Author's Note: As of June 27th, 2016, the entire fanfic has been rewritten. That means this chapter, all that came before it, and all that follow it now contain different content that they did previously. You are strongly encouraged to go back and reread the entire fanfic from the beginning, as the revised continuity may confuse you if you jump in part of the way through.
The heart of Ivory Crescent Forest, thirty three miles from the Boneville city limit
October 2498, Twenty-eight years ago
The Bone stood on a raised wooden platform at the end of an octagonal courtyard opposing the entrance to a secluded compound. Above him swayed a canvas of fall leaves as the treetops breathed the afternoon winds. Before him stood two dozen other Bones, all much younger than him, wearing the standard blue and gold trimmed uniforms of the Academy. They were standing still and silent as the morning air, awaiting their final instructions on their last day together as classmates.
The Bone was a tall man, comparatively. He was bald, like most other men of his species, and wore a long trench coat that descended to the tops of his ankles. A cigarette lay idly burning in his mouth as he prepared to deliver the student's their final missive. His name was Kelkaid Nagratek, and he was very eager to witness the fruits of over a decade and a half of careful training and selection begun by his father, Gaimus. He was eager to witness what tools this institution had sharpened for him this year. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Brothers and sisters, you have endured much. Since before you were old enough to wield a weapon, you have all been trained in the arts of assassination. Together within these walls and corridors you have spent your youths learning and preparing to combat the new threats the Order will face in the coming years. And now, after sixteen years, you are almost ready to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the divine plan bestowed upon us by our Lord. After today, six of you will be admitted into the Vanguard that will protect the Order from those that wish it harm. But you have one last challenge to face before you do."
"You have all trained together, learned together, and grown together for your entire lives. The twenty-four of you share the strongest bonds of any Bone on this planet. But your devotion to our Lord must be stronger. And there may come a time where your loyalties will be tested, where you will be forced to choose what is most important. In those times, we must be assured that your emotions will not cloud your mission. That you are capable of making the right choice." An uneasy look crept into the faces of some of the students. Already Kelkaid knew what the outcome of this test would be. "If you are not capable of taking the life of someone you love for the greater good of the Order and of our Lord, then you have no place among the truly devoted. Your last test will measure that resolve, that loyalty. Only six slots are open for admission into the Vanguard. Only six of you will leave here alive. You must decide amongst yourselves who those six will be. The test begins now."
The uneasy students began to look around horrified at the thought of taking the life of someone they knew so intimately. However, not everyone was so soft. The first to break rank was a larger bone named Selthash. Without warning, he drew a small blade from his sleeve and planted it in the side of the neck of the man standing next to him. This act opened the floodgates, and the killing began. The uneasy ones made easy prey for the more hardened students. The courtyard became a bloodbath. A woman stabbed a man through the chest as two more traded dagger blows next to her. On the other side, another student garroted the Bone to his left. Kelkaid, however, kept his eye on a pair of twins standing back to back, each engaged in hand to hand combat with an armed opponent. Their skill and technique was flawless, and they each disarmed and executed their quarry in mere moments before they began to look for other targets.
In less than a minute the winners were decided, and one of Kelkaid's assistant's blew an air horn to signify the end of the test. Eighteen bodies lay broken on the ground, and six killers stood victorious above them. Selthash Haenkos was from a military family whom the Order utilized from time to time. Then there were the twin daughters of Tagyr Trenya, Kelkaid's second in command. Next to them stood a woman named Jeleset, the oldest student at the academy with no birth record. She was raised by Kelkaid's father and admitted into the academy late to complete her training as per the old man's will. The remaining two were a highborn member of the Lazbethed clan named Izagail, and an orphan called Viprus whom the Order's recruiters found in the wreckage of a fire when he was a baby. He had burn marks all over his body that gave his skin the texture of scales.
"I would like to personally congratulate you six for graduating from the Ivory Crest Academy." Kelkaid said, stepping down from his platform. He motioned to helpers standing underneath the colonnade to begin cleaning up the dead bodies as he approached his new weapons. "That is no easy feat. Only six every class are granted the privilege to serve the Order to the degree which you soon shall. Upon the edges of your blades balances the future of our organization. I pray that they will remain steadfast in the face of all that is to come."
"Yes, your honor." All six repeated in perfect synchronization. Kelkaid smiled to himself. He looked around to make sure all of the bodies and blood were cleaned up. He only had so much time before younger students came wandering into the courtyard, so he had to wrap things up quickly.
"Now that you are members of the Vanguard, I should remind you that secrets pertaining to the final test cannot and will not be leaked to the younger students." They all nodded in consent. "Good. With that out of the way, there is a vehicle waiting for you outside the gate. It will take you to our headquarters in the city. From there you will all be given your first assignments as members of the Vanguard."
"Yes, your honor." They all repeated. The six of them turned and left the compound they had spent the majority of their lives training at and walked to the helicopter that would take them beyond the threshold of the forest.
"When he said vehicle, I pictured something more… terrestrial. Like a car." Izagail commented as the six of them took their seats and strapped their belts for the coming ride.
"There are no paths to the Academy from the city. We have to go by air if we want to get anywhere." Jeleset replied. "Sometimes I forget that I'm the only one here who's been outside the Academy more than a handful of times."
"And you just love throwing that one in everyone's face every time the subject arises, don't you? You think that makes you special or something?" Selthash interjected.
"She also scored highest on all of the tests out of the six of us. She was the best at the academy, so yes, she is very special." Viprus noted.
"Yeah, thanks to the previous High Awakened Justicar's preferential treatment. But now that Kelkaid's in charge, outcasts like you two will be phased out of the Vanguard eventually."
"Selthash, that's hardly called for. They may not have been born into the Order like us, but that doesn't mean that they have any less place among our ranks. They trained with us for over a decade. They've more than earned the right to their spot in the Vanguard." Izagail admonished.
"Kelkaid's family brought our people to ruin. Without his cursed lineage, we wouldn't be hiding in the shadows like pests waiting to be exterminated. If the Nagrateks hadn't led the kingdoms to unite, I'm willing to bet that we'd be living like royalty, with people bowing to us in the streets. Except for you." Selthash nodded at Viprus. "You'd be nothing but a common street urchin who can barely pronounce his own name. And Jeleset would be working the street corners as a common whore."
"If you're trying to get a response from me, Selthash, you've succeeded." Jeleset unclipped herself from the seat and walked across the helicopter to where Selthash was sitting. He smirked up at her enflamed face. "Now I'm going to make you regret it. Stand up."
"With pleasure." Selthash responded, confident in his ability to go toe-to-toe with Jeleset. He unclipped himself, but before he could finish standing up, she ripped him out of his seat and threw him on the ground. Winded, he couldn't do anything to prevent her from dragging him to the edge of the craft and dangling him out of the side.
"Insult me or Viprus in any way again, and I drop you out of this helicopter." She threatened, rage burning brightly behind her eyes.
"You know that treat only works as long as we're inside the helicopter, right? What'll you do after we land?"
"If you do anything I don't like after we land, I'll make you wish I'd thrown you out of this helicopter. Do you understand me?" Selthash gulped, realizing that he was outclassed.
"Yeah, I understand. Now can you let me get up? This floor's kind of cold." Selthash asked. Jeleset let him up, and he limped sheepishly back to his seat. Behind him, Nibet chuckled.
"Oh, so you can still speak?" Izagail remarked at Nibet as Selthash sat back down and re-clipped his seat. He didn't get a response. "What's with you two, you've been silent since we finished the test. Usually you don't shut up. What's occupying your minds?" Again no response. He was about to ask again when X'lish spoke.
"Don't mind us. We just never thought we'd make it this far. The last time our father visited the academy, he wasn't exactly pleased with our progress. He said if we didn't pass, he'd never talk to us again. Nibet was pretty broken up about the whole thing. But now we know that he wasn't being some ridiculously overbearing father, he was trying to keep us alive. So that's been a thing. Plus we haven't seen him in three years, so we're not exactly sure what to expect."
"Your father's the Chief Advisor of the Vanguard, right? Sheesh that must've been a difficult childhood." Izagail responded, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Childhood isn't the word I'd use to describe it. We were raised in the academy since we could pronounce our own names, like most of the rest of our class. Father wasn't around much. Nothing really bad happened, he just wasn't there most of the time. The rest of the story should tell itself."
"Has anyone ever told you that you aren't good at telling stories?"
"Not that I can recall, no."
"Well, you're not. Hey look, we're here." Izagail exclaimed. X'lish hadn't noticed, but the scenery below had changed from woodlands to urban sprawl, and their helicopter was about to touch down on a helipad at the top of a very tall skyscraper that overlooked the entire city.
"About damn time." Selthash muttered to himself as he shuffled, still slightly winded, out of the helicopter. Nibet chuckled again. He ignored her. Everyone else followed after him, but X'lish held Izagail back.
"What do you want? If you want me to apologize for the comment about-"
"That isn't it." She said. "I know you've had a thing for my sister for several years now."
"I… don't know what you're talking about." Izagail averted his gaze.
"Of course you don't. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Selthash isn't exactly the easiest person to out-compete, unless you're Jeleset." X'lish began walking after the others toward the person awaiting them on the other side of the roof.
"Selthash? Are you serious? Him? You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" He ran to catch up with her.
"I'd answer you, but apparently I'm not that great at storytelling, so I won't bother."
"Ok, now you're just being rude."
"Remind me, who was being rude exactly when you told me that I wasn't great at storytelling?" X'lish said with a smirk.
"Ok me. But you said it didn't bother you, so why bring it up?"
"Because now it bothers you. And watching you freak out over my sister is my second favorite pastime." They caught up with the group and reached the opposing end of the roof. The bone standing there was a woman, dressed similar to a secretary.
"Hello." She greeted the group. "I'm the Chief Advisor of the Vanguard's personal secretary. I'm here to escort you around the building. If you will follow me now, I'll take you on the grand tour." She motioned at the door leading to the lower floors, and began walking toward it.
"Excuse me, miss secretary?" Nibet asked inquisitively and slightly bereft, "Where is the Central Advisor at the moment?"
"I'm sorry, Nibet, but your father is away dealing with a constituency problem in Argus City. He regrets that he couldn't be here to welcome you himself. Now if you will proceed down the staircase, we can begin."
"That's just like him, taking off and leaving his secretary behind to explain things." Nibet said to X'lish.
"I'm sure he had a good reason." Her sister replied. "He better have one anyway." She muttered to herself. The seven of them descended the staircase and entered the building. The secretary lead them through corridor after corridor and room after room detailing to them the necessary information, until eventually they ended up in a large chamber that made up almost three whole floors. It was a command and control center, with monitors and displays littered everywhere and bones crossing back and forth issuing messages or sitting at desks speaking with people across a massive communications network.
"This is the highlight of the tour. The command center of the Successor's Vanguard. This is where you will receive your assignments and where you will report to after they are completed. From here, the entire communications network of the Order of the Hallow Soul works tirelessly to keep everyone up to date on threat assessment and the operational status of assets like field agents and isolated cells."
"Cool." Viprus whispered to himself.
"It's going to be fun working here as a field agent instead of an assistant." Jeleset proclaimed.
"So this is operational command, huh? I thought it would be underground. But I guess this'll have to do." Izagail mused.
"Finally, I can show my stuff. When's our first assignment?" Selthash asked.
"Oh you won't be receiving assignments until tomorrow. First we need to get you situated and used to the rest of the building. But when you do receive assignments, they'll come through one of the monitors over there." She pointed to the large system of screens mounted on the far wall that took up the most space out of anything in the room. "Data comes in from the field through those, and that data is processed by the people sitting at the desks below us." She motioned to the people on the ground floor below the balcony they rested on. "They take the data and decide on an appropriate response, which gets approved by one of the higher ups in the offices around us before being assigned to a field unit. You all will function as individual or group units, depending on the task at hand." One of the monitors lit up red, and a voice crackled over the speaker system. "Here's something now. We can observe the process in real time before we have to move on, so soak up every detail."
The voice on the speakers was frantic. "This is Graham Wilkens Bone, the head of operations in New Taebid! My operational command is under attack from an unknown enemy! We can't hold out much longer! We're requesting reinforcements!"
"Roger that Graham. We'll reroute the nearest available law enforcement to your location and clear out the attackers. Sit tight and everything will be okay." One of the various desk-workers said into his headset. He typed a few things into the computer in front of him, waited a few seconds, and then typed some more before sitting back and taking a sip of his coffee.
"Well that was much less impressive than you made it out to be." Viprus commented. The secretary ignored him,
"I didn't know we recruited members of the House of Bone into the Order." Selthash said, sounding slightly shocked. "Isn't that against the policy of clan supremacy?"
"Only the lower level operational members are members of that cursed House. As it turns out, they make great cannon fodder. None of them know any amount of information on the Order itself." She answered. "Now if, you'd all follow me, we'll continue the tour." The seven of them began to leave the room. X'lish stared back at that monitor where the distress signal came in, and felt a strange sense of anticipation.
"Come on X'lish, hurry up!" Nibet shouted back at her.
"Coming!" X'lish replied. She turned and walked out the door with the rest of the group. Together they walked into the future.
The third floor of Apartment 1004, 5th street, New Taebid City.
October 2498, Twenty-eight years ago
"This is the New Taebid Police! Hands in the air!" Detective Thompson shouted as he burst through the door to the room. He and his partner rushed into the room guns drawn, but were taken aback by the large number of bodies littering the floor. In the corner by some computers stood a solitary Bone, waiting for them.
"About damn time." He said as they entered the room. Detective Thompson aimed his gun at the man's head.
"That's a nice ring you're wearing." Thompson said nodding at the ring the Bone wore on his finger. "Mind telling me where you got it?" Thompson's partner looked confused.
"Oh, this old thing?" The man said as he pulled the ring off of his finger and showed it to the detective. It was gold, and in it was mounted a small asymmetrical blue crystal. "My boss gave it to me, as a token of his appreciation." Thompson lowered his gun and holstered it. His partner didn't.
"Graham Wilkes Bone, I presume?" Thompson asked as he stretched out his hand to the strange Bone.
"You presume correct, Detective Thompson." The Bone returned Thompson's gesture and shook his hand. "Nice to finally talk to you in the flesh, instead of through couriers."
"Likewise. So, what's the situation here? HQ called us over, but it seems we were too late." Thompson's partner still hadn't put down his gun.
"I'll tell you, Detective, as soon as you let your partner know what's going on." The other Bone pointed at Thompson's partner. "I don't like the way he's pointing a gun at me, and I'm not sure we can trust him."
"Oh shit, I forgot to fill him in. Give me a second, Graham." Thompson walked back over to his partner.
"Thompson, what's going on here?" His partner asked as he continued to aim his gun at the suspect.
"Put your gun down, Faldr, this guy isn't a suspect. He's a beneficiary. It seems he and his boys were attacked, and we've been sent here to help sort things out."
"What do you mean, beneficiary?" Faldr asked as he lowered his guard in confusion. "Don't tell me this guy's been paying you off?"
"Oh don't talk like that, Faldr. I still do my job, I still catch criminals. I just also help these guys out a little too, give them an edge up and some protection if things go south, like today. Harmless stuff, really?"
"Really?" Faldr turned away from Graham and pointed his gun at Thompson's head. "Because it sound to me like you're a dirty cop whoring himself out to some local criminals for petty cash. I'm calling you both in."
"It won't do you much good, Faldr. You're new, so let me spell it out for you. You either get on Graham's payroll, or you get found dead in a ditch three provinces over by more cops on someone else's payroll." Faldr gritted his teeth, and Thompson backed up slowly next to Graham, placed his hand on his gun, and unclipped the strap. "But if you do decide to join up, you'll make a killing in benefits. I can fill you in on all of the necessary details later."
"Or you can fill us both in right now. On every detail." Graham said as he pulled out a semi-automatic and placed it against Thompson's temple.
"Graham, what's going on?" Thompson asked as he pulled the hammer back on the pistol on his belt.
"What's going on is I am a member of the Federal Intelligence Commission, and you are under arrest for a staggering amount of charges, Detective Thompson." Graham pulled out a badge from his pocket. "Now sit in the chair in the corner, and tell me everything you know." He motioned with his gun at a chair by some computers in the corner. Thompson took advantage of this brief moment to draw his gun. Graham knocked it from his hand before he could level it and shot Thompson through the kneecap several times.
"Did I make myself clear, Detective?" Graham asked as Thompson howled in pain. Graham threw him into the corner and he limped into the chair as indicated. Faldr aimed his gun at Graham's head.
"Now I'm really confused." The young detective said as Graham approached him. Graham stretched out his hand and offered Faldr his semi-automatic.
"Use this to keep an eye on your partner while I talk to him, Detective Milzaek. If he moves any way you don't like, shoot him."
"What's to stop me from shooting you?" Faldr asked in response. "And how do you know my name?"
"The answer to both of your questions is that I'm an FIC agent, and both I outrank you and know everything about you. I'm officially taking command of this investigation, and I say that we interrogate the suspect on scene."
"You still haven't told he what's going on."
"Ok, fine. Do you want to know what's going on? I'll tell you. Your partner and over half of the cops in this country are on the payroll of a very large, very powerful criminal organization called the Order of the Hallow Soul. They use religious pretext to smuggle and sell drugs, arms, people, government secrets, and a whole lot more, and the FIC has spent the last two years building a case against them. And to do that, I need the names of everyone your partner knows is a member of the Order. So help me get those names and we can take down the biggest criminal organization in history."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Faldr asked as he put down his gun.
"This badge is real." Graham said as he showed Faldr the badge he held in his left hand. "And you heard your partner's big spiel. What more proof do you need?"
"I'll trust you, for now I guess." Faldr said as he took the gun from Graham's hand and the two of them walked over to Thompson as he winced, trying to hold back the pain. Faldr pointed the gun at Thompson's shoulder while Graham stood directly above him to interrogate him.
"I know how this works. Aren't you going to read me my rights? You can't arrest me or use anything I say as evidence unless you do." Thompson asked.
"Not this time, Detective. No one knows you're here because you were ordered here by the Order, not a police dispatch. And the bugs you've got in the precinct computers will make it look like you never deviated from you patrol. Right now, I could make you disappear into thin air. We'll say you ran off after a suspect or something. Faldr will corroborate the story, as will whoever I get to play the part of this "criminal" you went looking for. You'll be found dead in an alley, with all the evidence pointing to whomever you were chasing. He'll be charged, convicted, and get spirited away in a puff of bureaucratic smoke once he hits the prison system. No one will miss you, and you will have protected no one, because my list of known dirty cops in this city doesn't end with you. I just want you to help me fill in the gaps in your unit. Give me the names of everyone you know is on the Order's payroll, and I'll let you live to see the light of day again."
"Like I can tell you anything you don't already know. You hired all of us, remember?"
"Okay, I lied about being Graham Wilkes Bone. He's actually lying dead in the pile of bodies on the ground because he refused to give up information. And he managed to wipe the computers of data before I broke in here, so the only option I have left for the moment is you. If you don't give me what I want, this will all have been a gigantic waste of time. And I'll be very stressed. And I like to relieve stress by slowly carving people's extremities off with a knife." The FIC agent pulled out a knife from his back pocket and stabbed it into Thompson's hand. Thompson screamed again, and the agent waited for him to calm down before continuing. "Now tell me the names, and I won't have to hurt you anymore. And you can go free. Just like that." Thompson weighed his options.
"Fine, I'll tell you. I'll give you the names I know. Are you ready?" the agent pulled out his phone and nodded. "Frank, Harold, Connor, Justin, Richard, Blake, and Walter." the agent typed them all into his phone.
"And what are their ranks?" He asked.
"I think you probably already know the answer to that question." Without blinking the agent pulled the knife from Thompson's hand and stabbed it in his shoulder.
"Fuck!" Thomson shouted.
"You were right that I knew the ranks, Detective, but the next time you take that tone with me I'll put this knife in more private places, do you understand?" Thompson whimpered and nodded. "Good!" The agent shouted as he stood up. "Someone will be by to collect you shortly. I recommend you stay in the chair until they arrive. Faldr, we're leaving." The agent began leaving.
"Y-yes sir…" Faldr said, mildly disturbed as he and the agent made their way out of the room. "If I may say, that was rather brutal." The agent stopped and turned to face Faldr.
"Detective Milzaek, I've watched poverty and crime consume this city for years. And this man and his friends were party to that consumption. Every drug addict and gang member and prostitute on the streets of this city owe their unfortunate circumstances to that man's corrupt idle behavior. So I feel no remorse in relaying to him some small measure of the pain that he has put the people of this city through due to his selfishness. And you shouldn't feel any either."
"But that didn't seem right. If we resort to tactics like that to combat crime, are we any better than criminals?"
"Yes, we are. For one thing, we aren't being payed by drug rings and gang lords to do their dirty work. We don't hurt the innocent. Only those who deserve it."
"At least tell me these cops will get a fair trial."
"That all depends on how they play their cards. If Thompson agrees to keep quiet about the torture, and the others cooperate, they'll get their day in court."
"And if not?"
"For this many cops, probably a terrorist attack. That should cover it up well enough, don't you think?"
"This is insane!" Faldr shouted. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!"
"This is war, Detective! Whether you believe it or not, we are at war! And your naive ideology has no place on this battlefield!" The agent shouted back. "Now do you want to help rid your country of the scum infesting it? Is that not why you joined the police in the first place?"
"It is. I do want to help my country. But through the proper channels."
"The proper channels are run by men like Thompson, who will crush any attempt you make to help people before you can even start. He was prepared to shoot you today. If you were not prepared to do the same, you cannot help your country. Will you assist me?" Faldr was silent for a moment.
"Yes. I'll help you get rid of the corruption in the police. And then we'll see from there. But first I need to know your name."
"Ah, yes my name. As you know, it isn't Graham Wilkes Bone. The one I've been using for the past few years now is Jigafta Utenki."
"It's not your real one?"
"Kid, no one knows my real name, not even the FIC. I'm not sure I even want to remember it anymore. And I'd like to keep it that way. For all intents and purposes, my name is Jigafta Utenki."
"Good enough for now, I guess. What's next, agent Utenki?"
"We interrogate those officers Thompson told us about. But first I need to make a call." Jigafta pulled out his phone again. "Horizon, this is Rising Dawn. I have the list. Sending it over now." He pressed a few buttons on his phone.
"Roger that, Rising Dawn. Sending a response team to your location to clean and collect. In the meantime, head over to the precinct and follow up on the list as best you can. We'll have another team waiting for you." The woman on the other end of the receiver said.
"Copy that Horizon, Rising Dawn is en route to the police station now. Over and out." He hung up his phone. "We're heading to the precinct to interrogate your coworkers. Let's bug out before the cleanup crew arrives." The two of them walked down the stairs and out of the building. "Do you think your partner would mind?" Jigafta asked, motioning to Faldr's patrol car.
"No. I've got the keys anyway." Faldr responded. The two of them got in the car, and Faldr drove them toward the precinct. "So who are the Order of the Hallow Soul anyway, some kind of cult?" Faldr asked as they made their way through the clogged city streets.
"Yes and no. They're a criminal organization, but they use pseuo-religious context to incite a sense of loyalty and elitism in their members, though I'm not sure how many members of the organization actually believe half of the things that come out of their mouths."
"Earlier you implied that they were pretty far reaching. How big of an organization are we talking?"
"We think they have cells in every major city, though we've managed to locate only a few, and everywhere they operate they pay cops to cover their tracks. They've probably got backing from some influential people, and the list of operatives we suspect they have in the field includes: three senators, a couple of military families, several celebrities and athletes, scientists, doctors, the former director of the FIC, and on and on and on."
"Wait… The former director of the FIC? You were spying on your boss?"
"I wasn't always an FIC agent. I'm just working with them to take down the Order now that I've exposed them. I've been hunting these criminals since before the FIC knew they existed, and I helped uncover several corrupt agents in the FIC who were keeping everything under wraps, including the director. After that, the President gave me a blank check and told me to give him a list of the Order's men hiding in the government. So far we haven't met much success."
"Until today, I take it."
"A few days ago, actually. I started this partnership about a year ago, and since then our only lead has been a handful of rings that mark you as a member of the order."
"Like that ring you were wearing earlier?"
"Bingo. We used to just look for who was wearing them and mark our targets accordingly. Unfortunately jewelry doesn't hold up as evidence in court, so we were mainly just observing potential suspects hoping a new lead would pop up. But one day one of my men got cocky and screwed up a tail. The target got spooked, and ever since they've stopped using the rings in public, and set up a secondary system of passphrases they change regularly. So we were at an impasse. Until I was monitoring drug rings here in New Taebid a few days ago, and spotted Graham take out one of the rings and show it to one of his men. That's when I got the bright idea to raid their compound, and voila. A new lead."
"And now you're interrogating cops in the city trying to get access to some concrete information linking the rings to the Order?"
"Actually, when we raided the Graham's base of operations he pressed a button that both sent out a distress signal and scrubbed the computers. But our tech boys taped into the data streams beforehand and managed to snag some bits of data. We were able to narrow down where Graham sent the distress call to within about a province or two, and when the computers scrubbed they sent sensitive data back to a main server. We weren't able to get its location, but odds are one of these cops will know where to start looking. Once we gain access to that main server, we could potentially get our hands on at least a partial list of members, if not a full one, and finally have some concrete evidence."
"I guess that makes sense. You'll need to give me a more in depth debrief later though."
"Undoubtedly. Well, we're almost there. Let's get to work. Oh, and whatever I say inside, just go along with it. But don't talk if at all possible."
"I've got to say working with the FIC wasn't exactly how I pictured it." Faldr commented as their car pulled
"Well you're not technically working with the FIC, you're working with me, who is in turn using the FIC to move about above the law."
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is that I'm more fun." Jigafta said as their car pulled up next to the police station. The two of them got out and made their way inside. Waiting for them in one of the rooms were all of the people on the list Thompson gave up, as well as several FIC agents. "Close the door." Jigafta whispered to one of the agents. Jigafta took a seat in a chair at the front of the room while the agent did as he was told. Faldr stood awkwardly to the side, unnoticed.
"Hello gentlemen, my name is special agent Utenki. I'm in charge of a corruption investigation in your bureau. I'll get right down to it. Thompson spilled the beans." All of the cops in the room shifted uncomfortably. Jigafta continued. "Which means I have enough testimony to put all of you in jail for a very long time. Unless you co-operate. Now I only really want one thing: the names of every Order member you all can come up with. Give us a good enough list, and we can see about reducing your sentences. Refuse to cooperate, and I get to let my associates do some anatomical reorganization. They insisted on that euphemism, by the way."
"I can do better than names." One of the cops stood up. "I can get you access codes."
"To where?" Jigafta inquired. As he was distracted, another cop tried to pull a gun. One of the FIC agents grabbed it from his hand and slammed the side of his face with it. Jigafta looked around the room. "Don't any of you try anything like that again, understand?" They all nodded their heads. "And don't bother contacting the Order either, we killed the cell tower in this area and cut all landlines running in and out of the building. No one is coming to get you out. Now, what were you saying again?" Jigafta turned his attention back to the officer who had stood up previously.
"I used to run jobs for one of the higher ups in the Order. She gave me access codes to a back door and a private elevator. You can have them. You've made it very clear that none of us are getting out of here as free men anyway. And the Order won't do me much good in a prison cell."
"Smart man. If you'll follow one of my colleges, he'll take you into another room and you can give him all of the relevant data pertaining to these access codes. In exchange, we'll make sure to remember what you did for us." The cop followed one of the men out into a separate room. "I advise the rest of you to follow in your college's example." Jigafta remarked. The officers did as they were told, and in total they gave up 374 names of known Order members, 219 of which were inside the New Taebid City Police Department.
"Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen. Now my associates and will take you all into custody, for your own protection of course, and we'll see about putting together formal testimonies." The officers were all lead out of the room and to the left, while Jigafta and Faldr exited to the right back out to their car. On the way, an agent stopped Jigafta and whispered something into his ear. "Oh, that is interesting." He muttered to himself. As they got back to their car, Faldr started asking questions again.
"So what's so interesting about what that agent told you? Did we get a name attached to those access codes?"
"Yes we did. Get in and I'll explain. Oh and toss me the keys. I'll drive." Faldr did as he was told, and the two of them left back in the direction they came.
"Are we going back to meet up with the cleanup crew?" Faldr asked.
"Nope, we're going to the pay a visit to the Ryonia building in the business district."
"Ryonia? As in Nemyunoi and Wunkanhi Ryonia, the children star gymnasts?"
"Actually, as in their mother, the cutthroat business woman who we suspected of having ties to the Order in the past. Now we think she might have direct access to their main servers in her building. Se we're going to use these new access codes to break in."
"We should probably stake the building out for a few days, get a feel of the schedules of the guards or something."
"Okay if you're going to work with me from now on, my number one rule is that you don't pull all of your ideas from bad cop movies from thirty years ago. They're smarter than that, probably have randomly changing patrol patterns and times. We'll need a day at most." Right as Faldr was about to inquire as to exactly what Jigafta had planned, the building they were driving past exploded. Faldr flipped, but Jigafta continued driving at the same pace.
"What the shit was that?!" Faldr screamed as he checked to make sure all of his body parts were still attached.
"That was the cleanup crew giving Thompson a cover story for his disappearance. And for all of those bodies. Relax, we do stuff like this more often than you'd think."
"What've I gotten myself into?" Faldr slumped back in his chair as the roller coaster of an afternoon caught up with him.
Jigafta laughed. "Don't let this wear you out, kid. We haven't even done anything remotely interesting yet."
The Headquarters of the Order of the Hallow Soul, Downtown Boneville
October 2498, Twenty-eight Years Ago
"A breaking development in the New Taebid City bombings, it appears the man behind the attack and the deaths of Detectives Thompson and Milzaek was a man named Graham Wilkes Bone, a notorious drug dealer who organized the majority of the crime throughout the city. His body has recently been identified in the wreckage alongside the two officers, and the FIC has been called in to investigate exactly how events transpired that lead Graham to blow up himself and the two brave detectives." Kelkaid and some of his subordinates watched the news cast as the events in New Taebid City unfurled.
"It appears Graham was less than pleased with the backup we sent him." One of the men in the room said.
"Or perhaps this Milzaek boy's sense of justice got the better of him, and he blew them up when he found out Thompson was in bed with the Order." Another suggested.
"We still can't discount the possibility of FIC involvement. They've been growing increasingly active since we lost contact with the Director last year." The people gathered before Kelkaid began to bicker and postulate about what could have transpired.
"Enough!" Kelkaid shouted, silencing the whole room. "Right now I don't care what might have happened. I want to know why this happened. Somewhere along the line someone in this building made a mistake, and that mistake blew up our center of ground operations in New Taebid City. I will not have a repeat of the signet ring incident. If we do not find out exactly what happened in that room between those three men, then we cannot contain this situation. Someone is moving against us, and I am ordering a full alert until we find out who. Send as many available vanguards as we can to protect uncompromised assets, and alert Lady Ryonia to the possible dangers of her continued stay in the city. I, meanwhile, have to explain your collective failure to the Grand Lord." Kelkaid walked out of the room as his subordinates fumbled around accomplishing tasks.
"Going to talk with the master again?" Tagyr Trenya stopped Kelkaid in the hallway.
"My dealings with the Grand Lord are none of your concern." Kelkaid responded.
"Oh, I think they are. You need to start trusting me again, and let me in on more of the goings on with your little inner circle. Or you will find yourself with very little support among the Vanguard."
"I'll begin bringing you in on what's going on as soon as the Vanguard needs to be informed. We can discuss this later." Kelkaid left his second in command behind and entered a private elevator that took him several stories below ground level into a secret chamber.
"Master." He said as he walked off of the elevator into the cavern. "It appears the Traitor may have made the first move. He silenced one of our directing operatives in New Taebid, and could have the names of more."
"Do not concern yourself with that old, beaten dog." A low, raspy voice snaked its way out of the dark depths and into Kelkaid's mind. "He abandoned your people long ago when Argus the Betrayer rose to power, and has hidden himself with shame ever since. The Vanguard will be enough to handle him as he is now. You need to focus your efforts on finding the Successor."
"The Boneville Explorers' Society has its people in the desert as we speak. They are confident they will have substantial results on the latest excavations within the year."
"Your pace is crawling. We need to speed up the process if we are to complete the ritual before my brother roots us out."
"I though you said I should not concern myself with him?" Kelkaid knew as soon as he had said those words he would regret them. He felt the air around him begin to burn, and he fell to his knees.
"Do not contradict my orders again, Kelkaid." The voice said, slightly annoyed.
"Of... course not… master." Kelkaid managed to get out with what little air he had left. The voice released its grip on Kelkaid's lungs, and he stood back up.
"Good. My brother will not pose a threat to you if you deal with him now, but if you allow this wound to fester like you have so many others, he will eventually pose a problem. He will undoubtedly sneak into Lady Ryonia's home. Trap him there. End him, and ensure victory for the Crystal."
"Yes, my Lord." Kelkaid swiftly left the cavern in the elevator he had arrived. The voice mused on this latest report.
"So, my brother." The voice whispered to itself. "We begin this game once again. I will not fail so easily this time. This time, I will make you pay more dearly for what you did to our father than you could ever imagine."