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

this for a moment then mused, “Killing him would only create larger problems. We don’t know who would replace him and his death would certainly cause the King to respond in some way. Both of those conditions could leave us worse off than we already are.” Mister Ysel was smiling. He seemed proud of Cooper’s observations and asked, “So? Where does that leave you?” Cooper’s shoulders sagged as he sighed, “It leaves me with figuring out a way to coerce a powerful man whose only loyalty is to the Crown… tell me about the Spymaster.” Mister Ysel’s smile grew wider, “Who said it was his only loyalty? The Lord General has a wife and daughter.” Cooper raised an eyebrow, “Let’s not say that I won’t use a man’s family against him… let’s just say that I’d rather exhaust other options first.”

Mister Ysel replied, “Alright. The Spymaster, then. As far as I know, his actual network is limited. He gets most of his information from City Watch reports but he has a few people he pays to provide information on a semi-regular basis. This money comes from what is reputedly a very large account held at a bank in the Palace District. How a Spymaster would accrue an account so large is a matter of speculation, but I’ll say this and let you draw the inevitable conclusion; in the year prior to our Guildhouse being raided, his information on many of our activities became suddenly and stunningly accurate.” Cooper spoke a single name, “Jarell.” Mister Ysel gestured to indicate that he’d arrived at the expected conclusion. Cooper wondered out loud, “So should we assume that Jarell was feeding information and coin to Yoren as a means to influence the Watch and the Army? In essence, manipulating the Prince’s forces into attacking us?” He became silent as his mind began making several leaps. He didn’t know if Felis was still alive, but Master Worthan had told him that Felis had started shifting some of his attention to the Palace, since that’s where the Hunter had moved to work for Aporigh. After a few seconds he focused on Mister Ysel again, “That relationship could work for us, rather than against us. An exploitable weakness. I don’t need to coerce the Lord General. I need to coerce the Prince. I just need a way to communicate…” Mister Ysel looked alarmed, “Am I hearing you correctly? You’re talking now about going after the Prince in order to get at the Lord General?!?” His voice took on a slightly exasperated tone, “Excuse me, but these things usually work in the other direction!” Cooper was picturing the model used in Master Worthan’s class, the series of interlocking gears, “It’s the surest way to achieve the desired effect. The Spymaster is the weak link, but the only person in a position to command the Lord General is the Prince. And it just so happens that I might have an idea.” He leaned forward to stand and his speech reflected that his mind was already working to assemble and arrange these new pieces, “The beauty of it is that we might gain the effect we need by doing something we were already preparing to do.” Mister Ysel looked confused and more than a little concerned. He replied uncertainly, “I’m, uh, glad I could help.”

Cooper had stood and was walking away, Mister Ysel had more to add, “Cooper, a couple of these ladies here were Guild seamstresses, and one of the men is a leather worker.” Cooper shrugged, “That’s good to know, I suppose. We’ll have plenty of work for them.” Mister Ysel continued, “That’s just it. We have work for them now. With material, needle and thread, they could craft clothing that might conceal your weapons while still allowing you to move about the city more freely. Across the Bridges and through the Trade Quarter for instance, wearing something other than your Guild leathers…?” Cooper nodded, “I’d lose the protection of the leather, but if I’m not recognized, I might not need it.” Mister Ysel smiled, “Exactly. Furthermore, the leather worker could take care of some of those seams that are starting to separate. And if you don’t mind my saying, some parts of those leathers might do well to be replaced completely.” Cooper looked up and down his legs and inspected his arms. He had to concede that the man had a point, “Alright. Speak to the ladies and the gentleman, put together a shopping list and give it to Gaff. Don’t buy anything that they can’t easily carry. We should only be here for a couple more days.”

When the Guild was in full operation, it was a simple thing to get clothing for almost any occasion. If Master Loril didn’t have what was needed on hand in the Quartermaster’s Shop then he could go ask Miss Eiler to make something custom-fit. Now, the simplest alternative was the Trade Quarter. He visited two vendors to find what he was looking for; loose dungarees that were the right length and fit in the waist, and a man’s long-sleeved shirt made out of sailcloth. The shirt was far oversized but he could tie the sleeves back and could still tuck in the shirt tail and leave plenty of material to drape down behind him to conceal his blades. He’d just need to reposition them slightly so the grips wouldn’t protrude in the way he preferred.

He brought his purchased items to the tavern where he’d found Birt and rented a room, ordered a bath and stripped out of his leathers. Thirty minutes later he emerged from the room with his leathers bundled under his arm and his chain knife coiled and rolled up in his cloak. As he returned to the House in Miller’s Flats, he couldn’t recall a time when he’d felt so naked in public.

As he entered the House, Naro and Balat sprang to their feet but then quickly resumed their seat. Cooper asked,