Part III: The Bribe
The sun rose past the horizon, looming over the skyline of the great City of Hatlynshire, towards which Henry found himself to be dazed but also in awe. He had been called to accompany one of the other members of the Great Houses on a ‘diplomatic’ trip to Great Borough. Henry himself hadn’t been too enthusiastic about it. He was dazed due to not being able to get enough sleep, a fact he hid quite well on the outside, but felt quite deeply on the inside. Whatever part of him that was not stuck in this drowsy state was currently preoccupied with thoughts of his own Borough.
“I should be sending letters to my Nobles, not taking a joyride! We should start fortifying the Hamlets immediately,” he thought as his driver drove him straight to Hatlynshire City Hall. Henry, like most Great House members, drove in a black car with a silver grill that had two large, bulbous lights on either side. His car’s license plate read ‘TRIDENT-001’, which corresponded with the symbol of his house. However, Henry himself didn’t seem like much of a regal figure at first glance. He was in his early forties, with black hair and brown eyes. He was clean shaven, and wore a black suit with an overlapping collar. Underneath was a white and grey checkered waistcoat. He placed his hand inside one of his coat pockets, for in it, he carried a golden pocket watch which connected to his coat via a golden chain. He glanced at the watch face, its edges engraved with the initial ‘M’. On his finger lay a ring studded with diamonds and, on his head, he wore a black top hat. But perhaps, most important of all, hidden under his coat, he wore a golden pin with his family’s crest etched on the front. The pin was the only thing that gave him away as a Circulion, though aside from that, he looked perfectly human.
The car drove past the empty streets of the waking city. Henry knew it was best to travel early in the mornings, when there were less people about. It was less suspicious, and granted less attention. Still, as Henry looked out the window, he saw a few people walking about their day. Most were working men on their way to their occupations.
“Well, there is a certain innocence to humans. They are, of course, just like us. At least, when they’re not committing heinous sins,” Henry thought, and with that, he let out a shudder. He remembered a recent incident that had occurred just a few days ago, an incident which was part of the reason they were headed to Great Borough in the first place. It had happened in Bernstein Borough–a group of Hunters had discovered how to access one of the Hamlets through a secret door. They had snuck in and tried to set the complex aflame at night. Luckily, they were caught and killed before they could set the entire place alight. However, before they were killed, they had succeeded in lighting the Hamlet’s orphanage on fire. Whether they had known it was an orphanage or not, Henry didn’t know. All he knew was that none could put out the fire in time, and from the stories he had heard, almost a hundred residents had burned to their deaths. Henry still vividly remembered the descriptions his men had given him, and the sheer grotesque detail had made him want to hurl.
After some time, the car finally reached a stop outside the entrance of the building. The valet left the car, and opened the back door so Henry could step out. Henry gave a nod to the driver, and the driver nodded back before returning to his seat. He looked up at the building in front of him. It was a massive, three-story tall structure that stretched nearly a hundred meters in both directions. The entrance was grand, with a large staircase leading up to an overhanging roof, upheld by five pillars topped with angels, and adorned with banners bearing the Hatlynshire flag. The roof face itself was decorated with sculptures of men, with the symbol of the Order of Man carved in the center. Yet, despite its grandeur, its sheer height meant that Henry had to squint his eyes in order to read the engravings. The building was mostly white and grey, with hints of gold embossed into the sculptures, and a massive domed roof that reached high into the skyline. In front of the building, across the road, was a massive flat field surrounded by a brick and iron bar fence and covered with trees. It was known as Hatlynshire City Park, the largest park in all of Hatlynshire.
Henry was standing in front of the only piece of the Order of Man that the public knew about. At least, what they thought they knew. He was standing in front of Hatlynshire City Hall.
As Henry gazed up in awe at the massive, monolithic headquarters of the Circle’s greatest foe, another car pulled up behind his. Its driver then also got out and opened the backdoor, from which an older gentleman in his sixties stepped forth. He had a white beard, and wore the same top hat he did. Once he was on his feet, the man straightened out his light grey overcoat which he wore over a similarly colored coat. He then reached into his pocket, took out his own pocket watch, and read the time as he slowly walked over to Henry. Unlike him, he had no ring on his finger, for he was a widower. He then gazed at the massive structure alongside him, though he appeared less impressed and more repulsed at the sight of the building. “Well Ulysses, looks like we’ve arrived,” Henry spoke somberly.
“Yes, I can see that, Henry. It looks just as atrocious as it did the last time I was here,” Henry grinned, and together he and Ulysses ascended the steps.
When they reached the top, they were greeted by a very old copper statue of the city’s ‘founder’, a man who went by the name of George Montgomery. Henry had always wanted to spit on that statue every time he saw it. He knew that, unlike the revisionist story of how he’d built this city from nothing, Montgomery had in fact built it from atop the dead corpses of thousands of Circulions.
“Perhaps this statue is the greatest insult the Order ever did to us,” Ulysses mused as they passed the statue and went towards the front door. “They keep him in front of their building as a glorified hero, while lying to the public about his deeds.”
“Well, on the day we finally bring these wretches down, I’ll be sure to leave a rope for you, so we can pull down that statue together,” Henry smiled, and Ulysses grinned back at him. For all their talk, they both knew that it was very unlikely that the Order would be brought down in either of their lifetimes.
Walking through the front door of the hall, no guards accosted them, a fact that Henry always thought was an oversight by the Order. He assumed the reason was that the Order never thought the Circle would dare attack them in broad daylight, or perhaps they simply wished to retain their image of being open to the public. Either way, Henry did not complain.
As they entered the lobby, a wave of caution washed over Henry. It was an instinctive response, for now that they were inside, they were at mercy of the dangers that lurked within every corner of this forsaken place. The lobby was a large room, intricately decorated with lavish designs. It was a whitish grey, but the walls were adorned with portraits and paintings, the real meanings of which only certain people knew. There were people hurrying about, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But Henry knew. He could see the gazes that followed them around. He could feel the touch of unwelcoming stares all over his body. He knew that Hunters roamed this building in disguise, but nonetheless, he and Ulysses pressed on forward and blended into the crowd so as not to arouse suspicion.
Henry followed Ulysses past the lobby, they took a left turn through a hallway and then down a corridor to the door at the very end. Ulysses followed these steps precisely with only a single second guess, which confirmed to Henry that Ulysses had been to this place often.
Finally, through the door at the end of the corridor, they entered a spacious room with walls made of polished wood. The room was decorated with portraits on every wall, and was lit by a large and lavish chandelier which hung directly in the middle of the domed ceiling.
Inside the room was a waiting area, next to which was a table with a lamp, a stack of papers, and a typewriter. In the chair behind this table sat a lady in a thin suit, typing something on a typewriter. Her hands moved along its keyboard like lightning as she gave it her absolute focus. A focus that was only interrupted when she heard the sound of the door open. She lifted her head over the typewriter and sharply turned to the two men.
“Well, uh, do you have an appointment, Sir?” She asked with a soft tone and a smile.
Ulysses walked up to the lady while Henry stayed back. He leaned over to her desk and reached into his overcoat.
“Why yes we do, miss.” he opened part of his overcoat, which revealed the golden pin he kept underneath. “Is the Mayor occupied?”
The lady blinked, pausing for a moment as though in shock. “Uh… no! You may go in,” she stuttered. Ulysses nodded, gave her a smile, and tipped his hat. He and Henry then made their way past the lady and through the door that laid next to her.
This time, they entered a somewhat smaller room. Smaller, but much more grand. The ceiling was about two stories tall, and had yet another golden chandelier over it. One of the walls had a large window that overlooked the part in front of City Hall, while another wall was completely taken by a massive bookcase. In the middle of the room was a large semicircular table with a chair on either side. There was a red carpet on the floor, and a fireplace too. The walls looked brand new, and there was even a hunting rifle mounted on the mantle under a large portrait of the first mayor of Hatlynshire.
On the other side of the table was the a man who was both slightly fatter and older than Henry. He wore an open black coat over a silvery waistcoat, alongside a golden monocle on his left eye which complimented his straight black and grey moustache and sharp eyes. He had been preoccupied with a task as they’d walked in, but had dropped it immediately to stare directly at Henry and Ulysses as they entered. A grin then plastered itself onto his face.
“Well, well, well. What a pleasant surprise! Two Circulion industrialist swine walk right into my office! A rare sight indeed!” he said in a cheerful tone. It was a tone that neither Henry nor Ulysses found amusing. Ulysses then took the seat on the other side of the table, while Henry stood by the door. Henry kept one arm close to the gun he hid under his waistcoat. Just in case.
The Mayor leaned towards Ulysses. “So, for what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting, Mr. Everton?”
“I think you know why, Victor,” Ulysses said calmly.
Victor Del Mir reclined in his chair, his grin still present on his face. “This isn’t about that fire now, is it? Your men killed my men. Your revenge is served. You have no business coming to me!”
Ulysses gave a light chuckle. Something in its tone made Victor flinch. “You flatter yourself, Victor. I think you know why we’re really here.”
Victor’s grin disappeared. He leaned over to Ulysses once more, and spoke in a darker voice. “Well Mr. Everton, it appears that I don’t. Care to enlighten me?”
Ulysses nodded. Henry had been told why they had come here, but this was not how he expected things to have happened. But then again, he knew not to keep assumptions of the future, unless he was a Morrow, of course.
“While the fire is one reason, our real reason is something much larger,” said Ulysses.
“And that real reason is…?”
Ulysses’ expression blackened. “The real reason is that ever since your ‘election’, you’ve plunged your Hunters deep within our territory. You’ve intentionally started a minor conflict on the streets, and we want it to end.”
Victor raised his eyebrows, as though Ulysses had told him some shocking revelation, before laughing heartily while he leaned on his chair. Ulysses looked at him with disgust and Henry shared the sentiment. After Victor was done, he looked at Ulysses as though he had said some marvelous joke.
“You cannot be serious! I take it that you didn’t consult with your dear friends the Morrows about this, because if you did, those foreseeing wretches would have told you that you can’t waltz into my office, and expect me to bend the knee to you Circulion swine!” He ended his sentence in a bout of rage, yet Ulysses still remained calm.
“We aren’t asking you to bend the knee. We know you are too prideful for that.”
“Oh good! So then what makes you think I’ll comply with your ‘request’?” This was a reply to which Ulysses grinned.
“I doubt your superiors would want to have an all-out conflict with the Circle. I doubt even the Grand Overseer himself would want that, seeing as it would cripple the city with an already overwhelming population.”
Victor raised his eyebrow in disbelief. “You wouldn’t! The Circle would not just go to war again over such a minor issue as some street aggression!”
“Well…” said Ulysses. “War is only a last resort, since we know that if we allow you to continue in your activities, they will only get worse. However, as a means of ending this before it escalates to major conflict, we offer you a deal.”
“A deal?” asked the now intrigued Victor.
“One million Sorasy. In cash,” Ulysses said. “We pay you to pull back your troops. If you agree, you walk away with a hefty fortune. If you don’t? Well, you know what happens to a Mayor in a conflict.”
Ulysses reached into his coat and pulled out a set of old newspaper articles from the city newspaper, The Hatlynshire Herald. He then put them on the table for Victor to see. Henry could read some of the headlines. In large, bold letters, one read: ‘MAYOR KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT!’ another said: ‘CITY MAYOR DIES IN HOUSE FIRE! ARE GANGS TO BLAME?’ while yet another read: ‘OLD MAYOR MURDERED IN STREET SHOOTING! PERPETRATORS STILL ON THE LOOSE!’
Victor scanned through every headline, then looked at Ulysses with a furious glare. His cheeks turned a shade of red, looking like a volcano that was about to erupt.
“You dare threaten me? In my own office?!”
“I was merely alerting you to the consequences. So what will it be, Mr. Del Mir?” asked Ulysses.
Victor relaxed down a little. He then brought his hands together and smiled at Ulysses. Henry was not expecting that.
“One million Sorasy… a year,” he said confidently.
“Excuse me?”
“You hear me, Mr. Everton. If you wish for me to comply, I would need one million Sorasy every single year. Those are my terms, and they are non-negotiable,” said Victor. He then stood up from his chair and gave a grim glare to both Ulysses and Henry. Henry then tightened his grip on his gun. “Because if you think you can buy me with a pathetic sum like the one you offer, then you are MISTAKEN, you wretched scum! You think you can enter my office and threaten me? You’ll soon find that I’m much more capable than my predecessors, I promise you that!”
Gathering himself, Victor sat back in his chair before giving Ulysses and Henry a grin. “So yes, those are my demands. If you cannot meet them, I quite happily ask you to withdraw from my office and the City Hall. And I have a feeling that the Grand Overseer Montgomery will want to hear of this conversation.”
Ulysses stood up and stared at Victor blankly. “I think we are done here. I thank you for your time… Mr. Mayor.” Ulysses then tipped his hat, to which Victor nodded agreeably. Ulysses swiftly turned, then he and Henry promptly left the office, shutting the door behind them. Henry then followed Ulysses as they made their way out of the building.
“Well, it appears that the Mayor is unwilling to work with us,” said Henry. He had come here knowing that the likelihood of a peaceful solution was unimaginably slim given how brazen and determined Victor’s actions were. But still, part of him had hoped not to turn to conflict, for it was taxing on their people and their funds.
“Well, I expected as much. I told the Morrows that a peaceful resolution was futile, yet they still convinced me to try it anyway. Well, now there is no resolving this peacefully, Henry.”
They made their way down the steps and past the statue. By the time they had exited the building, the sun had well passed the city's skyline, and was slowly inching its way to the center of the sky. Henry’s driver was waiting for him and opened his car door respectfully. Henry nodded at the driver before turning to Ulysses before he had a chance to leave.
“Are you sure this will work, Ulysses? Are you certain that your plans can succeed?”
“Not to worry, my dear Henry. I know by the end of all this, the city will be a safer and cleaner place. And If I am to die, I will die while getting my long awaited vengeance upon those who massacred my family.”
Henry went silent, only waving Ulysses goodbye as both men entered their cars. His mind was full of doubts as they drove out of Great Borough, but he had known Ulysses his whole life, and he was a sort of mentor figure to both him and some of the other Great House members. Henry understood his pain, and he was confident in his plans. But still…
“But what if it all fails?” he couldn’t help but wonder. What if Ulysses had underestimated the Mayor and Montgomery?
“Then we’ll all be in danger.”
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