The Reason We Fight

Chapter 61. The Hotel

Kakume got in through the back entry, a heavy metal door with a keypad lock. She knew the password thanks to Willat's crows. She wore a standard suit, and had her hair in a prim braid falling behind her back, as she did when she slipped into her Wraith persona at Heavens' Arena. She kept her mask in the inside pocket of her jacket, in case her cover was blown and she had to fight Tserriednich's staff using her Scarlet Eyes. The worst thing right now would be to be recognized as a Kurta.

"Newbie?", a woman with grey hair asked, seeing her approach. "Please do hurry, the shift is about to begin. Don't want to be late on your first day".

She nodded and followed the mass of personnel, who all headed for the main hall. The woman she had seen earlier appeared to be some kind of leader, as she soon assigned all the guards to their own respective postings. She was assigned, along with an older guard, to the main entrance, which was a damn shame, because it was as far from the prince as she could possibly get. That gave her some time to whip up a plan. They did rotations every two hours, counterclockwise from all the established points. Her next checkpoint would be on the north stairwell. Tserriednich can usually be found in specific areas of the hotel: his presidential suite, the roof, where he had a terrace with a jacuzzi and a view of the city, the hotel bar and lobby, the fine dining restaurant, and finally, an executive lounge where he sometimes held private meetings with celebrities, Mafia dons, politicians, and industry dignitaries. Points of entry were guarded, as well as all those areas. Willat had not seen any of the staff or Tserriednich himself use Nen is his month of surveilling him.

Suddenly, Mark entered the building, three charming ladies surrounding him, excitedly whispering to each other about meeting such an important man. Kakume made a point of looking down, in case he would recognize her from the nightclub. But she might as well have been the wallpaper, judging from his reaction, or rather, his complete lack thereof. That was when she noticed that already, the two hours have passed. Her colleague, a man with dark sunglasses and shoulders like an ox, received instructions on his phone.

"You", he said, pointing to her. "Stay here. I'm moving up to the next perimeter".

Kakume frowned, not understanding. Would she be stuck here all night, with no window for upward motion? She bit on her nail, high-strung. The moment that man exited the room, a black crow popped up on her shoulder, making her jump. Willat was not a Manipulator who could control crows, but rather a Conjurer, who created them from aura. Meaning, he could do it from a distance, not requiring the bird to actually fly into the building.

"You need to find a place to hide asap", the crow croaked into her ear. "They have a Royal Dog with them, a mind reader. They're gathering all the new guards into the main lobby for a mind sweep, looking for traitors".

A Royal Dog? Kakume thought, disbelieving. They're not supposed to bring any slaves with them to the trip! V5 made it a point of cooperation, as it is one of the main sources of conflict between Kakin and the other nations. Then again... they were not aboard the ship yet...

She was too slow. The woman she had seen earlier entered the floor with five other guards, a tall hirsute man wearing the gauntlet of a Handler, and a young child wearing the helmet, collar and chain of a Royal Dog. A pang shot through her when she heard the rattling of the leash. They were told to stand in a straight line, for the Handler to study them individually. She was at the end of the line, the sixth guard.

As the Handler moved through the ranks, her heart thumped loudly in her chest and she was unable to make it still. She felt hot and sweaty, and chewed on her lip nervously as he slowly made his approach to her. He's going to know. He's going to know everything I intend to do - to kill the prince and rob him. Use him to get on the ship. Everything.