PORTAL BEAST SLAYER

"And what is the guarantee that you're not involved in this somehow? Think about how suspicious it is that you suddenly awakened the sword and now the portal that has remained fairly stable and predictable for several years is now, should I say malfunctioning?" He asked, and Alrik sighed.

"More like it's evolving. The two events are connected, you're right. But you have the order wrong. Even in the myths most of you claim are just lies, why was the sword used in the first place? Was it to aid the beasts or kill them? Why did it become a national treasure? You're right to have questions, but you're asking the wrong person the wrong questions. Look within yourselves. I'm sure you'll find all the answers you need, that's if you're not a part of it already."

"A part of what?"

Gaya responded this time because she could see that Alrik was already frustrated with answering basically the same question again.

"Whatever conspiracy exists. I suggest at least one of you should be smart enough to have suspicions even before now. This is your chance to investigate your suspicions. Contact us at any time if you have any useful information. Anonymously of course, if you don't have the courage. I'm sure whoever is involved didn't stay hidden this long through luck. There must surely be skeletons in closets, both literally and figuratively." She said, and then waved.

But as the three of them turned towards the door, they were stopped by the High commander, and the council's representative spoke. His position was more like a vice president Velmorra.

"The sword stays with you, for now. But if you are true about being in support of the nation, then you must give up your civilian status. You said it yourself, the sword's purpose is to slay beasts, so put your skills to use on the battle field."

"I will not be forced into battle again. But I will not stay neutral either, else I wouldn't have revealed the sword's power to you all. For now, I will not be needed seriously. Implementing regular patrols and making sure they're armed with enough Anamite weapons will be enough to ensure the nation's safety. Inform the public that they need to be more alert, and begin plans to have anamite distributed to homes. Everyone should have the ability to protect themselves should it come to it. I need to train and prepare for the real battles coming."

He was about to tell them about the new species of beasts he saw in his trance, the red and black one. And also the fact that he had the ability to predict the portal, but since it wasn't a developed skill, he could only see it when it was almost too late to be prepared. But something stopped him from speaking. He decided to follow his gut. Until they had at least a more defined idea of who among the rulers were behind the issues, there was no need to give them a chance to be prepared.

Revealing his power at this meeting had been a risk. They could very well destroy every evidence available now that Alrik had raised suspicions. But he hoped there would still be enough left to at least connect them all when his team started investigating.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

They all sighed in relief as they walked out of the door, and closed it behind them.

"At least we're not leaving in cuffs." Bruno said, and they all chuckled.

"I'd have gotten us out of here regardless. Things would have just become more complicated. Do you think they'll actually listen to my advice about the patrols and anamite distribution?" He asked.

"Unlikely. I partially understand the hesitation. People tend to panic and cause mass chaos if they believe there's danger lurking. But like you said, people have the right to be able to protect themselves, because even with regular patrols, there will still be areas left untouched. I doubt they'll be so thorough enough to make sure every street has armed patrol." Gaya responded.

"If they don't take action, we'll discuss what to do next." Bruno added, and Alrik nodded.

They walked down the halls, and Alrik couldn't help scoffing as he noted the sheer amount of armed guards standing at each corner, and hallway they passed on their way to the exit.

"There are so many guards here. What could they possibly be protecting against? There hasn't been any attempt to attack the Hub in decades. No more rebel groups protesting the monarchy's downfall, because there's no monarchy anymore. And only recently did the issue of unpredicted portals, but none have occurred anywhere near here to cause this level of security." Bruno spoke low so his voice would not be overheard by the guards they walked by.

"There could be another possibility. Maybe the guards aren't to keep things out, but to keep things in." Gaya said, and they immediately gave each other signals to resume the conversation when they were safely away from prying eyes.

As they turned down the last hallway that led to the main doors, a guard bumped into Alrik, and immediately apologised. But as he turned away, Alrik realised the man had passed him something. The guard didn't make eye contact, but Alrik noted his face as he walked off, but didn't linger to avoid raising suspicions.

He kept his fists closed and folded his arms to make sure the cameras saw his arms up front. If he immediately put his hands in his pockets, it would look suspicious. He had no idea what the man had given to him, except that it was a small flat disk. Too small to be a hard drive. Too round to be a flash drive.

When they got back to their car, Bruno was about to speak, but Alrik gave him a signal to remain quiet. Then he changed the topic and they began to talk about mundane things, like the work they had to do at the office as a diversion. Alrik signalled the driver to drive to the office instead of to their home. The driver had already been instructed not to leave the car for any reason when they went in, so Alrik was sure no cameras had been planted inside the car. But he wasn't so sure about a listening device.

A tracker wouldn't be needed, a quick search would show Alrik's company and home, and he didn't really go to other places much, so there would be no need to monitor his movements. But maybe they still thought it necessary.

"We have a teleconference meeting to attend in about thirty minutes so we'll have enough time to prep for it." Gaya spoke as they all stepped out of the car.

She was lying, but it was part of their cover, just in case someone was listening. Then they kept talking as they walked towards the elevator in the underground parking lot. As soon as they were inside and the doors closed, Alrik sighed.

"Have the team sweep the car for bugs and any form of tracking device. I'm sure they wouldn't miss the opportunity to do so." He instructed and Gaya immediately began texting.

"Back to what we would have discussed in the car if we weren't being cautious, do you really think they could be hiding something within the hub itself? It can't be a beast because there's no way they were able to get one off the battlefield, right? The beasts are too feral for capture. Teams have tried previously when the leaders were still interested in trying to find out the reason for the existence of the portal. There are records of the failures, including the fact that after a portal closes, whatever beasts are left usually die off." Bruno said.

"It's still worth investigating. But first…" Alrik stopped talking, and took out the disk that he had transferred to his pocket in the car.

"The guard that bumped into me slid this into my hand."

"What!" "That's dangerous!"

"There wasn't exactly any time for me to stop and ask what he was trying to give to me. And the car wasn't the place to start that conversation." Alrik replied to them.

"What if this is actually the listening device? Or maybe a damn bomb?" Gaya said with a frown.

"That's one of the reasons I diverted us to the office. We have jammers here to make sure no tapping device can be planted here. If it is indeed a listening device, all it heard was our talk in the car. It would have been cut off as soon as we stepped into the elevator." He replied and she sighed.

Alrik fumbled with the small disk, and eventually, a part of it slid open. A small memory card was inside the disk.

"We're definitely not using any company affiliated or personal devices to check that out. I'll have Graham's team prepare a secure location, and new encrypted devices. Then we'll find out if what you were given is worth anything."