won in this room before a shot is fired, due to our superior planning and knowledge. And yet something was definitely wrong in the War Room. I walked slowly around the workstations, peering over people’s shoulders, and scowling at the display screens on the walls. Penny strolled along beside me, saying nothing, letting me work it out for myself.
“Nothing’s happening,” I said finally. “The maps on the walls should be lit up like Christmas trees, and the operations-planning table should be a hive of activity, but nothing’s happening. This is … unprecedented.”
“Which is why I wanted you to see this for yourself,” said Penny. “So you’d have some idea of how the world is coping, without the family looking over its shoulder. The threat boards are quiet because everyone else is too confused and too scared to start anything. They don’t know why we’ve gone so quiet, and why so many of our field agents have suddenly dropped off the board. Are we hurt, are we weak; or are we running one of our fiendishly complicated and intricate operations, designed to suck people in and then stamp on their heads once they’ve foolishly taken the bait? We’ve done it before, after all. But look around you, Eddie. See how tense everyone is?”
“I thought that was just my presence.”
“Oh, get over yourself. Everyone here is running on hot tea and adrenaline, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting to see which country or organisation or individual will finally start something, just to see how much they can get away with.”
“None of the lights show agents in the field,” I said suddenly. “No ongoing operations.”
“That’s because there aren’t any,” said Penny. “After you took away the family’s golden torcs, the agents in the field had no choice but to go to ground. They’d been left helpless, vulnerable, without their armour, and we can’t afford for any of our enemies to know that. Not yet. No one’s been killed, as yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”
I realised people all around me had looked up from their workstations to stare at me accusingly. I glared back, and they quickly returned to their work. I stood still, scowling furiously, thinking hard. This was all my fault. I hadn’t thought it through. When I discovered the family’s golden armour was powered by the trapped souls of sacrificed children, all I could think of was to put a stop to it. I hadn’t stopped to consider that I was putting other lives at risk. I don’t think it would have stopped me anyway, but I hadn’t thought. And ever since, I’d been too caught up in running the Hall to think about the big picture. That the world depends on the agents in the field to keep it safe, and the agents depend on the Hall.
“All right,” I said to Penny. “Put out the call. All field agents to come home.”
“That could be dangerous for some of them,” said Penny. “Staying out of sight is all that’s keeping some of them alive.”
“Well, tell them to use their best judgement,” I said impatiently. “But unless they come back to the Hall to be vetted, they won’t be considered for one of the new silver torcs. Tell them they can use the old secret paths; I’ll authorise the extra expense.”
I moved over to the main operations table, picked up a sheaf of the latest reports, and thumbed quickly through them. People around the table looked scandalised. Such material was only for the eyes of the Matriarch. Everyone knew I’d replaced Martha as head of the family, but it clearly still hadn’t sunk in for a lot of people.
“Where’s Truman?” I said finally. “I don’t see anything about him here. Don’t we have any recent updates about Manifest Destiny? They must be regrouping by now, so why don’t I see anything on their new base, their new centre of operations? Come on, people; I’ll settle for a best guess. An organisation that big can’t hope to start up again without leaving all kinds of
“Nothing’s happening,” I said finally. “The maps on the walls should be lit up like Christmas trees, and the operations-planning table should be a hive of activity, but nothing’s happening. This is … unprecedented.”
“Which is why I wanted you to see this for yourself,” said Penny. “So you’d have some idea of how the world is coping, without the family looking over its shoulder. The threat boards are quiet because everyone else is too confused and too scared to start anything. They don’t know why we’ve gone so quiet, and why so many of our field agents have suddenly dropped off the board. Are we hurt, are we weak; or are we running one of our fiendishly complicated and intricate operations, designed to suck people in and then stamp on their heads once they’ve foolishly taken the bait? We’ve done it before, after all. But look around you, Eddie. See how tense everyone is?”
“I thought that was just my presence.”
“Oh, get over yourself. Everyone here is running on hot tea and adrenaline, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting to see which country or organisation or individual will finally start something, just to see how much they can get away with.”
“None of the lights show agents in the field,” I said suddenly. “No ongoing operations.”
“That’s because there aren’t any,” said Penny. “After you took away the family’s golden torcs, the agents in the field had no choice but to go to ground. They’d been left helpless, vulnerable, without their armour, and we can’t afford for any of our enemies to know that. Not yet. No one’s been killed, as yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”
I realised people all around me had looked up from their workstations to stare at me accusingly. I glared back, and they quickly returned to their work. I stood still, scowling furiously, thinking hard. This was all my fault. I hadn’t thought it through. When I discovered the family’s golden armour was powered by the trapped souls of sacrificed children, all I could think of was to put a stop to it. I hadn’t stopped to consider that I was putting other lives at risk. I don’t think it would have stopped me anyway, but I hadn’t thought. And ever since, I’d been too caught up in running the Hall to think about the big picture. That the world depends on the agents in the field to keep it safe, and the agents depend on the Hall.
“All right,” I said to Penny. “Put out the call. All field agents to come home.”
“That could be dangerous for some of them,” said Penny. “Staying out of sight is all that’s keeping some of them alive.”
“Well, tell them to use their best judgement,” I said impatiently. “But unless they come back to the Hall to be vetted, they won’t be considered for one of the new silver torcs. Tell them they can use the old secret paths; I’ll authorise the extra expense.”
I moved over to the main operations table, picked up a sheaf of the latest reports, and thumbed quickly through them. People around the table looked scandalised. Such material was only for the eyes of the Matriarch. Everyone knew I’d replaced Martha as head of the family, but it clearly still hadn’t sunk in for a lot of people.
“Where’s Truman?” I said finally. “I don’t see anything about him here. Don’t we have any recent updates about Manifest Destiny? They must be regrouping by now, so why don’t I see anything on their new base, their new centre of operations? Come on, people; I’ll settle for a best guess. An organisation that big can’t hope to start up again without leaving all kinds of
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