NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Chapter 11: The Prince's Guard
Chapter 11: The Prince's Guard
"This situation isn't right," Joseph muttered with a frown. "Have the gangs in Saint-Antoine gone mad these past few days?"
He immediately ordered Arden,
"Starting now, everyone will extend their patrol hours. It'll be tough, but performance pay will be doubled. Night patrols need to be especially strengthened; there's a high chance something else will happen."
"Understood!"
Arden bowed and was about to leave when the officer in charge of personnel matters rushed in, sweating profusely,
"Your Highness, suddenly a large number of officers have requested leave... nearly a hundred of them."
"Nearly a hundred?!" Arden was stunned. The Saint-Antoine district had a total of about 400 officers, including support staff. That meant a quarter of them were requesting leave.
"Yes, some claim to be sick, others say there are emergencies at home."
Joseph took the list of leave requests and scanned it. All the names belonged to officers who had been part of the old police force, with the majority from the support team, though there were also about ten detectives. Surprisingly, the deputy commissioner, Bonneau, was leading the group requesting leave!
Joseph narrowed his eyes. Multiple serious incidents were happening, and right after he ordered a full mobilization to maintain order, a large number of officers requested leave?
There was no way this was a coincidence—something was definitely wrong!
Arden, anxious, said,
"Your Highness, we need all the help we can get right now, and they're…"
Joseph handed the leave list to his attendant and coldly instructed,
"Aymon, take some doctors and personally verify each case. Anyone whose reason for leave doesn't check out is to be dismissed immediately!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"So, they want to dig a hole for me?" Joseph smirked coldly. "Well, this will save me quite a bit on salaries. It's just a hundred people—did they think I wouldn't have a plan?"
He first ordered Arden, Magoni, and the other inspectors to lead their teams to maintain order, then signaled to the Captain of the Prince's Guard, who had been standing a few steps away,
"Viscount Kersod, how many of my guards are here?"
Without hesitation, Kersod replied,
"105 men, Your Highness."
Officially, Joseph only had two or three guards visibly following him, but in reality, a large number of his guards were always within 300 meters, keeping watch.
"Deploy 90 of them to join Magoni's team and help maintain order on the streets."
"Your Highness," Kersod stood rigidly, "this isn't according to protocol…"
"Protocols are made by people; don't be so rigid." Joseph smiled, "Besides, you are my guard, so following my orders is the right thing to do."
Kersod, a man of strict military discipline, replied firmly,
"Our duty is to protect your safety! I believe His Majesty the King would not agree with your suggestion."
"The King?" Joseph suddenly grinned slyly, turning to retrieve a letter from his desk that Louis XVI had written to him a few days ago. He handed the last page to the stubborn captain,
"I actually have the King's approval."
"What?" Kersod was taken aback.
Joseph pointed to a line in the letter, reading aloud,
"'Do what you need to do... If something goes wrong, I'll back you up.' This is the King's own words, so you should follow his instructions."
Kersod was stunned,
"But…"
Joseph then added with a hint of threat,
"If you don't listen to me, I'll personally lead the patrols. You've heard about the situation outside."
"You absolutely cannot go on patrol!" Kersod quickly objected. After a moment of tense silence, he finally relented, his expression grim,
"Your Highness, this must not reach Major Fessen, and you must not leave the police station."
Fessen was the Captain of the Palace Guard at Versailles, Kersod's direct superior.
"Deal!" Joseph nodded. "Don't worry, I'm still keeping 15 guards here—my safety isn't an issue."
Kersod saluted again and left Joseph's office, walking briskly to the open area outside the police station. He pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew it twice, loudly.
Instantly, over a hundred members of the Prince's Guard, armed with swords and guns, swarmed in from all directions, forming five neat rows with impressive speed.
Kersod signaled for several officers to step forward and quietly gave them some instructions.
"Yes, sir!" the officers shouted in unison before leading their men out of the police station at a run, including ten cavalrymen.
...
In a dilapidated house reeking of foot odor and vomit in the Rue Hoche district, several leaders of the Black Sheep Gang were drinking and laughing loudly,
"That girl from White Lily Street was really something. There's no one like her in all of Saint-Antoine!"
The gang leader took a big swig of alcohol and sneered at the man,
"Look at you, acting like you've never seen a woman before. If you want real girls, the ones in the Louvre district are the best! One night costs 30 livres—just imagine…"
A man with half an ear missing added gruffly,
"We've made 2,000 livres in the past few days. Soon we'll be able to afford the best girls in the Louvre district, no problem!"
Someone immediately mocked him,
"Valian, didn't you lose all your fancy girl money at the casino? 150 livres, wasn't it? You must've pissed yourself, haha."
"Half-Ear" picked up a copy of the Paris News beside him, belched, and retorted,
"See this? The shoe store I burned down made the paper. Similion the crooked cop is bringing me 1,000 livres tomorrow! Who needs money for brothels?"
"You're all so short-sighted," the gang leader pointed his bottle at the others,
"All you think about are prostitutes? Put in more effort, and we'll win that 20,000 livres. Then I'll take you to see some real noblewomen, haha!"
The leaders immediately looked lecherous, howling in agreement,
"All hail the boss!"
"The Horse Gang is nothing! That 20,000 livres is ours!"
"Tomorrow, I'm taking my crew out for another hit!"
Since Similion promised them 1,000 livres for every major crime they committed, the Black Sheep Gang had issued strict orders, with hefty rewards, to create chaos at any cost. Though many of their members had been caught by the police, they had still made a fortune.
The gang leaders dreamed of their newfound wealth and partied late into the night, only falling into a deep sleep after midnight.
The next morning, just as the sun was rising, they were rudely awakened by loud banging on the door,
"Boss, boss! It's bad—some of our guys are dead!"
The gang leader groggily climbed out of bed, rubbing his aching head from last night's drinking, and grumbled,
"What are you yelling about? So what if someone's dead? Was it the Horse Gang or the cops?"
"Neither… neither," came the trembling voice from outside the door, "It was the Royal Guard, and three of our guys are dead…"
"The Royal Guard?" The gang leader frowned and kicked his still-sleeping men,
"Get up! We're going to see what's going on!"
A few moments later, two of the gang leaders stumbled out of the house, cursing as they followed the messenger down the street.
They hadn't gone far when they saw a squad of Royal Guards in pristine uniforms, with feathered tricorn hats and royal insignia, carrying top-quality weapons, marching towards them.
"What are they doing in Saint-Antoine?" Half-Ear asked nervously.
"They seem to be maintaining order," the messenger replied, his face pale. "There are a lot of them—almost every street has some."
(End of Chapter)