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

those burns while training with me, in fact.” Cooper risked the question, “Care to elaborate on that? I knew he’d trained with you. I’ve always wondered…?” Utsef sighed, “He expected to become the next great Guild Assassin. When I informed him that he’d undoubtedly become one of the Guild’s top Enforcers, he became enraged and actually attacked me. Not training. He intended to injure me, or kill me, to demonstrate his skills. It was over in seconds, but he ended up on the ground in the cooking fire. He very nearly lost an eye. I had always explained that an Assassin who relied only on weapons, wasn’t an Assassin, he was an Enforcer sent to kill. I couldn’t make him understand… and after that he wouldn’t listen at all. I sent him home.” Rukle was confused, “Sir, what does an Assassin rely on, if not weapons?” Utsef turned to Cooper with a raised eyebrow, expecting him to answer. Cooper finished chewing the food he was eating, swallowed and cleared his throat, “His mind. His imagination. The ability to assess his surroundings and make immediate decisions. Weapons are just tools. Nothing more.” Utsef nodded with satisfaction and continued, “The Assassins first rule has nothing to do with killing. His, or her, first rule is Survival. Dead Assassins can’t complete contracts, but neither do timid ones. An Assassins mind is what allows them to balance risks, complete their contracts, but above all, stay alive.” Cooper nodded and went back to eating his breakfast, but his brain continued to work over what Utsef had said. If an existing plan began to look tenuous, then it was time for a new one. He’d decided that working through the Secret Police was still his best option for contacting Aporigh, but if that didn’t pan out he wondered whether it might be necessary to change tactics.

For the rest of the day, and most of the next, Utsef sat with Cooper and the other Guild members as they discussed the raid on the prison. Utsef admitted, “I know nothing about operating a ship. I have no advice to offer.” He focused on Cooper, “Describe for me again how you’ll be moving the prisoners off the ship and bringing them back into the city.” That was a discussion that lasted several hours. By the time they were finished Cooper had diagrams of two specialty items that would need to be designed and built, within the next thirty days. He shook his head in frustration and thought, “How could I have neglected something so important? I just hadn’t thought things through with the necessary detail.” He wondered what other details he might have missed. He also wondered whether the timeline was still realistic. He nodded to Utsef, “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’ve come?” Birt snorted, “Do you mean overall?  Or just since breakfast? You’ve told him at least five times and that’s just the times I’ve heard.” Utsef leaned back, “I’m glad to help. This needs to be planned carefully for obvious reasons, but everything still hinges on some events and responses that are beyond your control. Have you thought about that?” Cooper shook his head, “Nothing we’ve planned relies on those conditions, they just significantly reduce the risks and provide some additional security.” Ustef shifted to lean forward, “And the risks to the others? Your allies?” Cooper shrugged, “It might cause a little increased pressure on them, but there shouldn’t be any actual evidence to link them to the events.” Rukle grunted, “Evidence? The Army doesn’t care about evidence. They burned down our house based on rumor and conjecture.” Cooper retorted bitterly, “They burned us out because Jarell led them to us. He might not have been on the ground pointing the way, but it was his betrayal that brought them to our door.” Rukle shrugged, conceding the point but Spen picked up the argument, “So now your plan is to make some kind of deal with the ones who attacked us?” Cooper shook his head and sighed, irritation was rising in his voice, “No. I’m leveraging a task we are already preparing to fulfill, and gaining something extra from it.” Spen looked unhappy about that explanation and Birt spoke, “Cooper, let me try. If I’ve got something wrong, stop me.”

Birt turned to Rukle and Spen, “We’re killing off the Lukasi traders for two reasons. First, they were Jarell’s allies and he couldn’t have accomplished what he did without their help; and second, they continue to sell Apex, which damages everyone except them and we’re cleaning up a mess that Jarell helped create.” Birt took a breath before he continued, “and we need ships to raid the prison in order to free our brothers and sisters. Since dead Lukasi slave and drug traders don’t need ships, and we do, we’re taking theirs. We aren’t sailors, so Cooper has made a deal for sailors to handle the ships. Since we’re doing all this anyway, we’re looking to gain some kind of understanding or agreement with the Prince since he’s been failing in all attempts to curb the flow of Apex. However, getting him to agree to our terms might be difficult considering Cooper’s plans for the Spymaster.” He took a breath and turned to face Cooper, “Is that about right?” Cooper nodded, “Close enough.”

Spen looked from Cooper to Birt to Rukle, then grinned, “Alright. When you say it that way, it all makes sense.” Cooper raised an eyebrow, “You were just winding me up, weren’t you?” Spen shook his head, “Not really. I was just pointing out how you’ve been holding your cards very close to your chest lately.” Cooper gave Spen a hard look, “I’ve been assigning tasks to everyone. We’ve all been busy. I didn’t see any point in burying everyone under the details of the full plan.” Spen looked around the group, then replied, “I think I speak for everyone when I tell you, “We can handle it”.” Dailen