The two boys were Gavroche, who had just turned fourteen, and Shuigen, who would turn twelve in two months. They were two of the survivors of the original Gucheng uprising, and the oldest of the five children Tan Jize had taken away.
While most children their age were only just starting middle school and getting ready to enjoy the first blush of adolescence, their lives had already become more complicated than those of most ordinary adults. After the Great Gucheng Uprising, they became key members of the Workers' Society youth corps, the youngest wanted fugitives in the history of the Commonwealth's founding, and probationary members of the Pioneer Party. Now they were employees of the Donkey with a Flag, the universe's most "famous" underworld peace hotel.
Of course, their actual job was to run a secret intelligence relay station. When the station might grow into a genuine intelligence organization and underground network depended on whether they could make enough of a contribution—and when they came of age.
For these two precocious children, this life was a lot more interesting than working as child laborers in a factory, tightening screws. They could learn a lot more, too. Being minors made them relatively safe in this environment; it also let them see sides of things that most adults never did.
Amid the thunderous snores of their boss, Mr. Xinghaiguai, the two boys busily tidied the kitchen and chatted as if no one else were around.
"...Speaking of which, how did you know that casino across the way was an Imperial intelligence station?" little Gavroche asked.
Little Shuigen answered seriously, "They've got an Imperial military storm robot standing outside, and their twenty-man security team uses the Imperial assault troops' drill manual for morning exercises."
"Huh? They're being that blatant already?"
"The last intelligence