"The President of the Senate has just vetoed Vice President Highline's proposal to dissolve the Joint Investigation Unit. Highline has proclaimed that he will bring the proposal before the Senate's Legislative Committee. If two-thirds of the senators in the committee vote for the proposal, it will be sent to a third reading and the last final vote in the Senate, where it officially will be enacted."
The reporter stands at the foot of the impressive stair that leads up to the Senate's majestic building while he speaks.
"The Senate's Vice President, Highline, proclaims that now that the Syndicate has been combated, it is time for the experienced enforcers in the Joint Investigation Unit to turn their focus towards combating the more and more widespread organized criminality in the society.
"It is well known that many of the officers in the Joint Investigation Unit have been taken from the various law enforcement headquarters and that all of the city-states over the years, since the founding of the Joint Investigation Unit, have reported a worrying increase in organized crime within their city borders.
"The fight for territory has escalated violently among the various criminal organizations, where the Polyhexian Cartel especially is locked in a constant conflict with the Tarnian Syndicate and the Altihexian congregation of gangs called Nostra Calici.
"We have asked some of the senators about their opinion about the Vice President's proposal, and it seems that there is a widespread disagreement among them.
"Most of those we have spoken to supports the President's choice to veto the proposal, while influential senators like Senator Enigma proclaims that they and their followers will vote for the proposal."
The reporter turns to Enigma, and the senator renowned for his great empathy for the weakest in their society stares seriously into the camera.
"It is time that our most experienced law enforcement- and investigative officers return to their respective city-states to ensure the safety of the citizens. We need them to take back the control from the many criminal organizations that have capitalized on their absence and uncontrolled have expanded their territories to now include whole city-states. I have heard from many of my voters about how they now live in constant fear for their lives, and that is unacceptable. This is why I'm going to vote for Vice President Highline's proposal to dissolve the Joint Investigation Unit."
The senator begins to walk up the impressive stair, but the reporter stops him by asking a critical question.
"The Senate's Vice President proclaims that the Syndicate has been combated, but during the public hearing, we all heard the director of the Joint Investigation Unit explain that one of the Syndicate's leaders has managed to escape from captivity and that he poses a threat to our society. What do you have to say to this?"
Enigma turns around and stares hard down at the reporter while he answers the question.
"I would not be standing here right now and support the proposal to dissolve the Joint Investigation Unit if the Syndicate still was a threat to our society. The Syndicate has been combated. It exists no more. All of its facilities have been found and the victims have been freed. Even if one of its leaders has managed to escape from captivity, as the director claims, he poses a minimal threat compared to the threat from the widespread organized crime that happens around us every day. We need to prioritize the safety of our citizens above everything else and not waste valuable resources on one single criminal. I'm sure he will be captured soon, and then we can finally end this dark chapter in the history of our society."
Ozone leans silently against the closed door to the Organization's command center before he carefully pushes his audial with its sensitive audio hardware against it, secretively listening to Torrent sitting in front of the main screen where the interview with Enigma is playing.
How did it all come to this?
Torrent has promoted him to be the new leader of their team, but he has no idea how to handle the situation they are in.
He is not Torment and has no leadership skills.
It was Torment who knew how to maneuver in the criminal underworld and who safely steered them free of the constant conflicts between the established criminal organizations.
A vid-conference with the leader of the hacker group Torrent has hired to replace Shift suddenly interrupts the interview with Enigma, and Ozone listens warily to the communication he isn't meant to hear.
::Tell me you have good news!:: Torrent growls, annoyed at being interrupted.
Ember smiles zealously at his employer.
::We have.::
Torrent leans back in the chair and listens as Ember delivers his report on their progress.
::We have soon gained full control over the military bases and their missiles. Shift is a skilled hacker and has heavily secured her backdoors into the military's systems. We have had to circumvent her security precautions to prevent her from getting alerted to our work, and we have finally succeeded.::
::Good.:: Torrent states with a pleased smile. ::What else do you have for me?::
Ember's smile falters a bit and he hesitates before he continues.
::Torment survived.::
::WHAT!::
The chair falls to the floor when Torrent rises and leans threateningly against the screen with a burning hatred in his optics.
::How is that even possible! I felt him die!:: He roars furiously.
While he had choked Torment, he had felt how the assassin's vital systems, at last, went silent. Torment was as good as dead at that point. He knew that it only would be a matter of moments before the spark would extinguish, and he would be rid of his nemesis forever. When the Polyhexian Cartel, for some unknown reason, had decided to attack their position, he had left Torment behind in the stark belief that the traitor at any moment would die from the damage he had suffered.
His lips curve into an ugly snarl.
But now he finds out that Torment hadn't died.
::It looks like your traitor is more resilient than anticipated. The good news is that he is still hospitalized and will have to stay there while he recovers. He should not pose a danger to your plans, and I will keep an optic on his medical files in case he gets released before time. But the reason why I am bringing this up is that we have discovered something interesting about your traitor.::
Something in Ember's voice draws Torrent's full attention back to the hacker, and he lifts a curious optic-ridge while he slowly rights the chair and sits down again.
::Go on.::
Ember smiles smugly.
::It appears that Torment has found a little lover while he betrayed you. And most interestingly, she broke up with him after he confessed to having been working together with you.::
Torrent's gaze darkens while he reflects on the new information.
::Which means that she in some way has a connection to the Joint Investigation Unit.:: He concludes thoughtfully with narrowed optics.
How else would she know who he is?
::Is she alive?:: He demands to know.
::Yes. We are monitoring her communications as we speak.::
That information piques his interest.
Torment usually kills his lovers when he is done with them.
So, why didn't he kill this one?
::Give me all the information you have on her.::
Every deviation in his nemesis's behavior is worth investigating, and he is going to look into this curious connection personally.
He receives a data-file containing the requested information.
::While I look at this, I want you to set me in contact with the leaders of the other established criminal organizations. It is time that I propose an alliance with them and negotiates the terms of their involvement.:: He dismisses Ember.
::Will do, Sir.:: The hacker acknowledges, but he doesn't cut the connection.
Torrent lifts an inquiring optic-ridge.
::Is there anything else?::
Ember doesn't answer but turns to someone outside the screen, and barely audible murmurs sound while he talks with one of his colleagues.
Torrent narrows his optics, not liking to be kept waiting.
::Ember.:: He growls threateningly
::Sorry, Sir, but we have a little gift for you.:: Ember apologizes when he turns his attention back to Torrent.
He receives a vid-file and opens it skeptically, but his demeanor immediately changes the moment he sees the content.
Thundercracker.
His spike stiffens and presses demandingly against its cover while sexual lust fills him as he stares mesmerized at the footage that has been taken of the blue seeker inside A-63.
::As you can see, we have found your wayward seeker.::
He can't take his optics off Thundercracker and nods absentmindedly, not even listening when Ember excuses himself and the connection to the hacker cuts.
A deep groan of desire escapes him, and he leans back in the chair and releases his spike before he begins to masturbate to the beautiful sight of the blue seeker.
We will be together again soon, my dear.
Relief fills Ozone when he realizes that Torment still is alive.
Torrent has no idea who Torment truly is or what he would have unleashed with the assassin's death. It would have been fatal for all of them. Talon's retaliation would have been brutal.
It had pained him to watch Torment get reduced to nothing in Torrent's hands without the power to do anything to stop it, and he had been relieved when the cartel's frontliners attacked their position. The second before he had teleported to safety, he had looked back at Torment and had smiled when he saw several field medics swarm around the assassin.
It is good to know that Torment didn't die.
It also means he didn't completely fail his duty.
He has kept the assassin as protected as he could, as ordered by his employer.
Talon had secretively hired him to keep watch over Torment when the assassin left the Polyhexian Cartel. The Polyhexian leader had taught him everything he needed to know about Torment to be able to fit in and work in perfect harmony with the highly skilled assassin. The in-depth knowledge about Torment's habits had made it easy for him to establish a trustful work relationship with the assassin, and he had enjoyed working together with Torment on the various missions they undertook together.
Then Torment came into contact with Torrent, and Ozone's work for Talon became even more important.
He went from the regular updates about Torment's wellbeing to also becoming Talon's optics and audials while he spied on the new criminal organization and learned about Torrent's radical ideology about a dark utopia.
Then the betrayal happened, and both he and Torment found themselves in a situation they couldn't get out of. He had failed in his duty and couldn't even tell Talon about it because Torrent closely surveilled their movements and communication.
It had been an impossible situation without a way out, and yet Torment still managed to break free from Torrent's chains. There had been a moment of respite during Torrent's arrest, and Ozone used the opportunity to re-establish contact with Talon to finally inform him about the development.
Torment's betrayal got revealed, and as a result, Torrent strengthened his grip on them, making it impossible for Ozone to get in contact with Talon to get further instructions. Now he is alone, working for the enemy without anyone to guide him.
He leans away from the door and silently leaves the area outside the command center.
If Torrent isn't careful, he risks offending some of the most powerful people on the planet. Torrent has no idea how to behave in the criminal underworld and views himself as an equal with the established criminal organizations' powerful leaders. But the truth is that the Organization is ridiculously small and its leaders utterly incompetent without Torment to guide them.