It took Cluster a week to get his enforcers together in sufficient number, together with an adequate brute squad. And so, fiver days before the wedding, he stood at the head of his company awaiting the speech of the Prince. This was in the castle courtyard, and when the Prince appeared, the Count was, as usual, with him, although, not as usual, the Count seemed preoccupied. Which, or course, he was, though Cluster had no way of knowing that. The count had sucked ten years from Jack this past week, and, with the life of sixty-five that was average fora Florinese male, the victim had approximately thirty years remaining, assuming he was about twenty-five when they started experimenting. But how best to go about dividing that? The Count was simply in quandary. So many possibilities, but which would prove, scientifically, most interesting?The count sighed; life was never easy.
"You are here," the Prince began, "because there may be another plot against my beloved. I charge each and every one of you with being her personal protector. I want the Thieves Quarter empty and all the inhabitants jailed twenty-four hours before my wedding. Only then will I rest easy. Gentleman,I beg you: think of this mission as being an affair of the heart, and I know you will not fail." With that he pivoted and, followed by the Count, hurried from the courtyard, leaving Cluster in command.
The conquest of the Thieves Quarter began immediately. Cluster worked long and hard at it each day, but the Thieves Quarter was a mile square, so there was much to do. Most of the criminals had been through unjust and illegal roundups before, so they offered little resistance. They knew the jails were not celled enough for all of them, so if it meant a few days' incarceration what did it matter?
There was, however a second group of criminals, those who realized that capture meant, for various past performances, death and these, without exception, resisted. In general, Cluster, through adroit handling of the Brute Squad, was able to bring these bad fellows, eventually under control.
Still, thirty-sic hours before the sunset wedding, there were half a dozen holdouts left in the Thieves Quarter. Cluster arose at dawn and, tired and confused-not one of the captured criminals seemed to come from Guilder-he gather the best of the Brute Squad and led them into the Thieves Quarter for what had to be the final foray.
Cluster went immediately to Facilier's Alehouse, first sending all save two Brutes off various tasks, keeping a noisy one and a quite on for his own needs. He knocked on Facilier's door and waited. Facilier was by far the most powerful man in Thieves Quarter. He seemed almost to won half of it and there wasn't a crime of any dimension he wasn't behind. He always avoided arrest, and everyone except Cluster thought Facilier must be bribing somebody. Cluster knew he was bribing somebody, since every month, rain or shine, Facilier came to Cluster's house and gave him a satchel full of money.
"Who?" Facilier called from inside the alehouse.
"The chief of All Enforcement in Florin City, accompanied by Brutes," Cluster replied. Completeness was one of his virtues.
"Oh." Faciler opened the door. For a power, he was very scrawny, black and tall. "Come in."
Cluster entered, leaving the two Brutes in the doorway. "Get ready and be quick," Cluster said.
"Hey, Cluster, it's me," Facilier said softly.
"I know, I know," Cluster said softly right back. "But please, do me a favour, get ready."
"Pretend I did. I'll stay in the alehouse, I promise.I got enough food; no one will ever know."
"The Prince is without mercy," Cluster said. "If I let you stay and I'm found out, that's it for me."
YOU ARE READING
The Princess Bride
FanfictionWhen Jamie is sick with the flue on the Christmas holiday's all he can do is play his videos games and eat his meals that his mother has made him. He never planned on his father reading him, a book. This one book was a story that was read to father...
