The next day, Bryan arrived with Benjamin at the training headquarters. He needed someone that he could count on and Ben was the man for the job. "Master, are you sure that we will find Nate here?" He asked. Bryan didn't know how he would respond to that. He had no idea if Nate was still living at the training quarters like their informant had said. "I'm as clueless as you are. The last time that I checked, I didn't even realize that Nate was in the city," he replied. Ben shook his head. He too hadn't known that Nate was in the same city. "I guess I was a little wrong when I said that the entire team is apart. We all seem to be in the same city," he stated. Bryan nodded, if Nate was close too then he was left with finding Ramirez and Davies. Jacob wasn't going to be a hard man to find, he had a family that everyone knew of and there was a simple way to find him - through his family. Speaking of family, his mind drifted to Claire whom he'd left at the hotel. He wondered how long s
The training ground was filled with different soldiers. Some of them looked worn out and dusty. The air was thick with perspiration and Bryan could smell the men as he walked by. "I think Davis should be in the captain's quarters," Benjamin said and at the same time, a man that was dressed in a brown shirt and a pair of murky green shorts ran to them. "You aren't allowed to loiter in the waiting area, get to your base at once, or resume training!" he snapped. Bryan had a soft smile on his face as he looked at the man. He was clearly the leader of his gang or something close to that. He turned to look at Ben and both men shared an unspoken joke. "You shouldn't be bothered about us," Bryan replied with a smirk. The man seemed pissed that Bryan was trying to make fun of him when he was trying to get him to act in order. He pulled out a whip and showed it to Bryan. "It's time you run back home, we don't reward disobedience here!" He snapped aggressively. But Benjamin was right
Davis walked into his office. It was a nice place with the couch facing the open field behind a shield of clear glass. To his left was a small fireplace and a bookshelf nestled right beside it.Before the door stood a small stand of awards, right there hung all the medals that the man had won in his lifetime and it was a lot. From trophies to medallions to everything shiny stood on the stand and a picture of him with the rest of the team was proudly hung on the wall. With a soft and melancholic smile, Bryan moved to the picture on the wall and ran the tip of his fingers through it. It was a picture from their first week in the army. The generals had been sweaty and tired while Davis pushed them on. He didn't have any mercy in the young soldiers because he wanted them to come out the best in the squad that season - and they did. After many months of intense training and sleepless nights at the camp, they finally were picked to join the team that would be sent out for the mission. Dav
"The seal of the emperor?" Benjamin asked, his eyes wide. Davis nodded, palmed his face, and then slouched on his armchair. He too had been struggling to make sense of the fact that the emperor himself would get involved in Bryan's issue. It didn't seem fitting, especially since Bryan was yet to become warlord and that meant that the emperor even had no business reaching him personally. "Are you very sure about this?" Bryan asked, it was very unlikely that the emperor would reach him through anyone. But mostly not through an unknown message. That was meant for secretive missions that came from the emperor's cabinet. All that it needed was the stamp of the emperor which meant a seal and with that seal, whatever was promised in such a letter would be done without any questions. "You know I would never mistake a thing like that. Benjamin might be an insulting and rude brat but he did get one thing right," Davis said, looking at the younger man with a stern look, "I will follow orders t
Bryan walked out of the office, a little lighter than when he'd arrived. Davis had told him all that he knew and it all made sense. As he stepped outside and looked at the camp, he had to admit that Davis was really strong and he was doing the job that he was made for. "All your soldiers adore you, they respect and worship the ground that you walk on," Bryan said with a soft smile. Davis looked at the field with open admiration too. "Yeah, at risk of being immodest, I can admit that I've been doing a great job myself," he agreed and chuckled. Benjamin was still brooding behind, he didn't want to speak with the Captain anymore. After the arguments that they'd had and all the disagreement, he was beginning to feel like he couldn't stand his presence anymore. He still blamed him for what had happened. "Should we get out of here, master?" He asked Bryan who was still speaking with David casually. "Yeah, we'll be leaving soon," Bryan replied. But Davis turned to look at him oddly, "Yo
Pacing at the entrance of the hotel, Bryan couldn't help the anger that overcame him. He'd been ringing her phone up for a long time and she didn't pick up. "Take your call, Claire, take your call!" He hissed as he continued to call her up. The driver by his side looked like a fish out of water. He couldn't just imagine what he'd gotten himself into. He was only told to be available and drop Claire off when she needed it, not to protect her. But how could he tell him that when he was so furious? "I'm sure we will find her," the driver said. Bryan gave him an angry look and didn't stop for a second as he continued to pace the grounds of the lobby. The door had been shut, the entire place was at a standstill. "Where are the guards?! What are they doing about this?" Bryan asked angrily. "One of the men who was still typing away on the computer had to quickly respond that he was going to do everything to make sure that they found her. "I'm trying my best, Master Bryan, we have contac
Bryan picked up the phone. He saw that her ID was still on his screen. Could it be that his wife was really calling? Picking up the phone eagerly, he placed it on his left ear, "Hello, Claire?" He called out. There was static noise for a few minutes and then a masculine voice same over the receiver's end, "Hello," it said. Bryan was so shocked that he didn't speak for her next few seconds. "Claire?" He asked and the masculine voice asked who he was. Shortly, the line died again. "Did anyone else hear that?" Bryan asked and looked about the room, hoping that some of the men who were hovering around him must have picked something up. But one night they shook their heads, "We couldn't hear anything, the receiver's volume was really low," one of them replied. Bryan decided to call back again. "I want to place this call on record, I think someone is with her phone," he said and changed the setting to auto record before dialing her number again. But when the call was answered this time
The next day, it was barely noon and Bryan had already gone to the police stations to file for a missing person. He didn't know when to stop. The first station that he went to was out of the city and the other two he did out of panic. None of them had anything valuable to say to him. One of the officers had even asked if they had a fight or if he had cheated on her. "That's one of the common reasons wives run from their husbands," he shrugged. Bryan was pissed but the man was just doing his job and frankly, he'd seen a lot of bad things in his years of working. Dropping her photograph and the last location she was in, he quietly left the place, still boiling with rage. After being on a brief call with Benjamin who assured him that everyone was working on it as they spoke. He had sent out his best men to look over the entire place and make sure there was nothing left unnoticed. Bryan sat in a large chair in the suite that she had been staying in. He was still at the safe house that
When he arrived at Freda's house, he could hear raised voices from inside. He stormed in to find Claire and Freda in a heated argument."Get out of here, Bryan," Freda snapped. "This is between me and my daughter."Bryan stood his ground. "I know everything, Freda. There's no need to hide it anymore."Claire turned to him, eyes wide with shock and fear. "Bryan, please don't bring it up. If Grandfather Maxwell finds out what I've done..."Bryan took a deep breath, his resolve strengthening. "I'll confront the situation, Claire."Freda laughed derisively, her voice dripping with contempt. "You think you can convince Maxwell to forgive her? She’ll always be under my control."Bryan's eyes blazed with determination. "We'll see about that at the family gathering this weekend."Freda's expression turned from contempt to anger. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Bryan. Claire made her choices, and now she has to live with them."Bryan stepped closer, his voice low and fierce. "She m
That night, Bryan woke up with a jerk. The cold sweat on his forehead same as the ice creeping down his spine. He had just had the weirdest dream. Or was it a dream? He couldn't tell. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, feeling the cool wooden floor beneath his feet. He needed water, something to qunwch his dry throat that felt like parchment paper. Yawning, he padded softly with bare feet to the kitchen, he moved through the darkened hallway, the silence of the night making his soft footfalls resound. The house was as dark as his thoughts. Speaking of thoughts, Bryan hadn't been able to keep his mind blank since the incident with Jenkins. Neither had he been able to wrap his head around all that the old man had told him. But somehow it made perfect sense. The odd stares, the way his aunt hated him but somehow loved his brother, it all made sense somehow. As he reached the kitchen, he flipped on the light and blinked against the sudden brightness. He headed for the cabinet
Bryan drove like the devil was on his tail, arriving at the classic bar Jenkins had picked out for their meeting. It was a beautiful garden bar just outside of town. As Bryan killed the engine, he pulled on his coat and baseball cap, trying his best at disguise before stepping into the place.**The garden bar was indeed a fitting spot for Jenkins, considering his love for flowers. Just as Bryan looked to the left, he saw the old man's hand guiding him to a corner table. Bryan walked over and shook his head in disbelief."I was hoping you only sounded different, but you look different too," Bryan said.Jenkins was dressed in a thick fur coat and a hat. He nursed a cup of coffee with his gloved hands."Sit down, boy. I have to be quick," Jenkins said.Bryan noticed that gone was Jenkins' stammering and broken words. He spoke fluently now, almost as if nothing had ever been wrong with him. Bryan sat down, looking at him curiously."You're running out of time. Your brother and uncle have
Bryan staggered back a little, struggling to process the jarring change in Jenkins’ voice. The old man he had known was frail, his voice barely rising above a whisper. Yet, the voice on the phone now was strong and assertive, unrecognizable as Jenkins'. He glanced around, half-expecting to see the old man materialize in front of him, but there was nothing—just the lingering sound of his own breathing and the hum of the city around him."Jenkins?" Bryan asked again, his voice edged with uncertainty. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t speaking to someone else, someone who had somehow gotten hold of Jenkins’ phone. His skepticism was palpable, though he hoped it wasn’t the case.“It’s me, Bryan. You said I should call you right? You did give me your card,” the voice on the line said. Bryan could almost hear the confidence emanating from the speaker. It was a tone of authority that starkly contrasted with the frailty he had grown accustomed to.“You sound different,” Bryan said, his laugh com
After a few minutes of driving through the busy streets of the city, he went easy on the brakes as he turned to the quiet suburban area. Peterson was always one for his space and privacy and perhaps one could say that he was the most secretive member of the team. When he arrived at Peterson's place, he met with his son, Chad just as he rang the doorbell and the maid allowed him in. “Hey, boy." Bryan said as he stepped into the house. Chad looked at him oddly and then for a second, recognition flashed in his eyes and he stepped aside. “Mr Bryan," he said with a thin voice. Bryan gave him a slight nod and moved into the living room, taking the plush seat that he was offered. “We weren't expecting such an important guest," Chad said with a smile that was obviously as fake as the Picasso painting on the wall. “I never planned to pay the visit either,” Bryan replied. Chad was eager to show him around and also asked to serve him breakfast and a cup of coffee. But Bryan was already gett
Bryan quickly tried to regain composure from the information that had just shaken him. If someone else was the supreme warlord, then it meant that the council had convened to terminate his own title and somehow found someone else worthy of such ordination. "Last time I checked, there was no one who could even compete with me. No one was worth being the supreme master, talk more of the supreme warlord. Had they suddenly dropped their standard?" He asked out loud but to no one in particular.He couldn't believe it. He was the best, the greatest, the supreme. No one could match his skills, his strategy, his leadership. He was the one who had been chosen, who had been destined for greatness.Who could even replace him? Who was worthy of such a title, the supreme warlord? Bryan snickered, wondering who could even stand behind him, he was second to none. There was no one he could think of that was even half the man he was. All his generals needed a lesson on night and courage. They couldn't
Bryan was already seething with hot wrath. How could his general even think that he'd want to hear about any territory and political bullshit when all he was trying to do was aimed at giving his life meaning? For a second, he felt stupid for even picking the call in the first place. It didn't make any sense to talk about the territory when his mind kept playing back to Uncle William's words and that of Josiah. “Hello, are you there?" Ben's voice came through the speaker, dragging him from his intense thoughts. “Stop!" He snapped suddenly, without any warning. “I've had enough of this bullshit!" He said with a fierce look. "Come up, what are you talking about!” Ben asked as his voice rose. Bryan told him that he had no interest in talking politics. He was sick and tired or running in circles. “What I need right now is a fucking compass! I need someone, something, anything, to take me to where my past is. I want to know what I am, who I am, what went wrong,” he bit out, "Not some pol
The next day, Benjamin called Bryan as early as daybreak. Bryan was still sleepy when he heard his phone ring and he rolled out of bed to grab it. "Hey, Ben, you're waking me up rather early, what's up?" He asked, his voice groggy with sleep.Benjamin first apologized for calling him up so early and asked how his previous day had gone. Bryan sighed, wondering how he could possibly recount his day to his friend. It was one hell of a year and it left him sour. "That's a long story, Ben. I don't think I want to talk about it," he replied, rubbing his eyes.Ben laughed and told him that he knew he'd gone home and he could guess that it wasn't such an easy day since his brother wasn't the most friendly person. Bryan scoffed, calling his brother unfriendly and was just trying to coat it up. Josiah was outrightly harsh, he was everything that someone would never want his own brother to do. "That's falling far from the mark," Bryan said, his voice laced with sarcasm.Ben sighed, telling him he
Jenkins laughed again, the sound a little too shrill and mechanical. "You can't choose your family, Bryan. They're stuck with you, no matter what."Bryan's eyes narrowed, his patience wearing thin. "I don't want to talk about my family, Jenkins. Can you let it go?!” He asked with a harsh tone. But for a second, he couldn't help feeling pity for him. Once again, he was clearly not mentally well and it showed. "Have you been taking your medications?" He asked with a low tone, his worry evident.Jenkins scratched his head, his eyes clouding over. "Yeah, they said life can't be the same again. I guess this is what they mean. Everyone thinks I'm insane," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.Bryan's eyes bulged, he couldn't believe that he'd just made the man feel bad. "I didn't mean that at all, I was just trying to make sure that you're fine," he said, his voice softening.The old man smiled and waved him off. "Yeah, you don't have to say it, I can see it in your eyes," he replied,