Chapter 234: Two Can Play This Game
In the East Market, the chaos gradually subsided.
The three Ravencrest merchants were subdued by arriving soldiers, while the three craftsmen planted by Gius had all sustained injuries. At the same time, news came from the West Market: there had been another outbreak of violence, and craftsmen were injured there as well.
"What on earth is going on?" Gius frowned deeply. Everything had been proceeding according to plan, but now things had clearly spiralled far beyond his expectations.
"Immediately order all craftsmen to return to the Machinery Department. I fear we’ve fallen into a trap." He said urgently after thinking for a moment.
He turned to look at the Goldwynd Family Restaurant and saw Steve turning and heading back inside.
He asked. "What’s the situation inside the restaurant?"
"Two of the guards went missing, and no one knows where they went." One of the staff replied.
Gius’s expression grew increasingly grave. "Move quickly, I must report to His Highness." The Secret Guards dispersed at once, while Gius hurried to the Prince’s Castle.
"What? The craftsmen were attacked?" Simon was slightly surprised after Gius explained the situation in both the East and West Markets.
To be safe, he turned to Thomas and said. "Immediately order the city garrison to shut the gates. No one is to leave the city without my command."
Then, he said to Gius. "Come with me, we’re going to the Machinery Department now."
As the two men stepped out, the signal bell rang across Brambleford, the sound of three short and two long chimes, the emergency signal for all craftsmen to return to the Machinery Department.
By the time they arrived, some craftsmen had already returned. After waiting for about an hour, nearly all had made it back.
"My Lord, what happened?" Bjorn had also rushed over to the Machinery Department, his expression tense.
"I fear something serious has occurred." Simon glanced over the assembled craftsmen, and something felt off. He was very familiar with everyone here, having spent plenty of time at the department.
"Your Highness, Tony is missing!" One of the craftsmen suddenly shouted.
Simon nodded; that was it. Tony was the one missing.
Upon hearing the name, Bjorn’s face darkened immediately. He understood; the various factions had their eyes on the Machinery Department. The craftsmen were clearly their target.
"My Lord, could it be..." Bjorn began hesitantly.
"Tony has likely been abducted. I truly underestimated how bold these people could be. I thought they would try bribery, but they went straight for kidnapping." Simon said solemnly.
Gius’s face flushed red with anger. He barked. "Who was assigned to follow Tony?"
"It was me, Commander." A Secret Guard said fearfully. "I saw Tony enter the street near the Wayne Family Ward and didn’t follow further. That’s how we’ve always done it..."
"Then how could he be taken right at the Wayne Ward?" Gius asked, bewildered.
One of the craftsmen answered. "Only if the ward guards were changing shifts at the time, there would be no patrols on that street."
"A meticulously planned operation... Seems they’ve been preparing for this longer than we thought." Simon said with a bitter smile.
Indeed, his Secret Guard had only been formed recently, while William’s intelligence network was generations old. King Ravencrest had a mature and far-reaching espionage system. In comparison, his own was still young and inexperienced.
Tony was one of the Machinery Department’s key craftsmen, not only involved in steelmaking, but also in cannon production and the development of the water-powered forging hammer.
If he had been abducted, then everything he knew could potentially fall into enemy hands and the consequences would be dire.
"Find him. I don’t care if you have to turn Brambleford upside down, bring him back!" Simon ordered.
Furious, Gius said. "My Lord, why not arrest Steve and interrogate him?"
"Do you have proof? Can you say for certain which faction took Tony?" Simon asked.
Gius’s face fell with guilt. He shook his head.
"The Secret Guard still lacks thoroughness. This failure is on your shoulders." Simon said sternly.
Gius dropped to his knees. "I accept any punishment, My Lord."
"Whether you’ll be punished or not depends on whether you can make up for your mistake. Tony must not leave my territory." Simon declared.
"Yes, My Lord, I will act at once." Gius’s eyes burned with fury. He’d been played, and this was a direct slap to his face.
As he stood, he turned to the guard who had lost Tony. "Why are you still standing here? Notify every Secret Guard agent and mobilise all informants. Find Tony! If His Highness takes my head, I’ll be taking yours first."
The frightened agent trembled and ran from the room.
Gius also turned and left.
Bjorn sighed. "My Lord, with so many craftsmen and the Secret Guard’s limited manpower, it’s impossible to watch everyone so closely. Brambleford is crawling with spies. We need a more stable solution."
Simon nodded. "You’re right. But it’s not easy."
Spies had always been difficult to guard against. The best way to fight espionage was with counter-espionage, through the very existence of the Secret Guard led by Gius and Richard.
Beyond that, all craftsmen in the Machinery Department, Military Workshop, and other critical facilities had signed confidentiality agreements. These contracts explicitly stated that leaking Brambleford’s secrets would result in severe punishment.
This was meant to prevent bribery from within. But neither he nor Gius had anticipated the spies would be so bold as to resort to abduction.
Just as he was stewing over the matter, Gius returned, this time with Richard in tow.
Gius wore a sour expression, but Richard had a cheerful smile. "My Lord, we’ve caught the man who abducted Tony. He claims to be the heir of King Ravencrest. We await your decision."
"You caught him? How did you manage that?" Simon asked, surprised.
The Secret Guard was now divided into Left and Right Divisions; Gius handled internal affairs within the territory, while Richard focused on external intelligence.
Richard explained. "It was a fortunate coincidence, My Lord. Gius has never been in favour of recruiting street thugs as agents. But I’ve always believed these people are the best candidates for informants. So I secretly brought a batch into the network.
"At the same time, the Ravencrest merchants seemed to have the same idea and also recruited some thugs. But one of their new ’recruits’ was actually one of ours. Once he learned of the plan, I decided to play along and see what the Ravencrest merchants were really up to.
"I didn’t expect they’d receive last-minute orders to kidnap Tony today."
He paused, then added. "There was no time to inform Gius, so I led a team myself and intercepted the carriage mid-route."
Upon hearing this, Simon finally breathed a sigh of relief. The money and manpower he had poured into the Secret Guard were finally showing results.
"You did that just to make me look bad in front of His Highness," Gius muttered bitterly. His one chance to redeem himself was gone.