The subsequent meeting with Duncan Maguire only confirmed this fact. He was able to tell them much more about what Trill had planned and what he had in his armory, though some of the information was limited to the bears in his top ranks as he trusted very few people, including those in his own clan.
“If you want to take down the Maguire clan, you’re going to have to take him out first.”
“You know what the clan laws here say about taking out the Alpha of a clan if you’re of lower standing. You’re only allowed to do so when they are challenged by another Alpha or member of their own clan who has approval of the charge from the rest of the clan.”
“Yes, which is why only you or I can do it,” Duncan replied.
“Or the other clan Alphas,” Ronan offered.
“No. They’ve been stripped of their title and ability to challenge by the new laws he put into place. The rules will be upheld by his clan. You have to understand that the men under him are afraid of him, not for themselves, but for their families. Either that or they are the same and enjoy the power.”
“Are you fit to challenge him then?” Niall asked.
“Me? No. I’m no match for Trill. I never was, and I never will be. Some see it as cowardice, but it’s not. I’m simply uninterested in conflict.”
“That sounds like cowardice to me,” Niall observed.
Duncan shrugged. “I don’t care.”
“I understand where you are coming from,” Ronan added. “We’d all be a lot better off if we learned to stop fighting over things and evolved into a more modern society.”
“Well, that’s really progressive of you two, but we aren’t arguing with a barista over what name to put on our cup. It sounds pretty clear that even a coalition of clans can’t take down the Maguires, and I’m the only Alpha on this island able to take out Trill. I can do that, but I’m going to need help getting to him, and I’m going to need backup to take out the rest of his henchmen once he’s down,” Niall said.
“There are some Alphas on this island that can bulk up the numbers for you,” Duncan added.
“Like who?”
“Dragons, tigers, wolves...” Duncan said.
“Why would they fight for a bear?” Ronan asked.
“Because they are on his radar to take down next,” Duncan replied.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Is he mad?”
“Yes. Quite mad.”
“Why has he not killed you?” Ronan asked him.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I think it is just because he fears he’ll lose the support of his clan if he kills the sole Maguire namesake left, but that’s today. As time passes, I think it becomes less important. His power has become a far bigger concern than any social repercussions. He’s in a position to squash anyone who dissents.”
“All right, well, we won’t contact you for anything more than necessary. We don’t want him to grow suspicious of you. While we work toward a coalition to take him down, we’ll need you to keep gathering all the intel you think will be of use. We’re going to need a way to take him by surprise, just Alpha on Alpha,” Niall said.
“A tough sell. He already knows we’re here,” Ronan replied.
“No. He knows you were here. He thinks you bailed with his blushing bride,” Duncan responded.
Niall smiled at this. “Good,” he replied. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“He’s furious about it. I’m not sure it’s good to feed that fire.”
“Rage is a blinding force. Anger makes people do things they should have thought out more carefully. It’s to our advantage,” Niall told him.
“If you think so,” Duncan replied.
“We’re off then. We’ll be in touch,” Niall told him, dismissing him without further discussion.
He and Ronan stood in the empty space loaned to them by Sarah and waited until he was well clear of the door before exiting from the rear entrance onto the next street. They hardly said a word on their way to the car park, waiting until they were completely alone to discuss things further.
“So, dragons first?” Ronan asked.
“Yes. Let’s go to their cave or castle, wherever fucking dragons sleep these days,” Niall replied.
Ronan laughed and pointed the car in the direction of the North Coast, toward the only dragon clan he knew the location of, The Silver Scales. They didn’t have a lot of stake in the goings-on in the South, but they’d have contacts there.
Niall tried to focus on the task at hand, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Deidre. Had she made it out okay? Was she safe? He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at it, disappointed to find there were no notifications on it from her. He lay it on his lap and rode beside Ronan toward the seaside town of Portrush.