Bab 253: 249: A Plague of Phantoms: A Revolutionary’s Arrival III
"Ah, Logan. About time you got here." My father said casually as he glanced in my direction. Not at all bothered by the fact I had a gun shoved in my face. "I came as soon as possible, you wanted to see me, sir." I said then looked over to the soldier that was still holding a gun to my head. "Which is why I don't understand why you still have a gun pointed at my head Sergeant!"
The Sergeant in question was Sergeant first class Blake Reagan. He's been with my unit the longest out of everyone. I first met him in St. Louis after a mob of thrads ran through the town and killed everyone I was hunkering down with. He was the only one in the unit that knew the truth about that day, the only one that knew the truth about me and my legend.
"Sorry…sir." Reagan replied, taking another few seconds before finally lowering his gun. The tone of his voice was that of pure scorn and disgust. A tone he reserved for me, since that day I was quickly promoted to lieutenant first class, promotions I didn't deserve. Something he loved to remind me any given time the two of us were alone.
I sucked in a breath to avoid snapping at Reagan, after all he wasn't the only one in the room. Apart from Reagan, my dad, and Beaufort, and the last member of my unit, second lieutenant Alabaster Cross. While my equal in rank and superior in experience, I was the leader of the unit. Cross wasn't even part of the army, he was a member of the border guard on loan by order of President Justice. The border guard was the only other branch of the military, and their members often looked down on the army.
While Reagan was a holier than thought asshole, Cross was demented jackal. He loved to take any opportunity he could to take shots at me or make jokes at my expense. He was no better than a child. Had he joined the army Cross would never have promoted but the border guard did things differently than the army.
"I can see your many decades of leadership and experience at work…" Cross said with a demented smirk as he eyed me and Reagan.
"Cross, I want none of your mouth today!" Beaufort snapped suddenly drawing everyone's attention. The large man stood in front of a large glass window that looked out onto the docks, his arms folded in front of him. On anyone else that pose would look heroic or even intimidating but all it did for him was point out how far his stomach bulged past his waist. I'd be surprised if he could see his feet at this point.
Beaufort T. Justice, President of the Zeonic States of America. Formally a general in the army. He used the massacre at St. Louis, as well as my new status as hero, to launch his new career in politics. Earning himself the presidency with my endorsement and my endorsement earning me my promotions.
"Yes sir." Cross said quickly, still managing to flash me a smirk before standing at ease.
"You called for me, Sir?" I asked again, taking a step further into the room. Beaufort sighed and turned to face everyone. He was clearly annoyed by something but whether it was me, Cross or something else entirely I couldn't tell.
"Yes. I just got out of a meeting with the Tech-9 committee! Apparently the splicer filth thought it great idea to invite a company to Evo-cution this year with first informing me!" Beaufort growled.
"What?!" I exclaimed then looked to Dad for confirmation. He gave a slight nod then looked back to Beaufort.
"YES! The nerve of those fucking crystal dicked pansies! To make matters worse this company has been a pain in our side fo a few months now! Thomas explain!" Beaufort growled and gestured to dad with flick of his hand. Dad nodded and cleared his throat.
"The company is called Sho'lajah Artifact Company. A few months ago the owner of said company and a few of his associates greatly embarrassed Simon Caldifax, Justice Technologies biggest supporter. We put a bounty on company and the perpetrators we knew about at Caldifax's request. However…." Dad paused to give himself a moment to find the right words. "…they proved…difficult to deal with."
"Difficult?" I said surprised.
"Resilient." Dad replied. "This company started disrupting our various operations in Egypt. And the worst of it all is they attacked a facility we managed to build inside of Egypt. It was a massacre, more than half of the evo handling staff and techno-splicing scientists stationed there are dead."
"My Granddaughter Madilyn is believed to be among them…" Beaufort added. I expected his voice to be filled with rage like it had been seconds ago but it was calm, as if announcing you thought your Granddaughter was dead was something you slipped into casual conversation.
"Do we know anything about the owner of this…Sho'gaga Artifact Company?" I asked. Dad shook his head.
"Not even their name. Not for a lack of trying. Whoever this person is seems to leave a trail of bodies wherever they go. Can't ask a witness if they don't leave any…" Dad said.
"This person sounds dangerous…why would Tech-9 invite someone like that to Evo-cution?" I asked. Dad looked at me with a dumbfounded look then sighed.
"Because they obviously don't know about any of that. If they did then America would be facing a war with Egypt." Dad said in that matter-of-fact tone he always took when I was younger and said something that he believed should be obvious to everyone.
"Though they obviously consider him dangerous, considering the nickname I heard one of them crystal dicks call 'em." Beaufort piped up. "Get this apparently this fucker is known as 'The Demon of Sho'lajah'. Now what kind of pretentious bullshit is that?"
"Mr. President, if you'll forgive me for saying this but considering the fact that this guy has left trails of bodies at several of our operations; which we are currently operating under the assumption that tech-9 and the Egyptian government know nothing about; the fact they were able to infiltrate a heavily protected facility and slaughter most of the staff warrants being called demon by itself." Cross said, he then looked towards the window behind Beaufort and tilted hos head. "If they don't know about that stuff and are still calling him a demon…imagine what he's done to these guys."
"Hmmm…damn…you're right Cross." Beaufort said softly, scratching both his chins. "Which is why, Logan, I'm tasking your unit with a mission."
"A mission?" I repeated. Beaufort nodded.
"This demon of Sho'lajah is coming here to Tsushima Island, far-away from Egypt and whatever connections they have there that protects them. Before the end of Evo-cution I want this demon dead, along with anyone they brought with them." Beaufort said with a devilish smirk. "I don't care how you do it precisely, though I would prefer you find a way to frame one of these splicer 'nobles'. If whoever this is has enough pull to get a invitation from Tech-9 without being a techno-splicing company, then hopefully their death would be enough to spur a few cool hearts to rash action and start a war or two. Maybe drum up a little more business for us in the process."
"Yes sir, I understand." I said. Beaufort chuckled and nodded.
"Good, good, now I know this isn't the sort of mission your unit normally gets but I'm sure you'll do fine. And speaking of normal mission Logan, Tech-9 has organized a little get-together on the rooftop garden for the splicer 'royals' and Techno-splicing company CEO's, going on about now. Your unit is providing security for me, I want you to mingle, regale, be charming." Beaufort said.
I gritted my teeth at that last statement. My unit was normally the security detail for Beaufort, though in name only. I knew he had another head watching everything from afar. This security detail was just another way for him to capitalize on my notoriety. While splicers normally didn't give two shits about me because I was normal they all became very interested when they hear I'm famous back in the States for killing a Ascended.
I hated these assignments. Forced to chatter on and cater to self-important blowhards, recounting heroics that never happened, and forced to put on a mask. Pretending that everything was alright, that every second I was in this uniform being paraded around and forced to preform like a trained monkey wasn't driving me insane. But I choked those feelings down, too many people relied on me to keep this façade up.
"I understand Sir, when will you be ready to leave?"
***
The get-together that Beaufort mentioned turned out to be much more than I had imagined. The rooftop garden was a large open air garden that had exotic and unusual flowers from all over the world. The blooms were arranged in a array of colors like swatches to a quilt. Each new bloom adding color and depth to the garden as a whole. As if that wasn't enough the grout of the cobblestone pathways was mixed with literal gold and silver.
The 'royals' and 'nobles' that occupied the garden currently mingled and talked amongst themselves, stopping every once in a while to eye someone that just joined the party or whispering about some fashion choice that was no longer in season. It was enough to make your head spin.
I was currently beside Beaufort, playing the part of dutiful bodyguard while my unit remained close. Beaufort scanned the crowd, occasionally pointing someone out to Das that he needed to talk to before the party was over. Eventually dad all but vanished into the crowd to mingle and Beaufort started making his rounds too.
For the most part unless someone talked to me specifically I just reminded quiet. Being around all these splicers left a bad taste in my mouth but one plus was that for the most part they hardly regarded me at all, like I wasn't even there.
"Ah-ha! There he is…" Beaufort exclaimed to himself when he spotted a man dressed in a expensive looking suit. The man was Egyptian, I could tell that much but the woman that clung to his arm was anything but. She looked European with her red hair, and emerald dress. Beaufort suddenly looked to me. "…The Pharaoh of Egypt and his wife. The Egyptian military recently canceled their contract with Justice Technologies and I'd like t o know why."
Beaufort made a beeline towards the Pharaoh and I was right on his heels, my unit keeping close as well. The Pharaoh looked to be discussing something with another man, a king of the crown on hos head was any indication. The discussion looked very heated, at least for the King who was red faced and gripping the flute of wine he was holding in a death grip. Meanwhile the Pharaoh looked calm as can be.
Beaufort had nearly reached the Pharaoh and company when a man suddenly stepped in front of him with a annoyed expression on his face. I quickly stepped between the man and Beaufort while the rest of my team surrounded him.
"Beaufort! So this is where you've been hiding!" The man snapped and crossed his arms.
"Raphael!" The president cooed in a charming voice as he held his arms out to the man, all but pushing me out of the way. However Raphael didn't looked pleased to see him. It suddenly dawned on my who that mana was, Raphael DeCharles, a English splicer that was also a well respected nobleman.
"Don't you Raphael me! It's lord DeCharles!" The splicer snapped. I noticed a slight tic in the president's jaw at the harsh way the splicer spoke to him but to his credit the man didn't otherwise react. "Anyway, I still haven't heard anything about those thrads that we talked about last time we met!"
Dad suddenly rushed out from somewhere. The speed and suddenness of his appearance led me to believe that he came out of Beaufort's ass, since he was so fond of kissing it all the time.
"Lord DeCharles, I believe that you contacted my office. As you know that President Justice is no longer involved in the running of Justice Technologies." My dad said. Raphael chuckled at that remark and gave Beaufort a look.
"Oh right, of course. Your country's leader can't be seen giving favoritism to one singular company." Raphael said sarcastically, then glanced over at my dad giving him a look similar to one that you'd give an insect crawling in the dirt. "Who are you again?"
"The current CEO of Justice Technologies, Thomas Kingston. We spoke at length the during the last Evo-cution." Dad said. Raphael's expression turned puzzled and he looked at dad with extreme interest now.
"Kingston?" He repeated then glanced off to the side and spoke loudly but to himself. "…surely that is a coincidence."
"Coincidence, lord DeCharles?" Dad offered, doing his best to keep his expression neutral. Raphael waved his hand as if batting away a fly and sighed.
"Oh nothing, my nephew, Damon DeCharles, is in an advanced class taught by Baset Paragon at Andromeda College. He's written several times about a frustratingly intelligent American splicer that made it in the class that bares your surname. I thought you related but probably just a coincidence, besides that splicer has become something of a celebrity as of late." Raphael replied.
"American splicer…" Dad muttered and shot a glance my way.
'He can't mean…" I thought as my thoughts were voiced by another.
"Chase Kingston…" Reagan muttered softly. Raphael's eyes darted directly to Reagan with a look of surprise. As did everyone in my squad. All eyes were locked exclusively on him.
"Oh! So you know of him?" Raphael said to my Sargent. Reagan nodded and looked to me.
"Isn't that your brother…Sir?" Reagan asked. All eyes now turned back to me, the eyes of my unit all darted between my dad and myself. Raphael looked to me and then my father as well. A look of recognition or something similar flashed as I guessed he realized that we were related.
"Half-brother …but yes." I replied after a moment of silence. Raphael's eyes practically glowed, like he'd stumbled onto some long lost treasure, while I felt my breakfast threatening to come back up at the reminder that the same blood that flowed through my veins also flowed in his.
"I see! I see! Half-brother, much like myself and my older brother." Raphael said with slow nod, his expression growing taunt. Raphael suddenly glances around.
I glance at the surrounding garden and notice that nearly everyone near us that had been so engrossed in their own conversations was now in one way or another paying close attention to ours. I noticed some were peering at us over wine glasses or pretending to not be looking our way. 'Nobles' and 'Royal' alike were not focusing their attention on us. On me.
"Well! Thomas, since I have you here we can talk about that thrad contract!" Raphael exclaimed. His tone suddenly jovial.
***
"All-Father's beard! What the hell is up with all these splicers?" Tym hissed to no one in particular. He thankfully kept his voice low enough that nobody near us could hear.
My unit, dad, and Beaufort were currently isolating ourselves in a small section of the rooftop garden. Since Raphael found out that my father and I were related to Chase practically every splicer at this blighted get together wanted to talk to us. Which would have been fine if my father or Beaufort managed to steer any conversation towards business but all they wanted to talk about was Chase.
"It seems your brother is a pretty big deal to splicers…" Cross said softly eyeing my reaction, hoping to goad me. I gave him no satisfaction and simply turned away from him and looked to Beaufort.
"How do you want to proceed sir? With my Father and I near you we'll be swarmed by nobles and royals but none that want to talk business." I said. Beaufort scowled and looked to Dad.
"That shit stain of yours seems to be causing us problems even now. Gods I should have put a bullet in that brat's face years ago…" Beaufort grumbled.
"How do you think I feel?" Thomas grumbled as well. Hearing that seemed to bring a smile to Beaufort's lips.
"It's not surprising…" Reagan muttered. Everyone turned to look at him, annoyance flared in Beaufort's eyes. The nobles fascination with my dad and I started with him and his mouth.
"What was that Sargent?" Beaufort demanded. I expected Reagan to shrink or at least flinch at Beaufort's harsh tone but he did neither instead looked the president head on and replied.
"It's no surprise that the lieutenant's brother managed to make a name for himself among splicers. Considering the great feats that lieutenant Kingston has accomplished during his military career." Reagan replied. Beaufort's jaw ticked slightly at that remark as did mine. That statement was a jab directly at me and Beaufort and judging by the gleam in his eyes.
"Are you suggesting that a fil…a splicer is capable of feats even remotely similar to what our Lieutenant, the hero of America, has accomplished!" Oliver hissed at the Sargent, momentarily forgetting his rank and looking like he'd attack the older man in a fit of rage.
"I'm suggesting that the same…heroic blood… that flows in our unit leader's veins also flows in his brother. Whether he wants to admit it or not." Reagan said looking directly at me. Clenched my fists to keep myself from outright punching Reagan out in that moment.
"Enough Reagan!" Beaufort snapped and pointed a finger at the Sargent. "Keep your jealousy in line soldier if you want to keep your tongue in your mouth."
"Yes, Mr. President…" Reagan replied. Beaufort noticed the defiant tone that Reagan spoke in and started to say something when a commotion at the far end of the rooftop garden attracted everyone's attention.
I turned towards the sound and saw a large group of splicers gathering towards the edge of the rooftop looking out and pointing towards something in the docks below.
"Kingston, Oliver, go see what that commotion is." Beaufort said.
I nodded and motioned for Olivet to follow me. The two of us made our way over to a ledge near the crowd so we could see what the huge commotion was about. As looked out onto the docks below I quickly found what all the splicers were gawking at.
A evo I have never seen before was resting at the docks with two Zee-waros acting as guards. The evo was long, over a mile long and looked to be made entirely of crystal, it had a sleek and aerodynamic silhouette that reminded me of a snake. It glowed a odd emerald color in the fleeting light that peeked between the clouds that blocked the afternoon sun.
"What type of evo is that Sir?" Oliver asked.
"I have…no idea…" I breathed softly as I took in the monstrosity. It looked otherworldly. "We need to get the president and show him this…"
I turned around to head back to the president and my dad, only to find the man they'd been trying to talk to all day walking towards me. The Pharaoh of Egypt, only a few feet away. I froze as did Oliver. I didn't know if I should have moved put of the way or tried to go get Beaufort but the Pharaoh looked like he had other plans. He regarded me for one moment before stepping to the ledge on my left and looking out to the docks.
"Ah…so they've arrived." The Pharaoh said softly to the woman on his arm, his queen. She smiled and I swore the heavens opened up and shined sun beams down to illuminate it.
"Good. They all made it safe I hope." She replied. The Pharaoh glanced over in my direction and then chuckled.
"You're wrong you know. That thing down there is not a evo." The Pharaoh said then looked back out to the docks.
"I'm sorry…?" I said, surprised that the Pharaoh heard the private's and mine's conversations.
"It's not a evo. It's an ancient piece of splicer magi-tech called a mana train." The Pharaoh continued on. "Thousands upon thousands of years old, a relic of a bygone age of magic and power. A relic that it seems had been altered since I saw it last."
"I see…" Oliver drawled nervously. I shot him a glare telling him to shut up when the Pharaoh suddenly chuckled. I looked back and saw him eying me with interest.
"I'm sorry…where are my manners. I am Turak'Kahn Solomon IV, Pharaoh of Egypt. You may call me your majesty or King Turak'Kahn."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone