Chương 81: A Job Well Done

"What did I tell you about late nights?" Julius scolded, shaking his head widely in disappointment as Evel entered the house.

"There's some food out for you, then go right to sleep."

"I found something!" Evel grin widened, and he puffed out his chest.

"Wonderful, I'll be happy to hear about it tomorrow morning." Julius turned to leave, so Evel rushed behind him.

"It's important!" Julius didn't look back.

"I'm not saying it isn't. Tomorrow, child." Evel's face dampened. His twirly-mustached mentor just wasn't listening. Thankfully, he knew just the way to get his attention.

"I followed Rick around after he went home today." Julius stopped, slowly turning to Evel with an eyebrow raised.

"He was talking to a big man," Evel continued.

"H-he forced Rick to give him money! We can stop him and get it back!. I-I even know where he put it now!"

"Did anybody see you?" Julius's voice was calm, cooling the room by a few degrees. Evel averted his gaze. All the excitement that had built up withered faster than it arrived.

"No."

"Look at me, Evel," Julius commanded.

"N-nobody saw me." Julius nodded, twirling his mustache.

"There are rules, my boy. No matter where you are in life, you have to understand the rules. When you jump, you fall. When you pay Riak, you get food. When you commit treason, you go to jail. In this city, if you want to have a business, you have to pay a fee to the city, and an extra one for… protection."

"It's unfair!" Evel shot back.

"I've seen how hard everyone works, and all that just goes away because they bully us?"

"Unless you are strong enough to change the rules, your only choice is to follow them."

"But I know where th—""Are you strong enough?" Julius asked.

"Do you know somebody strong enough? If you're weak, follow the rules. It's one of life's harsh realities, child." Evel shrank. What about justice? Wasn't that just as important? Julius sighed.

"Alright, if you promise not to investigate this any further, I'll tell you the secret of the trick I showed you earlier today." He got onto one knee and pulled out the same deck of cards. He expertly fanned the cards out in front of him. Despite the rock in his stomach, Evel still felt a tinge of curiosity. After a brief moment of hesitation, he reached out and grabbed a random card. Somehow, it was still the king of clubs.

"Grab another." Golding the king of clubs in one hand, he reached for another. Another king of clubs. Evel looked at the two king of clubs in his hands for a while. Then, he grabbed another. And another. Eventually, Julius flipped over all the cards at once. They were all king of clubs.

"A random child would guess the trick on the first try. But for you, who knows my brilliance and skills, you couldn't possibly imagine the trick to be so simple." Evel remained silent.

"The key is to make the other party think they're playing a different game than they really are. You knew I kept a normal deck of cards in my special holster, so I used your expectations against you. Another one of my ingenious lessons, engrave it in your heart." He placed the remaining cards in Evel's hands before pushing himself back to his feet.

"Now, go eat up and get to bed. A bright day awaits us tomorrow!" Evel looked down at the rigged deck Julius had left him and muttered under his breath. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"What a lame trick." Julius was wrong. He never even gave Evel a chance to explain that he actually knew where the guy lived. If enough of the people working at the circus all worked together, they could definitely scare him off for good. Then, everyone would be happy. Even better, they could tell on him to the security people or soldiers or anyone super strong. I haven't failed yet. There's one more person who I know will listen to me.

Staying light on his toes, Evel snuck out of the house and walked out into the streets once more. They'd gotten dark, leaving only the overhead moon and occasional lanterns and oil lamps to provide some form of visual aid. It didn't really matter, though. These parts of the street were so familiar that he could probably get around while blindfolded. Rick was quick to answer the door once he arrived. Upon seeing him, Rick sighed.

"Are you still not over the Julius thing?"

"No, it's not that…"

"Then?" He hesitated.

"I heard your conversation with that man earlier." Rick's eyes subtly shifted. He scanned the streets and widened the door for him to get in.

"Listen, brat, whatever you heard, I need you to forget it." Basically, what Julius said…

"Why's everyone so scared of one man?" Evel asked, his steps causing the wooden floorboards to creak.

"Yer too young to have to care about things like these, kid." Evel clenched his jaw. Why was his age always the issue? He'd get older eventually, wouldn't he?

"I followed him afterwards." Rick paused, and his head slowly turned to Evel, his eyes fully alert.

"You did what?"

"After you gave him the pouch, I followed him to the main city and he went—""Why—what were you thinking!?" Rick interrupted. Evel was tired of not being listened to, so he just kept going.

"He went to a small house that—""Did someone see you? Did anyone follow you? Did you see any abilities—" Evel talked over him.

"He went to a small house and then–""You idiot, why would you possibl–""Then into a bigger building with even more pouches with a big banner in front of it." Rick winced. Evel took this brief moment of silence as an opportunity to finish explaining everything.

"The banner was black, and it had some brown chains or something like that, and then he went in there, and when he came back out, the big pouch was back. Then he went home! If we know where he's keeping the money, then we can go get it back!" Rick held his gaze for a few seconds, rubbing the back of his smooth head.

"It's not just that man, Evel. There's a whole organization out there. Even if we do something to him, someone will come and replace him. What happens if the replacement is worse than him?"

"So we just have to get pushed around?" Evel curled his fists.

"He ripped up days' worth of your work, and that's okay?" Rick shook his head with a smile.

"Is that what's got you so riled up?" Evel shrugged.

"Of course I lied about that! I did them all today in a few hours. Those types of guys always feel like they need to win, so just give 'em a win!" He chuckled mischievously.

"I even coughed a little extra there to really sell it, the dumb bast… the dumb guy thought I was a dying old man!" Evel stood dumbfounded. Seeing his face, Rick laughed out loud.

"Even you fell for my acting, you're just as dumb as him!" Evel lowered his gaze. He'd been tricked.

"It's way too dark for you to leave. You will sleep here tonight." Rick commanded, gazing out the window.

"I ca––""I'm not sending you." He remained firm.

"Now, have you eaten?" The next morning, in Rick's office.

"I thought I scared the boy off for good this time!" Julius slicked back his hair while giving Evel a mean look. His hair bounced right back.

"It's only a matter of time. Heh, this kid's probably a better magician than you, the way he disappeared the whole night."

"Nobody is greater than me." Rick chuckled before it devolved into a violent cough. Julius smiled and looked over at Evel.

"At least I get to come up with a fun punishment now." He returned Julius a dirty look.

"I've got an idea," Rick proposed.

"Why don't I give the two of you extra homework?"

"Don't push me, old man."

"You're both old men!" Evel interrupted. Rick hollered, his powerful voice practically shaking the walls.

"HA! He lumped you in with me." Evel also giggled, seeing Julius' unhappy face. They continued discussing mundane matters for a while, but eventually Rick patted Evel on his back.

"Evel, go help clean up the guest area. There's something I'd like to talk to your mentor about."

"Alright," Evel shrugged. Of course, he wasn't actually going to leave. They were probably deciding on a good way to punish him for what he did yesterday, so at the very least, he needed to be prepared. The moment the door closed, Evel placed his ears up against it.

"Did Evel tell you what he did?" Rick asked.

"Following the guy from Aphix? The dummy amazes me with his stupidity day by day! I'm rubbin' off on the boy, Rick. He needs to spend more time with you instead."

"He claims the man sent all the collections to Redigo." Rick's voice was steady.

"What?"

"There aren't many brave enough to display a banner, especially not anyone with a similar design to a Reaper." Redigo? Reaper? The words sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite remember what.

"You're not saying…" Julius trailed off.

"I never throw away any documentation… and I couldn't sleep last night."

"Rick." Julius' voice deepened.

"With all of it together, it looks pretty damning. There are a few more things I need to look deeper into—""You're the one who told me to never poke the bear, Rick." Rick coughed. This time, more violently and for a full minute straight. Evel's lips drooped lower with each vibration that shuddered through the door. He was probably just faking again. Yeah, he's just a deceptive actor.

"Look at the state of me, Julius. If I can get these to the right eyes, then I could make a real difference." The next minute was filled with silence before Julius tore through it with a hushed scream.

"Rick, we can afford these payments."

"How many people starve, Julius?"

"If they're involved, the rot may be rooted even deeper."

"I've been mulling over this all night. You won't be able to convince me anymore." Silence.

"Please." Julius pleaded. More silence. After a few more seconds, Julius sighed, and he felt movement in the room. Evel quickly made his escape. In the end, he didn't really understand much from the conversation except that Rick was actually planning something to stop Aphix, which was probably the group that the mean guy belonged to. For the first time, he was able to pay back a little bit for all the good things Rick had done for him! He raised his chin up high, knowing his investigative work was well done.