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

a passing resemblance, it’ll prevent the need for convoluted explanations and extensive bona fides. Any of which could be cause for increased scrutiny which, I don’t have to tell you, is something better avoided. If changing my appearance and acting the part helps to put councilmen at ease, then it’s worth it.” Cooper chuckled, “If Rayna or Lash shows up out of the blue, be prepared to drop the charade quickly and loudly. They might not know yet that the real Jarell is dead.” This brought Mister Ysel up short, “Oh. Yes. I hadn’t considered that.” The man glanced around nervously, as if expecting to see a determined Guild Assassin walk around a nearby corner. Birt teased, “Just stay next to Cooper. If anyone were to see Cooper and Jarell standing together, they’d know something wasn’t right. Just a minute ago, Cooper looked like he was preparing to kill Jarell again.” Cooper's mind went back to when he’d found Jarell’s corpse, lying on the ground near the almost materialized spirit of the Mad Wizard. Cooper hadn’t been the one to kill Jarell, but he’d taken credit for it because that was easier than trying to explain what had actually happened. The end result remained the same.

Cooper turned to Birt, changing the subject, “Where are we with the Griffin and Gilded Feather project?” Birt brushed some non-existent dust from one of his sleeves as he smiled, “Very well, thank you. We’ve already closed off the street entrance to the Feather and have put in the adjoining door between the two establishments. The bruisers we’ve employed to watch the door and keep order in the Griffin are former Enforcers who sought to become freelance sellswords when the Guild was raided. They’ve only recently discovered that they are now in the Guild’s employ. It’s an excellent arrangement. Keeping them as ‘sellswords’ lets us remain involved while helping to minimize the Guild’s overt presence.” Cooper nodded, “I was actually asking less about personnel and more about the remodel.” Birt took a quick breath, “Of course. Well, most of the work is superficial; paint, curtains, upholstered furniture, and few tapestries to cover some rough patches in the walls. We should be open for business in less than a month!” Almost as an afterthought Birt added, “Oh, and I had mentioned the Enforcers because they almost had an altercation with one of the men from the Planning Council and his entourage, and on another occasion they’d almost escorted a tax assessor completely off the premises before he managed to identify himself. Once he’d presented proper credentials, he was allowed to enter and inspect. Such a glorious and profitable distraction!” Cooper replied, “Glorious, perhaps. ‘Profitable’ remains to be seen.” Birt responded as if insulted, “The Griffin remains open for business, though we’ve had to push tables and chairs to one side so workmen can bring in materials and furnishings. It’s creating quite a stir. As soon as one Griffin customer gets up to leave, someone else takes their place. Everyone’s trying to sneak a peek inside the Feather. We’ve gone through all the old stock the Griffin had on hand and we’re already cracking new barrels and ordering more.” Cooper held his hands up, “I stand corrected. In a few years we can all retire. You’re a genius.” Birt sniffed, “Well, you did ask. Satisfied?” Cooper chuckled, “And then some.”

Birt continued to look insulted but he recovered when he brought up a new topic, “Mister Ysel and I have been discussing Development.” Birt paused to see if he still had Cooper’s attention. Cooper waved him on, “And?” Birt settled into a businesslike tone, “We’ve concluded that vendor carts would be a bad idea. More commerce means more income, but other considerations make that much less appealing.” Despite himself, Cooper was interested, “What considerations?” Birt smiled, “Because according to Paleros mandate, curbside vendors are regulated solely by the Merchant Council. All we’d get out of it is more interference from tax collectors, more mess and crowded streets.” Birt crossed his arms over his chest with a satisfied nod. Cooper shrugged, “Alright. No street vendors. Simple enough.” Birt let his arms drop and his expression became uncertain, “That isn’t all of it.” Cooper sighed, “Of course it isn’t. What else?” Birt proceeded with some hesitation, “Well, we’ve discussed the wisdom of purchasing some of the bordering plots in Batter’s Field.” By the time Birt finished the sentence, he was almost mumbling. Cooper leaned forward, “We’re still just talking, right? Other than a few Houses, we’re not part owner of Batter’s Field already, are we?” Birt held his palms out, “Right! We’re just talking, but listen!” Cooper settled backward, relieved, “I’m listening.” Birt laid out the concept, “We could buy a few properties just outside the Ruins, along the main roads coming in. We set up businesses or whatever at those locations, but we allow street vendors there. As many of them as we can wedge in there, in fact, even if we own them ourselves. Incoming tax assessors will get bogged down there as they sort out their collections.” Cooper hadn’t interrupted and Birt was gaining confidence, “We’ll see them coming an hour before they enter the Ruins! The same goes for any City Watch or Army patrols. The Batter’s Field vendors will become our early warning mechanism.” Cooper tilted his head, “What about the Waterfront? Are we buying up property there, too?” Birt shook his head, “We predict that the Waterfront will take care of itself. They’ll expand their markets and street vendors right up to the boundary road to capitalize on our development here. We won’t need to do anything there, but we can make profits there based on our usual collections.” Cooper still sounded doubtful, “What’ll it cost?” Birt replied, “We don’t know. We didn’t want to spend more time on it until we knew what you thought.” Cooper shrugged, “It makes sense but aren’t we going to have our hands full just trying