The Main Hall (The End – Chapter 3 – Part 2)

The limo stopped in front of HQ’s main hall. The driver opened the door. I swallowed the last sip of my dirty martini and exited the vehicle with my travel companions. Jules invited us to follow him into the main assembly hall.

I remember the scene like it was yesterday. We were the last group to arrive. The large auditorium was filled with… everyone. Was it the first time that all the agents of the Organization were gathered in the same room? As far as I could tell, yes.
Besides the usual suspects, there were even a few faces I was not entirely familiar with. I could count a handful of new recruits, but there were also some – former – sleeper agents that I had only met a few times before – most of them during my early years as a member of our little coterie.

The funny thing is that The Count and I didn’t even need to be there. Mr. Id had already told us everything. We were just playing along so that no one would know that our path was going to differ from theirs. But only the three of us and Jules could know that.

Having everyone there was quite a sight. Images of the main auditorium of the Sorbonne flashed before my eyes. I made a mental note to do a session to block those alternate memories before I left HQ. I didn’t want them to show up in my mind at the wrong time; it could lead to unfortunate situations.

My seat was near the back, in the raised part of the room. I could see most of the people from there. The Count sat next to me. We couldn’t wait to catch up, but not before we sized up the room first. Old habits never die. Small groups had formed. We weren’t the only ones eager to reconnect with old friends and former teammates. Some of them hadn’t seen each other in who knows how long, years for most.

This was probably what a high school reunion looked like… I wouldn’t know. Well, I have to assume that there are more bank tellers, store clerks, and construction workers than snipers, taromancers, and spies. Right?

In the midst of all the chatter, the Taulier quietly entered the room and sat down at the center of the large wooden desk on the stage. Jules joined him and sat on his right side, as was his custom. The seat on the left remained horribly empty. Mr. Id hadn’t replaced him. Was he going to? Could he do it? We’ll never know.
The Taulier looked at the audience for a few seconds with a more serious expression than I had expected. He whispered a few words to Jules, cleared his throat, and stood up.
All the chatter stopped immediately.

 

 

I’m not sure I can recall his exact words, but they went something like this:

“Good afternoon, my dear friends. I’m glad to see you all here today. I can say that I’m humbled to see that every one of you answered my call on such short notice.”

I half expected someone to heckle him. It didn’t happen. Even the more socially inept among us understood that it wasn’t the right time. He went on.

“I fully understand the sacrifices some of you have had to make. Please know that the decision to reactivate you all was not made lightly, but it was necessary for the situation is dire.”

The Count and I nodded at each other. The Taulier explained to everyone else:

“Five years ago, we finally defeated the Order. Many of you were involved, I’ll spare you the details, you know them. However, in recent months we have received more and more credible information that not everything happened as we thought.”

“What does that mean?” interjected a voice I couldn’t identify from the front rows.

“It means that while we thought we had eliminated enough leaders, officers, and executives to bring down the entire hierarchy of the Order, it turns out that we missed at least one too many. And that mistake allowed the Order not only to survive its apparent demise, but to go into hiding. How it managed to elude us for so long is something we’re still investigating.
The surviving leader — or leaders — didn’t just keep the Order alive, they reorganized it and changed at least parts of its modus operandi. One reason we haven’t seen it resurface is that… it hasn’t. It stayed hidden. It only maintained a small number of active members. Instead, the Order has infiltrated governments, corporations, and other international institutions to do their dirty work for them. Most do it unknowingly, but a few know exactly what’s going on.
In a sense, the Order, while diminished in appearance, may have gained more power and reach than ever before.

There was a murmur in the room. The Taulier finished his introductory speech:

“So yes, the Order is back and ready to strike.”

The room grew restless. Silence was a thing of the past.

“Strike who? Where? How?”

The Taulier gestured for everyone to calm down.

“I’m getting there.”
“Everyone be quiet, please!” ordered Jules in a stern voice.

Mr. Id waited for the commotion to die down and resumed speaking:

“Their goal hasn’t changed much. It’s just more ambitious. Power, domination, and reshaping the world to their liking. And now it seems they have the means to make it a reality.”
“To rule the world…”
“Yes, Craig. As unreal as it sounds, that’s what we are facing and what we must prevent. Now you understand why I needed all of you.”

Someone sitting on the right side of the room spoke up:

“Are we completely sure about this? How reliable is the intel?”
“Bartleby, Worthington and Dreamz have spent the last six months gathering and analyzing the intelligence. That’s how reliable it is.”

Bartleby and Worthington sat in the front row. They nodded gravely. Dreamz was nowhere to be found. The Taulier answered the questioning looks.

“Dreamz did not survive the process.”

Mr. Id continued, but only after the implications of those words had sunk in.

“The situation is dire, but not hopeless. We have a plan! That’s why you’re all here. Jules, if you will…”

The Taulier gestured to his second in command before sitting down.
Jules stood and surveyed the room. The bags under his eyes seemed larger than usual. He began to address the audience like a general addressing his troops. His all-black suit was indeed a bit of a uniform.

“It’s a pretty simple plan when you think about it. We hit them! All at once! As soon as this briefing is over. No time for political intrigues, no infiltration or similar power games. Especially since those have become their forte. That would be too risky. So we attack. We don’t try to weaken. We don’t try to dismantle. We attack and destroy them and their assets. We have already located their current leaders, as well as their main bases, meeting places, and information nodes.
For years, we’ve all operated with the utmost discretion to keep our Organization a secret from the rest of the world. Well, this time, please be as discreet as possible, but if taking out your assigned target means blowing our cover, so be it. If we succeed, we’ll find a way to fix this. Because rest assured, if we fail, there will be no Organization left to hide.”

He waited a few seconds and continued.

“You have been divided into strike teams. The psychics among you will coordinate them. The specialists will do their thing and impress us all. The generalists will do the rest and be amazing at it.
The scale of the operation may be unusual, but otherwise it’s nothing you haven’t done before.”

He paused again, took a sip from his Tom Collins on the desk, and continued.

“See the slates on your desks? As soon as I finish speaking, they’ll show you where your briefing room is. That’s where you’ll meet your team and get all the details you need.
From that moment on, you’re not allowed to communicate with any agents not on your team, unless specifically stated in your instructions. Even here at HQ. I don’t need to tell you why a tightly controlled flow of information is of the utmost importance, do I?
So say your goodbyes before I turn on the slates.
Also, be aware that the big picture of the operation – basically, most of what has been said in this room – will be erased from your memory as soon as you leave HQ. You won’t know that other teams and other missions are going on at the same time as yours. If you are captured, they can’t know the scope of the operation or its exact nature.
Any questions should be directed to your team coordinator in your briefing room.
I wish you all the best of luck. You’re going to need a lot of it.”

The Taulier stood up again. He waited a minute while the agents exchanged a few words.
His voice had its usual friendly tone, but he looked more somber than before.

“Thank you, Jules.
Dear agents, now is the time to take the slates in front of you and follow the instructions on the screen. But before that, in case I don’t see you again, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

The Taulier waited a second to see if there were questions. He was almost surprised that there weren’t. All the agents checked their electronic boards as they lit up. Soon, they all stood up and headed for their team’s briefing room. Some had smiles on their faces, others had much more unhappy or worried looks.

As expected, the screen on my device remained dark, as did the one in the Count’s hands. Mr. Id looked at us while Jules led the last agents out of the room.

When only the four of us remained in the room, the Taulier smiled and invited the Count and me to follow him through the door that had just opened at the side of the stage.

 

(to be continued)

 

 

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