"I don't know. If this continues we must find a way for them to keep advancing. Otherwise we will not be able to follow our tactics," Lucía answered.
"Did you find out what the count's greatest uncertainty is?" André asked suddenly.
"Yes, my lord. The count's greatest doubt is that, since he entered our territory, he has only found ghost towns and has no news of us." With Lucía's words, André immediately obtained a solution in his mind.
"Well, it seems we did too well in the war against the Viscounty of Clun, so much that our lord count shows himself too cautious with us." André smiled with confidence.
"Seeing how you smile, it seems you already have a solution." Lucía looked at him intensely, waiting for him to tell her what he had devised.
"Well, more or less. By the way, how deeply have we infiltrated the count's men? Can we slightly suggest their actions?" André asked.
"As for this subject, I can tell you that we are deeply infiltrated around him. Yes, it is possible to slightly suggest his actions." With a proud face, Lucía informed André of her achievements.
"That is good. Then we will give him a target to attack. Your mission will be to convince him to mobilize his army from Black City and penetrate deeper into our territory." André lightly told Lucía his plan.
"From our side, consider it done."
"Very well. This afternoon we will have a strategic meeting. If you want, you can attend it." André threw the invitation at her suddenly.
"You know I don't like attending that type of meeting." She categorically refused.
"This is an order. In the meeting there will only be the high commands of the army, and you need to relate with them for greater efficacy in your work." André firmly imposed attendance on her.
"You only want to let them know that there is someone over their heads watching them very closely." Lucía complained in a loud voice.
"Whatever it is, I hope you are there."
"Very well."
In a spacious hall of the central mansion of Silver City, at that moment the high commands of the army of the Solomon Viscounty were gathered:
The commander-general of the army, Raúl Blass. General Armond, commander of the first division. Hugo Barris, colonel of Rifle Battalion Number 1. Tom Cole, colonel of Rifle Battalion Number 2. Ron Class, colonel of Artillery Battalion Number 1.
In the central position of the hall sat André, Viscount of Solomon.
"Gentlemen, before beginning this strategic meeting, allow me to introduce someone to you. Come forward, you may enter." With André's words, everyone looked toward the door with curiosity, to see who had the honor of being presented so formally by him himself.
The door opened and Lucía entered with her habitual poker face. Upon seeing her, everyone in the hall was surprised: they could not imagine the reason why André had invited her to such an important meeting.
"Although many already know her, allow me to present her formally. Her name is Lucía Solomon, head of operations of the new Central Intelligence Agency of the Solomon Viscounty.
Everyone will ask themselves what type of agency this is. Well, allow me to tell you: the Central Intelligence Agency, abbreviated as CIA, is a new department created for the collection of information, espionage, and infiltration on the enemy side.
Her authority will only be below me and she has the capacity to order all of you as if it were my own order. Likewise, all of you have the right to access the agency's information according to your level.
The agency also has the power to dismiss you if it believes you are acting wrongly against the viscounty. That is all; I hope you get along well from now on."
André's words caused a storm in the hearts of all those present. Many did not have a good face: they could not accept that a woman was above them.
Lucía did not feel intimidated by this group of strong men. She simply walked and sat to André's right side.
"Well, gentlemen, now let us begin the strategic meeting.
First, the information provided by the agency shows that the Count of Blair is stationed in Black City. He has no plans to move from there until specifically verifying what the function of the railway station and the railway tracks is.
The information tells us that he sent scouts to follow the railway lines. His army does not plan to mobilize until knowing where they lead." André spoke about the intelligence obtained by the agency.
"I believe we should attack him there. With our superior weapons it would be very easy to finish them off." It was Colonel Tom who spoke, proud of his artillery battalion.
"That cannot be done. The plan is to finish them all off; we cannot let anyone escape the net. In addition, upon attacking them there we would destroy Black City." It was Raúl, the commander-general of the army, who immediately vetoed that option.
"As General Raúl said, attacking in Black City is not an option. We have to manage to make them leave there." André supported Raúl's idea.
"How are we going to achieve that?" General Armond spoke in a loud voice, while trying to seek a solution.
"What is the count's greatest uncertainty that does not allow him to keep advancing from Black City?" General Raúl raised the central subject of the discussion.
"The count's greatest concern is that he sees no trace of any enemy. This has led him to have serious suspicions of a conspiracy." It was Lucía who spoke for the first time since she entered the hall.
This surprised everyone: they had not expected that the infiltration of the new agency would be so powerful, capable even of inferring the count's thoughts.
"Well, gentlemen, now these are the measures we will take regarding this situation." It was André who spoke, taking everyone out of their thoughts. Then all gazes centered on him.
"First, Colonel Tom and his battalion, together with Colonel Ron's artillery battalion, will march to the front attracting the enemy's attention.
When the enemy army mobilizes, Colonel Hugo's battalion will transfer on the locomotives to their rear. Once they enter combat, under the siege of riflemen and cannons we will proceed to finish the enemy.
Colonel Hugo's battalion will take charge of covering the retreat. Hostages will be permitted, except for the leaders.
The Count of Blair's army, although brave and well-trained, faces an enemy with a clear technological advantage. The lack of modern weapons and adequate armor limits their capacity to resist effectively the constant assault of André's forces."
"My lord, I believe the count's army will not easily leave Black City. Due to his strong suspicion of conspiracy, they will not move until confirming some of their doubts." It was Colonel Hugo who raised his doubts, to the astonishment of everyone.
"Our agency will take charge of that. Surely the count's army will mobilize when it sights the enemy." Lucía said something that astonished those present even more.
How deeply had the agency infiltrated among the count's men? Just thinking about it a little was terrifying.
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