"I don't know, sir."
Jack frowned. "You have no idea where Lord Burke is?"
Sergeant McGuire took a sip of water before shaking his head. "Burke was out in the market when he got taken, but I wasn't with him." The sergeant breathed in deeply. "He had two of my best men with him…"
"Excuses for incompetence!" Lieutenant Duncan declared. "Lord Burke's safety was your priority, yet you've allowed for him to go missing!" The boy's tone was getting on Jack's nerve, and Bryant appeared behind Duncan to quietly move him away.
"Sir, I can assure you-"
Jack held up his hand silencing the man. "I understand."
McGuire let out a sigh of relief. When Jack had relieved the embassy, McGuire and his men had been on the edge of death. It seemed that he'd arrived just in the nick of time; any longer and they would have started dying of thirst. After drinking not one but two canteens full of water, the sergeant was ready for Jack to question him.
Not that he had answers for any of Jack's inquiries. Lord Burke's whereabouts were still an unsolved mystery. Still, Jack had a mission to do and he wouldn't let his lack of information impede that; he just needed to find another source.
"Sergeant McGuire, do you know Sadera well?" Jack probed.
The sergeant gave a discouraged shrug. "Well enough, sir."
"And you've encountered the local banditry, I presume?"
"Well…"
Bryant caught onto Jack's intention. "The local gangs, where do they like to gather? Pubs? Brothels?" He tended to be more blunt than his captain.
"Akusho," McGuire muttered. "It's the city's slums. There's a tavern just outside the east fountain that they like to gather around."
"Thank you," Jack replied with a smile of reassurance.
Behind them, the Saderan commander tapped his foot impatiently. Right… the opium. Jack didn't like to spread the drug; he had seen what it did to those who used it, but he'd promised the Saderans he would get it for them. I wonder if they've gained an addiction yet.
He decided not to think any further about the matter. "Sergeant, I hear you've got a stockpile of opium. These kind men," Jack gestured to the Saderans who'd less than an hour ago been trying to break down the embassy door, "require said opium."
Sergeant McGuire rubbed his face. "Right, I'll get it for them, sir."
"Excellent. Now, I'm going to find Lord Burke. I will leave my troop here under your command to ensure the embassy's safety; understand?" Jack didn't really believe the embassy would need the extra men, but for what he planned to do, Jack couldn't have fifty men following him around Sadera.
"Thank you, sir."
Jack nodded and spun to face his two lieutenants. "Bryant, I want you and Trooper Galway to come with me. Get everyone else to stay here and help Sergeant McGuire defend the embassy."
Duncan frowned at the order. "Sir, shouldn't I also accompany you? Surely it would be a better fit for a man of my status and skill set."
Jack and Bryant exchanged a glance. Truth be told, Duncan's request wasn't without merit; though, not for the reasons Duncan imagined. If Jack left the boy with the rest of his troop, he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him; that could result in a disaster for everyone involved. The decision was made: "Alright then, Lieutenant. You'll come with me as well."
A wide smile briefly came over Duncan's face before he adopted his typical arrogant smirk again. There's hope for you yet…
"Get the men into order." Jack ordered. His lips formed into a grin. "I've got to talk with our beautiful companions for a moment."
He walked past his lieutenants and toward the three female knights watching him. Jack greeted them with a small bow. "Enjoy the show?" he asked with a hint of humor.
Pina and the white haired knight, whose name he'd yet to learn, rolled their eyes; Bozes became slightly red in the face.
"Find your ambassador?" Pina asked.
Jack shook his head.
Pina nodded in understanding. "Then what shall you do?"
"I've got a plan. It might cause a bit of a disruption, but it's the only plan I've got," he replied, straightening out his uniform.
"And what plan would that be?"
Jack shrugged. "Have you ever been to Akusho?"
The Rose Knights had, in fact, never been to Akusho. Quite typical of nobility to neglect the poor. Jack couldn't blame them; if he had all the wealth in the world, he wouldn't spend time in a filthy place like Akusho.
By god it was filthy.
Jack had thought London was bad, but this district topped any rat infested slum he'd seen in the British capital. The mud-caked buildings had a fearsome stench that permeated like rotted meat, and rats the size of cats scurried in the shadows. All manners of demi-human creatures lined the street, huddling in fear of the passing cavalrymen. Suffice to say, it was a terrible place. Bryant and Duncan seemed to be equally as disgusted; though, Trooper Galway didn't seem phased.
Jack shifted in his horse's saddle. He had a feeling that his coin purse might go missing from his belt if he wasn't careful about it.
In front of him was the east fountain and next to that was what looked to be a rundown tavern, just where McGuire had said it would be. Jack signalled for his men to dismount with him; the Rose Knights did the same. He had a plan, or at least the outline of a plan, which he hoped would work.
"Galway, watch our horses and make sure no one runs off with them. Everyone else, with me."
They approached the tavern and stood just outside the door. Jack didn't like what he was about to do, but it was the only way he'd get the information he needed. Criminals understood only one thing: force. He needed to apply that force to find Lord Burke. It wasn't like he'd be able to just ask them nicely.
Still, Jack didn't like the excitement he was feeling.
He took in a deep breath and drew his pistol from its holster. Six rounds then I'll only have my sword. He made sure each chamber was loaded properly then checked his cavalry sabre to make sure it was still sharp. Bryant and Duncan mimicked his actions.
Jack took another deep breath. Pistol in hand, he turned to face the tavern entrance. He kicked open the door.
"Everyone on your knees!"
Shocked faces greeted him. A dozen men raised their hands as he entered the room. That wasn't good enough; they were still standing. He fired a shot over their heads.
"I said on your fucking knees!" Five rounds.
They all began to comply with his request, all but one. He was a tall and burly man with a large sword hanging from his belt, the type of man to confront authority. Jack judged him in a split second.
His revolver jolted in his hand. The man collapsed. Four rounds.
Those who'd been slow to comply had an immediate shift in attitude. They all dropped to their knees, whimpering in fear. A shred of doubt came into Jack's mind questioning whether he was really justified in what he was about to do. He suppressed that doubt.
"Everyone is to drop their weapons and get against the back wall!" he commanded.
Swords and clubs clattered to the ground, and the men hurried to face the wall. They were scared. Good. He had control over the situation.
"I do not want to kill any of you," Jack stated firmly. "But I will not hesitate if I don't get the information I need."
One of the men turned to look at Jack. "We don't know any-" Jack hit the man with his pistol.
"Did I ask you a question yet?!"
"N-no…" he gasped.
"Then get against the damned wall!" Jack waited until the man had complied before continuing, "I need to know the location of a man named Lord Webster Burke. You fine gentlemen are going to tell me where he is."
"I don't know…" A man in a green tunic whimpered.
"You don't know, huh?" Jack let out a long sigh. "I don't believe you." He grabbed the man by the back of his collar. "Duncan, Bryant, make sure the rest of them don't go anywhere. I'm going to have a private talk with this one."
He roughly dragged the man into a small side room and shut the door. Pina and Bozes watched with wide eyes. This was a side of him they'd not seen before.
"P-please... " The man's eyes started to tear up. "I've n-never heard of a Lord Burke…"
Jack nodded slowly before shoving the man onto the ground. "Alright, I believe you." He held his gun into the air. It jolted in his hand. Three rounds.
"Stay still and be quiet, or the next shot will be for real," he whispered in the man's ear.
The man silently cried as Jack exited the room. He nodded to Bryant; they'd done this routine before. Duncan on the other hand was visibly shocked. "D-Did you just…?"
Jack held up his hand, silencing the boy. He turned to address the remaining men. "It appears that another patron has died." He went silent to let it sink in. "May he rest in peace, amen."
"You bastard!" One of the men on the wall tried to charge at Jack. He shot the man through the chest. Two rounds.
"Does anyone else want to try that?!" Jack scanned the wall for any more rebellious souls. "No? Then I need you to start telling me where Lord Burke is!"
A short man began to sob. "Please… I-I have a family."
"Do you now?" Jack mockingly asked. "So does Lord Burke, but he's not here to complain about it!"
"I-I…"
Jack grabbed the man by his tunic and dragged him from the wall. The man sobbed, but Jack didn't listen and shoved him toward the tavern's exit.
"Run," he whispered.
The man didn't need to be told twice; he sprinted out the door as fast as his legs would carry him. Jack raised his revolver toward the sky and pulled the trigger. The man flinched at the sound but kept running. One round.
Jack turned back to the other men. "That one didn't even struggle. Who's next?!"
No one spoke up.
He spat onto the ground and strode up to another man. This one was a little fatter than the others and wore a set of strange spectacles. Jack placed his gun to the back of the man's head.
"What can you tell me, hmm? You look like a smart man; I'm sure you know where Lord Burke is."
The man trembled. "I-I am just a scribe. Please sir… I know nothing."
Jack scoffed. "Likely story. You have five seconds to fess up."
"I swear…"
Jack began counting. "Five."
"Please…"
"Four."
A drop of sweat trickled down the man's face.
"Three."
"Emroy save my soul…"
"Two."
"I don't know!"
"One." Jack's finger tightened around the trigger.
"Wait!" another man shouted. "I know where he is!"
Jack removed his pistol from the fat man's head and walked over to his new subject. Behind him, he heard the fat man fall to his knees.
"Where is Lord Burke?" Jack asked simply.
The man muttered a curse. "Bessara has him. He's been keeping Burke as a guest until he can get a ransom for him."
Jack smiled; he was getting somewhere. "Who's Bessara?"
"Have you been living under a rock? He's one of the crime lords of this district."
Jack had assumed as much. "Let's say I have been living under a rock. Where can I find him?"
The man began to laugh maniacally. "You don't need to find him." He took a deep breath of air. "After what you've done here, he'll be the one finding you!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes!" The man shouted. "And when he does, I'll be the one to cut your head from your neck for him! You won't get away with-"
Jack used his last round on the man.
Looking back to the remaining men on the wall, Jack raised his voice. "You're free to go. Tell Bessara that he'll be able to find me in this tavern. I wish to speak with him."
Jack nodded to his lieutenants and they holstered their pistols. The men they'd interrogated, including the one in the side room, fled from the tavern as soon as they did. Jack reloaded his pistol and holstered it.
"Did you have to do it like that?"
He turned to face the disapproving look of Princess Pina. Bozes was behind her, uncertainty plastered across her face.
"It was the fastest and easiest way," he answered simply.
"You tormented them."
"So? Does Sadera not have men who specialize in torture and interrogation?"
"That's different-"
"It's not," he stated with a firm voice. "If anything, what I did was kinder."
Pina could see she wouldn't win an argument with him, so she left the building to check on the horses. Bozes and the other knight followed her.
Duncan approached Jack and gave a shaky salute. "S-Sir, I'll be with Galway and the horses." He rushed off before Jack could respond.
Behind him, Bryant clapped Jack's shoulder. "It had to be done," he reassured. "There wasn't any other way."
"Yes…" Jack agreed. "I've never liked doing this; not in India, not in Zululand, not in Sadera." He tried to convince himself of that fact, but a part of him said that it wasn't true.
"So, we're supposed to wait here until this 'Bessara' shows up?" Bryant asked.
Jack nodded.
"I'll leave you to your thoughts then," he said, exiting the tavern.
Jack watched him go before finding a chair to sit down on. He held out his hands; they were shaking. They were shaking, not because of fear or hatred but because he was excited. He enjoyed the rush he got from kicking in the door. He enjoyed the control his pistol gave him over the men. He enjoyed the killing he did.
That terrified him.
I have returned.
At least for a while that is. So for certain reasons I'm pretty much stuck in my home for the next two weeks with limited human contact. Oh well, it gives me a chance to write I guess. It's been a while since I last posted a chapter, but in that time I think I've regained some of my confidence, at least enough confidence to start writing again. I'm not going to return to Little Green Men; I still hate what I've written there. This story on the other hand I think can be salvaged; we'll see how I feel after I return to regular life. For the time being though, I have returned.
