Location: Velstand Capital Building, Senate Chamber
Time: 5:00 PM, 02/23/2108
I was standing in front of the marble podium, which stood as the centerpiece of the room. The Prime Minister was standing behind me, with Eren beside him, in the spot usually reserved for the Security General; and the senators were seated in an 180 degree arc in front of me. The cameras were facing directly at me.
Needless to say, I was about to give a speech. My victory speech. So far, everything had moved exactly as I had planned, with the exception of Karver Kaldsen’s untimely death at the hands of his son.
“People of this great city, I’m here today asking for your support, and your understanding. I’m aware of what is said against me. I’m a monster, a bloodsucking aberration, a vampire.”
I paused for dramatic effect.
“Well, all of those things are true, and they’ll never be changed. An individual can’t change who they are. But does that matter? I drink blood rather than eat steak. I don’t sleep, and the sun hurts me as its light touches my skin. But ask yourself, does any of that truly matter? I’m not here asking to be your friend, I’m here asking to protect this city and better the lives of its inhabitants. The Security General had failed you, and let chaos run rampant in the streets. Just last week, 1,347 innocent men, women, and children were murdered in the streets while he was focused on consolidating his own power. Well, let me promise you, such an attack would have never been allowed to pass under the protective wings of the Empire.”
I spread my arms out to emphasize my point. I was also making sure to never open my mouth too wide as I spoke. Hearing about it is one thing, but actually seeing my inhuman teeth would only make people more cautious. I’m sure my glowing golden eyes were already unsettling enough.
“I will bring peace and stability back to this city.”
Directly behind me, the wall to the Senate Chamber exploded inward. This wasn’t some kind of stunt on my part. Dust filled the chamber; making it impossible to see what was happening. Based on the smell, Eren instantly fled and the Prime Minister was struck in the back of the head by debris. He was unconscious. None of the senators appeared to be injured.
After a few seconds, the filtration system activated, clearing all of the dust out of the room.
I turned around to see what had caused this unforgivable interruption.
It was a woman. Dark hair and an oversized black hoodie. A plaid skirt and mismatched red and black tights. Most recognizable, an eyepatch covering her left eye was visible through her bangs. I’d never met her personally, but there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Alexis Albright.
I knew dealing with her would be troublesome, but I wasn’t expecting an outright attack. Why would an information broker do something like this?
And why was she carrying a baby?
She started walking toward me without looking particularly rushed.
Why hasn’t anyone detained her yet?
Without taking my attention away from Alexis, I glanced around the room, trying to locate the ones I brought here as a security measure.
Seven was laughing about something with Vier. Of course he was. I couldn’t even pretend to be surprised about that. The two of them are basically nonfactors now.
Oliver was listening to some woman I’d never met, but I’d seen her picture in the ARA files, Kamiya Kanon. She should be working with the ARA, but last week she took a leave of absence after delivering an injured Alec Alexander to Oliver. She must have been smart enough to know what would happen to a Japanese national once this became part of the Empire.
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Lucy was arguing with Henry about something. I was the one who invited him here, but I was probably the most surprised to see him show up.
Eren’s reflection was currently in a pane of glass, and his lucky follower from the Empire was knocking on it to get his attention, as if he were a fish in an aquarium.
His other follower, Hatta, was standing quietly with a high school girl holding both of his shoulders. It was Allison Albright. From that range he didn’t really have much hope of getting away from her, at least not without destroying most of the room.
My last line of defense, Hana, was fawning over the girl who started this mess, Emelia Emin.
It would seem that a few uninvited guests managed to sneak in. It was probably a result of that Sara girl’s augmentation.
Alexis used her free hand to brush her hair, momentarily showcasing her eyepatch in full. It had an emblem on it.
A dripping smiley face, made to look like it was just drawn with wet paint.
On its own that wouldn’t mean anything to me, but I could recognize what she was telling me.
Vier, Kanon, Henry, Sara, Allison, and Emelia. They all had the same design on various articles of clothing. They were all working together. I mean, at this point that was obvious, but it wasn’t a one time thing. They were part of a group.
As Alexis closed in on me, I considered my options. A fight breaking out here would be catastrophic. The capitol building would be destroyed, and almost every member of the government would perish. That wouldn’t be the end of the world. Still, I wanted to prove that I could peacefully and completely bring Velstand into the Empire. If my first act in power ended with that much death and destruction, my reputation would be forever ruined.
Besides, I couldn’t take action, even if I wanted to. I still didn’t have any way to handle Vier. I was up in the air about Oliver, but I absolutely had to assume that Vier could kill me.
“Hold her for a second, would you?”
Without waiting for a response, Alexis handed me the baby in her arms. I’m not an expert at these things, but I’d guess she was around one year old. I wanted to say something, but the icy stare coming from the child practically froze me in place.
In my moment of shock, Alexis shuffled me aside and stood in front of the podium.
“What a good speech from the princess here, huh? I was going to wait for her to finish, but I’ve already heard this speech so many times that I got bored with it. Anyway, I’m just here crashing the party because I’ve got something everyone needs to hear, and this is the fastest way to spread the message. Basically, I’m going to bring chaos and instability back into this city. Me and my friends here are going to cause a whole lot of problems. We’re the Restoration, and we’re going to destroy the world.”
Alexis did a half turn and scooped the baby from me in one solid motion.
“Thanks.” She spoke softly enough that the camera crew couldn’t have picked it up. “If you want, you can try to arrest us. I know you won’t, but I thought I’d offer. You won’t come after any of us, ever. Sure, if someone gets caught in the act, feel free to respond. Your position demands at least that much. You won’t do anything more than that though. Because if you do, I’d just release all of my information on you. I’d let everyone know about things that make your fake concert massacre look like child’s play. Of course, that includes your plan to use Eren to kill old daddy dearest. You could kill me right now, I’m absolutely useless in a fight, but that would mean exposing every plan you’ve ever made to the entire world. I’d kill the one thing you value more than your life, your chance at regaining your lost status.”
“See, I’m pretty much your worst enemy. I’ll always be one step ahead of every plan you make, because I’ve been playing this game for centuries longer than you have. Besides, good luck trying to convince anyone to come after me. And I’m not just saying that because Vier is on my side. You’re not the only one I’ve got dirt on. Why do you think no one has ever come after me before?”
At that point, Alexis must have left, and someone else must have gotten the situation under control, because I can’t really remember what happened next. I was panicking, trying to figure out what to do.
Just playing along with what Alexis said would make me appear weak, but if there was any truth to what she said, I had to listen. Information was the one thing I had to fear.
I have no idea how she’d have any kind of proof to back up her claims, yet I couldn’t discount the possibility. Anytime I did any research on Alexis Albright the results were always the same.
Her information was always right. There was nothing in this world she didn’t know.
Obviously an exaggeration, but the truth wasn’t far behind. Moving forward, I should assume that she already knows about every plan I’ve ever made, even if I never spoke a word of them to anyone.
The victory I thought was mine was becoming harder to grasp. Success wouldn’t come so easily after all. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, the best laid plans of vampires and men often go awry. And from the beginning, this was nothing more than a plan on success.