Rania's POV
Rania awoke with a start, her body aching from a restless night. The unfamiliar surroundings of her new apartment in Kali had made it difficult to find any comfort. She rubbed her eyes and groaned, feeling the weight of another sleepless night. Throwing back the covers, she forced herself to get up and begin her morning routine.
After a quick but intense workout to clear her mind, Rania showered and dressed. She made herself a light breakfast, her thoughts racing with the tasks ahead. The change in environment had left her feeling destabilized, but she couldn't afford to let that affect her work. With a deep breath, she finished her meal and prepared to head out to the coalition office.
Upon arrival at the coalition office, Rania made her way to Major Lamia's office. On getting there, she knocked on his door to which he responded, "Come in." "Good morning, sir." He greeted her with a nod.
"Rania, I've arranged the meeting with Scholar Richtre of Elysian Sanctum," he said, not wasting any time with pleasantries. "She's incredibly busy, so the earliest we can see her is in two months."
Rania sighed but managed a smile while settling down in a chair opposite the unsmiling major. "Thank you for your efforts, Major. It's more than I could have hoped for given her schedule."
"How are you adjusting to your new apartment?" Major Lamia asked, his tone softening slightly.
"Badly," Rania admitted. "It's been a tough adjustment, but I'll manage."
The Major gave her a sympathetic look before shifting back to business. "Let's discuss our current investigations."
Rania's frustration bubbled to the surface. "I feel like we're stuck, Major. We're not getting any new information, and the investigation isn't moving forward. That Isaac Bernarui seems like a ghost. I think we might have to chase new leads. To make matters worse, the agency seems to have stopped their activities—no reports of people going missing in the past week. The information that we have about them is too little."
As she spoke, Rania couldn't shake the feeling that it had been too long since she last saw the vampire. She had not seen him since their last meeting a week ago. Perhaps she needed to arrange another meeting with him to see if he had any new information.
Their discussion was interrupted when Zola burst into the office, his face flushed with urgency. "We have a situation," she announced.
Rania and Major Lamia followed Zola downstairs to the common room, where a vampyre agent, a cocky agent called Thomas, was holding a human captive.
The human boy was being choked by Thomas, who looked like he was going to kill him any moment. "Any more and you will kill the boy. Last time I checked, that was illegal, Agent Thomas," Major Lamia said. Agent Thomas released the boy, and he dropped to the floor with a plop.
"The human was found trying to start an uprising. He should be killed immediately. I'm the only one that seems to be doing my job around here," Thomas said, looking at the other agents watching on.
Rania stepped forward, her voice firm. "This human deserves a trial. No one deserves to die on an accusation that has not been proven true." Zola, standing beside her, interjected, "It would be an entirely different conversation if it was a vampyre."
"No," Agent Thomas replied coldly. "According to directives from the Regnum, we are to kill any human found inciting an uprising."
"What evidence do you have that he started an uprising?" Rania demanded.
Thomas sneered. "He was caught going door-to-door, telling people to join some sort of freedom movement for humans. Promising them food, riches, and freedom."
Rania's anger flared at the lack of substantial evidence. "How dare you? You're trying to kill him without evidence," she said as she reached for her whip. "We need to find out more information, interrogate the boy if an uprising is true. You don't kill the first piece of the puzzle; extract information from him," Major Lamia said as he pulled Rania and Zola away from the situation.
Back in the Major's office, Major Lamia expressed his displeasure. "I'm very disappointed in you, Rania. You're usually always calm, but that was terrible conduct on your part. This case could cause division within the coalition. Be very careful. The vampire agents already dislike human agents, and if you continue to defend arrested humans, you might be accused of being part of the uprising. Don't give them an excuse to throw you out."
Rania responded, "I apologize for my misconduct, sir. But this is what I was afraid of when that order from the Regnum came—humans being killed without conviction."
"I understand your concerns, but you're smarter than that. Just look at the current political landscape. Anyways, I need the both of you to gather intel on the so-called uprisings as soon as possible."
Rania and Zola nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. They set out to the Rouge to meet their informant, Claudia.
Upon arrival at the Rouge, Claudia, who always seemed calm, looked to be in a hurry as she wasted no time, not even to flirt with Zola, which she always did. Rania immediately knew that the situation was grave. Claudia knew things that would happen in Bratovi before they did. If she was anxious, there was a big problem.
"I was about to send for you. There's serious trouble in Bratovi."
Rania and Zola listened intently as Claudia explained the situation. "For the past three days, news of the human freedom movement has spread through the Rouge. They're encouraging humans to join, promising money, food, and education for their children. Anyways, it didn't just start. They call themselves the Human Freedom Movement, and the first members were reportedly taken to Medellin. The problem is that their families never heard from them again. I heard that the newer recruits have to swear an oath during a big ceremony that involves some sort of blood ritual. I heard about a boy who tried to leave and died because he broke his oath. Here's the interesting part though—the more members they bring in, the more money they earn."
Rania processed the information, and the more she absorbed, the more terrified she became. If there were rituals involved, the Tenebrae Maleficae would most definitely be involved. Perhaps, the reason why the traffickers had been silent was because they'd turned to the freedom movement. She desperately hoped that it wasn't true. But it would explain the boy arrested earlier going door to door. He was probably a new recruit trying to earn money by bringing in more members.
Zola, however, raised a question. "Why are they being paid for bringing more people in? What are their objectives really, and why the blood rituals?"
Claudia looked at him pointedly while saying, "You're the agents. That's for you to figure out."
Rania and Zola asked Claudia to gather information on some of the recruiters, and she agreed. They returned to the coalition office to report their findings to Major Lamia.
Major Lamia looked grim as they finished their report. "I have some bad news. The boy arrested earlier had his head explode when we tried to extract information."
Rania's eyes widened in shock. "That's what happened when we tried to investigate the traffickers," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm afraid the human trafficking agency has begun recruiting people in the name of the Human Freedom Movement. There's fire on the mountain. Major, I need permission to travel to Medellin in the coming days."
Major Lamia responded, "Why? Every agent in the coalition has been put on the uprising."
"I have an important lead to chase in Medellin."
The major sighed and said, "I'm doing this because I trust you. You can go."
"While someone's on vacation," he said, looking pointedly at Rania, who rolled her eyes in response, "I'll join the Human Freedom Movement to go undercover and learn more about the agency. Whatever you learn in Medellin, communicate intel."
"That's good, we have directions. I wish you good luck, agents. You'll need it."
As Rania departed the coalition office, she pressed the red button on her bracelet, summoning the vampire. She headed to their meeting point, her mind racing with the new developments and the urgent need for information.