Chapter 119

Captain Sven and Harrold greeted Bishop Bruce, while Alvin also did the same.

"Sit down. So I heard about these massive amounts of gunpowder being out there in the hands of what appears to be two lunatics" said Bruce.

"Yes sir. And the two Beyonders from the Red Knife Gang were the ones who spoke to them. So we have no idea who they are and what they look like. Those two have been taken by whom we suspect to be the people hired by the Tintin factory or its backers, the kingpins of this illegal gunpowder business" said Sven.

"So what is the course of action you are currently planning?" asked Bruce.

"We are thinking we must get the two members of the Red Knife Gang in our custody as soon as possible sir. We don't know the interrogation skills of the people who currently have him. They may kill them both without properly extracting all the information we need, thus cutting off the only clues. Hence, we need to target those people" said Sven.

"Well, bad news. I confirmed that a group of Beyonders commissioned by the factory's backer have the two Red Knife Gang members via divination. But there is no hurry to retrieve them. They are fine for now, and in no danger of dying. We can take the matter slowly" said Bruce. "Also, I confronted the MI9 about the large amounts of illegal gunpowder and the fact that it is just floating around. They claim to have no knowledge of the incident, but have tacitly consented for us to go after the factory's people" said Bruce.

"That is going to be a problem. From Alvin's sources, we have a lot of information on Mach Gore, but we still have no specifics on his location or affiliation. The only way I could think of is to wait in the numerous factories he works at and hope he comes by. Due to the lack of information we have, even divination may be ineffective" said Sven.

"Can I suggest something?" asked Alvin.

"Go ahead" said Bruce.

"We are the only ones who know about the additional passage from underneath the factory right?" asked Alvin.

"Indeed" confirmed Bruce.

"Then the people from the factory believe that the intruders who stole the gunpowder went in through the second entrance, the one inside the factory itself. They have placed multiple traps and triggers within that room to detect if anyone re-enters. After all, if the person had stolen it once, there was a good possibility he would go back for the rest of the stash. So why didn't we trigger those traps 'carelessly'? Maybe the persons in charge will show up" suggested Alvin.

"Not a bad idea. What do you think will happen then?" asked Bruce.

"Probably someone stationed in the factory will notify the higher-ups. Maybe a Beyonder is in guard duty somewhere inside the factory, and he will arrive to catch the intruder. We can then catch him have him spill everything, the ins and out of this illegal smuggling route, their backers, other stashes of gunpowder, the people from the Red Knife Gang, and everything else. In fact, I think it is better to be 'evenly matched' with him, and have him contact reinforcements so that we can catch everyone in one fell swoop" said Alvin.

"I like it. That seems like a good way to go as any" said Bruce.

"A couple of problems. We are fully capable of trapping and restraining a group of Beyonders after making preparation, but what about the ordinary people in the factory? There will be a bunch of casualties if we fight. Also, did anyone forget that there are huge amounts of gunpowder everywhere in the factory? Not just the hidden basement, everywhere. A spark from our fight can send the whole structure into the sky" reminded Sven.

"I have a solution for the ordinary people. If I am given a 100 pounds, I can contact the right people and have the workers of the factory go on a sudden strike without raising any red flags. But I am going to need a day for that" said Alvin.

"As for the gunpowder in the factory, I will take some measures for it. According to the information you gave, a weekly shipment of gunpowder is due today. I will have the MI9 delay it with a believable pretext. And we can have the supervisor seal off the gunpowder, for the reason that the workers are on a strike. Just avoid the locations of the gunpowder. Your opponents will probably do so too" said Bruce.

"Alvin, are you sure you can cause the workers to go on a strike without it raising red flags?" asked Sven.

"Very sure. There is usually a strike every other month in most factories. They are quickly suppressed usually though. That is because if workers of one factory go on strike, the owners will just hire someone else for that work. There are a lot of people looking for work in Backlund. Unless it is the collective strike of multiple factories, the owners will not be worried, because the workers will probably come back after they run out of money. But if multiple factories strike together, the owners employ lawyers, arbitrators, and some unpleasant people to break the strike. If a small number caves in, the rest will usually follow pretty soon" said Alvin.

Everyone stayed silent at the depressing fact that Alvin revealed. After a few moments, Harrold asked, "So that is the plan then?"

"Yes it is. Alvin, I will have 300 pounds sent to you. Along with that factory, have the neighbouring two factories also go on a strike to prevent suspicion. Sven, come back to the church and prepare your team for combat. We will finalise the exact plans by tonight, and attack at 10 tomorrow morning" said Bruce, after which the cube flickered, and his face faded.

Alvin looked at Sven and said, "I will start getting preparations for the strike in place. I will come back in the afternoon for the money"

Sven nodded, after which Alvin left.