Page 34 of Drakhana's Secret
“Two that are running full time and three that are on a shifting schedule so that we can make sure they are not attacked.”
I look to Branson. “Can we spare some dragons to guard these factories?”
He shakes his head. “Not under the current climate, but I can suggest hiring out the protection we need. There are many mercenaries out there in need of a job.”
“But can we trust them?” Arthur asks, brow furrowed.
“They go where the money is,” Branson says. “If you want, we can avoid those with any affiliation with the clans we are currently at war with. We just need them to guard the factories until we sort everything out within the city. It’s a cushy job.”
“I’m still not sure about this.”
“I understand your hesitation Arthur,” I say. “If you can spare a few of your men, we can add them into the mix of mercenaries undercover just to keep an eye on them.”
“I know I can’t spare the men, but I will make the necessary adjustments just so we can make sure that our business interests are protected,” Arthur says, giving Branson side eye.
The other general merely snorts. If I know Branson, he has men placed within the factories themselves. He just doesn’t like advertising that fact to others. That’s why he was so confident about suggesting we beef up our security using mercenaries.
I don’t want to hire our help either, but right now we can use all the dragon power that we can get. I want all essential troops to focus on cleaning up the streets before I can divert them to guard duty. But, at the same time, I don’t want to leave our factories unprotected. It’s a tight rope that I’m traversing each and every day here.
“Let’s go back to the subject of our businesses,” I say, moving on or this meeting will last all day long. “How is our online and brick and mortar going?”
“We have begun to expand our product lines,” my former assistant turned manager of all our online interests says. “There is so much demand that we can hardly keep up. Of course, these are not bad problems to have.”
“I heard there are some online controversies with one of our products,” I say, eyeing him.
“It’s of our own making, sir,” he tells me. “It’s a way to continue pushing brand recognition. Our sales actually spiked because of it.”
I have to be honest, most of what he says sometimes goes over my head. From online influencers to PR boxes to online campaigns. Half the time I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“So long as the money keeps rolling in, we’re happy,” I say.
This gets me a chuckle from Branson and Arthur. These two knuckleheads. I would smack them if they weren’t so good at their jobs.
All the warriors—including myself—have built up a camaraderie that only comes when you’ve all seen battle together. We are all brothers from different mothers now. All fighting for the same cause. Speaking of which . . .
“What about our efforts to clean up the streets?” I ask.
Arthur and Branson both sit up and get serious.
“Sir,” Arthur is the first to speak, “We have concerning reports that large forces of dragons are gathering in separate locations outside of the city.”
I scowl, rubbing my chin.
“We have reason to believe that they are gearing up to mobilize for a real battle,” Branson adds. “If you think this city was a warzone before . . . well, we’re about to go nuclear sooner rather than later.”
“I’ve been expecting this from the clans for a while now,” I say. “It was only a matter of time since we’ve been a thorn on their collective sides for quite some time.”
“According to our spies, their plan is to draw us out,” Arthur continues.
“They are finally tired of the cat and mouse games we’ve been playing with them,” Branson japes. “Now they think brute force will be the answer.”
“When you’re losing, you want to give it everything you’ve got,” I say. “It’s the ultimate gamble on their part.” I pause before I continue. “It does put us in a spot.”
“We are going to need reinforcements,” Arthur says, stating the obvious.
That’s the rock and hard place that we’re in. Where do we get the reinforcements that we need? I took as much as I could from Sapphire before we left.
I doubt they have any more to spare. They need to remain protected too. We’re all doing this for them.
