Episode 058 Previous Episode	Next Episode
“When you saw the blades, what did you think was gonna happen?” Rayne, Blood Rayne II “I don’t know anything.” He looked young, no more than his mid-twenties. With pale skin that was tattooed and long black hair, he stood out as a harsh mix of goth and heavy metal. His black leather pants were a size too tight while his Megadeath T-shirt was frayed at the sleeves and bottom. He had piercings all over his face as if he had lost a fight to a stapler. In the metal chair from the dinette set in the kitchen, he sat still, seemingly unrestrained. Emma stood before him, her eyes glowing subtly. She stared intently at him, her arms crossed as she leaned against the kitchen counter. On the other side of him, Jason watched him like a hawk. And directly in front of him, Alex towered above him. “We want to know about the Clan,” Alex insisted. “I’m telling you, I don’t know anything,” he said, his English stained with Danish and Finnish. He looked at the three, his canines just barely extending beyond his other teeth. “You guys can’t do this, you know? You’ve got to, to have a probable cause and stuff. I didn’t do anything.” Alex walked over to the window and stared at the latch that kept it securely fastened. “We’re not the police,” he said dismissively. He looked at the vampire in the middle of the kitchen, then at the window again. “The Clan of Caine,” he asked. “Where can I find them?” “I don’t know,” the vampire repeated emphatically. “I told you, I just go every now and then. They’re like a club around here, you know.” He looked at Emma, then at Jason. “It’s like a social thing. Benders and concerts and stuff.” Alex undid the window. The vampire’s eyes flashed to it, fear overtaking him. “Where do we find them?” Alex asked again. “Listen,” he pleaded. “I don’t know. I really don’t.” Alex opened the window just slightly. The slightest blade of light sliced across the room and splashed over the kitchen sink. The vampire averted his eyes, panting heavily. “I don’t know…” Alex tossed the cover of the window against the other windows in the kitchen. The shutter flared wide for just a second before rebounding back to Alex’s waiting hand. The vampire screamed in agony. Smoke began to rise from his skin, but the momentary exposure ended and he was left in his seat, panting desperately, harsh sunburn covering his exposed skin. “Where are they?” Alex asked, staring at the vampire again. “Spøttrup Castle,” the vampire whimpered, still panting, his head hanging low. “Spøttrup Castle?” Assif said into the phone, pacing in the main space as Jin worked. “That’s a museum.” “Not anymore,” Alex explained, sitting at the small table in the hotel room. Around him, the others waited. “When Denmark joined the European Union, they gave the castle to the Clan of Caine in order to get them to not try and block the joining. The clan has a pronounced disdain for the UN and they saw the EU as the UN all over again. They were in a position to really hinder the process.” “So Denmark gave them a castle to keep them quiet,” Assif summarized. “Pretty much,” Alex nodded. “We’re currently getting ready to head to Vadum. It’s going to be our staging point and from there, we’re going to take the castle. I’m planning to do it just before sunrise.” “Do you have the proper resources?” Assif asked. “All we’re going to need is clearance from the Danish government,” Alex said confidently. “With all due respect to them, if they’ll just stay out of our way, we can handle it.” “Alex, I can not stress to you the importance of success,” Assif said, “especially if the difference between success and failure is additional manpower.” “We can handle it.” “I also need to stress the importance of being right,” Assif added. Alex looked up. “What do you mean?” “The Clan has made an official statement to the UN,” Assif explained. He headed back over to where Jin was and picked up a clipboard that held an array of hastily written notes. He paced back towards his office. “They have confirmed responsibility for the plane and they insist that ‘three hostages’ are alive. However, they’ve issued no demands as of yet, nor have they technically claimed responsibility that they have the hostages, just that they know of three.” “They’re stalling,” Alex said. “That’s what I’m thinking,” Assif agreed. “Jin has concocted a rather far-fetched, but not entirely implausible scenario.” “Oh, I’ve got to hear this,” Alex said, sitting back to get comfortable. “Jin is suggesting that the Clan may have been hired by the same employer who hired MacLean,” Assif explained. “The Clan of Caine has never demonstrated the capacity to pull off an act like this. They have social and political clout, but not military might and certainly not what it would have taken to pull this off.” “I don’t know,” Alex pondered. “So far, all it seems they’ve really needed was a surface-to-air missile and the means to transport and hold the hostages. Even on my monthly take-home, I could pull that off.” “But they also had to know about the plane,” Assif contended. “We are dealing with magical entities,” Alex posed. “Perhaps,” Assif allowed, “but consider that they might be stalling. That would likely indicate something has gone wrong with their plan.” Alex sat back now, his mind racing. “If there is someone, and I’m not saying that there is, but if there is, we may be able to expose them by bringing down the Clan. If they’re delaying because of some employer, then we may be able to strike at the employer while they’re vulnerable. If they’re delaying because the employer is no-longer backing them, which I think is likely given our anonymous tip, then they may be willing to turn on the employer. And if there is no employer, then this just means they’re incompetent.” “Interesting,” Alex mused with thought. He finally shook it off. “All interesting theories, but I’ll worry about theories of why once we’ve got our teammates back.” “I agree,” Assif encouraged. “Good hunting.”
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