Insight

Tom escorted Sean to the gates and called for them to open. They slid the gates back from the inside and Tom walked in first. Everyone at the party had stopped their activities at the sound of the gate's movement and was staring at them as they entered, the music still playing in the background.

"This is what you do with your time?" Sean leaned in and spoke softly to Tom.

"It's not what it looks like..." Tom began but was cut off by Sean.

"This is fantastic! That uptight Shandra would never have allowed us to cut loose like this!" Sean said excitedly.

Tom paused and turned his head to stare at Sean. Though his face was mostly covered there was a sparkle in his eyes as he looked around at the lights, drinks, and people who were now staring at them. Tom watched as Sean pulled his hood back and removed his face covering. The face underneath was around the same age as Tom's, but his hair had greyed much faster. His nose was slightly pointed, and he had a sharp jawline. Turning to Tom, he smiled. A single tear rolled down his face.

"You don't know what it's like out there. To see people happy here and enjoying themselves in a semblance of what life used to be like. I'm just lost for words." Sean said, his voice breaking up slightly.

"Well, you're home now. None of that matters anymore." Tom said kindly to him.

Tom turned to the rest of the members who were still staring, confused about what was happening.

"Everyone, this is Sean. He will be joining the guild. Please treat him like the family we all have become." Tom announced loudly.

People clapped and cheered as they raised glasses in welcome to him.

"Tom, a word," Derek said forcefully as he led Tom away while a few others came over to introduce themselves to Sean.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Derek whispered harshly when they had walked a dozen or so paces away.

"I'm introducing the newest member of the guild to the others," Tom said, not confused himself.

"Did you invite him, and he accepted?" Derek questioned.

"Oh! No, here." Tom said pulling up the guild tab of his interface and quickly sending Sean an invite.

Sean stopped as someone was introducing themselves and his eyes unfocused. He turned and looked at Tom and a wide smile spread across his face. Tom got a notice a moment later that he had accepted the invite.

"There, now he's a part of Vanguard. Thanks for catching that." Tom said and made to leave.

Derek grabbed him by the elbow and stopped him.

"Oh, we are far from done. Do you know who that is?!" Derek questioned emphatically.

"Sure do. He's Sean, the leader of Shandra's spies." Tom said.

"And that doesn't give you any reason to suspect anything?" Derek asked, leaning in as he tried to lead Tom to the logical conclusion.

"You want me to toss him out because he might have ulterior motives, don't you?" Tom asked back, sighing heavily and putting his hands on his hips.

"That's one of the many thoughts that comes to my mind the instant I know he works for Shandra," Derek said placing his own hands on his hips in defiance.

"Worked for Shandra. Now he works for us." Tom replied, emphasizing the word worked to show he believed Sean was genuine in his change of heart.

"And how do we know this isn't a ploy to get information from us and send it to her? What if he's just getting close to assassinate someone?" Derek asked now waving his hands around indicating the partygoers.

"The thought crossed my mind, and I can't explain it, but something is telling me this is real. They don't have electricity over there. Shandra is a complete bitch, as we already know, and he seemed so unhappy. I couldn't turn him away if there was a chance that he could help us. Besides, if he is sincere, can't we use his knowledge?" Tom asked.

Derek paused for a long moment, just staring at Tom with a look of concern mixed with frustration. He continued to stand there for a long time as Tom watched his facial expressions shift while he considered what to do.

"You know I trust you, right?" Derek asked.

"I do," Tom replied.

"Then I need to verify this. We can't just assume the best and not prepare for the worst." Derek said turning away from Tom slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"And this is why we are in this together. You, the pessimistic one always looking out for us, me the optimistic one always trying to help, and James the guy who keeps looking at the glass asking who drank his booze." Tom laughed as he spoke to Derek. "Sean! Can you come over?"

Sean looked up from where someone had offered him a drink and saw Tom calling for him. He walked over to where they were standing.

"Hey, what's up?" Sean asked. "Everything alright?"

"This is Derek. He is my general in the guild. He controls all the forces and makes sure we don't do stupid things. He is expressing the obvious concern. Can you give us some additional assurances of your change of heart? I hate to ask this, but you can see why there might be concern." Tom explained.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"It's no worries. I knew this would come up. Umm, where to begin." Sean started as he thought of what he could tell them. "Shandra is losing control over there. People are leaving left and right, and those that are staying are only doing so because of that guy she killed when she caught him sneaking out."

"Why haven't we seen anyone else looking to join here?" Derek asked.

"Most are trying to get as far away as possible. They aren't stopping here. They are leaving the whole city and going into hiding. She is forcing us to search for the others. I was planning to bail soon myself, but Tom's offer was too good to pass up." Sean explained.

"And she obviously knows you've left now that you accepted our invite, so she's likely to do what?" Derek asked though he was looking directly at Tom now.

"Oh, she's gonna lose her shit. She's probably gonna lash out at something...." Sean paused as he followed the train of thought. "Like you guys...oh shit."

"Oh, shit is right," Derek said. "Sean, you come with me, we are going to the security office to talk about her forces. You, Tom, are going to shut this party down, get everyone inside, try to sober them up, and get ready."

"Aww, but they are having such a good time," Tom began to argue.

"Tom," Derek said in the way you would speak to a child who was asking to stay up past their bedtime.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Alright everyone! We gotta shut the party down. I know, I know, but this is for safety. There might be an attack coming in the not-too-distant future and we can't be caught out here partying. Brian, get the music shut off and meet with Derek in the security office! Kiera, Jay, Kevin, Kirsten, and Michael help me get everyone to the cafeteria. Kedron get your team and help with tear down from the party. Charlene, we need coffee!" Tom began announcing orders to get everyone moving.

The music cut off abruptly and everyone began to move inside, suddenly feeling the pressure and severity of Tom's words, they didn't question him or argue. Not one cry of disappointment came from the guild members. They knew the dangers they faced and moved with purpose, some more drunk than others, toward the building.

Waiting outside to ensure everyone got in, Tom continued to oversee the efforts, helping take tables down and load them onto a cart to be taken inside. Once the courtyard was cleared, he made his way inside to the security office. Brian and Derek were inside talking with Sean. Brian was taking notes furiously as Sean continued to explain things.

"So, what did I miss?" Tom asked, pulling over a chair to sit in and grunting as he sat down.

"A lot, actually. I don't have any way of substantiating what he says, but it sounds right. We have info on pretty much everyone there." Derek said sounding surprised.

"Of course, you don't. If you did, I'd have been terrible at my job." Sean said, taking a sip of coffee that had been delivered while Tom was helping clear the party out.

"TJ, Double up the guards on rotation for now. We need eyes out there. Sean will have been a big blow to Shandra's ego. She's likely to do something rash." Derek turned and spoke to TJ who had been standing nearby.

"You got it," TJ said as he moved to the radio to give orders.

"Well, I'll be the first to say it. I think this was actually a good idea." Derek admitted. "I don't like it, and would like to have been consulted, but I think we have a pretty good chance of taking Shandra down."

"Great, though I'd like to minimize the casualties," Tom said to them.

"I...I can't promise that, Tom. We have to strike them while they are in disarray." Derek said.

"Then we aren't hitting them now. Sean said a lot of people want to leave. I don't want them dead because they got stuck in a bad situation. That's not okay." Tom said firmly.

"See what I have to deal with?" Derek said to Sean.

"I'm beginning to. And honestly, I feel more and more like I made the right decision listening to him." Sean admitted. "Shandra wouldn't have paused for a moment to crush you. But that's part of why the guild is so unhappy and beginning to crumble."

"So, what do we know then?" Tom asked.

"There are only a few people we have to be wary of. Shandra herself, obviously. Keith the barbarian." Derek began when Tom interrupted him.

"What's with everyone with a K name being a barbarian?" Tom snickered as he asked this.

"No idea. I don't think that means anything, though it's odd. Anyway, there's also Claude who's a wizard, and Bill who is a Cleric. These make up Shandra's core team. Sean was a part as well, but we know what happened there. Keith is loyal to a fault. He won't ever leave Shandra's side. Claude and Bill though..." Derek trailed off looking to Sean for more information.

"They could go either way. Though Bill is a complete ass." Sean picked up from Derek.

"Okay. I'm good with not relying on winning them over. How many people are left in the guild?" Tom asked.

"About a hundred and fifty. Give or take. A lot are lower levels, comparatively speaking of course, but many are not. Honestly, most left are those who are looking to gain favor with Shandra and are no loss to society if you catch my meaning." Sean said, trying to be helpful.

"What was it you did before this all happened, Sean?" Tom suddenly asked.

"Umm, well, I worked for the FBI. I was stationed in the building in Fort Worth, but I had business with the Dallas Police the day of the integration." Sean replied.

"Seriously? Damn, that's cool." Tom said. "So, you did all this stuff before and just continued here?"

"I was more focused on solving crimes, but I had a lot of connections and learned how to use them. So, kind of?" Sean replied. "And before you ask, no there is no Mulder or Scully."

"Well, that's too bad. And exactly what they would want you to think." Tom burst out laughing after putting on a serious face.

Sean laughed uneasily with him.

"You'll get used to that. It's how a lot of people cope around here." Derek interjected. "If we could get back to the issue at hand?"

"Sure, sure. Go on." Tom conceded.

"Now, with roughly one hundred and fifty people, we could likely crush them easily. The team with Shandra is the wild card. We could lose a lot of people while taking them down. So, we have to get them alone." Derek began again.

"But we don't want to kill everyone. So, we need to force a meeting. With her whole guild." Tom said.

"And just how do you propose we do that?" Derek asked.

"We fire across her nose," Tom replied with an evil grin spreading across his face.