“Haewon should still be the priority if her vessel ever materializes, understand?”
“Of course, Father. The kill team has orders to hunt both.”
“Who is leading them?”
“Why, one of their own.”
Devin nodded. “Yes, our double-crossing mole who alerted us to their raid. You mentioned the defection in your last report. Who was it, Jeo’s vessel? Were we able to acquire any solid information on the Prophus network?”
“Not as much as we would like. He was not privy to higher security systems. However, Jeo assisted in the designing of many of their older networks and we are exploring those options. Who better to hunt Prophus than someone who is familiar with their protocols?”
“Good, good. Keep me informed.”
Sean kept watching the screen after it turned black. Regardless of what Devin said, Sean knew where Chiyva’s priority lay. His Holy One had made that abundantly clear. Tracking Tao’s new host was not going to be easy. The Prophus were slippery with their new hosts. Chances were he had already gone into hiding.
The Genjix were having an increasingly difficult time tracking Prophus movements ever since their last major conflict in Brazil when the Prophus-backed ruling party fell. The Prophus had been on the defensive ever since, the noose tightening around them bit by bit as they lost more and more engagements. They were now more covert than ever.
A renegade Prophus might give the Genjix better prospects, though. It had been over half a century since the last defection, so it was a rare opportunity to utilize someone who had experience with the inner workings of the Prophus.
“Just waiting for you to stick your head out, little rabbit…” Sean’s voice trailed off as he drummed his fingers along the desk. “We’ll have a net waiting for you.” He pushed the button on his intercom. “Meredith, is my 10 o’clock here yet?”
“Yes, Sean. He’s been waiting for you.”
“Send him in.”
Marc walked into his office and sat down in the chair opposite Sean. Looking like he just got out of bed, Marc wore a brown golf shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans. Sean gave him one cursory glance and began typing on his computer.
Fifteen minutes passed before Sean said another word. “I trust your new quarters are to your liking?”
Marc shrugged. “Sure beats the hell out of what I had before.”
“And your stipend is adequate.”
Marc nodded.
Sean gave Marc a hard look. “Good, then you will wear a suit and be dressed appropriately whenever you are in this office. This is still a law firm, and you’re a fool if you think your appearance today didn’t raise eyebrows. Do I make myself clear?”
Startled, Marc bowed in response.
Sean went back to his work on the computer. “Now, you have a chance to prove your worth to us. Your standing is low and since you failed to deliver Tao, you’re still on shaky ground. This will be your chance to rectify that. Follow me.” Sean grabbed his jacket and strolled out of his office, tapping Meredith’s desk as he passed by. She followed close behind with pen and paper in hand. Marc, unused to Sean’s methods, had to hurry to catch up.
“Are my people in place?” Sean asked.
Meredith nodded. “The personnel you requested were all contacted last night. All flew in this morning, with the exception of two who are still on missions for the Vatican. They will arrive later this week.”
“Excellent.” Forty steps down this hall, left turn, five steps forward, right turn, nine steps echoed in the back of his mind.
Meredith struggled to keep up while reading her notes. “They are waiting in your private meeting room.”
Sean walked down the hallway to an elevator and stopped at the door. He stared at the closed doors. It bothered him that the elevator was not waiting for him. It was a small matter which Meredith would have to address. He turned irritably toward her and shook his head. “Fix this.” She understood exactly what he meant.
The elevator door opened. Sean and Marc walked in while Meredith stood outside, still scribbling in her notebook. Sean waited for her to catch up before he spoke again. “We need to have our contact in the IRS run those checks on the paper trails. The Prophus are good at hiding their own, and this trail can’t be allowed to get cold. I don’t care if flags are raised. I want validated information on my desk tonight.”
She nodded. “Anything else?”
The nephew and the anniversary.
“Of course, I was wrong to forget, Chiyva.”
You must be aware of all things, Sean. Only then can you inspire others through control.
“Apologies, Holy One.”
Sean smiled at her and spoke, “I know your nephew is in the hospital for an appendectomy. Be assured that the bill has been seen to. Also, please convey my congratulations on your wedding anniversary. You may leave at 5 o’clock today.”
The elevator door closed before she could reply. This time, Sean did not bother counting the beeps as the elevator sped down to the basement to a secret Genjix safe house. A few minutes later, he entered a private room deep underground. The fifteen people waiting for him stood up when he entered. He nodded to a few of them and ignored the rest. They knew who he was, and that was the only thing that mattered.
There were five Genjix among them. Two were newly raised enforcers whom Sean trusted enough for mid-level missions. Three were older Genjix assigned to assist with confirmation of the vessel. While their technology was advanced enough to track Quasing outside a vessel, there was still no reliable method of detecting a Quasing within a vessel other than through physical contact by another vessel. At least, not yet. Standard vessels were too valuable to expend on a surveillance team, but Chiaolar, Heefa, and Iku’s vessels were old and no longer fit for active fieldwork. This mission would be a perfect way to utilize these resources. The Genjix did not waste.
Sean nodded to Marc, who took a seat next to him. The rest were humans with ambitions to become vessels, hoping to prove themselves worthy enough to be blessed. This mission would be the perfect test to see which one of them was the most deserving.
“Praise to the Holy Ones,” Sean said, taking a seat.
“Praise to the Holy Ones,” those in the room intoned.
“Some of you I know, and the rest of you aren’t worth knowing until you prove yourself,” he started off. “There are two more operatives on their way, once their duties elsewhere are concluded.” Sean clicked a button on the table and the room dimmed. A screen on the far wall turned on and an image of Edward appeared.
“This is the Prophus agent Edward Blair, killed last night infiltrating our Hancock research facility. His Prophus, Tao, is a senior player in the conflict. Notable vessels: Genghis Khan, Lafayette, and Sun Yat-sen.”
A picture of a dark-skinned woman appeared next to Edward. “This is Stephanie Qu, operating under an unknown alias. Her Prophus, Haewon, is one of their primary rainmakers. Notable vessels: Churchill, Voltaire, and Peter the Apostle.
“We have fresher leads on Tao, so that will be your primary focus. Security forces tracked him to a large male under two meters, heavyset, with dark hair. Possible ethnicities could be Latino, Asian, or he could just be fond of the tanning bed. The target escaped driving a white sedan believed to be American-made, most likely a Ford, a four-seater model made within the past five years. Unfortunately, there were no cameras in the vicinity to record the information.
“Your mission is to track and confirm the new vessel. The Prophus hide their people well. Obviously they have already washed any relevant data in the government systems, so scan for those characteristics. I want passive surveillance until he is located. Then physical confirmation must be made and the vessel captured alive. I don’t care if you put him in a coma, as long as he is still breathing. Also, put surveillance on Edward’s family. Knowing how sentimental the Prophus are, Tao’s new host is bound to pay a visit one of these days.”