The Young Lady is a Reborn Assassin

Micah Greenblatt was almost too eager to meet with Adrian after Maria assisted in firing off a short letter to him. Within the day he already had a reply in his hands naming a time and place. Maria didn’t have time to make plans yet – but she insisted that going to meet with him would be good for setting the groundwork.

What Adrian was fishing for were hints that their front was not so united, and an invitation to one of the lively parties that Micah liked to hold with his noble friends out of the sight of the press. Maria gave him a crash course on what to say and how to act and assured him that she was going to be nearby during the discussion.

It was a revealing conversation to be sure, but it didn’t do much to fill him with any confidence when it came to sitting down with the man and trying to use all of the tricks she was teaching him.

Regardless of how he felt – he had already agreed to do his best to help out without shooting a gun. Within the hour he was sitting across from Micah inside of a private club on the outskirts of the city. It was the most secretive building he could find on short notice.

Micah was a bloated figure, with a thick moustache and mutton chops running down each side of his face. Adrian shook his hand firmly and smiled. He showed him to a small table away from the windows. Adrian spotted three different guards watching all of the entrances into the building. How the hell was Maria going to follow him into here?

“It’s so nice to hear from you, Mister Roderro. I was starting to feel that you had become as elusive as a half-hawk!”

“I’ve been very busy reorganizing everything and getting to grips with leading the charge, as you can imagine. I appreciate your concern. I decided that it was time to immerse myself in the full responsibilities of my position, and that means speaking with my peers.”

“You’ve chosen the right man to be your introduction. I know a lot of names – all of them good people who can get what you need in return for some money or a favour of their own.”

Adrian nodded along with him; “I did speak with Welt once before, but I just so happened to find myself dropped into the midst of a violent firefight.”

“You were there? I heard about it from Welt, but I didn’t know that.”

“Yes. The police, a group of assassins, and another gang I wasn’t familiar with arrived on the scene and tore up the entire block! I’d never seen anything like it in my life. I almost got shot. Afterwards, Welt went into hiding, I presume from the police, and we never finished the discussion we were having.”

Micah smiled, “I can take his place for the time being. He was very enthused about having you as a friend.”

It took every bit of restraint Adrian had not to make a smart-ass comment about Welt’s definition of the word. It was all self-interest and keeping up appearances, and even Micah was intent on doing the same as they spoke. Welt wanted his money and influence, and he was willing to say anything to get it.

The unknown factor that Maria warned him about was whether Micah had informed Welt about what was going on. It was possible that he would go behind his back to try and start his own little faction inside of the larger group, which he could use to leverage Welt for more in return for his contributions.

“Are we safe to have these types of discussions? I hope there isn’t another police raid waiting outside.”

Micah chuckled, “I can assure you that no such raid will occur here. Besides, Welt already has the police and military under his thumb. It’ll all be over and done with soon, and we can go back to our usual routine.”

Adrian kept his mind alert and started to use some of the rhetorical techniques that Maria had taught him. First, bait the hook – offer him a perspective that he agrees with to loosen his mouth a little.

“Have you seen those protests in the cities? It’s not the ideal environment in which to do business, that is certain. I believe that even the managers are out holding banners and shouting meaningless slogans.”

“Too right. Welt always loves to complain about the lower classes becoming educated, but I disagree, the issue is not that they’re seeking to better their own lot in life. I like ambitious people. The problem is that the civil war taught them all the wrong lessons, that every change to the working order of the country has to be paid in blood. They’re overreacting.”

“Is Ekkehard going to run the entire government now? I don’t know what’s happening at the palace.”

“No, no. Ekkehard is not a detail-oriented man. Welt suggested some names to take the places of the old ministers, and they’ll handle the day-to-day. He wanted to maintain as much continuity as possible before they start making changes.”

Maria was right about that. Welt was going to push all of his pet projects and preferences through Ekkehard and essentially become Walser’s real ruler, pulling his strings from the shadows. The viability of that plan had taken a serious hit when the warrant for his arrest went out.

Adrian never paid any mind to the politics of the royal of parliamentary variety. He was a teenager. He could firmly state that not a single student at the Royal Academy had a complete picture of what was going on outside of the newspaper headlines they saw by osmosis. Despite having a huge impact on the direction of the country, the political drama wasn’t scandalous enough to get passed around.

“I’m not in any position to offer my advice on all of that. My first concern is keeping the gears turning at all of our factories and the like. It’s been a harsh lesson in how immature I was just a year ago.”

“I feel you’ve handled it admirably. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in your shoes at that age. I wouldn’t know where to start!”

Second step; offer some compromising information that wasn’t important to create a more candid exchange. Adrian had plenty of that to go around, mostly revolving around the incidents with his Father and Uncle.

“What’s clear to me is that the way my Father behaved was less than ideal. I made my position on the issue clear before he even initiated that stupid plan of his, but as usual, he was so occupied with what he felt was best for me that he didn’t listen. Honestly, our family is already so wealthy that we don’t have to lift a finger if we don’t want to. Goddess only knows why he was so determined to land a marriage arrangement through underhanded methods.”

Micah nodded, “Hm. ‘Underhanded’ is perhaps minimizing the severity of what he did. I’m not going to pretend that all of our hands are clean, but it is possible to attain great success without resorting to plans that land one in immediate danger of being sent to prison.”

“The point is – you don’t have to sugar-coat it for me. I want to ensure that everything keeps ticking along smoothly, and I’m willing to do what it takes to make that happen. I can worry about expanding or being ambitious once I’m settled in.”

“A wise choice. I don’t assume that your old man taught you much about how business is really done outside of balancing books and assigning people to do the hard jobs. In the real world – there are a lot of other factors to consider.”

“Like bribery?” Adrian replied dryly.

Micah laughed with a harsh rattle, “Exactly. Like bribery. Some people in parliament turn their noses up and get their knickers in a twist, but they all do the same. If you wish to get anywhere in Walser, you need to know the right people, and that does not always involve slipping them some money.”

Indeed. Micah had seen a lot of success in prying them open with alcohol and women. He could say that it was a favour to his friends, and hold it over them as blackmail if they started to get cold feet about being associated with him. The wife wouldn’t be too happy with them if they found out.

Adrian sat tensely in his chair and listened to Micah prattle on for almost ten minutes uninterrupted about all of the techniques he used to get what he wanted out of people. What struck him was the casual psychopathy of the conversation. Micah was in so deep that he did not see people’s perspective on what he was doing.

To Micah – tricking others, blackmailing them, or outright bribing them with alcohol, gifts and prostitutes was as natural as breathing, and he convinced himself that everyone else in the business was doing the same, so it was only fair for him to level the playing field in turn. Adrian could see multiple layers of defence that he erected to keep up that illusion.

Was this the type of man who his Father wanted him to become?

For all of his faults, his pride, his short temper, and his sense of inferiority – Adrian couldn’t stand the idea of becoming a man like this. The standard he held himself to was higher than that, and that was why his Father’s and Uncle’s respective betrayals stung him. The foundational concept of noble society, that they were successful because of their virtue and intelligence, seemed weaker and weaker by the second.

Maria saw through him like a window. She could smell his cravenness from a mile away, with a single glance, and already had a plan to make him sing. Micah must have known about what happened to his Uncle. Micah was winding down and returning to the subject of the present instability. Adrian took his chance.

The third step; profess ignorance and make them think that they can exploit you.

“I don’t know what happened to my Uncle, but it speaks to the lawlessness of this country at the moment that he could be shot dead in cold blood like that. The gunman even hit my friend’s brother - he’s counting his luck that he survived such grievous injuries.”

The expression that Micah made was almost laughable in signalling what he was really thinking. Adrian was forced to accept that reading other people was a lot easier than he first believed. He was like a fox being let loose in a hen house, and not the type of hen house that Micah was usually seen visiting.

“What a horrible thing that was,” he said with barely restrained glee. He didn’t have to worry about Adrian suspecting that they were involved with his Uncle’s death, after all.

“I feel that everyone will see that instability is not inevitable and calm down, but to lose a close family member is hard to swallow. I have to wonder why he was killed.”

“A lot of the common folk see our affluence and feel that there’s no risk to our lives. Certainly, if one were to take their money and lock themselves inside of their manor, they could live until their elder years with no worries, but confining yourself to a prison of your own making is not a good way to live.”

“What do you suggest I do? I’ve been having thoughts like that since it happened.”

“We have an opportunity that seldom arises for those of lesser means, Adrian. We have the money and power to make a mark on the direction of Walser, and the wider world outside of our borders. The thing that almost every noble I know desires is to be regarded in esteem for a grand project of their making.”

That was what this was all about. Welt and Micah and the rest of them didn’t care one bit about doing what was best for the country. They could not accept that all of their predictions of doom had not come to pass, and rather than moving on they wanted to drag everyone else along with their collective fantasies.

What they wanted could not be purchased with money, not directly. They wanted to become immortalized in the collective memory of the nation as a whole, regardless of how those in the future would perceive them and their actions. To have their names ascribed to public institutions and streets, or statues constructed, or even simply to become a footnote in a historical document describing the events of this tumultuous time.

For the men who already possessed everything – what else was there for them to desire more than to occupy a small space of Walser’s collective memory? They were like his Father. They were too focused on cementing some type of nebulous legacy to consider the harm they would do in the process.

Adrian swallowed the disgust he felt and smiled like Maria taught him.

“That sounds like a better use of my time than filling out paperwork.”

“It’s better for everyone too. Redeveloping slum areas of the cities, constructing new railways to power our industry, and funding research into bold new fields and technologies. We are working for the betterment of mankind. It’s only fair that we see due respect offered for our part in making it happen.”

Adrian moved in for the proverbial kill.

“I’d be more than happy to continue my previous discussions with Welt about working together. Evidently, there’s a lot on his plate at the moment – but I would like to offer my assistance in the near future. Perhaps you can show me some tricks of the trade in return?”

Micah nodded, “Gladly. I’ll make sure that Welt knows about your offer. He’s cooped up at the moment, keeping his head down, Goddess knows what those protesters would do if they found him.”

They’d hang him from the palace balcony by the neck until he died, Adrian presumed.

The meeting was not over yet. Adrian settled in and tried to remind himself that the hardest part of the process was done with. Now he could needle Micah for whatever information he could get his hands on.

---

“...And that’s everything that Greenblatt told me,” Adrian concluded. Me, Veronica, Frankfort and Samantha were all gathered around the table at our new base of operations to listen to his report.

“He has a big mouth,” Veronica commented, “Did he honestly spill all of those compromising details on your first meeting?”

“He did. He said that Welt’s hiding somewhere here in the city, and he even corroborated the story about those demonic assassins he created. They’ve all become very confident now that they’ve taken over the government. They think nothing can touch them.”

“It sounds to me like he’s become a paranoid loon. He only takes meetings by appointment and won’t leave his hiding place. Bernard Jones must know where he is. He’s been taking care of his personal business this entire time.”

I frowned, “But is getting to Jones the easiest path available to us? He’s going to be surrounded by other WISA agents at all times of day, and he’ll recognize you two the moment you try to get to him, so a subtle approach will be difficult.”

It sounded like Micah and Jones were butting heads. Micah was the opposite of Welt, putting his name into the headlines and refusing to scale back on his usual routine of partying and schmoozing with the Walserian elite. He kept demanding more security for his events rather than cancelling them and waiting for the heat to blow over. Jones did not have the men required to deploy them to be his personal bodyguards.

Was it worth picking Micah off at this moment in time? He was an important card in Welt’s hand – but only insofar as providing him with money and support from a group of his friends. If we killed him or made him squeal, how much information could we get out of it? There was no point going after him if it didn’t open a path to Welt.

We could spend weeks shaking trees to try and get fresh leads on where he was, but every second that passed allowed him to entrench his cabal even deeper into the government, military and civil society.

“It’s hard to see how much more Micah knows about their plans,” Frankfort muttered.

“Aren’t you usually the decisive ones?” Samantha sighed.

“This is life or death, little miss. You should never rush headlong into danger when you have the opportunity to consider your next steps carefully. You wouldn’t want to do something silly,” she continued – her eyes purposefully locking on me from across the table.

She was still a tad salty about how I evaded her questioning before. She was the person best positioned to explain how and why I was not connected to WISA’s long defunct child soldier program, but that meant she needed an alternate explanation that matched with what she knew.

Like everyone else who tried, she would find it an impossible task without also knowing that I was blessed by the Goddess of this world. She did not buy my claim that I learnt all of it from shooting competitions where people lined up to fire at clay plates and captured birds.

“This party isn’t going to be child friendly, is it?” I asked.

“No. He didn’t even invite me to it, he just mentioned it in passing,” Adrian revealed, “But he did ask me to attend an event he’s hosting to celebrate the opening of one of his new factories. He’s confident that none of the protesters know that he’s involved with the coup.”

“He’s brave, I’ll give him that.”

It sounded like a good opportunity to put pressure on one of the links in their operation. When an opportunity presented itself – it would be foolish to pass on it without a good reason. Disturbing their sense of security could exacerbate existing tensions within the group, and it wasn’t like Welt could hide any more effectively than he was already.

“This is the path, then. We visit the dedication ceremony, listen to his boring speech, and ‘convince’ him to help us getting to Jones. The factory won’t be open and operating that day, so it should be easy to break in without being seen.”

Frankfort and Veronica seemed happy to go with that plan. There were a lot of details to go through before we could get to him. The key was figuring out what made Micah tick based on what Adrian learnt during their meeting. Where was the weak point that we could exploit to make him sing to our tune?

I had a few mean ideas. I tried not to look too giddy about the prospect of taking this guy down a notch.

Adrian grimaced, “Goddess help me. Maria’s got that look on her face again.”

But I didn’t do a very good job of it.