The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 2: Building the Case

As the day drew on, Paul was free to conduct the business that he saw necessary in building Hoskel's defence. His mind was rattled with thoughts as he briskly walked beneath the mid-morning sun. His mind was brought back to him as he looked up and saw the imposing shape of the grandest restaurant in Piltover, 'The Proud Lioness'. Several enforcers were stationed outside the establishment, keeping the unwanted traffic away. The front of the restaurant was largely intact, but when Paul looked through the windows, he saw the charred wood and decrepit supports haunting the pristine paint work of the restaurant's entrance. As Paul approached the front door, holding his head high, the enforcers turned to face him.

"Sorry sir, no one is allowed in. There's been an accident, so we have t-" started the enforcer in a very bored monotone voice.

"To keep everyone out due to the structural integrity being questionable, yes, I know that as it's the reason I'm here, now if you will excuse me." Said Paul as he once again made to enter the building. The two enforcers moved closer together, quickly stopping Paul's advance.

"You don't look like a builder." Said the other enforcer.

"That's because I'm not. I'm Councillor Hoskel's assistant. The same Hoskel who is on the council that most likely ordered you to secure the building, right?" replied Paul, a tinge of irritation in his voice. The two enforcers simply looked at each other, a slight bit of confusion dashed across their faces. Paul sighed, before he rummaged through his pockets and unfolded a document that he gave to one of the enforcers. The enforcers both looked over the document, with Paul tapping his feet impatiently, his fingers lightly tapping the bag resting over his shoulder.

"Alright, everything seems to be in order. Go on." Huffed the enforcer, stepping aside to let Paul into the building.

As Paul stepped inside, he was overcome with the stench of charred wood enveloping his senses. The air was relatively clear, but pockets of smoke still hung over him, clogging up Paul's throat as he walked. The pure white walls gleamed back at Paul as he gazed around the main room, noticing the white slowly turn to grey as he eyes traced the walls to the rear of the building. Golden frames adorned the walls containing several pieces of abstract art that Paul was unfamiliar with, not that Paul was much of an art appreciator to begin with. Paul looked up and only then noticed the scale of the main room. Even with the inner balcony looming overhead, the roof seemed to stretch up to the same heights as the hexgates. The chandelier hung above as the centrepiece of the room, like a diamond star dominating the night sky. However, it's pristine form had been partially affected by the smoke, with it now sporting a light grey shade on the side closer to the back of the restaurant. As Paul walked through the undamaged side of the restaurant, he spotted enforcers carrying various pieces of furniture or equipment out into the side alley way, presumably salvaging anything undamaged by the blaze. Paul crossed over the border into the half of the restaurant unfortunate enough to be too close to the kitchen, with the crunch of burnt wood was always present as he navigated the charred maze of corridors. After squeezing past several enforces too busy to give him a second thought, he made his way into the upstairs portion of the building in search for anything resembling a manager's office.

After a few minutes of searching, Paul eventually spotted a small room that had certainly seen better days, with several pieces of debris decorating the room. He approached the desk and began rummaging through the compartments, hoping it didn't collapse under the slight force Paul was applying. He found nothing, taking a few steps back as he slid a hand back through his black curtain of hair. He then noticed something under a collection of wooden beams and splinters. He lifted the beams off with great effort and noticed a safe. A heavily damaged safe. Paul slipped a few fingers inside and tried to pry the door loose, but it refused to budge any further. Paul scanned the room for anything of use to help in his predicament. There was nothing but debris and a very weak looking desk, so Paul had to improvise. He placed his bag down in a clear spot and grabbed a fairly large wooden beam, whilst placing his left foot on top of the safe. He slowly aimed the end of the beam down towards the inside of the safe door and thrust it downwards. The door made a resounding clang and moved ever so slightly open, but not enough. Paul paused for a moment, listening to hear if anyone was coming to investigate. After a few moments of silence, Paul struck the door again with all the force he could muster, leading to his left foot slipping and nearly causing him to lose balance. Luckily, he caught himself, dropping the beam and placing his hands against the office wall, before turning to see the safe door nearly completely off its hinges. Paul briskly walked over and peaked inside and saw a high stack of papers. Most of the papers on top of the pile were either charred beyond repair or stained in soot, but a few remained relatively undamaged at the base of the white tower. Paul slid them out and scanned across the field of words. Paul then came to the realisation that these were employee contract details. Names, date of births, addresses of the members of staff working for Mr Kargen. Paul quickly scanned the doorway behind him, ears perked to hear if anyone was approaching, but was met with the distant sound of enforcers busy at work. Paul quickly folded up the documents into his bag before briskly heading out of the restaurant, trying to avoid the gaze of any curious enforcers. As Paul walked back out onto the street, we were greeted by the warm gaze of the midday sun. Paul unfolded one of the documents and began on his way to find the home of his first 'appointment' of the day.