section of the old quarter. Involved in some sort of minor street battle. And all unsanctioned by her. Likely too small time to be associated with the gangs she had been dealing with though. Entrepreneurs then. That wouldn't do. Most things began small and with the main players out of the way, now was a good time to close in on some of the smaller operators. Remind them whose town it was.
So. Two things Elena had been investigating, probably on the side. And two things that needed her attention.
It would be easy enough to point the watch in the right direction for the extortionists but they weren't going to make the sort of example out of them that was going to be needed to discourage any other ‘business-minded’ people. The watch may be useful for smoking them out however, so that better men and women could send a message.
And the cart. What was the best way of dealing with that? It was an embarrassment that it had been stolen and whilst the certain culprits had been punished, extensively, neither the cargo nor the cart itself had yet been recovered. And going in heavy with the watch was going to draw too much attention, both to the case, as it looked far too trivial for that sort of manpower, but more importantly to the cargo if they found it.
Maybe, again, there was a way to kill two birds with one stone here. A certain watch captain was clearly already familiar with the cart case. A certain watch captain who had vexed her and needed reminding of his place. A period back on the streets would be good for him. And if he happened to locate the missing cart … well, then as before she would send in the professionals.
She began writing the watch orders quickly. Then she had a number of other things to do that couldn’t be done from here.
*****
Trimas sat on a stool, using the walls of the room as a back. He leaned into it, eyes always on Daeholf’s chest.
Rising. Falling.
As long as they did that he was still alive.
Trimas couldn’t look anywhere else while it was just them, certainly not out of the windows which had been shuttered tight. His mind didn’t venture to the floor below, to imagine what Erik was doing. There was only one thing.
He twitched as a door opened, and breathed out as Zedek came into the room and placed a wineskin on the table.
“Here you are.”
“Thanks.”
“I thought you weren’t getting drunk.”
“I’m not. I just need…”
“Have your hands stopped shaking?”
Trimas looked at them. A new feeling this, shaking as you watched a friend nearly die. One his only other friend had noticed.
“Alright, they’ve stopped. No more drinking.”
He crossed his hands in his lap,
and saw Zedek nod in happy acknowledgement. Then both of them sat and watched Daeholf breathe.
Time passed, Daeholf moved only inches up and down. They checked the wound occasionally, and were certain no more blood was coming out.
“Do you think we’ll need maggots?” Zedek asked at one point.
“I don’t think that’s chest wounds.”
Silence resumed, before Trimas exhaled once more. “We can’t sit here doing this all night.”
“Can’t we?”
“Well, we will, but we have to talk. Let’s talk.”
“I’m not very good at that.”
“Alright. There is something we can start with. What do we do now?”
“Wait until he gets better?”
“Okay, this is what I’m getting at. Who was it that shot Daeholf? Clearly not the gang we were fighting before.”
“No. No, definitely not. That gang don’t have the skills to run over roofs, or to fire arrows like that.”
“Right. No, ex-soldier? Ex-archer in the army? Hunter? Aristocrat who can actually hit a moving target?”
Zedek leant forward. “And why did Elena come here?”
“Good point. She was after something. The arrow meant something. She knows who that was, or…”
“I think this might have been the serial killer we’ve been hearing about.”
“The Nightwalker?”
“Yes. Yes, them.”
“So, Daeholf was nearly killed by the most famous killer in the city. Who the guard have been after.”
“Yes, yes he was.”
They sat watching Daeholf, before Zedek asked, “We’re after him now then?”
“Yes. Yes we are.”
Zedek nodded again. He felt better with a new purpose. But only a little.
“So. Hunter, could be. Army equally. Another scout would make sense. Could be a scout.”
“There’s a lot of ex-soldiers in the empire. Not as many as there would be without the war in the south, but a lot nonetheless.”
“And plenty in the city.”
“Plenty in Bastion.”
They paused and nodded.
“We’ll narrow it down,” Trimas reassured himself.
“We’re bounty hunters.”
“Clues? Do we have clues?”
“Elena was interested in the arrow.”
“A shame Daeholf fell on the arrow and broke it. The fletchings were interesting, it could have helped us find the assailant…”
Daeholf’s chest moved as he coughed. Not a healthy cough, but the sound of mud being dislodged on the bottom of a swamp.
Trimas and Zedek were over him in a heartbeat.
“Are you alright?”
His mouth was moving.
“Don’t talk, er, what are you saying?”
Quietly, phlegmatically, Daeholf said, “I’ll … try not … to fall … off the fucking roof next time ... I get shot, you bastards.”
“Yeah, he’s still alive.”
“Welcome back.”
“Probably just lay there and conserve your strength?”
“We think you were shot by the Nightwalker.”
“We’re working on catching him.”
“I’ll die of … old age … at this rate.”
“That’s good.”
“He didn’t mean it like that, Zedek.”
Daeholf moved a pale hand and lifted the sheet that was on him.
“Did you sew … me up.”
“The butcher did it.”
“Fucking hell.”
“I think he’d prefer thanks.”
“Is part of me … on sale?”
“It’s not that bad.”
Daeholf attempted to laugh.
“Don’t do that! Do not do that. Sounded like you were drowning. In bloody shit.”
“Well there’s an image,” Zedek replied.
*****
Hood nodded to the guards outside and walked quietly into the warehouse. She cleared her throat. A number of people jumped when they saw who had entered. That gave her a small smile of satisfaction, concealed beneath her cowl.
One of the men, Hal, approached cautiously. “Chief,” he said.
“Hal,” Hood acknowledged.
“I…” Hal paused, trying to work out what to say. What wouldn’t end up with him on the floor taking a kicking anyway.
“Spit it out,” Hood said.
“It’s just that…” Hal paused again.
“Speak your mind. You have my permission.”
“Well we definitely lost them, but I think the watch saw us moving the cart tonight. And now we’ve got more men on them after we lost one, we look even more suspicious.”
“You’re sure you weren’t tailed?” Hood said sharply.
“Absolutely, chief,” Half said, trying manfully not to cringe. “I made double sure. That’s not something I want to get wrong. Not after… Well the last lot anyway.”
“Understood. Thank you for your candour.”
“Um. okay. Chief.”
Hood looked at what the others were doing. Mostly hovering around the cart, having stopped the process of unloading to see how events might unfold from the look of it. “Put the stuff away with the rest then stay handy. I’ll have something for you to do later. I’ll fill you in when you’ve finished.”
“Yes chief,” Hal said with relief.
Hood walked to the back of the warehouse and up the stairs to her office, frowning. The extra patrol in that area was not something she had ordered. Another complication that needed dealing with. As she entered her office, she could see that someone was already there, waiting for her.
“You can’t just come in here Darek,” Hood said.
“I didn’t want the men seeing me,” Darek said.
“Can’t this wait?”
“This is terrible for business.”
“So it seems.”
“The watch are a problem.”
“So I’m hearing.”
“The people are afraid. Acting irrationally.”
“I’ve seen it.”
“And people on the rooftops at night, looking for trouble. Sooner or later someone is going to see our shipments in transit. And investigate.”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
“People are getting riled up and unpredictable. Something needs to be done about the Nightwalker.”
“Are you giving me orders?”
“No. Of course not. I apologise.”
“You’re very useful to me Darek, which is why you have a lot of leeway. But let’s not forget who is in charge here.”
“No chance of that,” Darek said.
“Was there something else?”
“Yes. Well ... maybe.”
“You seem unsure.”
“There may be a new player in town.”
“After the lesson we just taught?”
“Not that sort of new player.”
“I’m listening.”
“There were some extortionists in the old quarter. Stirring up trouble.”
“I am aware of them. They will be receiving a similar message to the one on the docks relatively soon. They are small time though. Not something I was expecting to need to be worried about.”
“It’s not them. But they may have revealed something interesting.”
“Again, I’m listening.”
“They came up against a number of Bounty Hunters. Didn’t get the best of it.”
“I know. But Bounty Hunters are regular visitors. In fact at last count I think there are something like ten in the city now. And I’m hardly surprised a small operation came off worse there.”
“I’m not interested in the Bounty Hunters either. But I’ve heard that the extortionists went looking for help after they took their beating.”
“And?”
“They tried to buy weapons. And they couldn’t.”
“One of our suppliers?”
“Occasional suppliers, depending on demand.”<
br />
Hood thought about this quickly. “We weren’t using them at that moment in time were we?”
Darek smiled. “That’s the problem.”
“Do we know who bought the weapons?”
“No. Not yet anyway. It could just be one of those things. From what I hear it wasn’t just one person. But I thought it might be worth looking into anyway.”
Hood mused on that. “You’ve rarely been wrong about this sort of thing before. Keep an eye on it.”
“And I thought the war was over.”
“This was hardly a war. And if anyone else is in town with ideas, we’ll step on them in exactly the same way. Go find out if it is anything we need to be concerned about.”
“Will do,” Darek said but didn’t move.
“And yet you’re still here.”
“One last thing.”
“Yes?”
“I, ah, hear you could do with a new treasurer.”
“Perhaps.”
“Would you like me to take it on?”
“I thought you liked to stay hidden from the majority of the business?”
“That situation has its benefits, but I think I can be useful.”
“No,” Hood said firmly. Darek’s face fell. “I like to spread things around a bit. In case people get ideas.”
“I’m completely loyal,” Darek said, a hint of injury in his tone.
“And let’s keep it that way by avoiding any temptation. Dismissed.”
“Chief,” Darek said, bowing. He left through the secret door.
Hood sighed. The Nightwalker was causing trouble in both capacities. Extra watch patrols. Vigilantes on the roofs. Which probably meant she may have to station some watchmen up there, at least until any self-appointed law people could be persuaded to leave it to the professionals.
Damn him for interfering with her business. The Nightwalker was now a priority on both fronts.
*****
The others had left him be for a while. Daeholf coughed, deep and nasty. He put a rag to his mouth and spat the mess into it. He looked. It wasn’t nice.
“You sound terrible.”
“It’s nice to see you too Kellan.”
Knives of Bastion (An Empire Falls Book 2) Page 23