The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 17: Uphill Battle

Paul could not and did not waste time after his brief reprieve. As the cold winds of night firmly took hold of Piltover, he very quickly gathered some tools from a local craftsman who ran a hardware store, who happened to be closing up shop. Using a small amount of his newly acquired wealth, he purchased a wooden panel that fit to the exact specified requirements. When asked about why he needed something so particular, he simply stated that he needed to replace some floorboards that fell beyond the point of repair. Technically that was the truth, and the craftsman did not need to know the whole truth. Paul also offered to buy one of the rugs that were displayed on the wall. It came in various sizes, but Paul was fortunate enough to be able to purchase one that fit the desired dimensions. The friendly craftsman assisted Paul with carrying his purchases back to his office, with Goodbrook being recognized by him, which led to profuse amounts of thanking for assisting one of the craftsman's family members a few months ago. That led to the craftsman offering to help a final time, but Paul politely declined, allowing him to return to his home after a long day's work.

However, for Paul, the night was still young. He first placed the panel into its slot, with the board slotting in nice and snug with the other floor panels, allowing him to access the money and conceal it without a suspicious bump arising from the floor. He then laid the segment of carpet he had cut up over the panel. If you looked at it for more than 3 seconds, you could tell it was not attached, but that was where his new rug came into play.

The first step was to move the solid slab of polished wood that was Paul's desk. Over the course of what felt like half an hour, Paul painstakingly moved the desk to the other side of the room, straining and sweating under the sheer weight of it. After lifting and moving one side of the desk a few centimetres, he had to move to the other side and lift the other. Then he placed his newly acquired rug on the carpet where the desk would soon be. The circular shape complimented the room in Paul's opinion, adding an extra flare of blue, aligning with his house colours. He walked over and lightly tapped the part of the rug that lay over the secret panel, and to his relief, it did not feel any different to the rest. All that was left was to drag the desk back to its original place, which was an effort the pulled Paul into the early hours of the morning. Once done, he dragged his tired bones back home to salvage a few hours of sleep.

Thankfully for Paul, the following month passed by without incident. Josy was initially surprised at the sudden addition of a rug, but Paul was able to easily explain it away. It fit with their colour scheme, and Paul was well within his rights to add any small accessories to his office. She did find the late-night purchase odd, but a white lie about remembering some late-night work and having a spontaneous moment was an easy enough sell for Paul. The clients of that month were also very small cases, tiding Paul over with relatively straight forward jobs. He had started to push the frightful events of his meeting with Silco to the back of his mind, content that he had become very rich with hardly any expense to himself. However, that illusion was shattered when he overheard the rumbles of a commotion in the waiting room.

Paul slowly rose to his feet from his desk, trying to overhear what could be occurring. It was not uncommon for some clients to become vocal, especially if they were not as refined as some of his topsider clients. However, the commotion he overheard sounded different, with Josy's tone a lot more agitated than usual. Suddenly, a dark realisation dawned on Paul, with him praying to all the gods of Valoran that he was wrong. He briskly marched towards the door and stepped through to see Josy defiantly stood up behind her desk being stared down by two individuals who were obviously from the undercity. However, their clothing looked nicer than the average Zaunite, making Paul's heart fall slightly at the realisation. Just as Paul was about to speak, the trio turned to the lawyer.

"There's the guy we've been looking for." Said the man that possessed a washed-out auburn mane that was slicked back. His thin face funnelled towards a crooked smile that showcased rows of golden teeth, with Paul also noticing the poorly done eye liner that coated his eyes. Next to him stood a rather fierce looking woman. Her shortly cut black mop of hair matched the jet-black lipstick that formed into a small smirk at Paul's slightly shocked expression. Josy simply looked at Paul with a mixture of confusion and irritation for the hassle the pair were causing, with Paul thankful that she didn't know the truth behind the pair's appearance.