Chapter 8

The heavy rain battered the tiny shack, as gusts of wind hurled itself at it. Inside, Sandy Bancroft adjusted the video camera to his face. It was night out, and a small lantern was the only source of light that tinged the inside of the shack with a warm glow. However, the light, or the shack for that matter, wouldn't last long in the torrential weather.

Sandy pressed the 'record' button and looked directly into the camera, a look of urgency on his face.

"I'm in the middle of nowhere, in the state of Kentucky." He shouted rapidly, as he tried to override the pounding rain. "The conditions are perfect! Winds are increasing, rain is pouring down! It's just right! It won't be soon until this shack collapses from the sheer force of nature!"

As if on cue, a great howling wind crashed against the shack and it creaked dangerously, threatening to collapse. No ordinary person would attempt such a feat. But Sandy was no ordinary person. He lived on the edge, always following danger. He was a Vesper after all, a meteorologist. Sandy Bancroft was proud to serve the Vespers, even though he knew what criminal actions they took. His dream was to be in the council of six one day, although it probably wouldn't happen. He fantasized the dream of becoming the leader, Vesper One. But that was far out of his reach. And that was before he received the phone call.

Meanwhile, he was recording YouTube videos of him facing wild storms and natural disasters. His followers cheered him on, eagerly watching his nearly suicidal experiences.

The storm thundered on, even as Sandy kept talking into the camera.

"Any moment now, the activity in the air should climatize, so that the—"

At that moment, the roof shrieked inexorably, and simply detached itself from the shack. Sandy watched in fascinated awe as he stopped talking and stared at the roof being at the clutches of the ferocious wind. Then he saw what was whirling toward him, spinning ferociously in a storming cycle. His eyes gleamed with pleasure.

Tornado. Level 3.

"Here we go!" Sandy screamed joyfully into the camera, even as he clutched it with an iron grip. The wind simply pushed over the walls of the shack, exposing him to the raging wind. The tornado was only yards away, sucking up everything in it's path. It came ever closer, at a speed Sandy had never seen before in his entire life.

And then his Vesper phone rang.

Sandy instantly recognized it, initial surprise giving way to shock. He had to pick up the phone and fast. He quickly answered the phone.

"Hello?" He yelled.

The voice on the other end began to speak, but was indistinguishable in the tornado's roar. The tornado itself was rapidly approaching, about a yard away. Now less than that.

"Hold on, can you give me a moment?" He shouted into the phone.

Sandy lowered his phone and turned to the film crew. "CUT!"

The scene died down almost instantly and the producers and stage cast milled onto the set, as the tornado hologram disappeared. The high-powered fans and sprinklers stopped, while panels supporting the shack were lifted to it's original state. Sandy marched off the set, towards his dressing room. Once he was there, he sat down in his seat and spoke into the phone.

"Can you repeat what you said earlier?" He asked.

"Sandy Bancroft, you have been chosen to participate in the Vesper's largest project. We need you to operate it." A blunt, robotic voice said.

His eyes widened. The Vespers hardly ever needed him. Whenever he was called to their attention, it was for promotions or department changes. Now the reality of this sunk in. The Vespers wanted him to be in charge of an important project. He wondered who was speaking to him, maybe even someone in the council of six!

"Who is this?" He asked with astonishment.

"I am Vesper One."

Sandy blinked. No, not possible. But here he was, the actual Vesper One! The leader of the Vespers himself! Speaking to him! Dizziness started rising to his head. Sandy's heart pounded. It was like meeting the President personally. He was overwhelmed by the amount of power radiating from the other end of the line. Yet, he didn't know who he was, his identity was never revealed to anyone with a low status as he. Maybe this was his chance to find out.

"What is your decision?" Vesper One said in an almost drone.

Sandy gathered himself. "I-I will, sir. I am honored."

A powerful silence filled the next moment, only the sound of Vesper One's breath was heard. Then what he said next nearly made Sandy fall out of his seat.

"Very good, Vesper Four."

••••

The film crew stared expectantly at him as he came onto the set. The head producer met him outside the shack.

"We need to get moving, no more—"

"The only people who will be moving will be all of you, because you're all fired." Sandy growled.

The producer stared back at him in shock. So did the film crew.

"But—"

"GET OUT!" Sandy shouted.

That got everyone moving. They shuffled into action as cameras started coming down and microphones were disconnected. It took a long time but finally, the crew had cleared out. Sandy Bancroft stood in the middle of the abandoned set, a crooked smile stretched across his face.

"I am Vesper Four." He murmured.

Then he repeated it again, louder this time. And again. And again. Sandy turned and stumbled into the shack, even as he still murmured his new status. He grabbed a box of matches and staggered back out. He wandered off the set, struck a match against the box and created a small flame. He watched it slowly dance on the end of the match.

"I will make you strong." He whispered to it.

Then he crouched and let the flame touch the ground. It burned against the wooden planks, eagerly nibbling away, slowly becoming bigger. Sandy leapt to his feet and marched out of the studio. After he had been told that his new status was Vesper Four, he had received a set of immediate instructions. He couldn't stay at the set anymore, he had to be somewhere else. Sandy approached his Range Rover, got in, started the engine and drove out of the parking lot. Sandy Bancroft laughed softly. Once upon a time he never thought it was possible to be Vesper One. But now, that accomplishment was in reach.

Behind him, the studio was engulfed in a spreading fire.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Not the best chapter so far but more will be coming. Thanks to everyone reading, detective Conan, Miss Spock, whoever else who really like this. Oh yeah, Guest. Thanks for the reviews, guest! Lol, seriously though, I appreciate you all. Chapter 9 coming soon!