The Meeting

Another chapter! Sorry it took so long. Back to the past again.

I am having trouble believing that you, Linaerys, like my story. You're like, the Kroenen story guru or something... I think I've died with pleasure.

Crouched low over the side of the roof, Karl stared through a pair of binoculars at a window high up on the side of the next building. Within, a dim form could just be made out, pacing back and forth with its head bowed. Karl raised the radio/walkie-talkie to his mouth and spoke into it.

"He's still there. Are you ready yet Laura? He doesn't look like he's about to go anywhere, but time is still short."

"I'm in position," came the answer. "I hope I can do this."

"We're counting on you," Karl told her. They both knew he meant that in more ways than one. She had to convince the white mage to help both her and Karl, without alerting Franz to their plan; no easy task.

"Alright," she said at last. "I'm going in."

Karl transferred his gaze to her, as she appeared around the street corner far below, her long coat pulled tight around her, looking somehow smaller in the rain. She stepped up onto the steps leading to the door and pressed a button on the intercom. Through the tiny concealed microphone she had hidden on her, Karl could hear every word.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for Mr. Jarratt. I was told he could help me."

"You're speaking to him," a voice replied, sounding weary and harried. "What was it you wanted?"

"It is a matter of utmost secrecy. I fear to speak about it aloud. You can never tell what dark forces might be listening…"

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because, sir, I am trying to escape from the same people that you are; what remains of the Thule Society, and especially that monster Karl Kroenen."

There was an intake of breath from the other. "You had better come up. But I warn you, I am not without defences if you prove to be some sort of spy or trap."

"Thank you sir. You don't know how much this means to me; what they've done to me…"

"Hurry. The door is not locked. I have no doubt that Kroenen will be searching for you through magical means."

Laura quickly opened the door and slipped inside, concealing herself from view. Karl let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. The first hurdle was overcome, and now came the second, putting their case to Jarratt.

From the microphone came loud footfalls as Laura climbed the stairs in the building. Soon these stopped, and the sound of an opening door could be heard. More foot steps; Laura entered, and went into the living room, her silhouette becoming visible in the window.

"Tell me miss, what do you know of the Thule Society and Karl Kroenen?" Jarratt said.

"Once I was a friend of his son, someone I believe you have met, if what I overheard was true."

An intake of breath from Jarratt; "Yes, I've met him, and he nearly killed me then. And you say you were…his friend? How?"

"He came to Cambridge University, to study Medicine. I didn't know who he was, or I never would have associated with him. But then…I found out that he was a Nazi, and he didn't want anyone else to know, I suppose in case others like yourself heard, so he and his…allies, brothers, friends…I don't really know what relation they were to him…kidnapped me, and took me to Him." Laura's silhouette shivered.

"And then?"

"He…did things to me…experimented on me. Things like this…" She pulled open her coat, showing Jarratt the metal spikes protruding from her ribs and the scars from the many cuts Kroenen had made.

Karl winced to himself as he pictured what his father had done to Laura. Back when he had been one person, he wouldn't have cared, but everything was different now. Sometimes he still wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

Jarratt seemed speechless. "By the Seven Circles…" he murmured finally. "I see now why you have come. But are you so sure that I can help you to escape? And how did you get this far any way?"

"You are my only hope. I do not know any other white magician. Anyway, America is the only place I would be safe from Him." She paused a moment. "I got here by stealing a book of magick from the library at the place I was held. It had simple spells in it, including one of transportation. I readied it in secret, slowly and carefully, until the time was right."

"Well, there's no way back now. But this is too big for me to handle by myself. I'll have to call the Council. Ultimately, it's their decision."

"How soon can you arrange it?"

"I'll get in touch with them right now. I think with such news as this the Council should assemble within a couple of days."

"So long? Where am I to go in the meantime?"

"I would be happy for you to stay here for a little while. There are charms on this place that should help shield you from Kroenen's search."

"Thank you," Laura said, relief evident in her tone. "Thank you."

"How much of that do you think was an act, and how much real?" Franz asked casually.

Karl looked up. "Hmmm? Oh, I should think equal amounts of both. She won't try anything though. Father has broken her. She wouldn't dare."

"So you say. So you say."

"And why should it not be so? Do you not trust me?"

"Of course I trust you Karl. I've known you since we were tiny. It is Laura that I don't trust."

"Well I don't think you have much to worry about. Everything is going to plan."

"Come on."

Laura was wakened by George Jarratt's urgent voice. "What?" she asked sleepily.

"It's time. The Council are waiting for us. They're quite nearby, and we have to walk. We need to go."

"Ok." Laura slipped quietly off the sofa, changing quickly into her clothes. "How far is it?"

"A couple of blocks. Don't worry; it's the middle of the night. There shouldn't be anyone around."

Laura nodded, and they left. Outside it was raining again, a steady drizzle that splashed into growing puddles and soaked their hair. George and Laura strode through the almost deserted streets, hunched close to one another as if for protection.

Before long, they had reached their objective, a small skyscraper purporting to be the offices of a chemical manufacturer. They got inside quickly, thankful to be out of the constant rain, and made their way over to the elevator.

"Don't worry," came a crackly voice in Laura's ear. "We're waiting outside in case anything goes wrong. They might try to give you a mind scan, but Kroenen wove protections into your clothes before we left. They'll only see what you want them to see."

"Okay," Laura said very quietly, "But what if they don't work?"

"Then we're in trouble. Wait…there seems to be some interference…" Laura heard Franz hit the transmitter and swear loudly. "Damn thing…we….goin…get…fix…" The sentence was almost illegible, obscured by static. "Shi….pathetic Americ….nology…You…..on….own…aura…"

Laura tried to hear anything else over the static, but there was nothing.

Finally, the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open soundlessly. They stepped out into a corridor decorated with thick tapestries and weathered stone statues of saints with bowed heads and hands clasped in prayer. At the far end was a simple oak door, carved with some strange symbol at its centre. Just looking at it made Laura feel better. She supposed in this way it was the opposite of some dark designs that had made her feel terrified and intimidated when she saw them in Schloss Unterholz.

The two of them walked slowly up the corridor and stopped in front of the thick wooden portal. George rapped on it. A sepulchral voice spoke from the other side.

"Who dost wisheth to enter herein? Who dost wisheth to trespass inside these sacred chambers? Speak, O thou who wishest entry, speak the words passed down to this brethren from our ancestors and prove thy own knowledge."

"It is I, Doorkeeper, George Jarratt of the Brotherhood of Ynyr, called here on a mission of great import by the Masters of our craft. By the cursed spirits of Orcus and by the Djinn and by the Twelve Signs of the sweeping stars I bid you let me enter."

"Very well Adept, enter, but bid in mind that he whosoever bringeth an enemy into our midst will be consigned to the most unholy and desecrated place upon God's Earth, and there he will be rent by the teeth of the wild beasts until the dying of all ages."

"So you always tell me Abelard. You know I would do no such thing of my own free will."

"Perhaps, Jarratt, perhaps."

The oak door swung open, revealing a scowling man in his late thirties with untidy blond-brown hair and eyes of a curious shade of grey. "Come on then," he said, all archaic language abandoned for the moment. "The Grand Master is waiting for you."

"The Grand Master?" George asked, raising an eyebrow. "Lord Sloane Wyatt is here?"

"He is indeed. Quite why I don't know," Abelard replied grumpily. "The girl doesn't look that important."

"That only shows how little you know," came a fiery voice from inside. A man came into view. He was tall and slender with piercing green eyes and a shock of long red hair.

"Ah, Selas my friend!" George exclaimed happily. "I wondered whether you would be here."

"Of course I am! This is far too important for me to stay away, as Abelard would do well to recognise. The return of the Thule Society would be a huge blow to all we have accomplished since the last World War! This girl, what did you say her name was? Laura? could prove vital to us."

George nodded in agreement as he and Laura stepped inside. The door swung shut behind them. Laura glanced around. The room was very large and spacious, but dimly lit by huge candles in brackets on the walls, fixed in chandeliers and stuck on spiked holders on the silvery marble floor. There were tables all around the walls, and many figures sat behind them, their features hidden by their long robes in several colours. There was a group with deep crimson robes, another with turquoise, some with a dusky green and still others with robes of a light airy purple. There were also people who wore pure white robes, and some, a very few, whose robes were the same silvery colour as the floor and walls, a colour which seemed to hold all the other colours within their depths, even, when the candle light lit them in a certain way, a deep midnight black. The man George had called Selas, who was wearing red, went and joined his cohorts. George strode confidently into the centre of the chamber. Laura followed, looking back to see that Abelard was still standing by the door, wearing a sort of brownish robe embroidered with a strange golden design all down the sleeves.

When he had bowed to all the groups around the room George turned to face one particular figure who was seated in a high, carved chair. He was wearing the silvery robes, though Laura noticed that his were lighter than those of his compatriots, and seemed to have almost no black in them at all. There were other colours though; all the colours of the rainbow, Laura thought.

"Grand Master," George said, bowing very deeply to the man.

"Very good, my dear Adept," the Grand Master replied jovially standing up. "You are here. Even a little early, I think."

"I hurried sir. That is why I regretfully did not bring my robes."

"No matter. Let the girl come forward. I wish to talk to her."

George motioned Laura forward, falling back to stand just behind her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said quietly in her ear.

"So Laura, you have come to us in order to escape those who tormented you. And you have put a name to the chief of those. The infamous Karl Kroenen, who we all had thought dead."

There were murmurings from around the hall, from those who presumably had not heard this news yet.

"Yes sir," Laura replied.

"This is, of course, understandable. But I do wonder how you came to know of us, and how you managed to get here in the first place."

Laura shifted uneasily. She wanted to tell him the truth, indeed, it was essential for their plan, but to do it in front of all these people! "Well sir, I'm sure you know what I have already told Mr. Jarratt, about how I overheard Kroenen talking to his son after…" She was interrupted by Selas springing to his feet, his eyes wide.

"The Black Assassin has a son!" he almost yelped. "How can this be? I had heard…the rumours said…who would consent to do anything of the sort with…him!"

One of the silver robes looked at him. "There are those," she said calmly, "who would do it with pleasure. You ought to know this. Plenty of Neo-Nazis out there for him to choose from. Perhaps even Ilsa, though I doubt he would have dared touch Rasputin's concubine."

Selas sat down again. He was pale though, and did not look at all pleased. "But are you even sure he can?" he said, almost pleading.

"There are other ways," a blue robe said. "Cloning, for instance. It is a science that would appeal to one such as him, though he would pervert it until it became barely a science at all."

"I have heard of black magick which would do it," put in a green robe.

"Enough," the Grand Master said calmly. "That issue, while important is not currently under discussion. There will be time for that later. I suspect that you will soon have plenty of opportunities to argue." He gave Laura a piercing glance from under his hood. She shivered slightly. Did he already know?

"You were saying?" he asked her.

"I heard Kroenen talking to his son after he had killed the world leaders at the G8. Mr Jarratt had been there, and had tried to stop him."

A susurrus of murmurs swept around the room again.

"I knew that I might be able to get help from him. It was my only hope. I crept into Kroenen's personal library one night and stole a book of transportation spells. It was one of those which I used to come to America."

"Really?"

"Respectfully master, are you going to question me in front of all these others? Could one not be a traitor?"

"I doubt it. It matters not whether they hear. They will abide by my decision. You know, I find it rather amusing," here he smiled, "that he really thought his protections would stand against our combined strength. We do not even have to be all concentrating together to use it. The moment you entered here, those spells were swept away. So why not tell the others the whole story hmmm?"

Laura trembled in the gaze of so many magicians and mages, all looking at her with various emotions in their faces. She could feel George's betrayed look without even having to turn around, and shame burned on her cheeks.

"Very well," she said quietly. "Very well. I did not overhear Kroenen, nor did I steal anything from him. What I was telling you…was entirely his idea."

Shocked noises emanated from under the hoods now, and rebellious murmurs.

"Let her continue" the Grand Master said mildly.

"But I always intended to tell the truth, though not in front of you all. I truly do want to get away, but I cannot do it on my own. It was not even my idea in the first place. It was Karl's."

"Karl?" Came Selas' puzzled voice.

"Karl Junior. Kroenen's son."

She heard Jarratt gasp behind her. She had expected his reaction; after all, Karl had nearly killed him at the G8 when he had tried to protect his President. It still hurt her though that she had been forced to lie to him at all.

"What do you mean?" he asked her, his tone plainly injured.

"The thing is…" she sighed. "Since you last met him Mr. Jarratt, many things have changed. He tells me that he has changed, and I see no reason to doubt him. It started when he and his father were doing some sort of ritual, when he was interrupted by…" her voice faltered. "…a man. He had a gun, and he shot Karl. The magick kept him alive though, and seemed to give him extra strength. He killed…the man. Then he collapsed from blood loss. When he woke up again, he found that the unfettered magick had split him into two personalities. The dominant one is no longer bloodthirsty and evil, but the hidden one, which he tells me he has taken to calling 'The Other'… well, I'm sure you can guess what it must be like."

"You have only his word for this though," the Grand Master said calmly. "What makes you trust him so?"

"I'm not sure… I just feel that it's right. Anyway, he wants your protection too, he'll be coming here to meet you, and you can ask him then."

"He's coming… here!" Selas interjected, fear colouring his voice.

"Kroenen's plan was for me to meet with Mr Jarratt and set up a trap for him. We suspect that the whole thing is a test. I was supposed to have a hidden microphone on me, but Karl sabotaged the receiver. Before too long, he'll be coming in, on the pretext of checking if I am all right. I believe that he and Franz brought equipment with them for an emergency such as this. It will give him an excuse to talk to you, to convince you of his case."

"Who is this Franz you speak of?" a languid voice asked from next to the Grand Master. "I appreciate that Lord Wyatt's power allows him to know these things already, but such as myself… we need these to be explained."

"He is a friend… I should say an ex-friend of Karl's. They might be related, I do not know. I never asked."

"Will he come soon, do you suppose?" the Grand Master asked. "I am most curious to discover what he is up too."

"I am already here," a voice spoke out of the shadows, and out stepped Karl, an amused expression on his face at the shocked looks of the magicians. He walked over to stand next to Laura, and turned to face the Grand Master. "I am here and ready to be questioned."

Pleaseeeeee review:D :D Next chap should be quicker I hope.