START OF CHAPTER THREE
Seconds later...
"Wait...What?" Brafez asked aloud, trying to see if he had heard that right.
"She's dead, Brafez." Welsha explained.
"No...No she isn't. I saw her."
"She's been dead for years. Went out on a mission and didn't come back. Left behind a family, but...well, that's the risk you take being a Huntress." Brafez shifted gears, struggling to believe that he had seen a ghost.
"They ever find a body?" He could hear her cringe over the audio. He suddenly didn't feel like asking again.
"The pictures aren't pretty. That's for sure."
"Look, I'll talk to you later." He shook his head and put away his scroll.
Inverness...
Brafez walked into the leader's study, taking a seat in a leather chair in front of the desk. He'd been ordered upon landing to report immediately to the leader's study at the top of Inverness. Welsha and Katie had been waiting for him at the landing pad, and it pained him to just push them aside because of orders. Now that he was here, all he had left to do was wait.
"Exterminator Rasputin. I am surprised to see that you are here so...early." The leader mused, taking a seat at his desk. Brafez stared ahead blankly, not responding. "Well, now I can confirm what we feared. The Grimm that is haunting you is an ancient being called the Watcher. Before we just had legends to go on, but now we have concrete evidence."
"Was that evidence worth the lives of twenty innocent people?" Brafez whispered, the leader coughing and continuing.
"With this evidence, we can start searching for this Grimm and bring it here-"
"What are your endgame goals, Mangeele?" Brafez asked, looking up at him. He had been listening to his voice, trying to remember where he had heard it before. Now he knew. The Sect was in the hands of a monster.
"You mean 'our'."
"No. Not at all. What do you want with this...Watcher?"
"Me, personally? I don't believe that you have clearance for that information, Exterminator." Brafez sighed and looked the doctor in the eyes, blinking twice. He knew now, knew what his goal was. He wanted to control the Grimm, use this Watcher to wage a physiological war on the Grimm and any who opposed him. Brafez did what Welsha would tell him to do and kept his mouth shut. When faced with inescapable odds, wait, go along with the plan until an opportunity arises, and then get the hell out.
"I know what you want." Brafez saw Mangeele reach for a firearm under his desk. "I only have one question. When do we start?"
The question stunned the doctor. He hadn't been expecting that, especially from an individual who identified so closely with the creatures of Grimm. He brought his hand back onto the desk, straightening his posture.
"My apologies, Exterminator. I am willing to do anything to see this plan through. May I ask for a recommendation of who to send out to look for this Grimm?"
"I'd ask the Seventh Column. They're good at their job. Don't worry, doctor. We both know how much I hate fighting Grimm. The best way to put aside that hate is to remove the problem, is it not?" Brafez inquired, watching the doctor crack a small smile. "You want this thing alive, you've got to keep me alive. Without me, that thing disappears. As do your plans. So, why not combine our interests over a common goal?"
"You...make a thrilling argument, my friend. I...shall look into it. For now, I'll be sending you select, specialized missions. I want to see how this Grimm summons other Grimm out of thin air."
"I'd be careful, Mangeele. The more jobs you make me fail, the more that Grimm gets closer to its goal. It wants me to die. If it gets inside my head... What I'm saying, is that we have a limited timeline before I go off the deep end. Get your men in place and start looking." Brafez stood up, walking out of the room. When the door closed, he shivered all over. What he'd agreed to...it went against everything he stood for. But if it gave him the chance to stop the doctor's plans, he'd take it.
When he reached the lobby, Welsha was waiting for him next to the elevator. She grabbed his hand and lead him away, taking him to their apartment and locking the door.
"Spill." She ordered. So, Brafez told her. He told her everything that had happened. The doctor's plans, his failure, the Grimm. Everything. When he finished, she stood against the wall, rubbing her temples.
"Bro...bro, bro, bro, bro...You are in some deep shit." She muttered, shaking her head.
"I don't think that covers half of it. But if I'm right... This Watcher is going to drive me to suicide. I can't stop it. I won't be able to. I need you to get the Seventh Column in on this, get them to start looking for the Watcher. We don't have a lot of time, a month at the most."
"Suicide? Brafez... You've always been strong. But this... I'll do what's necessary. Whatever it takes." Welsha walked over to him, placing her head against his. "You're my brother. I'm not losing you."
"Thanks Sis. If...if I don't-"
"Brother. I'm not going to let that happen."
"I know. But if it does...hide yourself. Hide Katie. Tell her that she's been the bestest friend I could ever ask for. Live for yourself. Not for me."
"...okay." She nodded her head, kissing him on the cheek. He wasn't the top Exterminator in the world right now, he was a kid. A scared kid and her brother. And he needed her. They stood there, quiet and solemn.
"Thanks Sis."
"No problem. You needed it."
"I did. You're right." She smiled, squeezing him tightly.
"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Welsha responded, taking his hand in hers and opening the door. "Come on. I need to ask for a favor."
The Seventh Column's control room...
Welsha stood in front of the entire order, glaring at her feet. Brafez was waiting for her outside. She took a breath and spoke.
"So, will you help me?" Church and Tex exchanged nervous glances, looking around the room. Everyone was nodding their head. They might not have agreed with his ideals, but they were not about to see an eight year old commit suicide, especially when they could help prevent it.
"It appears...You have yourself a deal." Tex stated, walking over to Welsha. "We'll start looking immediately."
"Thank you... Thank you so much."
"We know how much he matters to you. We're not about to watch a Sister in need break down."
Welsha nodded eagerly, but she knew that they were right. Brafez was the only thing keeping her together. No one walked away from losing their entire family in a sane condition. A psych report had declared her unstable, and unfit for combat. How she had managed to hold herself together for this long was a mystery.
"Thanks Tex. I'll join you as soon as I can."
Outside, Brafez waited patiently. A breeze travelled down his back, Summer appearing next to him.
"Hello." Brafez muttered, looking to his left. "You seem pretty lively for a dead woman. What do you want?"
"That Terra-strata wasn't your fault."
"Really? We both know that it was." Summer shrugged in response.
"Sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up."
"Don't quit your day job."
"This is my day job." Brafez looked at her skeptically, making her cringe slightly. "I'm just trying to keep you alive and sane."
"You're a ghost. I'm starting to think that maybe I am insane."
"I prefer the term 'phantasmal presence'."
"Do you know where the Watcher is?"
"Sadly, I am not privy to that information. If I could, I'd tell you."
"Well, had to try. Got any tips?"
"Yeah. For one, the Watcher's blind." With that, the ghostly Rose disappeared, leaving him alone.
"A Grimm called the Watcher is blind? How ironic." Brafez mused, jumping slightly as Welsha opened the door. "How'd it go?"
"We're starting the search tomorrow morning. You should get some rest, and eat something, would you?" She replied, taking him by the wrist and leading him to their apartment. He smiled. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.
END OF CHAPTER THREE
