Anarameha

Chapter 43

Keoni followed the group that were headed towards Garlet's restaurant. He believed that if Ana would go anywhere, it would be there. She trusted Garlet, unaware of how quickly and easily he betrayed her.

The path to Garlet's restaurant was longer than what Keoni wanted. No one wanted to draw attention to what was going on. Whispers spread like fire, and they didn't want Garlet or Pierre hearing about the attacks ahead of schedule.

They'd lost sight of the main group, who were eager to get into position at the same time as the other group. Neither wanted to go in ahead of the other. They also didn't want to be left behind.

When Keoni and the rest of the Sovereignty Corps arrived at the restaurant, the battle was over. Bodies lay everywhere, a minefield of blood, guns and death. Bullet holes and blood spattered over the surrounding walls of the loading dock, where the guards always waited to greet Garlet's underworld guests and staff.

Keoni lifted the helmet off, angry that Bran hadn't listened. Everywhere Keoni looked, he saw the same thing. Dead goons, weapons scattered, blood pooling and splattered. The vampires that had engaged them in battle appeared okay. Some were a little unruly in appearance, but everyone was alive.

Searching for Bran, Keoni found him inside. There weren't as many dead in here. Keoni thought they would all be guards. He couldn't see any of the cooks or wait staff which he found pleasing. They were not involved in this world and shouldn't be included in the destruction.

A soft beep echoed on Keoni's wrist, marking the time for when the battle should have started. Bran appeared, giving Keoni a supreme smile.

"What possessed you to go in ahead of schedule?"

The angered tone turned his mood sour. Bran kept it cool and slid into the disinterested leader that he always was. Now that Keoni was back in his former role as the general and leader of the Sovereignty Corps, he had to play nice. Keoni could squash everything and send Bran packing to the lowest of ranks within the vampire world.

"We received word that the other team had already been engaged in a battle," Bran said dryly.

He was standing at the door to Garlet's private dining room, a plain face staring at Keoni.

"As repayment for his debt to the vampires, I will be confiscating all of the assets on their behalf. Any physical assets will be turned into credits to be added to whatever else I find. We will build our city with this money."

"Whatever. I don't care. Was Ana here? Did anyone bother to check before they started shooting up the place?"

"Ana is not here, and yes, they checked before they shot a person. We're not maniacs, you know. We want Ana on the throne far more than you do. I have no idea where she could be considering we thought that she trusted Garlet and would return to him when in danger. Perhaps you'd have more luck closer to the building."

Frustrated, Keoni stormed out of the building. A dark thought-filled Keoni's mind that maybe Ana was hurt and needed medical assistance. Or worse. Maybe the guards had found her, and she'd been recaptured.

The rest of the SC's were helping the vampires drag the bodies to the dump point. They wanted the area cleaned before the humans walked past and saw the mess.

"The princess is not here. We'll move to the residence. She may still be in the area. Anything on the scanner?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Alright, move out."

The group slipped into the darkness, moving through the metal-lined paths with speed. It was an easy run to the centre of the city. The best access for the royal residence was on the fifth level. It was often used by visiting dignitaries that travelled by foot rather than an air vehicle. The fifth level also contained a museum that was open to the public.

Accessing the area was not easy as the security was always high. When the group stopped, Keoni pulled them back to hide in the shadows. Observation was the most important part of the next few minutes.

Keoni watched, assessing the movements of the guards and what was happening.

"The doors are shut."

"Since when?" Seras asked.

"Since something is going on and they're clamping down on security. We'll have to go lower."

"The security will be worse."

"Yes, but there will be fewer eyes on us."

Keoni pointed to the pockets of paths and squares where there were a lot of people. They'd started to congregate after Pierre's bizarre speech earlier.

There was a whisper going around that he was lying and that the woman was not a fake, as he claimed. They wanted to know if the princess had survived the coup.

"Come on. Level one has fewer observant residents."

"No, level one has a lot of drug addicts who are too off their heads to know what's going on in front of them."

Keoni shrugged at Seras. "Either way, it's a better situation."

Seras nodded, agreeing.

Moving down the nearest stairs, the group reached level one quickly. Keoni raised the panel on his arm, checking the time.

"Six hours,"

"We'll be fine."

"Still, note the closest drain door and ensure that everyone makes it through if we're running close to dawn."

"Do you really want to turn our backs on the fight?"

Seras lifted his helmet off. He hated being down at this level. The air was thicker, filled with the horrid stench of the wasteland. Removing his helmet was not easy, and he'd return it as soon as his leader understood his concern.

"We haven't found the other group yet. Bran claims that they've engaged in the battle. Where are they? If that's not concerning enough, where's the princess?"

Keoni didn't know. He hoped that Ana was somewhere high above them, hiding and keeping safe from the monsters that wanted to make her fall.