As late afternoon dawned on Hatlynshire. The sun was nearing its highest point. And as it reached the pinnacle of its ascent across the cloudless clear sky, the entirety of Great Borough was embroiled in a sense of joy. The Hatlynshire City Park, the largest park in Hatlynshire, was decorated with banners, decorations and tents of all different kinds. Vendors stood along the walking paths selling novelty hats and flags. Families flocked to the park in order to attend the ongoing festivities. And in the center of it all was a large wooden stage which had been set up mere hours before, where the Mayor was said to give a speech facing the City Hall.
Henry stood by one of the side entrances to the center of the park which had a good view of the fair. The place was so crowded that he blended in well with the surrounding people. He was told not to attend the event that evening. But he had to witness the Circle’s plan be set into action personally. He had wanted to commit the act himself but it was out of the question. Next to him stood Carlyle Hatly. Henry had persuaded him to join him, mostly because his mind reading would be crucial to the execution of this operation.
The noise of the crowds reached infuriating levels. Henry didn’t know how long he could take it before going into a state of distress. A family quality. But he knew he had to take it. For what was about to happen would be deeply personal. It had been three days since the bombing in Hatles Borough. The news had already spread throughout the city yet the newspapers only portrayed it as ‘gang violence’. This was how they usually portrayed Circulion affairs. This fair had come out of the blue. Its commencement had only been publicized two days ago. Henry assumed the mayor had been planning it well before then. Perhaps it was sign that he was planning something before Henry and Ulysses even entered his office. A sign of his confidence. It was supposed to be a sort of fundraising campaign. But to Henry the timing was obvious. The very fact that the City Hall put this together in the wake of their act of war disgusted Henry. Yet he still felt a bit of respect for the sheer brazenness of the mayor. But he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“The Mayor is no fool” he thought. “Why would he put on a show like this? Does he not understand that we will retaliate? Is this supposed be an insult?” his mind tried to make sense of things. He knew Victor was brazen. But to do something like this was seemed out of his character.
“Do not think of it too much. We have come here for a reason” said Carlyle. He seemed annoyed. Henry guessed that the thoughts of the crowd clouded his head. Filling it with useless commotion. Yet he could still find the focus to read Henry, who admittedly lacked practice when it came to hiding his feelings.
“I cannot help but feel like something is wrong, Hatly. Don’t you?”
“I take it that you mean the fact that City Hall would organize a fair like this after the bombing. Indeed it is strange”
“Exactly! Why would the Mayor do something like this? Does he not understand that the Circle will not just stand by after the crime he committed?”
“It appears so. Either the mayor thinks he has subdued us or he’s simply underestimating us. But even so, his fair has played right into our plans…”
“Almost too well” said Henry cutting Carlyle off. “Too well to be coincidence, don’t you think?”
Carlyle looked at Henry, intrigued. “What are you implying, Demon? You think the mayor wants to be the subject of our vengeance?”
“I think he knows we’re coming. Maybe he’s organized this entire event anticipating our inevitable attack. Maybe he puts himself out in the open so we don’t catch him by surprise”
“It would be a bold strategy you’re suggesting. And perhaps you are right’
“How many Hunters are among the crowd?” asked Henry. “How many minds can you read?”
“I can read some. There are a few vigilant minds among the crowd. Some are openly thinking about the Circle. I cannot count exactly but it seems that there is a fairly large troop here. Patrolling the grounds”
“What about our man? Can you still read him?”
“He’s blended well amongst the crowd. From what I can tell he has already taken his position”
“Good” said Henry. He knew that if Victor was truly going to appear on that stage, then it would be the perfect opportunity to get his revenge. But then the question of whether he had foreseen their admittedly predictable actions. Had he set a decoy? Or would he fake an excuse not to show up? Henry wanted the Circle’s revenge to be delivered with a sort of flair. A spectacle that will surely send a clear message.
“Do not worry, Demon. Even if the Mayor escapes that stage we have men waiting outside the park. He will never make it to City Hall”
“I thank you for your reassurance, Hatly. Yet I still cannot shake the feeling that something is off here”
“Perhaps it’s a hidden ability Demon. Maybe you can sense deceit as well as you can transform matter”
Henry smiled. In truth, he and Carlyle had been childhood friends. In fact, Carlyle was one of the only friends Henry could have since children of the great houses had restricted social lives for security reasons. Both Henry and Carlyle had looked up to Ulysses as a mentor figure. Ulysses was the only man Henry held in higher regard compared to his own father, Wren. And to see him die in such a way had turned his heart into a burning inferno of rage and guilt. Henry knew Carlyle felt the same.
Just as Henry stretched his back in order to ease himself from hours of standing around he once again heard the trumpets sound. But this time they were followed by drums and the cheers of the crowd. Both Henry and Carlyle turned towards the stage, which they could see quite clearly from their position near the edge of the fair grounds. Henry and Carlyle tried their best to blend in with the crowd on the outside. They, reluctantly, clapped when the crowd clapped and both stood next to the regular in order to avoid suspicion. If Carlyle was right then there were Hunters everywhere. Henry wasn’t sure how they’d find him or Carlyle but he wasn’t taking the chance.
The crowd’s wild cheers continued as an ornately dressed band played their instruments for over five minutes. And after they were done Henry saw a man walk up to the stage. A thin, older looking man with glasses and a black suit. Henry recognized him to be the City’s Treasurer, a Mr. Maxwell Harny. Henry saw the man take a deep breath before raising his hand to silence the crowd. Both Henry and Carlyle listened, intrigued at what he had to say.
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“MY FELLOW CITIZENS!” the small Treasurer bellowed. The people all stared at him in silence. The Treasurer then took a deep breath and cleared his throat before ginning widely.
“It is my great pleasure to welcome you all here today! For today, on this great day we have gathered here in celebration amidst recent tragedy. Today we have organized this fair to show that despite recent acts of violence this great city stands united. The proceeds of this fair go to charitable causes and it will be a testament to the virtue of the people…”
As the man spoke Henry felt like screaming and laughing at the same time. It was clear that the ‘recent tragedy’ the man so causally spoke of was the bombing. Henry felt like hurling. But still he listened. Henry gazed at Carlyle, who looked equally as disgusted as him. He looked at the man on stage with an unrelenting gaze. He read his mind with utmost focus.
“Well, what thoughts lay behind those words, if I may ask?”
“He doesn’t see the bombing as a tragedy. Which is to be expected. He’s quite annoyed that he has to pretend to think so in front of a crowd. He cannot wait to get off stage”
“I expected as much. These swine are so accustom to lying through their teeth I assume it’s quite normal for them”
Carlyle nodded. But then their attention was once again taken when the man on stage made his voice even louder as he approached the conclusion of his speech. Henry then once again listened because he knew what was coming next.
“So, my dear associates. It is my great pleasure to present to you all our illustrious mayor, MR. VICTOR DEL MIR!”
The crowd erupted into joyous cheer as Victor made his way up to the wooden stage. Even Henry clapped slowly, knowing that he owed him that much for what was about to happen. The Treasurer stepped aside as the mayor too center stage. He outstretched his hands and addressed the crowd with his booming voice.
“My dear denizens of Hatlynshire, it is my honor to speak to you on this wonderful day!” he began. The crowd gave his an enthusiastic clap. Henry had long realized that, for all his horrid deeds, Victor could rally a crowd. A factor that had helped him win the favor of the Grand Prince Montgomery.
“Is our man ready?” he asked form Carlyle, who was staring at Victor. Carlyle immediately took his gaze away from Victor and turned to Henry.
“Yes, he’s in the crowd as we speak. He will strike at the opportune moment”
Henry then turned his sights back to Victor. Knowing that it wasn’t long now.
“As you all may have noticed, this event came quite suddenly. The reason for this being that there was no such event planned until but a few days ago. For I organized this fair in response to the attack upon our city that occurred in Hatles Borough three days ago” he said. Henry found his statements ironic since he knew the full story of what happened. He then saw Victor smile at the Treasures standing next to him. “I at first merely wished to give a statement but Mr. Harny here insisted that, in order to show the unity of our city we should host this grand event. I, of course, thought he was daft!”
The crowd laughed and Mr. Harny smiled. But mayor kept going. “But after much deliberation I agreed to his foolhardy concept and as you all can very clearly see, Mr. Harny ended up being correct in his assumption and has hence made me feel like a fool!”
The crowd laughed again along with Mr. Harny and the mayor. Henry was beginning to doubt whether the laugh was genuine. But then the mayor’s voice became serious. “Now, all jokes aside. I hereby swear to you all that this act will not go unpunished! We will root out the conspirators behind this act of violence and we will make sure that they face justice!”
Carlyle then turned to Henry. “Our man is going for it” he says as he focused on the crowd. “His thoughts tell me that he’s making his way now”
Henry then restlessly turned to the stage. The opportune moment had come. He looked among the crowd for a man in alight yellow suit and hat, for he knew that’s what their man wore.
“What about the Hunters?” he asked no wanting this operation to go wrong.
“As far as I can read, they are still spread out. Only a few are near the stage. But they cannot save the mayor”
Henry took a deep breath. He searched for the man and saw him marching steadily through the crowd. He had consulted the Morrows before coming here, and according to their own words the mayor could not survive this. Henry wanted this to be a spectacle. He wanted his revenge.
He saw the man walk in front of the stage. He saw his wave his hand as Victor spoke. He shouted amongst the crowd to get Victor’s attention. Henry could just barely make out what he was saying.
“Hello? Mr. Mayor! May I have a word with you?” Henry heard the man shout. Victor stopped speaking and looked down to face the man. The crowd went silent. Henry saw Mr. Harny frown and wave to someone behind the stage. Victor leaned down to hear the man. Henry saw the man reach into his coat.
What happened next happened within just a few moments. Henry saw Victor’s face go pale and then he heard the man shout. “THE CIRCLE SENDS IT’S REGARDS” what followed next was a few small flashes of light and some loud bangs as the man pointed a gun at Victor and shot him thrice. Henry saw Mr. Harny bolt away from the stage but the man turned his gun on him and shot him as well. Henry saw Victor and Mr. Harny fall flat on the wooden stage just as men in black cloaks came running in from the back of the stage. The crowd all screamed and dispersed the moment the first shot was fired and they ran in all directions, panicking. Henry saw the men in black cloaks tackle the man to the ground.
It was over. Victor was dead.
Henry knew that the man didn’t want to escape. He saw Carlyle nod, impressed at the performance. He felt bad that they had to give up a man to the wretched Hunters. But in a crude game like the one he and the other members of the Great Houses played, sacrifice was necessary.
“Quite a show, just like you wanted” he said.
“He was a good man. He even managed to shoot down that swine Harny before the Hunters got him”
“Do you think the Grand Overseer will retaliate once he learns that we have dispatched his mayor with such theatricality?”
Henry scoffed and smiled maliciously. Deep down he knew Montgomery was still an issue, a sleeping dragon that would bring chaos if it awoke. But Henry knew the chance were he would keep sleeping. “Let him come. We took are rightful revenge. A life for a life. I don’t think he’ll retaliate too much. But still, we must expect an attack of some proportions"
The crowd all exited the park like herd of frightened bulls. Even the crowd surrounding them began to vacate the area on a hurry. Henry knew that they couldn’t stay there lest they look suspicious. He turned to Carlyle and gestured towards the way leading out of the park with a cheerful smile.
“Well then, Hatly. I suppose we should leave then, eh?” Carlyle gave a small chuckle and smiled back.
“Yes, yes indeed”
Henry and Carlyle then walked out of the park. Carlyle had had their escorts stationed outside the park in a nearby street to avoid suspicion. Henry and Carlyle both walked out the main gate along with the frantic crowd. Henry looked behind him every chance he got, the fear of the Hunters finding them was still lingering within him. Yet both he and Carlyle managed to make it without arousing suspicion. They then separated as they boarded their vehicles before driving off away from the park. Henry pondered what had happened just a few minutes earlier. He still wanted to pull the trigger himself. But he knew now that it was over. He realized that he had now had to turn his attention to the other issues in the Circle, the most important ones being Ulysses’ missing son and what to do about Montgomery's inevitable retaliation. But at that moment he reveled in his satisfaction as much as possible, ignoring all other problems. For to him, he had won.
The Mayor was dead and the Circle had taken its rightful vengeance.