Chapter 12: Threads of the Past, Webs of the Present
Dr. Alistair Finch, armed with his newly augmented intellect, became a whirlwind of focused research. Elias provided him with a generous stipend, access to a private room in one of his quieter buildings to serve as a dedicated office, and connections to a discreet bookseller who could procure even rare or restricted documents. The change in Finch was remarkable. The slightly doddery, perpetually distracted scholar was replaced by a man possessed of a vibrant, almost unsettling intellectual intensity. His eyes, behind their spectacles, seemed to pierce through the veneer of things, seeing the hidden structures beneath.
His "Finch Variant Archer Lv.1" power manifested in ways Elias hadn't fully anticipated. Finch could read pages at a glance, his eyes flicking across text with astonishing speed, retaining information with near-perfect recall. He didn't just read; he absorbed. He could cross-reference vast amounts of data in his mind, spotting discrepancies, identifying recurring names, tracing financial trails through dusty ledgers with an almost intuitive grasp. The "enhanced eyesight" aspect, Elias realized, wasn't just about literal clarity but about perceiving the subtle patterns and connections that would elude a normal mind.
Finch's initial focus was Desmond Fitzpatrick. Within days, he presented Elias with a surprisingly comprehensive dossier.
"Fitzpatrick is a fascinating study, Mr. Thorne," Finch declared, his fingers drumming excitedly on a stack of meticulously organized notes during one of their clandestine meetings. "Not a brute like Scarelli. He's a creature of webs, not fists. His initial rise in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was built on exploiting immigrant labor disputes, particularly among the Irish in Griffintown and the Pointe. He positioned himself as a mediator, a benefactor, while subtly consolidating control over their unions and their illicit economies – gambling, unregulated alcohol, smuggling."
He produced faded newspaper clippings, property deeds, and even deciphered entries from coded ledgers he'd managed to unearth from an old associate's archived estate sale. "He disappeared from public view around 1912, after a rather... violent disagreement with certain Italian elements who were themselves beginning to organize. Rumor was he fled to the States, or even back to Ireland. Clearly, those rumors were exaggerated, or he maintained ties."
"And his current resurgence?" Elias prompted, impressed by the depth of Finch's findings. The fractional cognitive boost he'd received from Finch's empowerment made it easier to follow the complex tapestry the scholar was weaving.
"He's leveraging old family loyalties, debts of honor from decades past," Finch explained. "But he also has new money. Significant new money. The source is unclear, possibly offshore, perhaps connections made during his... hiatus. He's presenting himself as a unifying figure, a statesman of the underworld, promising an end to the chaotic infighting and a more 'business-like' approach to... their enterprises. He's trying to build a coalition, a federation of gangs, with himself at the apex."
Finch tapped a particularly detailed diagram showing interconnected names and businesses. "Scarelli is a problem for him. Scarelli represents the old way – violent, unsophisticated, prone to drawing unwanted police attention. Fitzpatrick sees him as an obstacle to a more profitable, stable criminal empire."