Chapter 24.3

Watson strolled down an underground hallway of the AEM base, nodding at officers and soldiers who saluted her as she walked past them. She was on her way to meet with General Sato, the commanding officer of AEM after he called her for an emergency meeting.

"Colonel!" A voice from behind her called and Watson slowed down as she turned her head to look at the newcomer. Behind her was Raphael, who jogged until he was walking beside her.

"Raph, what are you doing here?" Watson asked as they walked together.

"The General called me back for some reason," Raphael replied.

"You too?" Watson asked and Raphael looked surprised.

"It must be serious if he's calling us both," Raphael muttered his face turning serious.

"We'll see," Watson replied.

"Speaking of which…" Raphael cleared his throat. "Uh, how's Michelle? I haven't seen her for a while and I … didn't visit her after her injury."

"She's fine. Really misses you though," Watson answered before grinning as she used a holo-ID to open a maglev elevator. "She's having a sleepover with Alina and her friends."

Raphael froze when he heard this. He only entered the mag-lift after hearing Watson's remainder.

"Uh … is she having a sleepover at Alina's place?" He asked.

"Yep."

"And … Jason's there?"

"Probably."

"That … doesn't bother you?" Raphael asked incredulously. "You're not scared of him …?"

"Oh, it does. But I doubt he'd do anything," Watson gave a smile full of danger as she said that and Raphael internally agreed with her: Jason wouldn't risk angering the mother bear that was named Watson.

Arriving at the General's office, Watson knocked at the door and the two entered after receiving permission. Sitting in the desk and writing on a paper was General Sato. He was a renowned WWIII veteran who was known to be the best AKEERA pilot in history. He had a crew cut and the sides of his hair were speckled gray while his leanly muscular body was draped under a military half-shirt uniform that showcased his refined biceps.

"Have a seat," Sato said and the two did as they were told while he stopped writing and massaged his eyebrows. The dark circles permanently engraved around his eyes indicated that he had a tough job for several years.

"Colonel," Sato said. "I want to begin by personally thanking you for transferring from the EOU to AEM, I'm honoured to have you here."

"Thank you General," Watson said politely while Sato turned to Raphael.

"Major, good job in handling those Practitioners in the park," Sato said to Raphael who nodded. "But next time, try not to engage the enemy alone. You lead a team for a reason."

"Thank you, sir," Raphael said rather sheepishly. "I'll try not to be so ... reckless."

"I called you both here to discuss Fenrir," the General began to speak about his reason for calling them. "You both have had interactions with him, and I'd like your opinion. But first, watch this."

Both Watson and Raphael turned to look at the large screen that covered a wall. On it, the fight Jason had with Katelyn was shown, specifically the moment he unmasked her and let her escape. Watson closed her eyes with a knowing look and Raphael scrunched his eyebrows.

"Opinions?" Sato asked.

"He knew her, probably an acquaintance of his," Raphael said. "Judging by the last scene he seems to still be injured, that's why he wasn't able to catch her."

Sato nodded but didn't agree before turning to Watson. "Colonel?"

"She was clearly more than just an acquaintance," Watson said slowly, contemplating her words before speaking. "And his injury is more serious than we thought."

"Can you elaborate?" Sato asked, approval apparent in his eyes.

"He was fighting very well for someone injured. He only collapsed when he tried using his powers," Watson said while her eyes were locked on the screen. "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say he's facing a backlash from his powers."

"Agreed," Sato nodded. "Anything else to add, Colonel?"

"From his body reaction, he knows this Practitioner. Intimately," Watson said. "I don't trust him to bring her in."

"You think he'd help the enemy?" The General asked, seeking confirmation.

"I think he'll think with his dick instead of his head," Watson answered bluntly and Raphael looked away, embarrassed. He knew her relationship with his father was the reason why she had little faith in men.

"Hm … agreed. I'll request the Council to assign a different Phantom to hunt her," Sato said while gesturing at them to leave, indicating that the meeting was over.

"Sir, I wanted to debrief you on something," Raphael said abruptly and Sato looked at him inquiringly. "Sir, the thing is yesterday, during the day, I might have met with Fenrir …"

Raphael explained his conversation with Jason and Sato chuckled, interrupting Raphael. Watson also smiled wryly while shaking her head, she found Raphael to be naive and too believing of others.

"Major, he was pulling your leg," Sato said when he saw Raphael's confused face.

"Sir?"

"That headless creature he fought wasn't a ghost, it was a zombie," Sato explained. "A zombie is a corpse refined into a puppet by a Practitioner who is skilled at necromancy. There is nothing supernatural about it." [3]

"But that clip with something shedding-"

"An Esper that could transform into a beast," Sato interrupted. "We still don't understand how Esper powers work but that one turned into something like a werewolf. But again, not a ghost nor a spirit."

"So then …"

"There have been reports of ghosts or spirits, but nothing substantial," Sato said. "My guess? He was annoyed at your interference and decided to fool you."

"That son of a …"

"Language," Watson said, interrupting Raphael's swearing and Sato chuckled again. It was rare to see Raphael losing his cool and swearing.

"Wait a minute," Raphael said, his face changing as a thought struck him. "If he could lie about this, then couldn't he have had lied about much more?"

"In what circumstances are you referring to?" Asked Sato.

"Do we know where he was when the western dock was attacked?" Raphael asked seriously. Both Sato and Watson's face changed when they heard him.

"You're suggesting that he was the one responsible for the assault?" Sato asked with a frown and Raphael nodded. "Our satellites and security cameras indicated that he never left his base of operations. Not to mention he was busy entertaining guests."

"I can confirm that. Michelle and her friends had a sleepover with Alina at his place," Watson added when she noticed Raphael's inquisitive stare, reminding him of what she mentioned earlier.

"Even if he is responsible, we should be thanking him instead of condemning him," Sato said when he saw Raphael open his mouth to continue arguing. "Major, he just stopped a large scale abduction of children. Children, who would, in this situation, be enslaved and possibly forced into becoming our enemy."

"Due respect, sir, you haven't seen him in action," Raphael said. "He's a dangerous individual who kills."

"Raph, taking a moral stance on this situation is ridiculous," Watson said. "We're soldiers. We've killed people, children and the innocent, whenever we deemed them as a threat to us or our country. We're no better than he is in this aspect."

"We follow our orders and our commitment is to protect this city and its citizens," Raphael argued. "We kill, we dirty our hands, to protect others and so that they can live in peace. That's not the same, he enjoys killing and maiming people. That's the sign of a madman. He's sick."

"Maybe so," Sato said. "But you of all people know that sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. And I don't doubt his commitment to this city, especially since his sister, the only thing he appears to care about, is currently living here. Even more, after he began teaching, he managed to develop an attachment to his students."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a walking time bomb, sir," Raphael said quietly.

"Perhaps you're right," Sato said. "But he's not the only monster the Council has. Remember, almost every phantom is just as unstable as he is and there have been no escalations between them and the city."

"No escalations?" Raphael asked disbelievingly, his eyebrows raised. "What do you call poisoning an entire family, including the young and old? The innocent? And just because a scion of the said family tried molesting that Phantom?"

"That was before Viperess became a Phantom," Sato answered. "And she has been cleared of all charges by the Council."

"General-"

"Major, the decision has been made," Sato firmly shut Raphael up. "No matter what you think, the Phantoms will continue to remain active and Fenrir will be free of suspicions. You are dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir," Raphael said grudgingly as he got up and exited the office.

Sato gestured his head to Raphael while looking at Watson, silently asking her to talk to Raphael. Watson nodded and followed Raphael out the door.

"You shouldn't have pushed so hard," Watson said once they were alone.

"I know," Raphael replied. "I just don't think it's a good idea to rely on psychos to protect this city."

"Even so, what do you expect the General to do? His hands are tied by the Council," Watson said.

The two entered a mag-lift, but Raphael didn't answer and Watson turned to look at him.

"Besides, I feel this is more personal for you," Watson said with a knowing look. "You dislike him that much?"

"It's not about how I feel. Although, he is an asshole," Raphael said. "I just don't feel comfortable with him in the city. The man's a magnet for troubles and he is unstable. You haven't seen him, it's like he becomes someone else when he's in battle mode."

"Agreed," Watson nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Raphael. "Regardless, the only thing we can do is pray and hope nothing serious happens."

***

Elizabeth groggily reached out and silenced her phone while swearing. It was four in the morning and she was ready to kill whoever interrupted her beauty sleep.

"Murt!" she muttered as she rubbed her puffy eyes. She traced her finger over the phone as the message turned into Braille. It was a notification for several missed calls. Her heart skipped a beat when she read that it was Jason who tried to call her. The phone began ringing again as Jason's name raised itself as dots but Elizabeth didn't answer. Only after three more times did Jason stop and Elizabeth released the breath she was unintentionally holding.

Before she could do anything else another notification rang out. She traced the new message and frowned as she read it before sighing after she finished it.

"Quite the busy night, eh, laddie?" Elizabeth muttered as she lied back down after tossing her phone aside.

The message was from Morta and detailed what had occurred earlier that night. The attack on the western pier as well as the fight Fenrir had with a mystery Practitioner was described to her in great detail. In fact, unlike AEM, Morta managed to detect Jason leaving the Loft the first time and accurately assumed that he was responsible for the massacre at the dock.

This won't be pretty, Elizabeth thought. If that Practitioner is related to them …

Elizabeth shook her head and turned around, trying to force herself back to sleep. Her mind drifted back to Jason and she couldn't help but feel down.

I … I might have to fight him ... Jason ... laddie ...

[3] Yep, so in Chapter 17, Jason trolled Raphael and his team