“Who shows the strongest aptitude?” asked Facilitator William.
“It’s not going to be common knowledge this is for our ears only. Sebastian and Chelsea are the two highest with yourself next. I come after you and Sirs Mason and Jonathan then Lady Bethany and Sir Donald round out the top. A full list will be provided including those that will need others to do it for them. Understand this is potential, not actual and while someone has the potential they may not have the focus or discipline to achieve it. I want to be clear on one thing, those with higher aptitude are not special. I will not have any division in our ranks for any reason. Every Sir and Lady is equal in all respects,” said the Coordinator adamantly.
“Agreed,” said the Facilitator. “We’re a team and we have to remain so.”
“I have another question. Why Sir Sebastian to lead the Camelot team and not a more senior agent?” asked Facilitator William.
“That’s a fair question,” replied his boss. “Several reasons. You saw with Sir Bradley in the cells how much being a senior agent can matter. He’ll spend the rest of his tenure pushing papers in the St. Paul archives. We’ve not faced a real crisis in our lifetimes and it’s made the Wardens soft with a few exceptions. Sebastian and Chelsea are two of those exceptions. They remind me of us back when we were younger and still in the field. They have spines of steel.”
“Yea I get that he’s brave. Why not Lady Chelsea though? You just named her as well and she has ample experience and has already proven herself under duress and as a leader,” he said.
“Because she came to me right after I returned and talked to me privately. She told me about the prison cells. She thinks he has what it takes and not just because she’s romantically involved with him. She’s been training agents for several years and is one of the best judges of character I’ve seen. She says when he is in the field, he commands respect. He’s a natural born leader and I believe her,” she told him.
“I can’t say I disagree. I wasn’t there in person during the incident in the cells, but I’ve reviewed the camera footage of the prison issue. We had an agent complain Sir Sebastian overstepped so I had to review it, but I agree with Chelsea. Sir Bradley was useless and while Lady Chelsea was indeed the next senior, the kid took charge, and everyone snapped to order and fell into line. He has the trait and it’s not a bad idea to develop it. I was just curious if your reasons matched my own,” he said.
“Do you have any other reasons?” asked the Facilitator. “Yes, one. Merlin. I told you he can feel the potential of someone and ranked Sebastian and Chelsea as our top two but it’s more than just that. You were the third on his list and in his words, comparing your potential to theirs was like comparing a light rain to a hurricane. They have the potential to be Masters. He said if he would have had more time to train them the first time they would be already. He truly believes they are Arthur and Guinevere reborn,” she said laughing at the idea.
“As a friend, not my boss and in complete confidentiality and off the record, do you believe it?” asked William.
“If you would have asked me that ten days ago I would have laughed at you but considering what we’ve seen recently, I don’t consider anything impossible anymore,” said Anna.
“What are you smiling about,” Anna asked William. “I was just thinking about Munich, about twenty years ago when I was the junior agent being trained by an aggressive senior Warden.”
She laughed. “The gremlin infestation. You were so green and cocky you never bothered to read the dossiers on the fey and just assumed everything was point and shoot. I told you gremlins were allergic to beer and loaded up that water gun with lager and you jumped out into their lair like some cinema hero firing beer at them and they swarmed you. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in my life,” said Anna.
“And the celebration the locals threw for us afterward...could you imagine if we kicked out Chelsea and Sebastian for their sexual misconduct when we were guilty of the same thing when we were in their shoes...why did we ever part ways?” asked William.
“We were young and stupid and put our careers before our happiness just like nearly every other Warden,” said Anna.
“You know, we are off the record right now. Personally, in retrospect, I think we made a mistake,” she said.
He smiled at her and she walked over to him.
“You’re my superior. This would be frowned on by the Directorate,” William said.
“The world changed. I don’t care about the rules anymore. We lost half the world in a week and the death toll is mounting fast with food production severely limited. Disease and famine are going to set in quick in my locations. The best estimates of the experts expect a mortality rate of seventy-five percent. Seventy-five percent. Magic is back in the world, the fey are going to get stronger and we're outnumbered. We could all die tomorrow. I have a lot of regrets in my life that I can never undo. Ending our relationship is one of the few I can change,” Anna told him.
#
Chelsea and Sebastian detoured on the way to the party through the alley behind the Dragon’s Roost. It was quiet this time of the evening and they were alone. She had her back to a wall and they were kissing passionately.
“We really should get going soon. They’re expecting us,” she told him.
“You’re right, they are,” he said but neither showed any inclination to move. He undid his pants, then removed Chelsea’s. He lifted her up against the wall and roughly fucked her with her pinned between him and the bricks behind her.
They finished, and she started pulling her pants on and they walked towards the front of the building when he stopped her. “I'm not done with you yet,” he told her and grabbed the back of her pants. He bent her over and pushed her forward as she braced herself against the wall. He pulled her pants down to her knees and pounded her from behind. She screamed loudly as she climaxed and dug her fingers against the rough stone. When he finished he pulled her to him and bit the back of her neck.
“You're an animal,” she said with a smile.
He didn't reply and just bit her again as they walked to the entrance.
#
Inside the Dragon’s Roost, the music was loud, and the alcohol was flowing. Everyone officially had the night off and were taking advantage of it. Several people were standing around a console arguing as Anna walked up.
“No, the pool is only for the first round. The second time started a new timer,” said James.
“That’s bullshit. Everyone knows it’s total time,” said Robert.
“What the hell are you arguing about?” asked Anna as she walked up on the arguing group.
“The happy couple has been going at it in the alley and a few us have a pool on how long they’ll make it. Problem is they started a second time and now Robert here says that counts when it was a start to finish pool and they finished. A second round is a new bet,” said James.
Anna thought a moment. “I have to agree with Robert here, start to finish is total time, not individual segments and they’re obviously not finished,” she said looking at the camera as Sebastian and Chelsea were having sex for the second time in the alley. She looked at their pool times, chose a spot and placed her bet. After they finished, the viewers checked the camera time and the winner was James.
“All that debate and you won anyway James. Half that should go to the happy couple. Call it an engagement present,” said Anna.
“It’s a matter of principle,” said James. “Fair is fair, and I will take a loss if it’s fair but since I was overruled, I’ll just have to take my winnings.”
As they were watching the feed, the couple had finished and were walking towards the door when Chelsea pointed to one of the security cameras and showed it to Sebastian. His face flushed, and he quickly started pulling up his pants. Chelsea was laughing.
They walked in the bar and everyone cheered. “Two times! Two times a winner! Enjoy the alley?” yelled James. Sebastian’s jaw dropped.
“Yo
u were watching? You people are perverts,” Sebastian said. “Don't you do anything but drink and gamble during your downtime?”
“What else is there to do?” laughed James.
“Perverts, gamblers, drunks and the best damn fighters on the planet!” said Chelsea with a laugh.
“Yep, we are,” laughed James. “Here’s your half of the pool.”
“You bet on us?” asked Sebastian.
“It’s okay, sweetie. They can whack off later thinking about us while we get the real thing,” she said laughing and added, “We’re the big winners here.”
“Big winner indeed. Emphasis on big. If you ever get bored of Chelsea you come to look me up, stud,” said Bethany as she smiled and batted her eyes at Sebastian.
Chelsea shook her fist at Bethany and the two women laughed at the thoroughly embarrassed Sebastian. Bethany was by far Chelsea's closest friend and at times the two were more like sisters than friends. Bethany was voluptuous. She was tall and had pronounced, soft curves and a very well-endowed chest. She had long black hair and baby blue eyes. When she walked into a room, most men turned their attention to her. Though she was never at a loss for suitors, most men couldn't meet her standards. She was a physical powerhouse like most Wardens and liked her men big and strong. They also had to have a forceful personality to match her own or she wouldn't give them a second glance.
James offered her a chip with half of the winnings as Anna recommended. Chelsea took the cash chip with their winnings over to the bar and grabbed the other one out of James’ hand as she went by then climbed up on the bar.
“Stop the music,” she yelled, and someone turned off the player.
“It’s come to my attention that people were betting on how long my future husband would savage me out back and now we’ve been given half of that pool as a thank you for the show. Well, since not all of you have the pleasure of getting fucked tonight you can at least get fucked up on us. Bartender, take this and run it out on drinks for the crowd and when that one is gone, James has volunteered to buy the rounds after that,” she said giving the bartender both chips. “Now, why don’t you loop that video on all your monitors, so all these amateurs can see how the pros do it and let's drink and dance and celebrate!” she said. She grabbed someone's drink from the bar, downed it and jumped into Sebastian's arms who caught her.
“You’re insane you know that? You could have fallen,” he said.
“I knew you would catch me,” she said.
He led her to the dance floor. Sebastian and Chelsea were dancing slowly despite the fast music and lost in each other. The world was gone, and it was only them. They were yanked back into the world by shouting and noises outside. They went to the door and saw riot police in full gear. Sebastian walked outside and approached one of them. “Excuse me officer, what’s going on here?” he asked.
“Back inside citizen, riot in progress and heading this way. You need to clear the street, NOW!” the cop ordered.
“Officer, I don’t want to seem too forward here but I’m a Warden. My name Sir Sebastian and you’re a few hundred yards from the entrance to Warden Facility 14. Now, once again. What is going on here?” he asked showing the officer the golden knots on his wrists.
“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t realize. The ALF has incited a riot downtown and they are coming this way. We’ve been deployed to halt their advance. We tried the standard dispersal techniques, but they are too riled up. They're bent on violence,” said the officer.
“Thank you for the information. We’ll help you. Give me a moment to get my team,” he said and walked inside.
He walked over to the bar and climbed up on it. “Attention please,” he said.
“Whoo hoo two times!” yelled James.
“Not now James. We have a problem. An ALF incited riot is in progress and likely to hit this street. I want everyone ready. Take an Antitox, get your weapons and let's help the officers quell the riot,” he said.
“That’s a civilian issue, not our job,” said Robert.
“I don’t want to hear that. We’re Wardens. We swore to protect humanity and nowhere in the oath I took did it say only from magical monsters. Now, outside there is a group of brave men and women about to stand against a mob incited by a terrorist organization that has time and again shown to be anarchist and have a total disregard for human life in achieving their goals. If stopping that isn’t protecting humanity, then I don’t know what the Hell is. Now, I’m not your boss. I’m your friend and I’m a fellow Warden who believes in my oath and I’m going out there and help them and if you don’t join me then you don’t deserve to call yourself a Warden.” He got down and walked to the door, Chelsea at his side. Anna walked out behind Sebastian.
William looked around. “It’s a damn disgrace that some rookie has to remind us what it means to be who we are,” and walked out.
Sebastian, Chelsea, Anna, and William stood in front of the line of police. As they stood there, watching a large group approach them but still several blocks away, the rest of the Wardens walked out and flanked them on both sides. Sebastian turned to one of the police. “Can we borrow your riot gear please,” he said. Many police handed their shields and batons to the Wardens and fell back.
“Thank you, officer...I’m sorry, what’s your name?” Sebastian asked the man who handed the gear to him. “It’s Charles, sir. Bobby Charles with the 94th precinct,” the cop replied.
“Thank you, officer Charles. Drop to the back. Maintain radio operations and keep your brass up to speed on the riot,” Sebastian told him. He took the shield and baton and walked back to the front of the line.
“You with a shield. It’s a bit weird,” said Chelsea.
“It feels right,” he told her.
“Here they come, let's do this!” he said and ran into the group.
He was a dervish. He was bashing and stunning people and seemingly unstoppable. The rioters were armed with various makeshift weapons, but they couldn’t touch him. He stood in the middle of the mass of rioters while the police and Wardens, minus Chelsea, were along the perimeter. He was bashing people with the shield and baton. It seemed like he was born with them in his hand. He worked his way through the mass of people, stunning or knocking people unconscious, doing his best not to cause any real damage. Chelsea was behind him and she took down rioter after rioter, moving like a whirlwind. Between the two of them, they immobilized and suppressed more people than the rest of the Wardens and police combined. The remaining rioters broke and ran.
“That was amazing,” said William. “In my 20 years as a Warden, I’ve never seen your equals. Chelsea, I trained you and I've seen you fight more times than I can count. You have never shown the level of skill you just displayed. How the Hell did you do that?” he asked.
Sebastian and Chelsea seemed distant then shook their heads and turned to William. Sebastian shrugged, returned the gear to Officer Charles and walked back towards the Roost.
Chelsea pointed at Sebastian saying, “What he said,” and followed him leaving William behind.
#
Coordinator Anna and Facilitator William sat at one end of the table, Sir Sebastian and Lady Chelsea at the other and all were silent. The Coordinator was looking back and forth between the two of them.
“Coordinator Anna, I am sorry. I overstepped my authority, insulted my team and involved us in an action that was not within our jurisdiction. My actions were inexcusable,” said Sir Sebastian.
“Oh, shut up,” said Coordinator Anna. “You were right and everyone in this Facility knows it. We’re not here to blame you for anything. To the contrary, we’re here to applaud you. You reminded us that our oath is first and foremost to our fellow people and we have lost that path and for reminding me of that, I owe you thanks. I haven’t taken up arms in pursuit of my oath in some time and I forgot what that meant to protect people. You were right.”
“What I want to know is how someone who is less than seven months out of the academy and out of trai
nee status for less than a month, even considering your military background, has that kind of skill? And you Lady Chelsea, you’re good, you’re damn good but you’re not that good. How the hell did you pull that off?” asked the Coordinator.
“I don’t know but I suspect...can I be honest, please? Off the record?” asked Sir Sebastian.
“Sure,” said the Coordinator.
“Thank you, Anna. Since the Seal broke, I’ve felt...different somehow. I feel the world, I feel life. I can sense it for lack of a better term. My senses are heightened. I feel faster and stronger than ever,” he said.
“It’s dangerous,” said William. “You broke ranks and waded into the middle of dozens of hostiles, cut yourselves off from your team and you two had no other support. You got yourself surrounded and it could have been catastrophic,” he told the two agents.
“No, it couldn’t have been,” said Chelsea. “We had each other’s backs and those people posed zero threat,” she told William.
“She’s right,” Sebastian remarked. “Those people were no threat to us. We could have stopped many times that number,” he said.
“Really now?” Anna interjected. “How do you know that? How can you be so sure?”
“Because he is Arthur and she is Guinevere and now that the Seal is broken, their magic is returning. Once they remember who they are, once they have their full abilities, then Arthur should be ready to assume command of the Wardens and Guinevere can take her place at his side,” said Merlin as he popped into the room.
“Excuse me? Assume command?” said Anna.
“Of course. You told me yourself the Wardens still operate under their original directives and part of that original directive I laid down was to outline your command structure. At the top, above the Directors is the High Lord who holds that position for life. I named King Arthur the first High Lord and as he is obviously very much alive, then once he is back to his old self, he shall reclaim his position,” Merlin told her.
The Seal of Solomon Page 15