Chapter 57: Destroying the Mercenary Company
The Red Falcon company headquarters occupied a converted warehouse in Oxenfurt's eastern district.
I didn't approach it directly. Instead, I stationed observers on nearby rooftops, tracking their movements, their clients, their operations. Knowledge was the foundation of destruction—understanding their business before dismantling it.
[RESOURCE SCAN: RED FALCON COMPANY]
[Membership: 14 active, 3 leadership]
[Financial Status: Struggling (3 months reserve remaining)]
[Reputation: Damaged (assassination attempt becoming known)]
[Key Personnel: Commander Taren (experienced), Lieutenant Varen (intermediary), Fighters (3 elite, 11 standard)]
[Vulnerability Assessment: HIGH (contract-dependent, talent-poor)]
The scan confirmed what Tom's intelligence had suggested. The company was already declining—our intervention would accelerate collapse that was coming anyway.
"Make it faster. Make it complete. Make it impossible for them to recover."
The first phase began immediately.
Every contract the Red Falcons bid on, we bid lower. Every client they approached, we approached first. Every opportunity that might sustain their operations, we claimed before they could reach it.
"Merchant escort to Vizima," Brennan reported from our Temerian base. "Red Falcons quoted fifteen crowns. We offered twelve. Client accepted our bid within hours."
"Warehouse security in Novigrad," Viktor added. "They wanted twenty-five crowns monthly. We matched the price with better quality guarantees. Client switched to us this morning."
"Monster clearance near Oxenfurt," Mira confirmed. "Standard nekker problem. They quoted normal rates. We quoted twenty percent below market, emphasizing our Witcher association for expertise. Client didn't even respond to their follow-up."
The pattern repeated across three weeks. Seventeen contracts stolen, worth roughly one hundred twenty crowns in revenue the Red Falcons desperately needed. Our margins suffered—we operated at cost or slight loss on several jobs—but the strategic damage was worth every copper.
"Their treasury is almost empty," Tom reported mid-campaign. "They've missed two rent payments on their headquarters. Three members left for better opportunities elsewhere. Commander Taren is considering dissolution."
"Not yet. They still have their best fighters. We need those too."
The three elite Red Falcon fighters were named Geron, Kell, and Marta.
Each had joined the company years ago, when its reputation was better and opportunities more abundant. Each had watched the organization decline, leadership make poor decisions, reputation suffer from associations with assassination work.
I approached them individually, away from company oversight.
Geron first—at a tavern he frequented after training sessions. Middle-aged, scarred, carrying himself with the quiet confidence of someone who'd survived situations that killed others.
"I know who you are," he said when I sat across from him. "Guild master of the Covenant. The one we were supposed to kill."
"I know who you are too. Fifteen years of mercenary work, specialty in defensive operations, reputation for reliability." I set a contract on the table between us. "I'm offering you a job."
"You want to recruit the man who tried to murder you?"
"I want to recruit a skilled fighter who was following orders from leadership that made poor decisions. The leadership is my problem. You're an asset being wasted on an organization that's dying." I tapped the contract. "Better pay, better training access, better future. The Red Falcons have maybe two months before dissolution. What happens to you then?"
He read the contract slowly, his expression revealing nothing. The terms were generous—higher salary than he currently earned, signing bonus, access to guild training facilities including Witcher instruction at Kaer Morhen.
"Why would I trust you? After what we tried to do?"
"Because I don't hold fighters responsible for leadership decisions. And because turning you into an enemy serves no purpose—you're more valuable as an ally than as a corpse."
The silence stretched. Then he picked up the quill I'd brought and signed.
Kell was easier—younger, less invested in the company's history, eager for advancement that the Red Falcons couldn't provide. He signed within an hour of my approach.
Marta was harder.
"I don't trust guild structures," she said, meeting me at a training ground where she practiced alone. Her sword work was impressive—clean, efficient, deadly. "Organizations have rules. Rules get people killed."
"Our rules are designed to keep people alive. Training protocols, security procedures, communication systems. The rules exist to support members, not control them."
"That's what they all say."
"Check our record. Zero member deaths in three years of operation. Zero casualties in the building collapse that should have killed four people. Zero losses in the ambush your company participated in." I let those facts settle. "We're not perfect, but we're better than most."
She continued her practice forms, considering. "I'll think about it."
"Take your time. But don't take too long—when the company dissolves, opportunities like this one disappear."
Three days later, she requested another meeting. She signed the following morning.
[GUILD MEMBERSHIP UPDATE]
[New Members: Geron, Kell (oath-bound)]
[Pending Member: Marta (finalizing terms)]
[Total Membership: 20 → 21]
[Note: Marta requesting modified oath terms—reviewing]
The final phase was Tom's specialty.
"The story spreads through adventurer networks," he explained, describing his information campaign. "Red Falcon company accepted assassination contract against legitimate guild leader. Failed attempt. Now facing business consequences. The details are vague enough to avoid legal complications, specific enough to damage reputation."
"How's it spreading?"
"Tavern conversations, merchant gossip, guild hall discussions. By next week, every potential client in the Northern Kingdoms will have heard some version. The company's name will be associated with assassination failure."
The damage was immediate and severe. Clients who might have given the Red Falcons a chance despite their struggles suddenly refused all contact. Nobody wanted to hire assassins for legitimate protection work—the association was too dangerous.
Within two weeks of the exposure campaign, the Red Falcon company had zero active contracts. Their remaining members—eleven after our recruitment and earlier departures—faced a choice between continued loyalty to a doomed organization or finding work elsewhere.
Most chose elsewhere.
Commander Taren dissolved the company on a cold morning in late spring. I didn't attend the dissolution—there was no need to witness the death of an organization I'd killed. But Tom's observers reported the details: final payments to remaining members, settlement of debts where possible, formal notification to relevant authorities.
The Red Falcon company ceased to exist exactly forty-three days after I'd begun its destruction.
Geron and Kell integrated into guild operations smoothly—experienced fighters adapting to new structure with professional efficiency. Marta required more time, her distrust of organizations fading slowly as she experienced the guild's actual practices versus her expectations.
"You destroyed them completely," Viktor observed during our post-campaign review. "Not just the attack capability—the entire organization."
"That was the point." I reviewed the final accounting. "We spent fifteen crowns on contract undercutting, thirty on recruitment bonuses, minimal resources on intelligence operations. Total investment: maybe fifty crowns. Return: three skilled fighters, complete elimination of a threat source, and a message to anyone else considering assassination."
"The message being?"
"Attack the Covenant, lose everything. Not just the attack—your business, your people, your reputation. We don't just defend. We consume."
Mira looked up from her ledger. "That's... ruthless."
"That's survival. Enemies who fear consequences don't attack in the first place. The Red Falcons are an example—everyone in the adventurer world will hear what happened to them. The next mercenary company that's offered an assassination contract against us will remember."
[GUILD STATUS UPDATE]
[Phase 2 Progress: 70%]
[Members: 21 (including 3 former Red Falcon fighters)]
[Treasury: 259 crowns (after campaign expenses)]
[Threats Neutralized: Red Falcon Company (dissolved)]
[Remaining Targets: Aldric Voss (pending)]
The mercenary company was finished. But they'd only been the weapon—Aldric Voss was the hand that wielded it.
The merchant's destruction would be more personal, more thorough, and more public. I wanted everyone who considered funding assassination to see what happened to those who tried.
Tom's network was already gathering the intelligence I'd need. Financial records, business connections, personal vulnerabilities. Aldric had built his operation over decades—I would dismantle it in weeks.
The counter-attack continued.
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