The Serpent: Hydra

Three days after the assassination of a Right Hand in the capital city of Tondo, the leaders of the organization held a funeral to their member. Most of the key members of the organization attended. The leader, due to his safety and his tight schedule was not able to attend.

The funeral was held in San Lorenzo, Hispannia. The ceremony was held solemnly in a private memorial grounds reserved for their members. To be interned in such a place means the person belonged to a status or a rank in the organization. This serves as a recognition they have made for their cause.

The funeral was attended by some dignitaries of nations that supported the organization. All were wearing black to symbolize the loss of their brethren and the sypmathy to the deceased. The ceremony lasted for half a day and formally ended after the burial.

As the crowd disperses orderly to the exit, two men remained. One was of dark complexion, while the other one was lighter. The two started their conversation about the incident and carefully looked at their surroundings.

"That incident in Verlusia, a Right Hand was killed." The man in the lighter complexion said.

"I guess he was a bit careless in his actions." The man in a darker complexion replied.

"Impossible!" The other man retorted.

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The organization's headquarters continued their operations. The leader is indifferent towards the incident and is smoking a cigar in his room, looking at the ceiling.

"What a waste..." The leader is in deep thought.

"You are in deep thought these days... Kaiser!"

The leader looks at the intruding person in his office and faced him. "It's rare to see you here my friend!" He welcomed the unfamiliar person before him.

"You are not called the Kaiser for no reason at all. However, your present state does not do you any justice!" The person said before his friend.

"You are indeed observant, Karl!" The Kaiser replied to him.

"Are you not aware of the irregularities lately?" Karl asked as he sat when he was offered a seat.

"What about them?" The Kaiser asked.

"The guys at Asea, they are screw ups. They do not perform as amateurish as they were before. Or maybe it is a sign of insubordination..."

The Kaiser gave Karl a serious stare to Karl in hearing his words, "You are not accusing Enrique and his gang of..."

"I am not accusing anyone as of late. What I am saying is that you should investigate their group. There may be those who intend to betray us in their ranks." Karl recommended to the Kaiser.

The two paused for a moment as the Kaiser was in deep thought. All of a sudden, the phone in the secretary's office rang three times and was answered by Lawrence. He placed the call on hold as he calls the Kaiser in his office.

"Sir, it is Enrique he said he has an important matters to discuss." Lawrence sweating before his intimidating boss said in a respective tone.

Karl and the Kaiser exchanged glances and the Kaiser stood up. He approaches the secretary and tapped his shoulder. "This better be important!"

Lawrence then escorted the Kaiser to his office and left Karl alone in the room. Karl looks around and saw picture frames of the Kaiser. He is astonished by the length of years the Kaiser has held power in the organization.

"Forty years, impressive!" Karl complimented and said in his thoughts,"But I wonder, for how long?"

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It is late in the night, it is 2100 hours and Carlo Montenegro is still awake. He cannot sleep in thinking of his lost friend. "Juliana Hart, where could she be?"

He cannot help but be worried of her disappearance and tirelessly looking for clues of the wherabouts of his friend. No response from her numbers or even emails. "What could have happened to her?" He pondered in his head worried.

While Carlo was worried of his friend. Juliana was held at a government facility, detained under the charges of espionage and treason. Her case was not yet publicized because of the recent investigation on her. Juliana was kept in a special cell where spies and traitors of the country are held.

"I swear, I have nothing to do with them!" Juliana shouted banging the doors of the metal cell where she was held.

The guards looked indifferent to her outside who were guarding her from escaping. Security cameras are all over the place observing any suspicious behavior in the facility. Juliana cried on the floor for hours when her calls were not heeded. She fell asleep crying in fetal postion that night.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of footsteps are getting closer.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

And it is getting faster and louder as it comes close.

Juliana woke up as a familiar voice was heard talking the guards outside. Feeling weak after her struggles last night. She slowly stood up from the ground and went to her bed to sleep. Maybe she can prove to the person her innocence or maybe persuade him that she is not involved. Juliana tried her best to think of a plan to get out of the cell where she was held.

"Juliana Hart?" The familiar voice of a male officer asked the warden.

The warden saluted in confirmation to the officer's question. The door was opened and then bright light from outside blinded Juliana temporarily. A familiar face appeared to her as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Erwin! It's good to see you here..." Juliana tried to approach her acquiantance but stopped only to see his disgusted face towards her.

"I can't believe you did this!?" Erwin said to her.

The guards took Juliana and forced her to her seat as Erwin took his documents in a folder about the interrogation. Juliana's information was in the documents and read it carefully before her.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Erwin Montenegro. I believe we were once acquiantances, but now, I know not of such person!"

Erwin said in a demeaning tone and shows her a document of her involvement with the organization.

"I believe you work for them, your new bosses. They who call themselves..."

"Hydra!"