The Code

Chapter 9

Men of Letters, London Chapter House, 2012

Dr. Hess stared around the room like the evil overlord that she was. Everyone in the room sat at attention under her intense gaze, except for Ketch, who leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. He could see a few tiny stains that he knew to be blood which hadn't been cleaned up properly at some point, and wondered how long it had been there. Was it human? Animal? Monster? All of the above?

"Am I boring you, Arthur?" Dr. Hess asked, peering down at him. The only indication of the level of her irritation was a slight flare of her overly-large nostrils.

He gave her a charming smile. "Of course not, dear doctor. I was simply enjoying the sound of your melodious voice, and concentrating on your words."

She scowled. "Don't be smart, Arthur. That's never been your forte."

On the other side of the table, Toni barely repressed a smirk.

"Yes, of course Dr. Hess," he said, with an acquiescent nod, and sat up a little straighter, but still not as straight as the others in the room.

"Now, as I was saying: Davies, I believe you have an update on the American situation?"

Mick looked down to consult the reports in front of him. "It would appear that the Leviathan situation is growing worse. Although several ways to subdue individual creatures have been discovered, the Americans have not yet found a definitive way to kill them. We are estimating that there are approximately 700 Leviathans across the continental United States, but given their ability to take on not only the shape of their victims, but to take on the thoughts and knowledge of them, it is extremely difficult to pin down a realistic population number. We are confident, though, that they have not yet left the United States."

Hess' eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips, making the wrinkles around the corners of her mouth even more prevalent. "Confident? You are 'confident'? And what exactly does that mean? 'We're pretty sure that the black goo monsters from Purgatory aren't going to come and eat us for breakfast, but they still might'?" She said this last part in a squeaky voice that Ketch assumed was her attempt to sound like a little girl. It was, in reality, just creepy.

"The Winchesters are very close to..."

"The Winchesters!" snapped Hess. "I am so sick of hearing about those Winchesters. They are far more trouble than they are worth. It seems absolutely impossible that they are any relation at all to the long line of Winchesters who were actually of value to the Men of Letters."

The room went deathly silent. Mick straightened his papers and cleared his throat. Only Ketch could see how hard it was for him to hold in his anger. He had come to appreciate Mick's acting abilities over the years.

"Our border security is keeping a close eye on the location of the Leviathan who has taken on the person of Richard Roman, as he is their leader. He has not yet left the United States at any time since they were let out of Purgatory. His highest aides have also stayed with him. We are very close to developing a technique to detect them at our borders, but their activity has been concentrated on the United States. It is unlikely that they would bother leaving there before they have completed their plans for the Americans. We are, of course, also watching for any suspicious deaths or disappearance in the United Kingdom that would in any way indicate that the Leviathan have infiltrated our border, and sending out teams to investigate immediately. These investigations have not turned up anything of note."

Hess nodded slowly. "Well, that's something. Keep on top of this, Davies. They can eat whomever they like over there, but they will not enter the UK. Am I making myself clear?"