“Yin, I… honestly, the more I think about this, the more I don’t like it.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Well, think about it. You saw how the nobleman was humiliated, right? I honestly don’t know what the Baron, his fucking older brother, is going to do once he finds that out. I mean, so many of our men fled from her instead of laying down their lives for him. She could have killed him! I don’t think the Baron is someone who’d just let that go. What do you think he’ll do?”
What will he do to me and those loyal to me… is what Tom really wonders. What if Quinn isn’t able to convince his brother to let things go and he decides to fire Tom? Quinn is still barely an adult as it is. He might as well be trying to play nobility, who knows what he can actually get away with.
What if the Baron does the logical thing, what even Tom would do if his daughter was in danger, and tries to investigate their precinct using the guards force’s incompetence today?
“Sir… Do you know where your sergeant is?” Yin asks. Tom doesn’t know why he decided to broach this topic right now though.
“Which one? The others should be coming here soon—”
“You know the one I’m talking about.” Yin speaks carefully and Tom picks up on who he’s talking about.
“…Right. Him. I… I don’t know if he’ll be able to take part in the operation right now. He left around the time that fire bomb went off and I haven’t received any word from him since. His subordinates don’t know either, I’m guessing?” Tom asks Yin.
“I’ve asked them, but they are also unaware of what he’s up to right now.” Yin answers and Tom grimaces.
“Fuck… I gave him a mission today, one task really. But all he ended up accomplishing was proving to me that he’s just a useless prick. Even when his subordinates told me about his lunacy, his temper, and whatever, I still fucking thought I needed him because of his ties to… Well, it’s not something I should make you aware of, Yin.”
It’s good to have the people close to him maintain plausible deniability.
Tom scoffs. He had backed the wrong person. His other sergeants don’t have the problems that this particular sergeant has. They’re more polite and presentable, though they’re a bit dull to be able to show fierce loyalty. For all his flaws, the sergeant who tied himself and his career to his undercover work in the Twin Moons is always unwavering and eager to prove himself.
He was able to display an utmost loyalty to Tom, one that he could not easily dislike or throw away.
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“Sir, he’s outlived his usefulness. But, right now we might be able to make use of him.”
“What do you mean, Yin?”
“Well, sir, I think you’d agree that he’s proved himself to be something of an oddball at the precinct? He doesn’t have a lot of friends. He talks to you and only to you. His subordinates either fear or despise him outright. He… wouldn’t be very much missed. I’m sure you see what I’m getting at?”
“Oh… To place him as a patsy for at least some of the issues we faced today? Hm. That is certainly an option.”
The Captain takes off his helmet. With his face bare to the world, he rubs his chin with his gauntlets in thought. Yin continues.
“We could present him as an offering along with perhaps three or four other officers. There are always some annoying people who don’t fully go along with how we do things at the precinct, right? If we were to show the Baron that we were doing some restructuring and try to point to the sergeant as a leader of training at the station, then…”
“That’s…” Tom crosses his arms in deep thought right now.
It might not be a terrible idea.
To show the Baron that Tom was cleaning up the issues at the precinct, he likely needs to have someone take a dive so that he and his men can maintain their positions. What better person than someone who was already too loose a unit to remain anyways? Someone that nobody would really miss. Someone who should have been fired long ago anyways.
But, it still makes Tom feel queasy. This man has given him loyalty, and not weak loyalty. He might go far enough to bury a body with him, though even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to die for him.
“Yin, what about the other men? If I throw him under, what will they think of me? In this line of work, all I really have to offer my men is my loyalty to them. Work will become less easy for me if I–” However, Yin interrupts his thoughts.
“That won’t be a problem, sir. None of the others at the precinct interact with the guy that often. I think they’ll understand, especially if we properly shape a narrative starting right now. You might need to convince the sergeants who know of his connections to the Twin Moons and his overall value. But, I can guarantee that even they’re not too fond of him.”
Yin is good at laying out proper strategies. If Tom can manage it, he’d take Yin with him to his office in Command, if he’ll have him of course.
I’ve really been blessed with more good subordinates than bad. Still though. What a shame… He really had the opportunity to prove himself today. I told him what he needed to do. I gave him all the help I could give. Fuck… He can only blame his own incompetence for this outcome.
Tom knows what is going to happen to the sergeant as the result of this as well. If the Twin Moons sergeant was simply resigned, then he could simply find a place at another precinct, perhaps even above. At the very least, he could find work in another city.
However, if he were to be fired in this manner, essentially disavowed by his superiors and the Barony, who would hire him then? He’d have to go to a completely different province for even a chance to join the guards again. They’d never let him become higher than officer rank either. He would only be able to find a place at the Twin Moons as a full-time member.
Though, it was the Captain, Tom, who involved him and his ties to the Twin Moons; he was even the one to craft the plan in the first place. His own incompetence was responsible overall for what he perceives to be the sergeant’s failure. Yet he doesn’t consider such thoughts in the slightest. He only wishes to rationalize to himself how to get out of his current predicament.