Violetta stepped forward in answer to Blackwater's command. I glared at Violetta, as she grinned back, "It's time to make that omelet Dahlia. And you two are some of the eggs I get to break. Perks of the job. You know how it is."
I shook my head, "I don't consider violence a perk of the job. I enjoy action, but I take no pleasure in causing pain. I use violence as an unpleasantly effective tool."
"Oh, just get over yourself." Violetta said, "I just watched you kill Albrecht like a pouncing leopard. You don't get to pretend you didn't enjoy that."
"I am all a goggle. Of course I enjoyed it. I'm just under no illusion that my enjoyment is in any way acceptable. I am trained killer, Violetta. That isn't a nice thing to be. But I know that. I can look myself in the mirror. You on the other hand, are going to have to arrest two innocent people, and have them knowingly tried for treason. Make a deal with the real traitor. And then look in the mirror and try to convince yourself that none of this make you a horrible person."
"And I suppose you aren't a horrible person?"
"How did you survive to adulthood? Of course, I'm a horrible person. That's what I've been saying. The fact that I know it, and try to be better, is how I manage to look my reflection in the eyes every morning."
"This is getting boring now," Violetta said waving a hand," I have a pay cheque to collect and and ex girlfriend to beat up and then arrest. So let's get started."
I reassessed my options, but I knew Violetta could draw her revolver before I could react. Not that I wasn't going to try. The crowd of blood thirsty aristocrats in the stands pounded with boots and fists, whether in mockery or support I couldn't tell.
And then Harbinger raised a hand from where he lay on the ground, I do believe your boss had a question about my choices."
Blackwater leaned forward, "I did?"
"You wanted to know, why I just went along and played your game." Harbinger said.
"Ah yes, and why was that?"
"I needed to show you that I was taking the matter seriously." Harbinger said, pulling himself to his feet and shaking blood from his beard, "But now that I have your attention, I believe that your king is in check." Harbinger slowly raised his hand again, and the crowd grew silent. Into the silence, Harbinger spoke. "I am going to reach into the inner pocket of my jacket. I am not reaching for a weapon, but something that Lieutenant-Colonel Blackwater, Constable Priest, Gunter Albrecht - ah yes, we killed him, nevermind- and also Helmut von der Goltz, Count Rupprecht Vorbeck, Lady Sylvia Gray, Baroness Huo Zhi, and a few others that I have named on the document in my pocket. I think you will all wish to see this document, and I'd rather that you didn't shoot me as I removed it. I'll move slowly. Fair enough?"
Blackwater raised an eyebrow, "Proceed Mr. Harbinger."
Harbinger reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope. Fitting a pinky under the seam, Harbinger tore open the envelope and produced a letter. Unfolding the letter, he began to read.
"I write this before I head to a probably death in the service of a noble cause. Or rather more probably in the service of a good cause, because I will in fact be acting against rather a few nobles, whose name I have given below."
The crowd murmured.
"They are involved in, or at least paying customers watching, what would be overly charitable to call a blood sport. Coerced, blackmailed, and tempted by the faint hope of much needed political asylum or medical treatment the poorest and most desperate members of our nation are engaging in games of Russian Roulette for the entertainment of our political so called elite. They watch and laugh and applaud in resplendent finery as the people who sell them newspapers, or bus their tables or work their factories put gun to temple and pray the barrel contains no lead."
The crowd grew very silent.
"I know the names of the ring leaders and the organizers. I know the names of many of the spectators, those people who paid to watch others die for their own entertainment. And what is more, I have evidence."
The crowd collectively gasped.
"This is matter that is particular importance to the crown at this moment. And in the most important cases, I have evidence that might embarrass a nation. For those who simply paid to watch the spectacle, I frequently have only enough evidence to destroy reputations and prove decisive in divorce courts. And lest you think to silence me here and burn this letter, please be aware that I am a man of prodigious exuberance. When I thought to sit down and write this letter, I realized that I had time to write several copies. I realized further that I had time to send those copies to people in the right places, with instructions- should I fail to return from my possibly fatal errant- to open and disseminate, in some cases publish the contents of my letter and all of its names and the evidence I had collected."
"That is a wise precaution on your part Mr. Harbinger," Blackwater said slowly, "It does all hinge upon the question of the evidence though, doesn't it? Are we to take you upon your word that the evidence to which you refer and upon which your survival depends is as impressive as you have claimed?"
"Not at all," Harbinger responded, "I made a list! Would you like to hear?"
"Proceed."
"I am travelling to the old horse track in the Arabian District, which I strongly suspect as the location where the deadly and highly illegal game of coerced russian roulette is being paid before a complicit audience. I have included photos of numerous illustrious members of our high society attending this venue in the sort of large groups that one expects of a sporting or gaming event and what one expects of a supposedly unused military horse track. Amongst those photographed I have included photos of Lieutenant-Colonel Algernon Blackwater speaking congenially with suspected local gang leader Gunter Albrecht and several men with criminal records and long established associations with various gang factions in Sticktown."
"Mr. Blackwater is of course, a part of the Royal Commission and all of this might be in the line of duty. But my photos do show an exchange of currency that seems excessive for the purchase of information. And my photos show him entering at roughly the same time a group of ethnic Chinese illegal immigrants entered the building, roughly six hours before half of said immigrants were found dead via self inflicted gunshot wounds to the head. In other words, Mr. Blackwater attended the event that ended their lives. His involvement would of course still need to be proven, but his attendance we can safely consider established."
"Likewise, the photographs provided will also establish the presence of Gunter Albrecht, Constable Violetta Priest of the Sticktown Sherrif's office and such notable Sticktown citizens as Helmut von der Goltz, Count Rupprecht Vorbeck, Lady Sylvia Gray, and Baroness Huo Zhi. I do wonder how the Baroness will explain her presence at such an event to Pacific Relief. I suspect the charity she runs might not appreciate having themselves associated with an individual who attends blood sport events involving blackmailed or coerced refugees from the very places they seek to assist, but perhaps I'm overthinking matters. But I do wonder how our dear Town Administrator, Mr. Fix will take the news that lady Gray, his largest finacial supporter has paid to watch people die. I am assuming, of course that there is an entrance fee. If I have survived this endeavor I will be able to confirm that suspicion, but I suspect large sums of money are what motivates this horrible spectacle. I also wonder how this scandal might affect Count Vorbeck's divorce proceedings, and the Mr. von der Goltz in his attempts to gain access to his later Uncle's rather large estate. But I am digressing."
"The question that the authorities will want answered is of course, can I prove anything beyond the fact that these people attended the event. The answer is that I can. I can prove that Los Hijos de la Guerra kidnapped the daughter of Julia Albrecht-Price, who was of course found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound."
"Lieutenant-Colonel Blackwater's direct guilt is hard to nail down, but I suspect that i have collected enough to convict him in the court of public opinion, especially given how sensitive the current diplomatic situation remains with the Empire of Hong Kong Especially. Mr. Blackwater wears a non New Jericho military award on his dress uniform: The RROC Order of Loyalty and Valor, and wears the Honor Sabre of the Awakened Lion as well. These indicate that Mr. Blackwater has served the Restored Republic of China in very distinguished manner and shows his expertise in Asian Affairs. He smokes extremely expensive Indonesia clove cigarettes that are notoriously difficult to obtain. Nothing suspicious there, but it does point him having the expertise and connections necessary to set up or run a smuggling ring in Asia. Of course he also havs the knuckle tattoo of Los hijos de la Guerra, whom we can show through eye witness testamony are involved in both the human smuggling, and the kidnapping of June Albrecht-Price and thus also the death of her mother. Now, half the armed forces wear such a tattoo. It could mean nothing, on it's own it probably would mean nothing. Then there is the interesting scarring on his face. Not the Schmisse, although, being a dueling scar that is suggestive. but rather the speckled burn marks on his face, that I have discovered are indicative of firing or dueling with black powder weapons. Now dueling is illegal, but hardly our primary concern, but a man with scars from dueling and from black powder weapons, with strong political and economic connections to Asia and an established link to one of the gangs implicated by eye witness testimony in the kidnapping of a mother and her child which we know from physical evidence relates to the smuggling and illegal coerced dueling events? That might be more than coincidence. I haven't asked the man to his face yet, and will of course have sent out this letter by the time I have the chance."
Blackwater relaxed back into his chair, "You do realize, in all of this, that I am your sister's superior officer do you not?"
Harbinger smiled, "If I may continue reading?"
"Go ahead, this is why we are still here after all."
"Obviously I will be keeping secret the identities of most of the people to whom I have sent this letter. But all other recipients of this letter should know that one copy has gone to my sister Major Cassandra Harbinger of the Royal Commission as insurance to protect her against retaliation from her commanding officer. By the time, I have the Lieutenant-Colonel aware of this, my sister will have had plenty of time to make her own plans and contingencies to protect herself and expose him further should he act against our collective interests. And now you, the other unnamed recipients of this letter also know that in the event of my sister's death, disappearance or downfall what you should do with your documentation."
"What do you imagine that I will do to Mr. Zhang Wei and his son at this point?"
"Have you looked for Zhang's husband lately, or the paperwork he kept to document your operations?" Harbinger asked.
Silence.
"Mr. Harbinger," Blackwater said sounding out each syllable slowly, "I believe that you do not have a strong enough hand to win this game of ours."
I looked around for the nearest weapon, Gunter Albrecht's body lay near enough to me. He almost certainly had been carrying a loaded gun. I prepared to leap for it, as Blackwater continued speaking.
"However, I believe that clearing you and your forces from the board will cause more damage to my own side than I would like to absorb at the moment. So tell me, what do you propose?"
Harbinger looked around, "It's simple. We walk away. You close this nasty little blood sport arena of yours. If your bored aristocratic trolls need violence to keep themselves distracted they can go back to pointing these anachronistic little hand guns at each other instead of desperate poor people used as little better than cattle. I'm sure you'll find a way to profit from that. Dueling is illegal, you can probably blackmail them directly. If you like I'll even let you keep copies of my surveillance photos to keep them in line. At least that way the victims won't be poor innocent people trying to pay for medical treatment. You let Zhang and his son go, you don't track them or follow them, just allow them to disappear. In exchange any nasty incriminating evidence they might have or have made copies of disappears as well. How does that sound?"
"No," Blackwater shook his head, and I looked to Albrecht's body and then back to Violetta to gauge distance. Violetta watched me as I did so, she stood about equal distance to the body and seemed to have realized what I must be planning. She shook her head. Blackwater continued, "In my capacity as part of the Royal Commission, I still need a scape goat. Somebody to wave to the Queen in order to make this all end in a tidy manner. Shall we throw young Dahlia Crowe out as the apparent villain in all of this? She is already disgraced, it will be an easy sell to both the Queen and the Public."
I waited, Harbinger looked at me and shook his head, "You'd have to kill me first, and then we both lose. Perhaps Mr. Albrecht there," Harbinger pointed at the corpse," Isn't that why you kidnapped June and had her mother play your game? To anger a weaker rival enough to make a run at your business ventures? You knew that you would need to jettison some of your illegal activity, and you knew that you you would need something to show the Queen and your superiors."
"I have no superiors," Blackwater said, "But your point is well made. That was precisely my intent. I asked only to see if I could force you to sacrifice more pieces on the board than you needed to in order to survive. Well played Mr. Harbinger, you have done extraordinarily well given your much weaker starting position. Very well. You shall give me the photos in your hands. We shall walk out of here. In one hour's time I will lead a Royal Commission investigation, based on reports from your about an illegal dueling ring you have broken up here. Constable Priest shall inform her Sheriff that the Royal Commission has convicted Gunter Albrecht of orchestrating the murder of the so-called Cholera suicides and of Julia Albrecht-Price. I shall further hand to my superiors evidence that Gunter Albrecht was running an illegal human trafficking operation with the Red Flag Fleet and their deceased leader Li Jing in order to fill spaces in their little blood sport operation. I have bodies of Li Jing and Gunter Albrecht. And the physical evidence here shall be more than sufficient to convict these already dead perpetrators. In addition, I will tell her Majesty that pursuing the spectators is likely not a profitable endeavor at this time, given that several are on her Council and nearly all of them are nobility, but I will keep those photos- so that you in attendance as guests today remember that I can take everything away from you by simply handing these photos over to her Majesty."
He turned back to Harbinger, "You and Dahlia may leave. The game is shut down. Nobody alive loses face. But remember that this truce lasts only as long as you two are able to keep your distance. We know each other now. Stay out of my affairs or you will learn just how dangerous I can be."
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