Two days, Claudia thought, it's already been two days since she and William fought those Royal Elites. She had been watching every news channel for any mention of that night. So far, there has been nothing, not even a hint of a mention. What could that entail? What could it mean? Her worries turned to fear, and the questions flooding in her mind made it worse. How had the Royals learned of her meeting with the Guardian? Why has INC not mentioned the incident in the news? What happens once all of New Miami learns of William's ability? What will the Lord Ruler do once he learns that there's someone in the city who can potentially challenge his power? How can she protect her brother from the ensuing chaos? What can she even do?
Claudia shook her head. Too many question and not enough answers. She was getting nowhere by just asking herselves those questions over and over again.
"If you keep pacing like that, you'll make me nervous boss lady."
Claudia stopped, not realizing she had been pacing. She's been so lost in thought that she had forgotten where she was. The person who had spoken was Klaus, a member of her Spectre team.
Everyone else in the room looked at her. Hendrick, one of Spectre's leaders, shot her a glare. He had been explaining the operation to a Chinese ambassador and was interrupted. Hendrick did not like interruption.
The meeting was taking place inside one of Spectre's main bases, the one located in Hialeah district. The room they were in was located underground, below a liquor store that served as a front. A large computer screen rested on one of the walls, depicting Imperium's blueprints as predicted by Jake and Maya, Claudia's computer experts. Jake himself sat beside the computer, while Maya leaned on his chair. They both looked concerned.
"Claudia, Everything alright?" Hendrick said, though his tone was indifferent.
Like Claudia, Hendrick was one Spectre's leaders. While Claudia was in change of Hialeah district, Hendrick was in charge of High Tier. But it was her team who had put together the operation months ago.
Claudia nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Was just distracted is all. Too much on my mind right now. Continue."
Hendrick looked at her, but said nothing. He then turned to the short man standing next to him, an ambassador for China, and apologized for the interruption.
"Just tell me of this plan of yours." Ambassador Jiang Liu said. Jiang's aid in the operation was vital - and he thus Spectre had contacted him to make a deal; His serum in exchanged for whatever information Spectre could obtain about the dome during the operation.
Hendrick nodded and turned his attention to the large computer screen on the wall, telling Jake to bring up the operation's files. A series of files with information on known high ranking Royals were displayed on the screen, along with an rough estimation of Imperium's blueprints, as provided by Klaus, who had a job inside. Everyone in the room except the ambassador and Claudia's brother, William, had already gone over the plan a dozen times. Hendrick was just going over it again for Jiang Liu, who wanted to hear of the operation before offering his aid.
"We call it Operation Overthrow," Hendrick continued, directing Jake to change screens when needed. "Unoriginal yet self explanatory. Simple to remember. Anyways, Operation Overthrow consist of four main phases. The fourth leading to the Lord Rulers' downfall..."
"And the disappearance of the dome." Claudia added.
After a brief silence, the ambassador spoke. "You wish to get rid of the dome?!" Jiang looked at Claudia then at Hendrick. "Why would you do such thing?"
"The dome is what gives Royals their control." Maya told him, arms crossed. She had the most to gain from the dome's disappearance, born after the dome's creation and thus never having the chance to awaken her abilities and never will. "No dome, no Royals. Things'll just go back to normal." She was what Royals like to call a Commoner.
The ambassador looked at everyone in the room one by one. Jake. Maya. Klaus, who was sitting by the table in the middle of the room along with Arlong and Narika. He looked at Claudia, then at William, who stood in silence in the back of the room arms crossed. And lastly at Hendrick. "Are you all okay with this decision? Willing to lose your abilities for good?"
Silence.
Claudia knew of the doubts amongst her team, even after telling them of her intentions from the start. At the time they had all agreed. They had all made a promise, and she had trusted that promise. Losing their abilities would be a fair price for saving their city.
"We all made a promise." She told the ambassador. "This decision was not made lightly Mr. Liu, but we all agreed. The dome has to go. It's the only way to bring about lasting change to New Miami." She looked at Hendrick and nodded. "You can continue."
"As I said before," Hendrick went on. "Operation Overthrow consist of four phases. I will focus on the main objective of each phase and send you the details through email afterwards." He then motioned Jake to open up a biography page of the Mayor of New Miami. "Phase one is the capturing and kidnapping of Beodulf Hernandez, the face and words of the Lord Ruler. Your serum, ambassador Jiang, will be key for this phase. It will allow us to chain him and lock him in a cell for interrogations.
"Phase two is to infiltrate Imperium. We'll use the Guardian of High Tier barrier ability to break through the building. The infiltration will be disguised as an attack. The Guardian will then allow himself to be captured by the Royals so as to not raise suspicion and hide our true goal. Arlongs' infiltration. His invisibility will allow him remain undetected while inside, gathering intel on Imperium's weaknesses, which he'll relay to Jake. Hopefully the Royals will be preoccupied in dealing with the capture of Beodulf to notice Arlong's snooping around their capital building.
"Phase three is a trade. We release Beodulf in exchange for the Guardian's freedom, further adding to the diversion. Klaus over there works at Imperium and will get us an audience with a Royal of importance to make the exchange. Hopefully, after phase three the Royals will write this up as another failed attempt at the Lord Ruler. Nothing out of the ordinary. Arlong will remain inside Imperium until we have gather all the intel we need for phase four. The final attack on Imperium and the downfall of the Lord Ruler. We will contact you before then, of course.
"And that's the plan in a nutshell." Hendrick looked over at the ambassador. "Questions or doubts?"
Ambassador Jiang rubbed his chin in thought. "I trust you've got everything covered? Fail-safes and such?"
Claudia stepped up. "We've been working on Operation Overthrow for almost a year now. We have gone over every possible scenario, thinking of everything that could go wrong and how to fix it. We have a back up plan of a back up plan. Ambassador Jiang, this plan will work, with the help of your serum of course."
"You sound confident enough." The short man said. "I on the other hand have my doubts, but I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is none of my concern if your operation succeeds of fails so long as I get what I ask."
Claudia nodded. "We'll give you everything we find on the dome and its secretes, you have our word."
"Then my serum is yours to use. Just one question though, this Guardian, is he among you now?"
Claudia bit her lip, memories of that encountered flashing in her head for the third time that day. The Guardian's words rang in her head. "I guess the rumors about the Time Witch were true. You do work for them. For the Royals." She had lost every bit of trust from the man that night. How was she going to get him to listen to her now?
"The Guardian will join us, you have my word." Hendrick said. "Our Time Witch will find a way to convince him to join us." He looked at Claudia. "Wont you?"
She hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. "Yes, of course."
"Very well." The ambassador didn't sound too convinced, but left it at that. Like he had said earlier, he's got nothing to lose and everything to gain. "Then I shall take my leave. I'll leave you with enough doses of the serum to last for a day. After you have this Beodulf in chains, call me and I shall give you more." With that, the man left the room through a small elevator which lead up to the liquor store.
"Well that was easy." Narika said. "I thought it was going to take more convincing but...." She shrugged.
"The man's right Claudia." Hendrick looked at her. "How WILL you get the Guardian to join us now?"
"Yeah, also I've been meaning to ask, how did those Royals find you that night?" Narika said. "I thought everyone in this room were the only ones who knew of your date with the man."
Claudia had been wondering that herself for the last two days now. She had some guesses, but no proof. "I don't know yet."
"Think maybe a spy among us?" Arlong suggested. "Hendrick, any ideas? High Tier is your territory."
Hendrick shook his head. "None of my people would dare betray Spectre. But the idea of a spy among us now, when we are mere days from the start of our operation is... Concerning."
Klaus stood up, both hands on the table. "Let's not waste our time on that now. There are other more important matters to discuss now that our guest is gone." He looked over at Claudia. "Boss lady have you contacted that number in the card. The one the Royals gave you that night?"
Claudia had not forgotten. How could she when it was all she had been thinking about since. She reached inside her pockets and pulled out the card. Wren's words from that night rang in her head; "The Lady has been looking for you for a long while now." That's what he had said and Claudia had no reason to doubt the man. Could this Lady woman know of Spectre? And if she did, how? Who was she?
"If you haven't, then I say you should give her call." Klaus suggested. "See what this Lady wants."
"I could also use my ability to pinpoint the location of the receiver phone." Jake said, and Maya nodded. "We could trace her location. Up to you." They were an inseparable duo, Jake and Maya. The best computer experts in the city when working together on any project.
"Do what you want with this Lady," Hendrick said to Claudia. "But if I were you I wouldn't trust the words of a Royal. They'll all corrupted lairs. If you're still determined to contact this Lady Royal I can't stop you, but keep in mind that the plan won't work without you. Without your ability, there is no Operation Overthrow."
Claudia knew that and it was because she knew that she didn't know what to do. She certainly didn't want to risk the operation and considering the incident with the Guardian two days ago, the risks were high. Even so, whoever this Lady is, it could be important. Maybe having a Royal on their side wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Is the meeting over?" Narika said, after a long silence. "Are we done? I'm kinda hungry."
"It is." Hendrick said, then left after reminding Claudia of the risks she already knew. Narika and Arlong followed soon after. Only Jake, Maya, Klaus, William, and Claudia herself remained in the room.
Claudia was silent, consciously stopping herself from pacing while looking at the card in her hand. The risks of contacting Lady didn't seem worth it. Did they? Words from that night echoed in her head once again. "Elek and I have orders from our Lady to go easy on you." "She want's a word." "...she needs you to be agreeable." Claudia had yet to meet a Royal who just wanted a 'word' with a non-Royal. Especially a superhero. And especially so when it was Lady who was rumored to be in change of INC. Also, why ordered her Elites to 'go easy' on Claudia and her brother?
"When you told us about that night, you mention something about one of the Royals." Klaus said. "That he said this Lady just wanted to talk? Perhaps it's true, no?"
Claudia sighed, perhaps it was true. Her indecision was getting her nowhere. Damn damn damn. She needed time alone to consider it. "I'll think about it. For now, we're done. Let's start our preparations. Phase one is less than a week from now."
"Please consider it." Klaus said. "Who knows, maybe this Lady could prove to be an ally." He left, passing William on the way to the elevator.
William had been quite the whole time. After that night, Claudia had asked him to stay her Spectre's base in Hialeah for a few days until things calmed down, but that was when she thought that the news were going to start some sort of uproar in the city. She had been wrong. The Royals were covering the incident and she didn't know why. That frustrated her.
"Hey about that Klaus guy." William said, approaching her. Though William knew of every member of Claudia's Spectre team, Klaus joined the organization after William left. They met yesterday for the first time.
"What of him?" Claudia said.
"How long has he been in Spectre?"
"He joined us about five months ago." Jake said.
William picked up a pen from the table and held it out in front of him. "You told me he didn't have an ability, right?"
Claudia nodded. "That's what he told us when he joined, yes."
"Then explain this." The pen in William's hand - no it wasn't a pen anymore, when had it changed? What he held now was a tennis ball.
"What, how? When?" Jake said.
Claudia was just as surprised.
"Did you tell him about my ability?" William said. The tennis ball in his hand wasn't a ball anymore, it was now a cup. The changes were clearly happening, yet Claudia couldn't tell when. Its like one moment it was one thing, then in another is was something else, with no rhyme or reason.
"No, and don't plan to." Claudia said, reaching to take the cup and inspect it. It looked very much like an ordinary item. "Only ones who know of your ability are in this room. You know this."
"And our lips are sealed." Jake and Maya added.
"Good to know. Anyways, this Klaus guy does have an ability." William handed over the cup to Claudia. "It can change any object into another object."
"When did you figure it out." Claudia said, inspecting the cup. It didn't feel, or looked like it was made of Aura, like Orion's conjured objects which glowed with a golden hue.
"He activated it right before he left. I copied it." William said, the cup in Claudia's hand was now back to being a pen. She didn't feel the change. It felt natural going from holding a cup to now holding a pen. "And now it seems he's out of my range."
"You think he's the spy?" Jake said.
William nodded. "He already lied about having an ability to you when he had no reason to. And let me guess, he also knew of our meeting with the Guardian?"
Claudia's eyes widened in realization and horror. "Not only that... William he... He was the one who found the lead that got Zale captured." No, it couldn't be. She recruited Klaus herself and the man showed no sign of deception then. He sounded genuine when he had said he wanted to end Royal brutality in the city. He couldn't have lied then too. Could he?
"Then let's get the mutherfucker right now. Let's beat the shit out of him until he spills everything he knows." William's anger was understandable. He hated Royals with a passion, for the way they treated him and others, and now that he suspected Klaus for what had happened to Zale...
Claudia shook her head. "No."
"No?"
"We'll do nothing." Claudia said, putting the pen away. It took effort to hide and maintain her angry in check, but the consequences of Operation Overthrow failing was much worse than the consequences of confronting Klaus and risking that failure.
William slammed the table. "That motherfucker needs to pay!"
"I agree, but we also need him for Operation Overthrow. He has a role to play. If we confront him now it could put the plan in jeopardy and we can't have that." She took a breath. "Listen, I will handle Klaus when the time is right and I'll do it my way." She looked at Jake and Maya. "Everyone okay with that?"
The duo looked at each other then nodded in unison. "Yes ma'am!"
Claudia turned back to her brother. "You on the other hand need to get back to Lowtown."
"Why? Am I not safer here, like you said?"
Claudia shook her head. "We still don't know why news about that night hasn't been shown on TV and until we do, the best thing you can do right now is go back and return to your normal life."
"Claudia, you can't expect me to-"
"William!" She snapped. "The Royals already know of your existence, it wont be long before everything goes to shit. So let's not speed up the process, okay? Once the operation gets underway, Spectre will become a target. The safest place you can be at when that happens will be Lowtown. I will keep you posted every few days and call if we need you. Please."
William looked like he was about to yell back, but ultimately exhaled and nodded. "Fine. Just promise me that if anything happens, you'll call."
"I promise. Now let's get you back to Lowtown."
***
Claudia found herself pacing again later that night, though this time she did it in her private room located in Spectre's base. She held Lady's card in one hand and her cellphone on the other, debating the decision in her head. To call or not to call. She had also considered Jake's offer to trace the call, but she figured it would make things worse if Lady figures it out, ruining any attempt at building trust.
She made her decision after much consideration, figuring she was going to call anyways and delaying it might make it too late. She dialed the number and put the phone on her ear. She waited, continuing her pacing until... Click.
"Hello?"
The voice that answered was altered, it sounded robotic. "Time Witch, you've finally decided to call. I am glad."
Claudia took a moment, pushing her doubts away. It was too late for them now. "Am I speaking to the one called Lady?" Before a response was given, she rushed to the her next question. "What do you want?"
"I want what you want."
"What do you mean? You don't know what I want."
"Is it not to overthrow the Lord Ruler and destroy the dome?"
How did she know? Claudia's worries resurfaced. William was right then? Klaus was a Royal spy. Damn. "How do you know this?"
Silence.
Then the voice returned. "I want to help you."
"Help me? A Royal wants to aid in the destruction of the dome?" Claudia laughed. "The same dome that made you Royals. Pardon me if I don't believe you, Lady. Still, I assume you know about Spectre's Overpation Overthrow? Did Klaus tell you?"
There was a long silence before the next response. "Yes. Klaus is one of mines."
Claudia's breath caught. Why admit this? It didn't make sense. "Why tell me?"
"Because I know he hasn't let you down yet and never will. You need him."
Couldn't argue that. Klaus was essential for phase three, since he had knowledge on how to deal with Royals and worked with them as well, which Claudia now realized, should've been a red flag. Can't do anything about that now, she thought, best to get as much from this conversation while she was ahead.
"Zale," She said through the phone. "If you really mean what you say then release Zale to me."
No response.
"Hello?" Claudia said. "You there?"
There was a beep in her phone. She looked to see she had received a video message.
"Watch it later." Lady said through the phone. "Let's finish our conversation first, I don't have much time left."
"What is this?" Claudia said.
"A message from your friend, Zale. That's all I can do for now. But please know this. I am on your side. Do nothing about Klaus and continue with your... Operation."
Damn it all. Claudia had no choice, as much as she wanted to stop the operation, she couldn't. Not now when their only chance to start it was so close. Spectre wont get another until at least next year and by then who knows what could happen now that proof of William's ability was out in the open. There was nothing to do now but hope for the best. "Can we meet in person?"
"Certainly," Lady said. "But we should delay our meeting until after Beodulf is in your hands. In the mean time, keep our conversation between us. Do we agree on this?"
Not like Claudia had much choice. "Sure. One last thing. Am I correct in assuming you know about my brother and what he can do?"
"Yes. His secret is safe with me."
"Are you responsible for INC not mentioning it in the news?"
"Correct, though I can only delay the news for a week or so." Lady said. "After that, all of New Miami will see the videos from that night, then it'll be up to you to... My time is up. I am glad we had this talk." Click.
Claudia sank into her bed. Before thinking of anything else, she opened the video message Lady had sent. It was indeed Zale. Claudia couldn't tell where he was excelty, but it wasn't hard to guess it was a room in Imperium. Still, he looked well enough, sitting in a chair wearing a black suit, much like a Royal's. Claudia played the message: "Hey C. Though I recorded this video awhile back for this specific purpose, Lady couldn't send it until she knew she could trust you. As you can see, I am okay. Thanks to her. Also in case you're wondering, yes. I lost my abilities. I was taken out of the dome and now I'm just a normal guy." He shrugged in the video. "Now I am somewhat of a prisoner here, with a VIP sort of treatment. I do hope to see you again soon. That's all for now."
The video ended with him waving. Claudia had known Zale long enough to know that he wasn't being forced to say those words. Still, where abilities were concerned, who knew. What mattered though, was that he was at least alive and well enough.
She put the phone down and sank her face in her hands. There was nothing to do now but to proceed with Operation Overthrow and hope that nothing goes wrong. She had failed twice already, first by getting Zale captured, and second by asking her brother for help. She realized she fucked up and now all she could was wait and hope that Operation Overthrow does not become her third failure. And whoever this Lady was, she held its success in her hands.