Trap of Lies - Duskwood AU

Chapter 5:

Written by: Raemae17

⚠️⚠️TW - Alcohol, Sex, Prostitution⚠️⚠️

I can hear the drunks hollering out in the bar. Some are even singing loudly in their revelry. It is always like this on nights when the ships come into harbor. Lonely men with gold in their pockets out looking for women and booze. I supply both. I would have to go back out there to keep an eye on things. Honest help is not something you find to hire in a tavern like mine. It is best for me to be present to discourage thief or laziness. I am not one to be cheated out of my due. But hell, I deserve a brake. I take another swig of the bottle of rum on my desk. The pleasant sting and bitterness coating my tongue and throat. The heat of the alcohol only fanning my flames of desire further.

I don't even know this wench's name, but they are all the same anyways. Just a warm place to bury my cock and get some relief from the boredom of life. Her skirt is bunched up around her waist as she bounces up and down for my pleasure. I wrap my fingers into her chestnut hair, gripping tightly, before pulling her head back. Hell, the way that causes her to arch her back is a beautiful sight. "You want to touch yourself, don't you love?" She gives a small nod. "Go ahead, love. I'm not a cruel man. Go on, enjoy yourself." Quickly, her hand disappears under the front of her dress while the other continued to hold onto the desk tightly for support

Letting go of her hair, I burrow my left hand into the front of her dress, squeezing the soft flesh hidden there. My forearm, crossing her chest, holding her firmly upright in front of me. My other hand digs into her hip guiding her harder and faster along my length. I move my mouth right next to her ear and as my hot breath hits the sensitive skin there, she moans in pleasure.

 "Scream for me, love," I demand, pinching her nipple hard to elicit the response I desire. That pushes me over. A low grunt escapes from my throat as I fill her deeply with my pleasure. My head nods forward resting on her back as I work to catch my breath.

"Phillip!" The man roars as he throws open the door and storms into the room.

"Damn! Don't you know how to knock," I yell back.

The lass quickly pulls off of me and lowers her skirts, before scurrying out of the room. I stand, tucking myself back in, as I eye the man before me. At least he had the courtesy to turn his head and look a bit embarrassed. Not that I care.

"Jake," I say walking around my desk and extending my hand, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" I can't help but chuckle smugly.

He looks down at my hand, knowing full well what I have been up to recently, and declines to shake it. He looks straight into my eyes, his icy blue ones sharp and penetrating, before he speaks. "They took her, Phil. They took MC."

"Who? Who took her?" I asked as realization of the situation hit me.

"That is what you're going to help me find out," he replied.

------------

After the events of this evening, I am not sure who I can trust. Well, trust is the wrong word. I don't trust anyone, only myself. But to gather secrets, I had to develop contacts. I would like to think these relationships were all cold and calculated. Just an understanding of the character of people and how they would act. Using them while keeping up a mask of friendship. That worked for most of my life, but after MC appeared I knew that I had softened. I had let my carefully constructed mask develop cracks and those closest to me began to seep in. Now look where that softness got me! They had take the only one that I truly loved.

Were there other spies and saboteurs among the guild ranks? I had been so careful who I let in, vetting them carefully over time. As the guild grew, I had compartmentalized tasks so only those of us at the top knew the full pictures. We have hundreds of informants and those who gather information for us. They are our eyes and ears, but not members of the guild. Within our ranks, I established a hierarchy to limit knowledge. I am the only true Master of Secrets. The only one who knows all and controls everything about the guild.

The closest I got to trust was the with the man before me. It had been cold strategy that lead me to develop contact with him. As a tavern owner, he is in the perfect position to gather intel. Liquor loosens lips. Much is learned from the ramblings of the drunken. Add to that the other pleasures offered in the upstairs rooms and this is a den of debauchery and also of knowledge. His "employees" are the perfect network for finding secrets.

I didn't like the man at first. He oozes charm and charisma. That works on others, but not on me. I have always seen it for what it is, a carefully constructed personality to fool, deceive, and greedily obtain what he wants. It is his mask. Perhaps I saw through it so easily because it reflects my own so well. Perhaps that is also why, it seems like it was inevitable now, we get along. Each of us knows the other's mask and sees what lies beneath. We are more similar than I would ever have wanted to believe went I first constructed our contact.

We are no longer in his office having moved to a more private room where we can talk away from others. A bottle and two glasses are set on the table between us. I have already drunk enough to calm my rage, but not enough to dull my mind. Rage just won't do. I have to be cold and calculating about this. The rage has to be pushed aside until I can act upon it. First I have to find the secrets. I have to discover who and why they are behind this kidnapping. And I have to do it quickly.

Phillip Hawkins sits across from me, his long dark hair, which had hung with sweat, is once again combed and tied neatly back. He is composed sitting there, now the cunning man of business once more. I can see he is deep in thought about the situation at hand.

"Phil, I need you to follow up on leads here. Try to track down who is involved and where they took her," I explain. "I have to go check out the country branch. It needs to be me, in person. I have to learn who this Rogers is and how he got on our payroll. He has been around for 3 years now; but has never made it into the guild. Of course, I have the final say on who joins our official ranks, but his application has never made it to me. Someone else must have been blocking his inclusion too. I need to find out who and what they know."

"I think you're right. A visit from you is the best way to get answers from them." It surprises me that he agrees so quickly. He continues, "I will track them here, find out what this Richy fellow has been up to since coming into the city, and piece together where they took her." He paused before looking me dead in the eye, "We will find her, Jake. And all the devils in hell will be in awe of the brimstone we will rain down upon those bastards who took her." The cold fury in his eyes along with the way he clenches his jaw left no doubt that he meant it.

-----------

I hastily change out of my dress clothes, throwing on my worn black trousers and boots followed by a black shirt and cloak. Stopping by the local stable, I stride to the stall where Midnight was chewing his hay. His head rose, his large dark eye looking me over, before whining and shaking his mane. He huffed and stamped his front foot.

"Aye boy, we are going for a ride. It is going to be long and we need to travel fast. But you're up for that, no? It has been a while since we could really run," I spoke to him while stroking down from his forehead to his muzzle. Turning I begin to prep my horse for the journey. Holding his reign, I walk to the edge of town before mounting my sleek black steed. I put a scarf around my nose and mouth before placing my hat on my head. I spur Midnight forward and the two of us, horse and rider dressed in black, disappear into the darkness of the night.