Chapter 14 Deception, Part-I

03.07.19

Alex~

Jacob Fernsby. That was the name of the unfortunate man whom Alex had decided to prey upon. Very close to the Mayor of the London council, and himself the Head of Finance, Jacob was the most essential member of the Council. Every information in the Guild went through him before reaching the Mayor. Other than that, he had the supreme authority over the Security Force of the London Council. He quite literally formed the backbone of the guild.

The man made quite the tempting target.

Alex walked out of his apartment and secured the lock behind him with his wires. It was sort of an exercise. To make himself grow more accustomed to using his powers. Now, he didn't even have to think to perform basic movements with his wires.

He pulled out a cigarrette, lit it, and drew in a long breath. The London Council could wait. He had his hands full today.

He called Jack.

"Is it time already?" Jack said the moment he picked up.

"Yes. I'll need a ride. Come to my apartment, we'll plan on the way." Replied Alex, and hung up the phone.

A few minutes of wait and Jack showed up in front of his building.

He opened the driver's door and motioned for Jack to get out. "I'll drive."

Jack followed quietly and sat in the passenger's seat.

As the car started moving, Alex began talking. " Jack, let's hear your opinion on something. What is our position in this city?"

"Position, you say? " Jack thought for a few seconds. " We're the fastest growing guild here , so UGARP is going to be on the lookout for us. We have been unchallenged so far in our battles with other Guilds, but now this skirmish with the London Council will be dangerous because the Jackals will be on the lookout for a chance to take either, or both Guilds out. Chances are, it's going to turn into a three way war. "

Alex threw a sideways glance at Jake. "You aren't half-bad, Jack."

"Maybe. But you knew all of that already, and I can tell you have something to say, so go on."

Alex smiled lightly. "You're right about the other guilds looking for chances to take us down. Gossip spreads like wildfire. I can assure you that every other person in this city knows that the London Council threatened us. " Then, his voice turned into a low, dangerous note. " They are all waiting for us to fall. But if we do, Jack . " He turned his head slightly to look at Jack. "If we fall, there's no getting up. They'll make sure of that."

Jack sighed. "Strong as we are, we won't be able to take all of them at once, that's what you're saying, right? That is why you've been thinning the number of guilds that could pose a threat in the future. "

'True,' thought Alex, ' but there's still one factor that they can't account for. Traitors. But I have just the right plan for that.'

Alex intentionally took a wrong turn.

"Weren't we going to the Londoners' hideout?"

"We're taking a detour. Call Volkov and tell him to wait for us at Warehouse 15. "

"Are you sure? Warehouse 15 is disputed territory."

"That is exactly why I'm calling him there."

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They found Volkov standing in front of Warehouse 15 with his back towards them, his shoes stained red, twenty Knights surrounding him and a man on his knees in front of him, begging for his life.

"What on earth happened here." muttered Jack under his breath as he got out of the car.

Alex gave a dark smile. "I "accidently" gave orders to vacate Warehouse 15 on a public radio channel. "

"You and your games." Jack shook his head slowly.

"Mr. Volkov." Alex said loudly, and Volkov immediately turned to face him. "Which guild is it?"

"Some buggers from Birmingham. They call themselves the House of the Devil."

"Oh?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why, that's quite interesting." he said, putting stress on every word.

Alex walked towards Volkov, looking into his eyes. "How many were there?"

"Fifteen." Volkov replied nonchalantly.

"And you killed them all." asked Alex, his tone amused. "Did you not consider that we could get information out of them."

"I left one alive, boy." Volkov replied with a hint of irritation.

Alex did not miss the hint. "Do not lie to me Volkov. You were going to kill him." Alex drew closer to him. His eyes shone a deep shade of red. "You got carried away." he said. His voice barely more than a whisper. "We are on the brink of war ,Volkov. Loss of information cannot be afforded. "

Volkov didn't respond, but his countenance betrayed contempt. Alex broke eye contact slowly, and then knelt down infront of the man at Volkov's feet.

"What is your name?"

"Jo...Joseph." the man replied with a trembling voice.

"Joseph. I need you to listen very carefully to what I have to say, alright?"

"Yes."

"Do you have family in Birmingham."

The man didn't reply.

"I asked you something, Joseph."

"No, none."

"Are you sure?" asked Alex, drawing yet closer.

"Yes. I live alone." he replied, his voice cracking a little.

Alex forced a look of confusion on his face. "So your wife doesn't live with you?"

The man looked at Alex with a mixture of shock and fear. His bottom lip quivered for a while, and then he broke down.

"Please, " he cried through his tears. "Please don't hurt her! I'll do whatever you want. I'll..I'll be a snitch. A double agent. A traitor. Anything you want! Just leave her out of this!"

"I'm afraid I can't, Joseph. But I think you can. Can you?"

"What?"

"Contact her. Tell her to go to your Leader and inform him that fifteen of his men have been held captive in London. After that, you and her can live happily ever after ,alright?"

He stopped crying for a minute. "I-I'll do it. " he said after a while.

The man brought out his phone and swiftly rang up his wife.

"Honey?" he asked as soon as the call was picked up, and waited for a response. "Yes, I'm in London. Darling, I.." he almost broke down again, but gathered himself. "I need you to do something for me, alright? I've....oh gosh, I've been taken captive."

Alex interrupted him. "You're missing a detail. And make it believable for god's sake."

"What?" he asked, but turned towards the phone again, remembering the detail. "Yes, there's fifteen of us. We were all captured. Please, hurry, tell someone, anyone in the guild. Go to the Leader if you must. Gosh, darling, hurry. I don't know what they'll do to us. I'm risking my life calling you." The man waited a while as if he meant to end the call there, but he added a few more words. "Love, if anything happens to me, I need you to know, that I love you, I love you dearly." Saying this, he hung up.

"My, My! You really put all your acting skills into it, aye?" said Alex, clapping his hands as he stood up.

"Did I...do well?"

Alex took out a scalpel from his coat, crouched down and positioned its edge where the man's jugular should be. "Worry not, you did a splendid job."

Alex swiped the scalpel across his neck. Blood spurted out of the wound as if it were coming from a fountain. A few drops make it onto Alex's face. The man collapsed immediately, with both hands pressed to his neck.

Alex stood straight, brought out a handkerchief, and placed the scalpel back in his coat after cleaning it. "Onto the next life." he muttered through his breath.

"Come on, we've got work to do." he said to Volkov, and when he looked at him, the contempt on his face had changed to disgust.

"How did you know he had a wife?" asked Jack, who had been standing behind Alex for a while.

"He had an engagement ring. I took a gamble. Simple enough."

Jack's face betrayed disgust for one fleeting moment, but then the look was gone.

The three of them got into the car as the other members began reinforcing the Warehouse.

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They stood in front of another warehouse, but this one looked deserted.

But Alex wasn't going to miss the glint of the gun from the windows at the top.

"Announce us, Jack."

Jack nodded, and then shouted at full volume. "The Captain of the Dark Knights requests audience with the Leader of the Jackals."

For a while there was no movement, but then the door clicked open, and an extremely muscular man walked through.

"Follow me." he said, with a deep voice that sounded almost mechanical.

The three of them did as they were told, with Jack being in the lead. The air inside the warehouse smelled of metal. Blood. It was like walking into a lion's den.

They took a few turn, and were finally inside the open expanse of the warehouse.

About a hundred men sat scattered here and there, some playing cards, some talking, but when they entered all heads turned towards them. The room fell silent.

A man from the table nearest to them stood up, and as he did the man that led them here moved away.

He wore a heavy jacket, with hair so short that they looked shaved, and a half-finished cigar dangling from his mouth.

"So you're the chap, eh?" he said to Jack, as pulled the cigar from his mouth and put it out on the back his own hand. "The boy king of the Dark Knights." He put stress on the last two words as if it were a slang.

Jack said nothing, but moved aside to reveal Alex behind him. "You were talking to the wrong man, Gregory. "

"You would hide behind your men?" Gregory scoffed.

Alex gave a playful smile in return. "I didn't want to, Greg, but you're just so scary."

"Setting the mood for some aggressive negotiations, then?"

"I'm glad to see we already understand each other."

Gregory motioned to the men at his table, and then cleared it for them. Gregory and Alex took their seats, while Jack and Volkov stood behind Alex, and two men that Alex didn't know stood behind Gregory.

"I assume," Gregory had started speaking before they even sat down. "that you lot have already received a gift from the House of the Devil. " he said with a coy smile.

Alex leaned in and placed his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers.

"Indeed. We just received fifteen prisoners, unchallenged control over Warehouse 15 and a meeting with the Leader of the House of the Devil."

Gregory's face went white for a second but recovered immediately. "Warehouse 15 was unguarded. I got that information myself. I heard you sa-" Gregory stopped talking and his eyes widened as the realization dawned upon. "That information was fake. You gave it away intentionally." he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Alex's smirk widened. He leaned back in his chair. " So it WAS you that sent the House of the Devil my way, eh? "

"Yes, It was me." A sudden edge entered Gregory's voice. He slammed his hands on the table. "Do you think I do not see, King? Do you think WE do not see? You have been running around London acting like you own the damn place. All smaller guilds have either been dissolved or have joined bigger guilds. It would be obvious to even a child that if we put up no resistance, YOU are going to devour the entirety of London."

"If you see that much, then you must also see that you have made a terrible decision by allying with the House of the Devil."

Gregory's face curled with confusion and rage, and Alex could easily see that that wasn't what he had expected Alex to say. He probably knew what Gregory wanted him to say. To say that the Jackals were one of the few guilds that challenged Alex's powers. To threaten him and try to get him to submit in order to secure Alex's position. But being predictable wasn't a major Alex talent.

"You bring a guild from Birmingham into London in the middle of this confusion just because your own people couldn't capture a damn Warehouse. Are you trying to get London captured by gangs from Birmingham?"

Gregory slammed his hands harder on the table. " Shut up!" he growled. " You know nothing about this business, Boy! I've been here longer than you have lived for! London isn't falling as long the London Council stands."

"And that is what I am concerned about, Greg. The Council is not going to stand for much longer."

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