Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (best interesting books to read txt) 📕

stop us. I explained that my announcement was more a courtesy than a request. Several members took this as a kind of insult, so they are making a show of ‘considering’ our Charter before affixing their seals to it.” Cooper turned back to Birt, “And what about the Feather? Did the madam react as expected?” Birt ducked his head, “Well, in a word, yes. She actually instructed her sellswords to ‘see me out’, and they were none too gracious about it.” Cooper’s voice took on a hard edge, “Is this something that still needs to be addressed?” Birt held both hands out and replied abruptly, “No! No, we have resolved the matter.” Birt indicated Mister Ysel and Cooper followed the gesture with a raised eyebrow, “We, again?” Birt nodded, “It seems that Mister Ysel is not unknown to the ladies, or the madame. He spoke with them and the madam warmed right up.” Cooper faced Mister Ysel, “Known, are you?” Mister Ysel shrugged, “We’ve always done business with the Feather. I simply explained that we were now taking an active interest. Once I described the plan and how those changes would affect their business, the ladies were squealing with delight. The madam had little choice in the matter at that point. To refuse our offer would have been tantamount to sparking an internal rebellion.” Cooper looked from one to the other, “So? Now what?” Birt smiled, “The workers start tomorrow!” Mister Ysel added, “And there are ways of applying pressure to certain reticent Council members. I’ll have a signed and sealed Charter before this time tomorrow.” Cooper leaned back, placing his palms on his thighs, “It seems like you both have matters well in hand, then.” He cast a sidelong glance at Birt and needled, “So, should we assume that you’re going back to innkeeping?” Birt rewarded him with a mock glare, “Hardly. But I will be taking a harder look at the Griffin’s books and business practices. With the proposed changes, there’s no reason that the tavern shouldn’t thrive as well. We may need to expand the storage, or perhaps build a large, connected storage area for both businesses to share.” Birt’s voice had taken on an almost daydreaming quality, making Cooper realize that Birt was no longer talking to him. Cooper interrupted Birt’s thoughts, “That’s fine. It’s your idea, I’ll leave the details to you.” This snapped Birt out of his reverie and, realizing that he’d drifted out of the conversation, ducked his head in embarrassment, “Right. Ok. Sorry about that. What about you? Are your plans moving forward?” Cooper couldn’t decide whether Birt was truly asking or merely making conversation. Either option was equally likely. He replied, “Perhaps. Too many aspects are outside my control. If my approach doesn’t show results within a week, then I’ll just have to change tactics. At least we got the messages on their way.” Birt considered that for a moment before asking, “You think that’ll work? That you’ll get the response you expect, I mean?” Cooper nodded, paused, then shrugged, “Yes, I do. As long as one of the teams deliver their message in time, I know they’ll come.” Birt accepted the reply with the same confidence, then asked, “And after? Have you considered what will happen after?” Cooper smiled, “Of course. Why do you think we’re doing all this? What happens after is the whole purpose.”

*****

Bennet spent much of his day scanning members of the crowd, looking for full pouches on long tethers. As luck would have it, most times when he spotted a suitable candidate he’d notice a two or three-man guard patrol standing nearby. As badly as his stomach was grumbling, he couldn’t imagine that he’d somehow be better off running to escape the Watch, or worse yet being confined in the work camps, so he let those opportunities pass. He’d been noticing quite a few more patrols lately and just as many additional guards standing in stationary positions. At first they seemed to be occupying his spots, but then he realized that they were simply good vantage points that were outside the main flow of traffic. The guards had chosen those spots for the same reasons that he had.

He assumed that the city had decided to finally tighten the restrictions on Apex sales and usage. “It’s about time”, he thought, “Things have gone from bad to worse in the last year.” Previously the only problems came in the form of hunger, City Watch and the risks of getting caught thieving. Now everyone on the street needed to contend with the increasing desperation of the Apex addicts. With the increase in Watch patrols the drug trade had withdrawn, or at least had hidden itself better. So well, in fact, that many Apex addicts sometimes couldn’t find them either. He afforded himself a rare bit of grim tongue-in-cheek humor, “It’s getting so that the alleyways and byways aren’t safe anymore. Even for the likes of me!” Just yesterday he’d narrowly avoided the clawing fingers of one of those drooling, gibbering idiots. He had no idea what would have been in store for him, but neither did he want to find out. He’d become much more watchful, and as a result he’d started using different roads and paths to get around the Waterfront, even returning to Batter’s Field occasionally if he felt he needed to escape entirely.

It was during these ventures that he’d noticed wagons carrying food and building materials into the Ruins. He wasn’t the only one noticing either. He’d begun to hear many of the locals discussing it among themselves. No one seemed curious enough to investigate though. For that matter, no one bothered to try stopping the wagons or workers to ask them either. Not even the desperate Apex addicts went into the Ruins. But still, now there were workmen and wagons going in. Despite the tickle of curiosity, Bennet couldn’t see how trying to learn more about this would improve his life