The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Chapter 30: The Qos Viran

"The plot is called the Armageddon Project and calls for the termination of all fringe species, including werewolves and vampires, to ensure the purity of the new human race," he said the rest in a rush. No longer able to contain himself, Lash exploded out of his chair to surge across the space between the humans and him and take Duffy by the arms, staring hard into his face.

"How?" he snarled tightly. "How did you find out about this plot?" he demanded.

Shrinking away from Lash's rage, Duffy almost couldn't answer.

"In ... in the war between Mordecai and the Brotherhood!" he managed to stammer, staring into Lash's enraged face. "He pulled it from a Brotherhood database that was left unprotected after an attack." A twist on the truth, but it was enough to get the point across.

"Kadasa!" the big vampire snarled tightly as he spun away from the quaking Duffy, smashing a clenched fist into an open palm with a loud 'crack'. He hissed a tight stream in the vampires' alien-sounding language before abruptly switching back to English.

"We should've guessed that something was afoot when the Brotherhood began to draw back from its various skirmishes against the clans all over the world. But not even the Elders would have surmised it was because of this!" He glanced over his shoulder. "Your associate, the former psionic named Mordecai. He was fighting some sort of war against the Brotherhood?"

"Yes." This time it was Dee that answered, Duffy still shaking from having a very angry vampire only inches from the tip of his nose and quite unable to even speak.

Instantly Lash's cat-like eyes swung around to stab into Dee's. The tall redhead couldn't help but swallow harshly in the light of that look. Still, she had to go on.

"And, Fate willing, he hopes to continue the battle against the Brotherhood and stop them before they can put into place this plan of theirs."

"Admirable, but why would a psionic wish to fight against his own people?" Lash demanded tightly.

"Because the Brotherhood represents a radical element within the psionic ranks that wants to dominate the world, not just live in it, like most psionics do. Most are content to live behind the Shield and experience a modicum of normality, without fear of discovery by a paranoid human race. But the Brotherhood would see all that destroyed and all psionics bend the knee to them, as supreme rulers of the new human race. Hundreds, if not thousands of psionics have already died resisting them."

Lash slowly shook his head, going just as quickly from anger to stunned astonishment as the anger had arisen in the first place. He stared hard at the floor.

"We always knew the Brotherhood as a ruthlessly efficient organization bent on achieving its goals at all costs. But, by the blood of their own people?? Thanos bel lakim. Madness walks amongst us!"

Then he was looking over at first Dee, then Duffy, who had taken the pause to recover his wits.

"You said you had some sort of proposal for us, Duffy. I think now would be a good time to table it, in light of this new information you've brought us."

"Right." Still somewhat nervous despite Lash being visibly calmer, Duffy cleared his throat a third time. "My comrade here, Detective McMaster and I have uncovered the presence of several Brotherhood spies within the local police department. Logical, if the Brotherhood was to successfully remain hidden. Their moles worked to destroy evidence gathered by the police of their existence and various activities in the city, keeping them hidden from the rest of Humanity living here. This, as we've recently learned, was done in preparation for the Armageddon Project's launch which, we have also recently learned, is to be here, in Calgary."