Kyon closed another case and hurried to leave the Department. He had a meeting with the robbers to get ready to. It would be a pivotal point in his career as an investigator. He considered three options for his possible actions:
1) Setting up an ambush at the meeting place. He would have to rely on his subordinates, though. There was no way to get anyone else. He was only a beginner with a zero confidence limit. Given Sauron"s vaunted power and caution, it was impossible to catch him, which made an ambush pointless. On the contrary, this option had only cons. Kyon would simply lose all his subordinates which was a direct path to his dismissal. Or it would alert Sauron and he would lay low for a long time.
2) Sending the rats and the birds to the meeting place to track the bandits" route and catch everyone afterwards. In this case, as well, Sauron"s b.e.s.t.i.a.l vigilance and awareness would make it impossible to follow him. There was another con of this option. When it turned out that Guiming didn"t come to the meeting, they would understand that he was either dead or captured. After that, Sauron would regularly check the his subordinates. At the next meeting he would be extremely cautious. Sauron remained vigilant at all times, he couldn"t be given any reason for concern. It would only make Vladimir"s condition impossible to meet.
3) Pretending to be Guiming and sending the rats and the birds to follow the robbers. The only con of this option is the risk of being disclosed. But Kyon loved taking a risk if it was worth it.
Kyon returned to his room and found on the table makeup accessories that he had ordered his servants to deliver: wax, mascara, face paints, oils... But above all, he needed Synergy to succeed. It could deform the facial muscles in a natural, biological way, turning Kyon into a completely different person (controlled swelling).
About an hour later, Kyon looked in the mirror and had an urge to punch his own face. He saw the exact copy of Sauron"s sixth brother, Guiming. The color and shape of the eyes, hair, even the height due to insoles was the same... Every face line, even teeth were identical. It was no problem to fake his voice. He just had to cause a controlled reaction of the body as if he had a sore throat. The bracelet of concealment changed his development. Unless the robbers" leader were in the lord phase (5), which was unlikely, no one would know his actual level of development. To top it off, Kyon had created another ring that belonged to the 6th brother, using the element of earth and subst.i.tute materials.
He left the room satisfied with the result. Pretty soon, he arrived at the sewers, at the appointed place. The foul smell of sewage and dampness. .h.i.t his nose.
Kyon released five rats. He had to catch a sixth rodent and enslave it by the proven method. Their task was to follow the route of the robbers.
He followed the signs in the form of arrows carved on the wall and soon approached the appointed place. Kyon heard footsteps at the end of the tunnel. Someone bent his head, squeezed through a small opening and disappeared.Kyon walked to the opening and also got inside.
He found himself in a small room, lit by dim crystals.
There were four men inside. Even their facial expressions and postures made it clear that they were criminal authorities. Two of them looked swol with their prominent muscles. They must be notorious thugs.
As soon as the big guys heard his footsteps, they turned to the entrance, but when they recognized Guiming, they turned away indifferently.
Only one of them, the one who looked like a pirate because of a black round patch on his right eye, bared a couple of broken teeth and came up to Kyon.
«Guiming, brother, what"s up? How"s the catch?»
As far as Kyon knew, the guy with the eye patch was Valery, the fifth brother and the eternal rival of the 6th brother. A serial bully.
Kyon shook grimly his "friend"s" dirty hand. - «Pretty f.u.c.ked up, Valery. I"ve made my quota, but… I"ve lost some brothers.»
«That"s what it"s about! My condolences.» - The "pirate" said with barely concealed joy in his voice. - «Well, I have made almost double of my quota. I ripped off three caravans! The merchants wanted to convey furs and armor but lost them on the way! Ha ha ha!» - Valery didn"t notice envy in the eyes of his compet.i.tor and added. - «And trophies of course. The chicks are so hot this time! It"s been a week, and they are still in one piece! Unbelievable, isn"t it!»
Kyon could hardly restrain himself from killing him on the spot. In his world, he had met such sc.u.m only in games, and he never took them seriously, but everything was real here. This world clearly needed radical changes. Laurel was already sick and tired of enduring barbarism that was taking it for granted here.
Valery suddenly felt a strange chill in the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders, getting nervous. – «Brr... You"re being quiet! Oh right, you"ve lost your brothers, and I"m boasting here. Alright, alright. Take it easy. You will prove yourself next time, bro.» - Valery hurried off, away from Guiming. There was something scary about him today. He wasn"t himself. No reaction to bullying!
A huge guy struggled to squeeze into the room. He had coa.r.s.e facial features and eyes of a seasoned villain. He was full of deranged maniac energies. Kyon didn"t envy his victims.
«Greetings, elder brother!» … «Welcome, great and terrible.» … «My respect, second brother.» - The bandits saluted the first brother after Sauron, known for his cruel disposition.
The big fellow greeted everyone. They started a conversation about the work done that gradually flowed into disgusting stories about bullying victims.
«There was this mister, dressed in white, so cla.s.sy... I had an urge to punch his glossy chubby cheeks at once. Guess what we did to him?»
«Come on! Tell me!»
«We cut with a feather the joints on his legs and let out a tamed man-eating wolf. You should have heard this dandy scream when Fluffy ripped out chunks of his fles.h.!.+ Too bad he kicked off too quickly, with foam at the mouth and s.h.i.+t from the a.s.s…»
The robbers burst into laughter.
When the seventh brother finished his story, the fifth brother told about his gory murder, then the fourth, and so step by step, it was the second brother"s turn. He was the most influential of them all.
«Your stories, brothers, are for s.h.i.+t. Now I"ll tell you how to do it properly.» - An evil grin distorted his already crooked face. – «Four days ago, I came across a fat gentleman about thirty years old. He had a right and proper look with his chubby cheeks, two chins, smart clothes. We gave him some hard time as it should be. When he saw me, he turned pale, even wet himself in fear, and then dared to offer a ransom for his worthless life. For such impudence and disrespect for our craft, my brothers stuck a nozzle in his a.s.s and loaded it with burning coals.»
Everyone held their breath. Someone swallowed noisily.
«When we dumped about half-bag of coals, the fatty started yelling and kicking so hard that the ropes broke, and he ran in the forest, howling like a wild animal. I shot his knees with a crossbow, and the funny guy crawled away like a h.e.l.lish seal.»
Everyone laughed and applauded. - «You"re cruelly creative as always!» … «You never cease to surprise me, brother! I"ll make a note of it.» … «Long live great and terrible!»
They made Kyon sick and disgusted. He wished he could take out his gun and shoot all this f.u.c.king sc.u.m of the earth. Laurel understood that he was no picnic himself, but he couldn"t stand these callous, rotten b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.
Eventually, the eyes of those present focused on Guiming, who had been silent all this time and didn"t react to the brothers" stories at all.
«Cat got your tongue, Guiming? You always laughed the loudest. Was my story that lousy?» - There was a threat in the second brother"s voice.
«Not at all! It"s just… Your story pales in the shadow of mine.»
Everyone but the second brother gasped at his impudence.
One of the second brother"s sidekicks yelled:
«Are you f.u.c.king kidding us, Guiming?! Your stories aren"t funny even after the tenth shot. Cut the bulls.h.i.+t! Don"t you respect your elders?!»
«Wait, give him a chance.» - The big guy raised his hand calmly, and everyone fell silent. – «You"re c.o.c.ky and funny. Alright, you"ve piqued my interest. Go ahead, spill it.»
Kyon had no choice but to tell them about a kind of execution that hadn"t been invented in this world yet.
«Not so long ago, a big shot, or rather, his already dead supporters, killed some of my brothers. I decided to take a most terrible revenge on him, so I came up with something.»
Everyone listened very carefully.
«My people and I tied the little tubby to the tree, took a metal bucket and put a wild rat inside. Then we tied the bucket with the rat to his bare belly and attached a burning torch to the bottom of the bucket. The rat didn"t want to burn alive, it immediately began to look for a way out. There was metal everywhere, too hot behind, impossible to get above. So, the animal bit into the flesh for lack of choice.»
The robbers" eyes bulged out in surprise and fear.
«The rat gnawed a hole in his stomach, tore open his veins and ripped his muscles, penetrating deeper and deeper inside. The fat guy made shrill, blood-curdling screams. As it turned out later, the rat got into his stomach while he was still alive, and then moved to his, tearing it in half. The son of a b.i.t.c.h died a well-deserved death, only it won"t bring my brothers to life.» - Kyon spat gloomily and turned away.
The five robbers could not utter a word from shock. Guiming"s method of reprisal made them sick, some even had a racing heartbeat.
The second brother burst into laughter. – «I must admit, your story is impressive. I announce you are a winner this time. You see, you can do it if you want to, b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I must try your method. The mere thought of it makes my blood pump faster.» - The rogue s.a.d.i.s.t said with antic.i.p.ation in his voice.
Suddenly, everyone felt powerful pressure in the room. All the bandits instantly lined up and shouted in chorus, their eyes filled with fear:
«Greetings to Sauron, the eldest brother!»
A broad-shouldered man landed from a dark opening with a metal clink. He was fully dressed in heavy armor like a knight from a fairy tale. A helmet completely hid his face, its upper part looked like a pointed crown. He was wearing is a ring with curly number one. Everyone felt humble and awestruck in the presence of his absolute power.
When the robbers saw their leader, they showed utmost reverence as if they were standing in front of the most influential authority of the entire criminal world.
«I am glad to find you well, brothers.» - The voice in the helmet boomed hard-heartedly. – «Let"s cut to the chase, as we always do. Goyle, the seventh brother, go ahead.»
The bandit stepped forward, stood on one knee and briefly reported the results of his work for the month, slightly trembling. Then he handed over a bag with spheres.
Kyon appreciated Sauron"s caution against his will. He asked the right questions, checked his brother for trust, studied all the details of his appearance in case of fraud. All in all, he was cautious like a rat.
«You have disappointed me, Goyle. I won"t tolerate it next time.» - Sauron said calmly, and with a swift slap, he sent the robber in flight, knocking out a couple of his teeth.
Goyle failed to fulfill the monthly quota because, judging by his report, he acted too cowardly. That"s why he received the first and last warning. The other brothers looked at him coldly. He was miserable, ungrateful, low-life sc.u.m, unable to pay their big brother Sauron for his protection.
«I am sorry… Big brother, please, forgive me… It won"t happen again, I promise…» - Goyle mumbled, his face distorted with fear.
«Guiming, your turn.» - Sauron said impa.s.sively.
Kyon stepped forward and stood on one knee. He told his brothers a story about fict.i.tious events of his dark deeds. To distract their attention from his not quite usual behavior, he depressedly spoke about the death of his two brothers.
In the end, he handed Bai"s money to Sauron.
«Good job, Guiming. Valery, your turn.»
After about an hour, the collection of money was over. Sauron handed everyone a letter with information about their new den, the code word, and other points related to robbery. It implied that the brothers weren"t supposed to know the whereabouts of the rest nor had the right to meet or call one another. The punishment for breaking the rules would be terrible.
Kyon carefully studied Sauron"s behavior. Behind the mask of coldness and severity, there was hidden tenderness inherent in those people who weren"t not used to expressing their feelings openly. His att.i.tude toward his brothers revealed his true nature. Sauron seemed cruel, but in fact, he treated every robber like his son. And small wonder. According to the late Guiming, it took Sauron great effort to organize six gangs and their leaders. He had selected the newcomers, taught them robbery, arranged the hierarchy and the system of regular position changes; he appointed secret meetings, set the standards, and did so much more. In his place, Kyon would also cherish the organization in which he had invested so much effort, even if it consisted solely of homicidal maniacs and a.s.sholes.
{I want to see your face you lose it all.} – Kyon gloated.
Sauron delivered the closing speech:
«You did a good job, my brothers. The money I received from you will serve our cause: bribing the right people, recruiting rookies, getting weapons, and my personal development so that I could protect you from any rivals, and so much more. Feel free to seek my help if someone messes with you. Thank you for your hard work.»
«Hurrah! Glory to the first brother!» … «Yay! The brother is the best!» … «We would all die like dogs without you! Thank you, Sauron!» - All the robbers joyfully shouted to their leader. Sincere smiles lit up their faces. Without Sauron, they would never stop fighting with their rivals for territory, they would live in eternal fear of being caught and killed by the Department, or other enemies, or even traitors among their own. Thanks to the skills of their beloved leader, they could focus on the main thing: the extraction of resources and the acc.u.mulation of wealth.
The robbers respectfully said goodbye to their leader and left.
«Not you, Guiming! You will remain.» - Kyon heard the leader"s order.