Knights v Hunters: The Choice

“This case just gets weirder and weirder,” Sawyer complained as he looked at the lifeless body of Roan Gentry. “Gentry obviously came here to free his partner and those two guys around the corner were definitely part of his team, considering they had building plans of the police station in their van. They are all heavily armed and Gentry has a small arsenal in his boot. So, what went wrong? How did they end up dead in their vehicles?”

Lena shook her head. She had not slept for almost twenty-four hours. Nothing made sense now. “There are no obvious signs of injury to indicate cause of death either. With the weaponry in their possession, I’m not sure how anyone got the jump on them. In fact, if they had made their way into the station, we would have been hard pressed to hold them back given their arsenal.” Too many dead people with no obvious signs of injury, Lena thought.

Marquez came around the SUV. “So let’s go and tell McCall that his buddy won’t be coming around tonight. Callum, Tobias, secure the scenes and I don’t want anyone but the ME touching those bodies,” Marquez shouted to his two officers.

It was calmer inside the station compared to the chaos on the streets outside. As they approached the holding cells, they stopped short when they saw a disoriented Officer Cooper walk towards them, his hand at the back of his head. Lena ran over to him. “Cooper, what happened?”

“I don’t know. Someone jumped me, I think. I heard a sound, but when I turned around, I felt this sharp pain at the back of my head.” Lena checked the back of his head. Sure enough, there was an egg-sized lump forming at the place he indicated. She looked at Sawyer and Marquez and shook her head worriedly.

“Cooper, is McCall still in his cell?” Sawyer asked.

“Yes sir, I just checked on him now. He was asleep on his bunk.” Marquez instructed the young officer to go to the paramedics for a check-up.

Sawyer drew his weapon as he approached McCall’s holding cell, already resigned to the possibility of not finding the man alive. McCall looked to be sleeping, as Cooper had indicated. But with all this activity around him? Marquez unlocked the cell door and both he and Lena entered, Sawyer continuing to train his gun on the sleeping man.

“There’s no pulse,” Marquez said, feeling McCall’s neck, “but his body’s still warm.”

“And there’s no wound to indicate that he was attacked in any way. He’s dead,” Lena announced. She felt like kicking something, a totally juvenile reaction.

Sawyer ran his hands through his hair, a sure sign that he was equally agitated.

“So all our suspects in this case are dead,” Marquez remarked. “We have proof that McCall and Gentry committed those murders, we have the trophies that McCall collected, we have a doctor and his wife in a safe house. I mean, our case would be airtight, except that our suspects can’t answer for the charges against them. Internal Affairs is going to be all over us on this, especially after the Harry Tyler case. Our two suspects and the other two men all died in our proximity!”

“Let’s see if we can pick up anything from the cameras in this area,” Sawyer suggested. By this time, two other detectives from their task team had joined them, equally perplexed by the inexplicable events of the early morning.

“Damn, this video is grainy. Look, this is when we all moved away from this area towards the entrances to the station,” Sawyer said. “There’s Cooper, he’s facing the cell. There’s the guy that whacked him!”

“Yeah, but his face is turned away from the camera. Wait, there’s another guy with him, but he is walking so close to the wall, you can barely see his outline on camera. They’re both walking towards the cells, but their backs are to the camera. McCall walks towards them. Do you think he knows them?” Lena asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe. They seem to be chatting to him. See that? See how McCall collapses. He’s clutching his chest,” Sawyer said.

“Just like Harry Tyler!” Marquez exclaimed. “Tyler died the same way, I’m sure of it.”

“Can we check the tapes from the entrance?” Lena asked the other detectives.

“Unfortunately, those cameras were about to be replaced, so we have nothing from the entrance. But we can check with Officer Shelley at the front desk. Maybe he remembered who came into the station in the last hour.”

“Worth a shot,” Sawyer said.

The officer on duty at the front desk was summoned and joined them.

“Do you recall seeing anyone new enter the station in the past hour? Someone you’d never seen before? Did anyone stand out? We’re particularly looking for a man, light blonde hair, very tall, probably 6.5 ft.”

The officer shook his head. “No sir, I don’t recall anyone like that. I knew everyone that came in or another officer vouched for him or her. No one fits your description.”

“Thank you, Officer,” Sawyer said, watching the young man walk away. Internal Affairs would swarm the place in the next few hours.

Officer Shelley frowned as he walked away. Something was nagging at him. There was a person that he had seen who might fit the description Detective Channing had provided, but he certainly didn’t look suspicious. Besides, Rafe had vouched for him, so he must be okay, right?

Rafe suggested to Eden and Matthew that they both leave for home as soon as possible, as the mission was effectively over.

“Thanks for all your help. We couldn’t have done this without you both,” Rafe said.

Matthew laughed. “I don’t think that’s totally true. You would have completed your mission faster,” he said. “Will you send us your debriefing report please? We need to interrogate exactly what McCall revealed in your discussions.”

“I’ll do that. I was sincere in my thanks, though. You both have some serious skills!” Rafe said.

“Will you let us know how Becca is?” Eden asked. “We both really liked her. She protected us from the Untouchables during this whole time, and we couldn’t even protect her against the Normals.”

“There are many things we could have done differently. I’ve known Becca since we were kids, she’d never blame either of you for this,” Rafe consoled Eden, knowing that she was taking this very personally.

“Thank you for that,” Matthew said, holding out his hand. “Give Becca our regards and our prayers. Thank you again, Rafe. Don’t take this personally, but I hope not to see you on any more of our missions!”

Rafe smiled. “Likewise. I hope your family rids your town of whatever is plaguing it. You both have a lot of work ahead of you. I wish you well.”

Eden thanked him and then thought, what the hell, and went ahead and hugged Rafe. It was a long hug that spoke a thousand words. I’m going to miss you. Get back home safe and I’ll try and see you. But don’t stop talking to me. Our conversations have kept me sane the last few months and will keep me saner going forward.

Rafe nodded as he let Eden go, both unaware of the questioning look that passed over Matthew’s face.

Rafe was awakened by a knock on his door at 7am. It had been a long night, a complicated mission and he desperately needed to go home to restore his energy. He walked to his door, bleary eyed and exhausted, to find Detective Peck, looking equally so, but carrying three cups of coffee which she handed to him at the door.

“You look like I feel,” she said gravely, seating herself in the small kitchen and grabbing one of the coffees. “Where’s Caleb?”

“Uh, he spent the evening with a friend. Why?”

“I didn’t want to tell the story twice. Essentially, our case is over,” Lena said. Rafe just managed to look confused enough before she continued. “Both our suspects are dead. You were right, Gentry did try to break out McCall. He even brought his own heavily armed team. However, they never made it inside.”

“Did your team hold them back?” Rafe innocently asked.

“No, we were all inside the station. Seems like our Grim Reaper got to them before they could break in.”

“Grim Reaper?”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re calling him, or them I should say. We saw two guys on camera, but the visuals were poor. Anyway, they walked in and killed McCall and the crazy part is, we have absolutely no idea how they did it. The captain seems to think that Harry Tyler died the same way. And so it seems did Gentry and the other two men. The ME is still working on them, but I’m sure we’ll get the same results. Someone’s killing the bad guys. Not that I mind, but I believe in the full course of justice. I would have liked to see them go to jail for this, for the rest of their lives. Now these vigilantes have robbed our victims of that.”

“Wow,” Rafe said, sitting down. “It’s unbelievable.”

“I know, that’s what Internal Affairs thinks, which is the other reason I’m here. I don’t want you to come into the station for a while. Internal Affairs is all over this case. I don’t want you or Caleb to become involved in this because it’s too much for you to deal with. Both Marquez and Channing have agreed to keep your names out of this,” Lena said. “Besides, I’m not certain they’ll understand if we tell them we worked with psychics to solve our last few cases. So, go back to university and do your parents proud.”

“What do you think will happen?” Rafe asked worriedly.

“I think that Channing, Marquez and myself will more than likely be suspended,” Lena announced.

Rafe had not expected this. “What? Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. And you managed to apprehend those killers.”

Lena shrugged. “Yeah, well. IA sure won’t see it that way and to be honest, even I’m struggling with that. All these people, whether guilty or not, died on our watch, at our station, without any explanation. What do I tell the families of our victims? What closure do they get from this? We don’t even know the motive for the original killings in the first place, so what have we really solved? There could be a serial killer syndicate for all I know. I mean, where did Gentry find these other two men who were with him and were they involved in other murders?”

Rafe hadn’t thought about that. He rarely thought about the aftermath of their actions, but now he realised that Detectives Peck and Channing and Captain Marquez would be the ones dealing with the consequences. He had placed their careers on the line.

“I’m so sorry, Detective,” Rafe said. “You don’t deserve any of this. You were just doing your job. Is there anything that we can do to smooth this over?”

“No, nothing, and you don’t have anything to be sorry about. You and Caleb were more than responsible for tagging McCall and Gentry. But I need you to keep a low profile now.” When Rafe hesitated, Lena reiterated her request. “Promise me that you will stay clear of IA.”

Rafe reluctantly nodded. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem keeping away. Let’s just say that my parents are less than happy that we’ve been skipping classes. So, after our tests, we have been summoned home for a ‘serious discussion’, which means that my brother and I will have to just focus on being students in the near future,” he said smiling.

“Okay, let me know when you get back,” Lena said, standing up and impulsively hugging Rafe. “You’re both good kids, stay that way.”

Rafe laughed. “Yes mam,” he said, walking Lena to the door. “Detective Peck, while all of this is going on and if you have time on your hands should you get suspended, you should consider asking Detective Channing out.”

Lena paused with her hand on the door handle. “What, like on a date?”

“Yes, like on a date. He likes you. He’s not sure whether you’d be interested in someone like him.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” Rafe said. “Trust me, I know stuff. Besides, what do you have to lose?”

“True. I’m possibly going to lose my job, so what the hell, right?”

“Right,” Rafe’s smile faded as Lena closed the door behind her. He was worried that the Hunters had just destroyed the careers of good people.

Becca closed her eyes, hoping to ward off the almost unbearable pain that had taken a grip on her body. Ava had told her that she had second-degree burns on her neck and that it extended deep into her skin, which meant that she would be left with some scarring. Caleb, Ava and the rest of her own family had been by her bedside ever since she had come home. Ella, her little sister, stayed up all night, tending to her neck, applying the medication as prescribed by Ava. Ella was also on watch to check for infections and replace the dressings as necessary.

Apart from the pain, Becca felt satisfied that they had completed the mission successfully. She knew that Rafe would be home soon and they would start the debriefing, but she hoped that he had managed to elicit more information from the Untouchables before he had eliminated them. She suspected that the Untouchables’ mission was bigger than they anticipated and much more dangerous. She had also enjoyed working with the Knights, although she hadn’t spent much time with Kyra and Josh. If things had been different, they all could have been friends, she thought. They had so much in common. Matthew and Eden were resourceful and strong and although she knew that Matthew had been momentarily distracted when she had used her arrow, she suspected that his focus rarely failed him. Becca also sensed the chemistry between Rafe and Eden, which was hard to miss. I wonder if anything is going on between them, or if they even realise they have this strong attraction to each other?

As for her relationship with Caleb, as much as Becca had tried to be cool and revert to the easy camaraderie they had once shared, she feared that her feelings of the past few months were once again bubbling to the surface. She knew that she had to put an end to it; Caleb was a serial dater, a ladies’ man who would never see her as anything other than the girl he grew up with and any illusions she had that there could be more between them would have to be destroyed before it broke her heart. Besides, Caleb was only interested in beautiful women, whereas she, who had never thought she was beautiful in the first place, would now walk around with a scarred neck. Not very attractive! I should just pursue Eli’s interest in me. He’s genuine and I know he cares about me. Maybe, in time, I could come to feel the same way about him. Those thoughts tired Becca and she slowly drifted into a pain-filled sleep.

Caleb sat at Becca’s bedside, watching her beautiful, heart-shaped face lined with pain, even in deep sleep. The swelling on her neck had subsided, but it was still extremely red on her almost milk-white skin. He couldn’t erase the guilt he felt at Becca’s injury. He should have made it back to her much quicker than he had. He should have been more alert. As for the Knights, any anger he had towards them had dissipated when he’d seen the remorse on both Matthew and Eden’s faces. They’d felt that they’d also let her down.

Just then, a knock on the door signalled the return of Rafe. “Hi, bro,” Caleb said, standing up to hug his brother.

“Hi. How’s she doing?” Rafe whispered, not wanting to wake Becca.

“Mom says she’s doing much better, but she stands the risk of contracting an infection during the healing period, so she’s being very closely watched. Did the Knights get back home safely?”

“Yeah, Eden said they have a night to rest before they start with the major task of cleaning out Knight town.”

“I’m sure lots of dirty laundry will be aired in the process,” Caleb quipped. He looked at Becca, worry etched on his face. “She’s going to be scarred. You know Bec, she’ll hate that for a while and then she’ll move on. She’s that kinda girl.”

Rafe nodded, just as Becca stirred. “Hey Becca, I’m not even going to ask how you’re doing, since you look like you’re in pain. Didn’t my mom give you anything for it?”

Becca smiled. “Welcome back, Rafe. No, I don’t want anything for the pain. You know meds tend to mess up my system. I’ll be walking around in a stupor for days on end. Not for me.”

Rafe laughed at that. Yes, Becca was that kinda girl.

“Everything go okay?” Becca asked. Rafe filled them both in on what had eventually happened.

“Damn, so the detectives might be suspended? That’s a bummer!”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sit right with me either, but I don’t know how to fix it. Detective Peck did express her thanks to us though and at least we could leave with acceptable reasons this time around. So she won’t be dropping by our apartment to check up on us.”

Caleb thought for a while. “Let’s talk to Dad and Uncle Ethan later. Maybe we can figure out a way to ease the detectives’ paths.”

“Sounds good. Oh, by the way, it seems like Lena might just ask Sawyer out on a date?”

“Really? Good for her. Those two are made for each other, they just don’t know it,” Caleb said.

Rafe looked from Caleb to Becca. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Some people take a long time to figure that out.”

“I think we should leave. Bec, get some rest and we can do the debriefing later,” Caleb said. Becca nodded and Caleb walked out with his brother.

Grace served her family lunch, which she hadn’t done in a while. “It’s good to have all of us together again, after what seems like ages,” she said.

“Yeah, even the food seems to taste better,” Josh laughed, eliciting a glare from his mother.

Both Grace and Gabe noticed that Matthew and Eden had spoken very little since their return. They’re probably just tired, Grace thought. It’s been a long mission and very different to what they’ve been involved with in the past.

“You two look like you’re wiped out,” Josh said, addressing his brother and sister. “Did the Hunters overwork you?”

“No, it was strangely good to work with them, but they did most of the work and used most of their resources to protect us and keep us out of range of the Untouchables’ Sensor and Tracker. But, I failed them,” Matthew said, laying down his fork.

Eden placed her hand on her brother’s arm. “We both did,” she said.

“What happened?” Gabe quietly asked.

Eden responded. “We were tasked to take down the two Normals who were assisting Gentry. Becca came with us to protect us, in case Gentry sensed us. Anyway, she dispensed her arrow on one of them and Matthew and I struggled with the second Normal. He got away for a second and he used pepper spray on her. You know that Hunters are allergic to that. We figured that Gentry knew that the Hunters were around and so he instructed the Normals to use it if they saw anyone resembling them. Anyway, Becca ducked, but it still got her on her neck. She’s quite badly burnt.”

“Oh, no,” Kyra cried. “Is she okay? She seemed really nice when we met her.”

“We’re not sure how she is,” Matthew said. “But Eden forgot to mention that I was supposed to be tackling the second Normal. I got so distracted when Becca dispensed her arrow on the first Normal, that the second one got away from me.”

“Do you expect any fallout from this?” Gabe asked. Grace looked at her husband worriedly.

“No,” Matthew replied firmly. “Rafe told us that it wasn’t our fault, that the second Normal was high on drugs and that even he and Caleb wouldn’t have managed to restrain him. Somehow, it doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Father, can we communicate with the Hunters and find out how Becca is doing?” Josh asked.

Gabe thought for a moment and looked at his wife. “It’s not the norm, but, given the circumstances, I don’t see any harm in it. We’ll have to contact them through their control centre though.”

“No, I have Rafe’s details,” Matthew said. “And he has mine. He promised to send us their debriefing report, so I’ll drop him a note to find out how Becca is doing.”

Gabe agreed, although this new line of communication between the Hunters and Knights unnerved him a bit. It brought back too many memories, most of them not good. Thirty minutes later, the children had dispersed, leaving Gabe and Grace alone in the kitchen, each mulling over a cup of coffee.

“What’s worrying you, my love?” Grace asked, gently taking her husband’s hand.

“So many things,” Gabe admitted. “We have to confront Noah and the Council and then admit that we worked together with the Hunters to eliminate the Untouchables.”

“Surely there are no covenants which prohibit that?” Grace asked.

“No written covenants,” Gabe said. “Even though Noah seems to have betrayed us all, I’m worried that the Council might focus more on the Hunters and view our working with them as a betrayal. I’m also worried that our children are starting to become a bit too close to the young Hunters for my liking.”

“You’re worried about what might come out if they get too close,” Grace realised. Gabe nodded. “Gabe, less than a handful of us know what happened and we’ve all been sworn to secrecy. Trust me, it’s in no one’s interest to reveal that.”

“It’s true, I know that, but we could lose everything if the truth came out,” Gabe said worriedly. “I would gladly walk away as leader of the Knights, if it meant that we could lose her.”

“We won’t, Gabe. If it ever comes out, it will be because we revealed it, nobody else. What else is on your mind?”

Gabe struggled to shake off the effects of his greatest fear. “I’m also worried, that when we’re done, the Knights will lose credibility. How do we know whom to trust now, when we’re busy unravelling the biggest fraud that has befallen us? After all the damage our kind has inflicted on the Normals these past few months, how do we convince our children that being a Knight is a righteous path? Matthew is the rational one, the unemotional one and yet, even he was very impressed with the Hunters and admired the purpose in their actions. I don’t want our children to think for a moment, that what we do has no meaning. Our actions bring balance to this world Grace.”

“I know. If there’s one thing they should have learnt from us over the years, is that the world in which we live, is not just black and white. Most of the time, it’s simply grey.” Grace sighed. “We have a lot to do over the next few weeks. The children are committed to helping us resolve this. They know their place, Gabe. They’ve known that since they were born,” Grace assured her husband.

“Yes, but Eden has the option now of becoming a Normal. What if she chooses that path? I’ve always been so sure about the other children during their year of the Choice. I knew that they would stay here and battle alongside us, but with Eden, I’m starting to have my doubts.”

“Why?” Grace asked. “What has she done to create that doubt?”

Gabe thought for a moment. “Her line of questioning is different to the other children. I think that she finds our environment restrictive, that she wonders why we are so reactive in nature. She’s going to start questioning the power that she feels within her own body. She’s different Grace. We’ve always known that.”

“Yes, but she’s still a part of us. She’s still a Knight and I have no doubt in my mind that she will remain one. So let’s stop worrying about this and trust her to make the right decision, even if it’s something that doesn’t make us happy. We have the future of the Knights to focus on.”

Gabe knew that his wife was right, yet his worries over Eden continued to plague him. His daughter was a feisty warrior – if she chose not to be a Knight, would she be content to live the life of an ordinary Normal? Most importantly, was there not another choice of which she should be made aware?

The mood at the Hunters’ compound was subdued. Ava had prepared lunch for both her family and Ethan’s and she and Jude took the meal over to Ethan’s place. Caleb was silent over his meal, which was unusual, since his mother used to constantly berate him for speaking with a full mouth. Rafe looked tired and distracted and Ella had chosen to eat her meal with her sister, in Becca’s room. Ava had recommended a few days’ bed rest for Becca, to ensure that she stayed in a sterile enough environment so as to prevent the chances of an infection.

Ethan and Maya were both worried about their daughter, but they trusted Ava’s healing ability and were both on the receiving end of that care and expertise over the past few decades.

“We’ll do the debriefing tonight,” Ethan said. “Becca can log into the control room for the session, there’s no need for her to come down. I think we need to close the report out as soon as possible. We have many more missions over the next few weeks that need our attention.”

Jude nodded. “Good idea. We should also assign some of the other young Hunters to those missions, together with the older Hunters. They need to up their experience.” Ethan agreed.

Ethan looked at Rafe and asked him, “Can you summarise the mission?”

“Yes sir. Our mission was to track and eliminate two condemned Normals, Gentry and McCall, who had murdered eight Normals. When we delved further, we discovered that Gentry and McCall were both Untouchables who still retained their powers and that their victims, save one, had all been former Knights, most of whom had retained their powers after leaving their town. Seems like the Cleaners in Knight town hadn’t followed their own covenants and allowed these former Knights to keep their abilities. We tracked McCall and Gentry to the bakery where they worked and we also found out that McCall hadn’t lost his penchant for kleptomania and that he stole mementoes from each of their victims. This provided the police the evidence to arrest him, but they still had nothing on Gentry. I told the police about the ninth victim, who they eventually found and from whom McCall also stole a trophy. In between all of this, we ran into two Knights who had been sent on a wild goose chase to offer salvation and to rescue McCall and Gentry who they were told, had righteously killed a possible drug dealer. They weren’t told about the other murders committed by the Untouchables. The Knights eventually believed our evidence and helped us in tracking the Untouchables. Gentry was still trying to recruit a Healer for their mission, so he once again tried to convince John Adams to join them. We managed to subvert the Untouchables’ mission in this regard and John Adams and his wife are now in protective custody. We also learnt that there were other Untouchables working in the bakery, who were approached by McCall and Gentry to join their mission. One of them did not want to join Gentry and McCall’s mission, so he followed them around and in the process, recorded their crimes. Gentry managed to break out of police custody with the help of a few Normals and then he proceeded with his plan to break McCall out of prison. We found him at the police station and eliminated him and the two Normals and we took out McCall as well.”

Ethan had many questions that he wanted to ask, but it would keep for the debriefing.

“Sir,” Caleb intervened. “We also gave the Knights our word that we would share our debriefing report with them. They want to know more about the conversations we had with the Untouchables which would assist in their investigations back in Knight town.”

Ethan and Jude looked at each other and nodded. “I have no problem with that,” Ethan confirmed, “but our communications with the Knights will be limited going forward. We also need to figure out what those Untouchables were planning.”

Rafe and Caleb both agreed. Over these past few days, they had each realised that they were fundamentally different to the Knights. The Knights believed in redemption and salvation whereas they believed in retribution. And retribution felt better, Caleb decided. It felt good to wipe out the scourge of the condemned Normals or the Untouchables. Rafe agreed with his brother. The Knights’ quest to redeem the condemned could never be successful if the Council was constantly feeding them inaccurate and potentially damaging intelligence. How many condemned had they wrongly rescued?

“I would like the two of you to run with the research on the Untouchables and their possible mission,” Ethan continued. “Go over everything you’ve learnt on this mission, including information the Knights have provided you on the former Knights who were killed. We close out completely once we understand the Untouchables’ mission. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” both Rafe and Caleb answered. It was a good move, Rafe decided, because he had the feeling that the Untouchables’ plan didn’t only involve the Knights. They also had to identify the leader of the Untouchables, who held all the answers.

“We also need your thoughts on something,” Caleb began. “The detectives on the case may be in trouble because of the seemingly suspicious deaths of the suspects. Internal Affairs is currently investigating them and their entire task team. They will more than likely be suspended or even fired. Is there anything we can do?”

Ethan thought for a second. “We can speak to Mayor Strong, Jude. He has many useful contacts in the city. Maybe he can assist in this going away, or at least preventing the detectives from being fired?

Jude agreed to contact the mayor, while Ava and Maya cleaned the table. “Okay, no more business,” Ava said, laying out dessert on the table.

Caleb perked up. “Ah, chocolate éclairs, my favourite. Boy, did I miss dessert on this mission.”

Rafe laughed. “Trust me Mom, he did. Although he ate up a storm otherwise.”

Meal ended, the boys went back home to prepare for the debriefing later in the evening. Ethan and Jude sat around with their wives a bit longer.

“The kids seemed a bit distracted,” Ava noticed.

“Well, I suspect that they feel a bit guilty about Becca even though there was nothing they could have done,” Ethan remarked.

“And, they’ve never had to work with Knights before,” Maya added. “It’s very different when fundamentals clash.”

“True, I didn’t think of that,” Ethan admitted. “We’ve only done that a few times ourselves and we’ve never had to work so closely with them.”

“Do you get the sense that there is some sort of respect growing between our young Hunters and the Knights?” Jude asked Ethan.

“Yes, I suspect there might be, but it can only bode well for future relations. Besides, the paths of Knights and Hunters usually never cross, unless one side has it wrong and it’s mostly been the Knights,” Ethan responded.

“I guess you’re right. I’d like to keep them separate from the Knights though. We have no cause to closely work together any time soon,” Jude declared. He was aware that some camaraderie was developing between the young Hunters and the young Knights, but it was a dangerous association. Many things long laid buried could be unearthed if such relationships were ever encouraged to grow and he didn’t want to compromise a promise made a long time ago.

Ethan, as leader of the mission, conducted the debriefing later that evening. Becca had linked in to the Hunters’ control room and Caleb and Rafe were glad to see that she was actually sitting in her family’s lounge and not still in bed. Jude sat in as well, very intent on deciphering the mission of the Untouchables.

“Okay, so what we do know for sure, is that an unknown number of former Knights and Untouchables retained their memories and their abilities once they joined the world of the Normals, which is against Knight covenants. We also know that at the time some of these former Knights chose to live amongst the Normals, the Knight practice was to randomly select Cleaners to erase the memories of these former Knights and that none of these Cleaners could reveal that they had been so tasked. The current Knight leader discovered that the Cleaner mostly selected during this period is a Knight called Noah,” Jude summarised.

Rafe nodded and Jude continued. “You also confirmed, during a discussion with McCall that he knew of Noah and that Noah might have been a part of whatever it is that is going on. There could also be other Knights involved, who have provided the Untouchables with the location and identity of former Knights as well as other Untouchables. We also know that most of the former Knights killed by McCall and Gentry during these past few months, retained their abilities, but were unwilling to participate in the mission.”

“What we don’t know,” Rafe added, “is whether these former Knights knew, when they were leaving Knight town, that they would be called upon to serve on this mission in exchange for retaining their abilities.”

Becca chimed in. “I don’t think they knew about the mission. In fact, they were probably surprised to have retained their abilities, but they couldn’t approach anyone about it. One of the Knights’ covenants is that if you choose to live among the Normals, then you can’t ever return to Knight town; actually you shouldn’t even remember Knight town. So, these former Knights still armed with their abilities and memories, couldn’t go back home and why would they want to? John Adams admitted that his abilities as a Healer gave him a massive advantage in the world of the Normals. I’m sure it was the same with the others.”

“You’re right,” Caleb said. “I don’t think that they knew or were involved in any of this, but the two Untouchables must have been. I mean, they were banished, they never left by choice, like these former Knights had, so they had the most to gain by being part of this plan. Maybe a plan of revenge against Knight town?”

“Why now though? McCall hinted that this had been planned decades ago. Why would they suddenly activate this mission?” Rafe asked curiously.

Jude smiled. “Harry Tyler.”

Sudden clarity filled the control room. “Harry Tyler was an Untouchable who was part of this mission initially, but he wanted out when his wife started to get suspicious. He killed his family after the Untouchables threatened to do it themselves. I don’t think he had anyone he could turn to for help. And McCall said that this all started with Harry.”

“So this escalated the urgency of the mission? Maybe they thought that Tyler had talked before he was eliminated. After all, he had been in the presence of both Knights and Hunters. Makes sense, but why would you try to recruit former Knights? Why not just stick with other Untouchables?” Becca asked.

“Because the former Knights had abilities that were needed on this mission. They were Sensors, Seers, Healers and Trackers. Key parts of the team for any long and dangerous mission and more than likely cleverly bypassed by the Cleaner,” Ethan realised.

“Only, they weren’t keen on forming an alliance with the Untouchables. Why would they? In their eyes, the Untouchables are condemned. Even one of the Untouchables that was being pressurised to join McCall and Gentry wasn’t willing, so he secretly recorded the murders, hoping to escape their clutches,” Rafe said.

“Okay, so what would their mission involve?” Ethan asked. “Let’s think of a few scenarios.”

“They could be planning to invade Knight town and usurp the current Knight leader,” Caleb offered.

“Yeah, but apparently it’s impossible to get past the Guardians,” Rafe said.

“What if some of the Guardians are corrupt, like some of the Knights who currently live in the town?” Becca asked.

“Matthew and Eden both mentioned that the Guardians are generally known as being incorruptible. They seem to have their own laws and only take orders from the leader of the Knights. Matthew insists that you can’t get into Knight town without permission,” Rafe countered.

“That’s what we know as well,” Jude said. “The Guardians are the rarest amongst their own kind - those who cannot be influenced and who make the security of Knight town their mission in life. Their tracking and sensing abilities are far superior to most Knights and they are almost born into those roles and are usually designated as Guardians when they are babies.”

“Okay, so if the Untouchables are not planning to get into Knight town, why did Noah send two of the stronger Knights in Matthew and Eden into a trap, thus leaving Gabe and his family exposed?” Caleb asked.

“Good question,” Ethan noted, “and one for which we do not have an answer. However, we’re making a huge assumption here that Gabe and his family stand alone in Knight town. I think that Gabe has more support than he realises, but rightfully, severe trust issues also currently plague him. Any more theories?”

“The only other theory that I can come up with is that Noah and his cohorts from Knight town plan on forming their own group and will live amongst the Normals. They would be super powerful. They could easily start to rule cities and states and they know that the Knights would never go after them because retribution is not one of the Knight covenants,” Rafe speculated.

“Yes, but we would,” Ethan said. “If they were ever condemned, it would be our duty to eliminate them.”

Jude stood up and stared out the window. A suspicion, albeit minute in development, started forming in his mind. He would discuss this with both Ava and Ethan later, when he could formulate it better, but not with the Young Hunters. If what he suspected turned out to be true, it could change their future.