Chapter 4: Benn

The capital building was deep within the central metropolis. The building was built dead centre of Gau City in fact. A much smaller version of the glass field encompassing the city was domed around the twisting skyscraper. Though this smaller duplicate shield never came down, protecting the city’s beloved officials at all times.

On one of the top floors, inside a private lounge, the highest ranking federation officials had gathered. They were spread across the suite, seated on blue velvet sofas. Most had a drink in their grasp. The setting was relaxed but the discussions were of immense importance.

Benn Bachmann was the loftiest official in attendance, the Governor General: head of the Gau City Council.

He sat in the corner, legs crossed, hands neatly resting on his plump gut as he listened to the others.

“Safaree’s term is almost up,” Douglas Merver the Military Intelligence General said. “It would be best to ensure someone more cooperative replaces her.”

‘Indeed,’ Benn thought.

With the current unrest it was imperative they got the union back on their side.

“Pah!” Bernard spat, in his glittering suit white suit. “We should’ve scraped that organization long ago. Giving them a voice was a mistake. If they had their way chipping would be optional.”

Benn frowned. How a tactless man like Bernard rose to his current standing was quite the mystery.

The union gave the masses hope their problems were being heard and taken serious. Even though the union can’t affect any actual change, the illusion of having an outlet for channelling the people’s frustrations was vital. Without it the people might resort to more drastic measures.

“Khuu! Khuu!”

One of officials coughed dryly attracting the attention of the rest. The room quickly quieted down. The official, a middle aged woman, wearing a formal police uniform with numerous medals and diamond crested badge. The Police Chief Adella Saar.

“The Attack on the Rhodesia Vault was quickly resolved. We also apprehended the agent responsible. Bernard’s people are still checking the inventory—”

“What about the mess those bastards left in my vault,” Bernard interrupted.

“Please Bernard.” Adella waved him off. “If your security measures weren’t so pitiful, cybercrime wouldn’t have needed to be called in the first place.”

Bernard’s eyes bulged, showing whites. His pale skin flushed. He opened his mouth ready to explode but two sharp knocks sounded, Benn’s hand positioned over the side table.

“Bernard not another word,” Benn snapped softly. Blue eyes squinted hard and a hand massaging the two peaks on his bald head.

Bernard’s fury stemmed from his concern over his side hustle: slowly selling the empire relics to the highest bidders and replacing them with forged replicas.

‘Like I wouldn’t notice.’

But the League of Five who were Bernard’s number one customers paid Benn his hush money so he’d never confronted the fool.

Bernard didn’t hide the displeasure on his face but he at least held his tongue.

As governor of Gau City, Benn had the highest authority present. No, the highest authority in the city. Furthermore, being governor of the largest city among the remaining free cities, he stood above all the other governors with only the United Federation President being above him.

“Adella has interrogation yielded anymore Intel,” Benn said redirecting the flow of conversation.

“The twins interrogated him but he’d muted himself and his mental was unaffected by the loss of limbs. So we switched to wave control therapy but with his mental fortitude it will take time to break him.

‘But break him we will.’

The Shadow Coven was currently spamming him with subliminal waves implanting thoughts of betrayal and self-preservation into his mind until he couldn’t distinguish which thoughts were foreign and which were his own. He would eventually talk.

“But,” Douglas said. “Like the agents we’ve caught before. I fear this might be another disposable hacker. Their leader has proven that cunning thus far.”

Benn nodded unwillingly but this was the truth. From their interrogation of past agents they’d gained too little information.

They knew the AoF originated from a barbarian clan out in the Scorchedlands. Apparently they lived in an underground mine, somewhere within a rocky mountain range and nearby Gau City. But they’d investigated all such areas with no luck. Their leader was deceiving them somehow to keep their location concealed.

They also knew the AoF had just three ranks: Master, heir and agent in that order.

Their master’s identity was a mystery even to the agents that blindly followed his orders.

‘All in all, they ran a simple but solid operation.’

Adella’s expression twisted in disgust. “And from Captain Zappa’s report of his interaction with this agent, we believe they might be machine worshippers.”

“I thought we purged all those idiots,” Bernard snorted.

“Only within our borders,” Adella said. “Many carrying the religion live on in the Scorchedlands amongst the barbarian clans some even coexisting with the No-chips despite their contradicting philosophies.”

There was a thoughtful silence.

Benn swept his gaze across the room and nodded to Dr. Vega, the minister of Weapons Development.

Dr. Vega’s expression darkened at the call, he sat up and cleared his throat, silencing the room. “There was also a breach at the city armoury and one of the relics I was researching was stolen.” The old minister paused, wiped his greasy face. “The theft was committed by one of my cyber security personnel who’d been in service for us for over 13 years. I-I-I couldn’t have seen it coming,” he concluded with a stutter.

“And it’s imperative we retrieve the relic,” Benn added.

“I don’t see the problem.” Douglas raised a brown eyebrow. “Surely we have his IP, why not have the guild track his chip.”

Dr. Vega frowned, sweat coded on his old face. “He activated an encryption program and locked us out his chip.”

“He’s an agent then,” Adella said.

“Afraid so,” Benn said.

Only the Agents of Fate had the encryption technology to ghost federation satellites.

“Simultaneous intrusions,” Douglas said. “This beyond provocation.”

‘Indeed, they’re undermining our security. How long till the barbarian clans think they can mount an assault on us?’

The sequence of events was quite alarming. How long had it been since federation law was subverted to this extent?

‘How long until the barbarian clans aren’t intimidated by city’s glass field or the strength of our mage forces or our high-tech military? How long until they try to take Gau City for themselves?’

Adella opened her mouth, thought better and closed it.

“What is it?” Benn darted a look at her.

She hesitated but relented under his glare. “Could it be the AoF are supplied and funded by one of the league corporations as a front for one of their disputes? One of the AoF’s more notable heists was against BioWear—”

“Watch your tongue woman,” Bernard snapped. “The League of Five are reputable corporations. They’d never involve themselves in such dark work. Have you forgotten how their tech helped bring down the old empire?”

‘How could we forget? You remind us every other meeting,’ Bernard thought but didn’t dare vocalize.

The league had eyes within the council and it was best not to get on their bad side if he could help it. And he made too much money exploiting them.

Benn thoughtfully massaged his bald double peaked head.

He doubted this was another corporate squabble. Except the BioWear heist, the AoF mostly targeted city council resources and the corporations knew better than to attack the council.

Not to say the council intimidated them because they didn’t but they upheld federation law and maintained a delicate balance between the big five corporations and the masses. Their role was irreplaceable and the corporations knew it. They were the sole stopgap between order and anarchy.

‘And anarchy isn’t good for business.’

“You shouldn’t look at it that way Adella,” Benn said. “All we need to do is continue our investigations. Whatever we unearth at the end of the day will be the undeniable truth.”

But he couldn’t completely rule the league out. There was no way of knowing for sure if they were involved or not.

‘Not like they’d admit to anything.’

Well, at least not until he started receiving bribes to look the way because he was getting too close to the truth.

Linking these dark organizations back to their corporate masters would be costly for the corporations involved. Public perception and moral high ground still mattered despite the pacifying capabilities of wave controls each corporation employed.

Strong feelings of injustice, oppression or danger could overwhelm implanted thoughts. And if the masses rallied against any of them they wouldn’t survive.

So if any of the big five corporations was involved.

‘It’s all the more important I bring the AoF to its knees so they come running to me with a big payday to cover their tracks.’

Benn sagged into his blue couch, restrained a smirk threatening to bend his professional expression.

“You’re right sir,” Adella said. “I’ll get my people on it we’ll collaborate with intelligence and border control. We’ll get the thief’s face out there. It’s only a matter of time until we catch him.”

“No,” Benn said. “We have to keep this quiet. I’ve locked down the city but we still need to be covert in our search. And quick, the corporations won’t tolerate me halting their import and export operations for too long.”

This took Adella by surprise and she blurted out.

“Exactly which relic was stolen?”