Nightmares and Dreamscapes discussion

'Chloe considered her tactics. A bold approach is best. The truth is my ally, the more he knows, the better to demonstrate my loyalty and competence in the face of a tactical defeat. There is but one key fact I must keep secret – the existence of Anton Slayne.'

'“I agree,” Chloe conceded. “It would not surprise me to discover that Shabbah al Ahmar has a secret agent in Francis Mirovar’s force team – it would allow for a coordinated action just like this.”'

'“The Order have lost respect for our power and we must teach them a sharp lesson. You have carte blanche for operations against the Mirovar force team in North America. Fulfill the promise that you made in Jerusalem and bring their heads to me. First, we must quell this pathetic rebellion and then refocus our efforts on recovery of the Interpretive Codex. Never forget, securing access to the Metaframe remains our primary goal.”'

'“There were three Order of Thoth operatives in Boston; Gang Wu, his daughter Li and someone else. I’ve reason to believe the Wu family were closely associated with the Slaynes. I need to know who that other person was. Whoever he is, he survived a battle with six praetorians and yourself, and he has appeared from nowhere. It’s imperative we find out precisely who he is and determine the risk he presents to our operations.”
Chloe’s heart froze. Crane was so close to the truth. The smallest misstep and her plan would come undone.
“Cornelius, the Panopticon identified him as Anton Smith, he is young, he must have been trained in secret by Gang Wu.”'

'James Haley had best be awake, she thought furiously. He has work to do. And what of Ramin Kain, if he is the traitor in the Order, he could reveal the truth to Crane. I can’t let that happen.'

'Chloe mentally ticked the items off in her mind. One, find out where the Mirovar force team’s safe house was so she could keep an eye on Anton Slayne. Two, find out the details of the Crane-Kain detente, and three, do it quickly before events got away from her.'

'Chloe would not be able to justify how she knew who Kain was without revealing too much about her own capabilities to Crane. With the Crane-Kain detente almost a certainty, Crane would not forgive such a step against his own carefully cultivated plans. He would likely reward her with a suicide mission against the Red Empire.'

'Chloe’s eyes glittered like burning coals. Crane wanted to know who Anton Smith was. If Kain was the traitor, then Crane would have asked Kain to investigate from within the Order of Thoth. As soon as Kain found out that Anton Slayne existed, he would no doubt conclude that Anton Smith was a cover identity, but which name would he give to Crane, Smith or Slayne?'

'She stood in perfect stillness. Staring through her window, she stopped breathing. It would be necessary to put the knowledge of Anton Slayne’s existence at risk to find out more – there was no other way. Her eyelids closed as she calculated the risks. She resumed breathing; the decision made.
Chloe opened her eyes. It was essential that she was able to track Kain’s movements as soon as possible, and Anton Slayne would make the perfect bait. She picked up her smartphone and placed a call using the stolen quantum signature.'

'A force leader commands a team of operatives, they have total authority over their teams, and how they operate. The Head of the Order typically comes from the ranks of the force leaders, many of your ancestors have been force leaders, and quite a few have been Head of the Order.”
“If a force leader has total authority over operations, what does the Head of the Order do?”
“Set policy, coordinate actions, settle internal disputes and guard the integrity and secrecy of the order. The Head cannot order a force leader to any action, but must rely on persuasion and soft methods of negotiation. The role of Head of the Order is intensely political.”
“What about the third rule, operational obedience?”
“Doesn’t apply to force leaders and the Head of the Order,” Gang frowned. “And that’s something I’m sure Ramin Kain wants to change. He’d love direct control of operations.”'

'“Vampires were behind the witch hunters?”
“One of Crane’s early experiments with social control.”
“Why don’t they try the same tactic now?”
“Society has moved on; fewer people would believe it. I think Crane is simply weighing the risks. A public campaign against the Order risks his own exposure, so he has more to lose than to gain by such a strategy. So, both camps live in the shadows and fight our battles in secret.”
Anton nodded. “It’s a pretty messed up world we’re living in.”
“That it is,” Gang agreed. '

'“Of course,” Ramin agreed. He handed a data stick over to Juliette who placed it next to her laptop.
In moments, the data transferred across. Juliette scanned her screen and nodded. She pursed her lips and said, “It’s a beast of a site.” A 3-D schematic of the building projected onto the wall screen and rotated around its midpoint axis. “Five long floors above ground, and one below. At night, vampires could leave from any direction. This should really be a daylight raid to ensure they don’t escape.”
“Impossible,” Ramin declared. “It has to be at night, we can’t risk exposure of the existence of the Order.”
“Our rules of engagement are clear,” Luther declared pompously.
Juliette shook her head slowly. “It will increase the risk that one or more vampires will get away.”
“That is why you must take everyone you have,” Ramin observed sagely. “Including your novices, Li Wu and Anton Slayne, they have already proven their worth in Boston. They will allow you to close this mission out successfully.”
Francis and Juliette glanced at each other, a silent question passing between them. Juliette nodded, and Francis declared, “We will take the mission, and we will commit our whole team.”
Francis leaned forward, turning to Jay. He commanded, “Jay, prepare everyone for a raid – we go to Boston tonight.”'

'Energy snapped and crackled along his nerves and excitement flooded his soul, but from the back of his mind, from a place beaten into existence by recent traumas came a voice of caution, take care, Kain hates me. For some reason, he wants me dead, and he insisted that I be on this mission tonight. Gang believed that Kain is colluding with the Vampire Dominion (GR: As does Li). Where did these vampires come from? They’re so close to the safe house. Of course, it would be the Mirovar team that would deploy.
Anton looked at Li. She put her hand out. He reached across and gripped it. She stared at him for a long moment in the dim light in the van, smiled softly and nodded.
Yes, we’ll fight them together, but I’m keeping my eyes open, it could be a trap.'