28 - Chapter 26

Tasha looked up in anticipation of the last meeting of the day. She knew that the meeting had the potential to be volatile. It would all depend on who was sent to meet her. She decided to plan for the worst. She did not want her new team members to be caught up in something that they would have no way to deal with. In fact, not having them in the room might give her more options. There were certain secrets that she did not want to subject them to. Some secrets really could kill.

“So before the next meeting with the Daud Mining Consortium starts,” said Tasha in an uncharacteristically serious tone. “Depending on who they have sent to meet us, I may need you to leave the room. If I give you a signal, I need you to leave as quickly as possible and not ask any questions.”

“Is that really necessary for a business meeting?” asked Mamat.

“If it is someone from the family, then Tasha would need to meet them in private.” replied Daniel. He thought Tasha was concerned about a perceived imbalance if she was not to treat them as an equal.

“Just so,” replied Tasha. She did not know what Daniel was thinking, but having his support made it easier for her not to have to provide additional details.

As they were discussing the last meeting of the day, a quest appeared in Tasha’s interface. Normally there would be a discreet mark denoting a change. This time her system took a more blunt approach. A prompt appeared in her vision.

Emergency Quest Issued - Survive

She immediately brought up the quest details, the name was enough to send chills down her back.

Emergency Quest: Survive

You are about to face a powerful and dangerous vampire who has reason to believe that you are involved in the disappearance of his daughter. He also has knowledge about your family’s accident. He has been informed that you may be a risk to his entire clan.

This foe is a threat significantly beyond your current level. Do not engage physically. There is a way that guarantees your immediate survival, but will in all likelihood lead to catastrophe for everyone you know. If you are forced to use this method, then you will be deemed to have failed this quest.

Survival method: tell the vampire “I serve the myriad dragons.”

Reward: Survival - Other rewards, dependent on performance

Status: In Progress

So, she was in trouble. The father of the vampire he had killed had come in person.

“I need you both to leave now.” stated Tasha urgently. “Mamat, ensure Hanna escalates her activities. Call her as soon as you are out of this suite.”

As the two left the room with the majority of the folders, they both had disgruntled looks on their faces. They simply did not understand who Tasha had suddenly decided to kick them out without even knowing who had been sent to meet them.

As they left the room Daniel looked around the waiting room, to try to identify who had been sent. When he saw who it was, he went pale, as the blood drained from his face in shock.

“How, just how did Tasha know?” he asked in an urgent whisper. “That is the patriarch of the Daud clan. Why is he here in person and alone?”

Thankfully the man was on the phone and seemed to be having a conversation that made him very unhappy so did not notice them. Daniel assumed it had be something to do with his missing daughter.

Mamat did not know the Patriarch on sight, but was well aware of the implications. The questions he was asking himself were about his new boss. Just who was she, and how did she rate a direct visit from someone so powerful. More importantly just how did she know to send them out of the room?

Meanwhile Tasha was reviewing the emergency quest over and over again trying to glean as much information as she could.

The fact that the quest had only just popped up led her to assume something had happened. She worked through the possibilities in her head. If he knew that she had killed his daughter, then he would have attacked her already. Also the quest would not say that he suspected her involvement in the disappearance of his daughter.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

So he still did not know that his daughter was dead. So she could not reveal that little detail. It would lead to her getting brutally killed. He also had knowledge of her family’s accident. Things began to click in place for Tasha.

It was obvious that the Malam had her thoroughly investigated. He would have thought it suspicious that a company approached them to buy out a large part of their holdings the day after his daughter disappeared. He would have assumed that it was a way to gain leverage in the negotiations.

Then he has come here personally to see what he could learn, while having his people and potentially the wider syndicate researching her, the same way her team were looking into his family. He would have seen that multiple companies have sold to us, and assumed that we had gained leverage and were making a move. He would have hit a dead end with our money trail receiving only a name. Then he received information about her family from his contacts. That can mean a few things, but guarantees that this syndicate was responsible for her family’s accident, or covered it up to make it look like an accident.

The phrase that would guarantee her survival while dooming her future was also full of information. The group of the same name must be an existential threat to the vampire clans, or even the syndicate as a whole. But why would he think that I would target his clan, unless he thinks that I have an enmity with his clan, thought Tasha. The rest made sense, but that last step seemed to be a leap to her. She racked her brain working through the possibility.

The only reason he would have to think that I would be a direct enemy of his clan, is because he has been informed that his family was responsible for the death of mine. Why would he think that I would target his daughter and not those directly responsible though? Thought Tasha. Surely he has to know about my military career and time in intelligence.

Then the final piece fell into place, the reason he thinks I am an enemy of his clan, and the reason that I would target his daughter, the reason the emergency quest explicitly warned me not to attack him, it all lead only to one conclusion. His daughter had either directly or indirectly killed her family. It also meant that she had avenged her family, but potentially started a blood feud.

The emotional part of her wanted to lash out, to destroy the vampire and his whole clan. Yet her training kicked in and allowed her to regain control over herself.

There was one final piece to this puzzle, the system had helped her to get revenge for her family, had given her power, but was still trying to keep her alive. The organisation behind the system was powerful enough that even the syndicate would halt their actions on the basis of their name alone. The reason she was given power, the reason the system was having her build out a base and grow her influence. It had nothing to do with the syndicate. There was only one scenario that fit all the facts.

There was a threat looming, that would dwarf the power of the syndicate, and her system was training her to counter it.

That revelation actually did more to calm her down than even her training had. She felt a tension lift from her shoulders. The weight she had been carrying following the loss of her family was gone. The guilt over having killed that vampire was gone. The concern about the system and where it was leading her was significantly reduced. She felt lighter and freer than she had in a long time.

She had avenged her family. She had a new purpose to strive for. She had a new group around her, a new support structure to help her move towards her goals. This realisation led to her regaining her focus that had not been present since she left the intelligence services all those years ago. She would do what she needed to achieve her objectives.

Even as Tasha was lost in introspection, the door opened.

“The executive from Daud Mining to see you Ms Andersen” announced the secretary.

*

A frustrated Malim had announced that he was ready for his meeting after the aggravating call with the Ancestor. He could not go against his orders, as much as they chaffed. He had no direct evidence, but all the circumstantial evidence pointed to this company being involved in the disappearance of his daughter.

He could feel it in his bones. He wanted to capture this representative, to get them to reveal everything they knew. He kept his frustrations from showing on his face. The secretary from before led him to the meeting room as he was still lost in his internal rage at the restrictions that prevented him from finding his daughter. He was aware of the door opening, and being led inside.

It was only when he heard himself be introduced, that the shock brought him back to his senses. He was not here to meet some no name representative. He looked around the room and noticed that while there was evidence that others had been in the room with her, now she sat alone. A feeling of strength and determination radiated from her. He also felt a sense of danger from her. To feel anything like that from a mere human was beyond shocking, yet had she come from one of the magical races, he would have known immediately. Was she merely human, something new, or worse, something so old that only fables still remained.

Tasha Andersen was here in person and was prepared to face him alone.

“Greeting Patriarch Mailm bin Daud.” said Tasha without a hint of deference in her tone. “What brings the head of hour Daud here today. I admit I am surprised to see you here. I would have thought you would have other concerns.”

“Greetings Tasha Andersen” replied Malim, his tone challenging.”We all do what we must for our families. I understand that you feel the same. I also understand that you have also lost family. So you understand, that even during moments of crisis, some duties can not be set aside.”

And with that initial exchange, the stage was set for what was sure to be an interesting and potentially tumultuous meeting.