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"Well, for most of them, it didn't happen while I was in prison," said Donald. "This was work that I did beforehand. Meeting folks. Making myself useful. Building friendships. Surely they taught you a thing or two about that, eh?"

He didn't know who "they" was supposed to be referring to, but yeah, Raul wanted to think that he did indeed know a little about those strategies.

"But yes, I did manage to finagle a few new allies for myself while behind bars." Donald paused for a low laugh and rubbed his neck. "Bridgewater is infamous for a reason. All told, the men in there could probably take over this country if they worked together. Not that I imagine they would."

"Are you saying the VMP is right to be afraid of them?"

"From a strategic perspective? Without a doubt. Their collective influence would be unstoppable. But they're also leaderless, and half of them are true criminals, not just people with the wrong politics. If they were free to go where they wanted and do as they wished, I can't tell if they would manage to successfully organize themselves and overthrow the government or just destroy each other through in-fighting first. I hope the prisoners that you're after are different."

"Oh, they are."

"You really believe they can protect Atreya during this war?"

Raul had been a little surprised at first that Donald even knew about the continental war, but apparently even Bridgewater hadn't been able to keep that news from him. Good thing, too, because it seemed to be a key factor in motivating Donald to help him. "I do, yes."

Mr. Elias was still looking at him with a fair amount of skepticism, though. "How can you be so sure? These prisoners are superhumans like yourself, I assume, but Atreya is so small and so far away from here. This Lord Goffe of yours has their allegiance, too?"