After we had grabbed the contract, we snapped to head quarters. I couldn't help but think how convenient it was he wanted us to come in person. I had a few questions for him that he was going to answer.
Upon arrival, there was a chaotic scene before us. People were rushing all over the place, phones were ringing, conversations in multiple languages were going on, it made us lean back, wide eyed. We shook off the initial shock and made our way to Thietians office. Hardly anyone spared us a glance either.
John knocked and opened the door, motioning for me to enter first. I smiled and nodded as I entered and scanned the room.
There were a few of his aides in there with him as he was signing different documents from each of them.
"Sin, John." He did a simple greeting as he looked at us coming in. "Let me finish this later, I need to go over things with them." He shooed his aides out of his office as he tossed a pen on the desk.
"Glad to see your back safe and sound John. So what was causing the rain and kidnapped you? Sorry. You know what... Answer that after I brief you on the situation."
He stands and walks to his interactive table and presses some buttons to pull up his world map.
"As you know, we suddenly saw a mass influx of heat signatures in the Southern American continent. We also had that same influx in Moldova, Brunei, and Togo areas. In fact, yesterday we lost territory from the Ivory coast to Cameroon to the Erl's forces. The Island of Borneo, Malaysia and Brunei was lost as well as Ukraine and Romania around Moldova. All from this massive wave of troops suddenly appearing and washing over the land. The neighboring countries to these have put everything they have into the defense of their borders along with the fleeing soldiers and refugees from the overtaken countries. Brazil is doing well so far holding the line, as the wave is heading your way."
He pulls a close up of our areas and continued to explain in more detail what Akiyama had told us and what they were doing farther behind us in Mexico if we had to start retreating. He explained more of the plan of what the Naval and Air forces were ready to do and would be doing when we called in support.
"Why are we not going forward and bombing these waves before hand? Take out some the numbers before they hit us?" John looks to Thietian, confused and calculating the nest second.
"We have been. You see these smaller patches of red back behind the waves movements? That's where the airstrikes have already hit. We've had fifty fighters fly over doing carpet bombings all across the wave. Each and everyone of those pilots reported that it was like dropping a cherry bomb on an ant hill, they took out a chunk but twice as many seemed to take their spots."
"How is that even possible?" Horrified, I glance up from the map and try to read Thietian's reactions.
"Most likely he has portal workers moving numbers from our realm to yours. It'd take too long for reinforcements to show up if he pulls them through the more permanent portals he created when this first started."
"So we're going to be dealing with more of the magic wielders now?" I ask bracing my mind and body for the fight to come.
"There are reports of magic wielders in the ranks of his soldiers but not strong ones. They seem to be more of the medical magic wielders than the fighting kind. Though there are those that are fighters. If only we could figure out where the portal workers are within the waves we could target them and reduce the number of reinforcements that they're bringing."
"Do we have drones on the areas surrounding the waves?" John looks at the map, zooming up on a section of the map.
"They've been deployed but keep getting taken out and so far haven't found anyone. It's like they just appear." Thietian sighs frustrated.
"Drones.... Drones!" He shouts an excited look crosses his face as he seems to have an epiphany.
"Hear me out." He raises his hand and zooms the map back out going towards the areas where the permanent portals we've located are at.
"What if they're taking a page out of our books and using drones to see where they need to send more troops? That way the portal users are able to see where they need to open the portal and never be close to the action?"
He zooms in on the portals that they were using at first, and even though the heat signatures are showing a steady stream of heat signatures. It's no where near what amasses where the waves are.
Thietian nods, pulling out his phone and calling someone quickly.
"Hello, yes. I need you to ready another airstrike... No, ....yes. Targets are going to be the sites of first infestation.... Use the guided missiles then, but get it done asap... We may be able to take out the portal makers on the waves. Good. .....Thank you."
He ends the call and turns to us, "You both need to eat and get back within a few hours. So please eat and rest a little here." He snaps us two plates of food and motions for us to sit and dig in.
We take a seat and begin to eat, the smell of the food seemed to permeate my sense and I now felt like I had not eaten in two days.
Thietian sits down with us and lets us get through the majority of our food before asking us a question.
"While you two finish what you're eating, please tell me what happened?"
As we explain what happened from John being taken and what we experienced in turns, Thietian was quiet and seemed very thoughtful on the whole thing. He barely showed any emotions on his face up until we got to the conversation about the contract he hadn't said a word.
"May I see the contract?" He asks and we hand it over. He reads it through, nodding, flipping back and forth on a few parts while he hums at others.
He stops near the end and asks us both, "Why did you not discuss this with me before making it? He could've twisted these conditions to suit his own needs."
Informing him, John glances with an annoyed look at him then to me, "Sin did try to. However, we couldn't make calls and he told us that our com devices wouldn't work there."
"He wouldn't let you discuss this with me prior to signing?" He asks as he finishes it and hands it back to us.
"No, his comments were something like, 'I think my little brother would trust your judgement', when Sin tried to say something about it. By the way... what is with your brothers constantly hitting on my wife?" John grits out through his teeth, the word wife, making me do a double take at him.
Those comments got to him more than I thought that they would or did.
Thietian takes a moment with a blank expression before his nostrils flare and he sighs.
"It's her scent, honestly. We find it different and attractive, not me personally but you understand what I'm saying. It's exotic and refined, the best way I could describe it would be..... " He chews on his lip before exclaiming, "AH! It's like an excellent whiskey and ...."
"Jasmine blossoms." I finish his statement making him start in surprise.
"Yes, jasmine. How do you know that?"
"Bavarthos told me he could smell Turk and me that night in Turkey. That Turk had the scent of blood, cedar and cypress. Then said I was sweeter like whiskey and jasmine blossoms. That was the day of the meeting with the leaders."
Something comes back to the forefront of my mind and I lean forward, one elbow on the table and lower my head to give Thietian an unmistakable disgruntled gaze. "By the way, Thietian... I know you have some explaining to do about a certain visit...."
I let that hang in the air as Thietian merely looks at me, cocking his head to the side, and chews on the side of his lip in thought.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Sin. Certain visit? I told you everything about that day at the office." His face scrunches in confusion.
I force an obvious faked smile, "I mean the day you visited and got some of Graves. When you said we'd be having another discussion very soon..."
He furrows his brow in confusion at me and I huff in disbelief.
"AT TEMPLES WHEN YOU ORDERED THE CASE OF GRAVES. WHEN YOU TOLD ME YOU BROUGHT JOHN BACK!"
Thietian really looks confused before something crosses his face, "Sin.... I hate to tell you this.... but that wasn't me. Not the first time, at least. The second meeting we had, it was only because Bavarthos told me to meet with you to discuss my plans and collect his order. I didn't know he changed his appearance to look more like me."
"Wait... a second... Why would you seem like you did then?!" I'm starting to get confused and angry, because what's the point of keeping that information from us?
"To keep up with his ruse he's been using for years..." A familiar voice can be heard walking up behind us.
I turn and give an intense, glare and narrow my eyes at him.
"What are you doing here?"