The Deceitful One

Damascus Train Station.

The cacophonous sound of the people standing at the various platforms along with the whistling of the steam train resounded throughout the train station.

Paperboys carrying satchels full of newspapers could be seen running around waving rolled-up newspapers in their hands, screaming today's headlines out loud.

Hawkers who had either set up a small stall on the platform floor or carried around their goods in a basket were trying their hardest to attract customers and make a sale.

The train station was relatively empty compared to peak times during weekends. On platform number 2, Detective Watson had just arrived while Bryan followed behind him, helping the former carry his luggage.

Detective Watson turned around and smiled, "Bryan, I have kept some money with John. Should you require any, you can go to my house and take it from him. I've already informed him."

Bryan really felt touched. It felt nice to him that someone so dearly cared for his well-being. He could only concede and reply, "All right, teacher. If I need it then I'll go speak to Butler John."

Detective Watson nodded, "Good. And I've already informed Bishop Walls about you joining the Silver Owls starting next month. You can go to the Church and look for him."

"Thank you, teacher," Bryan replied with a smile.

Detective Watson took out his pocket watch and looked at the time, it was 9 am and the train would depart in another 10 minutes.

He looked at Bryan and then smiled, "It's time for me to go. If something urgent comes up, head to the Church. From there you can send me a telegram."

Bryan nodded and handed the big brown suitcase back to Detective Watson. Feeling slightly emotional, he replied, "Teacher, have a safe journey and don't worry, I'll make sure to study and meditate every day."

Detective Watson smiled warmly at him. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked Bryan's head as he said, "I know. Well then, goodbye Bryan."

"Goodbye, teacher." Bryan smiled back.

Grabbing the handle of his brown suitcase, Detective Watson turned around and entered the passenger carriage of the steam train. A few minutes later, the steam train blew its horn once, giving a final reminder of its departure.

Bryan stood there on the platform feeling quite a bit more emotional compared to the time when he had sent off Grace and Leah. Perhaps it was because he was much closer to Detective Watson.

Finally, the steam train blew smoke through its chimney as it blew its horn one more time. The wheels on the train started to move slowly and steadily.

It wasn't until the train had completely left the station that Bryan turned around and walked toward the exit.

He was wearing his usual black three-piece suit, a black fedora hat, and a black windbreaker. The hems of his windbreaker fluttered behind him as he took long and steady steps.

Some women and young ladies cast flirtatious looks at him but Bryan completely ignored them. Not on purpose, of course, it was just that he was in deep thought.

'Hmm, I should make my move within the next day and visit the gang leaders under the Brown Family's control. Then, I can catch every one of them in one single scoop the day after tomorrow.' Bryan spoke inwardly as his lips slowly curled up into a smirk.

He exited the train station and called for a public carriage to go back to his apartment. Since Detective Watson had already left, Bryan had a lot of free time in hand. Instead of wasting it, he decided to go back home and meditate.

Cultivation was an arduous journey and he didn't wish to waste even a single minute because he really loved the feeling of getting stronger and seeing progress with his own eyes. This motivated him to work harder even more.

…

Tuesday, 24th August 1580

The red light district in Damascus City was always crowded. Whether it was the weekdays or the weekends, it didn't matter. One could see crowds from all social classes present here.

After all, regardless if a man was poor or rich, their sexual needs would always remain constant.

Cillian Bose was a relatively well-known gang leader in the Damascus underground world. Over the years he had amassed quite a lot of fortune while dealing in prostitution, drugs, bootleg alcohol, and illegal arms.

What most people did not know was that he was under the Brown Family. Over the last few weeks, Cillian had been having a great time.

Ever since his boss Jim Brown died and his son Jack took over, Cillian and the other gang leaders under the Brown Family were trying their best to curry favor with their new boss.

All he had to do was kidnap some virgin young girls and deliver them to the new boss. He felt that the new boss was much easier to deal with and even easier to fool.

As Cillian was sitting by the bar, inside a very famous brothel in the red light district, and having a good time, all of a sudden a letter dropped on his lap out of nowhere.

Puzzled, Cillian picked up the letter and looked around but all he saw were naked women giving lap dances to his underlings.

He asked one of his underlings, "Did anyone come here right now? Who dropped this letter?"

The underling who was drinking ale paused and replied respectfully, "I didn't see anyone, Boss."

Shaking his head, Cillian opened the letter and read the content within. Soon his eyebrows furrowed as he mumbled, "Bring everyone to meet with the new boss at the warehouse in his estate tomorrow by 11 pm… highly urgent and confidential?"

As far as Cillian knew, the new boss, Jack, had never sent a letter before. Usually, all communication happened through an intermediary. However, he still didn't dare to not attend the meeting.

After all, the letter said that it was urgent and he wouldn't want to create a bad impression on his new boss.

What Cillian didn't know was that other than him, four more gang leaders who also worked under the Brown Family had received the same letter that night. And none of them dared to discuss it with the others since the letter said that it was confidential.

Bryan had managed to now put all the pieces on the board with just a simple letter and the usage of two keywords: urgent and confidential.

From instigating and misleading Jeffrey Gill to luring Jack's henchmen through the delusive use of words. These were the traits of a master of deceit in the making!