The Departure Protocol

Chapter 11

Wared hesitated as his heart pounded the inside of his chest. He withdrew his hand and looked up and down the hallway. There was no other movement, nor did anything seem out of place. For a moment, he considered heading back downstairs and contacting the Protectorate. Surely they would be interested to learn that the apartment of their newly elevated elder had been burglarized. Or had he? Had Tarun simply forgotten to close the door when he left? Wared couldn't positively remember one way or another.

After a few moments of going back and forth with himself, Wared made a decision. He put his hand on the door and opened the door just enough that he could squeeze in. The living room was visible from the front door. Furniture had been turned over, books and decorations spread over the floor. Paintings that previously had hung on the wall had been ripped apart and throw down on the floor like trash.

Although he couldn't see anyone in the apartment, whomever had made the mess could easily still be in the apartment. Wared looked for something to defend himself with, but nothing seemed suitable. Instead, he continued through the hallway towards the kitchen, one step at a time, his back against the wall. He peeked around the corner into the kitchen, only to find it empty.

As he passed through the kitchen, he picked up one of the kitchen knives. He was tempted to ask Alice if anyone was still in the apartment, but realized just as he opened his mouth that doing so would reveal his own location and jeopardize any element of surprise he might have. Instead, he continued towards the hallway that led to Tarun's bedroom.

The door to the bedroom was closed. That's odd. Tarun never closed the door to the bedroom when he was at home, unless he was in there himself. Since Tarun was at the hospital, he couldn't be in there. Was someone else?

Just as he reached for the handle, the door opened up and he found himself standing face to face with a woman dressed in black. She seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. It was only when she caught sight of the knife in his hand that she acted.

Wared let out a yowl as pain exploded in and around his nose. . Wared rolled on the floor as he saw stars and felt as if his head was about to explode. He knelt on the floor, his hands over his nose. Something warm and sticky covered his fingers and as he opened his eyes, he saw the red blood gushing out of his nose.

Despite the pain, he struggled to his feet, wiping his hands on his pant legs as he stumbled out into the living room.

"Come back here," he croaked as he heard the door slam somewhere in the hallway outside of the apartment. The emergency exit.

Instead, he collapsed on the floor just inside the front door and reached for his nose. The pain radiated through his whole head the moment he touched it. Is it broken?

"Alice, are you there?" he said with a grunt.

"I am at your service. How can I help?"

"Who was that, who was here?"

A brief paused followed before Alice continued. "My apologies, but my records indicate no other presence in this apartment since you and Tarun left for the ceremony."

Wared furrowed his brow and spit out a little bit of blood. "Alice, there was a woman here, in the apartment."

"Are you ok? I can sense an heightened sense of alertness and the presence of blood."

"Alice, answer me. Who was the woman? She just left the apartment."

"I have no record of a woman being present in the apartment today."

Wared banged his hand on the floor in frustration. "Surely you can see the state of the apartment."

Another pause followed. "Affirmative."