Kohen offered a folder to Hawthorn, giving a vague smile.
"You smile as if you know something interesting."
"This is the medical report for the General that you asked for."
"I thought you said it was unattainable without raising flags."
"It can depend on who is on duty at whatever hospital the deceased is taken to. I put the feelers out, and it turns out that we have a citizen with reasonable clearance in the hospital that they took the General to. Unfortunately, she does not have a medical degree and is, in fact, a part of the administration. The only thing she could offer was that they listed his passing as natural causes. I asked if it was possible for a doctor who was no longer practising to assist with the passing and make it seem natural. Her response was that anyone with the right knowledge could do it. She added that if the victim had health issues, it would make it even easier."
"So, given Benjamin's vague suggestion, and the information given here, we can assume that he assisted."
"We can. There is an addendum to this."
Kohen returned to the door and pushed it back. Guards brought in several boxes, placing them along the wall near the bookcase. Hawthorn looked at them with curiosity.
The boxes were plain. As the guards put the boxes down, the flaps opened slightly, showing that they'd once been sealed. The only thing that stood out were the delivery stickers.
"We have cleared them for viewing, although Orin checked them when the delivery arrived."
Hawthorn stood and moved to the nearest box, gently lifting back the flaps. It was papers and folders. He checked the next one and saw the same thing.
"What is this?"
"When I showed the Prime Minister to the door this morning, he said that he had something for us and that it would be delivered in the afternoon. I was curious, and he obliged. What you see here is all the information that was collected from General Harvey's house. It would seem that our benevolent and new prime minister spent a few hours there, collecting the information to ensure that it didn't fall into the wrong hands."
Kohen pressed his lips tight as he recalled the interaction.
"I try not to be cynical or judgemental, but I feared that this was a setup."
"Yes," Hawthorn hummed dryly. "That crossed my mind, too."
"So, I informed the prime minister that your office has a camera, and it records both vision and sound. I also stated that before we enter a place, we carry out surveillance from several angles. He would have been seen on our cameras, even if the team didn't see it."
"And what did our new friend have to say to that?"
"He merely shrugged and said that we could record whatever we wanted in the privacy of our own premises and that he figured we would watch Harvey, anyway. Apparently, he has nothing to hide from us. Then he stated he checked because he believed it was ideal and that what he found was clearly dangerous to be exposed to the world. There is nowhere safer than in our hands because it is about us. Then he said he would continue searching, starting with Jack's office."
Hawthorn walked alongside the boxes, gazing down into the gap between the side flaps.
"Well, I suppose something has to be done with the information. You may search through it. Have Alfie help you, and if you think some things might be time-sensitive, then have Orin select some guards to assist. Use the meeting room. The table is certainly large enough to spread out."
With a nod, Kohen ordered the guards to remove the boxes.
"I will start now, just in case there is anything that is concerning."
Hawthorn watched, but it bothered him that these boxes existed. Following Kohen and the guards, Hawthorn entered the meeting room.
"Do you think that these are the originals or that the General made copies?"
"I think these are the originals."
Opening a box, Kohen pulled a stack of papers that had a large red stamp on it that read do not copy.
"What are the chances that he collected everything?"
"Probably better than we think. Anderson only knew a few things, which meant that Wesley wasn't including him in what was going on. He was going to Harvey for everything, but that doesn't mean this was above board. Maybe they met at Harvey's place to formulate plans or they could have met at Downing Street, but Harvey kept all the information at his residence."
Extra guards appeared at the door with Alfie.
"I will leave you to it."
Hawthorn wandered out of the meeting room, listlessly wandering back to his office. For a long time, he stood at the window, watching the world rush by.
He couldn't say that the outcome of their holiday pleased him. It was supposed to be a relaxing couple of weeks. A time for Seraphina to continue to settle into her role as queen, for them to grow as a couple and to enjoy what could almost be considered a honeymoon. The news of the baby was extremely welcome, and Christmas had undoubtedly been a wonderful time for them as a couple, but that was where the happiness ended.
"My lord,"
Hawthorn turned to Kohen. Alfie was a step behind.
"News?"
"Not really," Kohen offered.
"It's fairly boring stuff,"
Alfie had a small stack of papers in his hands.
"He'd been collecting a list of names of who he thought was a vampire. This is a plan of the sanctum, but only the building plans that the council holds. There is nothing about the actual sanctum, the tunnel, or the car park entrance. In the meeting notes, there are two different sets of handwriting. One we know is Jack's, the other we presume to be the General. They list ideas of how they can get into the sanctum to search, how to obtain a small camera for Jack to wear in a visit and any staff that might be coerced into giving information. They make no reference to anyone else, aside from the leaders at the conference."
"Anything of interest with them?"
"Just a long list of those who have resisted the idea and, to what degree. We plan to cross-check with those who have signed a treaty, but from what I have seen, it is obvious that none of the leaders were interested and only attended because they were threatened."
"Well, let's hope that they are never put in such a position again."
Both men nodded. When they left the room, Hawthorn glanced at the outside world and grew bored with it. Deciding that he'd rather pester Seraphina, Hawthorn moved towards the lounge room.
Seraphina was lying on the lounge suite. The television was on, and the sound of a movie was quietly playing. When Seraphina didn't react to his entrance, Hawthorn's anxiety grew. It was quickly swept away when he realised she was asleep.
While he didn't mind if she slept on the lounge suite, Hawthorn imagined it couldn't be comfortable. There was also the issue that if someone walked in here while talking loudly, they could wake her.
So Hawthorn carefully lifted Seraphina. She murmured something as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I know," he whispered. "The monster is taking you to bed."
The maid stopped in her tracks when she saw the king approaching. Gesturing to the door, she silently asked. Hawthorn nodded.
Waiting, the maid held the door open and then scampered to the bed to pull back the linen. When she was done, the maid quietly closed the door behind her.
"Stay," Seraphina whispered.
Despite his desire to return to the boxes, Hawthorn knew not to ignore Seraphina's affection.
Flicking off his shoes, Hawthorn pulled his jacket off and laid it over the end of the bed. Lying on the bed, he settled in next to Seraphina. When she snuggled into his arms, Hawthorn smiled.
It had been a long and wild road to a moment like this, but it had been worth it. He wouldn't trade it for anything.