Rise Of The Godking 42 Plan

A few hours later.

In a house opposite one that was situated at the very edge of the Refinery, three men could be seen carefully peering out of a window, ready to duck away at the slightest hint of detection. Their brows were matted with sweat, and although two of their faces showed hints of confusion, the third had enough confidence for all three.

Their bodies ached from being in the same position for a long time, but they didn't dare to move. Daneel had only given the two men the most rudimentary of explanations before whisking them here after noticing that they were close to the appointed time, and from the way both of their lips were twitching, he could tell that the urge to ask what the h.e.l.l they were doing was very strong.

Even if they did speak, he would only have told them to wait, as it was almost time. Only five minutes had pa.s.sed since they had come here, but due to his dire warning that they needed to be out of sight as being detected would cost their lives, it felt like much longer.

Finally, after a few more seconds pa.s.sed, a group of 50 individuals emerged from a spot beside the house.

"Wait… where the h.e.l.l did they come from? I grew up here, I know each and every road! There isn't supposed to be anything there!"

Sebastian was right. Daneel had been just as surprised when he had first seen it… so before the man got himself into a tizzy, he hastened to explain.

The Refinery was situated within a large cavern whose walls were polished, making it seem as if they were in a dome. At the spot they were looking at, there only seemed to be a few inches of gap between the edge of the house and the curved stone, but in truth, that wasn't the case.

"It's a secret road, made cleverly to hide its presence unless you know where to look. It leads from the spot beside the teleportation area straight to here. That's how I came upon it, in the first place, and how I found this house: I was nearby when a few enforcers came around to clear all onlookers."

While he talked, they all watched as the 50 men and women entered the house. They had been accompanied by a group of ten enforcers who looked all around, and each time their eyes wandered over the house, Daneel and the two beside him would duck. From their vantage point, it wasn't very possible that the enforcers would be successful in seeing them… but it was still better to be safe rather than sorry.

The big group was made up of grubby folk dressed in rags even worse than most found in the Pit. On their backs were large sacks which seemed much heavier than they could hope to bear, but somehow, step-by-step, the men and women persevered.

Nothing was visible inside the house due to its blacked-out windows, but when Daneel still didn't say anything, the other two got the hint that they should be patient, again. It was a shorter wait than before, though, as just after a couple of minutes, the big group re-emerged.

They left the same way they had come, and a few seconds after that, the enforcers came out of the door, too. Surprisingly, each of them was dragging along two cloth sacks that looked exactly like the ones just borne away by that large group, and while still looking everywhere to ensure that they weren't being seen, they left in the same manner as they had come, albeit alone, rather than as a part of a combined retinue.

Daneel sat back down as peace returned to the surroundings. Beside him, Reese and Sebastian also settled onto the floor, and together, they stared at Daneel, waiting to find out exactly what they had witnessed.

"I was just as confused as you when I saw this scene play out a week ago… but after following them back to the teleportation area, the mystery was revealed. They will reach those crystals, and then, they will go toward the tower. They will unload the sacks inside, and a few hours from now, the contents will be distributed to all the houses in the Refinery. Yes… you guessed it right."

Reese mouthed a word, and Daneel nodded.

"Food. That's what we're seeing: the fifty sacks are supposed to be the food meant for the hundreds of people in the refinery. More particularly, they are the meat and vegetables that should go to the hard-working members of this layer. Yet… almost half of what is sent is stolen. Those sacks look full, but they're actually just filled with paper that is burned in the tower. I just confirmed that yesterday, on a routine accounting check. My friends… we knew that Lord Burrow was gouging away food, but what we've seen here reveals a very important thing: he's doing it secretly. Let's go back. I'll explain the rest at home."

The other two were silent on the journey back. They were clearly thinking of the ramifications of what Daneel had unveiled, and just like him, he could tell that they must have been quite shocked about the revelation.

Until now, no one had bothered to ask exactly how the situation with food had changed in the two layers. They had just chalked it up to the greediness of the one in charge, and as anyone who asked questions would be asking for a whip to their back, they hadn't investigated any further.

On the way, they kept ducking into the alleyways between the houses to stay out of sight of the enforcers. Reese and Sebastian were slaves, after all, dressed in the grey, ragged garb typical to those of their station, and even though they were supposed to be allowed to visit their father, he had heard from Gerard that they had been picked on, many times.

As soon as the door shut, Sebastian gave vent to his thoughts.

"It's perplexing, yes, I agree… but how does it help us? How does it matter that he's doing it covertly? It doesn't change the amount of food reaching our mouths, does it?"

"You always were a hasty one, my boy. That's what I thought, at first, too… but the more you ponder on it, the more an opportunity presents itself. Okay, okay, I might be lying, a bit… I wouldn't have seen it even if it hit me the face. But he did. So I'll let him tell you."

Gerard took a sip from his tea, smiling faintly as he waited for Daneel to tell his sons what he had already told him. Reese still looked thoughtful, but when Daneel finally began to start talking, he stopped and looked up.

"For as long as I can remember, my father… or, I should say, the one I call my father was always the king of this place. He didn't waste any opportunity to show everyone what that meant. Even though each of them come from esteemed families, all of those on the surface need to bow and sc.r.a.pe whenever he is near. You might not know this because you've spent your lives for the most part down here, but pride is a deadly sword there that has led to many deaths. My plan is simple: I want to use the sword… to cut off Lord Burrow's head."

What he said was so dangerous that unconsciously, itself, his voice reduced to a whisper when he reached that last part. At the same time, his eyes blazed with determination, though, and with a flourish, he took out a piece of parchment that he had stored inside his clothes.

As he spread it on the table, the others leaned over to see that there were four bubbles on it, each containing words. Three of the bubbles were in a straight line, and the last was below the one in the center.

He pointed at each and spoke.

"These are our targets. Jezaro, the team of guards a.s.signed to his household, and his butler. If we handle them…Lord Burrow awaits. All we need is a shred of evidence. You see, he's taking away the food…so I'm sure that he's hiding the productivity of the Refinery and the Pit, which has dropped over the years. All we need is a single shred of proof. We take it to Harrold…and we succeed. But to find it…we must enter the lion's cave. With your help…that is what I intend to do."

Gerard took another sip. Reese's eyes were fixed on the parchment. Sebastien looked at him as if he was crazy.

It wasn't the celebratory reaction he had expected, but Daneel settled for it. Moving his finger to the leftmost circle of the three in a straight line, he sighed and said, "First target: Jezaro. Or Jezara. Both of them can kill me with a punch…but somehow, I need to find a way to get around them. Time to brainstorm to make sure that doesn't happen!"