Brotherhood

Unity

A week had passed since our failed surprise attack. It was a week filled with sorrow and black clothes. Emily and Adrian were the ones who contacted the families of the deceased and I could see that it took a toll on them. They felt respondable, and assumed it. 

I admire them. No matter what comes their way, they stay strong and keep moving forward. 

Between funerals, they spoke to Captain Weirdo, whose name is actually Maxwell. They wanted to figure out what would be Eleonor's next move and find a way to stop her.

Maxwell told them that she was going to attack our city first, as a statement. After that, her plan was to move to other cities, but he didn't know when she was doing it. He also had no idea of where she was hiding. Basically, he was no help at all.

"Even if Eleonor was thinking about attacking the city first she must have changed her plans in case Maxwell told us. If it were me I would fo that," I stated as we were discussing the matter.

"That's probably true. Eleonor is a lot of things, but she's far from being stupid," Maxwell agreed.

"I have to admit that she is one of the smartest people I've ever met," I said.

"The only solution now is to figure out where she's hiding. And yes, she is smart, but I'm sure all the brains in this room can match hers," Emily said.

We kept talking about it, trying to think of something by looking at all of the information we had about Eleonor. All the pictures, journals, life history, behavior, everything was assessed over and over again.

"What if she goes to where all of this started?" Violet suggested while looking at a picture in her hand.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked.

"Lisa told us Eleonor was raised at an orphanage and that the reason she was doing all of this was to get her revenge on those who mistreated her during that time. Max told us she was going to attack our city first to make a statement, so what if she's going to start by attacking the orphanage, the people and place she wants to see suffer the most?"

Everyone's eyes filled with hope. At last one of us thought of something that made sense and could help us make a move before Eleonor.

"You're right. If it was me I would want to start by them too." Emily said.

"The problem is that the orphanage ceased all functions years ago. It's been abandoned since then. There's nothing to destroy nor anyone to hurt there." Levy explained, and the hope we all had immediately turned into a heavy silence.

"But what if she's hiding there? I mean, it's strange since she is clearly traumatized by it, but it was once her home, " I said.

"Plus, it's in an isolated area," Levy added. "It's the perfect hideout."

"Besides this theory, we have nothing else to go by so let's go there. It's either that or wait for her to attack which would put us in disadvantage," Adrian said and we all nodded.

We started discussing a possible plan of action. The biggest problem was our lack of effectives. Since the last mission half of our team that was either injured or dead. There was only one solution left: ask for the Hunters Order help.

For this to work, the Brotherhood had to come clean. Levy volunteered to act as our representant, but Adrian didn't want him to lose his credibility so he decided to show his face and assume to the world that he was the Brotherhood's leader.

It was a shock for everyone. The stocks of Adrian's company dropped the day of the announcement but quickly went higher than ever when the citizens manifested their support to the Brotherhood on the streets. They stood outside of the Order's headquarters for days.

The imminent threat and the public pressure forced the government and the Order to acknowledge the Brotherhood as an ally in the fight against crime. They ended up negotiating an agreement with the Brotherhood.

No one else was involved until the agreement was signed. It stated that none of the Brotherhood's members would be prosecuted for any of their previous crimes linked to the Brotherhood nor the actions against Eleonor.

All of this made us lose precious time, forcing us to work faster than ever. The Brotherhood had some meetings with the Order's representatives to plan the intervention. After the first meeting, someone came back home with a black eye followed by a very, very angry woman known as Olivia.

"Guess what Levy?" I asked as I saw the victim and the suspect walking towards the living room. 

"What?"

"I'm a seer," I said, remembering what I told him when I discovered he and Igor were part of the Brotherhood.

He looked at me dumbfounded. "What?" he asked and I gestured him to turn around.

"Ooh, she got you good," he added and started laughing at Igor's state.

"And you're lucky that you're my superior," Olivia finally said.

Levy apologized and I got up to greet her with a hug.

"I can't believe you kept this from me," she told me, but not in an angry way.

"I can't believe I'm the only one getting punch in the face..." Igor sighed, winning a glare from Olivia.

"Let's just say that you're special," Olivia comforted him while patting his back with more strength then what would be normal.

"You're staying here?" I asked as I saw a bunch of sport bags near the wall.

"Yes. Since it was decided that we are mixing our ranks a bunch of us are staying here for the night. Logistic reasons," she explained.

"Ooh! Slumber party!" Igor exclaimed, sounding like an overly excited teenage girl and winning another smack from Olivia.

He wasn't wrong though. Despite spending a big part of the night revising the plan it did felt like a slumber party. We ate sweets, told jokes, shared embarrassing stories and laughed like we hadn't laughed in a long time. I think we all needed that, especially since the next day was the D-day. We would either fail and lose all advantage we could have or succeed in finding Eleonor. And even if we would find Eleonor we could die fighting her.

I couldn't sleep that night, I kept playing all of the possible scenarios in my head. When the alarm went off I promptly got out of the bed and prepared myself. An hour later everyone was gathered in the patio, ready to leave.

As I was walked out of the door to join my team Adrian stopped me and took me aside. He placed a delicate kiss on my lips.

"What was that for?" I asked, smiling like a creep.

"As far as we know this could be our last kiss..."

My smile faded instantly. I didn't want to think about the possibility of dying today, or even worse: losing people I love.

"I have something for you," he said and handed me a necklace with a metallic pendant full of beautiful craved symbols.

"What is this?"

"A talisman. I asked Kayla to do it a few weeks ago. It will protect you from Eleonor's torture and controlling magic. If you wear it, you won't need to be afraid to confront her."

"She sure is a talented Witch, I have to thank her. Am I the only one getting one?"

"It takes a lot of time to make a talisman this strong. She's the only one I trust to do this but wasn't able to make others in time."

To be honest, I felt a bit hurt, he clearly thought I was the weakest member of this mission. He was right though. Despite all the training I got, I was still lacking technique and strength compared to others. I shook off that thought and smiled back at Adrian. It was not the time for me to think about it.

I thanked him for his gift and gave him one last kiss. We embraced ourselves before joining our respective teams. We left the property in three jeeps and as soon as we passed the gates the pressure raised.