Chapter 211: In the High Office
POV: Chairman - Awakened Association HQ
The elegant ambiance of the high-security chamber did little to soothe the Chairman’s building migraine.
A data pad hovered in front of him, flicking through tab after tab of red-flagged intel reports, diplomatic cables, covert activity summaries, and threat analysis updates, all stamped with the same three-syllable name.
Kaiden.
He exhaled slowly through his nose. Not out of frustration. Not even out of disbelief. But because this was exactly what he’d expected.
What he hadn’t expected... was that it would all happen within twenty-four hours.
"Current estimates project we’ve diverted resources equivalent to a small-tier city defense operation," a robotic voice read off one of the memos. "And that’s just to maintain shadow ops around the target’s vicinity and deter foreign contact."
The Chairman pinched the bridge of his nose and looked across the polished table before him.
Grace, his ever-efficient secretary, stood there with a tablet in one hand and two comms lines open on her wrist device. She looked... composed, but even she had stopped applying her usual lip tint this morning. A rare tell.
Next to her stood Agent Reaves, her trusted assistant, whom she picked to help her with the task of monitoring Kaiden and his Valhalla’s Sinners. Originally, the Chairman tasked Grace with the job, saying he didn’t trust anyone else with the job. But now they all knew this wasn’t a one-woman job.
As for Reaves, she was a sharp, thorough woman, perfect for the task. But the slight twitch in her jaw betrayed how much this situation had already spiraled beyond normal protocols.
"I assume this summary is accurate?" The Chairman asked, lifting the datapad and letting the holographic projections of organization logos float above it.