Sam strode down the hallway with her head held high, Tentin following right behind her. She was not sure what she was doing, she didn’t have a plan, but she would come out alright. She always did. Sam glanced back at Tentin. He would have her back if things got sticky. Sam couldn’t quite tell if Breaburn would sick his Agents on her for trespassing. It would be a sad end if she died here. She just uncovered clues to Mr. Bartlett’s disappearance, and she would be damned if she was stopped at the Institute, of all places.

After several twists and turns, they had made their way to the conference room. Sam put her head up to the door. She could hear faint rumbles of the voices inside, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Sam turned to Tentin, “You ready for this? I’m not sure if he’s still salty about me breaking his nose.”

Tenitn chuckled a bit, “Must have been a good right hook.” He patted his coat jacket. His gun was still ready. He checked his ankle, where his small revolver was kept. He patted the small of his back. His knife was ready to pull on a moment’s notice. “Yeah, I think I’m ready.”

Sam swallowed the lump in her throat. She had killed monsters at a whim, but for some reason she was still frightened of what was to come next. Sam pushed the thoughts aside. She was here to help a friend. Here she goes.

Sam pushed the door open and stepped into the conference room. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim lights of the room. She immediately spotted an open seat at the large grey table. Sam quickly

canvased the room. She saw several familiar faces, and some new ones. A man, with slicked-back greying hair and thick black spectacles turned her way instantly. A slight grin crept onto his face. The one person whose look Sam couldn’t shake was that of the older man at the head of the table. His shaven face was void of any detail, except for the creases in his pale skin. His emotionless eyes locked onto Sam’s, and she could feel his seething hatred for her.

The last time Sam had met Breaburn was when she threw a punch at him and broke his nose. He deserved every ounce of that punch, and she never regretted it.

Sam took the empty seat and leaned back in her chair. All the eyes in the room rested on her. “Carry on gentlemen.” She waved her hand at the men in the room.

Tentin repressed a chuckle and leaned up against the wall behind Sam.

Everyone then turned to Breaburn for direction. Mr. Breaburn stood and adjusted his tie, his emotions hidden deep below as always. “This meeting is for the men and women of the Institute only. I suggest you leave now, or I will be forced to make you.”

He didn’t acknowledge Sam by name. Sam knew she had him flustered, but she had no authority here anymore. She did have one ace up her sleeve, “I’d love to leave you alone, Breaburn, really I would, but The Boss himself asked me to be here.”

Mr. Breaburn looked over to his Agents in black suits. He nodded to them, and they began to stand up. “Even so, I am Liaison and caretaker of the Institute. You must go.” His voice was dry and raspy.

Tentin tensed up. His muscles were flexing and he was ready to jump in at a moment’s notice, his hand slowly moving to his jacket.

A short cough pulled the room’s attention to the man with the black spectacles. He leaned forward and turned his head in Mr. Breaburn’s direction. “Excuse me for speaking out of turn in this here,” he paused for a moment. His thick, nasally accent filled the room, “Power exchange. But, is this the Sam that had brought down the Horus vampire clan?” He turned his head towards Sam, his black spectacles revealed a contorted version of herself in its reflection.

The room was silent.

Sam spoke up first, “Yes, although I had some help. I don’t want to take all the credit.” He was British by the sound of his voice. Whoever this guy was, he commanded even the respect of Breaburn. It was unnerving, but he did diffuse the situation.

“I wouldn’t doubt that you did. Taking down a pure blood vampire is a feat of its own, but in the middle of his own lair, now that’s impressive.” His head turned to Breaburn’s general direction.

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed together. Something was off about this man.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Mr. Breaburn, I would much like it if Sam could be reinstated as a Free Agent of the Institute.” He turned back to Sam with a large grin, “That is, if she would accept. She is most impressive; to not be employed by the Institute would be a failure on our part, and a failure to all those we protect.”

Sam nodded, “It would be a pleasure…” Sam held her hand out as to ask for the man’s name.

“Lord Blud, Lord Rupert Blud, at your service.” He made a slight bow with his head.

A sudden movement in the darkest corner of the room caught Sam’s eye. She could make out a figure standing in the dark. His hand firmly placed in his large trench coat. The man must have been well over six feet in height. She could see a bowler cap atop his head and thick mutton chops clinging to the sides of his face. Lord Blud made a slight gesture with his hand and the man’s hand dropped to his side.

Mr. Breaburn nodded again to his Agents. They all sat down together without incident. Breaburn clicked a small remote on the table. Suddenly the room went dark, and the projection screen lit up and started loading an image.

“The reason I have invited my top men here, as well as Lord Blud, is because of this image an Agent retrieved in the field while finishing a contract.” Breaburn pressed the button again and an image popped up in the projection screen.

Sam had to squint at the picture to get any kind of clear image. The picture was fuzzy and out of focus. There was some sort of large, grey, metallic humanoid raising a weapon at a person on an old dirt road. The side of a window bordered the picture. Sam could see that the photo was taken while in a car passing at a high speed. Beside that she couldn’t pull any information from the picture. What was so important about this picture?

Breaburn continued his speech, “The picture was taken in Germany a few days ago. We can tell that this being is either made of metal or has a metal exterior. If it is the former,” Breaburn looked around the room with his emotionless eyes, “This could be an advanced robot. And I don’t need to remind everyone of Russian Warlord Elektrichestvo and his robot army of 1984. If this theory is correct, we could be facing a mass produced, inexpensive soldier, with no morals, no fears, and no qualms with murdering the innocent. This type of army could control large swaths of land and lead to the deaths of many.”

“And if it is the later?” One of the Agents spoke up first.

“An exo-suit would be more costly than a robot. You would have to fit the suit to the soldier as well as hire men to follow your commands. An exo-suit isn’t controlled by a program, it is a person, and a person can be swayed, scared, and sabotaged.”

The Agent nodded.

“Is that a red armband?” Tentin spoke out from his leaning post on the wall. “Why is it naked except for an armband? Doesn’t make any sense.”

Sam noticed that Lord Blud’s head perked up at Tentin’s remark.

“And who might you be?” Breaburn directed his words at Tentin.

Sam watched as Lord Blud pulled a small tablet computer out of his coat. He held it up in the air for a second until it let out a quiet ping. He then passed the tablet over his shoulder, holding it in the air. The tall man with the bowler cap stepped out of the shadows and retrieved the device. Sam could make out several features now. The tall man had a pronounced jaw, and green eyes. A thick mop of red hair was slicked back under his hat.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“I, good sir, am an Agent of the Institute. New member, if I might add.” Tentin gave a nod to Mr. Breaburn.

Mr. Breaburn’s eye twitched slightly with irritation. His creased skin gave way to a scowl, only noticeable by those with stalwart vision.

“I’ll let myself out.” Tentin patted Sam’s back, “You’re on your own now.” He turned and left, leaving Sam in a room full of enemies.

Mr. Breaburn’s gaze shifted to Sam, but she brushed it off and kept staring at the tall man in the corner. He examined the tablet for a few seconds before he leaned back over to Lord Blud. He whispered something into Lord Blud’s ear, and then he retreated to the darkness once more.

Again, Lord Blud broke the tension in the room, “What concerns me more than this robotic creature is the man controlling it.” Lord Blud pointed the tablet towards the projection screen and swiped forward. The image soon zoomed back behind the metallic figure. There was a man standing with his arms behind his back. A black cap topped his head, with a midnight uniform to match. A red armband was clasped around his left bicep. “This here is the one we must find. We identify him, we can find what he means to do with his metallic soldiers. No need to chase down the soldier when you can capture the general.”

Everyone in the room nodded at the new found information.

Breaburn looked to a man at the end of the table, “Malachi, I want you on this one.”

The man looked around at the occupants of the table. A bead of sweat started to drop from his hairline, “With all due respect, I think this is more of a group effort, or at least a job for the Agents.” He wiped the sweat with the sleeve of his plaid shirt.

Sam eyed him as he spoke. He was a Free Agent, and just like Eddie said, Breaburn had placed him on the mission. A possible robot army was well beyond the efforts of one man. Sam looked back at Breaburn and knew that something was up now. Eddie was right to be paranoid.

Breaburn gave Malachi a long drawn out glance.

Sam leaned forward, “I have to agree with Malachi. This is more of a task for your Agents than a Free Agent.”

Malachi let out a sigh of relief as Sam spoke out on his behalf.

His eyes met Sam’s, and then Lord Blud’s, and he cleared his throat. “Well then, we’ll need an Agent to assign to this contract.” Breaburn started to pack up his belongings in his briefcase, “Agent Stratford.” He turned to a burly Agent in the seat next to him.

Sam could recognize this guy as the Agent she had a run in a year ago. He tried to put her down when she was checking on the troop transport. He acted tough, but Sam put him in his place then, and she couldn’t wait to do it again.

“I want you on this. No mistakes.” Breaburn stood from his seat, but he was soon stopped by Lord Blud.

“Excuse me, Mr. Breaburn. I have invested a large amount of money into the Institute, but I would like to show you I have more to offer to this organization than just my wallet.” Lord Blud smiled.

Sam couldn’t help but smile as well. She had an off feeling about this guy, but she was beginning to like him. If he did take on the mission, then Sam could get back to finding Mr. Bartlett. She had put off her search for too long, and with Lord Blud taking this contract, she didn’t have to worry about losing any Free Agents. Win, win.

Mr. Breaburn stood in silence. He couldn’t say no to his new benefactor. It could insult him, and have him withdrawal his donation. Mr. Breaburn needed this money to further his plans. “Alright, the contract is yours. I will leave this business to you.” Mr. Breaburn started to head for the door.

“Sam, darling, I would like you, the Destroyer of Horus, to accompany me on this contract. As a reinstated Free Agent, I would hope you would accept.” He raised his hand in the air as if he triumphed over a large beast. His smile was the widest it had been throughout the meeting.

Sam stared with her eyes wide open. What had she been dragged into? She had better things to do with her time besides playing office politics. The only reason she was here was to help out her friend who had become paranoid. Eddie was so worked up on Mr. Breaburn being involved in some kind of conspiracy. She blinked when she realized she was drifting in thought. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Mr. Breaburn had stopped dead in his tracks. Hesitation. She had finally seen a display of emotion from the man. He had never shown such drawn out emotion before.

Eddie must be right then. First the mission she went on over a year ago. It was rigged from the start. Nothing seemed right, and good people died, including Mr. Bartlett, who was Breaburn’s nemesis. Something was off. Sam owed it to Eddie to help out.

“Yes. I’m in. But for future reference, call me darling again, and I will break your nose.”

Lord Blud laughed in his seat. “Bloody hell, woman.”

Breaburn straightened up his posture and stormed out of the room.

Sam smiled as she watched Breaburn leave in defeat. She leaned back and placed her feet on the large table, “When do we start.”

Sam left the meeting room in a hurry. She didn’t want to be here anymore than she already was. There was too much going on in this place, too many coincidences for Sam to feel comfortable. She needed to go see Eddie before she took flight from this place.

Tentin was leaning on the wall outside the room. He fell into place behind Sam, keeping up pace with her. “So what’s the plan?”

Sam walked forward with purpose. If there really was some sort of conspiracy, and she was sure there was, then it would have started with Breaburn sometime ago. Sam couldn’t hang around the Institute forever though. She needed an inside man to collect information for her. “I need to talk to Eddie. Then we are headed to England.”

Tentin stopped for a second, “England? You mean the worse version of America?” He then jogged a bit to catch back up with her.

Sam sighed, “Yes, if you see it that way.”

“Why?” Tentin was now side by side with her.

“That guy with the spectacles, his name is Lord Blud. He wants me to meet him at his estate in England. He roped me into that whole metal man business.” Sam let out another sigh and mumbled under her breath, “Not like I have better things to do.”

The duo reached the Tech room door. Sam swung it open with one fluid motion. The door smacked against the door stop with a loud bang. Eddie’s head popped out of the back room with goggles over his eyes, making them appear like giant bug’s eyes.

“Whoa what’s up?” Eddie pushed his eyebrows together in confusion.

“You were right, Eddie.” Sam marched back towards Eddie with confidence, “Something is up with Breaburn.”

Eddie shot his hands up, “Hey!” He ran over to his machine and flipped the switch again.

Tentin just chuckled and leaned up against the wall next to the door.

Eddie pulled the goggles from his head, “How do you know that? I thought I was just paranoid.”

“Breaburn hesitated.” Sam leaned her hip against a nearby table. “He showed emotion. He tried to send Malachi on a crazy mission. Everything you said happened. Something is up.”

Eddie stared off into space. He never could recall Breaburn showing emotion before. If that was so, then he was right. His parents were right. Then they must have been found out by Breaburn.

Eddie’s thoughts were cut off by Sam, “You were right, which puts us all in danger.”

“What do we do now?” Eddie couldn’t keep his head straight. His thoughts were racing.

Sam folded her arms, “For now I want you to come to the GriGri. You can set up shop there. You’ll be safe there, for now, then we can figure out a plan.”

Eddie shook his head, “No, I can’t just leave here.” He glanced over to his desk. The last remaining picture of his parents sat foremost of all other items on his desk. “My parents helped build this place up to what it is now. If I leave, I lose the last thing I have left of them.”

Sam smiled, “Good.”

Eddie looked confused.

“I thought I’d have to convince you to stay here, but you convinced yourself.” Sam started to walk towards the door. “Because you wanted me to help save this place, I have to go on a mission to Germany. I blame you by the way. But I need you to do something for me in return.”

The door to the tech room opened up and a scruffy man stuck his head inside, “Hey Eddie, I got the part you were looking for.” The man’s musky scent filled the room as he looked around at its inhabitants.

Tentin gave a quick smile, and then he pulled the scruffy man into the room. Tentin pulled his pistol and pressed it to the scruffy man’s head. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s okay, Tentin. Let him go.” Sam hadn’t seen this man for a year now. “Kregg, perfect timing.”

Tentin holstered his pistol and let go of the hippie. “Sorry about that.” Tentin brushed Kregg off with his hands.

Kregg fixed his shirt, “Perfect timing for what? Getting my head blown off?”

“You’re going to help Eddie spy on Breaburn while I tour about Europe. Should be fun stuff.” Sam started to head for the door.

“I have to work with this guy.” Eddie pointed to Kregg.

“And why should I help? I haven’t seen you in forever. And plus, I always stay out of this kind of stuff. I’m neutral. I just collect information.” Kregg wiped his nose with his sleeve.

Sam stopped and turned to Kregg, “Breaburn is killing off Free Agents and filling this place with Agents that are loyal to him. How long do you think you will last? Especially when Breaburn hates you and your hygiene.” She inched closer to him, “Just think of what he will do to you when he finally gets his hands on you. He’ll probably start with your man parts, and then work his way up to your grimy face. Who knows, he may even have a collection of faces hidden in his office.”

Kregg gulped hard, “Okay, you got me.”

Sam smiled, “Good. I will leave the details to you two. Don’t let me down.” Sam stormed out of the room with her head held high.

Tentin smiled and waved, “Adios.” He followed Sam out of the room.

Eddie and Kregg just looked at each other with a blank stare, each of them too dumbfounded to speak.

“So I guess we have to work together then.” Eddie pulled his goggles over his head.

Kregg looked around at all the technology in the room. “This is going to be rough.” He mumbled to himself. He turned to Eddie, “You got any herb?”