As the duo neared the center of the city, a loud shockwave reverberated across the city, coming from that direction. Sam jolted to full awareness, and sprinted for the city center. He arrived there less than a minute later, to see an unexpected sight. Jane was fighting against four of the other captains, and even stranger, she was winning. However, there was an aura of wrongness coming from the woman, and Sam saw that it was coming from a large wound on her side. The blood oozing from it was a pallid gray color, and Sam instantly realized what was happening. That was not Jane. That was a member of the Legion. It must have snuck in under her guise, pretending to be the woman. She had been the perfect target, seeing as she rarely communicated.
Sam snarled in anger at having been duped, and he directed that rage towards his Dao. It responded eagerly, and he flew across the ground at high speeds, his Fiery Justice skill enhancing him beyond the norm. The infiltrator only had a moment to look around before Sam’s fist struck it in the head.
The creature went spiraling backwards, crashing into the city hall. It cracked the stone behind it, but did not break through. The creature pushed off the wall, and started to glow with dark light as it did so. A large gem began to form in front of its chest, and before Sam could think about it, he sent a bolt of energy flying towards the thing. It ripped the flesh of his hand down the bone, seeing as he had not possessed the wherewithal to concentrate, but it was better than the alternative.
The lance skewered the gem, causing it to implode, sucking the monster into its depths. There was a loud bang, and the gem disappeared, along with a sizable chunk of the ground and wall behind it. Sam took a deep breath as the pain hit him, and he seized control of the wound with Girdings of the Arbiter. The anger running through him burned far more fiercely than the physical pain, and he almost forgot about it.
Sam walked over to where the infiltrator had been, stepping carefully over the cracks in the ground. There was something small lying there, a scrap of white parchment. Sam picked it up, noting that there was some writing on the other side. He read it to himself, his free hand clenching as he read further and further.
Congratulations on finding my agent. However, you might have preferred the sweet bliss of ignorance. For now that you have found out my deception, I must reveal to you a sad truth. I have your friend with me at this moment, and if you want her back, then I have a few requests. You must deliver to me both of your Seals, as well as ten million credits. Only a group of three may come to the location of the trade, and if any others from your faction are within a radius of ten miles, I will know. You do not want to find out what will happen then. You may meet me at the Eiffel Tower, at noon tomorrow.
Yours, Hugo Mar, Supreme General of the Legion
Sam gritted his teeth and vaporized the scrap of paper with a wave of Dao energy. It was incredible how much damage such a harmless seeming thing could cause. He turned around, a dark look on his face.
“How did that thing get in here?” He asked, looking at all of the captains there.
“We believe that it was able to mimic Jane’s mana signature, and therefore gain entrance to the city. We only discovered her after Pyotr saw her reflection in a storefront window. She lacked a face. By that point she realized that we were on to her, and she suddenly attacked,” Addas replied.
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“Damn it!” Sam shouted, causing the others to flinch. It was not directed at them, as they were at no fault, but rather at himself. He had failed to notice anything at fault with Jane, and had in fact led her into the city. The Legion must have somehow replaced her when they had captured the others on that trip to claim the Staff.
The faint sound of sobbing distracted him from his rage. Ava was sitting on the ground, crying heavily into her hands. The woman seemed distraught, but the faint aura of crackling power around her told Sam that she was also furious. She lifted her head up, and drifted her teeth.
“It was my fault. I-I should have recognized that thing was not my sister. How did I dupe me so successfully?” Ava buried her face in her hands again, and Sam shifted awkwardly. He had no answer for this. At least she was still angry at the Legion, rather than falling into a pit of melancholy. A moment later, she angrily wiped the tears off her face, and went to her feet.
“If those goddamn bastards think that they can take my sister, they have another thing coming to them,” she said, resolute. “How are we going to get her back?”
“Well, the Legion left a note for us. I don’t think you’re going to like it much though,” Sam replied. “They want us to deliver both of the Seals and ten million credits at noon tomorrow at the Eiffel Tower. In addition, only three of us can go.”
“Screw the money. They want us to deliver up the weapons that we worked so hard for?” Claude shouted. “I say we come down on their heads with overwhelming force!”
Claude jerked back as Ava slapped him before running off. He had avoided the brunt of the hit, but his face was still red. He stared off after the woman in bewilderment, trying to see what he had done wrong. He turned around a moment later, with an expression of shock on his face. “Damn! What was that for?”
“Claude, you really don’t get it, do you?” Pytor said. “I knew some women like Ava before. They were all capable, intelligent individuals. However, it is usually the most capable of us who sink the lowest in times of stress. Her sister is gone, her survival is predicated on an insane demand, and Ava doesn't know whether she will see her sister alive. Wouldn’t you react like that in this situation?”
“I don’t think I would. How would that help?” Claude asked, sounding genuinely bewildered.
Sam remembered that Lao had told him about the man’s complicated past once before. In broad terms, sure, but enough to know when someone had some issues.
“Ok, let’s calm it down a bit. I understand where everyone is coming from, but we need to find out how to rescue Jane,” Lao said, sending out a gentle pulse of his Dao.
Everyone around him calmed down by a noticeable amount, except for Sam who was unaffected. There was a skidding noise from the end of the street, and Eduardo came flying around the corner, his feet leaving burn marks on the ground.
“I just saw Ava running towards the gates! What the hell is happening here?” The man shouted as he drew near.
“Jane was replaced by a Legion agent. They have her as a hostage now,” Pyotr said.
“A hostage? What do they want for her?”
“Our Seals, and a large sum of money,” Sam replied.
“Both of the Seals? The things that we worked so hard to get? Shit! We’re in a tight spot now,” Eduardo cursed. “Any ideas on how to get her back?”
“They provided a strict set of instructions. Only three of us can go, and they want us to meet at the Eiffel Tower at noon tomorrow,” Sam answered. “We need to find out who is going quickly so we can prepare. I am going to summon all of the captains here.” Sam tilted back his head and took a deep breath. He sucked in a lungful of air, mixing it with the Dao energy in his body.
“THIS IS FACTION LEADER SAM ATLAS! ALL OF THOSE WITH A RANK OF CAPTAIN UNDERNEATH ME, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CITY HALL IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.” His voice boomed out over the city, and he knew without a shadow of doubt that everyone had heard him.