Chapter 491

It went fast, the first forty eight hours. It was that number, Arthur was sure, that you needed to close a case. The time when the leads were fresh, when the culprits were on the move, trying to get away, trying to hide the evidence. It was the time when they needed to make it clear of the search net, that people might rattle, when they had to get rid of what they stole.

Except, as Arthur figured it, they already had a buyer probably. Just a simple handoff needed, and that might have been as simple as a dropoff at an undisclosed location. What it meant was that there were no leads, no indication of the goods. The cores were gone, into the blackhole and place that was owned by another.

They took steps to ensure that it would not be repeated, not without starting another war. He made noises at the government and they put a few more cops around the Tower, but Arthur knew it would not last. The government was stretched thin, revenues low and while it was not great that one of their burgeoning Clans were stolen from, they knew it would not stop the Clan or other Climbers from going in. Or leaving.

The media profile though, the interviews, the discussion about the attack. It had started relatively large – guns always drew attention – but then, Rick had suggested they put their money where their mouth were, help pay for the hospital stays, the extra costs involved in recovery. Luckily there were no deaths, so when word leaked, the story grew legs.

“What do you mean, we have more people trying to join?” Arthur said.

 “All publicity is good publicity. You’ve heard that before, right?” Rick smirked. “We already saw a small bump when the first article came out, but the follow ups? They were perfect. Your serious, concerned face. The way you played it, quiet and serious.”

“Wasn’t playing,” Arthur grumbled.

“Which is why it was so authentic.” Rick shook his head. “We just have to be careful about how we shape your image…”

“You know, I no like this side of you, Rick.” Jan spoke before Arthur, voicing his own thoughts. “Very…”

“Business.” Arthur finished when she found herself struggling. "Corporate."

"Fake!" Jan said, glaring at Arthur for trying to finish her words.

"It's what I was taught." Rick shrugged. "Nothing wrong with massaging your reputation."

"I don't like it."

"Few people do. But people don't want complicated or different, they want a simple message, an image they can understand. The creative fop, the serious businessperson, the serious and caring Clan Head." Rick shrugged. "Shaping the narrative for them also means it makes you - the real you - easier to use against your enemies."

"I like that part," Mel muttered. Then, she coughed, gesturing around. They were all in the lounging and cultivation room which had become the unofficial board room since Arthur had been forced to spend most of his time there rather than walking the streets, hunting down their enemies. "We might not have located the people who did the stealing, and might never, but we have a good idea who it is."

"They're just rumors," Casey said. "People talking about the incident, nothing substantial."

"Just talk?" Mel shook her head. "People are saying we're not strong enough, saying how we're likely to cause trouble and no one should join us. We know who's spreading the rumors, Uswah ran them down. It's all people connected to or who are allied with the TG group."

"Not all," Jan corrected. "Just most."

"Well, yeah." Mel shrugged. "We do look weak, but it wouldn't be that bad if they didn't start the stories."

"And yet, we keep recruiting." Rick sniffed. "The entire thing backfired on them."

"Except for the fact that we are down a lot of cores," Casey said where she too was refining a core. She half-cracked an eye open, glaring at the group. "Don't forget that part."

"I'm not likely too. But what can we do?" Everything that manager Kong had said indicated that the attackers were likely international recruits, brought in specifically for this task and then on a boat back to Indonesia in literal days. By this point, they wre likely in another country and obviously, the government's own ability to follow up was out of luck. The triads might still chase them down, what with their wider, non-bordered approach; but even then, it would require the attackers to be stupid and boast about what they did or a lucky break. No, the attackers were gone for now. "We don't have enough evidence to go after the TG group. We can't even be sure they're the ones who did it, and aren't just deciding to make use of our misfortune for their own reasons."

"Who says we can't?" Rick said, eyes narrowing. "If they want to play dirty, we can play dirty."

"What do you mean?" Arthur said.

"They want to use the court of public opinion? I say we do that too. They're not the only ones who can hire people to badmouth others," Rick said.

"I..." Arthur considered what the boy said, sighed after a moment. "I like the idea, but we don't have the money. We just lost a lot of what we expected to get."

"That's fine." Rick waved a hand, languidly. "I'll pay for it myself. No way I'm going to let him hit us without hitting back."

Arthur frowned, looked over at Casey who gave a slight nod. Seeing that she had no disagreement, he acknowledged Rick's intentions. At least they were doing something but...

"It's not enough," Casey muttered. "I don't think we should stoop to their level, not yet. They have a lot more resources than we do, and if we play dirty, we have more to lose."

"You mean our government contracts," Mel said. "But they have some too, don't they?"

"They also have more people in their pocket." Casey shook her head. "Sometimes, its better to wait for the right time. Better to get what information we can, and start the process of putting people in place."

"You mean spies and saboteurs," Arthur said.

"Yes."

"Don't the Chin's have some?" 

The look Casey sent him reminded Arthur that while they might be allies, they weren't that close. Of course she was not going to tell him what kind of resources the Chin's had. They needed to build their own. It did remind him though, to warn Uswah and Mel to keep whatever they built vague, so that Casey and Rick wouldn't have the details to steal.

Not that he expected them to harm him, yet. 

"So what? We bide our time, strengthen our processes and that's it?" Arthur said, unhappily. 

"For now," Mel said finally. "The Lotuses know about patience - and endurance. We can wait, till it's time." Her words were laden with meaning and history, enough so that it made Arthur whose gaze she had caught look down. He recalled that the majority of his Clan, even now, were from the Lotuses. The women who had escaped into the Tower, who had persisted through all that it had thrown often had stories, dark and heavy ones where even a half-life in the Tower was better than living out here. 

It also reminded him that this Clan, this battle, was for more than himself or Rick's dreams of power or Casey's of importance and prestige in her family. There were real people involved, individuals who relied on him to get this right. 

If he had to swallow his pride and his own impatience, well, he could do that.

Revenge could wait, at least for now.