Chapter 154: Win or Die
The City Watch continued to harass and obstruct the normal operations of the Night's Watch industries throughout the first of the three days Tyrion had declared. It was only when Tyrion personally showed his face with his men that they feigned deference and retreated. However, Slynt was not entirely without sources of information. By the second day, sensing a strange shift in the political winds, he grew wary and ordered the Gold Cloaks to cease their provocations.
Inside the East Barracks, the Commander sat in his office, discussing a mysterious visitor who had just departed with his most trusted lieutenant.
...
"That was the Queen's man?" Allar Deem, Slynt's foremost henchman, asked in shock. "What would the Queen want with you?"
"To deliver a grand gift—he told me the Queen's dwarf brother is teaming up with that Night's Watchman, Egger, to ruin me. They've convinced a swarm of Crownlands lords to file formal complaints with the Hand, burying me under a pile of charges to strip me of my command," Slynt said, his face rigid. "No wonder when I visited a few shops yesterday, the owners weren't as polite as usual. Their masters must have instructed them to join the hunt!"
"What?" Allar couldn't wrap his head around it. "Why would the Queen care about this? And she's Tyrion's own sister; why would she betray her brother to help us?"
"She is the Queen; is it not normal for her to have ears in the palace and know its secrets?" Janos's face darkened; he was beginning to realize he probably shouldn't have crossed the Night's Watch office. "As for why she'd help me... heh, she wants to buy me. She wants me to help her rebel—to kill the King, drive out the Hand, and put her son on the throne, whoever sired the boy. The price for my loyalty is that once it's done, she quashes these investigations and names me a lord."
"Rebellion?" Allar jumped. "So the rumors about her and her brother are true? The King is back, the scandal can't be hidden, and she's ready to gamble everything?"
"So it seems. Allar, if you were Commander, would you accept?"
"My lord, I... I doubt it could work. Every man in the Watch knows King Robert. If we stood before His Majesty and he gave so much as a roar, the brothers would likely bind us and hand us over on the spot."
Allar Deem stammered his response. In truth, it wasn't just a matter of the soldiers knowing the King; with enough leadership and coin, any king could be toppled. But the reality was stark: on one side stood the King who won his throne in battle, a man of peerless prestige and the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms who signed their paychecks; on the other was a Commander who showed no care for his subordinates and loved to skim off their wages. Slynt could bully others with Robert's backing, but to rebel against him... who would follow a mad dog that turned to bite its master?
Half the Watch were men of the Crownlands lords loyal to the King, and of the remaining thousand, most hated the Commander's guts. Even if the hundred-odd brothers in the East Barracks were loyal to Slynt, that shallow loyalty—bought merely by "paying them properly"—could never drive them to commit treason against the King.
Slynt knew this well. He nodded. "I agree it won't work. The King summoned me two days ago, and his words made it clear he intends to move against the Lannisters. His Majesty is already on guard. Without a royal warrant, the City Watch couldn't even get through the gates of the Red Keep. We have no siege engines; how the hell would we rebel? Cersei is facing her end and wants to drag me down with her. Bah! If even one of those three bastards were mine, I might consider a grand gamble, but she's never even shared my bed. Why should I risk my life for her?"
Allar breathed a sigh of relief. "So you didn't agree."
"I did agree."
"What?!"
Slynt glared at his henchman. "Fool. Does agreeing mean I have to do it? I can also report her to the King and claim the reward for loyalty!"
"I see!" Allar relaxed. "But if that's the case, how do you plan to handle the Night's Watchman and the dwarf's attempt to unseat you?"
"Hmph... simple. The rumors that Tyrion and his sister are at odds are true. At this life-or-death moment, the Lannisters aren't even talking to each other; they're acting at cross-purposes. It's laughable." A cruel glint flashed in Slynt's eyes. "Since this 'Night's Watch industries' wants to come for me, tell me—if I tell the King that the real owner of the business is Tyrion Lannister, and that the Queen tried to bribe me to murder him, what do you think His Majesty will conclude?"
Allar Deem thought for a moment and shook his head.
"You never use your brain! The King will assume that since the Queen failed to bribe me, she instructed her brother to have me removed!"
"That makes sense!"
"As long as the King still trusts me, I can buy myself time." Janos Slynt took a deep breath. It had been years since he felt this sense of impending doom—he hadn't expected a small business like the Night's Watch industries to have such power. He had been careless. "All this over a girl... Egger and Tyrion actually want me dead. Since they struck first, they shouldn't blame me for being unkind!"
Wasn't it you who struck first? Are they not allowed to retaliate? Allar Deem thought privately, but since he was in the same boat as Slynt, he had to help. "What do we do, my lord? Just say the word."
"Kill them both. The idiots partnering with them will lose their footing. They're just a rabble brought together by greed; once the leaders are dead, the rest will be too busy fighting over the carcass of the Night's Watch industries to bother with me," Slynt said through gritted teeth. "Opposing me for a little wench? Once I've finished you, I'll not only bed her, I'll force her to claw back a share of the industry's inheritance for me. I'll spend your coin while I sleep with her, and use your gold to raise my sons!"
"A fine plan, Commander! I hear that Nina girl handles the books for the business; once you take her, making her fetch some gold for you will be easy!" Allar Deem said with excitement, then hesitated. "But my lord, these two aren't like the fools who agreed to testify for Jon Arryn last year. And the timing is wrong—the King just ordered us to have the Watch ready for immediate use. If we move brothers in a grand fashion for a personal grudge and kill two prominent figures, it won't look good if the King takes offense... Besides, the Hand has already started his investigation. We can't very well kill the Hand too, can we?"
"Who said anything about using the City Watch! What about those low-life friends of yours? Have them do it!" Slynt frowned in thought. "As for the Hand, I only need to tell the King: 'The Lannisters are ready to rebel and will strike at any moment; please decide quickly'... with the King's temper, he will strike first. Once chaos erupts in the Red Keep and the Lion, Wolf, and Stag are at each other's throats, do you think the Hand will have time for a small player like me?" A smug expression slowly spread across his face. "Once we help King Robert take down the Lannisters and secure the city, even if the Hand continues his probe, my service will outweigh my faults... I'll keep my head! Not to mention the war with Lord Tywin that's sure to follow. In the heat of battle, who will have the mind to investigate me!"
"Brilliant, my lord!" Allar Deem realized for the first time that his boss had a brain to match his ruthlessness. The plan was seamless!
"It's not that I'm brilliant; it's that you lot are too stupid, so I have to think for myself! Enough, move quickly. I want those two dead today! Every moment they breathe is another moment my head is at risk!" Slynt gloated over his perfect plan, then a flash of insight hit him. "Wait. Don't touch Tyrion. He is a Lannister, after all; better to wait for the King's word before moving on him. His father, Tywin, is in the West. If he reaches some deal with the King to trade back his children, and then looks into the death of his dwarf son, that stiff Eddard Stark might just sell us out to save himself."
The deterrent of the "Rains of Castamere" was powerful indeed; even the Commander of the City Watch in the capital felt a tremor of fear at the thought of Tywin Lannister's vengeance.
"Understood. I'll get to it."
"Come back! What's the rush?" Slynt slapped the table. "One more thing you'd never think of. This Egger West was a ranger of the Night's Watch, nicknamed the 'Other-Slayer.' They say he's a skilled fighter, capable of trading dozens of blows with the 'Red Viper' of Dorne. Your thug friends are fine for bullying commoners, but can they handle a hard case like that? I'll sign a slip for you to take two crossbows from the armory. Smuggle them out to your friends and tell them to spend some time practicing before they strike!"
"Yes, sir!"
Allar Deem took the requisition slip for the crossbows and bolts and left the Commander's office. Janos Slynt stood up and walked slowly to the window.
...
If that woman Cersei hadn't delivered the key intelligence in time, he might have tripped in this gutter. He really did owe her a thanks. Unfortunately for her, joining a treasonous plot that would cost him his head was out of the question... let the damned nobles play their game of thrones. For a man like him with no birth or background, holding onto one strong leg was enough. He had an old mother and a house full of wives and children; follow a madwoman who slept with her own brother? Ridiculous!
The Seven were truly smiling on him. Looking across the street at the busy Night's Watch office, Slynt sneered. Soon, there would be another woman in his harem. The harder they were to get, the sweeter the prize. As long as the girl didn't have any stupid ideas about avenging her boss, he would treat her quite well.
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