Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 12

"There are four people at the top of the Con Rồng government. From what I've picked up there's one dictator and three special pawns he likes more than the rest of them."

"So like a king with three queens?"

I turned to give Cass an irritated look, "No, like a dictator with three extra pawns. This isn't a chess game."

Currently I was in what looked like a conference room, but it wasn't nearly as big or extravagant as the room at the Con Rồng headquarters. It was smaller, the table could probably fit only ten people, and the chair Kailas was sitting on didn't look like a throne. It wasn't even a chair. It was just a stool, wooden, and one of the legs was too short, because he kept tipping back and forth like a child. I think he was doing it on purpose, it was starting to bug me.

Spread out over the table were blueprints, maps, and blank sheets of paper with pens and pencils sitting on top of everything. Kailas sat at the head of the table, I was on his right, and Cass was standing on my other side. On the other side of the table were Malachi and Arthur, and unfortunately Dakota was back, but at least he wasn't acting like a prick. He was completely silent and actually looked interested in what I was saying.

"What are their names?" Kailas asked, and I muttered in irritation.

I didn't want to say their names out loud, so I pulled a piece of paper closer and scribbled them down before sliding it over to Kailas to say instead. He gave me a confused look before picking up the sheet of paper, reading over the names silently before humming.

"Vinet Ivanov?"

"Russian," I said, "Female. She's a scientist, or so she claims. Easy to pick out from the others, her hair is blonde and her skin is ghostly. You can hardly understand her with her accent. She's his second in command."

"Who's?" Cass asked, and I winced before nodding for Kailas to continue.

"Rupert de Vois."

"French, political informant," I said, "He's basically the image of a stereotype. Blond hair, blue eyes, pedophile. He's a sicko," I grumbled and leaned against the table, "But he's smart, he's good with guns, and if he wasn't a psychotic monster he wouldn't be there."

"Sounds fun," Cass said.

I get he was trying to lighten the mood, but I didn't appreciate it, "You did hear me say pedophile, right?"

"Sounds not fun."

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Kailas, "Carter Abbott."

"Weapons expert, underground informant, Welsh."

"What's Welsh?" Cass asked, and I glared at him.

"Welsh, he's from Wales."

"There's a country named after whales?!"

"It's in the UK," Arthur offered, and I lifted my hands to rub my temples.

"Ugh. Natural red hair, green eyes. He's... not like the others," I paused, leaning against the table again and staring down, considering my next words, "He helped me escape," I said finally, "He's Tobias Florian's insider."

"How do you know?" Kailas asked, and I looked down over towards my pocket.

I decided not to tell them I had a way to communicate with him.

"There's no one else it could be," I pushed off the table and folded my arms, "They're the pawns, the only ones other than the head who were allowed to deal with me. My handlers, I suppose you could call them. There are hundreds more soldiers, scientists and the like, but those are the three I'm most familiar with," I paused again before turning to look into Kailas' eyes.