THE SEVENTH EVENT

by Phillip Shaw

  ‘I trust you arranged disposal.'

  ‘Of course, however, something interesting transpired.'

  ‘Do tell Frederick.' Said Nolan his interest pricked.

  ‘I was standing outside one of the myriad of bars that the scum of the earth frequent when a man approached me looking for a vehicle. This fortuitous event would normally be ignored as I picked a more suitable victim but this fellow was most persuasive. In fact speaking with him made me feel quite invigorated.'

  ‘So who ended up with the car.'

  ‘I let him have it. He wanted it so much that I felt quite guilty about what we had left in the trunk.'

  ‘Guilt, that is for the weak minded Frederick and we both know there is no room for weak minds in our family.'

  ‘Only yours Nolan, only yours, now excuse me while I go clean myself up.'

  ‘Of course brother.' Said Nolan returning to his work, his brother was unrecognisable from his normal self as he stood in the bathroom washing up. The fake prosthetics and horrible flannel clothes hid the cultured and deadly Oxbridge graduate and champion rower. Nolan finished up his latest paragraph.

  ‘How's the obituary coming.' Asked Frederick from the bathroom.

  ‘Not bad, I have finished it off now, it's actually quite jolly not like the others. But then again practice makes perfect. I'm sure the next one will be even better. Tell me have we anyone in mind?'

  ‘Yes, of course, Nolan, I saw one of those poor devils on the way over here. Some popular local singer, he had the same pale mindless look, he's dead already. I think it will be the most high-profile yet so we need to come up with another plan.'

  Nolan smiled, in a way his younger brother was deferring to him but he knew deep down that they were equals. His brother had the physicality of an athlete but he missed the malevolent streak that made Nolan the genius. They had been carrying out their little projects since they were children one ten years and the other nine. Nolan thought about it every day.

  The death of their mother when both were infants left the brothers with their father. Taking their intelligence from their mother the everyday figure of their father Eric bred resentment in the two brothers, especially in Nolan. Time and time again his father had implored them to play sports to have some kind of normal childhood but the two brothers sat testing themselves with their heads buried in books. They ended up at one of the most prestigious schools in the state and Eric worked his fingers to the bone to put them through it. This display of selflessness for his children would have inspired love in most people but not the two brothers. To Nolan especially it was a sign of weakness. Their beloved mother had been taken from them and they had been left with the husk of a man in front of them. The resentment reached a crescendo on Nolan's tenth birthday. They had been summoned down from their rooms to share a meal with their father. The atmosphere was predictably tense. Eric, as usual, tried to pretend everything was alright but it wasn't. Nolan sat silently staring at his father as he asked how school was going. The servants had been sent home for the night when Frederick carried out the first phase of the plan. The setting of the table was methodical, the placement of the cutlery was key. No one had missed the poisonous arrow frog stolen from their school. The desert spoon had been carefully smeared with the venom from its back and now sat at their father's place. The courses could not pass quickly enough for Nolan. When dessert finally arrived and Eric used the spoon he simply smiled. His father's last words were ‘Why are you so happy Nolan?'

  Nolan hoped that somewhere his father knew how important he had been to them. Without his weakness, they could never have risen to be the people they were today. They were the cleaners of society. Removing people who they viewed as a waste of oxygen continued all through their lives until now at thirty years old they could pick and choose their targets. This process became much easier when Frederick began choosing them. He always talked of the pale mindless drones. Nolan didn't see them the same way but he had to admit that he derived a certain pleasure from letting Frederick be the picker, after that it was easy they came up with the perfect plan over a dry sherry then Frederick carried it out, he had to of course.

  Frederick yelled again from the lounge. ‘Nolan can you wheel yourself out here and share a cigar. You know I hate to smoke alone.' Nolan wheeled himself out from his table he was always happy to oblige.

  40 Hacked

  ‘What do you mean it wasn't them?' Markus barked over the car's speakerphone.

  ‘I'm sorry Agent Stent, we followed the vehicles until they broke up then we followed them individually. When we saw the people emerge from them they were just workers. There were only single people in some of them. We have mobilised some agents in and confirmed it. The owners of these vehicles weren't anywhere near the arena. It has to be a glitch in the satellite.'

  ‘A glitch Manny is losing one vehicle. Losing all the vehicles is either gross incompetence or subterfuge. I'd suggest you get Schultz on the phone and ask him to investigate this. Is the Intel we have on our vehicle correct at least?'

  ‘Of Course Agent. I will revert as soon as you are close to the bar.'

  Markus had almost ripped the steering wheel from its' mounts. Ava beside him seemed to see the funny side from the smirk on her face.

  ‘I don't know what's so funny Ava, you should know as well as I do that things like these, don't just happen. We have the best surveillance, the best tech and the best operatives in the world. They don't just lose three vehicles that don't know we are watching them.'

  ‘Stent, you just answered your own question. They knew we were watching. From the sounds of that man on the phone, we will need to wait for the investigation to find out what went wrong. He knew nothing he was just a button pusher.'

  ‘Let's hope they got the coordinates correct for our vehicle.'

  Markus had every right to be on edge because of this. The Order recruited the best from around the world. Despite his reservations over some of his colleagues, he knew that they were top of their respective fields. The endless manipulation of the world economy allowed for all the resources needed to maintain society and recruit more. No matter how good your job was there was always a price that could be paid for technical excellence. Of course, these hired members were not subject to the same code as the core but still they were the best available. For them to lose face like this was not only embarrassing but a sign of the times. Ever since Markus had left the headquarters these anomalies had been occurring with a paradoxical frequency.

  The mission at this current time was simple. The vehicle containing the murder victim had been reverse followed via the satellite and traffic camera systems in the state. Markus and Ava had been briefed on the journey their two suspects took. There had been an altercation with a police officer on the highway that would need to be checked out but the destination was the bar in the small town where the vehicle had come into their possession. Satellite pictures showed an individual giving the keys of the vehicle over to Coates. The lack of any kind of exchange led to the conclusion that this had been a pre-arranged drop. This raised even more difficult questions for the two agents. The only way to get to the bottom of them was to travel to the bar. The satellite couldn't go any further back than this. The car had not been tracked until arriving at the bar with its solitary driver. They would have to do this the old fashioned way.

  Schultz called one of his assistants into the room. He needed to get some communication on what was going on over in America. There was no reason why they should have lost track of the suspect. Stent and Ava were following up the loose end as he had suggested but this was only on the proviso that the main target would be under surveillance. He wanted this suspect to reveal himself but it would do no use if he announced himself on the world and the Order didn't have representatives there to contain the matter. His carefully constructed stewardship was unravelling slowly and he had to know why.

  ‘Schultz?'

  ‘Come in Sulién, what have you found out from the diagnostics?'<
br />
  The Frenchman took out a tablet PC and went through the figures. ‘It's all but confirmed that there was an intrusion in our software. The only thing is we cannot tell who from or even what country it originated in. Whoever did this is extremely skilled; I can only surmise that this is a new faction introducing itself.'

  ‘I tend to agree Patrick. Do we have anything to go on?'

  ‘The attack on the train was the only act against us directly this century, I find it hard to believe that they aren't connected.'

  ‘Maybe, the body was completely unidentifiable. There was no record on any database we have. This is rare but not impossible. Let's not jump to conclusions. Have any other regions reported anything unusual.'

  ‘No Blain is, still in London. I think he is waiting there until Mackintosh's briefing of the government leaders.'

  ‘Yes, she's holed up in a luxury retreat. I'd hate to think what that one is getting up to. If she wasn't so skilled I would have had no hesitation in removing her. As it is she is the one to put our message across to the leaders.'

  ‘Has she been briefed on the latest developments?'

  ‘No, she is on lockdown like the rest of the important ones. We have plenty of security down there and have cleared out the whole hotel. Mackintosh will control the staff no doubt. She has been there for days without incident so there is no reason to suspect there will be before the summit.'

  ‘Are there any other meetings we should be monitoring?'

  ‘No nothing on the scale of Mackintosh's. There are the usual requests for extra security in all regions but nothing we cannot control. I have spoken with all the other stewards and they are all on high alert. They will report to me if anything comes their way.'

  ‘That just leaves the temple.'

  ‘Yes, it does Patrick. I have dispatched Miller and a small team just to maintain security around the area. He wasn't happy at being taken from Blain but I convinced him that we needed him more. No doubt we will hear from him in due course. He should be in the region by the time Mackintosh's meeting is in session.'

  ‘Hearing from him isn't the issue. It's shutting him up. I will go and oversee the investigation into the intrusion. The hired staff will need to be vetted again, just to be sure.'

  Schultz let Sulién turn and walk out the door before glancing down at his screen. Things were definitely not going according to the plan. Neither of the leaders had revealed themselves yet. The name had been dropped in New York but there had been no recent contact from them because of technical issues. Schultz snapped the pen in his hand and lifted the handset.

  ‘Get a response team into Massaro's building immediately. Keep me updated on any progress.' Schultz felt where the plastic had dug into his palm. He had been so stupid.

  Miller sat in the back of the SUV his rage palpable. Here he was a top ranking agent in the order, assigned to the most powerful adept known and he was being sent on a containment mission. He had already chewed out the members of his strike team around him but was now in the process of passing the time. As usual, when Miller passed the time he talked about Blain. From Miller's earliest days he had studied the internal politics of the order, quickly he realised that there were two distinct camps, one that thought the adepts were a higher race and should be supported, the other the ones that followed the ancient code of the order that they needed to be controlled until the time when their leader came back. Miller didn't have time for ancient archives and study; he identified Blain as an up and coming adept and stuck to him like a leech. Now in the back of the SUV surrounded by his team, he was retelling the story for the umpteenth time.

  ‘Blain wasn't always where he is now you know. When I first saw him he had just been put into the public eye. He was a judge on a TV talent contest. Some of you might be old enough to remember it. With his charisma, he soon won over the audience and became the star of the show. People might have gone on to become famous for it but like everything else we controlled it. It gave us a way to put young adept into the public eye and see how powerful they were, the show spread all over the world and other countries had their own versions. It allowed us to easily put adept into positions that were more palatable to the general public. I was in as security for one of the new adepts, some stupid kid that had a talent for singing as well as the obvious. I was escorting the chosen one down the corridor when I bumped into Blain. I can tell you now that if I hadn't had my training he would have melted my mind right there. I could feel his power hitting against me. But because I knew what it was I could block it. The strength of it shocked me I can tell you. From that day on I did everything I could to get assigned to him. When the chance came up I jumped at it and do you know what? He remembered me. Thomas Blain remembered me. Look at us now, we're a team and stick with me like I stuck with him and you will go far.'

  The soldiers grunted at the self-indulgent monologue. They knew the truth, Miller was Blain's bitch. His puppet within the order, the fact that he had been sent out here to the back end of Burma on a watching brief showed that the order wanted Miller away from Blain and out of the way. The agents in the back still had hours of Miller's anecdotes about Blain to stomach. It was going to be a long night.

  Schultz slammed the desk in rage, the team had reported back and there was no trace of anything in the building. Four agents were missing, Massaro was nowhere to be seen and the puppet who had been on TV was also gone. CCTV footage in the building was corrupt but they had managed to get some images of him from cameras outside. The order's intelligence machine was now springing into action to find out what had happened in the most secure building in Manhattan. Sulién sat next to Schultz, during the last few hours he had decided to remain at headquarters rather than return to his own post. Schultz was glad of the sounding board.

  ‘What if the leader has returned Patrick, could Massaro have just abandoned his duty and followed him?'

  ‘It would see the logical answer. I don't believe he is dead as the building has no reports of any chaos or sudden deaths.'

  ‘The disappearance of our four agents is much more troubling. There is simply no trace of them at all. I would have to assume that they have been eliminated.'

  ‘It would be my assumption also. But who has the power and the means to take out four? Usually, we only have two to an adept. Massaro was a special case because of his location. Two have always been enough as well as the local agencies.'

  ‘In any case Patrick, I think we need to find out where this Jason Clyne has gone and why he left with the Detective in charge of Hutchens' murder case. For all we know he is the one we have been looking for. Massaro must still be inside the building. have the teams conduct another sweep.'

  Sulién turned and left again. Schultz was indeed happy he was here but he was only a lackey. He already had a successor.

  41. Tooled Up

  Kim stalked around her apartment with a purpose. Her guest sat in the chair beside her seemingly lost in his thoughts. If his thoughts are as powerful as mine I'm not going to disturb him. People had laughed at Kim having a ground floor apartment on her salary but it served her well. The spare room had long since stopped housing any guests so it had been turned into her personal armoury after the horrific events she had been through. At least, that's what she told herself. When it was allowed Kim had added more equipment to her room, guns, knives, military equipment and surveillance tech all adorned the room. Most had been left in their storage cases but now all were being trailed into the living area for assessment.

  ‘What is our next move?' she asked the quiet man.

  ‘We need to build. This war isn't going to be won in days. This world is a different place than when I last walked it. There are many more threats and the people of the world will not simply be coerced anymore.'

  ‘But they can be influenced.'

  ‘Correct, therefore, I either need to find more of my followers or else make suitable replacements.'

  ‘Like Me.'

  ‘Yes like you. We need to get out
of America; I feel this country will be the hardest to win over. I will leave it until the end. There is also a threat that I have been investigating since we got here. Someone is watching us.'

  ‘How can you tell?' Kim asked suddenly disturbed from her preparations.

  ‘I can tell because someone under a follower's control is watching the outside. The information their mind is gathering is being fed into mine. I can tell the number of people that have entered recently and also everything the watcher can tell from a brief glance. The better the mind the more information I get. My followers give me my power that's why I can speak as you do, know everything you know and blend in as a normal person. The fact that the information is still being fed to me means they are waiting for something. Coincidence doesn't exist so they are waiting for us?'

  ‘I don't understand can you see what they see?'

  ‘No, I know what they know. I cannot look through another's eyes; I am only fed the data that they collect. They have also been doing their research on you. I assume they are some form of journalist. If not then we could be in serious trouble. We need to move fast. The greatest pool of my recent knowledge seems to be of London. There must be a gathering of my followers there.'

  Kim pondered, her mind thinking over the various scenarios and possibilities until it struck her. ‘Blaincorp….'

  ‘That is why I knew you were worthy. You have a detective's brain Kim. The information I have needs to be filed and organised. There is only so much this host can do. I may miss something. When I do you will be there to help me, my lieutenant.'

  ‘That would be the sensible conclusion. There is more to worry about. If I don't check in at the station then there will be people sent to look for me. They knew I was heading up this investigation. Hell, I even appeared in front of the press yesterday. As for Janice….'

  ‘I have been considering that also. This new set of Magisters, their influence must be deeper than anyone knows. I cannot even tell how many centuries it has been since I last was aware. For them to have survived and maintained my name means they have been around for equally as long. They won't want the loss of four of their agents to be common knowledge. Their influence can cover it up. My design is to ignore them, from now you are unplugged, no communication you are to be like me a ghost.'