Chapter 27: Calm after the storm

“Mr. Chairman, if this situation develops any further, there is a fair chance the general public may wind up being involved in some way. And in circumstances such as these … I urge you to think about the possible ramifications, Mr… !”

“Calm down, Ms. Claris. Everything will come to place in due time.”

The solemn, depthless room at the center of the world had devolved into a loud, senseless pandemonium, its partakers shouting and arguing incessantly over the large table in the midst of its otherwise hollow interior.

“In due time!? We are currently dealing with what is by far the largest liability the nation has ever known, roaming around and slashing people, laying important resources to waste, and our last line of defense, the ones you insisted we place our trust in, were just manhandled like toddlers in a matter of seconds! This is an incoming crisis I’m seeing, and –”

“Mr. Chandran, I would like to invite you to interpret current events however you’d like, but please do not resort to something as senseless as yelling in such retrograde fashion. There are rules in place. There are rules, do not forget.”

For the first time in a long while, the burly man at the top of the table seemed to be having difficulty in maintaining order amongst peers.

“This in unacceptable –”

“– what kind of security service have we been employing –“

“They are nothing but foolish children! We have long sought out the best of the best for every single city, so why in Adam’s name would a band of teenagers be managing Seagate when –“

“– I have nothing to do with this! I will not be held responsible for any further failures, do you understand!? So, get all your accursed houses in order before I –”

Deeply inhaling for a short moment, eyes closed as he pondered on, the man at the top reached with his right hand below the surface of the table, while with the left one he reached up towards the sides of his head, inserting two small, black objects, one in each ear.

The next instant, a deafening, high-pitched noise spread throughout the whole room, constant, unchanging. All members of the board immediately shrunk in their chairs, trying in vain to block out the insufferable sound with their arms and hands as they screamed to themselves, and only themselves, as nobody else in that meeting room would be able to hear them.

A single minute gone by, the man brought his hand back under the table again, with a satisfied grimace, and the deadly shriek finally subsided, leaving all of his haughty aristocrats to tremble and shake.

At least that was what it seemed like to him, but still, he wondered why. It wasn’t the first time it happened, yet they would each bear that shocked, whimpering expression plastered all over their faces, anyway. Strangely, they always did.

He waited five more minutes more as they slowly regained their feeble composure, and then resumed discourse once again, this time without any interruptions.

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“Now that that’s out of the way, I would like to ask you all to take a few deep breaths and to please count to at least twenty before spitting out any more uninformed remarks about matters you do not possess full disclosure of. I would likewise ask you all to please get along, as we are all fellow senators in this room. Never forget: there are rules.”

A few of them nodded obediently, but most simply bobbed their heads at random with no particular intent.

“I am well aware of your skepticism toward this chosen course of action, but I assure you, there is nothing regarding tonight’s sadly unsavory events that cannot be salvaged without a tiny bit of effort. And additionally, I shall also tell you this: this murderer, the enemy of our people, shall, without a shred of doubt, be captured and brought to justice before all. We can count on the White Phantoms, our private units within Seagate and, of course, the most efficient plan our regional management has developed through observation of this unorthodox target. No matter what happens, we will succeed. Any further questions? Do pose them orderly, if you will.”

Each board member remained immobile for the few instants that followed, but soon a thin, shivering hand rose timidly from one of the two long lines of people spanning across the table.

“Ms. Silver. Go ahead.”

“W… What comes next? Now that the target has gone missing once again… What would our next course of action be?”

“A legitimate query, that one. I wasn’t really planning so soon on revealing the extension of our arrangements in regard to the near future to any elements unrelated to the West, as many variables still need to be taken into account. But I suppose there would be no harm in sharing a few opinions in the present moment. So, listen well: despite parallel details and wrongly weaved assumptions among our ranks, the Phantoms’ main objective in tonight’s altercation was, in truth, not to capture Subject-R, but to simply observe their methods and movements from up-close. Most of all, this recent appearance of theirs has likewise made clear the fact that they’re still in the city, being that we hadn’t seen or heard from them for some time until now. Yet now, it’s been determined: whoever they are, they still choose to remain in Seagate after so long, and are clearly after Miss Griffith and her ranks, specifically. While we presently ignore their motives, it is evident they won’t be leaving Seagate anytime soon, at least until they achieve whatever goals their eyes are currently set on, which in this case would most likely involve our resident security team in the city. Therefore, they will certainly be back soon. I am sure of it.”

“Then, what measures would you suggest in order to efficiently suppress them once they do?”

“Undoubtedly, Subject-R is still somewhere in Seagate, even at this moment, and will attempt to intercept the Phantoms once again. They, of course, will have already been aware and accustomed to their petty parlor tricks and present them with a painful defeat. However, while I do have faith that our young operatives on the coast will be able to defend the city, their ability to track them down in the eventuality of evasion is questionable at best. Plus, if they are able to avoid the Phantoms, the UDSD patrols shouldn’t even be up for discussion. For that reason, it would be wise to block all exits from Seagate and prevent any individual, on foot or otherwise, without proper checkup. We must search each and every suspect thoroughly and leave no space for this criminal to escape. The western department proposes, henceforth, a full, silent lockdown, and a request to our Western Task Force to deploy units to Seagate, in order to serve as reinforcements in case things go awry. I believe divisions B6 and E2 would have the operatives most appropriate for a quick-response operation such as this one. Would anybody like to comment?”

Nobody responded. The many board members simply nodded at each other in agreement.

“Very good, then. I would also deem an increase in security inside the metropolitan area itself, in order to prevent any further suspicious activity. Task Force divisions C2 and G1 will have the appropriate personnel. They must covertly blend in with the rest of the regular UDSD officers and observe the surrounding environment. During daytime, search for and stop any wandering individual out on the street past 8:30 A.M. and before 5:30 P.M., not fulfilling duty to any kind of service or on their way to do so. As for the nights, we shall request them to blend in with procrastinating UDSD patrols and look for anyone who appears too lucid to be participating in the regular festivities. The Phantoms would be exempt, of course, but we assume the assigned operatives should be able to identify them. I assume no one here has any particular question to ask?”

Unchanged, the room had become silent as a tomb.

“Well, then. I believe this dilemma is essentially resolved. All we have to do now is wait for further events to develop. But I assure you, there is no reason to fear. The fact that we choose the best organizations to lead each of our parishes has not changed, and that is precisely why they were chosen in the first place. Did you not notice it, by any chance? Seagate is perfectly stable and happy with them in charge. It does not matter how old they are, or how experienced they should be on ‘paper’. The only thing we should actively worry about is how efficient they actually are on the field, and that comes with innumerable variables, as in spite of being the youngest, they are also the strongest  there. We determine the best security teams for each region, and in the last five years the White Phantoms have not failed Seagate once. Ms. Griffith and her allies have been some of our most valuable tools in maintaining control of that minuscule hell of a city. Don’t you forget that either. They will, without a doubt, succeed in this as well. Now, if no one has anything else to say, I declare this meeting to be over. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all again in three days.”

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