{"id":5943,"date":"2020-09-06T00:27:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-05T16:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benjamincheah.com\/?p=5943"},"modified":"2020-09-06T00:27:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T16:27:35","slug":"wolves-of-babylon-chapter-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/?p=5943","title":{"rendered":"Wolves of Babylon Chapter 11"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hold The Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the week passed in relative peace. But only around Hunter\u2019s Heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pantheon surveillance team disappeared. With the police investigating the ambush outside the Temple of Galen, and stepping up increased patrols, it was no longer prudent to maintain the operation. While the Pantheon\u2019s influence surely extended into top floors of the BPD, it would not do for some low-level cop to ask the wrong questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Street Wolves kept their distance too. Leaderless and bleeding, they retreated to their home turf and consolidated their numbers. In the nights that followed, a few of their senior members were found dead or dying on the streets, ripped up with long-range gunfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wolves turned to the Court of Shadows for protection. The Court flooded their turf with their troops, an overt show of strength and a low-key power play. If the Wolves couldn\u2019t manage their territory, the Court would do it for them. The Court in turn hunted for the ones who had sniped their representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pantheon suffered the brunt of their attentions. The Court sent a mission to discuss the situation with the senior Pantheon leadership. The priests, one and all, kept stonewalling them. They promised to order a ceasefire until they discovered the truth of the situation, but alas, the Pantheon was a decentralized faith and many of its members were unaffiliated with any one guru or god. Those they could not exercise control over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the street, a group of Shadows encountered a gang of Pantheon worshipers. Harsh words followed, then fists flew, and then the guns did the talking. Just another iteration of the same old story repeated all over Nova Babylonia. Then came the reprisals, and counter-reprisals, all while the senior leadership publicly denounced the attacks and ordered restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guild officially remained silent. But the sound of railgun fire continued to echo in the night. And bodies of Guild Elect started to appear in the morgue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A steady stream of steak flowed from the neighborhood steakhouse into the Temple of Galen. If anyone noticed this newfound taste, they didn\u2019t comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five days after the hit at Jamal Wright\u2019s home, Karim and Kayla met once again, this time in his motel room. On the laptop, over a video call, Harold Dahl joined in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Yuri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou did well, all things considered,\u201d Yuri said. \u201cBut realistically, all we\u2019ve done is to buy you some breathing room. You need to more extensive security measures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGalen and I have identified a few Elect candidates,\u201d Dahl said. \u201cWe will stand up a neighborhood watch to defend Hunter\u2019s Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By which he meant a militia, Kayla knew. Every god in Babylon needed human agents to carry out his will and to defend his holdings. Galen, despite being a warrior god, had pursued a policy of peace, maintaining only a minimal number of Elect. He\u2019d wanted to avoid a confrontation with his much stronger neighbors. But the time for peace had passed long ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore than a neighborhood watch, you\u2019ll need allies. Other gods who will stand with you,\u201d Yuri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGalen says he has reached out to other independent Powers across Babylon,\u201d Dahl replied. \u201cHe wishes to form a network of neutral Powers. Now that he\u2019s been attacked, he can make the case that all <\/em>the independent Powers are vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m surprised this hasn\u2019t happened before,\u201d Karim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery few years the minor Powers try something like this,\u201d Yuri said. \u201cInevitably the New Gods try to break it up or subvert the network. They will not tolerate any threats to their power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut this time, with the New Gods weakened, things might be different,\u201d Kayla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will make the most of this,\u201d Dahl vowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKarim, what did you do with the devices you took?\u201d Yuri asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI delivered them to a PO box in\u2026 well, outside Babylon. Zen will pick them up, download them, and feed us what he finds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cracker had sliced his way through the Void Collective\u2019s in-house data center. Compared to that, commercial devices were nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd your friends in law enforcement,\u201d Kayla added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. But only what they need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre there any signs the Court, the Pantheon or the Wolves will target Galen again?\u201d Yuri asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard many interesting things from my friends in the PSB and BPD,\u201d Karim said. \u201cThe Wolves must suspect Galen by now, but they\u2019ve been bled dry. They can\u2019t mount effective operations against us, at least not without the approval of the Court. The Court does not want to be dragged into yet another war with the Pantheon over a fight that the Wolves started. The Pantheon was unprepared for war, at least in this part of Babylon, and are struggling to coordinate and harden their defenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the Guild?\u201d Kayla asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karim grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe BPD and PSB recovered railgun fragments from the shootings. They were puzzled. They had no idea what they were looking at. I told them that, so far as I knew, only the Guild had the ability to create railguns. I speculated that the Guild might have found out the Street Wolves\u2019 attempt to shanghai Galen. It wasn\u2019t as if the Wolves were subtle about it. From there, it wouldn\u2019t be too difficult to engineer an incident between the Wolves and the Pantheon. Naturally, I told them to keep this top secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which, of course, meant that by now all<\/em> the New Gods would have heard his whispers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink they will buy it?\u201d Kayla asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuri stroked his chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe New Gods are all paranoid of each other. They believe that all the other gods are constantly trying to one-up them, that they are all engaged in a war of all against all. A situation like this plays into their biases. On the other hand, if they believe that Galen attempted to turn them against each other, there is nothing we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecurity cameras captured a werewolf fighting an elephant man,\u201d Karim said. \u201cEveryone knows that the Court of Shadows and the Street Wolves can shapeshift into wolves. As for the Wright hit, every external camera was blinded and there are no clear images of the hitter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Temple of Galen does not possess railguns, or indeed, any other guns,\u201d Dahl said. \u201cThe police were very thorough in their search.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe railgun seems to have disappeared,\u201d Kayla said innocently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operators chuckled darkly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks for your help,\u201d Dahl said. \u201cI know you two are not\u2026 not followers of Galen, but we appreciate your advice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo problem,\u201d Kayla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGalen has done much for us. It\u2019s only right to return the favor,\u201d Yuri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have done us a great service. If you ever need help, if you ever find yourself in Babylon again, call on us, and we will help you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Yuri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Yuri\u2026\u201d Kayla began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did she want to say? What did she have to say? There were a thousand things she had to say to him, a thousand words caught in her chest. But there was only one thing she needed to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWill you ever come back to Babylon?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sighed. Went silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Yuri said finally. \u201cThe New Gods are hunting me. After what I\u2019ve done to them, they won\u2019t stop looking for me, ever. They\u2019ll tear up all of Babylon to find me. But if I\u2019m overseas\u2026 at least it\u2019ll pull some heat away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warmth bloomed in her chest. Even now, he was still thinking of them, drawing fire away from Team Black Watch. He had a god on his side. Karim was an Elect of Galen. But the others\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2026 I mean, we <\/em>need you. You\u2019re the only one among us who could challenge them directly,\u201d Kayla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis exile won\u2019t be forever. Once the heat dies down, once the New Gods have something else to occupy them, I\u2019ll be back. Until then\u2026 I have to keep my distance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou made war upon the rulers of the world. They will never forgive this,\u201d Dahl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo follow my faith is to wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in the high places. To seek the Kingdom of God is to stand against the Kingdom of the World.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA harsh religion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is the only way I know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dahl smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is the way of warriors. Galen approves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe careful out there,\u201d Kayla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou too. What are your plans?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m staying in Babylon,\u201d Karim said. \u201cI have to defend the Temple, organize the watch, respond to any other incidents. If the New Gods come for us again, we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spoke with conviction, with steel in his spine and iron in his voice. The wandering nomad was gone. The rookie she\u2019d once known had matured. Here was the alpha, the warrior ascendant, the man and the wolf with a place and a pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood. Galen needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of Nova Babylonia needs you two,\u201d Dahl added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla nodded. And sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t stay in Babylon though. The New Gods are looking for a sniper. I\u2019m on their blacklist, along with everybody else in Team Black Watch. I\u2019ll need to disappear for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sound strategy,\u201d Yuri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMind if I join you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuri chuckled. But beneath the good humor was an undercurrent of sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s best we stay apart for now. At least until I\u2019m sure the New Gods aren\u2019t watching me too<\/em> closely. Besides, where I am, you don\u2019t speak the language. None of you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what would be the closest he\u2019d come to betraying his location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla understood where he was coming from. She\u2019d expected as much. Even so, a knife of raw pain stabbed into her heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the knife twisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCould you do something for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe New Gods will rise again. They will spread their tentacles, prey on the weak, corrupt the innocent. We\u2019ve got to stop them from dragging the world into hell. Until I return, hold the line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The STS was shut down. They were all pariahs in the military and the law enforcement community. But the mission, to save lives and protect the innocent, had never ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuri wasn\u2019t being dramatic. If anything, he\u2019d downplayed it. All of Nova Babylon lay balanced on a knife\u2019s edge. By pulling the Wolves, the Pantheon and the Court off Galen\u2019s back, and leaving behind evidence that pointed to the Guild, they might have fired the first shots in a new war among the gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla didn\u2019t care. Let the New Gods fight each other all they want. But inevitably innocents would be caught in the crossfire. If they\u2019d truly started a fresh conflict, then they had to take responsibility, to do everything they could to keep the violence contained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was what Yuri would have wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will,\u201d Kayla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting adjourned. Karim walked Kayla to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, if I don\u2019t know, neither will the New Gods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got a point there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla patted his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou take care now. Galen, Dahl, and the rest of the community are counting on you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks. And stay safe. You mean a lot more to Yuri than you think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her cheeks flushed. She smiled, looked away and said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside, under the warmth of the rising sun, the motel was quiet and peaceful. Past the parking lot, the highway beckoned. To the north lay the metropolis of Babylon, to the south lay the open road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had a full tank of gas in her car. In her pack she carried the sum of her possessions, everything she needed to live anywhere indefinitely. In the trunk of her car, among other ends, was her railgun, a set of spare rails, and two hundreds of ammo. She could go anywhere, do anything, so long as she kept one step ahead of the New Gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold the line<\/em>, he\u2019d said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will<\/em>, she\u2019d said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She climbed into her car and drove. Away from Babylon, towards wherever the open road would take her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had her mission. She would carry it out, all the way to the bitter end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, at least, until Yuri returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This chapter of Karim Mustafa’s life has ended, but more stories await in the wider Babylon universe. Check out the prequel BABYLON BLUES here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stay up to date with my latest writing news and promotions, sign up for my mailing list here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hold The Line The rest of the week passed in relative peace. But only around Hunter\u2019s Heights. The Pantheon surveillance team disappeared. With the police investigating the ambush outside the Temple of Galen, and stepping up increased patrols, it was no longer prudent to maintain the operation. While the Pantheon\u2019s influence surely extended into top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[68,106,143,168,216,253,277,278,289,338],"class_list":["post-5943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-babylon-red","tag-cyberpunk","tag-free-story","tag-horror","tag-military-science-fiction","tag-pulprev","tag-science-fantasy","tag-science-fiction","tag-singlit","tag-wolves-of-babylon"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitsuncheah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}