Chapter 10: Big Trouble
Chapter 10: Big Trouble
The members of the Viper Gang resisted briefly, but they were quickly pinned to the ground by the riot control forks from both sides. Their faces filled with fear as they whimpered.
Quirien thanked the colleagues who had come to help and began tying up the criminals with rope.
That day, similar scenes played out across the Saint-Antoine district.
The police officers, as if energized, would immediately charge at any crime they saw, shouting "In the name of the Prince!" and using their riot control forks and spears to deal harshly with the offenders.
In no time, thieves, robbers, and gang members in the Saint-Antoine district were in disarray, constantly on edge, no longer displaying their previous arrogance.
The residents of Saint-Antoine were both surprised and delighted to see the police cracking down on crime everywhere. Many notorious gang members and criminals were being arrested one after another. They had never seen the police take public safety so seriously!
At this time, the common people had very low expectations for public safety. If they were robbed or stolen from, they would usually just accept it as bad luck. As long as their lives weren't in danger, they were content. But the actions of this new police force far exceeded their expectations.
Soon, people began spontaneously bringing water and food to the police and cheering along the streets when criminals were caught. Encouraged by this support, the police worked even harder.
It didn't take long for the citizens to learn a new trick—when encountering a crime, shouting "In the name of the Prince!" often had a good chance of scaring off the criminals.
...
At the Palais-Royal.
The Duke of Orléans looked at the Paris News on his desk, his expression grim. The front-page headline read: "Security Chaos in the Saint-Antoine District, Prince Leads Police Reform."
Compared to the vague wording in the Paris News, which he controlled, the other tabloids were more straightforward: "Prince Reforms Police, Crime Drops in Saint-Antoine," "Saint-Antoine Residents Praise New Police Force," "Prince's Genius, Solves Dentist Murder Case in Three Minutes."
The Duke of Orléans was frustrated. He had intended to use the chaotic state of security in the Saint-Antoine district to have the newspapers humiliate the Prince, but instead, it had boosted his reputation.
That Joseph managed to reform the police force so thoroughly in just over ten days—such skill was hardly that of a 13-year-old boy!
The Duke frowned, thinking. Could it be that the Austrian woman was using her son to start cleaning out the Parisian bureaucracy through the police department?
The more he thought about it, the more he believed this was the only possibility. After all, it would be almost impossible for the young Prince to accomplish all this on his own.
This made him even more determined to disrupt the Queen's plans—he couldn't allow the royal family to regain any power!
After a moment of contemplation, he quickly wrote a letter and summoned his butler, instructing,
"Take this letter to Levesque and tell him to spare no effort in getting this done. I might consider helping him become the Governor of Normandy."
"Yes, sir."
...
In a small villa on the east bank of the Seine, Paris Chief of Police Guizot glared at the partially open door and shouted at the woman eavesdropping outside,
"Anna, shut the door and keep the servants away."
"Oh." The woman reluctantly closed the door and walked away, muttering under her breath,
"Hmph, treating me like a servant. This is my house…"
Guizot then turned back to the short, curly-haired man in front of him, taking a deep puff from his pipe,
"Similion, the Prince isn't just playing around for a few days and then going back to Versailles. He's planning to stay at the police department."
The short man, who was the former Saint-Antoine Police Commissioner who had been "forced" to take sick leave, immediately responded,
"But the City Commissioner said I could be back in my position in no more than two months…"
"Who could have predicted things would turn out like this?" Guizot exhaled a cloud of smoke,
"Now, it's not just you—the Prince is a problem for the entire police department."
He stared at Similion and said,
"There's something you can do. If you do it well, not only will you get your job back, but you might even get a promotion."
The short man's eyes lit up,
"Sir, just tell me what to do!"
"You know Saint-Antoine better than anyone. Which gangs are the most powerful there?"
"The Horse Gang and the Black Sheep Gang," Similion replied. "They control more than 80% of the district, each with over a hundred men under them."
Guizot nodded and handed him a small piece of paper, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light,
"Go find them. It doesn't matter if it's murder, rape, kidnapping, or arson—just have them throw Saint-Antoine into chaos. We need the situation to spiral out of control, total disorder!"
"This…" Similion's eyes widened at the mention of those crimes. It took him a moment to nod,
"Alright, total disorder."
He glanced at the paper in his hand and suddenly jumped from his chair, exclaiming,
"Th-three thousand livres!!"
The paper was a 3,000-livre promissory note. At this time, 2,000 livres could buy a villa in Paris—3,000 livres was a fortune that could drive any gang to madness.
"This is nothing." Guizot motioned for him to sit down,
"Tell the gang members that they'll get a thousand livres for each act of terror that causes panic. In a month, the gang that performs the best will get an additional 2,000 livres."
"Yes, sir." Similion's hands trembled slightly with excitement.
"Alright, go take care of it." Guizot gave him a long, hard look,
"Remember, no matter what happens, the powerful people behind me will cover for you, but all of this was your idea. It has nothing to do with me. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Understood, you can count on me!"
Guizot stood by the window, watching Similion's hurried departure with a cold smile.
He hadn't initially planned to go this far, but when Levesque told him yesterday to go all out and promised to cover for him, he no longer had any reservations.
"Your Highness, you would have been better off staying in Versailles, enjoying yourself. Why did you have to wade into this mess?" he muttered through gritted teeth.
...
Three days later.
At the Saint-Antoine police station:
Joseph was sitting in the shade, reading through citizen complaint letters—though most were actually praises for the police—when Inspector Magoni suddenly rushed over, bowed, and reported,
"Your Highness, there's been another incident! Two people were killed at a shoe store on White Lily Street, and the store was set on fire!"
Joseph immediately frowned. Since the afternoon two days ago, several serious incidents had occurred in the Saint-Antoine district. Two people had been killed the day before yesterday, and three more had died yesterday, with two others seriously injured.
He had initially thought they were isolated incidents, but now it had happened again.
"What's the situation?"
"Arden took some men to the scene," Magoni said. "The fire has been extinguished, but the criminals haven't been caught."
Joseph quickly returned to his office to organize a response to the incidents.
By dusk, Arden had returned with updates on the White Lily Street case and was reporting to Joseph when another officer rushed in with more bad news—
"The Black Sheep Gang has gone berserk on Misonra Street, attacking people everywhere. Seven or eight passersby have already been injured. We urgently need reinforcements!"
(End of Chapter)
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