Zach wanted to make sure that it never came to that point.
Based on the urgency of the task, all his focus had shifted towards saving Luke. He was planning to get Luke released before a punishment could be announced by leveraging on the fact that Marico had been completely innocent while the police had been paid off by the Hunter family to harm him. Because those police officers were far from innocent like they were being hailed to be by the police department and the higher ups, acting in such a violent manner as Luke did was sufficiently justified to shield the ordinary citizens from the horrors of injustice and the corruption of the custodians of the law.
Thanks to this, Zach could not see himself escaping such non-combat political battles any time soon even though he hated them to the core. The pretentious atmosphere during those interactions made him want to gag but he had no other choice but to go through them for as long as he intended on making Byzantium city into a stronghold for the Smith family.
Though hateful, these non-combat battles had their benefits. For example, in this instance, to save Luke he had to deal with the higher ups of the military and the military court.
But the one who turned out to be his greatest helper wasn't Bruce. Instead, it was Andy who was now a police chief responsible for maintaining the law and order in the city on the surface and for committing all kinds of unscrupulous tasks for the top brass in the shadows.
Due to the never-ending favors he granted to the higher ups, Andy was quite well acquainted with most of the higher echelon members of the city.
Zach made use of Andy's connections to break ice with several members of the military in order to determine the current condition of the military. While the government was rotten to the core, Zach still hoped that the military would be better considering that they had managed to produce a righteous person like Luke.
After toiling through many a formal meals and boring conversations with hidden underlying meanings to be deciphered, Zach finally came across the person who might have the ability to help him set Luke free.
The person was named Ronaldo, a colonel attached as the commanding officer with the border guards for the Kanewea state. Kanewea state wasn't landlocked. Instead, a major portion of its borders were enclosed by a coastal strip that connected it with a wide expanse of sea filled with endless water. Therefore, the border control was only responsible for the security of a small area of the estate. The rest of it had been handed over to the naval forces since their powerful and sturdy vessels along with their specialized water mages were technically better equipped to deal with any threat from the waters instead of border control.
A commanding officer was supposed to be a big deal because he was not only responsible for the entire unit which contained thousands of warriors and hundreds of mages at various ranks ranging from support and auxiliary mages to combat mages with top notch destructive potential but also meant that Ronaldo had the authority to decide the life and death of anyone in his unit without being held responsible to anyone.
Of course, Ronaldo couldn't just execute anyone without reason, especially not the royal prince even if he did wield enough authority to kill off the entire unit in the events of an emergency. Harming a royal prince, no matter how idiotic or detached from his family, was something he wouldn't have the guts to pull off.
A colonel was a high-ranking officer in the military. Ronaldo's status in the army was equivalent to that of Andy in the police force. But there was surprisingly little to do as the border defense of a state that was enclosed by vast water bodies for most of its perimeter.
To his dismay, Zach discovered that the geographical positioning of the state induced a change in the military forces stationed here. Over time, the focus of the army stationed there changed from border defense to city management. Since border security of the state was being carried out by the naval forces, the border control moved inwards and took to the city center in order to live a luxurious life in the name of training and protecting the citizens from the inside.
The armed forces of any state are meant to be the first line of defense against any foreign invasion or infiltration. They can only keep up with the enemies of the state as long as they keep preparing themselves for any kind of contingency. That is why the state pays them even during peaceful times when they practically do nothing but train themselves as they wait for the interstate relations to worsen so that their presence may be required on the battlefront.
Unfortunately for the Kanewea state, the army had long since forgotten the horrors of the battlefield. It had been a long time since they saw any kind of blood. The state was secure from all sides and there was barely any need to station an entire unit for security. Still, even if they were there for precautionary measures, the state should have been prudent enough to rotate the stationed unit after some time.
The failure of the management led to the demise of the military in Byzantium city. The lack of pressure and threat from the outside sources soon revealed its effect on the military forces. Their combat effectiveness for one took a rather severe hit. Most of the soldiers didn't even remember the last time they fought for their lives in a battle. They had grown overconfident, weak and gutless over the years they spent away from the front lines.
Moreover, the focus of their attention had long since shifted away from the security of the state to their personal benefits. Each and every one of them, from the bottom most tier to the top, had been corrupted. The major reason for that was the overwhelming prestige they enjoyed in the city even though they barely contributed anything to it. They were lifted to a higher pedestal by the common public despite their inaction and inability to protect the masses with their sloth ridden limbs.
As a result, those very soldiers had begun to accept such treatment as their right. What was supposed to be a reward for those who sacrificed for the people had turned into a right that the army began to demand. They began to employ their privileges to gather up more benefits for themselves.
Zach was disgusted by these people and wondered why the people continued to show forbearance for their actions.
Still, he needed to bring Luke back. And interacting with these people was a necessary step towards achieving that goal.
For that very reason, Zach had requested Andy to set up a meeting with Colonel Roland to discuss the terms of the agreement that would ensure the safe and efficient release of the royal prince Luke. Zach wasn't worried that the Colonel would refuse to see him because he had become well acquainted with the kind of person that Colonel was.
Since he was sitting at the topmost spot of the corrupted force, it was an obvious fact that the leader would be a corrupted bastard as well; the worst of them all to boot.
Andy didn't take long to bring back the good news to Zach.
"He has agreed to meet you tomorrow." Andy was excited as he delivered the news to Zach. Even though he had become the chief of the police, his ambition had not died yet. He still considered Zach to be his pillar of support. He would keep on clinging to Zach's thigh as long as he could. Therefore, a request from Zach was always welcome in Andy's eyes.
When Zach approached him for a favor, Andy did his best to get that meeting with the military colonel and he returned excitedly to break the news himself in order to earn extra points with Zach.
"Finally...he's been eluding us for so many days. How did you manage to get a hold of him? You must have gone to see him in person if you managed to get a time out of him, am I right?" asked Bruce curiously. Before Andy, Bruce had tried to secure that meeting as well but had failed due to the overly inflated ego of the military commander who refused to see him no matter how he tried to approach him. So, he was genuinely wondering how Andy had been able to get the stubborn bastard to agree to meet them.
"It was nothing. I know some people who know some people who have a good relationship with Ronaldo. Since I had a few things on them, I convinced them to do me this favor." Andy had a smug grin adorning his face which made him look slightly childlike.
But Bruce knew the kind of things Andy might have done to convince those people. Obviously, he must have blackmailed them with their crimes.
Bruce harbored no objections to Andy's actions; in fact, he held a deep admiration for the man. In a city steeped in corruption, Bruce understood the impracticality of attempting to enact positive change without substantial power or social standing. The pervasive corruption rendered noble intentions futile without the leverage to make a real impact.
Andy's pragmatic approach in navigating this reality was something Bruce respected.
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