Chapter 59

Termination 4

-:-

Jabir's ship, the 'Providence', was your typical 30+ years old large cargo ship that specialized in shipping massive containers filled with anything from potatoes to luxury cars.

On the surface, it was exactly just that.

There's even a large number of containers that were stuffed with weeks old vegetable X just in case of a surprise search from authorities.

On the inside, it was a different story.

It was closer to a secret base complete with a high tech laboratory, a state of the art armory, a command center with cutting edge surveillance equipment and even a few airborne attack drones. All of which where provided by Theo.

With Theo's Fabricator hidden in the belly of the ship, the Providence could easily wage a small scale war on its own.

The briefing room was a stark contrast to the high tech interior of the Providence.

Despite its large size, it contained a simple large screen monitor connected to a laptop and a white board filled with maps of various areas in Alkebulan, pictures, lines and notes.

Fairly low tech compared to everything else in the ship.

In front of the white board sat Theo, Jabir and Nosferatu.

Around them were clones performing various actions such as placing/removing pictures, adding notes and discussing various information among themselves.

Pani was the one manning the laptop.

Once in a while, she threw a quick glance at Theo.

Whenever their eyes met, Theo blew her a kiss.

Though her face remained stoic, Pani blushed and returned to her work.

“Ho ho. I see another poor lamb is about to be devoured the wolf. Your dream for a harem seems to be closer than you initially thought, young Lorne” said Nosferatu in amusement.

“Isn't it amazing? I thought the 'make a harem' in my to-do-list was the hardest one to accomplish. I guess I was wrong.” replied Theo

“A harem is par for the course when you're a person of great power” said Jabir

“Oh? Does that mean you two have harems?” asked Theo

“In the past, yes. It's your typical 'awkward researcher overwhelmed by his sudden burst of popularity' sort of scenario. Once I understood that they only wanted me for my methods for immortality, I didn't hesitate to throw them all under the bus. Research was more fun anyways.” said Jabir

“Wow... that's... wow. What about you Nosferatu?” asked Theo.

“Naturally. Though I may have a face that not even a mother would love, it is typical for nobility to marry their daughters into a family of great power and prestige. At the moment I have 23 wives, 48 concubines and innumerable number of 'friends with benefits'. Naturally, most of the unions have no love, but I do enjoy an extremely active sex life. Of course, this doesn't apply when I am traveling the world on missions.” said Nosferatu.

“Holy cockballs Batman! I knew you were amazing, but I didn't think you were THAT amazing!” replied Theo

“I am a Progenitor after all.”

“”Touche”” said Theo and Jabir in agreement.

“Well then, let's get down to business” said Jabir as he signaled Pani to start.

The screen flickered to life and various bad quality CCTV still feeds were displayed.

“Report: Sightings or rumors pertaining to the target Bella Sway and her vampire partner Edward Cullet in the last 4 months= Zero. Report 2: Possible matches for the members of the Quile Shapeshifters in the last 4 months= Two.” said Pani as 2 images was enlarged. Both were equally bad in quality.

One was half the face of a muscular teen walking out of a meat shop.

The other one was a shadow of what could possibly be a man being mauled by a very large animal.

“Holy…. That’s it?” asked Theo in disbelief.

“Unfortunately, yeah. That’s it. The first one was part of the background of a selfie pic. The second barely was from a military drone that flew low over a city before bombing it to bits. Both are clues so small that most people wouldn't even notice it. Those 2 was the result of months of work by my Hassan-i Sabbah, which are probably the best trackers in the world. I have extensive info in the Quile tribe and I know for certain that they are not this good at hiding. This is very unnatural.” said Jabir

“I know that the Quile are natives from the Commonwealth and they’re commonly known as the Druids of Fang. I even killed one of them in the Sanctuary cruise ship assault. But why are they doing in Alkebulan?” asked Theo

“Rumor has it that Bella Sway is in the center of a love triangle between Edward Cullet and a bloke named Jacob Quile.” replied Jabir

“So what? Cant she just go the harem route?”

“Sadly that is not possible. The only thing that Vampires try to kill more than their fellow Vampires are Werewolves, and by extension, Wolf Shapeshifters.” said Nosferatu

“Eh? Why? Werewolves and werewolf wannabes have no connection to each other.” asked Theo in curiosity.

“The Vampire Nobility has always been at odds with the Werewolf Tribes due to both possessing immortality. However, unlike the Vampires who could assimilate/ manipulate humans, the Werewolves were much more feral. Only the strongest rule in their society, thus the initiation is a bit of a turn off to potential joiners. With Vampires having more raw recruits lining to join, they had the numerical supremacy to hunt down the Werewolves into near extinction. The Werewolves did try to bolster their numbers via Shapeshifters, but the Vampires simply had more support of mankind at large. In order to avoid extinction, the Werewolves went into hiding while the Shapeshifters reclassified themselves as Druids. Modern day Druids have an ancient duty to cleanse the earth of corruption with Vampires at the top of their to-kill list. They have forgotten the origin of this ancient duty, but they do it nevertheless.” explained Nosferatu.

“I see… so the Vampires think that the Shapeshifters are working for the Werewolves, correct?” asked Theo

“Correct. Tis a hilarious misunderstanding”

“Then why do you know that it’s a misunderstanding?” asked Theo

“That is because I am hiding one of the Werewolf Tribes. We entered a mutually beneficial deal with details I cannot divulge. Please understand” replied Nosferatu.

“Risky game you’re playing there.” said Jabir

“Indeed it is. But such is the political game of the Vampire nobilities. Anyway, we should continue with the briefing.” said Nosferatu.

Jabir signaled Pani to continue

“Statement: As the creator said, the Quile Tribe/ Druids of Fang had very little ability in stealth. Same is to be said for the Cullet vampires who specializes in flamboyance and seduction. Theory 1: The Quiles and the Cullets learned high level stealth techniques in a short period of time. Conclusion to Theory 1: Impossible. Theory 2: A third party is lending aid. Conclusion to Theory 2: Very likely.” reported Pani in her usual monotone voice.

“I see… so the problem is who’s the third party.” said Theo as he mused on the possibilities.

“Indeed. While we have absolutely no clue who the third party is, we do have some potential leads. Unreliable leads, but leads nevertheless” said Jabir

“Lay it on me.”

“I’m sure we’re dealing with an organisation and Alkebulan is their home court. Our estimates for the Quile presence in Alkebulan for the past 4 years is around 200+. If you add the 100+ vampires the Cullets normally assign as bodyguards, it’s clear that extraordinary effort is required to hide and feed that large number of people for an extended period of time.” said Jabir.

“You don't call your group as the best trackers in the world for nothing. So, do we have a plan?” said Theo as he watched the pictures and maps

“Not exactly. Like I said, we’re dealing with an organization here. And I have a gut feeling that there’s a Superhero aligned with them. While the Hassan-i Sabbah has eyes and ears in the continent, we dont know the lay of the land as well as they do. We’ll be outmaneuvered if we boldly rush in.” said Jabir

“If there’s a superhero, then shit…. A silent hunt then?”

“Yes. Me and the Hassan-i Sabbah will stay as low key as possible. My gut instincts is telling me the otherside has marked us as potential threats, thus has made a conscious effort to avoid us entirely. Nosferatu is out of the question. The mere rumor of the Nosferatu house will put them on high alert. You on the other hand will just waltz right in” said Jabir

“Huh? Shouldn't I stick to the shadows too?” asked Theo

“You’re a commissioned student from the HAA. Your alibi is iron clad”

“That’s worse! My credentials specifically said that I am under Nosferatu’s employment. They’ll be more cautious of me than anyone else!” replied Theo

“I doubt it. It’s common for superheroes of love and peace and all that cringeworthy positive to firmly believe that you’re a superhero above all else. And besides, your record is squeaky clean. They might even recruit you to their cause. I’m banking on that possibility” said Jabir

““Huh… I guess the whole ‘brave child that lived through his trauma’ persona I've built up might be good for something after all” said Theo.

“Indeed. As far as I can tell, the media has pretty much pegged you as a poor yet brave child that went through a heartbreaking trial. Your chance of success is much greater than me or Jabir” said Nosferatu

“So that’s how it is huh…. Fine. I’m in” said Theo with a sigh.

Jabir stood in front of the two and announced with confidence.

“Then let’s not waste time gentlemen. Let the hunt begin”