Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Chapter Sixty Five

The meeting was quiet after what Katie said. Frost smiled smugly in his seat as though he’d expected that from her. Jackeline visibly relaxed after hearing that and shook her head, taking her seat beside her partner, “Sometimes I forget the reason Prometheus chose us to be hunters,” Frost said from his seat. The chorus of laughter went through the members that were seated. Anthony was more bewildered, just like that, he’d been put down by Katie’s neutral statement.

The man gritted his teeth before letting go of his tension, “Very well then, we shall write a full report of the information in depth to avoid any misunderstandings. This will put a lot of pressure on Katie, but I think she can handle it,” Anthony said.

Katie was content with that course of action. She wasn’t a fan of hiding things so much, “However...” there it was, “We shall only reveal this after the Founder’s Festival.”

“I agree... if there is to be anything that will bring attention to Katie, she must be at her strongest. Right now, she’s still without the backing of her family,” Kenneth spoke up for the first time. All high ranking members of this Hunter’s Agency knew about Katie’s situation. Keeping secrets amongst the hunters was something that was so easy that there was no question. Being chosen by Prometheus was that much of a guarantee that someone could fulfil something as simple as that.

“Very well... I’d forgotten that I was supposed to think about that as well,” Katie said, mumbling the last part out.

Anthony stood straight with a new look of determination, “I’m glad I could lean on the rest of you for advice in this decision. I might be your leader, but I am not without my faults. For that, I thank you all...”

“You know, the next time you plan on making a decision like that one, don’t forget to include the pack that’s to be affected. Werewolves can be nearly impossible to deal with when they are angered,” Jackeline said from her seat. The meeting moved on to the rest of the arrangements that Anthony had set aside. Thankful that Frost and Jackeline were here to provide support, they were added to the hunters that were meant to guard the guests of high calibre that attended the festival.

.....

Katie was put in charge of the rest and she got to business partitioning the force of hunters she was assigned. She’d been given reign over four of the highest-ranking hunters in the Agency, people that were ranked above her and allowed to use them as she saw fit. It was everyone’s understanding that as she was the one responsible for the security at the high school, she was better suited to handle the security of the festival as well and she’d more than proven herself enough.

“Kenneth, you are to take a group of eight junior hunters to check through the vendors’ stalls and make sure there is nothing illegal that is brought with them, that includes weapons, alcoholic drinks and everything else that you deem fit,” she said, turning to the rest. Among the others she’d been assigned were Brian, Samantha and Trevor, three skilled hunters that Katie respected as well to handle their assignments well. To be honest, there was not much she needed to tell these people that they didn’t already know, but for formality, she still had to do it.

“Brian, using a select group of five hunters to serve under you, I would like you to take control of the projects inside the school. Safety measures must be adhered to and students are to be lightly checked upon entry to avoid arousing much suspicion.

Samantha is to deal with the outer patrol of the vicinity and that’s the exterior of the entire festival including the stalls set up by the vendors. For this, she will select four hunters and four junior hunters for the task.

And lastly, Trevor will take a group of ten junior hunters and station them strategically through the Festival. Their job is to handle surveillance and communication. Trevor will be stationed in the surveillance room where he will watch the entirety of the school through the cameras and the hunters under his command shall pay attention to the school’s blindspots and overcrowded areas to use a spare set of eyes,” with that said, she was done assigning her four temporary subordinates.

“Someone is enjoying the power to scatter numbers,” Kenneth smirked.

“Did I go wrong somewhere?” she asked genuinely.

“No, I think you did just fine. We shall do our best to achieve our tasks as well,” he said.

“It’s been nice watching you grow up, but I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be allowed to order me around,” Samantha shook her head in disappointment, “How far I’ve fallen?”

“Hey, you still rank above me in more ways than one. This is just my jurisdiction is all,” Katie stood her ground crossing her arms in response to the lady.

“You’ve grown up well, Katie,” she replied, smiling at the girl.

Once all was done, Anthony took control of the meeting again, “As we all know, today is the day Katie will shift. All hunters are to be alert on that fact once it clocks seven o’clock in the evening. No one is sure if her restraints will hold her. The Lycaon boy is to be informed of this at that exact time as well, so no one waste a second when it happens. Information of mobilization at seven goes to those closest to the Royal at the time of shifting. The moon will be high in the sky today by nine as this is a day the moon goddess herself has been waiting for,” Anthony said.

“Is there something you aren’t telling us?”

“Hunters have no hesitation when it comes to taking a life. This is not the same for werewolves that aren’t rogues, however, that doesn’t guarantee that Katie’s wolf will go easy on the first human it sees. Protecting the citizens of Brigadia takes priority above all else,” the man spoke out loud as though he hadn’t just allowed Katie to be in charge of security that day.

“You make it sound like I’ll be some rabid dog,” Katie groaned.

“For all we know, you are one right now... Oh, and before I forget, Katie. Reveal your findings of the investigation you carried out yesterday,” the man said. Katie’s expression fell on hearing this. It bothered her to have to reveal to everyone the reason why she’d failed to track the rogues that had infiltrated the school.

“Yeah, right away. Yesterday, I was able to find out who the killer of Ash was...” she said, pausing before finishing the statement nervously, “but I was too late and the culprit had already fled Brigadia in a hurry. I couldn’t even sense their presence which meant they’d gotten a pretty good head start.”

“Who killed Ash, Katie?” this was the question she found hard to answer. It was strange to feel nervous for the girl for this was an emotion she’d never required to feel, however, it was only getting in the way at the moment and so she chose to discard it and reveal the culprit. Katie closed her eyes and opened them once more, completely drained of emotion, the only way a hunter was trained to handle situations in this cruel world.

“Kyle Dwyer... that is the name of...”

“Impossible...” Frost is the one that burst from his seat this time, gritting his teeth in anger at the accusation. There was a chorus of gasps through the people that were present in the room. Katie whispered something in Sandra’s ears, directing her to the locker that contained the bag of evidence she had.

“I need a key to get into it,” Sandra asked, knowing how encrypted the dungeon was. Katie looked through the conference room and found a pen which she used to scribble her signature onto Sandra’s forearm. This was another way to get through the security measures for someone that was not a professional hunter.

Sandra was out in a few moments running as fast as she could. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“I’ve sent her to retrieve the evidence that I collected from Kyle’s house when I searched it yesterday,” Katie said.

“You had no right to... Katie, what’s gotten into you? Does trust mean nothing to you?” Frost visibly yelled at her.

“Don’t you realise that this was the only way the rogues could infiltrate the school? The only way Kyle could have overridden my instincts to detect an enemy was if I trusted him. He spotted his opportunity years ago when I was enrolled on Brigade high school and became my best friend,” her voice was calm as she spoke, clarifying how much she didn’t like what had happened as well.

“Hey, Frost, calm down,” Jackeline tried, “Three breaths.” These words were all the man needed to bring him back into a reasonable mood. The next time he spoke, he was composed.

“How did you come to this conclusion?” he asked her, sitting down to listen to the girl’s tale. Katie was relieved that he’d been able to calm down, but an even bigger obstacle lay ahead. Telling the entire group before her the tale that led to Kyle’s unmasking.