A Subtle Agency

by Graeme Rodaughan

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You recognize my voice?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am. I’m glad to see that you’re still alive.’

  Chloe laughed sardonically, ‘I’m sure you are.’

  ‘Ma’am?’

  ‘Status report.’

  ‘Gang Wu is dead; all the other Order of Thoth members have escaped with his body. I have already initiated a cleanup detail using the Yellow-3 spectrum team and I have activated a PSYOPS crew, they will be on site in about two hours. In another five minutes, there will be no witnesses. Do you have any new orders?’

  ‘It is imperative that you make sure that this mess gets cleaned up properly. Get divers into the river, there is a Nightfalcon on the bottom, use the GPS logs from the Panopticon to recover the craft and the pilot. You will also find a sword nearby. I must emphasize, do not stop looking until you have the sword, once you have it secured, call me immediately on my personal line.’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ James answered.

  There is only one reason why he would be dropping grenades onto dead praetorians - he knows the truth – dead vampires do tell tales.

  ‘James, you have done well to survive tonight. Keep doing your job, ensuring that all evidence is wiped clean and the sword is recovered, and I’m sure that your career in Shadowstone will continue to prosper.’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am. Thank you Ma’am.’

  Chloe heard a trace of uncertainty in James’ voice, it was clear that he was still coming to terms with his discovery.

  She hung up the call and relaxed, setting a tiny fraction of her mind to operate the police cruiser while she reflected upon her plans. With the battle done, it shocked her how closely she had come to dying. Death had brushed her in the past, more than once, but this was the closest she had ever come to her own end.

  Gang Wu was a genius with the blade, he almost had me. Then the helicopter, if I had stayed unconscious a little longer, I would have drowned or bled to death.

  She laughed out loud.

  The past is gone.

  She had watched Anton and Li during the battle, they had fought hard to protect each other.

  Love? Or something close to it.

  Chloe smiled, factoring the possibility of using Li Wu as another lever with which to move Anton toward her own desired goal.

  Anton is now with the Mirovar team, he will most likely find a place within it. His skills and power will increase. I must keep the pressure on, I do not have time to waste. I feel certain that Cornelius Crane will have done with me once he has all the Metaframe artifacts or discovers my plan. I must be certain of the relationship between Crane and the Order, is Ramin Kain a traitor as Gang Wu believed, and if so, how can I turn that to my purpose? I must make best use of the Red Empire agent within Francis Mirovar’s team; the Raven must be put to work.

  With the Red Empire attack in Jerusalem, and this defeat by the Order so close to home, Crane will be distracted and off-balance, he will not see the subtle agency of my plan.

  Chloe shivered in anticipation, feeling her pulse quicken.

  There is a reason for my gifts, a purpose beyond my life. Crane will be defeated and a new order will come to this world, an order based on the truth that I will reveal.

  Her eyes glistened as she drove the police cruiser into the basement carpark of the R.I.S.C building.

  Time to go to the Citadel, I must manage Crane’s fury and turn it to my advantage.

  * * *

  James Haley pulled his Glock 9mm from its holster at his hip, checked that the safety was off and crouched next to the unconscious Louise Wesson.

  No witnesses.

  He put the Glock against her temple, his hand trembling slightly. He pulled the gun away and took a breath. He then placed the gun back to an inch from her ear and now it was steady as a rock. He began to pull the trigger.

  Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned, ‘what ... happened?’

  He lifted the Glock away, placing his left hand gently over her head and said, ‘what do you remember?’

  ‘Owww,’ her hand came up and rubbed her forehead. ‘The teams ... Red, Blue and Green ... they have just arrived. Where am I?’

  ‘On the dock. There’s been a battle. It went badly for us; we are the only survivors.’

  James stood up, holstering his gun.

  Louise suddenly convulsed, vomiting the contents of her stomach, the mess splashing across James’ boots.

  James sighed, taking off his flak jacket and making a hard pillow for Louise’s head.

  ‘Rest here, I’ll be back soon.’

  Louise murmured an answer that he did not hear.

  James strode away, he pulled a silencer from a pouch at his belt, fitting it to the barrel of his Glock. He walked around the warehouse and back out to the carpark where the wounded men, patched up as much as they could be, waited patiently for medical extraction.

  James strode up to his men as they rested under the big tree near the car park entrance. They looked at him with curious eyes. He hid the silenced Glock behind his back.

  Another seven good men who will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

  James pulled the gun up, firing until the twenty round magazine was empty.

  He shook his head, turning back toward the warehouse and Louise Wesson. Fragments of the recorded conversation from the previous morning flitted like ghosts through his mind, the words of Gang Wu prominent amongst them.

  Who the hell am I really working for? The Vampire Dominion?

  * * *

  It was a clear summer night as the RHIB powered along the Mystic River.

  With his emotions grinding their pitiless way through his soul, Anton looked up at the stars, questions hurtling through his mind.

  There were no answers.

  Gang was like family. No - he was family. He treated me like a son and now he’s gone.

  Rage struck him, a red wave that rocked him to his core.

  He glanced at Li, she sat next to him, her hands resting limply in her lap. She had arranged Gang’s remaining hand over his chest, his other arm lay along his side, hiding the fact that it ended just above the wrist, his eyes were closed, someone had put a jacket over his chest. He looked peaceful like he was asleep - except for the deathly pallor of his skin.

  Anton had his arm around Li, he felt her suddenly shiver, pulling her closer, she turned her head, crying quietly into his chest.

  She’s torn to pieces.

  Anton clenched his teeth as a dark fury boiled within him.

  Li put her arms around him, turned her head on the side in his lap and squeezed him tightly. He stroked her hair, brushing it away from her forehead. He felt the dark fire within wither and retreat. His eyes filled with moisture, he bent his head forward, weeping quietly.

  A slender woman with wavy, dark hair approached and said, ‘your shoulder needs suturing and I think that we should check your right foot, there is definitely something wrong there.’

  Anton looked up, wiping his face with his hand and said, ‘thanks, I’m Anton.’

  She nodded, ‘I know. I’m Juliette Mirovar.’

  Anton looked at her more closely, ‘are you his wife?’

  ‘Yes,’ she smiled, ‘we make quite a team.’

  Anton undid his combat webbing and pulled off his top without disturbing Li, who continued to rest her head in his lap. He grimaced as he pulled his shoulder clear of his clothes, dropping them to the side.

  There was a nasty gash on his right shoulder; Juliette opened a black case and pulled out a pre-filled syringe.

  Anton frowned, ‘what’s that?’

  ‘Painkiller. We can do this without it if you would like.’

  ‘No, that’s okay, go ahead.’

  Juliette put an LED headlamp on her head and with its light shining on Anton’s shoulder she used the syringe to inject Anton several times around the wound site. She counted ten seconds and then rapidly set to work stitching the edges of the cut back together with black thread. T
wo minutes later she completed the task by tying off the thread and applying an antiseptic herbal salve.

  She smiled at Anton, moving to sit opposite him.

  ‘That was quick and painless, you’re a bit of a miracle worker.’

  ‘I’ve done battlefront tours with Médecins Sans Frontières, do you know about them?’

  ‘Yes, Doctors without borders.’

  ‘So now you know a little something about me, let’s have a look at your foot.’

  Anton lifted his right foot up, placing it on the chair opposite. He had not checked it before, but now that he did, it looked a mess. Something had gone through the top of his combat boot.

  ‘I didn’t really feel anything. I think it may have been a steel ball from a claymore mine.’

  ‘Well, we’ll soon find out.’

  Juliette undid the straps of his boot, gently peeling it away from his foot. She cut away the sock with a pair of scissors, revealing a raw puncture wound that had penetrated the instep of his foot and exited just behind the ball of his foot. She picked up the syringe, applying more of the painkiller around the wound entry and exit sites.

  ‘You could have some foreign material in the wound, we will have to make sure it’s clean.’

  Li sat up, staring at Juliette as she pushed a sterilized probe through the hole in Anton’s foot.

  ‘Does it hurt Anton?’ Li asked.

  ‘I can just feel it - like pressure.’

  ‘Our medications are very effective, and now that you can Ramp, your physiology is changing, your capacity to heal will be accelerated, nowhere near as fast as a vampire, but much faster than a regular human. Now that you have completed your mastery of the Ramp, your body has completed the physical transformation, you will heal in a day what would normally take ten.’

  Li shook her head, ‘Anton is still mastering the Ramp, he only started six weeks ago.’

  Juliette shook her head, ‘I’m sorry - what did you say?’

  ‘Six weeks, my father used the pressure point technique for switching on the Ramp capacity of Anton’s body.’

  Juliette paused for a moment, frowning at Anton, and then her face relaxed into a broad smile.

  ‘Well, you’re a very lucky young man, it is rare for anyone to survive that process, which is why it is very rarely used. But still, you were holding your own against Crane’s praetorians when we arrived, you must have mastered the Ramp.’

  Li shook her head again, ‘no he hasn’t, his speed fluctuates, but sometimes he is very fast.’

  ‘You’ve never mentioned this before,’ Anton said.

  ‘Instability is typical of a student, but you must have been consistently operating at a mature top speed to be able to survive against vampires, especially skilled and experienced fighters like praetorians.’

  Juliette picked up her needle and thread and started sowing the wounds in Anton’s foot.

  She pursed her lips in thought, ‘it is highly unusual to be so fast with only six weeks for the body to transform, you should be only about half way there. Perhaps you have a talent.’

  Peter leaned over from where he was steering the RHIB and said, ‘don’t tell him his got talent, he’s just survived a fight with half a dozen vampires and the Witch Queen herself, he’ll get a big head.’

  Francis sat down next to his wife and said, ‘stay with us, fight with us, and if you do well, I will sponsor you at the next Order Conclave.’

  Anton glanced at Li, she stared back at him with a look on her face that said, “do not say no.” He looked within his own heart, feeling a resonance as he looked into the faces of Francis and Juliette Mirovar.

  These people are honest and good.

  ‘Thank you,’ Anton nodded, ‘I will join your team.’

  Francis put out his hand, and Anton shook it, Francis had a firm, powerful handshake.

  Anton let go, the RHIB slowed, pulling into a pier. A non-descript van waited there. Two men stood next to it, they wore black overalls and balaclavas to cover their faces.

  ‘Order helpers,’ Juliette said quietly to Anton and Li.

  ‘We’re here,’ Peter said.

  Everyone got out of the RHIB, with Anton carrying Gang’s body in his arms, they moved over to the van. The two order helpers gave Francis the keys to the van, and got into the RHIB, driving it away from the pier and back out onto the river.

  Francis and Juliette got into the front of the van, Anton got in the back with the rest of the team, laying Gang’s body gently to the floor of the van, in moments, the van was on its way.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Anton asked.

  ‘To a safe house,’ Peter said.

  Anton suddenly felt a wave of fatigue overtake him, he realized just how tired he was as he fitted a seat belt, put his head back and closed his eyes. As he dozed, a thought kept recurring to him.

  How can anywhere be safe when the vampires are in charge of the world.

  The van sped off on its way and Anton drifted into fitful sleep.

  * * *

  The Raven sat in the back of the van, studying Anton Slayne and Li Wu.

  Who is this Anton Slayne? The grandson of an outcast with no place in the Order, and Li Wu, someone who has hidden away from the fight for years, and yet they both survived the praetorians and it would seem - Chloe Armitage herself.

  What difference can they make to my mission?

  The Raven sat with the other team members in the back of the dimly lit van. The van cruised along route I-95 past Salem, toward New Hampshire, Portsmouth and the state of Maine.

  The Raven held a smartphone, the screen was dark as if the phone was off. The Raven had taught themselves how to operate the phone with the screen dark through memory and touch alone. The phone was the same as the rest of the quantum encrypted smartphones that the Order team members all carried, except for one thing - it hosted a set of Red Empire applications written by a deeply hidden cell of the Red Empire operating out of the city of San Francisco.

  The Vampire Dominion and their Shadowstone lackeys have no awareness of the presence of the Red Empire on this continent. Now to test the trojan inserted into Francis Mirovar’s phone during the chaos on the dock.

  The Raven had been waiting months for a chance to access Francis Mirovar’s smartphone, seizing the opportunity the moment it had arisen.

  The Raven’s fingers ran lightly over the dark surface of the smartphone, activating a specialized Red Empire application. The software ran for three seconds, in that time, it compromised Francis Mirovar’s smartphone. In another two seconds, it decrypted the contents, filtered the accounts and delivered the quantum signature of Ramin Kain’s smartphone to the Raven’s smartphone. The Raven immediately attached the contact details of the Head of the Order of Thoth to an encrypted message and sent it to the smartphone of Shabbah al Ahmar’s secret ally.

  Who is Shabbah al Ahmar’s other operative in North America? Who is his ally?

  With another critical step in the mission accomplished, the Raven put the smartphone away in a waist pouch and rested with their eyes closed.

  The Raven had found the years of hiding within the Order difficult, inserted as a child and only partially trained, it had been a risk for the Red Empire that the Raven would not be accepted, or given their young age would in time transfer their loyalty to the Order.

  It had been decided by Shabbah al Ahmar himself that the Raven had all the right pre-requisites to fulfill the mission and become a highly placed agent of the Red Empire within the Order. Steps had been taken, a background identity constructed, a fake family assembled, a plausible and believable story created and the Raven had been dangled as bait - and taken by the Order.

  From the day of their arrival, the Raven had excelled at blending into Force Leader Francis Mirovar’s team. They had grown to adulthood within the team, had absorbed all that the Order had to teach them, blending the Order’s training with the intensive early instruction provided by Shabbah al Ahmar and the best instructors of the
Red Empire.

  Shabbah al Ahmar expected the Raven to rise to become the Head of the Order, and from that position, to subvert the operation of the Order to his will.

  The Red Empire know me as Al Ghurab, the Raven, and one day, perhaps one day soon, I will bring the Order to its knees before the rulership of Shabbah al Ahmar and together, the true children of the way of the Ramp will conquer the Vampire Dominion.

  It was a noble cause, which fueled a passionate fire within the Raven’s heart.

  Our cause is both right and just, we will prevail over our enemies.

  * * *

  The End

  The story will continue with the next installment of The Metaframe War.

  “A Traitor’s War.”

  For further information on the books of The Metaframe War series, you can follow my blog on Goodreads at

  Writing The Metaframe War Series

  The will find details on the concepts used in the stories of The Metaframe War, my reflections on the craft of writing, snippets of draft text from upcoming books, and news of new releases.

  You can also use Goodreads to connect with me and ask me questions about my books and writing.