Proofread by Thomas F
Ball Juras
Two nondescript carriages suddenly stopped in front of the three-story house. Their doors opened swiftly, and guards came out of them, armed to the teeth.
Those who were watching, dressed in civilian clothes, moved simultaneously.
They worked quickly and efficiently, securing the perimeter before breaching the building.
"These bastards are like the hounds on scent. If we had been there, it would have been terrible," said Karig. I turned to him and looked.
"Sorry, boss," he apologised immediately.
He is right; we were there until morning, before we moved out of it.
This was the fourth raid on the safehouses that I have been in. Thirteenth overall in the past week. They had caught many of my men; it's a good thing, I didn't share the locations of all the safehouses with them.
It was so easy before; we could do our work openly; nobody had stopped us.
With these bastards roaming the streets, it had become harder. I could have bribed my way out, but that takes time. We have to see who is susceptible to it.
We can't just go and bribe people. It needs time and observation.
We don't have time; we need to move our stuff before they find it, and they will find it. They might even see me; that would be troublesome.
I don't think anyone here has the power to kill me, but they have numbers, and that is disastrous.
"Inform Merson that I will meet him at safehouse sixteen tonight," I ordered.
Local gangs couldn't be trusted; they are on the edge, scared. Seeing more than half of their people have been incarcerated, including leaders and top lieutenants.
It's a good thing we didn't pull all our people. We kept some of them —the ones that are well-integrated here.
"It is earlier than we had planned," he said, and I nodded. I had planned to do things carefully, but seeing how rapidly he is hounding me, I have to take the risk.
The gang cannot afford to lose the load. We have already lost so much here; we cannot afford to lose any more. We need that or we will lose our edge in Belnin.
Already, other gangs are eying our territory, and our other suppliers are increasing their rates.
"Ok, boss." He accepted, seeing my silence.
I didn't say anything and just kept watching. A few minutes later, they came out of the house, with several people cuffed between them.
I watched them, with my eyes focused on the tall, handsome man.
Since he arrived, the raids have only grown bolder. Too many men were taken — I came close to being one of them. That bastard will answer to me before I leave.
He is the one who stopped us from spreading into Greltheaven. Even caught Bilbo.
He was one of mine; his capture had weakened me.
Dealing with him will also send a signal to Silver. White Crown is not something he should touch. If he dares to harm our interests, we would not hesitate to hurt his.
…
Ina Knox
"We caught a few, but not the leader, yet. He has slipped away once more," informed Commissioner Julian.
It made my head hurt.
I have dealt with gangs in Greltheaven and also in Panar, but they are far below the level of sophistication that significant gangs like White Crowns use.
"The police need to deal with it, Commissioner Julian. I don't want White Crown in my city. If we give them enough time, they might spread their tentacles here," I said firmly.
I don't want to put pressure on this man, but White Crown is a dangerous gang, and it will be tough to uproot once they establish their influence here.
"We are making progress, Governor. The raid might have failed to catch him, but we got critical intelligence on White Blade Juras."
"I believe it will be instrumental to catch him and find the load," he replied.
"Do it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," I said. "I will not, Governor," he replied and got up before leaving my office.
While I lay back on the chair. Feeling stressed and tired.
Things were hard at Panar at the beginning, and I was inexperienced, but still, things were not as tricky as they are in Gailhorn.
I looked at the clock and seeing I have time, I closed my eyes and began to practice the aura.
Even in a busy schedule, I practice at least four times a day. I lost my friend because I was too weak to protect myself; I don't want that ever to happen again.
I am the Governor, I need to have the strength to protect my people, and aura could give me that.
Minutes passed, and I practiced the exercise that Bell had taught me. She created layer after layer of aura around her with such ease that it felt like it didn't need effort at all.
It needs effort, a massive effort for each layer.
It is more complex than anything I have done before, and I want to give up, but I do not. Aura is the power that many desire. I have it, and I will learn to wield it.
No one will die again protecting me, not my guards, not my friends, and not my sisters!
Finally, I could no longer maintain the layers, but I did not let go of them immediately. Instead, I dissolved them one after another slowly and carefully.
It is painful, and I want just to let go, but I hold on to it until the last layer has been dissolved, before slumping back in my chair.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn't do that. Instead, I got up and started to pace across my office.
Some take a deep breath, while others remain still. I walk around slowly, feeling the crushing tiredness begin to subside little by little.
When I felt good enough, I activated Impeccable Image. Immediately, my sweat-filled dress began to dry up rapidly, while the creases vanished along with the smell.
At the same time, my hair was set, and my makeup became impeccable. I may not be obsessed with my appearance as some of my sisters are, but I fully understand its power.
"You have a meeting with Baron Hungston in ten minutes," said Anika.
I nodded but didn't sit in my chair; I walked around my office for a few minutes. Thinking about some things before finally sitting down.
It is an important meeting, one that will help Gailhorn. The city needs help. Looking at the things, Caspin focused on revenue from nothing other than drugs.
Port was in shambles, the fishing industry in the gutter. Hell, even the mines have been lying in ruins.
I can't understand how a man could be ignorant. Although the correct description would be 'a idiot.' I calmed myself down and
'Governor, Baron Hungston is here for you,' informed Elah.
"Ok," I replied.
A moment later, the door opened. A man and a woman in their mid-fifties walked inside. The man is slightly overweight, while the other is lean and tall.
She is a beautiful woman who is aging gracefully.
"Baron Hungston, Baroness," I greeted without getting up. "Governor Knox," they replied and sat in front of me.
"Thank you for seeing us on short notice, Governor," said the woman a moment later. "It's my pleasure, Baroness Hungston," I replied.
"How was the journey?" I asked. They had not come from Greltheaven, like most people, but the sea route from Namdar.
"Smooth, but I have to say, I was a little scared on the way. Fearing an undead ship might rise out of the sea and swallow us up," he replied, with a smile.
This is a genuine fear for many people, and Lord Silver has already made plans.
Although it will take some time due to monetary constraints, it will happen eventually. He is requesting additional patrols from the imperial navy, which comes at a cost.
"It is a worrying thing, but the imperial navy is patrolling the waters. Our birds also scout the waters for any signs of undead," I said. To that, they just smiled.
We both know these efforts are not enough, but they will have to be enough for now.
There was a silence for a moment.
"The farms; I hope you will give us permission to tour them before we make the bid for them?" she asked. "Of course, that wouldn't be a problem," I replied with a smile.
A week ago, we released the bids for the cave farms, the places where the gangs used to grow the drugs.
It is a peculiar environment that is unsuitable for most plants, but some rare plants thrive there. We want to utilize it.
The gangs have created a vast farm in the caves. We have divided into three bids.
One reserved for the citizens of the empire and one for the merchant state. We would have given one to our citizens, but unfortunately, not one business in the dominion has the expertise and manpower needed to handle these farms.
"If we win the bid, I hope there won't be many restrictions on people and movement, like what we are hearing about," said the man.
"These are temporary measures. So, we could cut out the rot that remains in the city. Once we dealt with it, we will remove all the restrictions," I replied, and I could see the relief in their eyes.
These two are the first nobles who contacted us about the bids; most others were merchants.
Nobles usually don't dip their toes in business. It is a cultural aspect of the empire, but there are exceptions for things of strategic value.
These two used to grow rare plants in their territory before it got captured.
While many nobles dream and scheme to reclaim their territories from their enemies. These two chose the other way and threw themselves into the business.
"We are relieved to hear that," said the woman. "I am glad, and please don't hesitate to raise any questions or doubts you have," I replied.
They took it literally and asked numerous questions. The meeting, which was supposed to last fifteen minutes, lasted nearly forty minutes.
I don't mind. Their questions proved that they are serious about the farms; that is the only thing I care about.