Dishonored: The Ties That Bind

Chapter 14

Back at the Hound Pits, all the information was pooled together and a very rough map of the textile mill was drawn up. It rested on a table, while other scraps of paper occupied another nearby.
"So really," Billy said, "those four names are almost like runners would be in a war. All those red buttons would meet up with 'em- or gather themselves an' just send one person- and they'd give them all the stuff they've found out. Those people would then get it to Trimble at the mill."
"Yeah." Jason nodded. "Bit cumbersome, like, but it's real efficient. Nobody would notice one person goin' here and there. And who would suspect a child as a spy?"
"Kids are born curious. Half of 'em are little bastards, too."
"I take it that you'll never have kids, then?" Elaine smiled.
Billy grinned. "You take right. Can't stand 'em, meself. Would've been nice to pass on the business, though." He then abruptly changed the subject. "Tellin' Slackjaw bout all these red buttons right now will just fuck shit up too much. So, I think we need to do this a bit different. We need to stop Trimble's ears from bein' so damn good, for one thing."

Elaine looked at him. "...you're going after those people?"
"Well...yeah. Normally I wouldn't wanna touch 'em cos' they'd get missed after a few days. But with 'ow things are startin' to look, we won't need a few days. We'll need two. Three at a push. He's not think anythin' funny after only that amount o' time."
"Gonna need a bigger Pit at this rate." Jason grinned.
"I wouldn't be so quick to laugh, mate, you're one o' the best at kidnappin' folk. One of them out there is yours."
The grin fell off. "...oh. Okay, no prob."
"You'll work in pairs. We need all of 'em- all four- nabbed an' back here before we are. I don't want 'em near bitch, either, this isn't a fuckin' family reunion. They go in the rooms behind."
"So she can hear 'em?"
Billy nodded. "Yep! Background music. One o' these days I'll get round to shavin' the rest of her bastard head. Just not yet. With those four out the way, that's their ears cut off." He then looked at Elaine. "Corvo's speakin' to Martin soon, yeah?"
"Should already be underway, hopefully."
"Right. So soon, that castle will get surrounded by some of Sokolov's best ideas. They'll be nasty to us, too, so for the time being, only me an' Elaine will be able to get near the castle or anyone in the Watch. Everyone else, stay clear."
All of the assassins nodded in response.

"Once things 'ave moved along some, I'll take another look at it then. We might not need to go near it at all, if those fucking robots do a good enough job." He then dropped that line of talk with a deep, sighing breath. "Now then. Next. Jase, what's the deal on this fuckin' mill? Did you find him?"
Jason nodded. "Aye, we did. It looks like they hold him in some kind o' place in this area overnight..." He drew a circle over one part of the building map. "...an' then when he's havin' stuff done, they take him to see Trimble. His office is over 'ere." He then drew another circle, a lot smaller in size. "There's a lot of guardin' in the nearby area. Grounds are big, so they do regular patrols on the hour. And, from what we managed to see of inside, there's a fair few of 'em in there. Hugh spotted more in the out-buildings, off to the sides, so looks like they're converted into bunks."
"...so how many are we talkin' then? Best guess."
Jason thought about it for a few seconds. "It's tough to guess right, but...I'd say at least one-fifty."

Billy paused. "A hundred and fifty Hatters?" He then yelled.
"Could easily be more, but with those side buildings? Yeh."
Billy shook his head. "Definitely a floor-wiper. Also means that we really do need Slackjaw an' his men. All of 'em. Fuckin' hell." He put both his hands flat on the table. "With that many, there's no way we could storm the place ourselves. So if we're gonna get our mate out of there, that leaves only one other way."
His head then turned to look at Elaine.
"I'm sorry lass," he said, "but you an' me can't stay 'ome."
She nodded slightly. "I...kind-of thought it'd be like this."
"Fraid so. We'll need to find a way to sneak in, somehow. Jase, where's Trimble's office at? Show us again."
Jason redrew his circle for them. "First floor." He added.
Billy studied it. "South. We'll need to swing out and go for a side, there's no other things to jump on near there."
"Out of the two sides, the East looked to be quieter. Most of the extras we saw came out the West."
"Worth a shot." He smiled at Jason. "Nice one, thanks." He then straightened. "Looks like that's everythin', then. I don't want any big risks taken by any of you. Anyone left 'ere can get things ready for when we get back, an' start questioning. Let's go."