They’d traveled several hours out of the city and to the seventh floor of a large office building in the middle of a small suburb. There were a few people coming and going in and out but it wasn’t busy. They recognized Irma, Sirius, and Betty. But Lily and Dick were new faces and even then they were greeted warmly. They were all warriors. Where ever this was, it was some kind of hub for them.
Though there wasn’t any fanfare for the reason that they arrived. They were just escorted up to the third floor which barring a secretary was empty. They were asked to turn over their phones which they begrudgingly agreed to. Samantha was waiting for them there but before they could catch up, Irma stopped and faced Betty, “Betty the commander is almost here. She has requested that you meet her first.”
“Of course,” she shook her head and sighed. “I’m not going to hear the end of this.”
Betty stayed in the elevator and took it back down leaving her three warriors behind.
Irma led them down a hallway into an empty conference room. “I’ll be back. Please don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone.”
That left the three of them with Sirius who was ignoring them aggressively. The room was relatively small, the table taking up the majority of it and then another set of chairs near the corner. There was a large window against the far wall with the blinds up and letting in the sun.
Samantha looked at Dick and they shared an awkward greeting, half way between a smile and frown. “How’re you holding up?” she finally asked.
“No se,” he said looking out the nearby window and seeing the empty space out there. “It’s loco right? Like my brother couldn’t have done what they’re suggesting. It has to be some other wraith.”
“I don’t know,” Samantha said breaking eye contact but Dick stared at her baffled.
“Que?”
“I mean what I said Dick. Irma’s Geist doesn’t lie. If Lyra saw your brother in that situation then there may be some truth to that.”
Dick looked like she’d slapped him and moved back slowly to sit at the table. Samantha shook her head going to sit at the opposite side of the table and neither spoke. Lily sat awkwardly between them. Irma came back in a few minutes with a tray.
There were some pastries and a carafe of water along with glasses in case any of them wanted. She sat opposite all of them and folded her hands. “Eat or drink something. You’re not prisoners here. We just want to ask you questions about the situation.”
“You’ve got the wrong guy,” Dick said almost instantly and turned to face Irma. “Wraiths can shape shift or create funky illusions or anything like that. It could have been anything like that.”
“But why would it decide to wear your brother’s face?” she asked. “Are you saying he had that many enemies?”
“No se,” he leaned back in the chair and again was confronted with the fact that he didn’t know that much about his brother between him coming back to life and meeting him again. He didn’t know what he got into, how he found the wraiths or anything. As far as he knew he could have been a serial killer.
“Right, you don’t know,” Sirius said and came to stand beside Irma. “Meanwhile we have evidence damning your brother. Hard.”
“You have what that warrior claimed happened,” he said sharply.
Lily raised her hand to stop her friend, “You’ve spoken about this event with confidence. I take it you have some sort of visual proof more than just the warrior’s word.”
Irma nodded and smiled, “Indeed. Betty did say that you were quick.” She raised her hand and she concentrated for a moment. It appeared quickly as if it was digitally created and the tablet that she was using prior fell into her palm.
“This is my geist. Aside from typical functions it has a tracking tool. When a wraith attacks or reveals itself they emit a certain signature and my geist can both track and narrow down where they are to the city. That’s how we always know where to send our warriors. But I can also do things like this,” she tapped the tablet quickly and then turned it around.
The screen blurred slightly and then the trio found themselves looking at the room except from slightly to the right. They all looked and the only thing there was a window and there was nothing floating out there. Lily looked back first and gasped. She was staring at them through the tablet and as they moved so did they on the tablet.
“How are you doing that?” Lily asked leaning forward.
“My geist can also sync with that geist of other warriors. Upon doing that I can display their point of view like now or with more effort their memories. They’re then stored in the database for review either to their benefit in training or situations like this.”
She tapped on the tablet and the footage changed and grainy images appeared. It was in the middle of a park and there was a man in front of them now. She zoomed in and though the quality was bad there was no mistaking Dick’s face. They could just barely make out words and shouting.
Irma narrated the footage as it went, certain spots flickering and the sound tearing as she went, “Warrior Lyra was able to provide us with her memories of that night. We know for certain that a wraith resembling you, wielding a whip, stood over warrior Janet potentially to devour her. Lyra engaged it to protect her partner but suffered injuries of her own. The wraith fled at the sound of more reinforcements.
“Unfortunately, the quality of this video continues to degrade and Lyra is recovering so she’s not able to restore it,” Irma set the tablet down and stared at the three of them. “But as you can see the situation is quite difficult. As Janet is still comatose we won’t know exactly what happened but regardless it must be addressed that you all knew of his existence.”
She leaned forward on her elbows and stared at the trio. Samantha had her face blank not giving much away but Dick was obviously distressed and even Lily looked ill at what she watched. The footage may not have been clear but the three of them all knew what Rey was capable of.
Sirius spoke up from his corner of the room, “Before you deny his existence again, we questioned the two warriors you brought in last year. It took some time but they eventually told us about him. Limited information but we still learned more from them then we did from you all.”
Irma nodded in his direction. “It’s true. We have rudimentary understanding of him but that’s more than we had a week ago. So now is your chance to help fill in the blanks. We know your brother exist and we know he’s a hybrid. Do you know where he is now?”
“No, we don’t,” Lily said softly giving her friend a breather. “And if we did what would you do?”
“He is certainly a unique case,” Irma said shaking her head. “We know nothing about him or what he’s capable of. Yes, we would have attempted to run tests and learn more and more about him and his kind. If this was replicable or if this was a one time fluke. He opens up many opportunities that the Legion didn’t think was possible. Help us learn more about the wraiths and what makes them. How a geist develops and more. It opens up so many questions and maybe even answers question’s we’ve been asking for years.”
“So, he’d be a prisoner here?” Dick said leaning forward. “He’d be a prisionero and paraded around like a guinee pig.”
The door opened and everyone turned as first Betty walked in and then another woman entered. She had short white hair, a creased and deeply lined face and dark glasses resting on her nose. She wore a business suit and pants, her arms at her side. “What would you do in our position?” she asked looking at Dick.
“Quien eres?”
“Never mind that Richard Rhodes. Answer the question. A hybrid of a wraith and geist warrior suddenly exists and all that you know is that it devours humans like wraiths and has recently attacked two of our warriors nearly killing one of them. What course of action would you take?”
Dick stood up and his mouth open but he thought about what she said. He really thought about it and realized he didn’t have an answer. Or rather he knew the answer but he didn’t want to say it. So Samantha said it for him.
She stood up slowly looking at the table and then looked at the commander. “We would find the hybrid in question and eliminate the threat,” she glanced at Dick and frowned. “By whatever means necessary.”
“Excellent answer Captain Samantha,” she said glancing her way then focusing on Dick. “First and foremost, we protect the public from the dangers that are the wraiths. That is your duty as a Geist Warrior. And if that danger happens to your brother then it is your duty to deal with him.”
Dick glared at the table not able to say anything more so he just let his head hang down. Irma turned to face the new woman and lowered her head. “Commander Lin. The scan has just been completed and we are able to guess at the location of where the hybrid is located.”
“Excellent. Warrior Sirius. Captain Samantha. You two are tasked with locating and apprehending the hybrid.”
Sirius scoffed at the edge of the table, “I don’t need her help.”
“It’s not about getting her help. She will better make the judgement call on the situation. But I expect you both to work together and to succeed.”
“Yes commander,” Sirius said lowering his head.
Samantha nodded quickly as well, “Yes commander.”
Both warriors moved to leave and Dick grabbed her hand before she went too far and she looked at him. Dick’s eyes were almost pleading and she looked down but nodded and squeezed it. Letting go finally the pair passed them and left to the elevator. They stood side by side at the door and Sirius scowled.
“You better stay focused on the mission at hand. Doesn’t matter that that things your boyfriends twin. He’s an enemy and we’re wraiths.”
Samantha glanced at him as the elevator arrived and she shook her head. “Don’t lecture your superiors Sirius. I know my duty.”
“We’ll find out.”
But as the elevator doors closed she sent a text to her boyfriend.
Samantha: I’ll do what I can.
Dick: Thanks Samantha
The Harlequin Library 