Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

island, “Probably. But keep imagining what our colleagues are going through with each passing day. That motivates me to use our time wisely.” The smile left Birt’s face as he followed Cooper’s gaze. He had no reply.

As they wove through the Waterfront, on their way back to the Ruins, they managed to avoid contact with any Apex addicts, but this was becoming more difficult by the day. The number of addicts was growing. Cooper couldn’t understand this. He asked Birt, “People can see what Apex does to a person. How could anyone find that appealing? Why would anyone consider using the drug, after seeing what these addicts look like?” Birt shrugged, “I suppose once someone has reached absolute bottom, it ceases to matter to them. Anything that brings a change to their lives is welcomed. At first, anyway. Then, once they realize what they’ve done to themselves… it’s simply too late.” Cooper shook his head. He knew something must be done, but the only answer he could fathom was to drive the Lukasi traders from the city. That wouldn’t help those that were already addicted. In fact, depriving them of their continued source of the drug might even cause them to riot. Cooper turned to Birt, “While you’re checking into businesses in the Trade Quarter, maybe we should take a look at a few of the Apothecary Shops as well. Perhaps there’s some kind of treatment or antidote for Apex…?” Birt shook his head, “I doubt anything like that exists.”, but as he thought, his expression brightened, “But perhaps a small injection of coin might encourage a few skilled apothecaries to begin trying to develop something.” Cooper clapped a hand on Birt’s shoulder, “That’s the kind of thinking that’ll make us successful. But mind how much coin we spread around. Our funds aren’t unlimited, and we’ve still much to do. Plus, a bunch of young folks throwing a lot of coin around will attract attention.” Birt nodded, “Agreed. And we’re not ready for that… yet.”

Before they left the Waterfront, Cooper stepped into a merchant’s shop and purchased a hooded lantern and a jug of oil for it. Birt raised an eyebrow, “Tired of only having the cooking fire for light?” Cooper shook his head, “I have a task tonight. A torch would be cheaper, but with this I’ll get what I need without putting light and fire everywhere.” Birt knew what that meant. Cooper intended to check the Library. He warned, “You shouldn’t go alone.” Cooper shrugged, “Less chance of being seen if I go alone. Besides, after so long, the Watch has likely lost interest in the place.” Birt shook his head, “Not entirely. They’ve posted a guard. And there's a two or three man patrol that walks through it. Not sure how frequently, but probably a couple of times each night, at least.” Cooper glanced sideways at his companion, “And you know this how?” Birt gave a dismissive wave and spoke with a stuffy, formal tone, “A Guildmaster must know these things.” He almost interrupted himself to chuckle as Cooper rolled his eyes in reply. They took a few steps before Cooper actually replied, “Fine. I’ll take Loryn with me. She’ll likely welcome the chance to creep along our old halls again.”

That evening, as they sat around the fire, Rukle reported a favorable result from the Dregs, “They actually seemed a little glad to see us, and even had some decent information to report.” He smiled and paused for effect. Cooper gestured impatiently and Rukle continued, “There are a couple houses in the Dregs that have new owners… Foreign owners. They reported that, at all hours, there’re men coming in from the shoreline, and then going back out with bags and boxes about a half hour later. Interesting, right?” This last was spoken with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. Cooper nodded, then replied to Rukle, “Very. Tomorrow, take Balat and Spen with you and watch this place.” He turned to Gaff, “That leaves you, Naro, and perhaps Loryn to watch this place tomorrow. Did you learn anything watching addicts today?” Gaff shrugged, “We saw a few guys that they’d go to when they had a couple of coins. We hoped to follow those guys back, but they are wary. Every hour or so, they’d walk a couple of blocks and spread out so they could see in all directions, and wait. Sometimes someone would approach and drop off a package, then move on. Sometimes someone would come in and receive a pouch of coin, and walk away. We’d follow them, but they’d always go into one of the harborside bars and sit at a table with five or six guys, have a few drinks, then everyone would get up all at once and go their separate ways. Any one of them might have the coin. We couldn’t follow them all so we followed the original guy. He just went back to one of the ships.” Cooper nodded, “Do you think anyone noticed you?” Gaff shook his head, “I don’t think so, but the guys on the street are looking at everyone. We might not have been noticed today, but it’s only a matter of time.” Cooper thought about this for a moment, then turned to Rukle, “Your lead in the Dregs is the best one we’ve got right now.” He turned back to Gaff, “Tomorrow morning, go and talk with Mardon. Tell him we’re interested in foreign boat traffic to and from the Dregs boardwalk. Any information and effort should be charged against our account, but also let him know that our inquiry is linked to Apex traffic. He has an interest in stopping that as well, so if he charges us at all, it’ll likely be minimal. Then get back here to help out Naro and Loryn, if we’re back by then.” Loryn started to ask the obvious question, but he held up a hand to silence her. He turned to Dailen,