The Agent (35 page)

CHAPTER 35

“Elli!” Queen Isobel squealed and ran down the hall in a most unqueenly manner.

Friedrich opened his arms to welcome her. “Izzy! Oh, how I have missed you!”

“You poor thing, you look awful. What have they done to you?”

“Only the most dreadful things those barbarians could conjure into their limited imaginations.”

Isobel turned to Garran and embraced him. “Thank you so much, Agent Holt.” She sniffed and backed away. “Oh, ew.” She cleared her throat and quickly composed herself. “We will be happy to do anything we can do to repay you for bringing me my brother.”

Garran performed a small bow. “It was a challenging task fraught with peril, but we succeeded. You should know that Elroy’s treatment has left him a bit out of sorts. Such a shock to one’s sensibilities is common with prisoners. They often lose themselves in their captivity, but they usually recover in time. It helps when they have someone close to them to guide them back into civilized life and gently remind them of the person they once were.”

“Of course. Elli, you poor darling. I’ll get you sorted out in no time.”

‘Elroy’ looped his arm through hers. “I’m sure you will, but I think it is more important to get that dress sorted out. Is this what passes for fashion these days?”

“You don’t like it?” Isobel asked as she led him away.

“On you, a throw rug would look ravishing, but I have some ideas.”

King Callum cleared his throat. “I believe we have some matters to discuss in private.”

“Our business is urgent, Highness, so sooner is certainly preferable to later,” Adam readily agreed.

Callum looked to Liam. “Is it all right to discuss it in front of him?”

“It is.”

“Very well, let us go to my study.”

Callum led them down several passages before entering a room with a small library and plush furnishing. He poured himself and Garran a drink and sat down.

“Your wife seems very pleased to have her brother back,” Garran said.

“She certainly is. I suppose it is a good thing that her beauty is surpassed only by her vapidness.”

“I beg pardon, Majesty?”

Callum set his drink down and smiled. “Come now, we all know that is not Elroy. I must say, his looks are uncanny and his performance spot on. It was a brilliant plan to cover any lack of knowledge or behavioral quirks with the idea of traumatic stress.”

“I…” Garran stammered. “Shit. How did you know?”

“I wasn’t entirely certain at first, but there were telltale signs if one bothered to look. What finally convinced me was my lack of desire to kick him in the groin the moment he started to speak. Where is Elroy now? It will cause a great commotion if he were to suddenly appear.”

“That is not very likely, Highness,” Garran said.

“Is he still in Urqua?”

“No, we got him out of there. He’s dead.”

Callum retrieved his glass, took a sip, and nodded. “How did that come about?”

“He got into a patch of rapture root and overdosed whilst abusing himself.”

“Ah, I always expected we would find him in his rooms in a similar state. I had several plans in place to avoid a scandal when it inevitably occurred.”

“You don’t seem terribly upset. So what happens now? We really need your support.”

“Technically, you failed to complete the terms of our contract, but personally, I almost feel the need to give you a bonus for improving upon our arrangement. What is it you need of me?”

Garran let out a long sigh of relief. “I need your ships. You are about to embark on your Independence Day display up the coastline that ends in Leva. I need them to make a stop and pick up some passengers.”

“How many bodies are we talking about?”

“Roughly two thousand Hillmen.”

Callum made a quick calculation in his head. “That is a lot of cargo. Horses?”

“No. This will be entirely an infantry expedition.”

“It will take a bit of doing, but I can manage it. What happens when they reach Leva? There is little chance I can avoid complicity.”

“They will join up with numerous agents within the city and lay siege. With my inside help, it should be brief. Once we oust Gordon and The Guild, Adam’s sister will wear the crown and prosecute every traitorous member of The Guild and parliament.”

“If you fail, they will come after me.”

“They already are. They have already gotten to Anton and pull his strings. Osage will fall in a matter of months, a year at most. The strongest resistance other than Urqua and Sorne is you and Opatia, and I am certain that The Guild is setting plans in motion to remove Ingrid even as we speak. Your merchant fleets and navy is probably the crown jewel of their schemes, and they will come for it in time. They already own the docks and control most of the captains. By the time you accept the fact that you are little more than figurehead, it will be too late.”

Callum sighed and paced across the room. “You’re right. I refused to see what was happening right in front of my face. Five years ago, I tried to loosen The Guild’s grip on our ships. Suddenly, it was taking a week longer for cargo to reach its destination. Losses to
Pirate attacks
and storms became almost common.

“Ships sat at anchor outside the harbor because the docks were filled with vessels that took an inordinate amount of time to load and unload. I eventually accepted The Guild’s excuses and their
solutions
to solving the problem despite knowing in my heart that they were responsible for it all. It is difficult for a king to accept that his power has waned. The Guild is so embedded into every facet of our economy that I fail to see a solution.”

“There is but one solution, but it requires brutal determination and conviction. Once employed, you cannot back down and must see it to its conclusion.”

Callum sat and buried his hands in his head. “What must I do?”

“I assume you have agents you trust?”

“I have eyes. They are certainly not agents like you.”

Liam quipped, “Thank God for that. We would be awash in unwashed, root rot-infected drunkards.”

Liam narrowly avoided the glass Garran hurled at his head.

“Garran!” Adam reprimanded.

“Sorry. It’s a reflex.” He turned back to the King. “I assume your
eyes
have made notes of those who are steadfast in their loyalty to The Guild and those who can be swayed?”

Callum nodded. “I have a rather extensive report.”

“I think it is reasonable to assume that the crew holds no particular loyalties to The Guild. That means we just need to neutralize the captain, boson, and maybe quartermaster of each ship. The crew takes command, appoints a new captain and officers, and picks up my army on their way to Leva. You will need to gather loyal men around you and start placing them in strategic positions within the constabulary and your guard force. I will send as many soldiers back on your ships as I can spare to help put down whatever armed resistance The Guild might throw against you.”

“You understand that by doing this I will be in violation of my kingdom’s laws?”

“Laws drafted by whom?”

“My father, grandfather, and the notable lords of the time.”

“And who backed and guided those lords.”

Callum looked to ceiling and groaned. “The Guild. It would seem fools do indeed beget fools.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. They have done much of the same thing to most of the kingdoms over the past decades,” Adam said.

“How much time do I have?” Callum asked.

“Very little,” Garran answered. “Your fleet has to leave in three days in order to arrive in Leva at their scheduled time and to meet my army. I know I don’t need to tell you, but no one must know anything about what we are doing here who does not have a significant role to play.”

“I know. Not even my wife will hear of what is happening—especially my wife. Speaking of whom, how much does this man who is pretending to be my brother-in-law know?”

“As far as what we are doing here today? Nothing. He is an actor who has a basic knowledge of your family history. Anything you can do to help him in his role would go a long way in maintaining the ruse.”

“Of course. Where will you go from here?”

“With all due respect, I’ll keep my actions to myself.”

Callum nodded and gave Garran a knowing smile. “You keep your cards close to your chest. Very wise.”

“It is, and it is something you must practice as well.”

“I shall, Agent Holt. You are welcome to rest and replenish here if you wish. If we do not speak again before you leave, I wish you God’s speed, and may He watch over us all.”

***

“A rider using the courier line reached me just an hour ago, which is why I requested this meeting,” Gregor said as soon as Joshua Roux entered the room.

“What urgent news did he bring?” Joshua asked.

“Victor, with the assistance of agent Karla Tash, formed another capture squad.”

“It sounds as though Victor has sufficiently recovered from his injuries. That is good news,” Gordon said.

Gregor frowned. “Not sufficiently enough. Garran killed him.”

“What happened?”

“Our intelligence put Adam and Garran in Artemisia where they gained an audience with Callum and Isobel. They left that kingdom and rode north to Urqua with significant haste.”

“Urqua? Why in the world would they go there?” Joshua asked.

“Initially, I thought perhaps they hoped to gain an alliance of some sort. Urqua’s dislike of The Guild is well known.”

Joshua nodded. “Yes, but that tough nut is about to crack. It will take a bit longer than the others, but I have plans for them.”

“Their business in Urqua was brief,” Gregor continued. “They assaulted a diplomatic outpost and took the horses stabled there. Victor rightly assumed they might do so again to expedite their return. He and agent Tash sprung the trap and managed to capture Adam and Garran without incident.”

“I assume it went badly sometime after that?”

“It did. Along with Garran and Adam was Prince Elroy Sinclair, brother to Queen Isobel. We know that Urqua has been holding Elroy in order to gain favorable access to their ships and trade priorities.”

“So Garran rescued Elroy on behalf of Isobel,” Gordon mused. “But why? Obviously for some favor, but what?”

“We are getting ahead of ourselves. Just two days from Artemisia, Karla turned on Victor and freed Garran. She had apparently been planning it from the start. That is when Garran killed Victor and captured most of his squad.”

“So, once again, Garran is loose and we have no idea what he is up to?” Joshua asked, frustrated.

“We know he went to a great deal of trouble to rescue Elroy in order to gain Artemisia’s favor.”

“But why? They have no army worth mentioning,” Gordon said.

“They do have ships and a respectable treasury,” Joshua pointed out.

Gregor nodded. “Both of which Garran could make good use.”

“The only army he could possibly have at his disposal would have to come from Opatia. What do we know of their activities?” Joshua asked.

“There was some movement and garrisoning shortly after the Hillmen began raiding, but we think that was defensive in nature should the barbarians seek to spread into Opatia. My agents have not seen or heard of any large troop movements in the kingdom that would suggest Opatia is moving soldiers anywhere near Anatolia or Artemisia.”

“Then Callum’s ships would be pointless, so it must be for gold. Perhaps he plans to hire mercenaries with Callum’s gold and use his ships to land them here,” Gordon speculated.

“That is a reasonable theory,” Gregor conceded, “but we have the largest mercenary outfit already under our employ chasing down these blasted Hillmen. It is possible for him to hire multiple smaller outfits, but he would have to go far and wide to collect them. That would take a lot of time, and there is simply no way he could do it without my knowing it.”

“Nor could he get them on what is ostensibly my ships,” Joshua added. “Perhaps Garran’s little jail break was not connected, at least overtly, to usurping our rule. Maybe it was something personal, a debt he had to repay. Regardless, without more intelligence, it is idle speculation and a waste of time. What news do you have regarding the Hillmen? These mercenaries we hired bleed our coffers like an unbandaged wound.”

“My latest reports show that our forces are pushing them toward the coast away from any towns of consequence. Their commander has assured me that they will drive them into the sea within the next week.”

“Finally, some good news for a change,” Joshua replied. “I really thought they would give the mercenaries more trouble than they have thus far.”

Gregor scratched his beard. “Yes, so did I.”

Gordon shrugged. “They do seem to just be raiding, which is not unheard of. I doubt they ever had any intent on engaging our military and needlessly throwing away their lives over plunder.”

“True,” Gregor agreed, “but that will certainly change once their backs are against the sea and they have nowhere to run.”