The sound of the demonic war cries and laughter could still be heard from not far away. That was Nina and her demon minions cleaning up the last survivors of the Sect of Ascension. After proper interrogations, of course. True to their nature, the demons made the scene as bloody as possible. Honestly, the underlings of the Sect of Ascension should’ve just stayed in that restaurant and got shot by Katie. At least that would be quick.

Katie, against her urges, didn't join the torture session. As much as she wanted, she had other things to worry about.

“Lady Sorcerer Katherine...cool title, by the way. So, you said you needed my help. Care to elaborate?”

Katie was sitting at an outdoor table in a Starbucks. Her handguns were returned to her pockets, and aside from certain spots of blood on her shirt and jeans, she looked like just another young woman having a good time. Waiters and other customers were walking and talking all around her, having no idea what sort of monster they were just meters away from.

Sitting in front of Katie was Lady Sorcerer Katherine, the leader of all the witch covens in Los Angeles. Katie had heard about her before. Supposedly, the woman had lived for over 200 years, and most wouldn’t be surprised if she lived 200 more. Yes, she looked like an old woman, with silver hair and wrinkly skin, but legend also claimed that she had been like this for the last 120 years. Either way, the woman was, allegedly, an extremely powerful witch.

Of course, Katie didn't let that change her demeanor toward the old woman. She was Katie Lockwood, and even if God himself came down from the Heavens and stood before her, she would still be making snarky comments all day long.

“Ms. Lockwood. Your reputation precedes you.” Katherine greeted Katie politely before moving onto the topic at hand. “I will be taking a trip out of the city, and I was hoping you will join me.”

Katie frowned. The influence of the Old Factions has been confined to Los Angeles for a long, long time. In the city, the Old Factions went after the New, but outside of the boundaries of Los Angeles, the roles reversed, and the vampires, witches, and demons were the ones being hunted. Although...things were a little different with demons, given their endless numbers and fierce nature.

Either way, it was dangerous for any Old Faction member to leave the city. Go out, and you may never return. Plus...

“By the sound of it, you won’t be bringing an army either.” Katie was truly confused. Personally speaking, she would be fine with taking a casual stroll out of the city and having some fun, but Katherine definitely didn't share her immortality. Having one of the most important leaders of this side go on a walk in the territories of the enemies sounded stupid, even for Katie. “Why?”

Katherine sighed. She turned and glanced around the coffeehouse. At the dozens of people sitting all around them. Eating. Drinking. Talking. None of them had any idea a slaughter just took place mere steps away.

“Do you really think we can hold this city forever?”

Of course...not. Katie knew that a long time ago. Despite what she told Cara and the Lances and everyone else, this war was likely going to end in a crushing defeat for the Old Factions. They didn't have the numbers. They didn't have the resources. And they definitely didn't have a mysterious Protector of great power on their side. In fact, the only reason she was working with the Alliance of the Old was to say ‘fuck you’ to the Dark Pantheon, and to aim for that tiny chance of somehow finding this Protector gal and ending the Pantheon once and for all.

Then again, she didn't want the Lady Sorcerer to know that, for she might be a useful ally. Just before she could craft a lie, Katherine spoke.

“The answer is we can’t. We can’t hold the city forever. Especially not if all the...New Factions are indeed working together, which you claim that they are.” Katherine rested her hand on the table and tapped her fingernails on the surface. “To win this war, we need allies. The demons are good, but they alone can’t win the war. Vampires? Angels! Ha! What a joke! They are merely fighting to delay the inevitable. No...we need real allies. Allies...like Section U.”

There was a moment of silence before Katie started giggling. She knew this was very inappropriate and the Lady Sorcerer was very serious, but she just couldn’t help it! She was giggling so loud that a few customers on the side glanced over to see what was so funny. Katherine quietly waved her hand, and all the customers turned back to mind their own businesses.

Finally, Katie managed to contain herself.

“Wait...Section U? The Section U that uses those cool rifles?”

“Yes.”

“Ok...correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Section U anti anything supernatural? From what I heard, they want to kill all the vampires, werewolves, witches, Angels...you name it.” Katie suddenly realized something. “Oh…”

“Exactly.” The old woman nodded. “Section U has vowed to protect humanity against any and all supernatural threats. That includes us, but that also includes all the New Factions. In fact, I would argue the Dark Pantheon and the Sect of Ascension have been leaving a lot more bodies behind than us.”

“I have heard tales about Section U fighting the Dark Pantheon.” Katie recalled. “So...what? What are you suggesting? That we send a messenger to Section U and negotiate a truce? Take out the Dark Pantheon and the Sect of Ascension first before we go back to killing each other?”

Lady Sorcerer Katherine scoffed.

“Not quite. You see, Ms. Lockwood...when the vampires were trying to squeeze in another party before their death and when the Angels were futilely trying to stand their ground, we witches have had far greater plans in mind. We didn't want to just buy more time before the end. No...we actually wanted to win this war.”

“Ever since things started to go wrong several years ago, witches all over the world have been hiding themselves. Going undercover in order to learn more about the enemies we’re facing. Through a complicated and somewhat dangerous process, we can thoroughly mask our identities to almost all sorts of detection. Some of these spies were discovered and killed. Others got to high places. One of them, in fact, managed to climb up the ranks of Section U.”

“She had been sending messages back to the main covens in Los Angeles. Precious intel that we have been using to find opportunities that we can abuse. One of such opportunities presented itself as we pieced together more and more information about Section U.”

“Section U has a Director whose identity is unknown. He is the one making all the decisions, and all evidence points to the possibility that he is the one who founded the entire organization. However, unlike the other New Factions, Section U draws its personnel from volunteers. Supported and funded by the US Government, Section U recruits its troops from the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Nation Guard.”

“As far as we’re aware, these personnel were never brainwashed or mind-controlled. They were simply made aware of the reality of this world, and they merely continued to do their duty and defend their country. Except that now, it’s against supernatural foes instead of foreign ones.”

“So the foot soldiers have no idea that they’re working for this Protector or that they’re actually allies of the Dark Pantheon. They are actually trying to take down everyone, and it’s only the Director that’s the problem?” Katie concluded.

“Most likely. The Director is the one who had been advocating for sending most of the resources Section U had against Los Angeles and trying to seize it regardless of the cost. Everyone below him is just following orders. That gives us an opportunity.” Katherine’s lips curled up a little. “Section U was able to grow rapidly by leeching off government support and funding, but the government is not completely useless either. To provide some oversight, they put in place a Vice-Director. Again, as far as my agent was concerned, he wasn’t in on any of this.”

“So we should make contact with the Vice-Director.” Katie frowned. “Then why the hell are you still talking to me?”

“I’m about to get there. Patience, Ms. Lockwood.” Katherine threw Katie a glance. “My agent already tried that. She approached the Vice-Director and risked her life to tell him everything she knew. She tried to turn him, and…”

“And he betrayed and killed her?”

“And he listened.” Katherine tossed Katie another glance that clearly said please be quiet. “He acted reasonably and listened to what my spy had to say. He thinks what she said is possible. However, he needs solid evidence before he can do anything at all, much less declaring the Director a traitor and altering the strategies of the entire faction.”

“Smart man. He needs to know this is not a deception...I’m sorry I’ll be quiet and let you continue.”

“Indeed. However, not long after we received the message, it turned out that my spy in Section U made a slip-up when communicating with us. Not long after, she was tracked down and captured by two Dark Pantheon Dominators. They tortured her and demanded to know what her plan was and who she had been talking to. She barely escaped, partially due to the fact that they wanted her alive.”

Katherine sighed again, looking more worried than before.

“The New Factions obviously know something’s up, which is why they’ll stop at nothing to find that spy of mine and find out who she’s been talking to. We can’t let our plans with Section U get out...the last time we talked was a few hours ago, which is when she told us what happened. I ordered her to return here at once, and I placed a tracking spell on her. Half an hour...32 minutes ago, the spell was nullified.”

“She’s captured.” Katie immediately understood why the Lady Sorcerer was so concerned. “And unless we want her to spill everything to the New Factions, we need to retrieve her.”

“Retrieve her...or end her life.” Katherine declared coldly, going one step further. “We can’t allow her to talk. As much as it pains me to say this...her life is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Section U will always be a powerful player, but if we want them to turn the tide of the war, then we need the element of surprise on our side. We need them to believe that the spy was merely talking to a foot soldier or something.”

“I see…” Katie nodded once again. “And you want us two to go out into the open and find her? I’m going to assume we need to be covert, which is why we’re not bringing a whole army.”

“You assume correctly, Ms. Lockwood. It will be the wisest if the two of us go and investigate, by ourselves, and if we can retrieve the spy alone, then all is well. If we can’t do it, then I should be able to summon a demonic horde to do the fighting for us. They will be enough to overwhelm most opposition.”

Katherine glanced at Katie and added.

“I am sure you have heard this, Ms. Lockwood, but you are an odd one. Unless you are using your power, it is very difficult to see that you are special. I will be able to cover myself with a spell as well. This means that we should be able to get past the New Faction scouts outside the city without a fight and do our tasks in secrecy.”

Katie nodded in agreement. She had always been itching for a fight, and doing something that would both give her the fight she wanted and go against the New Factions? Brilliant! Although…

“Hmmm...quick question.” Just as Katherine was about to stand up, Katie couldn’t help but ask something. “If this business is really that urgent, and we need to find this spy ASAP, and any second wasted is a second that she may be tortured into telling the truth...then why in the bloody hell did you spend at least ten minutes explaining everything to me? Couldn’t you have told me everything on the way out?”

If all extraction missions were handled like this, then by the time help arrived, the captives would’ve confessed everything!

Lady Sorcerer opened her mouth. Would you have come out of the city, possibly for the last time ever, with me if I didn't tell you all the reasons why and how important this was? Then again, judging by the looks of it, Katie definitely would.

“My mistake…” She whispered as the two got up from the seats.