Chapter 30 The GuardTower

• People in the palace used to avoid me when I walked down the hallways. I was always given a wide birthto go about my business having quite the reputation that getting in my way is never a smart idea. Now, however, as I pass servants and assistants and every profession in between, people glance at me, with looks of pity. I hate it and it makes me clench my teeth but... with a heavy I sigh I let my frustrations pass. I understand, and I’m far too focused with my current mission to pay them any mind. I make it to the guard office and barge open the door. The room goes silent--keyboards stop clicking, chairs stop rolling, all smalltalk ceases, even the printer in the corner stalls. I bypass the front desk and all adjoining offices and head straight through to the highest level office there is--Conrad has been as much of a help as he can be, and I know he’s going to want to see these. Thankfully, no one is dumb enough to stop me in my obvious warpath as they all part for me like the red sea. I don’t bother knocking on the door. I push it open with such force that it slams against the adjacent wall. A piece of his weird wall art falls to the floor out of the corner of my eye and hits the ground with a thud. Conrad’s eyes barely lift from the papers on his desk. He’s clearly not surprised by my antics as he shouldn’t be. “Daniel.” He greets me, but he doesn’t have much to say before I begin. “I want photocopies of these made immediately as well as them distributed to every noble, maid, and guard in this goddamn palace! Someone was threating my wife and newborn children and I want their head.” I throw the letters on to his desk. He adjusts the glasses on the tip of his nose and picks them up. His face goes from tan to pale and almost sick as he reads them. “Pardon my laguage, Your Highness, but what the fuck are these and how did you get them?” “I was delivered a letter--from Annie and I found these in the back of one of her drawers. This shit has been going on for weeks! This is why she pulled the fire alarm! She was told to disrupt the gala or else people would be poisoned.” He keeps reading until he makes it to the letter that Annie wrote me. After he’s done he stands up from his desk. “Maximoff! Waterson!” Two men rush into the office behind me. I don’t turn aroud to face them but I hear their footsteps. “Take these and make copies, but be careful. If they are destroyed-- not only me, but His Royal Highness and all of the royal family will have your heads.” I hear and audible gulp behind me and can’t resist the urge to smirk. “If you aren’t back with the original letters in five minutes, you’re both fired. Understood?” “Yes, Sir!” “Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!” With that, the two men grab the letters and scurry off back into the bullpen. A few seconds later I hear the copy machine going off at full force. “If anything happens to those letters--” I begin to growl. Conrad raises his hand to stop me. “Maximoff and Waterson are two of my best men--loyal as hell. You’ll have those letters back, I assure you my friend.” That half appeases me, but for the moment it will have to do because I’m thinking of what I must do next. Conrad looks at me and nods. “I know what you are thinking. As soon as those letters come back, we will head right there.”