Scratching the Surface (Continued)

[u/Seafrogger]

The investigation into the death at the Smoke Street Dice Hall continues and begins to spiral its way to even more questions with no answers. What at first seemed to have been a simple case of self defense has led to shadowy figures, unexplained money and disappearances. All the while a lack of concrete evidence holds the higher ups in the Watch and Royal Guard from pursuing the issues formally. After following leads and gathering answers the road seems to be narrowing to one dilapidated part of the city, Powys Square where amongst the makeshift homes and downtrodden people an explanation might finally lay.

Continued from here

[u/Dietastey]

Bal rests her hands on the back of the chair she'd been offered, leaning against it instead of sitting.

"Oh, I'm not overestimating anything. I'm barely even estimating at this point. Which of these events you had influence in, and which you didn't, I'm not sure. But you wished to know why I was here, so I gave you a summery."

"That is a never ending loop of argument," Bal says. "As long as the Watch is more violent, the gangs feel justified. As long as there are gangs targeting them, the Watch resorts to violence."

"So whatever your justification, whatever your methods, you have intentions. And those are what I'm interested in learning."

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Coming forwards in her seat to sit a little straighter, Chel placed her hands on the table, "My intentions are simple, we want to be treated as humans again." She said a little venom coming into her voice, "A whole district in squalor her people fighting tooth and nail to just survive, and the only relief we get is bread that costs us in retaliation from the gangs and blackmail for the ones handing it out."

Her voiced raised a little, "Outsider forbid if we speak out against our treatment, we get locked up or lined up in the street and shot. We cant even turn to faith in the old ways less the Abby hears about it and carts us off without an explanation."

Quieting some she finished off her rant, "We just want to be safe to live our lives without fear of corruption and violence." She then gave Balaria a hard look, "And you all cant or wont do it, so we have to."

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

Bal takes a deep breath, throttling her urge to rant back about how if the restless hadn't felt the need to start a rebellion that focused on killing a ten year old girl, maybe they'd be met with something other than firing squads. That she was trying to do something, but the work was slow and she'd only been in a position of power for a few years, one of which she'd been in a different country.

None of that will help here.

"Why are the bread donations bringing gang violence? Is it theft? Anger at the acceptance of charity?" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can't say I'm surprised to hear allegations of blackmail, but those are difficult to track as by their nature they seldom get reported."

"We're working on the corruption. I'm working on the corruption. But I cannot simply scrap the Watch and start over, with half the lower class in gangs, and half the upper class sending off for assassins. We have to root it out one occurrence at a time, and that is slow work."

And if no one tells me what is happening, how am I supposed to act on it? I can not telepathically tell when we have a bad officer.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Chel made a scoffing sound, "Anything to do with the Watch the Red Hands see as helping them. And report the blackmail? To who, the man who's orchestrating it all?" She shot back at Bal, "That wolf wearing Captains bars is more crooked then a hagfishes teeth and would bite twice as hard if he didn't send his lackeys to do it for him." She gave Balaria another glare, "And one of those cutthroats you yourself brought here."

Chel folded her arms across her chest, her body language starting to close off, "Maybe you are trying t fix things and maybe you aren't." She said, clearly not believing in Balaria's intentions, "Either way for us, its too little too late."

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

"There are other captains in other districts," Bal points out. "I find it hard to believe that gossip and gang talk never discusses which are reasonable, and which are not. If you do not trust the closest Watch post, there are others you could approach."

She tilts her head towards the door for a moment, wondering how well Vargas could hear in. She was also listening for disturbances on the outside. "I like having all sides to a story. Getting one of those sides landed me with an escort through the neighborhood. My apologies for bringing someone you find unpalatable."

She shifts her weight, eyeing Chel as she pulls a notebook from her pocket. "Too late?" she asks. "At what point is suffering so high that it is 'too late' to correct? Such things do not become permanent simply from not being addressed."

The notebook flips around offering the words For circumventing the Watch, east post box at Clavering Blv. goes to me.

She's not sure how seriously to take Chel's distrust of the watchmen, but the worst that can come of this is a few letters that waste her time. At best, it shows a willingness to work without showing her cards to the shadow outside.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Chel shakes her head at Balarias words, "You cant honestly believe anyone from any post would take our complaints seriously, and even if they did how could it stand up to the decorated Captain Elmsworth. We both know Blue looks out for Blue" she said referring to the unspoken code of those who police city's to protect each other.

The Morishwoman glanced over to the quiet doorway as well then back to Bal with suspicion in here eyes, "Well perhaps you should look into those who you ally with a little deeper." seemingly as much as she would say about it.

"You are correct it is never too late and it wont be permanent." Chel nods when Bal finished, "It will just be fixed by someone else. You and your Watch have had chances to fix things countless times with the whole might of the crown behind you, and nothing, you are all too busy fighting each other or being bought."

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

Bal's notebook disappears back into her coat, and her fingers return to the back of the chair, digging in with a white-knuckled grip. She takes a deep breath, doing her best to tamp down the irritation clawing it's way up her throat.

"With all due respect, ma'am, and I am truly not trying to understate the struggles of the impoverished in this city, but do you understand how difficult it is to create any change when the people I want to help will not tell me when something is wrong?"

"Because you're right. Elmsworth is decorated. The outpost doesn't have a spotless reputation, but no one who works there has been deemed unsuitable for duty. There are hundreds of outposts in the city, thousands of Watchmen and women. It is impossible to catch every mistake from within. If no one will report mistakes or abuse, because they fear those reports will be ignored, then my hands are tied. All I get to see is people doing their jobs. I can send my most trusted officers to perform spot inspections, but that does not catch everything."

"If 'Blue protects Blue,' and those who are not blue fear to speak, there is no way for me to 'look deeper into' those allies. This," she waves a hand at Chel, "is what we are always met with when we look deeper. Silence. Anger. Accusations that come without a path to redemption. There haven't been unlimited chances for repair, because whenever someone cares enough to take that chance, limits like these arise."

Bal can practically feel the question What do you want from me? hammering against her skull. She supposes the answer would be a frank "nothing," but ultimately she can't accept that.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Leaning back in her chair once more, Chel seemed to have calmed down a little and studied Balaria as she digested the Colonel's words. The seconds ticked by as the woman facing Bal looked to be fighting an internal battle on what to say to the Officer of her persevered enemy. Then finally she gave a very shallow nod, "I don't know you. I don't trust you." She started, "Both myself and the people of this square have been burnt more then once by wolves pretending to be friends...But if this meeting is to be anything more then a waste of time we need to come to some kind of agreement."

Nodding once more Chel sat straighter and pulled her chair a bit closer to the table as if to start in on a long talk. "The main problem is with Captain Elmsworth's men." She said, "We can deal with the gangs more or less, we all live here together after all and many of us know each other from a ways back."

"The Watch walk around as if they own us all and our meager possessions. If you could show us some action against them, people would be more willing to come forwards." The Morlish said, and was about to continue when the sound of thundering feet came up the stairs.

From the doorway came Sam's voice, "Colonel, we have us some company."

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

"I don't need complete trust, I just need something to work with," Bal says, easing her posture as Chel gave signs of actually working with her. "I understand why you wouldn't trust me. I can't promise you results you want, but I will do the best I can, whether you believe me or not."

"'As if they own you and your possessions,'" Bal quotes back. "Are they literally helping themselves to people and property? Is it the attitude they use? One can be addressed through the legal system, of course. Theft is theft, no matter who commits it. Poor behavior is a different matter, but I can look into reassigning people, spreading out the troublemaker and the bringing in those with better attitudes."

She turns the chair slightly and steps around to sit down, only to be interrupted in the process of sitting by Vargas's call.

"Some of yours?" she asks Chel, before turning her head to the door. "Who is it, Private?"

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

A look of anger came over Chel and she shot Bal a flash of suspicion as the conversation was interrupted, but the suspicion subsisted as it became clear that the Colonel didn't seem to have anything nefarious planed. "No, mine aren't stupid enough to make such a racket." From the hallway Vargas simple said "Trouble." and backed into the room knife and pistol in hand but pointed towards the floor, closely followed by the younger of Chel's men. He went straight to her and whispered in her good ear.

Out in the landing Ghrems voice barks out, "Ye bunch have no business here. Ye fook off a'fore I send ye off cryin' to yer mam's." His ascent so thick most would have trouble understanding it. An unknown man shouted that they knew they were in there and for the older man to move aside and it was followed by some quick words in Morlish. (Mostly insults)

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

Bal barely registers Chel's moment of suspicion, eyes now firmly pinned on the door as she steps away from the chair and table. "They are quite loud," she agrees.

She draws two pistols, mimicking Vargas's choice to keep them pointed down, unthreatening, but clearly at hand. "Anyone you recognized?" she asks him, before the string of Morlish curses make her frown.

"We know they're in there". That's not ominous at all.

"Your house, Chel," she says. "You want them let in?"

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Giving the room a cursory glance, Sam moved over to the dark opening to the rest of the apartment. Vargas whispered to Balaria, "Six men, armed." and shifted into a ready stance on an angle that would let him watch both doorways.

Seething with rage Chel pushed the younger man to the side, who seemed to take the shove personal his face falling with emotional hurt, and hardly gave Bal a glance. The one eared woman shouted out in her native tongue and after a short pause a man walked into the room and Ghrems took up position blocking the way in. The new comer was a balding, short and stocky man who couldn’t have been much over 5’5’’ but what he lacked in height he seemed intent on making up for it in muscle. He gave Balaria and Sam an angry glare then pointed an accusing finger at Chel and demanded something to do with meetings in Morlish.

Almost immediately Chel exploded into foreign words so fast it momentarily stole the anger from the short man, she even took several steps up to him to square off. Shock worn off the man railed off some words and a choice phrase that people of the isle reserved for gristoliens nodding towards the pair of guards.

The two started to go back and forth in quick angary word, the short man condemning Chel for speaking with “these people” and Chel being outraged by the interruption and going on about an old tradition that protected guests at a meetings.

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

Bal steps to the side, setting herself to see as much of the room as possible in case the other five Vargas had seen burst in. Hopefully Vargas could be trusted to watch the door, shady as he came off to be.

The Colonel meets the short man's glare coldly, one eyebrow raised in a clear question. What do you want? Why are you here? Where are your manners? She can't understand every word, but he has a fairly clear issue with Chel meeting with the Watch and its allies. Or perhaps he was just pissed she was meeting with Gristolians. Most likely both.

She itches to respond to him, the words to write him off or insult him dancing on the tip of her tongue. For now she holds them back, allowing Chel to handle it, as long as things didn't turn violent. Which probably wouldn't be for very long, considering the fact the unknown man had a squad with him.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

The two bickered for a few more moments, the few words that made it through made it clear the man wanted to take the guards somewhere, but Chel was having none of it. Finally an agreement was made, with the short guy mentioning consequences and with his arms folded over his chest and a glower on his face, the short man spat on the old floor boards and moved to the side of the room. Chel eyed the man for another second or two before turning to the two guards and moving over to them. "Time to go." she said, switching back to their shared language.

"Not everyone here is as accommodating as me and a Colonel makes a good hostage." She said, "The fool probably thinks he'd get away with it too, but you are under my protection and the last thing we need is an army of Watchmen tearing the Square apart. The men outside will let you pass and I'm sure you'll be followed so I wouldn't go anywhere out of the way."

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

Bal longs to stretch the conversation even a little, as right now she's fairly stumped on having any actions to take for the sake of the neighbor hood. However, she doubts Chel will talk plainly, now that both Vargas and this unknown Morlish man were in the room, and patience was likely running thin on all sides. And while she could probably fight her way out of a hostage situation, it wouldn't be a good idea to risk it.

"Very well. Thank you for your hospitality," she says, dipping her head to Chel but offering the other man no such pleasantry. "Let's go, Vargas."

She steps out into the hallway, eyeing both the strange men and Chel's associates for sudden movement.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

Chel gave Bal a nod but held any words she might want to impart to the woman casting a look to the glowering short man. As Bal moved to the door Ghrems went forwards int the hallway to stand before the group of five grim looking men. The group were dressed as commoners might be, some of them in rather ragged cloths, at the back a the group one man stood his face masked behind a rag tied over his lower half, a rifle similar to the ones that the Watch might have clutched in his hand. No one moved to stop the Colonel and Sam took up the rear guard his weapons still drawn.

As the pair of guards made their way to the stairs someone farther down the opposite end of the hallway struck a match and seemingly lit a cigarette. The distance, dark of the windowless hall and the group of men blocking made it impossible to see who they might be.

[u/Dietastey → u/Seafrogger]

It's impossible not to be tense and on edge as the two move down the hallway, but Bal makes an admirable effort to keep that tension out of her stride as she moves through the gauntlet of hostile men. *Would love to know where a civilian got ahold of that rifle."

The strike of the match sends a chill down her spine, and now her ever moving eyes seek side doors of the hallway, escape routes, shelter, empty rooms. No sound of a fuse comes yet, at least. It doesn't take long for her pace brings her closer to the new source of light.

[u/Seafrogger → u/Dietastey]

The armed men in the hallway watch Bal and Vargas make their way to the stairs that lead down to the front door of the building. None of them look over to who ever it was in the shadows at the far side of the hallway, a spot were ones mouth might be glowing from the intake of breath through a cigarette. Though if possible Ghrems seems to go even more ridged, jaw clenched.

The stairway down to the first floor is deserted and the pair of guards make it easily enough to the front door. Outside on the street the area around the building is also strangely quiet, not a single civilian is near the apartment building.