NOVEL NEXT LXI. The Bull's Horns
While Jargen and Syl begin searching through Cabdan's office in the hopes of finding any leads regarding his hidden fortune, below them Punjo, Rel, and Tyssa have been making their way toward the mysterious laboratory.
Punjo (hushed): Wait, I'm hearin' somethin'...
Following his words, all three of them freeze in place, as the increasingly louder sound of footsteps echoing through a nearby door catches their collective ear -- the same door that is supposed to lead them to the lab.
Tyssa (hushed): The guy's coming back!
Rel (hushed): Dammit... Find a place to hide. Quick!
Scrambling to conceal themselves, Rel and Tyssa look to their surroundings in search of anything that could be leveraged to keep them out of sight. Almost immediately, Tyssa luckily manages to find a nearby supply room filled with cleaning utensils. However, even though it is spacious enough for her to hide in, there was no room for either Punjo or Rel to join her...
Rel (hushed): We can't all fit in there, there's no way... Punjo, what are you doing?!
Punjo was casually digging through his pockets, presumably trying to find something. The impending possibility of getting caught didn't seem to cause him much concern.
Punjo (hushed): All's gonna be alright... No need ta panic. Just gotta find it...
Stupefied by his nonchalant attitude, Rel angrily tries to call him to reason.
Rel (hushed): We gotta move fast, the guy's almost on top of us!
And indeed he was, as the ever-present, ever-louder thud of the guard's boots kept reminding them. With no more options in sight, and without a chance to escape their current position as the sound of their desperate getaway would surely make enough noise to alert the guard... It seemed like there were no more options for hiding.
Punjo (hushed): ... Oh we won't be hidin', lad. Yer gonna need ta trust me on this one... Stay right there!
As he says this to a confused Rel, Punjo makes his way towards the door through which they anticipated the guard to enter from at any moment. Dumbfounded by Punjo's command, Rel understandably grows more agitated as the enemy closes in on them.
Rel (hushed): What the hell're you saying, Punjo?!
Punjo seems to have finally found what he was searching for, as he pulls his hand from the inside one of his pockets, taking out a pebble from within. As he aims towards a small vase not too far from Rel's current position, the boy's eyes' widen in fear of what was to come...
Rel (hushed): No! Don't-
Too late. With dead-eye accuracy, he flicks the stone straight at it. As it hits the vase's porcelain shell, a part of it cracks and the entire plant is knocked over, landing on the exposed cold hard floor that peeked between the rug and the wall. The vase shatters completely upon coming in contact with it, making a loud-enough ruckus to be heard in the vicinity. Witnessing this was a pale Rel, who now helplessly looked towards Punjo, as the sound of the door's turning handle made his heart pound heavily.
Rel (hushed): What the fuck...!
He grunts beneath his teeth, adopting a fighting stance as he braces for the inevitable encounter with the guard. Although Rel's heart raced with the current turn of events, Punjo remained calm and collected, as he hugged the wall right beside the door, on the opposite side to where Rel currently stood.
Guard: Alright... Whoever's out there, you picked a real bad fuckin' day to fuck with me!
Says the familiar angered man, after having aggressively opened the door and turned to face Rel. Rel was able to recognize him, and as they suspected, it was indeed the same guard who had not long ago entered the cellar to pick up a fresh new corpse for Dmitri. As the guard sees the knocked-over vase and a nervous teenage boy ready to brawl, he grins menacingly, instinctively preparing to unsheathe the blade at his belt.
Guard: Bad choice, little thief. Fucked with the wrong house...!
Yet interrupting the highlight of his night, halfway into his unsheathing movement, Punjo stealthily pounces on him from behind and expertly places him under a powerful choke hold.
Punjo: Shhh. Kid's not the one who's fuckin' with ya, pal...
Immobilized in Punjo's iron grip, it doesn't take long for the guard to pass out. Upon feeling his unconscious body go limp, Punjo quietly drops him in the ground, then dusts off his own hands with a wide smile on his face, pleased with how cleanly he had managed to take his opponent out. Despite this, Rel didn't seem too happy with the outcome...
Rel: Heck were you thinking, man?! What if someone heard us?
That possibility didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, as his relaxed shrugging implied.
Punjo: Could have, yea.
Punjo grabs the unconscious man and begins dragging his body towards Tyssa's closet while he begins explaining his reckless behaviour...
Punjo: What if there's five guards about to turn that corner, right this second? What if there's an army waitin' for us past that door? We can go on fer hours, young Rel...
As he heard the start of Punjo's explanation, Rel's mouth was already held agape in shock.
Rel: Oh c'mon, you can't be serious-
Punjo: I am. Dead serious. Listen, ya can't prepare for every inconvenience, ye'll go crazy before long... Times like these ya gotta go with yer gut. Syl may be a lotta things, but he don't seem stupid.
Joining Rel in listening to Punjo's rationale, Tyssa exits the closet, leaving the door open for Punjo who continues describing his thought process. She seemed almost as surprised as Rel himself, listening to Punjo.
Punjo: On our way to the lab, the man told us ta be careful with one guy, and one guy alone. One important detail ya can't forget -- Syl's got more ta lose if things turn to shite than any o'us... So ya know what my gut told me?
As he approaches the closet, Punjo hangs the man over his shoulder, preparing to prop him up against some dusty brooms in the closet's corner.
Punjo: It told me there ain't five guys. There ain't an army. There's one single man, 'n that's it. If the man who's got the most ta lose trusts that there's no-one round these parts right now... Then call me crazy, but that's what I'm bankin' on, too.
His logic seemed too far-fetched for Tyssa, as her furrowed brow betrayed... It was unfathomable to her that he could even operate in those terms.
Tyssa: Crazy sounds about right... How can you even think like that?!
Punjo: Not my first rodeo, that's how. Weren't by chance me 'n Jargen met... Though that's a tale fer 'nother time.
Still struggling to come to terms with Punjo's boldness, Rel shakes his head as he puts forward yet another critique.
Rel: But you could've at least told us what you were planning...!
Punjo: Sure, but where's the fun in that?!
Punjo laughs heartily right after asking the question. Fun did seem to be one of his core concerns, much to their fright...
Rel: Punjo... Startin' to think you really are insane...
Nothing he hadn't heard before. Punjo stopped laughing, with a wide smile still imprinted on his face, as he turns to Rel.
Punjo: Might very well be, ye. Just dun' forget, young Rel -- if you think I'm crazy, yer as crazy as I am. 'Cause you're robbing the house of someone who could very well be one of the most dangerous individuals in this entire damn city... And yer doin' it under the command of one of his own men who could choose ta backstab us at any given moment. If there weren't a bit o' crazy in ya, ya wouldn't be here with me.
Rel didn't seem to have an answer prepared for this... Punjo wasted no more time, turning to Tyssa to deliver his final remarks.
Punjo: That goes fer you too, lass. We're all insane here, it seems! Now... One down, one ta go. Ya two with me or not?
With a strangely reinforced sense of respect for the madman in front of them, they silently follow him, trusting that his judgement wouldn't lead them astray... Leaving the unconscious guard hidden inside the closet, they enter the same door he came from. Much to their relief, just as Syl had mentioned, there was another corridor, one that presumably would lead them to the lab they sought.
Punjo (hushed): Just a few steps away, now...