Katie stood with Sandra behind the Director as he made a speech addressing the rest of the hunters in the vicinity. Every professional hunter along with their mentees had been summoned to the Agency for an announcement that was meant to drive the entire day's activities. Sandra was diligently waiting for her mentor at the gates of the facility when Katie arrived along with a few other diligent junior hunters, "You guys make us look lazy," Katie whispered to her friend.
Sandra chuckled, "Wasn't a good look for the person who is supposed to be the head of security at the Festival."
Katie groaned remembering what delayed her, "I had a bit of a…" her hand rapidly flew to her belly. There was nothing to be felt there, "a bit of a stomach problem."
"Are you fine? Did you eat something?" Sandra asked her, concern in her voice.
"You have no idea. Something doesn't cover how much I ate. We'll talk about it later when we're on guard duty at the school," she assured her friend. 'I just hope I don't get hungry soon,' she thought.
"We all know what day this is. Today is the Founder's festival and all hunters along with junior hunters are to adhere to the instructions that are given to them. The entire force of hunters has been divided into groups and given different tasks in order to achieve airtight security. All this information has been pinned on the request board or quest board as most of you like to call it," he said before dismissing the lot of them. They easily numbered a hundred which was a lot for a remote town. Most of them were out of shape from the period of shape compared to the Director as expected from hunters that lived in a place that rarely got attacked.
Once everyone was gone, a move that was done faster than Katie expected, Anthony turned to her, "You're late, I had to improvise. Now come to the conference room quick," he said quickly walking past her. 'I might have gotten carried away with the eating at home,' Katie thought, even though her stomach said the opposite.
"What stomach trouble are you talking about?" Sandra asked her while they followed the Director swiftly.
"I thought I'd said we'll talk about it later," Katie whispered through gritted teeth.
"Yes, I know, but you keep touching it and it's making me worry. You look like you're rubbing a belly holding a… baby," she said the last part through gritted teeth and in the ear of her best friend.
Katie gasped at the revelation, "I am not… Fine, I'll tell you… Are you serious?" her friend nodded in confirmation, a look of worry etched on her face, "Ugh, fine… It's quite embarrassing. I was hungry and can't tell if I won't be any time soon."
"What are you talking about? I know you eat like a…" Katie hit her friend's shoulder to stop her from running her mouth, "Sorry, but do you mean you ate more than usual. How many times more?"
"Almost four times the usual…" Sandra covered her open mouth in shock.
"That's unreal. Your stomach should be the size of that of a pregnant lady. How are you still normal? Stop messing with me, Katie," Sandra whined.
"What are you two bickering about? Hurry up... Are you forgetting that we are running against time?" Anthony said as they came up to the Hunter's Agency's main building. He led them through the building to the conference room. All the high ranking hunters of the agency sat in the room ready for what was to be said. There were people in here that Katie had rarely seen.
"Hello, everyone, she's here. Wow, Frost and Jackeline, it's been long since I last saw you," Anthony spoke.
"We came from our posts on the highway when we heard that there was a commotion from the Chase family. The couple says they feel that something bad is going to happen," Frost, a bulky man who was known by all hunters to be aggressive in battle and very efficient. His Prometheus gift was strength, but his speed was incredible. Katie had only had the chance to spar with him once and come to respect the man who gave her a hard time with both her gifts.
"Yeah, it's good to be back. The rogue killer seems to be losing her edge," Jackeline spoke, a lady who paired with Frost on most of their missions. These two were responsible for the dwindling requests on the quest board. A dynamic duo of agility and strength, these two were unbelievable when in combat. They'd backed off the rogues that tried attacking the town only after witnessing Katie taking them down single-handedly and swiftly.
"I wouldn't say that for sure, but I have been surprised in the past days. Rogues are getting bolder," Katie replied, "It's good to see you."
With the introductions out of the way, Anthony got the meeting started. He had a disturbing announcement to make, "I've called you all here to discuss something that was reported to me in the nick of time even though it's quite troubling," Anthony said. He placed his hands on the table and sighed. The information that he had to share was disturbing and weighing him down.
"What seems to be the trouble, Anthony?" Frost asked the man, leaning back into his seat and crossing his arms.
"A reporter reached out to me and informed me that the information tarnishing the school had been withheld. After interviewing the students secretly, he discovered that none of them saw the incident of murder in the school even though some claim to have seen blood in the classroom. It was something that perturbed me to hear," he said.
"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" Jackeline cut him off before he was far into his explanation.
"The citizens of the town were shaken by what happened in the former Hunter training ground, but Katie along with the werewolves and junior hunters that were there were able to diffuse that one," he said, "No one was injured. That can be revealed without tarnishing the school's image. The information that the reporter was asking me to destroy was…"
"The news about the dead boy," Jackeline completed the statement, "What is that supposed to mean about the integrity of the Hunters? This move, if discovered could ruin the hunters' reputation. What are you thinking coming up with an idea as crazy as that?" She was standing by the time she was done talking. This was turning into a heated argument. Katie did not know whose side to choose as this decision to her was a double-edged sword.
"Just think about it. If this information gets out, there will be a mass panic. The school's position in the rankings will plummet. It's bad enough that there was a murder in the school, but the victim wasn't a human, but a werewolf. There will be consequences. Everyone knows the safety of the school was centred on the fact that the hunters enrolled there had proved more than capable of dealing with misbehaving werewolves. Rumours will spring up about the hunters having wanted to kill the werewolves in the first place," Anthony made a fine argument.
"What about the werewolves? What happens to them if they learn of this? We already know the victim was part of the Lycaon pack. It's arguably the most powerful pack in the world. Do you want to go to war with the likes of them?" Frost said.
"The Lycaon pack is closely aware of what has actually happened. We would not be hiding anything from them. This is concerning the rest of the world and not the Lycaons themselves," he countered.
"What do you plan on even saying? Anything you say to cover up the slither of rumours that have already leaked out will look like a direct insult to the Lycaon pack," she said.
"Then what's better? Think of what we are looking at here. If this information gets out, it will flush out the fact that the school was infiltrated by rogues and this won't bode well with the reputation of the school or the town. Brigadia will become a ghost town with everyone leaving. If trust breaks down in Brigadia, there will be nothing left of it. What does the Lycaon pack lose if we cover up the death of their comrade compared to what we lose if we reveal it?" Anthony had looked at both sides of the matter with the eyes of someone looking into the statistics.
"No matter how you spin this… covering up the death of an innocent girl to save the reputation of the safest school is a low blow and will have an effect on the integrity of the Hunters in Brigadia. Your judgement is starting to dull, Anthony," Jackeline fought back. The argument was heated and each side was set on imposing their ideals on the other.
"What does the defender of Brigade High School have to say about it then?" Anthony spoke up turning to Katie, who right up to this moment, had done her best to stay invisible.
"I was not… Oh, no… Can't you guys… Oh God, why did I have to be dragged into this?" Katie groaned. This was not part of the things she'd chosen to think about for the day.
"Are you okay? You keep touching your stomach and you don't seem too bothered about a discussion that has you at the centre of it. What do you have to say about it?" Jackeline asked her. Katie scratched the back of her head thinking through her words.
"In my opinion, the truth is what I would go with. Ash deserves the right funeral and we can't have that if we're covering up her death. I cannot deny that rogues infiltrated the school under my watch and I apologise for that. I checked to make sure that there was no one that was caused harm by my incompetence. My goal is simple, to kill every one of them. Covering it up or revealing it to the public is of no concern to me. As long as I achieve a world with no rogues," she explained.
The meeting was quiet after what Katie said. Frost smiled smugly in his seat as though he'd expected that from her. Jackeline visibly relaxed after hearing that and shook her head, taking her seat beside her partner, "Sometimes I forget the reason Prometheus chose us to be hunters," Frost said from his seat. The chorus of laughter went through the members that were seated. Anthony was more bewildered, just like that, he'd been put down by Katie's neutral statement.
The man gritted his teeth before letting go of his tension, "Very well then, we shall write a full report of the information in depth to avoid any misunderstandings. This will put a lot of pressure on Katie, but I think she can handle it," Anthony said.
Katie was content with that course of action. She wasn't a fan of hiding things so much, "However…" there it was, "We shall only reveal this after the Founder's Festival."
"I agree… if there is to be anything that will bring attention to Katie, she must be at her strongest. Right now, she's still without the backing of her family," Kenneth spoke up for the first time. All high ranking members of this Hunter's Agency knew about Katie's situation. Keeping secrets amongst the hunters was something that was so easy that there was no question. Being chosen by Prometheus was that much of a guarantee that someone could fulfil something as simple as that.
"Very well… I'd forgotten that I was supposed to think about that as well," Katie said, mumbling the last part out.
Anthony stood straight with a new look of determination, "I'm glad I could lean on the rest of you for advice in this decision. I might be your leader, but I am not without my faults. For that, I thank you all…"
"You know, the next time you plan on making a decision like that one, don't forget to include the pack that's to be affected. Werewolves can be nearly impossible to deal with when they are angered," Jackeline said from her seat. The meeting moved on to the rest of the arrangements that Anthony had set aside. Thankful that Frost and Jackeline were here to provide support, they were added to the hunters that were meant to guard the guests of high calibre that attended the festival.
Katie was put in charge of the rest and she got to business partitioning the force of hunters she was assigned. She'd been given reign over four of the highest-ranking hunters in the Agency, people that were ranked above her and allowed to use them as she saw fit. It was everyone's understanding that as she was the one responsible for the security at the high school, she was better suited to handle the security of the festival as well and she'd more than proven herself enough.
"Kenneth, you are to take a group of eight junior hunters to check through the vendors' stalls and make sure there is nothing illegal that is brought with them, that includes weapons, alcoholic drinks and everything else that you deem fit," she said, turning to the rest. Among the others she'd been assigned were Brian, Samantha and Trevor, three skilled hunters that Katie respected as well to handle their assignments well. To be honest, there was not much she needed to tell these people that they didn't already know, but for formality, she still had to do it.
"Brian, using a select group of five hunters to serve under you, I would like you to take control of the projects inside the school. Safety measures must be adhered to and students are to be lightly checked upon entry to avoid arousing much suspicion.
Samantha is to deal with the outer patrol of the vicinity and that's the exterior of the entire festival including the stalls set up by the vendors. For this, she will select four hunters and four junior hunters for the task.
And lastly, Trevor will take a group of ten junior hunters and station them strategically through the Festival. Their job is to handle surveillance and communication. Trevor will be stationed in the surveillance room where he will watch the entirety of the school through the cameras and the hunters under his command shall pay attention to the school's blindspots and overcrowded areas to use a spare set of eyes," with that said, she was done assigning her four temporary subordinates.
"Someone is enjoying the power to scatter numbers," Kenneth smirked.
"Did I go wrong somewhere?" she asked genuinely.
"No, I think you did just fine. We shall do our best to achieve our tasks as well," he said.
"It's been nice watching you grow up, but I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be allowed to order me around," Samantha shook her head in disappointment, "How far I've fallen?"
"Hey, you still rank above me in more ways than one. This is just my jurisdiction is all," Katie stood her ground crossing her arms in response to the lady.
"You've grown up well, Katie," she replied, smiling at the girl.
Once all was done, Anthony took control of the meeting again, "As we all know, today is the day Katie will shift. All hunters are to be alert on that fact once it clocks seven o'clock in the evening. No one is sure if her restraints will hold her. The Lycaon boy is to be informed of this at that exact time as well, so no one waste a second when it happens. Information of mobilization at seven goes to those closest to the Royal at the time of shifting. The moon will be high in the sky today by nine as this is a day the moon goddess herself has been waiting for," Anthony said.
"Is there something you aren't telling us?"
"Hunters have no hesitation when it comes to taking a life. This is not the same for werewolves that aren't rogues, however, that doesn't guarantee that Katie's wolf will go easy on the first human it sees. Protecting the citizens of Brigadia takes priority above all else," the man spoke out loud as though he hadn't just allowed Katie to be in charge of security that day.
"You make it sound like I'll be some rabid dog," Katie groaned.
"For all we know, you are one right now… Oh, and before I forget, Katie. Reveal your findings of the investigation you carried out yesterday," the man said. Katie's expression fell on hearing this. It bothered her to have to reveal to everyone the reason why she'd failed to track the rogues that had infiltrated the school.
"Yeah, right away. Yesterday, I was able to find out who the killer of Ash was…" she said, pausing before finishing the statement nervously, "but I was too late and the culprit had already fled Brigadia in a hurry. I couldn't even sense their presence which meant they'd gotten a pretty good head start."
"Who killed Ash, Katie?" this was the question she found hard to answer. It was strange to feel nervous for the girl for this was an emotion she'd never required to feel, however, it was only getting in the way at the moment and so she chose to discard it and reveal the culprit. Katie closed her eyes and opened them once more, completely drained of emotion, the only way a hunter was trained to handle situations in this cruel world.
"Kyle Dwyer… that is the name of…"
"Impossible…" Frost is the one that burst from his seat this time, gritting his teeth in anger at the accusation. There was a chorus of gasps through the people that were present in the room. Katie whispered something in Sandra's ears, directing her to the locker that contained the bag of evidence she had.
"I need a key to get into it," Sandra asked, knowing how encrypted the dungeon was. Katie looked through the conference room and found a pen which she used to scribble her signature onto Sandra's forearm. This was another way to get through the security measures for someone that was not a professional hunter.
Sandra was out in a few moments running as fast as she could. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I've sent her to retrieve the evidence that I collected from Kyle's house when I searched it yesterday," Katie said.
"You had no right to… Katie, what's gotten into you? Does trust mean nothing to you?" Frost visibly yelled at her.
"Don't you realise that this was the only way the rogues could infiltrate the school? The only way Kyle could have overridden my instincts to detect an enemy was if I trusted him. He spotted his opportunity years ago when I was enrolled on Brigade high school and became my best friend," her voice was calm as she spoke, clarifying how much she didn't like what had happened as well.
"Hey, Frost, calm down," Jackeline tried, "Three breaths." These words were all the man needed to bring him back into a reasonable mood. The next time he spoke, he was composed.
"How did you come to this conclusion?" he asked her, sitting down to listen to the girl's tale. Katie was relieved that he'd been able to calm down, but an even bigger obstacle lay ahead. Telling the entire group before her the tale that led to Kyle's unmasking.
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