Clark was ready for this plan even though it relied heavily on outside help. The room had emptied aside from the council leader and himself. They were not happy being told to leave however there was nothing they could do about it. Clark did have a smug look on his face when they were asked to leave. He made sure to wipe it clean when the council leader looked in his direction.
“I had everyone leave because I don't want any mistakes. If you are able to pull this off, I will grant you higher status. However, if you fail you and your father will be moved to another city.” The council leader wasn't playing around. He wanted to see how Clark would do under the pressure of demotion.
Taking in a deep breath Clark looked around the room at the empty chairs. The council was always a bit large due to the fact that a few people in power never really worked out too well. Now it was just him and the council leader. There was no way he could mess this up at least that's what he was telling himself.
“No need to worry sir. I will do everything in my power to ensure this succeeds. Do you think it's wise to allow the information to be leaked? I'm not asking because I think it is wrong. I'm asking because if they do manage to take down another facility their ranks will only grow.” Clark knew it was a risk but if he didn't take risks there was a chance he could end up like the rest of the old fools that were sitting around them only moments ago. His father spoke up as well and he would have been counsel leader if not for the current council leader's charisma.
The council leader let out an exasperated sigh following it up with a hearty chuckle. “Alexandria has proven herself as a captain. I know for a fact the free pirate Market captains will not help us. They are making way too much money and there isn't a facility close to that area for them to protect. However, there are other pirate crews out there that will jump at the chance to take out competition and gain territory. The only problem is how many allies has Alexandria been able to draw to her cause. Do you have a suggestion to protect the facilities?”
Clark understood now why his father wasn't made council leader. He didn't believe his father could do the things that the current leader was doing. He stopped to think for a moment trying to figure out what would be the best course of action. The letter was already created, and they were working on having them sent out. Now all that was left to do was wait. “Do we have any troops that we can spare to send backup to each of the facilities in order to help the different groups coming to our aid? Offering them things is all well and good however if they get killed or severely wounded in the process they may try and renegotiate.”
He was impressed that Clark was thinking that far ahead. They hadn't even discussed how to release the facility information. This is exactly what the council leader wanted, and Clark was the only one that was delivering. Perhaps it was time to shrink the number of council members. There was no way they could go to just two. The other members would consolidate their power and try to overthrow him. “We are stretched pretty thin at the moment. There is one thing we could do. Instead of giving the actual locations of all of the facilities we could give some dummy locations and only a few of the locations are actually real facilities. Those facilities will be the ones that have the best defenses along with our outside allies. We will gauge which facilities are vulnerable and the ones that have the highest likelihood of defending themselves; those will be the facilities that will get their locations leaked to Crimson Judgment.”
He closed his eyes trying to remember what his father told him about the facilities. If you remembered correctly there was only one that was heavily guarded and that was the one that was underneath the current walled city they lived in. “There is only one facility I can think of with that kind of defense and that's the one beneath our feet. We can't let that information leak to the public. If they find out ability users are that close to them pandemonium will break out and it could give anyone inside a reason to try and depose you. Is there a facility out there as heavily guarded as the one underneath the capital?” Clark was skeptical since they didn't have enough personnel to execute the plan the way the council leader envisioned it. Even with external allies they would have to be strong enough to push back or help capture Alexandria and her crew in order for this to be successful.
An exasperated sigh escaped the council leader's lips. He knew that Clark was right in a sense. There was at least one facility that could meet their needs. However, getting the Pirates that were close to that area to work with them was going to cost. “The facility we have that is buried in an inactive volcano would probably be the best one. However, the few pirate captains close to that area are exceedingly greedy. We would have to essentially offer them half of our treasury just to get them to go up against another pirate crew, even one as young as Crimson Judgment.” He could see now why the others were having such trouble figuring out anything. That didn't excuse their inability to help but it did give them a bit of saving grace for now.
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Clark was interested in this facility. His father had never mentioned it before in their talks. It was either because his father didn't know about it or because it was highly classified and only the counsel leader could speak of its existence. “Who is imprisoned in that facility?” His eyes widened with excitement. For them to build a facility in an inactive volcano this must be someone or a group of ability users that are extremely dangerous.
A hearty chuckle escaped the council leader's lips. “This facility is only known to me and high-ranking military officials. It doesn't exist on any map that has ever been drawn. The ability users imprisoned here are ones with unstable and unpredictable powers. They are never allowed outside of their selves and testing is done with protective gear and at least three soldiers inside the room. Lorelei should have been at this facility however her ability to shift needed to be researched in a certain way and the volcano facility was just too strict. Releasing this information will cause a panic however if we do decide to use this facility as bait, we need to find someone who will be a scapegoat.”
A silence gripped the room. These types of discussions were always difficult. Trying to decide who took the fall for a decision that was made by a leader. The council leader raised an eyebrow looking in Clark's direction. “Do you have any person in mind to take the fall for the leaking of this information? Keep in mind that whoever we decide to take the fall we'll have to die."
The tension in the room crashed on Clark's shoulders causing him to enroll them and wince as if someone had just punched him in between his shoulder blades. Trying to think of who would take the fall wasn't difficult when you knew the list of people that had the information was very short. Now the only decision was who was expendable. “That is a huge decision to even ask for my input. I mean no disrespect but surely you have at least a short list in mind. At the moment I cannot think of any of the high-ranking military members that deserve to die for our decision.”
The council leader leaned back in his chair a bit, a creaking sound echoing around the room. He was intrigued by Clark's response. He did in fact have a short list of high-ranking military members that could be implicated and used as scapegoats. However, he wanted to challenge Clark a bit to see if he would be willing to offer anyone up. “This he's one of the reasons your father didn't take this position. We were both up for the leader position however he turned it down because of decisions like this. Your father always tries to find the moral ground not because he is a moral man but because he wants everyone to be able to prosper. Of course, that kind of thinking isn't what we need at the moment. I do have a short list, but I want to know something before I disclose it. If I asked you to kill the military leader publicly as a show of your allegiance, would you be able to do it knowing they did nothing wrong?”
Clark's eyes widened and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the creek of his chair intermingling with the faint echo of the leader's chair. He understood now why the other members in the room couldn't come up with any ideas. There was a part of him that screen inside his head. ‘Say yes!’ He took in a deep breath shaking his head as he exhaled. “I wouldn't know the answer to that question at the moment. I would say depending on your short list and holding the weapon in my hand it would come down to the moment. So as of right now it is unclear. You would have to just put the weapon in my hand and either one person dies, or you kill two.”
He was surprised by Clark's answer. The council leader was impressed with the way Clark navigated the conundrum. On the one hand saying yes would have ingratiated him and given him some favor even if it was said purely to enhance his status. On the other hand, if he had said no the council leader would have doubted his resolve and most likely punished him right now for not having some type of clear-cut response. “Very well there are a few Commanders that have come up short or have just become stagnant. These men know the location of this facility and it will be pretty easy to set them up to take the fall. If we are going to do this, we need to acquire a large amount of treasure. If you can secure the treasure, we will need to convince the captains in the area to help us. I will choose who takes the blame, but you will have the opportunity to see where your allegiances truly lie. And I will keep the word that you spoke earlier. If you are unable to kill the scapegoat, then both you and him will die. Is that understood?”
“I understand we should be able to acquire the amount of treasure needed as long as the captains close to the facility respond to our message. My father has some Holdings we've been saving for a rainy day. We will use those. I will ask that if I am able to kill the scapegoat when the time arises you will reimburse me for putting up the treasure to pay for this trap?”
A hearty chuckle filled the room, lifting the tension and both of them breathed a little easier. The council leader was impressed by Clark's handling of the situation. He had a bright future, and the other council members were not going to get in the way of this plan. “So be it if you are able to follow through, I will reimburse you from my own personal funds. However, if you do fail you will not only die but your father will die so keep that in mind when the time comes because it will be here before you know it. Very well played Clark. You and I will go far together.”
Clark let out a sigh of relief. He joined in with the council leader's chuckle. Now was the time to put the greater plan into action. He hopes that on the day the sword was put into his hand he would be able to take off the Commander's head since not being able to would mean the death of his household and any future his name would have.