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Lately, the Commander of the City Watch had been living a very comfortable life. This was especially true after the so-called "Shadow Hand" proposed the "Rest and Recuperation" plan for the soldiers, which gave Janos Slynt the perfect opportunity to skim off a significant chunk of their wages.
According to the Gold Cloaks returning from leave, their trip to Tampa was a dream. Not only were all meals free, but they even received a paid stipend.
Of course, those were just the official benefits.
As members of the City Watch, every Gold Cloak knew that in King's Landing, the real money came from under-the-table dealings.
The returning soldiers reported that Tampa had become a massive entertainment paradise, teeming with nobles and everything associated with them.
During their "off days" from guarding, a Gold Cloak only had to run a couple of errands for a young lord or lady to earn a hefty tip.
Sometimes, those puffed-up roosters of noblemen, eager to show off their wealth and status, would lavishly tip the "hard-working guards," allowing many soldiers to earn an unexpected fortune overnight.
Hearing this, Janos Slynt wished he could go there personally and sweep all those benefits into his own pockets.
However, due to the Hand's Tourney, the captains loyal to him had been rotated out of key positions on a large scale.
The new guys replacing them weren't showing the proper respect to their Commander. Even the "gate tax" they usually handed over had started to shrink drastically.
And that wasn't all. Janos heard that after returning from Tampa, many squad leaders had started looking to the Shadow Hand as their leader. They were even implicitly involved in escorting smuggled goods, bypassing Janos entirely. This was intolerable to the greedy Commander.
But after a round of threats—both open and veiled—Janos found that apart from the captains he already controlled, the rest, even the ordinary Gold Cloaks, were unwilling to hand over their extra earnings.
They were serving Jon and profiting from it, while simultaneously ignoring their Commander.
After all, with Janos's usual style, if a Gold Cloak handed over their earnings, getting a third back was considered an act of "mercy."
Often, if the amount didn't meet the bald Commander's expectations, handing it over wouldn't result in a reward, but rather scolding, curses, or even a beating.
To counter this drop in revenue, Janos had to talk tough and rope in a few loyal captains, planning to tighten his grip on the City Watch.
However, due to the rotation schedule, there were currently fewer than a thousand Gold Cloaks in the city.
Excluding the useless ones who only filled seats, the number of men actually doing work had dropped significantly.
As a result, Janos's meticulously planned extortion scheme was blocked in the middle management layer and failed to trickle down to every soldier.
Furious, the Commander fired a few "troublemakers" as an example, which temporarily suppressed the voices of discontent.
But continuously doing this would obviously erode his authority.
Reluctantly, Janos had to dip into his own pocket, looking to latch onto a big shot to consolidate his position.
In the past, he could cling to Ser Jaime Lannister and indirectly serve House Lannister.
But with the Kingsguard knight leaving King's Landing and showing no sign of returning, Janos lost his access to the Queen and hadn't had a chance to report to her for a long time.
As for the Master of Coin, Littlefinger was currently busy dealing with the barrel-shaped Lady Lysa Arryn.
The only one left worth sucking up to was the eunuch Varys, but he wasn't someone Janos wanted to rely on.
Of course, while scanning his options, Janos also considered Grand Maester Pycelle.
But like Jon, age was a barrier preventing Janos's loyalty:
One was too young to make the Commander bow his noble head; the other was so old he might return to the Seven's embrace at any moment—not worth the risk.
Just as the Commander hesitated like duckweed in a storm, a red-cloaked guardsman approached him and delivered an invitation.
Seeing the lion sigil on it, Janos's face, usually slack from excessive drinking, lit up with glory. After a hasty wash, he rushed to the Red Keep for the appointment.
---
Meanwhile, at the top of the Tower of the Hand, Jon and the Imp sat at opposite ends of a long table, raising their goblets in a distant toast.
After some conversation, the Imp was naturally willing to help his sister and agreed to cooperate with Jon's plan.
Of course, Tyrion himself had opinions about a fool like Janos Slynt, whose only skill was flattering his superiors. The mess of King's Landing's security was entirely due to the Commander's brutal and incompetent methods.
So, after hitting it off, the two immediately prepared a trap for Janos.
But before the target arrived, the Imp had some doubts he needed Jon to clear up.
After downing a mouthful of Summerwine, Tyrion sat up straight.
He reached for a piece of fruit bread while casually glancing up at Jon.
"Hey, friend. Do you remember what I said to you the first time we met?"
Throwing out this nostalgic question, the Imp began tearing at the bread in his hand as if he were tearing at someone's face.
His deep eyes flashed with an interrogation Jon couldn't avoid.
Jon didn't even need to think to answer.
"Uh, you told me to stay away from your sister. But friend, I can explain about that..."
"You don't need to explain to me, and I won't believe a word you say. But as a friend, I must remind you: our dear King is not a forgiving man."
"I know that better than anyone. But I still want to know, what is your view on this matter?"
"My view?! You damn bastard! Didn't I tell you? Stay away from my sister! Far away!"
After roaring his anger, the Imp finally threw down the dry bread and drained his goblet in one gulp.
Then, the two friends at the long table fell into a long silence. Neither spoke again.
For two smart people, some topics only need to be touched upon; discussing them further would only hurt their relationship.
As rare friends with a tacit understanding, both Jon and the Imp cherished this friendship.
Especially the Imp, who didn't want to watch Jon's stupidity drag himself and all of House Lannister into an abyss of no return.