Cyberknight: One Path

⁕ The Lynching Game (part 9)

[Dunhill] - "What about our endgame, my lord? "

[Jagger] - "The elimination of all people with the desire to oppose us shall be the closure point for the Lynching Game. At the very end, I shall defeat the three cyberknights and use their capture and execution as the final pillar to cement my status as a hero of the Allied Forces and justify my ascension to the throne in front of the common people. Remember who you are serving, all of you, I call the shots. Failure will not be tolerated. "

*Back to the present

Jagger watched from an observation balcony the massive control room below filled with thousands of agents each monitoring up to ten individuals of interest. At the centre of the control room, Dunkel commanded the army of agents performing Jagger's orders.

Time went on as the Lynching Game has so far condemned over three million people to prison and sentenced a few hundred thousand to death. Jagger's tactic made use of the knowledge Mike had acquired by learning of Mao's cultural evolution in the 1970s. A mob riled up by the shock and pain of a massive tragedy can be easily manipulated to exert their anger onto a perceived enemy. However, during all this, said enemy can also blend in and hide within the mob as one of their own.

Although Jagger executed his plan with minimal preparation, he made sure to masterfully solve the aforementioned problem by luring his disguised enemies into a false sense of security. Unsurprisingly, many who were allied with Dane or wanted to expose Jagger's crimes were amongst his most ardent supporters. However, none of them knew Jagger had already secured them in his sight.

[Jagger] - "Athena, tomorrow, the last batch of Blue Guards will be sent your way. Your mission is nearing its end and my goal is approaching completion as well. "

Said Jagger in a grim tone over the phone.

[Athena] - "What exactly is your goal, Mike? If you expect me to continue, I will require some explanation. "

The wind atop the skyscraper sent Athena's long dark hair flowing like waves in the air.

[Jagger] - "When have you learned to question me? "

[Athena] - "When you began acting like you had something to hide from me. You said the previous month was the endgame, yet you postponed it until now. "

Jagger frowned his brows in anger but kept his voice calm.

[Jagger] - "I realized that sending those few Blue Guards last month was a risky move, that's why I told you to not engage. I needed another month for my propaganda ministers to make sure they were forgotten. Now, with them out of the people's memory, their death will make less of an impact. "

[Athena] - "Then what? What happens after I kill them? I killed all those people without knowing why I did it. I'm sick and tired of being fed only shattered pieces of information. I need to see the full picture, Mike! "

Yelled Athena in frustration.

[Jagger] - "All will be revealed soon after you eliminate them. "

Before Athena could answer, Jagger abruptly hung up the phone. In a fit of rage, Athena violently smashed her phone onto the ground before stepping on it.

While Jagger's Lynching Game swept through the last bastions of open opposition, it has been a whole month since Audrey last saw Kadyn during the party. McCree's refusal to reveal any information about Kadyn only kept Audrey and the rest paranoid about her situation.

Audrey spun a knife on the kitchen table. Gradually, the blade came to a halt by pointing its edge at the piece of cake on Audrey's plate. The room felt empty despite Senju, Oltevin and Audrey being present. Audrey looked up and saw the sombre mood on her teammates' faces. Senju simply played with his food while Oltevin chose vodka as his dinner instead of the soup on his plate.