Struggle. Taste of power

Prefect

Gora sat and reread the innermost letter that had come to him two weeks ago. The letter, in which some Church minister had warned him against the future appearance of Samoh, first in his neighboring sector and then in his personal stronghold. To his credit, the letter had come in good time. And although some preparations had already been made, the most important thing — to form a defensive line on the staircases of the Korsa sector leading from the surface to the mine itself — was done only after the letter, and just a day before the Inquisitor's appearance.

As expected, first they tried the freight elevator, which was blown up by the Mountain Man along with himself. And then they tried to pass through the staircase, but the cut-off lights and tear gas did their job — the plagues didn't go any further, and in the end the only way to leave the sector was also by surface. If they had not made these preparations, it is quite possible that this inquisitor would already be in the Diza sector and would have done what he wanted here. It would have been a surprise to the CCC to see him emerge from the mine, and would have probably put an end to any further plans for Ananhr herself.

It's worth noting that even now, Anandhr's chances are not good at all. It's not even clear why she hasn't personally left the place yet. She's backed up by a personal storm of SCK guards and some chiwi units on the outer perimeter of the sector. It's enough to counter the Maquis, but the Inquisition operates legally, so it's not appropriate to use it against her, as the case in the Korsa sector showed.

Too little information. Gora once again thought that for a long time his weakest point was the lack of necessary information for analysis. And often he had to make bets almost blindly and only on the assumption that other options looked even worse…And yet some conclusions were obvious to him.

One. Expanding his influence will certainly not please those who have ceded theirs. That is, the former plague administration. The main trump card here was the SCK, which created this system and, obviously, needed it for some time.

Second. Maki. If even they haven't learned about the increase in coal production and transportation yet, things will change when they do. No matter what they think of the miners, the fact that the recent changes are making the plague empire richer is clearly not going to make them happy. And those slogans about the welfare of the people, which they have been proclaiming for the last hundred years, will be forgotten and remade in a flash. And at the head of their new idea they will put the war against collabrationism, as they will certainly call it. That is why it was so important to get them away from the Deese sector as soon as possible.

Three. Inquisition. If they are not interfered with, at first they will not have any claims to self-government. But in the event of the defeat of the BCC, soon enough, everything will really go back to the old version of governance, which was so warned about by the very minister of the church in the letter.

Fourth. Heavey. There are a lot of questions here, especially since there was even less information about them. It's absolutely certain that they're somehow connected to the SCK, since they were here so quickly. But it's obviously not the same kind of connection as he has with the CCC. They clearly have a lot more leeway. And even more personal vendetta against the Maquis. It's even surprising that the Maquis have never mentioned them, and it seems as if they're covering up the fact of their existence… It's hard to say what the prospects are, but at this point they're powerful allies, and it's not worth it to interfere with their use of underground communication routes, especially since it would really help them in eliminating the Maquis in this area… Let the Maquis operate somewhere else. After all, they should have enough targets. At least the column's headquarters in Rostov-on-Don… The sector's karak was once removed, and they could also try to remove the column's broz….

There was a knock at the door. It was Tikhomirov. Lately he had been looking very tense and with a very concentrated look. It was evident that he was very much enjoying what he was doing, and that his appetite was apparently growing no less than that of the prefect himself.

— Mr. Prefect. It's urgent.

— Come on in. Report. — Gora was very pleased with his work, and sometimes even thought about how he had once successfully chosen such a man for his personal service.

— The first piece of news doesn't smell good. Our informant from Unit 14… — Having first recruited the plague, Tikhomirov had taken to the business of recruitment with real professionalism, and was now doing his best to infiltrate his men everywhere. Even before the transfer of the six mines to the prefect's jurisdiction, Tikhomirov's trusted men were already there, and in addition, there were such men in several Maquis units, including his most important, Unit 14. — The informant reports that Ranierov was released. He was held for two days and then released. In view of the fact that they found the real traitor. Grisha Listov.

Gora remembered the name perfectly well, and how he deliberately did not look at it, checking the lists of those who had escaped and comparing them with those who had stayed at the mine. Surrendering didn't suit him for two reasons: first, he was from the same soma as Maria, and if they found her, then with one traitor already in the same soma, they could obviously mistake her for a traitor as well. Of course, the chances that she was still alive and that she would come to them were slim, but even the slightest chance of that did not satisfy Horus. And secondly, it was not at all favorable to the prefect that the real informant in Squad 14 would stop snitching right now, when he could have such complications with the Maquis. Still, he didn't need a strong Squad 14 right now, and it was not a good idea to help him. The outcome was disappointing: somehow the Maquis had found out about the real traitor themselves, and knowingly or unknowingly denouncing an innocent man would obviously tarnish Gora's reputation. On the other hand, time had been gained, and the Maquis were no longer near Deez's sector, and that was the tactical objective.

However, the prefect was very unhappy. With himself. It was not the time to win tactical challenges when there were strategic ones. And strategically, the Maquis would only get unnecessary suspicions, if they hadn't already. And in the short term, there are no mechanisms to fix it.

— Any more bad news? — The prefect asked.

— The Inquisitors, including their battle drills, left the sector by surface. There's no definitive data on which way they went… Analysis of the railroad tracks indicates that the movement was back towards the Krito sector, but I wouldn't rely on that. There's a detour, and it's likely we'll see them somewhere near us soon….

— It is logical to think so… If I were them, I would not stop halfway, and even with such successes… And what interests me most of all is another point — they must be sure that the BCC will not forgive them… So what are they trying to achieve?

— I have no doubt, Mr. Prefect, that their plans are more than ambitious. And they are not made from nothing… Remember that plague I recruited?

— Shinhra.

— Yes, Shinhra… I did promise him protection from the Inquisition. Protection from everyone, especially the BCC. And it worked… How afraid of the Inquisition are they that they're willing to snitch on the CCC… I think that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Inquisition is far more dangerous than the CCC or the Imperial Army. The plagues themselves are afraid of it. And I think we have to be especially careful with them… — You're right. You're right.

— One last piece of news, Mr. Prefect.

Gora looked more closely into his eyes, and saw something unexpected in them. Apparently, this news Tikhomirov did not really want to give out, but assumed that it was obligatory.

— Go ahead.

— Mr. Prefect… Looks like we didn't just let the man who was going to kill you pass….

Such things can't be surprising when you're gaining power, and at such a rate. He'd thought of it himself, which was why he'd had a personal guard right out front and under the control of the person he trusted most six months ago. It's even natural, because there will be plenty of applicants for your place, especially secretive ones. But when it comes down to it, it's not what you'd expect.

— Speak more…

— He said he was coming from the Maquis… That immediately aroused suspicion. They rarely send anyone, usually just notes. But this one just showed up. Somehow he got past the hivy checkpoints, then up the stairs. They stopped him at the bottom of the stairs. He said, "I'm here to see the Mountain." He was examined, of course, and they reported him to me. And while I was getting there, there was an explosion. Those who were standing farther away said they found something there, they started asking questions, and then he clicked something… I have no doubt why he was coming here. That this "case" was definitely personal… But there's no indication of whose he really was.

— So you've decided it's not from the Maquis?

— It's possible. There's also this information that they've released Ranierov… But it doesn't seem like a good time. It doesn't add up… I wouldn't do that if I were them, even if I wanted to… There are many fugitives among their contingent, including those from our mines. Not many relatives left, but plenty of friends and acquaintances. Who knows what they think, but most of them want us as friends, not enemies. And making assassination attempts like this… And what will they say to their own people that the plague did it? Who would believe such a thing… In short, logical in a way, but not in time. It's not like them. Of course, there are guys of ramming type, but those who are smarter should be more cunning… They would rather shit us with something, so that the plagues really lynched us themselves… And to kill. To kill is, rather, to kill the plague administration… But their chief is Zubkov now. They say he's as cunning as a fox. He doesn't act directly… In short, nothing points to the Maquis.

Gora shook his head affirmatively. He was thinking exactly the same thing. That it could have happened, but it wasn't the time for it yet. And that if they wanted to hurt him, they would destroy the infrastructure, not him. Especially since, truth be told, someone else from the miners could nominally replace him, and it wouldn't make any difference. For them.

And if it's not the Maquis, it's the chiwi. There's not much else. And I wonder what's going on inside the Hivis that's gotten in their way. Cobra's unit transit agreement is very favorable right now. Without the Mountain, that agreement is gone. So maybe someone wanted to interfere not with him, but with Cobra.