章節 42: Chapter 42: The Art of Deception

"How dare you give voice to these insults, Republic scum! You will burn for this! All ships, all power to engines and chase them down! End the call, Lieutenant! Now...listen up, men! The enemies have been deceived into thinking we have let our fury dictate our actions. They believe they are leading us into a trap. It's time to use their deception against themselves…"

- Grand Admiral Thorne, 3rd Sword of Maalah Fractional Fleet.

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After twenty minutes of walking through the Southern Districts, Alexander found himself standing in front of a three-story tall hotel. The trip here definitely wasn't uneventful. After all, it was clear Alexander was not only unarmed, but he was also alone and on foot. Many men and women laid greedy glances on the young man as he walked by them. In this part of the city, law and order meant nothing. It was all too common to ambush someone, loot them clean, and leave them bleeding out in the back alleys.

Unfortunately, when many of these people found an opportunity to corner Alexander, things didn't go at all as they expected. Instead of Imperial credits, the only thing they received was a whole lot of broken bones.

Alexander didn't bother trying to convert them. The fact that these crooks were wandering around the street meant they had little value, and all the screaming would attract a lot of attention. It was attention that he didn't need...yet.

Alexander stood in front of the hotel for a second. He could see that the hotel was clearly one of the more luxurious ones in this area of the city. It looked well-decorated and clean, and the usual groups of suspicious individuals on the sidewalk stayed clear of the ten-meter radius of the hotel, which by itself said a lot about the background of the owners of this establishment. Of course, Alexander had no need of playing the deduction game. He knew very well that this wasn't just any hotel. This was a piece of property of the Allen Family, one of the powerhouses around here.

Of course, this identity was supposed to be a secret. None of the locals knew about it, but they knew enough to know not to mess with the hotel. Alexander only found out about its presence from Cara. She wasn't too sure if this location would be abandoned by the Allen Family after she was captured for fear of an assault from the CSF. Judging from the appearance, it wasn't.

The 16-year-old drew a deep breath before stepping through the glass doors of the hotel. The Allen family was a collection of criminals. Murderers and thieves and thugs and rapists. Then again, that was irrelevant to Alexander. If he played his cards right, then at the end of the day these people would serve him and him alone regardless of what they have done.

They would be no match for any military unit Lamb had under his command, but at least it was better than Alexander charging into the fray alone.

The first thing Alexander noticed as he entered the halls of the hotel was a pair of large men standing on the side, leaning against a wall as they exchanged words. One of them must have said something funny, because the next second both of them roared in laughter. Alexander glanced at them and noticed the sidearms attached to their belts. Security guards, most likely...although they looked a bit too tough for mere guards. Alexander wouldn't be too surprised if they also had other duties and allegiances.

Alexander walked by them in silence. He headed right for the front desk where a man in his thirties was sitting. He was the clerk of this hotel, and when he saw Alexander approaching, he quickly looked up at him. A polite smile climbed onto his face.

"Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?"

The man looked like a clerk, and a less informed person might have issues connecting him with a crime organization. Alexander didn't have such issues. Still, he didn't do anything...at least not yet.

"One room please." The young man said quietly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet.

The clerk didn't sense anything wrong, and why would he? Yes. The Southern Districts of Valoria were a mess, but most people around here knew that this hotel was protected. By who? Didn't matter, but few would want to mess with this establishment. And it seemed like the boy was alone. What threat could one boy post to multiple elite gang members?

He gave Alexander the price for one night, and Alexander quickly paid for it. As he returned his wallet and the magnetic card he just received into his pocket, the young man turned and headed for the elevator. It was as if he was going to his room.

As soon as Alexander's eyes were no longer on him, the clerk's smile disappeared. He still didn't see Alexander as a threat. Instead, he saw the man as...an opportunity.

Despite its pretense, this establishment belonged to the Allen Family, a powerful and ruthless mob. Indeed, this hotel acted as a source of revenue with its official business, and it served as a lookout for potential Imperial investigators or detectives that might be after the Allen Family. At the same time, the gang members in this hotel weren't above common crimes. If someone especially wealthy and vulnerable decided to stay at this hotel...nothing would happen for a while, but as soon as that person left the premises, he would suffer an unfortunate accident. His belongings would be mysteriously looted, and his body wouldn't be discovered until it was half-rotten.

There would be profit without risking the exposure of the hotel as few would make the connection, and those that did likely wouldn't dare give voice to their thoughts. This was just one of the methods the Allen Family used to survive the countless Imperial crackdowns while making some additional money.

Was this young boy a potential target? The clerk wasn't sure, but he seemed to be loaded, and he had a surprising lack of bodyguards with him. If he disappeared...he suspected few would question it.

At the same time, much like Alexander, the clerk did nothing...for now.

---

The room Alexander paid for certainly wasn't in the best condition by his standards. There were multiple spiders in the bathroom, and the bedsheet just wasn't as clean as Alexander preferred. Still, it was ten times better than Alexander's cell, and it wasn't like the young man was hoping to stay here for a long time.

For the rest of the day, he remained in his room. The only time he came out was when dinner was served in a small dining hall on the second floor of the hotel. It wasn't the best, but it was still food, and Alexander had quite a feast.

Soon, the day turned dark, and still Alexander waited patiently in his room.

Finally, as the time reached midnight, the young man stood up from his chair. He drew in a deep breath, prepared himself, and walked out of his room.

Combat in the outside world was different from fighting within Darkbane Prison. Alexander was well aware of this. In the cells and interrogation rooms of the Darkbane Prison, he didn't have to worry about doing things quietly. He could take all the time he needed to work on his victims, and no amount of screaming could threaten him.

Here? The walls of this hotel were paper thin. How did Alexander know that? Well, the wave of moaning that had been coming in through one of the walls ever since nightfall was a dead giveaway. If Alexander charged through the corridors of the hotel with guns blazing, the entire hotel would be aware of his presence in a minute, and in ten minutes, half the district would be made aware of a maniac trying to storm a hotel alone.

That was unacceptable for Alexander. His plan for the Allen Family revolved around him taking over this hotel without anyone having the slightest idea. He had to do things quietly, and the best way to do that would be by taking the opponents by surprise. By taking them...in their sleep.

Alexander sneaked out of his room on the third floor. His footsteps were quiet thanks to the carpeted ground. Quiet enough to ensure that even the particularly energized couple next door couldn't hear him. Slowly, he made his way to the stairs and walked all the way down to the first floor.

One of the benefits of the stairs over the elevators was their subtlety. Alexander reached the floor in silence, and with the cover of a door, he examined the lobby.

There were only two people in the hotel lobby. One guard, who was sitting on a sofa near the entrance, and a clerk. This clerk wasn't the one that Alexander first met when he arrived. He was shorter. Younger. Of course, it wouldn't make a difference for Alexander.

Suddenly, Alexander pushed open the door leading to the staircase and marched into the lobby. He did so openly and confidently with no intention of hiding himself. The guard and the clerk both noticed him almost immediately, but Alexander put up a great disguise of an innocent hotel guest. Neither of the men saw him as a threat.

Slowly, Alexander made his way to the front desk once again. The guard simply turned his attention back to his MI as the clerk greeted Alexander.

"So, how can I help you, sir…"

Before the clerk could finish, he suddenly froze. A hand raced to his heart as he felt an excruciating surge of pain exploding in his chest. His first thought was a heart attack, which wouldn't be odd considering how unhealthy his lifestyle was. But within a second, as the pain spread through his body, his thoughts left him, and the clerk collapsed on the ground, his body trembling. His mouth opened, but no word came out.

Thankfully, Alexander was there to help. The culprit of the 'heart attack' quickly snapped to the guard sitting at the door and raised his voice.

"Hey! Sir! The clerk! Something is wrong with him!"

The guard frowned and stood up from his seat. He hesitated for a few seconds, taking careful glances at Alexander and wondering what the hell was happening. Yet the concern and surprise on Alexander's face seemed real, and it was obvious something had happened to the clerk.

With one hand on his sidearm, the man walked to the front desk. When he saw his colleague on the ground, shaking in pain, he quickly snapped to Alexander.

"What the hell happened here?"

"I don't know, sir!" Alexander replied, playing the part of a random boy who had no clue what was going on. He even added some stuttering to his words to appear more surprised. "He...he just fell over before I could talk to him! Maybe it's a heart attack? Do you know...maybe he is sick? He has some underlying illness?"

"I…" The guard paused as well. He was good at breaking bones and bashing heads, but when faced with a situation like this, he simply didn't have the experience or the expertise to handle the issue. His mind went blank as he stared at his shaking colleague. "What the hell…he was fine minutes ago!"

"We need to find him some help!" Alexander stole a glance at the guard and saw he had no idea what to do next, which was why he decided to give the clueless man another push. "Are there any other employees in the hotel? Maybe your manager? Maybe they will know what to do. Does any of them have medical experience?"

That seemed to have given the guard some idea. He took a deep breath and turned to Alexander with some instructions.

"Look, boy. I want you to go to the second floor. Take the stairs and turn right after you exit the staircase. Go knock on the doors of every room from 201 to 210, starting at 201. That's where my manager is. Wake them up, tell them what happened, and take them down here. Also...while you're knocking, pause once every four knocks. That is very important."

He could go himself, but he decided that staying with the colleague was more important than running through the hallways and delivering the message. Plus, he really did not want to be the one to wake up his superior and tell the likely grumpy man the bad news.

As he stood over his collapsed colleague, all that was on the guard's mind was to wake up the manager and let him handle all this mess. He was just a foot soldier. An enforcer. He wasn't trained to handle situations like this. Once the manager arrived, he could decide what to do with the clerk, whether to take him to a hospital in a shuttle or to leave him here and see if he could survive all on his own.

What the guard didn't know was that this information was exactly what Alexander needed. Just as he finished giving his orders, the innocent, harmless boy beside him suddenly reached out and grabbed onto his neck. With lightning speed, Alexander smashed the guard's head against his knee. He used just enough force to know the large man out completely.

The enforcer was certainly tough, but Alexander was faster and stronger than he could ever be.

The clerk, still on the ground, bore witness to this abrupt change of event. Confusion filled his head, but even that faded away as Alexander sent a punch into his forehead.

"Hmmm...201 to 210, huh? 10 rooms? At least 10 people?" Alexander whispered as he dragged both unconscious men behind the cover of the counter. It seemed like there were 12 people that worked in this hotel. Most likely, all of them were related to the Allen Family.

Soon, all of them would become his Disciples.