She'll Bring Honor To Us All (BWWM) ✓

Chapter 8: Copycats

Rein's POV
We pulled up to a tall skyscraper building that quite literally scraped the sky with its pointed cell pole and dark tinted mirrors that layered floor after floor until it reached the busy streets of New York.

I didn't enjoy this life. The city.

I didn't like smell, or the sounds of a horn blaring every millisecond. It made it practically impossible for me to think and focus. And right now, I needed to focus.

What I did love, and couldn't resist, was the beauty. I had always found the large bamboo trees, and secluded temple buildings to be beautiful... but as I sat in that armchair for hours, gazing out into the colorful lights of the New York City nightlife, I could help but find a calm within the chaos.

It was like a piece of time that was locked away within the madness, and somewhere somehow that night, I had tapped into it.

But I was no longer in hiding now and I was no longer safe. I could die at any moment and it could be at any place. I was almost convinced that right now, I was being kept alive for a reason... but that could change at any time. I wasn't sure what piece on the chess board I was, but I felt like a pawn. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see the entire play.

I also didn't like the fact that they couldn't have chosen a less busy city to ignite a terrorist attack on. I felt so exposed to every passerby that caught a glimpse of my face... as if they knew who I really was.

"Welcome, sir." Aaron was greeted, as we were walked through the main entryway of the building. From the outside, it looked like a regular business firm, but as soon as we entered one of the many elevators, things changed. A full body scan was immediately issued on both Aaron, McGary, and I.

Aaron didn't even push a button as we descended to the parking garage floor. As the elevator doors opened, instead of seeing a parking garage, we walked out into a large hallway that lead to yet another door.

There were guards on both end of this hallways while one of them opened the door for all three of us. "Good morning, Director." They nodded to Aaron. He gave them a slight nod before guiding us through into an open room filled with people.

Everyone had some sort of screen in front of them as they sat behind conjoined tables, facing towards a larger screen in the front. Not one of them turned around as they typed away, busy with the task at hand.

To the left, there was yet another hallway that had a few conjoining rooms. We entered the door at the very end of the hallway which lead us down one more flight of stair to another room.

This room had a large table in the center yet lights were bouncing off of it. "What kind of futuristic shit is this?" I whispered to myself as image projected off the glass.

"You've been gone for quite sometime." Campbell replied.

"A few years, not a fucking lifetime." I hissed back.

"It still throws me off sometimes too." McGary admitted. A few files popped up at Aaron's voice command.

"This was the attack from a few nights ago." He stated, ignoring us both as an image was pulled out from file before a video played.

It showed a group of people, many of them mid 30's, some mid 20's, wandering around what looked to be and Art Museum. I didn't recognize the institute, but I recognized the art up on the wall. Most of the work was done by Japanese artists that had since long passed, but their work was commonly known back home.

A particular painting instantly caught my eye as the people began to seemingly choke on the air. The suffocation came quite instantly. They starting dropping to the ground lifelessly while some tried making it to the door with no prevail.

This was when things got interesting. A group of men in masks followed in shortly after.

Well, a group of men and one woman rather. It was hard to tell from the average eye, but the proportions were different with one of the team members.

My eyes focused in again on the painting that caught my eye as a man grabbed that and a few others off the wall. "So this was an art heist?" I asked, glancing at Campbell shortly after the video cut.

"We don't believe so, the art looked chosen at random, and they confirmed the death of everyone in that room... like the maximum amount of fatalities were their target." Campbell replied. "What do you see, Rein?" He asked after some time.

"First, The Black Lotus to not handle their business like this. They are assassins, not terrorists. If this was them, the intended target would be the people, not the art. You are correct on that... but they do not take on a target of this magnitude ever. They are a myth to many and they intend to remain that way.

"As for this team, there is a female in this group. A female in the Black Lotus is incredibly rare. It comes once a lifetime." I replied, as Campbell caught my eye. "Next, is the art piece that they pulled off that wall. Specifically the one that nudged that man's sleeve up. That is a fake. A replica."

"How do you know that? How do you know all of that?" McGary asked.

"I know about the painting because I have the original hanging up on our wall back home." I replied, looking only at Aaron now. "And that tattoo incident was staged. They want you to believe this is the Black Lotus but the tattoo isn't real. The original Black Lotus tattoo is done with a strong potent Indian ink, so strong it cannot be easily covered up. The recovery time for this tattoo is months. If that were real, the tattoo would have been bandaged due to chances of infection." I explained as both Aaron and McGary were listening intently.

"So this isn't the Black Lotus?" Aaron asked after sometime in a quieter voice.

"No, Director. I'm not too sure you have a group of terrorists on your hands either. All I know is this: The Black Lotus are very much real, but this isn't their M.O.... and they don't take well to copycats."

---------------------------