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Episode
176
“Every search for a hero must begin with something that
Jericho stood before the giant screen, watching in silence as the
massive display splintered into numerous smaller windows, each a different
concern for the different of the sixteen men at his feet. The knight
glanced at the men, then back over his shoulder at the door he had entered
through.
“This
all stinks of trouble.” He mumbled to himself. He considered the screen
for a moment more, then he spoke up to the men. “Hold down the fort,
guys. I’ll be back.” He commanded to the men at the desks as he turned
to leave.
“I’ve got the investigation team going to the wrong
location.” Mint said, as she leaned against the door to Aaron’s small,
one-room quarters. “That should give your savior’s time.”
“Great.”
Aaron muttered, focusing solely on the computer screen of his laptop. His
fingers typed furiously as he worked in the tiny cell of a room.
“Phillip was trying to get the data from the Investigator’s Clan. What
did he need it for? What did we have that he wanted?”
“I
don’t know.” Mint said, surprised. “Why the hell are you bringing
that up now?”
“Because
there’s just too much that’s not finished.” Aaron said, still
typing. “If this all plays out the way it looks, which would be Jericho
launches a massive offensive against the US government, we have got to
figure out what his next step is going to be.”
“You
don’t think your ‘invasion force’ will succeed?” Mint asked.
“Always
have an out.” Aaron quoted. “If they do, that saves us all a lot of
trouble. But if they don’t, we still have to make nicey-nicey with
Jericho while we quietly try to position ourselves to shank him from
behind.” Aaron turned from his computer, swiveling the chair to stare
right up at Mint. “And what’s your stake in all of this? Why are you
trying to undermine Jericho?”
“Something
about starting a war like this just doesn’t sit well with me, you
know?” She said sarcastically. “And besides, I don’t want to see the
world destroyed simply because the Brotherhood hates the Illuminati.”
“Yeah,
Jericho seems strangely impulsive for being so otherwise patient.” Aaron
said, turning back to his computer.
“He
just sees himself as a knight of old.” Mint shrugged.
“I
thought he WAS a knight of new or something like that.” Aaron said,
typing.
“Speaking
of knights, who are you writing?” Mint asked.
“I’m
sending commands to Errol and the others.” Aaron explained. “They’re
going to destroy all the data of the Investigator’s Clan in North
America. Even if Jericho isn’t defeated tonight, that loss of data
should cripple his plans, at least according to what Phillip said. I’m
guessing that without it, he’s just going to have the resources he
already has now.”
“Isn’t
that enough?” Mint asked.
“It’s
all I can do, Mint.” Aaron continued stoically, typing furiously as he
spoke calmly. “But I can’t sit by and watch this. Jericho’s going to
destroy the world.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that.”
“All men report ready.” Eli said as he walked shoulder in
shoulder with Jericho down the dark halls of the fortress. Lit only by the
distant, singular lights that hung from the high ceiling, the two moved
along in shadow.
“Good.”
Jericho said, tying his long blonde hair back in a tight ponytail as he
walked. “And the fortress itself? How ready are we for combat?”
“Without
the main reactor, we’re looking at being able to maintain full combat
operation for six hours. But at our current status, on the back-up
generators, we can maintain for two hundred and seventy hours, or about
eleven days.”
“I
can do math, Eli.”
“Sorry,
sir.” The sniper said. “How do you want us to proceed?”
The
leader of the Hand, of the Brotherhood, took a long moment to sigh. “Do
you know why we’re doing all this, Eli?” Jericho asked, stopping just
underneath a light. Eli stopped as well, turning back to the head of the
Hand of the Brotherhood. “Do you know why we’re starting this war?”
“To,
to destroy the Illuminati’s control on the world.” Eli said, repeating
the manta heard hundreds of times.
“That
is one, our noblest goal. And our most long-term.” Jericho answered. He
began to walk again, but this time, he didn’t walk forward, he walked
around Eli circling the sniper in thought and word. “Our ultimate goal
is, yes, the destruction of the Illuminati, but there are so many other
tertiary goals that we seek to achieve along the way.”
“Yes
sir.” Eli nodded.
“We’re
going to prove to the world that the knights are a valued military.”
Eli
stumbled mentally. He turned to his left as Jericho walked around him. The
two met eye to eye, suddenly so close. Eli struggled to speak. “The, the
knights?”
“Eli,
you have to think.” Jericho said, putting his hand paternally on the
sniper’s shoulder. “What group has consistently given the Brotherhood
trouble? What group has constantly given our men pause? What group has, to
this day, proven to be uninfiltratable?”
“The
knights, sir.” Eli nodded, still having trouble with it all.
“Eli,
Hand agents have broken the crux of police SWAT teams with their bare
hands.” Jericho explained. “Our men are some of the most trained
fighters in the world. And when you add into it the chemical augmentation
that so many of them undergo, that makes them that much more ferocious.
They are stronger, faster, and longer-lasting that almost any athlete that
walks this earth. Coupled with the hours and hours of training, they are a
force to be reckoned with like almost no other.”
“Yes
sir.”
“But
consistently, time and time again, almost without fail, the knights have
stood toe to toe with the Hand of the Brotherhood and they have been the
ones to tell the tale.” Jericho smiled. “The knights are, without a
doubt, the most competent direct-operations force on this planet. Forget
the SEALs, forget the SAS, forget any other military, especially those
damn bastards, the Marines. The knights are it.”
“Okay,
sir, but I’m confused.” Eli stumbled out. “How will our starting a
war prove this to the world at large?”
“Who
is going to have the knowledge, hell the nerve, to stand against us?”
Jericho asked with a smile appearing. “Who is going to be there, in
every city, in every torn, in every village from the east coast to the
west, to fight against us as we ‘invade’? The people will see the
black-clad invaders rushing into their town, and they will not understand.
But they will understand as those black and red devils attack the
invaders. Some will win, some will lose. But as the other people run in
fear, the knights will stand their ground. Some will die, and some will
live. But the point is, the people will once again forever know that the
knights still exist, to this day. And that the Oath of Chivalry, the
greatest tradition humanity has ever known, lives on and will always live
on, no matter what.”
“I
think I see.” Eli nodded. “But aren’t you a knight?”
“I
am.” Jericho nodded with a grin. “And the point is, that if Aaron or
Phillip had led this, they would fail because they don’t know how
knights think. But I do. And that is why the Brotherhood of the Sun shall
see victory.”
“And
what about Mint, sir?” Eli asked. “She’s a knight also.”
“Yes.”
Jericho nodded. “I know.”
“When the fighting starts, we need to find a safe place to
hide.” Mint said, standing next to the door with Aaron. “I’m afraid
your saviors, whoever they may be, might not be in the mood to take
prisoners.”
“They’re
here to stop a madman, not save lives.” Aaron shrugged in indifferent
acquiesces. “It comes as no surprise to me if they are just going to
slaughter.”
“So,
where will you hide?” The woman asked, still not opening the door.
“I
guess under the bed is out of the option.” Aaron said, considering the
small bunk that was built into the wall.
“Come
to my quarters.” Mint said; as she popped open the door. “I’ve
hidden away a secret compartment that you can use.”
“What
about you?” He asked.
“I’ll
be with Jericho.” She said. “Just make sure you take your laptop when
you hide.” She stepped out the door, shutting it hard.
As
Mint shut the door solidly, she turned to her right as Jericho and Eli
turned the corner. “Is everything in order?” Jericho called to her.
“Yeah.”
Mint answered. “Aaron’s going to hide in the cell in my room if
anything starts.” She answered, walking slowly and deliberately towards
the two. “He’s still sending orders to Errol and the others,
though.”
“That’s
fine.” Jericho said dismissively. “Let him continue to think he’s
being productive. All he’s doing is letting our men close in on them.”
“Is
there any word on an offensive force that he’s trying to muster?” Eli
asked.
“As
a matter of fact, there is.” Mint smiled coyly. |