Читать книгу The Last Tariff - Alistair Nunamaker - Страница 4

Alaric began searching the city for his brother. He only had an hour or so before it was dark and didn't want to wander alone in the dark very long. He had no idea what sorts of things had already gone on in the city, but he knew that with the desperate people of Estad now trying to make a life for themselves here, the streets could become dangerous, depending on the work situation for the newcomers. Alaric walked for a time, staying on main streets and peering down alleys hoping to catch sight of something in the dark. After some time had passed he was beginning to grow frustrated. The city was enormous. He stood little chance of finding his brother just wandering around by himself. Alaric pulled out his pocket watch. It was nothing fancy, just a simple thing to keep track of time. He had been out for almost forty five minutes with no sign of Charlie. It was about time to start heading back to Emilia and the wagon. Alaric decided he would go down the next couple of streets and, if he didn't have any luck, he would turn back for the night.

Alaric rounded a corner and saw a crowd of people standing around something and laughing. He approached and looked through the crowd to see a man picking up the pieces of something made of brass. The man was on the shorter side and his brown hair was not very well kept. The man seemed to be in his thirties and looked like he hadn't changed his clothes in weeks. His ratty vest hung open, due to several missing buttons, which added to his untidy appearance. The man looked up at the crowd yelling, “It will work. You'll see. When it does, it will change the world!” The crowd laughed again, some of them kicking parts as they walked away. As the crowd dispersed, Alaric walked up to the man and bent down to help him pick up the pieces of whatever it was he had tried to make. The man looked at Alaric a bit skeptical as to what his intentions were, but decided he'd prefer the help at that moment and finished picking up the pieces.

“Thank you young man, I am Jedidiah Leeford. Friends call me Jed. What made you decide to help me?”

“Well, I'm new to town. I just thought how terrible it'd be if I were treated the same way. I'm a merchant and just took over my father's business. I'm a bit new to it all. That's how I make my living, and I assume this is how you do or would like to, right?”

“You're very perceptive for a young man. What's your name?”

“Alaric Wyverstone.”

“Well, Mr. Wyverstone, it is a pleasure to meet you. Perhaps, when we both get more established, we can do some business together.”

“Perhaps. What is it that you're making?” Jed grinned, then fumbled around in a canvas bag and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. “I'm glad you asked, take a look.” Alaric looked at the paper. It was a blue print. He wasn't quite sure what it was. But, it had a lever on it and there were all sorts of springs and small parts inside. Alaric asked, “What is it?” Jed laughed, “It's a mechanism I hope to attach to a barrel and stock. The idea would be a rifle that could fire many rounds before reloading. All you would have to do is pull the lever and it would eject the cartridge, loading the next one at the same time.” Alaric looked confused for a moment. “I had heard that people had invented a cartridge made of brass that would hold the primer, powder, and bullet all in one, but I didn't think it had been around very long.”

“Oh, it hasn't! But I want to put it to use in a way no one else has yet.”

“One more question, it seems to have a lot of parts. Wouldn't that be less reliable in wartime, with extended use and dirt and such?”

“Quite right, I don't intend on selling it to militaries. They probably wouldn't accept it anyway. No, I'm looking at a civilian market. For example, merchants go through hostile places all the time. Wouldn't it be beneficial to have a firearm that could fire off multiple rounds and keep a thief at bay?” Alaric thought for a moment with the image of the Kudranian cavalry chasing his family. They used a shotgun partly because it had two shots rather than one. Having a rifle like this would have surely helped. At least, it felt like it would have. Alaric then nodded, “It would be. I look forward to you being able to finish it. When you get it working, I think I might buy one.” Jed beamed, as he took the paper back from Alaric, shoving it back into the bag. He then picked up his hat and nodded to Alaric, “Good luck with your business young man, I'll hold you to your word. I expect to make at least one sale now.” Jed chuckled and walked off into the night.

Alaric watched Jed go and then checked his watch. He had been out for almost two hours and had spent a good portion of that time talking to that man. Alaric sighed and decided he was just going to have to spend more time than he had intended. He was worried about what sorts of people he might run into, but knew that he had to find his brother. Walking at a quickened pace, Alaric strolled down the streets hoping to see Charlie. Some lights already started to be turned out. Other buildings were very much awake with noise. Alaric followed the voices and found a tavern. Men and women, mostly drunk, were stumbling around outside and in. He decided that he would go inside and see if he could find his brother in there. After all, it was a public place where people were, and it was also still open. It was possible Charlie had decided to get a room here instead of sleeping in the wagon. It would be very much like him.

Alaric walked through the door and just barely avoided getting knocked over by a stumbling drunk. There was one table that didn't have anyone sitting at it, so he chose to go there and try to scan the room from his seat. As Alaric sat down, a woman, wearing some rather revealing clothing, walked up to him. “Hello sugar, can I get you anything?” Alaric was about to shake his head when he decided to ask the woman if she had seen Charlie. “Actually, I was wondering if a boy had come in here at all the past couple of days. Looks sort of like me, but shorter and a few years younger.” The woman thought for a minute, going through all of the faces she must see on a daily basis. “No, can't say that I have. If you have a place I can call on you, I'll let you know if I see him.” Alaric sighed, then smiled at the woman, “I have a wagon in the city center. I'm a merchant. I don't plan on going anywhere for a few days at least.”

“I'll let you know then. See ya later darlin.” The woman walked off into the crowded room, flirting with men as she went. Alaric continued watching the people, but didn't see anyone that was even close to his age, let alone younger. Just before he was going to give up and go back to Emilia, a couple of men walked over to his table. “Hey kid, git. We want this table.” They sat down, Alaric didn't move right away. He was a bit irritated at their rudeness. “You deaf boy? I said git!” The man growled through the stub of his cigar at Alaric. “I'm going. Didn't know you were in such a hurry.”

“I ain't got all night. Of course we're in a hurry.” Alaric got up and started to walk away. The men immediately started talking when they saw him finally get up. “That boy complains way too much. He'll never sell for a good price.”

“Shut it Earl, I'm thinkin.”

“We should just kill the brat and be done with it.”

“I said shut it Earl. Hey kid, I thought I told you to get lost.” He had noticed Alaric hadn't walked very far and was looking at them. “How much did you hear?” Alaric turned and walked back to the table taking a seat. “Enough. So, you have someone you're trying to sell? I didn't know slavery was legal here.” Earl reached for his gun, but the other man put his hand on Earl's shoulder. “Technically, it isn't, but most people don't care here. They're too wrapped up in their inventions or businesses. In fact some buy to help them with those very things.”

“I see, so a merchant, such as myself, might be able to make a discreet deal then?”

“You, a merchant? Ha, that's rich. You're a bit young, ain't you?”

“I might be, but that doesn't change the fact that I inherited the business. How much are you hoping to get for this person?” Alaric wasn't sure it was actually his brother, but he had to take the chance. The fact that the person they were talking about complained a lot, made Alaric think his chances were high. “Well I have a reputation you know, so I can't really charge a whole lot for him. How about, ten silver dollars?”

“Ten?! From what you just said, I don't know if I'd pay more than six.”

“Oh come on, we've gotta make somethin. How 'bout eight?”

“Seven, that's the highest I'll go. Although I want to see him before we seal the deal. I want to make sure he's worth it.”

“Never thought I'd sell someone to a bra-a... um... young gentleman like you, but I'll agree. Come on, I'll take you to see him.” The three of them stood up and walked out of the tavern. The woman that had spoken to Alaric originally caught him by the arm and whispered in his ear, “Careful, they're bad news.” Alaric smiled at her and gave her a wink, before continuing out with the men. The men led Alaric down a couple of streets going away from businesses and into an area filled with warehouses. They went down one small side street and stopped in front of a warehouse that seemed to have not been in use for some time, but upon closer inspection it was locked up fairly tight. The men unlocked the door and ushered Alaric inside before shutting the door again. Earl stood guard at the door, while the other man led Alaric through the warehouse. There were several people here, most looked like refugees from Estad.

“He's just down here. See anyone else you might be interested in? Lots of choices since Estad got invaded.” Alaric shook his head and they continued on. Alaric noticed that there were several armed men lurking along the walls of the building. This was a large operation. The man in front of Alaric stopped in front a young boy and pointed to him. “This is him, not much to look at really.” Alaric inspected the boy It was clearly not Charlie, but he looked like he hadn't eaten in quite some time. “He looks weak.” Alaric bent down and put his hand on the boys chin and acted like he was inspecting him. Alaric locked eyes with the boy trying to get across to him that he wasn't the typical slave buyer. The man cleared his throat, “So? What do you think?” Alaric stood and shook his head. “He doesn't look like he could do much work. I'd prefer to only pay six for him.” The man glared at Alaric, “That's not enough!”

“You said it yourself, didn't you? You didn't know if you'd ever be able to sell him, and that it might be better to just unload him. Six.” The man gave a half growl before shaking his head. “Fine, take him. I'm glad to be rid of him.” Alaric nodded and handed the man six of the silver dollars he had made earlier that day. Alaric helped the boy up and told him to get moving. Earl opened the door and moved aside letting them out.

They walked for a few moments in silence before Alaric spoke. “I have no intention of keeping you as a slave. My brother is missing and the description of you that I heard sounded a lot like him.”

“Then why buy me at all, if I wasn't who you were looking for?”

“Because I couldn't leave you there, and I don't intend on letting my countrymen get sold off either. I'd like you to come with me to the authorities and help put a stop to those people's operation.” The boy grinned, “I can do that.” Alaric smiled, “Good, I need to check back in with my employee, and then we'll go to the authorities.” The two of them headed back to the city center, Alaric had quite a bit to explain to Emilia.

Arriving back at the wagon, they found Emilia sitting on the back, waiting. She cocked an eyebrow at the young boy with Alaric, “Who's this?” Alaric looked at the boy blankly, realizing he had no idea what his name was. Then the boy spoke up, “I'm Brisco, this guy here just bought me.”

“Bought you?!” Emilia looked furious and before Alaric could explain, he was getting slapped in the face. “I didn't know you would be for enslaving someone to work for you, especially someone so young.” Alaric put his hands on Emilia's shoulders, “Let me explain. I heard a couple of men talking about a boy and it sounded like Charlie. They're human traffickers. I took a chance hoping it was Charlie, but it wasn't.” Alaric released Emilia, waiting for her to calm down. She took a deep breath and sighed, “I'm sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you too bad.” Alaric shook his head, “If I ever do turn to slavery as a business opportunity, you're welcome to hit me as hard as you want, but right now we need to go to the authorities.”

“Why's that?”

“They had a lot of people in that warehouse, most of them were from Estad. I want to stop them, and Brisco says he'll testify.” Emilia shook her head, “I knew coming with you would be stressful. But, it's the right thing to do, so I can't fault you. Do you want me to stay here again and watch the wagon?” Alaric nodded, “If that's all right with you. I don't want to lose what little wealth we have.” Emilia hopped back into the wagon, agreeing. Alaric looked down at Brisco, “Ready?” He nodded, “Let's go!” Alaric and Brisco started walking down the street. Alaric had no idea where the sheriff was but knew that there were guards at the gate, so headed in that direction. “By the way, how old are you, Brisco?”

“I'm twelve, and you're old.” Alaric blinked, “I am not!” Brisco giggled and walked in front of Alaric for a while. It did not take long to reach the guard house at the gate. There weren't many people moving around anymore, as it was getting late. One of the guards was standing outside of the guard house smoking, when he saw the two boys coming towards him, he called out, “Do you need help with something?” Alaric took a few steps closer before responding, “Yes, I wasn't sure where to go, but I remembered there were guards here. I want to report a human trafficking ring.” The guard about choked, “Excuse me?” Brisco stepped up, “It's true. This guy got me out and asked me to come with him to help get the people thrown in jail.” The guard stood there looking at them for a moment and called back into the guard house, “Hear that John, these boys here say they found a bunch of slavers in the city.” The guards started laughing, clearly not believing what the boys were saying. Alaric took another step up to the guard, “Look, I just paid six dollars to get this boy out without drawing suspicion. This isn't a game. I want something done about it.” The guard's laugh turned to a glare, “I don't have time for childish nonsense.” Alaric held the guard's gaze for a time before turning away, “Fine, I'll find someone else to help, since you don't want to do what you're paid to do.” The guard waved them off, “Yeah, sure, don't go causing any trouble.”

Alaric stalked off, fuming that the guards wouldn't take it the least bit serious. As they rounded a corner, a man wearing a long coat, came out from under the overhang of a building. “So you discovered what those crooks are doing then. Listen, it's been going on for some time. Some of the guards are paid off by them. Most other people don't want to believe slavery could exist here in the free states.” Alaric and Brisco were a bit startled by the man and took a step backwards, “And who are you?” The man chuckled, “Don't worry, I'm a friend. If you don't want trouble though, I suggest you keep your head down. Not many people will go up against those guys and will even turn you over to them, if you make too much of a fuss, just to keep them off their own backs.” Alaric shook his head in disbelief, but before he could say anything the man was already striding away from them.

Alaric and Brisco returned to the wagon and explained to Emilia what had happened. Emilia was furious, “It's unbelievable that they would just wave it off like it didn't exist.” Alaric shrugged, “Apparently, that's the way it is here. I guess they have a lot of people scared and are a lot more involved with things in the city than just kidnapping.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don't know that we can do anything. We don't exactly have the people or training to just go and stop them.”

“So, we're going to do nothing?”

“For right now, yes. I'll try to work something out, but it will take time.”

Emilia stomped her foot and climbed back into the wagon, not saying a word the rest of the night. Alaric and Brisco climbed into the wagon a few moments later. They gave Emilia her space and tried to get some sleep. Alaric had some difficulty. He wanted to help those people but had no means to do it. Hating not being able to do something, he also knew he would be no good to anyone dead.

The next morning Alaric showed Brisco how to turn the wagon into a small pavilion to sell things under. Alaric and Brisco also talked throughout the day, and Alaric found out that Brisco wanted to create things. He wanted to invent like lots of other people in the city did. Alaric decided that, after they finished for the day, he would try to find Jed and see if he would take Brisco on as an apprentice. Alaric wasn't really sure how the invention business worked, but it was an idea to help Brisco get started on a life of his own. Alaric also learned that Brisco was an orphan, who had lived in Aerahagen his entire life.

More people stopped during the day. All of the candles that Alaric had brought were sold off. Estadian refugees bought quite a few blankets and several pairs of shoes. The woman that worked at the tavern even stopped by to let Alaric know that she hadn't heard anything and to see if he had been serious about being a merchant. She purchased a beaver fur for four dollars. She was honest with Alaric about how much they usually sold for, this far south, Alaric had the furs priced too high. Alaric had never been down here and didn't know what sorts of prices things fetched. He asked the woman about some of his other prices. Many of the things that sold well further north, were not worth so much in Aerahagen. Especially the furs and blankets, since it did not get as cold. By the end of the day Alaric was feeling good about his time in Aerahagen, he had good information and had made some good sales. If he had a few more days like he had today, he would need to look for more goods. Which concerned him, since he had never really been around to see how to make those sorts of deals.

Alaric and Brisco helped pack the wagon back down before leaving to look for Jed. It only took asking a few people to figure out where Jed was. It was a small living space above a general store. Alaric and Brisco climbed the outdoor staircase to the entrance of the living space and knocked. At first there was no response, so Alaric knocked again. After a moment they heard a voice from inside. “Yes, yes, one moment.” They waited another moment and the door opened rather sharply. “I said I'd have the money by the end of the week. . . Oh! You're not the land lord. Who are you?” Alaric laughed, “I'm the merchant that was interested in your work last night.” Jed eyed him up and down a moment before his face brightened, “Ah, so you are, and who is this with you?” Brisco took a step forward, “I'm Brisco.”

“I helped this young man get away from some rather nasty people. I was hoping that maybe you could use an assistant, or apprentice.”

“Hmm, yes, I might have use for someone like that, but I can't pay him.”

“Oh that's fine. He'll work for free for awhile. He owes me and I want him to be able to have a better life and not get stuck with the same type of people I saved him from.”

“Very well, but you don't touch anything unless I tell you to. I don't want to lose anything. I'm so close to finishing this; just a little more time.” Jed started walking back into the building, but he stopped and waved for them to come in. The boys went inside, shutting the door behind them. “I just need a little more time, but I don't know how long it will be before these people throw me out. I haven't made any money you see, so I haven't been able to pay them.” Alaric sighed, “How much do you owe them?” Jed didn't seem to hear or didn't want to answer. He just kept on moving things around on the table. After a few moments of silence he finally said, “Ten dollars.”

“And when do they want it?”

“Two days from now.”

“I'll pay it for you tomorrow. Just teach Brisco and I expect to be the first person you tell when you figure that gun out.”

Jed's eyes widened, “It's a deal. You'll be the first I tell and the first I sell to!” Alaric laughed, “I'll hold you to your word. Get to work, and Brisco work hard and do whatever he tells you.”

Alaric walked out the door and back down the stairs. He hurriedly went back to the wagon and explained to Emilia what had been decided. Emilia was a bit concerned, “You keep spending money as soon as we make it, to help people you barely know. If you keep this up, you're going to fail as a merchant.” Alaric shook his head, “My pa did this sometimes. He said it's good to make connections wherever you go. Help people and someday they might help you too. It's a good long term business plan, and I hope that what we build here will be long term, since I can't exactly go back home right away.” Emilia sighed and hoisted herself down off the wagon. “If you say so. Let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry.”

“You're always hungry,” Alaric laughed and followed after her. Aerahagen seemed like it would be a good place to make a new home.