The Emperor's Edge 3: Deadly Games

The Emperor's Edge 3: Chapter 6 Part 2

“Too late,” Sicarius said. “The husband has arrived. Or an enthusiastic lover.”

“Huh?” Amaranthe lifted the spyglass to check on the flat again, but jerked it from her eye as soon as the scene came into focus. “Ugh. I don’t want to walk in on that.”

“They’ll stop.” Sicarius started for the drainpipe leading to an alley below.

“Maybe we should wait until they’re done,” Amaranthe said.

“Why?”

“I’m sure he’ll be in a better mood afterward. Would you want to be interrupted in the middle of...stoking the furnace?”

He said nothing. He probably thought it ridiculous to worry about such a thing.

“We’ll just wait here and...” She groped for a way to pass time that would not make Sicarius balk. Chat? No. Draw a grid and play Dirt Defender? No, not enough light. Emulate the people across the street? Hah. Sure.

“Watch?” Sicarius said when her silence went on.

“What? No! I used to arrest people for that.”

Grunts drifted up to the rooftop. The lovers had clambered out of their window and were undressing each other on the fire escape. That was one way to avoid waking the children, Amaranthe supposed. Though the neighbors might not appreciate it.

“We could discuss the team uniform,” she said, joking.

“The what?”

“Maldynado thinks we should have a team uniform.”

The long silence that followed said plenty about his opinion of the idea. She collapsed the spyglass, tucked it into a pocket, and moved away from the edge of the roof so she could not be seen from the fire escape. “We’ll just take our time getting over there,” she said.

“The plan?” Sicarius asked.

Yes, it would not be as easy for him to snoop with two adults in the room. “Back to the original.” Amaranthe patted a pocket that held a forged document neatly folded into quarters. “It seems we have the magistrate’s permission to search the premises.”

“If they recognize one of us?” Sicarius asked.

“I doubt they will. Miners don’t get much time off to roam the city and peruse wanted posters.”

“If your source is correct, this one does.”

“We’ll adjust the plan if need be,” she said.

“It would be far simpler to go in, grab him, and force him to answer questions.”

“Sicarius...” Amaranthe hung her head. “Sespian is never going to want to get to know someone whose solution for every problem is torturing people. I know it’s efficient, but I don’t think he’s someone who can respect a man who isn’t humane.”

“Humane,” Sicarius said flatly.

“Yes. At least in one’s actions. Nobody can be judged for what’s in his thoughts, eh?”

“And the humane thing to do is to disguise ourselves as enforcers and lie to these people to obtain answers.”

Er, she hated it when she was trying to be morally superior and someone pointed out that her idea was only slightly less sketchy. “I think it’s a...humane option, yes. If all goes well, nobody will be hurt. Is it ideal? Perhaps not, but I don’t know of an ideal situation. I’m beginning to think our circumstances preclude those. But maybe it’s always been that way. If the legends are anything to go by, being a hero doesn’t mean being perfect. Being a hero means overcoming those imperfections to do good anyway.” There that sounded plausible. Or pompous. Was she truly comparing the two of them to the great heroes of old? “Anyway, I think Sespian is far more likely to admire someone who eschews the easy solution, however efficient, in favor of the one that does no harm. I’m sure of it.”