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The conference room was small but cozy, befitting the intimate and confidential nature of this meeting. Executive Assistant Director Robert Pearce, wearing a bespoke blue suit of fine silk, leaned back in his chair and smiled at his three guests.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased to report that the Public Security Bureau has smashed the Guzman Cartel in Riveria. We have rounded up their leaders, facilitators and soldiers, and have confiscated millions of dollars in illicit wealth, assets and weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are continuing to pursue their remaining members in Riveria. However, their ability to conduct criminal operations have been significantly diminished. We judge they are no longer capable of anything more sophisticated than street-level crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Emily Anders said. \u201cPlease convey our thanks to the brave agents who made this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks. I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2014the Pantheon\u2014are most delighted to hear of this development,\u201d Nav Chaudhari said. \u201cWith that said, I understand there are some ongoing investigations that touch upon mutual interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Anders said, nodding. \u201cMy congregation is traumatized by the demise of so many of our fellow members. We need answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anders steepled his fingers. \u201cOf course. And you\u2019ll have them.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, let\u2019s discuss the deaths of Joshua Baines and Paul Wagner at Ringo Plaza. It was a most tragic accident during a chaotic situation. According to witness interviews, when they saw the Cartel gunmen retreat into the office, they believed innocent lives were at stake. They chose to use their powers to rescue the hostages.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoincidentally, and most unfortunately, the Special Tasks Section was conducting a hostage rescue operation at that time. When Baines and Wagner entered, they were mistaken for reinforcements, and were shot and killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour men fired without warning,\u201d Chaudhari complained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe STS confronts the most dangerous criminals in the country. They must use specialist equipment and tactics to survive. The operators involved interpreted their actions as a threat to the team and hostages, and acted within our rules of engagement. A terrible tragedy, but within policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shoot Elect on sight? Without even warning them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo warnings are necessary. If an operator judges that a subject poses a deadly threat to himself or others around him, he is authorized to shoot. Again, I must stress that this was a tragic accident, and the team leader on the ground took pains to prevent further misunderstandings and accidents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBaines and Wagner were heroes. We will send a formal letter of protest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs is your right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the Liberated the STS killed at SafeKeep?\u201d Anders asked. \u201cWas that \u2018within policy\u2019 too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe operators heard gunshots. They judged that the subjects on site threatened the lives of the hostages, and acted accordingly and within policy.\u201d Pearce smiled mirthlessly. \u201cPerhaps I should ask you what your believers were doing there in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot possibly account for the actions of every member of the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but we also note that half of the gunmen at SafeKeep were Elect. As Speaker for the Liberated, how do you justify and explain their actions?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anders simply shrugged and spread her hands. \u201cI do not know them, and on this matter Namanah is silent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow convenient,\u201d Shane DeMille said.<\/p>\n
She appeared none the worse for wear. Her hair was lustrous and full, her pale skin supple and flawless, her eyes dancing with hidden delight. Her rich red dress was no less elegant than Chandri\u2019s orange robes or Anders\u2019 emerald dress.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow convenient that the STS discovered you in a previously-unknown basement in SafeKeep,\u201d Chaudhari said. \u201cPerhaps you should tell us what you were doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe exercise ecclesiastical privileges and choose to remain silent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven so, I can speculate. The STS recovered four hostages from the basement. Two of those hostages were priests of the Pantheon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other two were Liberated priests,\u201d Anders said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that so?\u201d DeMille said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there too. You and six other Elect. You were using them in a blood sacrifice, weren\u2019t you?\u201d Chaudhari said.<\/p>\n
DeMille smiled. \u201cI have no knowledge of this ritual, and what occurs in a recognized house of worship is covered under ecclesiastical privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaudhari turned on Pearce. \u201cYou\u2019re letting her walk away like this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dead Elect in the House of Shadows were all members of the Guzman Cartel, with no connection to the legal entity of the Court of Shadows. We speculate that the Cartel members were attempting to use the hostages in a blood sacrifice. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll agree justice has been served.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about her, then? What was she doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has exercised ecclesiastical privilege. Without further evidence or testimony, we have nothing to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable, you say?\u201d DeMille said. \u201cDo you know what is truly unbelievable? An avatar of the Destroyer running amok in Three Rivers. What was it doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaudhari shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not serve the Destroyer. I cannot speak for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you spoke for the Pantheon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but the Pantheon is simply an alliance of gods. I speak for all of them, but I do not speak for any one of them who chooses to act on their own without the knowledge of the others. This incident is outside the scope of my knowledge and authority. I do not know the ones responsible, nor do I speak for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMille smirked. \u201cAh, of course, you are merely a priest of the Limitless One.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMille turned her faze to Anders. \u201cYou, on the other hand, have no such excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRingo Plaza. My men investigated the disturbance. The incident began when a group of individuals accosted a member of my Court in the lobby and threw racist language at him. The Courtman stood firm, until they tried to attack him. My man used appropriate force to end the altercation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, everyone around him pulled weapons and turned on him. He fled for the safety of nearby businesses affiliated with the Court. And then the firefight started.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original instigators are members of the Liberated and the Pantheon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite coincidentally, they were also the hostages we recovered from the House of Shadows,\u201d Pearce said dryly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not aware of the fact at that time,\u201d DeMille said primly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anders drew herself straight. \u201cAs I have said, I cannot possibly account for the actions of all my members of the Coven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gods are not responsible for what their believers do,\u201d Chaudhari added.<\/p>\n
\u201cLikewise, the Court of Shadows cannot possibly be blamed for the deplorable actions of the Guzman Cartel,\u201d DeMille said.<\/p>\n
The other two Speakers exchanged a glance. Pearce simply sat and waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the same vein, the Liberated as a whole cannot be held responsible for the crimes of individuals who happened to worship Namah,\u201d Anders said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe faults of believers who worship other gods cannot be pinned on the Limitless One,\u201d Chaudhari said, \u201cand the misdeeds of men are not the misdeeds of gods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad to see we\u2019ve sorted that out,\u201d Pearce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so, once again, you have preserved the balance,\u201d DeMille said.<\/p>\n
Pearce simply smiled.<\/p>\n
Connor backed away from the screen, shaking his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly shit\u2026\u201d he whispered. \u201cDid\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0just happen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt did,\u201d Tan said. \u201cIt really did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy God\u2026 Hey, boss, what the hell was that?\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto just stood there, stone-faced, his hands clenched his fists.<\/p>\n \u201cShit\u2026\u201d Connor said again. \u201cAfter everything they\u2019ve done, after all the blood they spilled, they just get to walk away?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re Speakers of the New Gods,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cThey are held to different laws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s fucked up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce and the Speakers exchanged a few more pleasantries, and the meeting drew to a close. Pearce walked the Speakers to the outside hallway, where Fox, Mustafa and Wood awaited. The STS operators and the PSB Executive Assistant Director escorted the Speakers to the basement parking lot of the hotel.<\/p>\n Connor watched it all on the screen. Pearce and the Speakers laughing and making small talk, his team mates sweeping for external threats, the short walk to the representatives\u2019 vehicles. One last round of bows and handshakes, and the Speakers drove off.<\/p>\n Just like that, they were gone.<\/p>\n \u201cPearce has some explaining to do,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cBlack Watch call signs, once Pearce is back inside, we\u2019re going to brace him.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce and the escort team reversed course, heading back the same way they came from. Connor glued his eyes to the screen, tracking his every move. His return to the elevator. His arrival on the fifth floor. His slow walk down the hall.<\/p>\n His entrance into the STS ready room, the other three operators fanning out behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s finally over,\u201d Pearce said brightly. \u201cThe Cartel is crushed, and the PSB field office can take of the rest. Good job.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan crossed his arms. Yamamoto\u2019s hands stayed close to his sides. Connor frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have questions for you,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, they can wait\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have answers. You will give them us. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey, watch your tone, agent.\u201d<\/p>\n Connor laughed. \u201cYou are surrounded by the finest gunfighters in Babylon. You<\/em> watch your<\/em> tone.\u201d<\/p>\n Wood locked the conference room door. Pearce startled at the heavy\u00a0CLICK<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Pearce asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our line,\u201d Connor said. \u201cYou cut a deal with the Speakers, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDeal? What deal?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDrop the bullshit. All of us know what happened in the House of Shadows. Why does DeMille get to walk?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs an accredited Speaker of the New Gods, without firm evidence\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBullshit. You\u2019re just afraid of pissing off the Court.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce\u2019s face flushed. \u201cI\u2019m warning you, don\u2019t throw accusations like that, agent. Not if you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Connor snorted contemptuously and pointed at the bandage wrapped around his head. \u201cThe Court did this to me. There\u2019s nothing you can do to me that can match this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou wanna try, Connor? If I give the word, I can destroy your career just like\u00a0that<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce snapped his fingers.<\/p>\n Connor laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPearce, you understand that we recorded the entire meeting, right? A meeting that shows three Speakers of the New Gods lying to an Executive Assistant Director of the PSB with straight faces. And the EAD swallowed these lies with a smile. Imagine what the public would think if they saw it. You should worry about\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0career.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce fumed, then sighed and shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, maybe we got off on the wrong foot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe sure did,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cYou can make things right by answering our questions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy does Shane DeMille get to walk?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSpeakers enjoy a host of legal immunities and privileges. That way they can carry out their work unmolested, no matter where they go. Before we can strip one of ecclesiastical privileges, we need to have a slam dunk case against\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCalling on the Lord and Lady to attack us doesn\u2019t count?\u201d Connor demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you prove it? All we recovered from the basement are just inert statues. It\u2019s just your word against hers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the vamps? The guns? The computers and phones? The hostages?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTheir lawyers will argue that the Cartel was entirely at fault, not a Speaker of the Court.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe rushed me with a knife,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cHow will they explain that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo fingerprints, no DNA traces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor fuck\u2019s sake!\u201d Connor exclaimed. \u201cThen how are they going to explain her presence?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to. She can simply exercise ecclesiastical privilege and remain silent. There\u2019s nothing we can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re telling me that the Court gets to empower the Cartel and use them as deniable foot soldiers?\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce sighed, and in that moment seemed to age a millennium.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you prove it? Can you provide evidence that will hold up in court, that won\u2019t disappear, and won\u2019t be excluded due to \u2018ecclesiastical privileges\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSon of a\u00a0bitch!<\/em>\u201d Connor exclaimed.<\/p>\n \u201cPolitics,\u201d Fox spat. \u201cShit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly. It\u2019s the kind of bullshit I have to deal with at my level. Just by taking down the Cartel, by rescuing the hostages, that\u2019s a major win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut DeMille gets to walk,\u201d Connor said bitterly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe New Gods are powerful. They cannot be fought head-on. We have\u2026 other projects in the works, other investigations. That\u2019s all we can say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the Pantheon and the Liberated?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pantheon unleashed an avatar in a neighborhood. An avatar that indiscriminately killed everyone around it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re investigating the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBullshit,\u201d Connor said. \u201cWe followed the avatar around. We saw priests of the Pantheon activate it with prayers. And that avatar, it\u2019s of the Destroyer. A known and declared goddess belonging to the Pantheon. What more proof do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd one more thing,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cHow exactly did the Liberated Elect learn of the House of Shadows?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo answer the first question, eyewitness reports aren\u2019t enough to make a case. You should know that. For the second, there is no evidence that the suspects were acting on behalf of the Grand Coven of the Liberated, and you\u2019re aware that there are many other groups out there with intelligence-gathering capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe suspects\u2019 arrived soon after I sent my report,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cThey even knew to ask for a basement we had found, a basement that not even the civilian staff knew about. Rather convenient, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless, there\u2019s no proof.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPearce, we all know you\u2019re just bullshitting,\u201d Mustafa said. \u201cYou\u2019re not convincing anyone, us least of all. Just drop the act and tell us what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an act. It\u2019s the official line of the Public Security Bureau.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd all those \u2018investigations\u2019 and \u2018evidence\u2019 will quietly disappear,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cAgent, that\u2019s not how things work in\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0exactly<\/em>\u00a0how things work. I was a regular agent before I joined the STS. I saw it happen with my own eyes. I came to the STS to make a difference, and now I\u2019m seeing this all over again. We\u2019re not buying the official line.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou said the New Gods can\u2019t be fought head-on,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cWhat are you going to do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s classified.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to have to explain to my commandant why, exactly, EAD Pearce of the PSB allowed multiple suspects, people we believe to have committed conspiracy and mass murder, to walk away. You understand that the STS specializes in direct action against people empowered by the New Gods, and those who support them.\u201d<\/p>\n Connor threw up his hands.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, fine. But this doesn\u2019t leave this room, you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be the judge of that,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s a question for you: what\u2019s the mission of the STS?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo save lives,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but what is it that you do? You take down dangerous criminals, terrorists, Husks, and Elect. Yes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Yamamoto agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. That\u2019s just what you do on the tactical level. Where the boots hit the street. At the strategic level, at the level of society and civilization, what do you do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow about you skip the appetizers and go to the main course?\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou, me, the PSB, we maintain order. We safeguard society. That means we enforce the law. But to enforce the law, we require a monopoly on legitimate violence. The New Gods, though, their existence and their actions undermine this monopoly. They are free to act however they please, and human laws and norms mean nothing to them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey signed the Treaty of Babylon,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Because the alternative is a war of all against all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re exaggerating,\u201d Mustafa said.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish. You should know by now that the New Gods are constantly battling each other for supremacy. They don\u2019t want to control just Riveria or Babylon or the country. They want to control the whole world.<\/p>\n \u201cLeft unchecked, their power struggles will destroy all of human civilization. You\u2019ve seen what just one of their Elect can do. The Treaty of Babylon is a compromise. It laid down a set of rules for everyone, held them all to the same standards of behaviour. And in doing so, it averted global collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlenty of loopholes in those rules,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. But without those loopholes, they would never have agreed to the Treaty. And this is the genius of the Treaty: it encourages and\u00a0requires<\/em>\u00a0the New Gods to check and balance each other, by giving them all special privileges\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0the responsibility to protect their followers and property.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese \u2018checks and balances\u2019 merely drove their war into the shadows,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s a war that you\u2014the STS\u2014can contain. If they step out of line, you go in and smack them all down, without fear or favor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow about we just stop the war altogether?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan humans stand up to the New Gods?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce blinked.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, okay, you aside? If the New Gods poured out their wrath on humanity, can the rest of us survive? I don\u2019t think so. Humans can\u2019t fight gods. But humans\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0fight humans. The humans and organizations the New Gods use as pawns and foot soldiers in their war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we take down a soldier, a dozen pop up to take his place,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cWe\u2019re just mowing the grass over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of it all?\u201d Wood asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBalance,\u201d Pearce said.<\/p>\n \u201cBalance?\u201d Connor repeated.<\/p>\n \u201cIf any one faction grows too weak, the others will pounce on it and tear it apart. If any of the New Gods becomes too strong, they will dominate the others and prey on weaker powers. In either scenario, there will be war. War unlike anything we\u2019ve seen before. The only way for humanity to survive is to maintain the balance of power and prevent a war between the New Gods.<\/p>\n \u201cThat<\/em>\u00a0is the mission of the STS. The survival of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce abruptly spun on his heels, unlocked the door, and walked out.<\/p>\n No one pursued him.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n If a brutal-yet-realistic dungeon crawler is right up your alley, check out the Kickstarter of Dungeon Samurai\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/files.steempeak.com\/file\/steempeak\/cheah\/S4idk9MB-Cheah20Git20San20Red.jpg\")
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