When we were serving breakfast, weren't we all busy here either having meetings or sending telegrams?!
According to the search intensity of the search team, it is impossible for a child to escape discovery, let alone such a group of people and their belongings?!
Henry didn't even think about it until Dwight led people to complete a comprehensive search and left the hotel.
After confirming that the search team had really left, he quickly returned to the floor where Verak and the others lived, and searched inside and outside by himself, but found no traces. In the end, he really had no clue, so he had to whisper to Verak and the others in the guest room and corridor.
people.
After calling for a few minutes, he almost thought that Verak and others disappeared out of thin air, but there was a slight sound above his head.
Ventilation duct?
It shouldn't be, that thing can't support the weight of so many people, and the louver fan of the vent cannot be removed with bare hands. The standard exhaust volume of the guest room also makes it difficult for people to crawl through the vent opening.
It's completely impossible.
Otherwise, Lieutenant Dwight wouldn't have given up the search after just one glance.
But it seems that this is the only possibility.
Henry raised his head and shouted at the ventilation duct several times. When he got no response, he moved a ladder, climbed up and shined a flashlight into the duct.
The louver fan was removed at some point, allowing the flashlight's light to shine unobstructed to the end of the pipe's bend.
Unfortunately, Henry found no one, only telegraph machines and other items.
These things are not as big or heavy as a person, so they are very suitable for hiding here.
It seems that Verak and the others thought it was inconvenient to move around with their things, so they hid all their things behind the pipes and found another place to hide them.
The reason why Henry firmly believed that Verac and the others were still in the hotel was because in his opinion, escaping from the hotel was even more impossible.
The stairs and elevators going down are strictly guarded. No one is allowed to go in or out. If you go out through the window, it is tens of meters high outside. Even if you don't fall to your death, a dozen people can easily be discovered and exposed.
"Come out! They've all left!" Henry couldn't find anyone, and he felt a little anxious. He raised his voice and walked through the guest rooms, corridors, banquet halls and other places.
After shouting like this for about five minutes, Verak appeared behind Henry without anyone noticing: "No need to shout."
Henry was startled, turned around and said incoherently: "You, this, you just..."
"We noticed it when the search team approached the hotel, so we started hiding an hour ago and restored the guest rooms to their original state." Verak looked very calm, and this state gradually infected Henry, allowing his mood to quickly stabilize.
, "Fortunately among the misfortunes, they searched very closely, so we had enough time to solve all the problems."
"Where are you hiding?" Henry couldn't help but ask him the most curious question, "Lieutenant Dwight personally led the search and searched every corner. How could you, a dozen of them, be here?"
Muddle through on the first floor?"
"You don't need to know." Verak didn't tell this most critical secret to someone like Henry who couldn't be completely trusted.
Henry was very sensible and did not ask further questions. Anyway, Verak and the others were fine, he could survive, and Duke Hall's plan was not affected.
The two of them approached the guest room and found that the comrades who had disappeared inside had reappeared, carrying a telegraph machine and sorting documents.
"They have searched it. It is considered absolutely safe here. You can stay here with peace of mind and tell me if you need anything." Henry said.
"Where can there be absolute safety in Lezein? Mr. Hall has personally said before that with his face, no soldiers would dare to turn this place upside down. But what about today? If we hadn't already considered the worst
We have made corresponding preparations for the situation, do you think we can still stand here and chat?" Verak reminded.
"Then what do you mean..."
"Our alertness alone is not enough. You must also learn a lesson. If the search team comes to search for the second time, I don't want anyone to report the situation for more than an hour." Verak was dissatisfied with this point.
It's their own business to be careful, but that doesn't mean the hotel doesn't need to do anything if they are careful.
Duke Hall had profit considerations in providing them with accommodation. Since there were benefits, he must at least show sincerity and fulfill his obligations.
Otherwise, rather than staying in such a place where Duke Hall's advantages were lost, they might as well find another location and not accept this false kindness.
"I wanted to inform you before Lieutenant Dwight brought people up, but I never found a chance. I finally used the excuse of going to the office to get documents to get out. Lieutenant Dwight even followed me specially..."
Henry was helpless. He thought that in this case, there was no way to replace Verak.
"Is it possible that you want to repeat the same thing a second time?" Verak asked in return.
"No, no, no, I mean something did go wrong this time, but if the search team comes again, I promise not to make the same mistake and inform you of the news as soon as possible." Henry did not dare to offend Wei.
Lark, not even daring to affect the cooperation between the International Equality Alliance and Duke Hall, repeatedly promised.
Verak didn't have much hope. He waved his hand to signal the other party to leave, and then returned to the guest room.
Sherrill stood by the door, and after Verak walked in, he said: "Staying here doesn't mean much to us anymore."
"I didn't expect Hall's status as a duke to be of much use." Verak stood in front of the window worriedly, looking at the government troops who were searching another building.
"It's normal. In the eyes of the provisional government, eradicating us is more important than anything else, and Duke Hall can't escape." Sherrill was not surprised at all.
"Then why haven't you suggested that we stay somewhere else before?" Verak asked.
It is precisely because Duke Hall promised that with his status as a cover, it would be safest for Verak and the others to stay in the hotel, so the general liaison office of the action team was set up here.
Without this, the value Duke Hall can exert is close to nothing, and there is no need for the International Equality Alliance to owe him a favor for no reason.
"Actually, as long as you are in Lezeinli, it is impossible to escape these rounds of searches. Rather than hiding in the suburbs, it is better to be closer to the government building. At least we can monitor some of the movements of the provisional government every day."
Sherrill stood next to Verak and said.
"That's all I can think of."
"Comrade Verak, everyone is coming up." Cyril clapped his hands and pulled the last person up from the hole in the bathroom floor.
Verak walked forward and thanked the comrades who stayed in the guest room on the floor below: "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's okay, we'll keep in touch." The comrade smiled back, and then personally moved a piece of floor above his head, cutting off the connection between the guest rooms on the upper and lower floors.
There is an absorbent blanket specially used in the bathroom hooked on the stone slab. When the stone slab is closed, a blanket that is much larger than the stone slab is covered on top, so there is no difference at all.
This is Verak's back-up plan.
If the safety of the main cadres of the action team is entirely placed on Duke Hall and his servants who are loyal to him but are not very smart, something will happen sooner or later.
So on the same day that Verak and the others came to stay, a comrade from a well-off family who had secretly joined the International Equality Alliance was entrusted with an important task. He checked into the hotel in the name of an ordinary guest and stayed in the guest room directly below Verak and the others.
Then, in addition to studying the follow-up actions, the most laborious thing for Verak and others in recent days was to clear the ventilation duct and cut a gap in the bathroom floor to connect it to the guest room below.
Originally, they studied the terrain and planned feasible hiding and evacuation routes with a sense of urgency in case Duke Hall suddenly betrayed them.
Unexpectedly, they thought highly of Duke Hall. He did not betray the city, and the promises he made were even worse.
The so-called ducal background that can make most people give face, not only did not make the search team retreat, but even when the search team came in, they failed to pass on any information to them.
If they hadn't been keeping an eye on the outside and had prepared a hiding plan as soon as they arrived, it's very likely that everyone would have died today.
"If you hadn't considered the danger and arranged this step, we might all be doomed." Connie was still frightened.
There is no doubt that this was a close call with death.
Without the ideas put forward by Verak before he moved in, the consequences would have been extremely serious, with a high probability of causing the direct collapse of the Lezeyin wartime action team.
"You can't put your life or death on such a person." Verak himself was secretly glad that in a place like Lezein, it would be wrong to be more cautious.
"Then we should assign people to take turns to investigate the situation in the future? I'm afraid that if the search team comes again, Duke Hall's people still won't be able to play any role." Connie asked Verak for instructions.
Verak felt in his heart that their supervision was very limited and it was not cost-effective. But since Duke Hall was not very reliable, they could only do this: "Okay."
The General Liaison Office is busy again, and the recent crisis did not affect them much.
Verak looked outside, feeling a little heavy.
He always felt that things were not that simple.
It is not about the search team searching the hotel, but about the interim government's attitude towards Lezein and the actions of the government troops.
——
In the hotel office
Henry called Duke Hall, who stayed in the mansion and had nothing to do with anything in the hotel, and reported in detail the major events that happened in the hotel today.
"Are you saying that the people from the International Equality Alliance disappeared out of thin air and suddenly appeared again?" Duke Hall did not hide the suspicion in his tone.
"Yes." Henry was still in shock, holding the phone with both hands. "After the search team left, I searched for a long time on that floor. Except for the items they had hidden in the ventilation duct, I didn't see even a single person.
, and then, the man named Verak suddenly appeared behind me..."
"There are no ghosts in this world. They cannot disappear or appear out of thin air. Please think carefully about what is going on." Duke Hall said impatiently.
Although the International Equality Alliance has means to ensure that it is not discovered by government forces, which is good for the International Equality Alliance itself and him, he does not like the feeling of things being out of control.
A dozen people live in their own territory, and in the end they don’t even know how the other person disappeared or reappeared. What does this mean?
"Is it possible that they knew some secret technique of shrinking bones and really hid in the ventilation duct, but I didn't see it?" Henry guessed, unable to think of it.
"How can the ventilation ducts hold so many people?! The ducts have collapsed long ago when they were hiding in them! Not to mention how noisy that thing is!" Duke Hall said sternly, "I asked you to protect them and keep an eye on them.
You haven't done anything yet!"
"It happened so suddenly. I'm sorry, sir..." Henry wanted to kneel down to answer the phone to express his shame. "And Dwight led people to search inside and outside, and even he wasn't found. I didn't find him either."
…”
Duke Hall didn't say the word "waste" after all. After all, if something happened over there, Henry would have to be held responsible.
He took a few long breaths and calmed down: "In short, it's a good thing that they have the means to ensure their own safety, but you still have to find ways to find out their details as much as possible."
"This..." Henry was afraid that he would mess up, "the government troops can't do anything to them, I..."
"You are different from the government troops. You can see them and deal with them. Of course, don't do things too obviously. Don't do stupid things like go up and directly ask people how they hid it." If it weren't for the sake of protecting yourself.
If you don't interfere directly, there will be room for maneuver in whatever happens. Duke Hall would rather investigate it himself.
"Why do you have to know their details? Isn't it enough for us that they stay safe and not be discovered by the government?" Henry asked cautiously.
"You are so familiar with the hotel and you didn't even know where they were hiding for a long time. Then who knows what they did in the hotel? What if things are beyond our control? If something unexpected happens, I will leave.
It doesn’t matter anymore, do you understand?”
Henry nodded, as if he could be seen by Duke Hall on the other end of the phone: "I understand, I will investigate this matter for you."
"If you don't succeed and they discover your purpose instead, do you know what to say?" Duke Hall asked.
"I will say that this is my own idea and has nothing to do with you. I was afraid that they would do something you didn't know, so I conducted the investigation secretly." Henry did not feel any discomfort in his heart and took all the responsibility on himself.
"Very good. Then when I punish you to prove that I have nothing to do with this matter, will you feel resentful?"
"This is my honor. Mr. Hall, you know, I am willing to die for you. A little misunderstanding and punishment are nothing." Henry said solemnly.
Duke Hall was very satisfied: "I am very happy to have a loyal servant like you."