"Mr. Annan, thank you for taking care of us these past few days. Blackwatch won't forget it."
Before leaving, Albeck saluted Annan in gratitude.
"I only did what I could. Don't worry. One day, we'll fight our way back to the Far North and bring our warriors' remains home."
Albeck gave Annan a look filled with emotions Annan could not yet understand. Then, urged on by the officials, he left the New Embassy with the Blackwatch soldiers.
Word had spread that people from the Empire had arrived, and a crowd gathered along the street to watch. Back in the Empire, civilians kept as far from officials as they could. Free City People, on the other hand, loved a spectacle.
By stopping Blackwatch from wearing manacles, Annan had saved them from humiliation—and spared the Empire the embarrassment too.
Marching "criminals" through the streets in manacles might make the Military Affairs Department look imposing. But with Free City fast becoming a hub for every intelligence organization, rumors would be flying by evening, and the Ceremonial Affairs Department would have to clean up the mess.
Then again, the two departments had always been at odds. The Ceremonial Affairs Department complained, and the Military Affairs Department went in swinging. Or the Military Affairs Department swung first, and the Ceremonial Affairs Department smoothed things over.
Annan saw them off at the harbor, where a smaller landing craft waited at the wharf.
"You're leaving just like that? I was hoping to hold a press conference." Annan still sounded disappointed.
"A press conference?"
"The kind that gets printed in the papers. You sit behind a long table and answer reporters' questions..."
"The Blackwatch incident is a disgrace to the Empire. You'd best not go around talking about it," Derrick Kaysen warned him.
"Don't worry. Everyone knows Annan