Chapter 12 #3
“The bomb at the prison was placed on the outside wall of his cell.” His face is deadly serious. “Since the first robbery, everything connected to this case has been difficult. No evidence, no leads, nothing except Thog.”
“Yes, it has felt as if we have been playing on the defensive for some time now.” Khazak nods his head toward me. “It was not until David figured out they were manufacturing black powder that we learned anything new at all.”
“Because that did us so much good.” I figured it out just in time for them to still take us completely by surprise.
“No matter what we do, we’re always two steps behind them,” Ragnar gripes with me. “The only lead we had was Thog, and he didn’t want to talk to us. Not until earlier today, at least.”
“What do you mean?” Khazak’s eyes go wide.
“Earlier tonight, I got a message from Thog, one he managed to get out through the prison guards,” Ragnar explains. “He said he wanted to talk to me about something important. I was actually just leaving for the prison when the first bomb went off.”
“His death... This cannot be a coincidence.” Khazak is starting to make the same connections I am.
“Exactly what I kept thinking. Couldn’t stop thinking.” Ragnar looks between the two of us. “So much so, that before I went home tonight, I went to the prison to check the visitor’s log and see if anyone else had spoken to Thog. Guess who he got a visit from yesterday?”
“Who?” I have a sinking feeling I already know the answer.
“Naruk Redwish.” Called it. “He’s made a number of visits to Thog in the last month.
I know it’s not out of the ordinary for a legal advocate to visit a client in prison even after conviction, but after what he did to the two of you, I thought the timing was just too strange.
So, I did some more digging. Did you know Thog was in a massive amount of debt?
” Ragnar hands some of the papers he is holding to Khazak.
“What? No.” Khazak starts to read over the paper.
“These filings show that he was the one who purchased his father’s factory back from the city.
Two years ago, not long after his father’s death.
Once he fell behind on payments, the factory was about to be reseized when a third party stepped in, purchased the building outright, and assumed Thog’s debt.
Why were we not given these files when he was first arrested? ”
“I don’t know, but it made me think back to the day of the second robbery.
Officer Silentfang came into the central station looking for the building records, but neither of us could find them.
When we both went to the eastern station to look, Deputy Keenguard already had them.
So, why didn’t she also give us these, too?
” Ragnar hands over his remaining papers.
“I did even more searching. That ‘land management’ company that owns the factory and Thog’s debt?
It belongs to Councilman Murbank. The same person who owns the shipyard where the first robbery took place and who has also made a number of visits to Thog in prison. ”
“What are you suggesting, Deputy?” Khazak asks with a hint of hesitation.
“We know Thog knew more than he was letting on but wouldn’t say anything because he was protecting someone.” Ragnar starts to pace a little as he talks. “But what if he wasn’t protecting them because he wanted to. What if he was doing it because he had to?”
“You think the Councilman—”
“Just hear me out.” He’s talking with his hands now, too. “What if, in order to pay off his debt, Murbank made Thog take responsibility for the first robbery? And then what if he got nervous Thog would talk and decided to take him out while he had the chance?”
“Why kill him?” I ask. “It’s not like Thog ever actually told us anything.”
“Until whatever it was he was going to tell me tonight,” Ragnar counters.
“Remember the last time we spoke, and how it seemed like I was so close to getting him to say something? I think finding out that whoever he was covering for was going to hurt people got to him, and we probably weren’t the only ones to notice.
That might even be why Redwish was visiting. ”
“If the plan was for him to take the blame for the first robbery, why all the theatrics?” Khazak interjects next. “Why did he run when we arrested him? Why the strange unburnable book?”
“Maybe he didn’t know exactly how it was going to happen?” Ragnar reasons. “He obviously didn’t know anything about the last two robberies or what was happening tonight, probably by design. He couldn’t tell us what he didn’t know.”
“So, Murbank told him that when he was arrested to make it look real?” I’m starting to join in on Khazak’s skepticism.
“I think he knew what was expected of him, just not when or how it would be coming. In the moment, his panic was probably real.” Ragnar sounds completely confident in his theory.
“Just like the rest of it—the less he knew, the less he could tell us. Think about it: after his confession, he was all we could focus on, even with the other robberies, because he was the only source of information we had. The book was enchanted, so that it couldn’t be destroyed, which he obviously didn’t know about since he tried to do it anyway.
Making sure we found it gave us no choice but to tie Thog to all the robberies and kept our focus on him instead of anywhere else. ”
“This is...quite the conspiracy you are painting, Ragnar.” Khazak sounds exasperated. “Do you have any proof?”
“No, not exactly.” Ragnar deflates a little. “I know it sounds crazy, but so many things make sense. All of Thog’s motivations, the lack of evidence, the way these people are able to act right under our noses without us ever noticing.”
“Let me make sure I am understanding this, Ragnar.” Khazak leans back against the kitchen counter. “You believe that Councilman Murbank, Deputy Captain Keenguard, Advocate Redwish, as well as any number of rangers and officers have all been conspiring together to attack the city tonight?”
“I know what it sounds like Khazak, but please, I need you to trust me on this,” Ragnar pleads with his friend and captain.
“Why did Keenguard already have those files, and why didn’t she give us the rest?
Why is it that any evidence we find always leads directly to a dead end?
How were these people able to set off multiple bombs inside the city tonight without a single eyewitness?
The only thing that makes sense is that they already have people on our side doing their dirty work.
Hell, they probably waited to attack this week specifically because they knew you’d be all the way out in the forest on patrol.
” Ragnar pauses, looking afraid that we both think he’s nuts.
“I know it seems crazy, but you have to believe—”
“It is not that I do not believe you,” Khazak cuts Ragnar off, sounding tired.
“It is that I do not want to. Since we learned these people were moving in and out of the city, I have struggled to think of an explanation that is not ‘there are traitors among you.’ The fact that they are able to traverse the forest without setting off any alarms... The only way they could do that would be if they were wearing one of our badges.”
“What this about badges?” I look over in confusion.
“Our badges, the ones sewn into our uniforms.” Ragnar points to the emblem on the front of his uniform, the Atasi equivalent of the letter “V” surrounded by trees.
“They have an enchantment that hides the wearer from the alarm spells in the forest, so that our patrol groups aren’t constantly setting them off. ”
“Anytime a citizen leaves the city, whether to go hunting or for travel, they receive a similar badge at one the gates,” Khazak continues the explanation.
“The gatekeepers log each time a badge is given out and returned, but none of the logs have matched up with the time tables we have for our crimes. I find it highly unlikely that a number of our officers would have suddenly misplaced theirs, so either someone is lying to us, or they are able to move between the city and forest some other way entirely. If not both.”
“Shit, maybe the first robbery wasn’t even a real robbery.
” Talking about alarms and people potentially lying makes me think back to some of the other weird things we’ve encountered.
“Remember how the mages couldn’t find traces of magic on the storage unit?
Not even from the alarms that should have gone off?
Murbank owns the whole place. What if they never set the alarms to begin with?
How do we know they ever even stored the items there at all?
They could have just taken them straight from the boat to wherever they’re hiding everything now. ”
“Murbank, Keenguard, Redwish, and who knows who else? They’re all working together to make...something happen.” Ragnar’s sentence started strong, at least. “We just need to figure out what.”
“I have a feeling we may not learn that until we can determine what exactly was taken from the vault under the Hall of Honor,” Khazak says with a sigh. “That was clearly their main target tonight. The rest were just distractions to keep us and the rest of the force busy.”
“And to tie up any of their loose ends.” I actually feel pretty bad for Thog if Ragnar’s right.
“Murbank is the most powerful person connected to all this. I mean, he’s one of the most powerful people in the city.
Not to sound too cynical, but he’s a politician, right?
Is he up for re-election or something sometime soon? ”
“His term on the Tribal Council ends at the end of this year, but he’s not eligible for re-election.” Ragnar shakes his head at me. “No one is. Councilmembers can only serve a single term.”
“Shit.” Khazak’s curse gets both of our attention. “I have heard rumors, barely even rumblings really, that certain members of the Tribal Council have been floating the idea of amending the law to allow former councilmembers to serve again. But again, only rumors.”
“That has to be his plan.” That’s damn good motivation if I’ve ever heard it. “Attack the city, send everyone into a state of fear, then pass a law and run for re-election on a platform of public safety or something. I dunno.”
“Hmm.” Khazak considers my theory. Whatever. I thought it sounded good. “Have you talked to anyone else about this yet, Deputy?”
“No, I came straight here after getting the files.” Ragnar shakes his head. “I don’t know who else to trust with any of this. The only reason I think I was even able to get them without someone noticing was because of how crazy tonight was.”
“Good. I want to keep this between the three of us for now.” Khazak nods to himself, arms crossed over his chest as he thinks. “Until we can determine what exactly their plan is, I am not sure who we may be able to confide any of this information with.”
“So, what’s the plan then, Sir?” I can tell he’s working on something.
“We need to determine what exactly they were after in that vault, but that may take the curators a few days at least.” He frowns before looking at the papers in his hand. “However, in the interim, we may be able to use these files to speak with Murbank.”
“You think that’s smart?” Ragnar asks, not doubting but just wanting to be sure.
“We will need to be very careful not to let on what we suspect, but we may be able to get more information out of him or at least catch a misstep in his explanation.” Khazak puts the papers down on the counter.
“Remember, none of us can speak about this to anyone, not even Nylan, not yet. I do not even want us discussing this at the station or anywhere else. The only place we talk about this is here.”
“Understood. I haven’t said a thing to Ny yet. He thinks I’m still working.” Ragnar nods, already planning to keep this from his avakesh. “I actually need to get back home. He’s probably waiting for me, worried.”
“I will speak with the curators tomorrow and determine when to best confront Murbank.” Khazak sighs to himself. “It is a bit strange to think that the three of us may be the only people in the city standing between it and a massive conspiracy.”
It is weird, but I have faith that our little team can stop it.