by Jordan Ervin
“Easy with your fawning, Mr. Kane,” Jacob said. “The Sovereign is a married man.”
A wave of low laughter rippled through the room, though Kane simply nodded his head and smiled. “The Sovereign Guard will replace what was the Secret Service. It will be composed of two hundred agents and twice as many drones led by this man, Theodore Yates.”
The short man to Kane’s left—a man with a head as bald as the desert and a face as hard as a mountain—nodded his head. “It is a pleasure to serve you and your family.”
“You look vaguely familiar,” Lukas said.
“I was a friend of John Fresnel,” Theodore replied. “John and I both trained as Patriarch agents before being deployed to protect you as President.”
“I don’t recall seeing you with the Secret Service,” Lukas said.
“John was Secret Service and I was CIA. I worked with Jacob many times and he can vouch for my skills and loyalties.”
Lukas glanced over at Jacob’s apparition. Jacob nodded his head casually in reply.
“Very well,” Lukas said. “Your services are appreciated. Now Kane, please continue.”
“If the Imperium Guard is to serve as the shield others will break themselves against, then the Imperium Hammer is to be the weapon used to batter down those who try to stand against us. Like many other military forces, it has been divided into three separate divisions. One for the army, the second for the navy, and the third for air superiority. Each will be governed by a Battle Marshal. It is my hope that all three divisions will be overseen by you and me during battle as often as possible.”
“I would like that,” Lukas said.
“I will serve you as your first Battle Lord. As Battle Lord, I am to manage the theater and direct the Battle Marshals.”
“Have you selected these Battle Marshals yet?” Jacob asked.
“I have,” Kane replied. “They are currently transitioning into their new roles and will be here to meet before our first battle. Nevertheless, I’d like to make it clear that while we all have backgrounds in the United States Military, your army will not function as the United States Military did.”
“And why is that?” Lukas asked.
“Because I intend to give you a military that cuts through the bureaucratic waste in order to function as a flawless engine of war,” Kane replied. “Each Division will be separated into many Legions. Each Legion will consist of twenty-six hundred men governed by a single high-ranking officer titled the Tribune. From there….”
Lukas watched the glowing image glow as Kane continued on, breaking the Imperium army down like a scientist looking to discover a single atom. Legions were broken into Cohorts that were led by Prefects. Cohorts were divided into Brotherhoods that were overseen by Wardens. Finally, Brotherhoods were separated into Bands—a group of eleven Initiates managed by an officer called an Adherent. It was a simple breakdown of a mighty war machine where a single Initiate fighting on the ground was only seven layers beneath Lukas himself.
“It’s all very…Roman,” Jacob said. “Very Roman and yet different, but I see no reason why it can’t function well.”
“The fact that it is different is what I like the most,” Lukas said, grinning as he rose from his chair. He walked to the center of the room, encircling the display. “The United States of America had left quite a footprint on the world. Many will be looking to us, wondering if we will simply stamp a different name on an old idea. I hope the Battle Lord’s desire to remake that which he’s been charged with governing can serve as inspiration to the rest of you. Let us make something the world has never seen before.” Lukas paused as the others nodded their heads and uttered their agreements. He then glanced up at the third and final emblem. “Tell me about the spear.”
“The spear represents what I hope to be my greatest gift to you,” Kane replied. “While the Imperium Guard will defend your borders and the Imperium Hammer was created to expand them, this third branch serves another purpose.”
“Which is what?” Lukas asked.
“You,” Kane replied with a smile. “In ancient Rome, a single force was created to protect the Emperor and do his bidding. They would protect the Emperor against mutiny, assassinate rivals, or besiege Rome’s own citizens. Whatever the Emperor wanted, they did. To honor that very concept, I give you the Praetorians. Three Legions of highly trained soldiers that are loyal to you alone. They will not follow any other.”
“How can you be so sure?” Sandra asked.
“Because they each volunteered to be injected with the last of Sigmund’s drug that we possessed,” Kane nodded to a tall, middle aged soldier at his left. The man drew a silver cylinder from a pouch and approached Lukas.
“I am Damian Ross,” the man replied. “I was a decorated Navy Seal before your light birthed a new dawn. I have led men, women, and machine into battle. I spent six years defending the United States, only to watch as others pissed away its greatness long before you came. With you, I had hoped the world might actually lay down their differences and unite. I now see that was never America’s dream.” The man lowered to one knee and handed the cylinder to Lukas. “Your dream is my dream. There is no mountain too high or abyss too deep for us to brave. Where you point, I will lead your men. If you’d like, you may test it now for your own assurances. I have experienced the fires before and fear not the pain nor your direction. I fear only failure.”
Lukas smiled and took the cylinder, his gaze shifting across the room. Everyone stared back at him as though he were a dangerous animal, a wild beast more precarious than ever before. A subtle fear masked their faces as they no doubt wondered just how Lukas might test his new gift.
Let them wonder, Lukas thought as he lowered his trump card.
“Your word is good enough for now,” Lukas replied. “Any man willing to subject himself to those fires for my sake is a man I trust.”
“Very well,” Damian replied. “You alone control the Praetorians.”
“Good,” Lukas said, turning to Kane. “A fine gift you have given me, Eli. And I do not just mean the Praetorians. What you have created in such little time will seal our victory.”
“I believe so as well, my Sovereign,” Kane replied. “Our factories are constructing Yellow Jackets around the clock. Have you made a decision on when and where you wish to strike the Patriarchs?”
“Almost,” Lukas replied.
“As the Battle Lord, I feel I must advise you to strike soon,” Kane said. “If Sigmund’s forces truly swell every day, then every day we wait we risk damning ourselves.
“How soon could we attack if I give the order?” Lukas asked.
“We are ready now, my Sovereign,” Kane replied.
“Then you will have my answer soon,” Lukas replied. “Perhaps tonight. For now, I wish to join my wife, watch the fireworks, and sit down for a lovely dinner.”
“Will you two be joining us near the lawn?” Sandra asked.
“No,” Lukas said with a smile. He was on the verge of becoming an unchallengeable king—a man whose wants knew no limits. “I have a special meal planned to celebrate. It’s not every night a king destroys the false gods of a fallen nation.”
A loud horn broke the night three times before a flicker of lights traveled up the stone spire, creating small clouds of dust and debris that hovered in the air as the Washington Monument crumbled to the ground. Maria Brekor squeezed her husband’s hand as the polished memorial disappeared behind the trees that lined the south lawn, followed by a distant rumble. She looked over at Lukas as the thunder subsided, his eyes alight with a clear and dangerous joy.
“A symbolic destruction,” Lukas said with a jubilant beam. “One more step in the quest to remind the world of what is no more. Well then, shall we eat?”
Maria nodded with an uncertain smile. They departed from the Truman Balcony on the southern face of the White House and worked their way toward the dining room in the West Wing. As they walked, new guards and drones moved about everywhere, in
stalling and programing new security measures. It was all part of Lukas’ new Imperium Guard he had told Maria about when he arrived an hour earlier.
“So many diligent hands,” Maria said, nodding to a guard with a smile. “It’s a wonder we were safe before.”
“We were safe,” Lukas began as he opened a door for her, “but soon we will be invulnerable.”
Maria entered the tiny room ahead of Lukas and hesitated. A small table stood as the centerpiece—a table that was curiously set for three. Four slightly yellowed walls that still had the rectangular spots from where pictures had recently been removed surrounded it. The paintings had been on a rotation of many that consisted of Abraham Lincoln discussing the course of a broken nation, George Washington crossing the Potomac, or the towering cliffs of Yosemite beneath a setting sun. Like the Washington Monument, Lukas had destroyed them and every other scrap of art dedicated to the memory of the United States of America.
“Are we expecting company, my love?” Maria asked softly as she took her seat.
“Yes,” Lukas replied. “As always, duty never rests for the man who wishes to rule the world.”
Maria nodded as a tiny army of men in white tuxedos entered the room. They poured wine for both Maria and Lukas. A month prior, Maria had been forced against her will to betray her husband as their new world order crumbled through his fingers. Now—after she and her father had helped save Lukas from Sigmund and establish the Imperium—she couldn’t help but think back to his fingers and hands on her throat, choking the life out of her. She knew Lukas had gone through an unfathomable torture and that she had helped bring it upon him, but at the time she had been given no other choice.
Now that Lukas had seized his throne and begun to dismantle the old world brick by brick, she wondered if he would destroy everything and everyone that had once wronged him, including her.
Jamie Rowe entered as the men finished filling the glasses, causing Maria to sip her wine in an effort to hide her displeasure. The younger woman had remained distant after Sigmund’s revelation about Jamie’s feelings for Lukas. Though Maria had felt sorry for Jamie’s complete humiliation, she had taken solace in the fact that a woman like Jamie wasn’t likely to be seen around him anymore. However, that comfort had vanished like a single flame in a forest fire as Lukas refused to remove her. He said they all had secrets they wish would have remained buried and Sigmund’s harsh assault on her was no reason to remove such a skilled intelligence agent. Still, Maria couldn’t help but hope that a woman who had once been infatuated with her husband wouldn’t remain close by for much longer.
Jamie paused, looking back and forth between Lukas and Maria as Lukas smiled. The younger woman then smiled back at Lukas and nodded her head.
“I’m sorry, Lukas,” Jamie said, glancing down at Maria. “I thought we were supposed to be meeting with the others to discuss this morning’s developments. I was told—”
“You’ve been avoiding me, Miss Rowe.” Lukas cut in with a smile. “I know what was said by Sigmund must have been mortifying, but that is no reason to break your service to me and the Imperium.”
“He had no right to say those things,” Jamie said defensively. “I don’t know if I can—”
“I know how you feel,” Lukas said. “I know the humiliation of having your deepest secrets revealed to those you’ve struggled to hide them from. I do hope we can all be mature adults about the situation, accept that what was said is now in the open, and move on. So please, have a seat. I’d love for you to join us for dinner. I personally spoke with the chef earlier and he has quite the exquisite course prepared for us.”
Jamie nodded with a smile and sat down. One of the servants poured her wine and she quickly took a not-so-small sip. Jamie was clearly nervous, causing Maria to smile.
Maybe tonight won’t be so bad, Maria thought as she drank lightly from her own glass.
“I am glad you’re here with us tonight, Miss Rowe,” Lukas said. “You’re an intelligence officer, trained to look at the situation and analyze the facts at hand. Tell me, what have you learned about the intrusion we had when Sigmund hacked our meeting two weeks ago?”
“Nothing concrete at this time, my Sovereign,” Jamie responded.
“But you’re a speculator, as you said,” Maria said. “That is what you do best, is it not?”
“Well, yes,” Jamie replied.
“Then speculate.”
Jamie paused, setting the glass down on the table before taking a deep breath.
“I can only conclude that for Sigmund to be able to hack into such a new system, he must have someone working for him on the inside. Someone who would have been at that first meeting.”
Lukas smiled—glancing over at Maria with a nod of approval.
“And who do you suspect?” Lukas asked.
“Maybe Warren Anniston,” Jamie replied. “He did create the Farsight technology. Still, it could have been anyone.”
“With all due respect, Miss Rowe,” Maria began, tipping her head back and donning a very English smile, “My father is a careful man. He was far too cautious in choosing our friends to let someone slip through the cracks.”
“And with all due respect, what about him?” Jamie asked.
“Excuse me?” Maria said, her voice rising. “That is quite the bold claim.”
“I didn’t say I thought he did it,” Jamie said defensively. Her cheeks reddened as she took a deep breath, her discomfort clear in her fearful eyes. “I’m just saying that if anyone were to pull it off, he would be the best candidate. I truly mean no offense.”
“And why would he be the best candidate?” Lukas asked. “You do know he is across the ocean. If we’re looking for someone on the inside, he has a pretty good alibi.”
“And that’s why I can’t help but suspect him,” Jamie replied. “I didn’t say I knew how he could be doing it, but he’s far enough away to avoid suspicion which naturally makes me suspicious. On top of that, he’s the only one who had contact with Sigmund the week between your capture and the battle of DC.”
“What of you, Miss Rowe?” Maria interjected coldly. She was trying to remain composed, but a deep anger was rising inside as they casually drug her father’s name through the mud. “Maybe you’re the one sent here to spy on my husband.”
“That’s absurd,” Jamie argued. “You claim your father is innocent and to be trusted, and yet you question me—the very agent he recruited.”
“You did have Sigmund’s eyes and ears,” Maria replied. “I’m sure he could have hidden something on you if he wished.”
“I was scanned for transponders four times before getting anywhere close to Lukas,” Jamie countered. “Everyone else only had to pass a walkthrough test once.”
“Perhaps they missed something,” Maria replied. “As you said, anyone avoiding suspicion should naturally make us suspicious.”
Jamie shook her head and looked at Lukas. “You’re more than welcome to search me yourself.” Jamie’s face turned bright red as Lukas choked on his wine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Maria interjected with a touch of anger on her voice.
“I’m sorry,” Jamie said as she raised her eyes to look at Maria. “I only want to serve as best as I can.”
“I believe you,” Lukas said. “Let us forgive and forget.”
“Speak for yourself,” Maria said, mustering as much posh as she could. “I am not overly fond with letting a man as great as my father—”
“You will forgive her and you will forget what was said,” Lukas said, his voice low and dangerous. “I am your Sovereign and what I say, you must do. I will not have infighting among those I trust. I would ask…no, I command you both to focus your energies and hunt down our betrayers. You will work together as mature professionals and I will accept nothing less than your full cooperation in this matter. Do I make myself clear?” Jamie nodded her head, though Maria paused, cocking her head back defiantly as she met Lu
kas’ gaze. She wanted to continue, but to disobey would be to undermine everything she had helped him become, while to agree would be to acknowledge herself in the wrong. Still, she nodded her head slowly. There was far more she could do in the coming days to protect the Brekor name.
“Good,” Lukas said, before turning to Jamie. “You’ve heard of the restructuring?”
“I have,” Jamie said. “I agree with most of it.”
“And what do you not agree with?” Lukas asked.
“I don’t like having so much resting on one man’s shoulders,” Jamie replied. “And I don’t mean you. I mean Eli Kane.”
“I have full faith in the Battle Lord’s abilities to do what he has spent a lifetime doing,” Lukas countered.
“And what if he fails?” Jamie said. “What if the one man guiding your armies fails on the day of battle?”
“You think that likely? You heard him. He is a product designed for war. He is doing what he does best.”
“I am not saying that Kane will fail or that you will fail. I’m just stating the fact that you must be ready if rapid adjustments are needed. You have been to war and you know how fast the winds can shift against us.”
Lukas slowly nodded his head in agreement. Maria gazed back at Jamie, the wisdom in her words unable to cool the anger in Maria’s core.
“Well, well,” Maria said. “First you question my husband’s choice to govern Europe and then you question his own Battle Lord. Who’s next? Perhaps you will question his ability to choose a wife?”
“I said enough!” Lukas bellowed as he slammed his fist down on the table. Maria jumped in her chair as silence dominated the room. It was the first time he had yelled at her since the day they nearly lost everything. She stared back at him, humiliation and fear growing deep inside. Pain quickly filled his eyes and he sighed. “Forgive me. I—”
“No,” Maria said quickly, wanting to change the subject. “I am the one who must ask forgiveness. Here I am berating Miss Rowe for doing the very job she is supposed to do. Please accept my apology and let us move on.”