257 Breaking the Ne (1/2)
Only five days after the fire in Saniya's flintlock manufactory, regular operations were about to resume. At first, there had been an extensive investigation, with police everywhere in and around the building. In the end however, the fire had been declared an accident by the police and any further investigation was suspended.
Even so, the fire had left behind some problems. The building had been in use when the fire started, so many of the apprentices inside had been injured. Some had suffered from burns or blunt trauma from falling debris, but most only had horrible coughs and trouble with their breathing.
As a result, the crown had decided to give their valuable young workers enough time off to recuperate. Though of course, the rifle workshop was one of the city's most important manufactories and couldn't lay dormant for this long. Even less since the city was training a new batch of soldiers for the king's army. Thus, several newer apprentices had been called upon from less important workshops to fill in the gaps. Due to a lack of workers, some had even come over from the central city.
Three such apprentices now stood before the door of the workshop, together with their master. Unlike most in the city, they were quite happy with the outcome of the fire. Though maybe they were not quite as happy with the man who brought them here.
\”Just remember, barbarian: Don't make trouble for me here,\” The master in the front said. \”All you need to do is pretend you're a mute for a day or two. Your friends should be able to get a good ship in position over the next few days. Only three days and all of us can leave this blasted place. Don't blow this for me. And don't you dare forget about my compensation.\”
Kizco stared at his ill-tempered – though at least just temporary – master with a sour look.
\”Of course, Master Xander. I will be careful.\”
*If anything, you are the one who's blowing things.*
Although he was dissatisfied with his fake master, Kizco would never say it out loud. The middle-aged Xander was just as mean, cheap and greedy as he looked. Even after he had formed a partnership with their secret forces, the foreigner had never shown them any level of respect.
*Maybe he will provide me with another trophy once I make it out of this damned city. This is one whose screams I will relish.*
Even worse, the grumpy man wouldn't shut up about his reward, and about their plans, even though they were out in the open, with enemies all around them. Still, there was little Kizco could do. They had tried to warn the foreigner in the past, and as a result, they had only received more sneers and nasty comments about barbarians and savages. His tirades would only attract the attention of those around him, so at this point, it was best to just concede and hope the idiot would shut up by himself.
Rather than focus on the nuisance, Kizco preferred to focus on his work. After the fire, old workers needed to be replaced with new, and him and his fellow spies were perfect candidates to do so, at least on the surface. With all the apprentices in this manufactory out of commission for now, the crown was forced to hire people from the outside, which had finally given them their chance to enter Chukru Island.
Usually, the people on Chukru rarely left their island homes and were always under supervision when they did. Yet Master Xander had never been valued by the crown and had never been made privy to any valuable secrets, so he had become an exception. After he had lost his disciples, he had gone to the main city for a round or ten of drinks. There, he happened upon one of his fellow spies who soon came to understand Xander's unique position. Thus, they had come into contact and hedged the plan to pose as apprentices and then take on roles inside this manufactory once the chance arose. After the 'accidental' fire, the chance was finally here.
Since their clock maker 'master' was working on the special wheellock guns for the kingdom's commanders inside this manufactory, they had been a natural replacement for the injured former workers. Though he and his fellow spies were inexperienced and mostly unknown within the city, some false testimony and a few bribes went a long way. Even better, they were only temporary workers and thus didn't suffer from the same kind of intense scrutiny the regular apprentices had. Now they were finally here, in the heart of Saniya, ready to extract all of its secrets.
While his master spoke with the manufactory's foreman to arrange his and his fellow's places, Kizco looked around and observed his surroundings, like he had been taught by his real masters back home. Although work within the hall had resumed, it was more proper to say that the workers had returned.
For now, the new apprentices had only come to clean up the leftovers of the destroyed building and restore everything to working condition. At the moment, even the roof was temporary. Only some strange machines stood there new and sparkling, clearly replacement for what had been destroyed by the flames. However, unlike the manufactory he had worked in before, there were many stations without anything on them, not even stools. Clearly, much of the important equipment was still missing and in the process of being replaced.
\”Hey, brat.\” Xander's shout returned Kizco's focus. \”For now, you'll help be clean up my work station. Follow along, and don't dawdle.\”
\”Yes master,\” he said and clenched his fists inside his long sleeves. As they walked through the hall, he stared at the back in front of him with malicious intentions. For a second, he played the scenario through in his head.
*Two quick steps forward and press the old bastard against the wall to bind his arms and fix his position. Then I stab him through the skull from below. Leave the knife in case it gets stuck. Turn to exit the building...*
As he thought, he looked around the room again in search for an exit strategy for his fantasy scenario. However, something was strange. Wherever he looked, all exits – like windows and doors – were blocked by at least two apprentices. This one worker had already been sweeping the same piece of floor when he had come in earlier, hadn't he? Even if he was lazy, someone would have said something by now, right? Either way, weren't some of these workers too old to be apprentices? Halfway to their work station, Kizco got more and more nervous. As his tension mounted, he saw two apprentices flash their eyes towards him across the room, a deep glimmer in their eyes.
\”Scatter!\” he shouted, and shoved the hapless Xander out of the way as he bolted to the side. At the same time, all hell broke loose inside the workshop. From behind, he could hear his fellows rush away in opposite directions, as angry shouts and calls came from the apprentices in the workshop. As for Kizco, he had opted for the closest window, to his right.
*Only two in the way, far apart.*