Act 2
Next stage
He could hear their voices. Hundreds and thousands of voices chanting in a single chorus, crying out for the one they came to see. There was no doubt their voices could be heard across the city as news crews had arrived by the dozens to film the spectacle.
"Are you ready?" asked, the black haired girl dressed in a gray suit beside him. Though it was too dark for her to see his expression, she could tell he was smiling given by the way he replied "You bet", before standing up.
He took a moment to straighten out his attire ensuring that it was all up to standard. Then, he stepped forward through the curtains, to greet the masses that had gathered.
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In another location, a man checked the sights of his weapon to make sure it was functioning. He turned to his left and right to see that the others were also doing the same thing. It was part of the pre-mission ritual that they had gotten used to since their team was founded, eventually becoming a habit of great importance.
The vehicle they were in came to a stop and he along with his team lowered their night vision goggles before opening the door and stepping outside.
"This is fury 1 to coop, come in coop", he said in a low voice.
"Coop hearing you loud and clear", said the female voice on the other side "I have eyes on you and everyone else. Ready when you are honey.".
The man known as fury 1 chuckled to himself a little then said "Well you heard the lady, let's get going."
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The sound of the alarm would not be heard today because Caroline Philbert woke up a few minutes early and turned off the device. Weeks of sleeping in late only to be awoken by that annoying digital tone had finally benefitted her as she got used to the new sleep cycle and was able to get up earlier than before.
Caroline Philbert was well known among her friends and colleagues as a balancing artist. She played an active role in her kid's life, while being able to perform her work without any difficulty. A hard working woman who graduated top of her class in 'the farm' Carol knew that she wanted to work in the intelligence field ever since she read her first Jason Bourne novel. As of last month she was thirty seven, stood at an average 5'7", had black hair and brown eyes.
Her first few years as an operative saw her plenty of action as she was stationed in hot zones like Mumbai, Egypt and Chile, she earned commendations for her work, most notably was preventing a nuclear armed plane from detonating and the rescue of four American teenagers held at ransom by terrorist forces.
Thanks to that, she was able to climb the ranks, obtaining the title of operations manager two years ago. With this new title, she got married to her long time boyfriend David Philbert and soon enough had the family she always wanted.
Just like before, she changed into her running clothes and spent half an hour running around the nearby park before heading back home and having her bath. When she came down, she was greeted by her husband dressed still in his baggy shirt and short pants with an apron on as she carefully worked the stove.
She greeted him by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the back to which he replied "I could get used to that."
He turned around, then wrapped his arms around his wife, returning the kiss she gave him. The two would have stayed that way, if not for the sudden "Ewww," that from a familiar voice.
"You two realize you're not the only ones here right?" asked their oldest daughter with her hands on her hips and a disgusted look on her face.
"That's," said David, kissing his wife. "Too," he said, adding another. "Bad,"
Danica gave an exasperated sigh at the realization that she could not break the two of them up. Ultimately, she went to the hall, then turned on the T.V and fell into the white couch.
Danica Philbert shared none of the patriotic duties that her mother had, instead was like her father, an artistic soul that reflected in her interest in music, photography and classical literature. She was in her early teens, standing at five feet with auburn hair like her dad and black coloured eyes.
"Hey you," declared Caroline, "Breakfast is almost ready, so get your butt here."
"One second," she said, but did not move. This prompted Carol to march to where her daughter was and grab the remote from her.
"I was watching that," she said, in a whine.
"Now you're not, now get eating," said Caroline. She flipped through the channels, finally stopping on a news channel.
"And last night's Goddess rally had an incredible ten thousand people in attendance with three million watching world wide", said the news anchor.
"I have never seen a movement like this grow so quickly," said the lady, shaking her head "It's got all the earmarks of a cult."
"A cult?" asked her partner, raising his eyebrow. "Now Barbara, let's not forget that this 'cult' is only talking about equality and peace for all. Now who doesn't want that?"
"But don't forget that a lot of cults believe peace can only be found at the barrel of a gun."
"MOMMMM!," shouted Danica and Caroline had to leave.
As she had her breakfast, she could not help but reflect on the musings of the news anchors. 'The Order of the Goddess' was one of those movements that seemingly popped up out of nowhere. Surprisingly though, it was not limited to the states, having chapters in thirty countries at least and continued to grow.
Their message was simple; advocating an understanding between two sides so that they could reach a mutually beneficial ground. Along with that, came the usual peace, love and equality for all schtick, that, most other cults were known to feature.
What remained in Carol's mind on the journey to her office was the speed at which it was spreading. Many attributed this growth to the message they were spreading, some of course labeled this as a 'trend of the month' that was sweeping the population at large and would fade over time.
Carol, however believed that it was due to the enigmatic leader of the cult. As the name implied, The Leader was the one credited for being the founder of The Order, spoke at all the rallies dressed in long flowing robes with a mask over his face.
"Carol," said a garbled voice, while she swiped her key card.
"Carol!" said the voice again, this time much louder.
"Huh, sorry about that," she said, snapping back to reality and noticed the source was her boss Harry Offerman. "What were you saying?"
"I was asking if you heard the news about Venezuela and Hong Kong?" asked He, while the two of them headed to her office.
"Another government facility got attacked, any fatalities?"
"None," replied he and the woman clicked her tongue "this marks the fiftieth facility in two months."
"What the hell are these things trying to gain from this?" Harry asked "clearly they're not in it for the killing or sending a message and our reports show that nothing was taken or touched either."
"Well that's one of the many reasons why I'm good at my job," Carol chimed, while they opened the door to the operation room.
"Shit, I've got a meeting with Senator Carlton in another hour, old fart must be in a mood since his last mistress left him high and dry."
"I'll get you a report on who these guys are by tomorrow morning for sure," Carol said, while pushing her boss out the door "you go out there and do what you do best."
"I want that report this evening," Harry declared, but she pretended not to hear him.
"First things first, I need a sit-rep on our boys in Abu Dhabi," she said, after gulping down half her coffee.
"What's our situation on the hostage exchange at the DMZ?"
"They've agreed to the terms but have changed the time to eighteen hundred."
"Have a 'heavy' in orbit just to be safe," she said "I don't want our team caught off guard if they try something."
"Hey boss, did you see that rally they had in National Park last night?" asked one of the guys, while typing on the computer.
"Oh don't tell me you're one of those followers as well Lyle?" Carol asked, in a condescending tone. "You know that stuff's all smoke and hokem."
"Ah come on boss, they don't charge any entrance fee and make all their money from donations," countered Lyle.
"Well even if that were true, no group can become so big in the span of six months without having any dirty laundry or skeletons in their closet."
"If they were any threat to us, why haven't we looked into them yet?" asked he, only to receive a whack to his head from his boss.
"Do your job," chided she "we'll talk about religion and how it affects the world on your coffee break."
Lyle hesitantly laughed, then continued to his work. The rest of her day continued on as usual, and come late evening, she swiped her card then headed home. She greeted Danica, who told her that David was working a little later today, selling a plot to some people, so he'd be late.
Carol spent the rest of her evening with Danica and once it was half past eight, her daughter headed upstairs to catch up on her studies. Carol went to her room and sat quietly in her bed, scrolling through the latest news and events.
One particular article caught her interest, talking about The Order's meteoric rise and how it could be attributed to its campaigning on Social Media. The article further stated that many other religious heads have denounced the movement, calling it a slap in the face of everything religious.
Carol shook her head, reminding herself that she was making the same mistake everyone else had in this cult by having a mild curiosity. She promptly closed her laptop and turned in, wanting to distance herself from this as much as possible.