Realise - Real Lies

Subterfuge

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Ethan's POV

I saw her staring at the instructions on my burner phone.  I had been asked to switch out to a burner. '"This is some sort of a joke correct?" She asked me. We were driving to the place we were asked to meet. Chateau de Chillon. Switzerland had over 500 castles. Many were open to tourists. Chateau de Chillon was located on the Geneva Lake and was surrounded by Alpine valley of Rhône. The place had the most scenic views and it was a popular tourist destination. Ideally this would have been a good place, it would have had people around and it would have been easy to fool the perpetrators and slip away with Yang. But alas the instructions were clear. We had to get inside the castle by 8:00 pm. A little digging into the schedule of the castle, I got to know that the castle had been rented out to an annual get together and that was that. To prepare for the event, the castle had been closed to the public for 2 days. No other information was available. The organizer was a shell corporation. But to add insult to the injury, the instructions seemed to be a joke.
Black tie event - Dress appropriately. Men wear black and Women wear red.
Arrive at the Chateau at 8 pm
It was weird. The event seemed to be a private one. It was like looking at a black box. Not knowing what was in it was a huge disadvantage. We complied. Though this felt very creepy. "I find that these people are toying with us. People with a twisted sense of humor," I said. She sighed, "Any of your contacts came up with any information about the event?" "No. They all are drawing a blank," I said. "So we are going in blind?" She asked. I nodded. It was a losing situation and we were going into it. We pulled up at the parking lot of the Chateau. "It looks absolutely gorgeous," she said gasping at the castle that was sprawled on an island over Lake Geneva. "Don't let it distract you from the fact that this is a death trap," I said.
"That's so comforting," she said sarcastically. "Okay you ready?" I asked. "Sure I feel like a sacrificial lamb," she said. "Okay focus. I know this is not ideal but do not go in defeated. I am going in thinking that I get both you and Yang out without a scratch and you need to keep that in mind. Don't give up. They need you. They are just doing this because they need something from you. Use that to your advantage. Hostage situation 101: Keep them intrigued enough to keep you alive. Simple," I said steadying her by grabbing her arm. She nodded nervously. We walked towards the entrance. Many people were entering the castle. The entrance had four guards, two on either side and a woman stood at a tiny podium apparently welcoming guests. Weirdly the guards didn't allow multiple guests to approach the woman. Each guest was separated by a distance of few feet. We walked up to her and she smiled at us and asked softly , "Welcome. Name?" "Ethan Matser," I said. She looked down on the podium for a minute and looked up, "Follow this gentleman here please." She pointed to a man, standing with a tablet. We followed him to a small room. Here we go. I put my hand in my pocket to feel the gun I had kept there. He smiled, "Hello my name is Aryaan. Welcome. I see that this is your first time. These are your bracelets. Sir you will be 443 & Ma'am you will be 926. In order to protect the privacy and security of our guests which includes you please use the number assignments and please refrain from using any personal identifying information. Please sign these releases." He handed two notepads one to me and one to Jade. We signed it and handed them back to him. "Sir please handover your weapons. We will retain them for now and return them after the event," he added. I blinked. Me and Jade looked at each other in surprise. "How did you know?" I started. "Your scan shows it. Like I said. We put the privacy and security of our guests at the foremost of our responsibilities. Both guns please. The one in your pocket and the other around your ankle," he said.
Begrudgingly, I removed both my guns and placed it on the table. He then gave us two masks. "Thank you Sir for your cooperation. Please keep the mask on at all times. You both enjoy your evening," he said pointing to the door. We walked through the door, wearing the masks. "I don't think you stashed a gun somewhere else now did you?" She asked me. "What is this? A masquerade party?" I said looking around. We were in a hall with high ceilings. People wore masks, drinking and talking. The upper floor hallway overlooked the floor we were on. Men roamed the upper hallway, periodically. Guards, definitely. "So what next?" She asked. "No clue," I said checking my phone. No messages. What were these people up to? Were we being played? Jade picked a champagne flute from a server who passed by. "What do you think you are doing?" I snapped. "Liquid courage. Plus if I am going down I am going down hammered," she said bluntly. I shook my head. I hope I didn't have to babysit today. I had to find out what kind of event this was. I saw a couple of men standing near the bar laughing. People who drink, talk. That would be a good place to get some information. "Walk with me," I said to her. "Where are we going?" She asked nervously. "Eavesdropping. This is very fishy. Very Jason Bourne. What's with all the secrecy and who are these people? Are all of them threats or only some of them? I need to know," I said. We walked towards the bar and when we were close I whispered, "Stay near there but stay close where I can see you. If anyone approaches you, slip away towards me, ok?" She nodded and stood near a corner of the bar. I stood with my back against the group of men, my eyes on Jade, my ears on their conversation. I picked a champagne flute and pretended to be on my phone.
"54 seems interesting, but more eager to launch. I don't foresee anything other than casual interlude," a man said. "I think thats a fair deal," another man said. "No 108 is more up my alley. She had everything up straight so there is no need of initiation. And commemoration is guaranteed. What about you? Anything struck your fancy," the man responded. "239 is the one I have my eyes on. Has the influence pull on his side," the other man said. "So it is a beneficiary meeting," the first man said. "Yes. I am more intrigued in the Bedlam, although I don't think they will involve me," the other man replied. "Did any of you guys get initiated to Bedlam?" The first man asked. "Not really. Haven't heard about it since the passing." "That was almost three years ago," a man chimed in. Honestly I thought they were speaking some language that I had no clue about. What was a Bedlam? What were these people were talking about? That's when a woman approached me, "Look at you 443. You look new." Surprised I flinched, "Hi. Yeah. Am I that predictable?" "So tell me 443, what are you like and what brings you in this gin joint?" She asked. The woman looked at least 20 years older than me. Gin joint? What was this? But what surprised me was her demeanor. I saw her graze her hand on my upper arm. "Wow you must work out," she said. Shit. Was this a...? I blinked and looked up in horror at the empty space where Jade was standing just a few seconds ago. Jade was gone.