Sub Terra: Et Reditus

Five

Three weeks later...

Daniel

The chapel we were sitting in was isolated and quiet. Dozens of meetings of the CMF Civilian Branch later, I still never got used to the eerie vibes it gave. It was on the surface, a building that had survived the terrible war decades before, and the Chief of our specific campus, a man we only knew as El Observador, had decided that every meeting would take place at the very convenient timing of 12 AM in the night. Still, I never blamed him for it. We had to be cautious, because daytime meetings would have certainly meant us getting ambushed by some outside force.

"I have very exciting news, friends." The chief said as he sat on what had once been the altar, as the rest of us sat on large pieces of concrete on the floor.

Everyone around him raised their eyebrows, as we hadn't received any new developments in weeks.

"The Ciudadense military has captured two Citadelian agents found lurking around underground. They were caught last night."

Many gasps and murmurs were heard in the seconds after. After a few moments, the youthful, 30-year-old chief silenced the crowd.

"We didn't get a lot of info out of them, but what we did pick up from them... will shock you,"

The chapel was pin-drop silent.

"As you all know, the goal of our organization is to implement a monarchy in our hometown in order to restore peace once and for all. For years, we've wondered who the first ever Citadelian king or queen would be. We might just have our answer."

"That... is rather significant. You said it wasn't a lot." One member said.

"It isn't, but it gives us a clue. They said that Wallingford's predecessor has living family members. In my opinion and in the minds of my superiors, having a monarch who is both related to the predecessor and is opposed to her cruel, barbaric policies will be the best option to convincing the people of Citadel One that they'll be in good hands. The trouble is, we don't know where any of her relatives live. At least, I wouldn't be aware of that sort of stuff."

"Well, of course we wouldn't!" A member said, clearly annoyed. "The only thing we know about the Crow is that she was a 50-something woman. We don't even know what she looked like!"

"We'll find out soon... when we stage our coup."

"A... coup?" I let out, the only person to react to the comment. "There's no way it'll be successful. Even if it is, I don't think the transition into power will be smooth. There's just too many unknowns."

"If there's one person who knows anything that I don't, it's Seamus Mayer. He's keeping something a secret, and probably for good reason. It's just the way he works."

"Let's get on with this damn meeting," a member said, breaking our conversation. "Tell us what our people in there know."

El Observador sighed, then blew up an image from his projector, onto one of the church walls. The meeting ended half an hour later.

~~~

After everyone had left, El Observador asked me to stay to speak with me for a chat.