Nero Walker, Book 2 Ch.73 (105) (Patreon)

Vera was enjoying an early lunch while going over the status reports from her field teams. Taking a sip of her tea, her eyes darted across the hovering screens assimilating the information with a glance. Her skills in the arena of paperwork were unmatched, and she used them like a master swordsman scything through a sea of never-ending enemies.

Yet, she never lost sight of the bigger picture. Each and every order she sent out was part of a larger game. She maneuvered her pieces, blocking her enemies while advancing her agenda. She turned their plots and plans against them, while inching ever closer to her goal. What that goal actually was, she wasn’t entirely sure. She had too many plans and contingencies to focus on just one. Perhaps she would take over all of Dorchester’s shipping. Or maybe she would take control of the city-seat. Maybe she would apply for a charter and found her own city. The details were immaterial, because as long as she came out ahead, she was happy.

Tearing her attention away from her screens, she took a delicate bite of her finger sandwich. With a smile, she recalled a conversation she once had with her beloved Nicholas. He had asked what she was trying to accomplish, and she had replied that she simply wanted to win.

Vera chuckled at the memory. Nicholas had spent an hour lecturing her on the ambiguity of her goal. For a scientist like him, the concept of an arbitrary victory condition was unacceptable. He had gotten so worked up about it, she couldn’t help but take him to the bedroom. Afterwords, she had sent him into a frenzy when she smiled at him and declared, “I win”.

As she was recalling the good times with her absent husband, she was surprised to feel a connection request from him through her link.

Opening the connection, she asked, “Nicholas, are you alright? Shouldn’t you still be in the wilds?”

She could tell his psyche was stressed, but also more confident than she remembered. Apparently, his recent adventure had done him some good.

Nick’s calm voice stated, “Vera, my love. Unfortunately, we had to abandon the army due to another assassination attempt. Nero handled it. Details later. We rerouted to Gate 14. No casualties. Wesker and Vikander are still unknowns. Nero captured an assassin, and we are on our way to drop him off at the Tower of Law. Possible scry-tracking, we’ve taken steps to throw them off. Assassin says that he was hired by Lord Blackwood. So, be careful.”

Vera sat in stunned silence, focusing on every word coming through her link. When Nick finished, she asked coldly, “Needs?”

Nick replied, “Loyal guards to ensure our freedom. Give the lead to Nero, he says he’s got a plan, although I doubt he’s thought that far ahead. Currently he’s dealing with the Gate 14 guards. You’d be proud of him, he’s tricking them into providing us an escort while keeping Sergeant Wesker from interfering. He told me to tell you, ‘Look up all the relevant laws. Figure out worst case scenarios if we make a big stink. Then come up some compromises that get us paid. Make sure to put the bomb in place, so they know we mean business. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.’ That’s all he said. And, he was reluctant to go into detail. I don’t know if he was being mysterious, or if he’s just making it up as the game progresses. Do you know what he meant by ‘the bomb’?”

Vera’s smile turned cruel, and she said, “I know exactly what he means. How long until you reach the gate?”

Nick took a few seconds to think, and said, “I’m pretty sure we’re heading toward a side gate. I don’t see Gate 14, but I’m sure we’re in the area. Give me a minute.”

She felt his connection dim, and she assumed he was conferring with one of the gate 14 guards. Seconds later, she felt his amusement over the link.

He said, “Yup. Gate 14, side gate 1. I barely steered us past Gate 15. Anyway, we should be through the gate in 45 minutes. Do you have any contacts nearby?”

Vera’s mind worked through the problem, as the screens in front of her cycled through her records. She said, “You’ll see 10 mercenaries waiting for you just past the gate. The lead is named Natalie Keening. They’ll be wearing Precision Shipping cloaks. As requested, Nero will have command. I’ll make sure the local Tower of Law has someone on sight to escort you. Code-phrase will be ‘I simply want to win.’ Let Nero know that the bomb will be ready. Anything else?”

Nick chuckled at the memory the code-phrase brought to mind. He said, “Really Vera? ‘I simply want to win’? You’re terrible. Putting that aside, we don’t need anything else. Hopefully, our little lord Walker knows what he’s doing. And, I’ll pass on the message. Be safe, my love” He then closed the connection.

Vera smiled at the development. Quickly sending out some pings, she arranged for Ms. Keening to meet her boys. Then she went on to contact the Gate 14 Tower of Law. As she waited for her contact to accept the connection, she thought to herself, ‘Maybe I should take the city-seat earlier than I planned? Nero sure won’t want to do it.’

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As they headed toward the wall, Nero’s mind was racing. Although he did his best to project the image of a confident noble, he worried that he had missed something. In the movies, there was always something that the main character overlooked that came back and bit him in the ass. Mentally, he went over his plan, trying to think what his opponents could do to screw it up.

He was walking at the front of their column, and next to him was the Gate 14 guard who had seemed to be in charge. Nero looked up at the woman, seeing her stern face along with her wide shoulders. She looked like the kind of person who took their duty seriously. Nero could work with that.

Looking back over his shoulder, he assessed the rest the group. Wesker was still bracketed by the two guards assigned to watch him. Cathleen was walking behind Mike, keeping an eye on him. Nick and Rose were walking calmly, while keeping their eyes peeled for trouble. The remaining guards were on the sides, making sure the crowds stayed back.

That’s when he realized that the streets were parting easily for them. At first he had thought it was because of the guards, but now he wasn’t so sure. The people all stopped to stare at him. Nero could see them whispering to each other, and smiling as his group walked down the street.

Frowning in confusion, Nero looked around. Turning his head to the guard who was walking next to him, he asked, “Why is everyone so interested in us?”

The guard’s face showed a hint of pride as she replied, “They recognize you. You’re the little lord that kills with a smile. They just want to thank you for facing the wilds for them. We all appreciate what you do for us.”

Nero nearly stumbled at her answer. He felt numb, and couldn’t seem to piece together what she was saying. Slowly looking around, he took another look at the citizens of Dorchester who were stepping aside to let his group pass. The shock didn’t let up, as he finally recognized the looks on their faces. It was gratitude and pride. ‘Oh my God. They’re fans! How in the hell did I get fans? This can’t still be about that arena thing, can it?’ he wondered.

The guard was still looking at Nero, and seemed to be enjoying his stunned expression. She smiled and added salt to the wound. “We have your poster up at our guard station. They’re not going to believe that I got to help you on one of your missions.” At the thought of the mission, her smile vanished, and she returned to scanning the crowd for trouble. “Do you have any intelligence on what we might be facing?”

Nero’s mind stuttered like a car failing to start. Out of all the possible scenarios he had played out in his head, he had never considered using his celebrity. Is that why they just believed him? Was he not a good actor? Did they just… recognize him?

“M’lord, is everything all right?” the guard asked with some concern.

Nero turned to look up at the guard who had a worried look on her face. “Um… I’m fine. No problem. I was just thinking through my next steps.”

Nodding seriously, she returned to scanning the crowd.

Nero tried to put a serious expression on his face, while doing his best to ignore the staring citizens watching them pass. ‘OK. So I’m a celebrity. Didn’t Nick mention something about the army using my image for recruitment posters or something? And then there was that arena thing with the assassin… well, the first assassin. I guess that makes sense.’ thought Nero.

His mind started to speed up as he came to grips with the new information. If he was a celebrity, then the city-lord had even more reason to stop him from getting to Tower of Law. Or, if not her, then whoever planned the attempt on his life. He needed to take precautions. It was time to abuse his celebrity, and start using word-of-mouth to control the narrative.

He turned to the guard and said, “Guardian, what’s your name?”

She looked down at him, surprised at the question. “Guard Gibson, m’lord,” she said quickly.

Nero tried to look as serious as possible, while saying, “It’s an honor to meet you Gibson. As I said before, my team and I were out in the wilds serving with the elites when an assassination team ambushed us.” Gesturing over his shoulder, he said, “I don’t know who was involved, but the team’s sergeant led us right to the ambush spot. That might mean nothing, or it might mean that he was involved. I managed to subdue one of the assassins. It’s that man in black behind us. He’s agreed to provide information on who masterminded the plot. I won’t tell you exactly what he said, because there are some powerful people involved.”

He watched her surprise turn to anger, and then to fear. “I don’t want you or your men to be put in any more danger than necessary. Yet, for the sake of Dorchester, I have to get that man to the Tower of Law as soon as possible. Whatever happens, I must succeed.”

As expected, the city guard who probably rarely sees action reassured him, “My men and I don’t fear the nobles.” She leaned a little closer and whispered, “Who did he say is behind it?”

Nero made a point to look around, and ensure that there wasn’t anyone listening. He replied quietly, with some venom in his voice, “According to him, the city-lord’s consort, Lord Blackwood. Apparently, he wanted to kill me and my team, then leave our bodies to be picked apart by the horrors of the wilds. All because I refused to stand by and let the men and women Dorchester fight in my place. If anything happens to me, make sure that assassin gets to the Tower of Law. And…. Do what you can to protect my team. They don’t deserve to die for some noble’s vanity.”

Nero could see the righteous fury in her eyes. He made sure not to smile. ‘By tonight, everyone she knows will have heard the story, and then passed it on.’ he thought with pride.

“You can count on us, m’lord. We won’t let you down,” she promised.

Nero gave her a firm nod, showing he believed her. “We should increase our pace. Who knows what they’ll try,” he said.

She nodded, then shouted over her shoulder. “Let’s pick up the pace. We have somewhere to be.”

Nero tried and failed to hide his smile as they started jogging. They must have made quite the sight barreling down the street, as the people got out of their way without issue. In fact, Nero could sometimes see groups of them starting to clap for them as the group passed by. ‘This must be how John Cena feels when he goes out for a run,’ he thought.