CHAPTER 7 - "THE TWAIN INITIATIVE"
The mini amphitheatre had been mostly destroyed by an unforeseen force a little less than two years prior. Rumble and ruin filled the void with a chaotic scene that housed scattered bones of their Inner Circle brethren, those of which whom had died in what the remaining members called the Great Death.
The Great Death was still unexplained for the most part, and what information the remaining members - those who could not be at the ceremony on that eventful day that took their brothers in a swirl of blood and destruction by something otherworldly - had yet to be fully pieced together into the puzzle as a whole of what exactly happened. One thing of importance was that in the events that followed, someone had murdered one of the prime members outside this killing field…perhaps in an act of revenge.
Vincent Phantomhive and his wife were members of the Inner Circle, and from dispatches by way of telegram, the ceremony that was to take place was to feature the indoctrination of their son into the fold. But something went horribly wrong. And that was what the Inner Circle could not decipher. What kind of force could do this…ghastliness…to their brethren?
Strangely, Ceil Phantomhive - now twelve years old - did survive the slaughter and was now the last family survivor and the head of his Phantomhive household with a very competent butler in tow. The butler appeared just after the young boy somehow escaped the amphitheatre murders. But in all the confusion, the boy suffered a serious injury that took his right eye. Therefore the boy had to wear a patch in public.
But with observation, the boy - Ceil - had taken up his family's trade as the Queen's loyal guard dog. The Phantomhives's were the kings of the Underworld completing tasks that not even Scotland Yard could solve. Rumors had it the boy even solved the case of Jack the Ripper, but it was inconclusive how. The case, however, did take the life of his beloved aunt, Madam Red, as society's elite called her.
It had not been safe to return until now. And as the six remaining members of the Inner Circle stood around the centre portion of the room, their minions began to clean the amphitheatre so it could be used once more. They considered themselves lucky they had other more considerable arrangements that day, because if they had been with their brethren, then they would be dead as well.
They were the elite of England's few, visionaries on how the nation should be ruled. After the death of King Albert - Queen Victoria was rarely seen in public. England was the centre of the world, they knew, in both commence and industry, and before the Great Death, the Inner Circle had plans to usurp power from the throne…
But everything was put on hold after the Great Death. There were originally seven members of the Inner Circle that survived, but one member took his own life in the belief what the Inner Circle was planning had been heard by God and the Great Death was punishment for their transgressions against the throne. The others cared nothing for religious overture; the Inner Circle was England's true godly overseers, they believed, and the rulers of commence and industry throughout the British Empire. And wealth ruled the world.
It was time to begin again, all agreed. But a complication had arisen.
The boy had escaped!
The six members wore robes of white with the emblem of the Inner Circle emblazoned on the left chest: a snake coiled into itself symbolizing infinity and each wore gold rings on their small finger indicating their acceptance with the Inner Circle emblem.
A thin built man stood proud. He was the more dapper of the group. He had black hair that was slightly graying at the sides and appeared the most controlling. No one used their real names, but used names each had chosen. The man had chosen the name Metcalf and he had assembled the others into the amphitheatre for this meeting after so long.
But he was not the first to speak. Valen was a stout man with thinning hair and he was the most apprehensive about the gathering. He continuously looked around as if watching the dark corners of the amphitheatre lighted by torch light for shadows. He said, "This was not suppose to happen! This is the Doctor's failing!"
William, a medium built man, stood next to Valen with his arms crossed. "I concur, the doctor should have taken more care in caretaking the boy. This could cost us time."
The others muttered to themselves in agreement.
Metcalf spoke again. "Calm yourself, gentleman. The boy merely slipped from his gilded cage. He is retrievable and we do know where he is at the moment."
"With the one person to whom he shalt not be with," said a younger man. Metcalf turned to meet the younger man's eyes, and the man's eyes downtrodden when he was dagger-eyed. The man was the latest to join the Inner Circle, only days before the Great Death. He was a prominent court attorney and a spy for the Inner Circle. "I apologize for my outburst, Metcalf. I am looking into options into getting the boy back. But the two men that were hired to retrieve the boy were recently murdered, as was our associate who hired them when the boy escaped the laboratory."
"The twins," another member of their group said with distain.
Metcalf turned his gaze sharply to the gauntly looking man. He wasn't an old man, but his appearance gave him the look of a man twice his age. His eyes were sunken and he looked malnourished. But he was one of the most prominent leaders in import/export in England and other nations within the British Commonwealth.
"Who gave them orders to kill those men?" he said.
"I did," Metcalf said. "It was the price of failure, and we didn't need them anymore. We found the boy, and at the moment he's exactly where we want him to be."
"What's the boy calling himself: Liec?" asked William.
"The boy gave the name that we chose for him, yes," Metcalf stated.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Valen voiced. "His name is spelled backwards, we didn't give him that name! His memories weren't fully converted and implanted, he's confused and has amnesia. His escape will jeopardize everything we've worked for all these twelve years if he suddenly remembers everything!"
"The doctor has assured me that that will not happen," Metcalf said. "The boy's past has been erased forever from his brain and a new one applied in its place due to whatever process the doctor used."
"He looks just like Ceil Phantomhive, I am told," another man said. He was a plain-looking man. His name was Firo. "The doctor performed cosmetic surgery on the boy, quite remarkable. With exception of the eye patch the young Earl wears, they are twins!"
"Only by sight," Metcalf agreed. "In reality, young Liec will become the rebirth of the Inner Circle, and deliver England to us."
"How? At present, he's near enough worthless to us in the hands of Ceil Phantomhive. The Earl won't let the boy even leave the mansion." William had spoken. "We must get him back to finish the memory implantation. The Twain Initiative must be a success or the Inner Circle will be finished."
"We will retrieve the boy, if need be," Metcalf said assuredly.
"This would never have happened if not for the doctor," Valen said, summing up anger. His focus on the discussion usurped his fear of the dancing shadows from the torch light in the amphitheatre. "He was the one who forgot to lock the dog's cage!"
"We owe the doctor a debt, and o not forgot his scientific endeavor in our initiative," Metcalf spoke. "Yes, the boy is the key to our rise to power, but we can not blame the doctor for the boy's escape. We underestimated the boy's intelligence and ingenuity, it must be bred in him by his father. Even with the cage left unlocked and the doctor falling asleep, the boy was able to escape the laboratory housed in the countryside by no mean feat of the imagination. And his programming drew him to the Phantomhive mansion because that's where he belongs." Metcalf smiled. "You see, gentlemen, our plan still strong!"
"The doctor has told me the majority of the memory implantation is in place, but he can not account for the last two years," Firo said. "He has said that to activate the boy: a single phrase must be spoken, one that is not so easily said, and it will only take moments for the Liec to recall all the programming by the doctor for the Twain Initiative to begin."
"So we are in agreement, gentleman," Metcalf said clearly.
"We must get close to the boy," William said. "And it must be done with delicate precision. To whom do we send?"
Metcalf said, "The twins, of course. But there must be no failure this time."
The others agreed.
To be continued…