Chương 50: Chapter 49: What Comes with Success

The particulars were settled quickly. The council approved demolition of the old spillway tenements along with temporary housing funding. The budget was small, the risk neatly pushed onto private interests, and the outcome pleased the council immensely. It allowed the matter to close quietly. The efficiency of the situation suprised Jack. He assumed there would be more than a little red tape would have gotten in the way of his victory.

But a state of emergency was called by the council allowing them to hand wave the typical channels. The rest of the assembly was also stunned by how fast it ended. Many had expected it to take hours, if not longer. They expected to have time to posture and to wedge their agendas into the cracks and siphon off pieces of the funding. But the plan was too simple. Too clean to be disrupted by complex planning and that left everyone scrambling.

There were contracts to be won, supplies, demolition work, but those would be handled through written bids. No favors called in or leverage to be used just fair competition. The clever ones left immediately, already recalculating, already deciding what this new reality meant for them. The rest lingered, uncertain how to proceed. Jack and his team were among the former. They descended the marble steps two at a time, the echoes of the chamber fading behind them, when Jack caught sight of Saint.

He stood across the square, leaning against the stone wall of a neighboring building, arms crossed, posture casual. Waiting.

"He's all yours, chief," Aldric said, clapping Jack on the back. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I second that motion," Kael added chuckling to himself. Jack glanced at Seraphine looking for a lifeline.

"Don't look at me," she said with a smile.

"I want no part of this. Just tell us what he wants when you get back." Jack nodded. He understood, Saint was the devil he danced with, it was up to him to handle it. He had forced Saint into the open and when you cornered someone as dangerous as him, you rarely came away untouched. They parted ways, and Jack crossed the square alone. Saint spoke before he reached him.

"You've put me squarely in the spotlight," Saint said.

"You knew that would happen."

"I did," Jack replied. Saint's mouth curved slightly.

"If there wasn't such a tremendous upside, if I weren't already invested. I would have walked away."

"I know," Jack said.

"And still, thank you." Saint studied him for a moment, then turned.

"The plan has changed," he said.

"Come with me."

"Changed how?" Jack asked, throwing his hands up slightly as Saint began to walk away. Saint chuckled, the sound pulled a memory loose in Jack's mind. This bastard was stealing his move whether through coincidence or not he had no choice but to see this through. They moved through the city, but not toward Saint's office. Instead, Saint led him down into the Dock Ward. They stopped before an old stone warehouse.

Its exterior was weathered but solid, the kind of structure that had outlived half the city through sheer stubbornness. Inside, the signs of construction were obvious. Scaffolding. Chalk marks. Stacked lumber. The crews were gone for the night, leaving the space quiet and hollow. Saint turned back to him.

"I lied to the council," Saint said calmly.

"I do have two buildings under renovation, but the other four don't exist." Jack frowned.

"I can see how this is a problem."

"They exist," Saint corrected.

"I just don't own them… Yet." Jack crossed his arms.

"And the paperwork?"

"I guessed where you were going with this," Saint said.

"And decided we needed a stronger position."

"That doesn't answer my question." Saint smiled.

"They are clever forgeries. They wouldn't survive scrutiny, but they didn't need to. They only needed to exist long enough to make a decision inevitable." Jack shook his head slowly.

"Then why are we here?" Saint's expression sobered.

"Because you moved the timeline," he said.

"And because I don't have the liquidity to do this properly. Not without sacrificing leverage." Jack watched him closely. He could tell Saint wasn't comfortable on this side of the table. Honesty, even partial, didn't come naturally to him.

"You're here," Saint continued, "because I need you to convince them."

"Who is them?" Jack blinked in surprise. Saint turned to walk towards a door at the back of the warehouse.

"My business partners," he said.