Ever the dedicated bunch, the cultists who weren't attending family day at the park abandoned the office. Silent filled the area with the cooling system's hum being the only exception. People may say that silence is therapeutic but Meeki felt no better. She could only hope the leader would be fair to her. He would hopefully consider the risky service she performed in her favor.
James led the group through the quiet halls. He took special care to ensure that nobody saw them, even though it was obvious no one was there. They followed in single file until stopping in the back corner near an old brown door. The door was thought of as a storage closet in which the keys were lost, but that was not so. James dug up the keys from his pocket and unlocked it. They saw a dark stairway within, which descended into a narrow subterranean area. Uneven rock on both sides formed a narrow hallway and the dirt saturated the air with an earthly odor.
James pushed through another door which led into a dark room. He fumbled blindly for something on the ceiling until a small device clicked. Light filled the room and Meeki was surprised to see a tiny cavern office. Three desks were set off to the side and each sported different items. The first overflowed with various newspapers and forms, the second held pictures and the third showcased an assortment of guns. A larger undecorated table meanwhile populated the center of the room.
Samara laid the scout on the floor and stood guard by the hall. Jacques studied various medicinals on a cabinet. Meeki walked over and eyed the gun table for a moment, but James scowled at her as he threw his own weapon to the stack. She instead looked toward the picture desk where four familiar photos laid. They were pictures of the Asterian administrators, the true politicians controlling the planet.
“Don't look at those. You'd better forget everything you see here, if you even come out alive,” James said with distaste for her curiosity.
Meeki grimaced to his warning and turned away. A slight flicker illuminated the room for an instant, attracting her attention to a large monitor hanging on the rough stone wall.
“I called him up,” a cultist said to James.
James nodded and pointed a chair out near the big table. “Sit down. He'll be here soon.”
Meeki took the seat. “So he talks to you guys through television, just like with the rest of the cult?”
“Yes.”
“Don't you wonder about him hiding like that?”
James said nothing and looked away. “You ask too many questions, just like Samara.”
Another flicker shot out from the television as it received a signal. An image finally appeared on the screen depicting a dark room. There was a short table sitting low on the carpet, and the light bled through a large curtain in the back. This was where the cult leader usually spoke from, a room nobody could identify. He soon arrived from the right and sat on the ground. As usual, it was too dark to make out any detail on his face. The shape of his silhouetted body easily matched the man Meeki saw in the alley.
“I am aware of the entire situation, so don't bother telling me,” he said in a distorted voice. “It is not detrimental to us.”
“The woman knows too much. She could be trouble if we let her go,” James said.
“It's your own fault for not handling the situation correctly, you idiot. Couldn't you have delayed the meeting to let this poor innocent girl leave?” the leader said, shaking his head in disapproval.
James shrunk away under the accusation. “So what will we do with her?”
“There's only one thing I can think of for the moment—”
A shrill beeping interrupted him. He trembled slightly and glanced away from the camera. He hesitated before he reaching over and speaking a warning. “I will take this call from Lucifer and conference it. Remain silent and listen.”
He pressed a button and settled back in a more comfortable position.
“Yes?” he said, pretending to be innocent.
“You know who it is. I was notified about the stunt you just pulled. I'm sure you've tortured my scout already, haven't you?”
“Torture?” the leader said with a chuckle. “No such thing. Why, unless my eyes deceive me his wounds are being treated as we speak.”
“What the hell do you even think you're doing? What did this bomb even accomplish?”
The leader leaned back slightly and a grin appeared on his face, only barely visible in the darkness. “Things didn't exactly go according to my plan, but I'm not afraid to work on what has happened. Let's just say that I've sent a very clear message to you. Would you like to hear my demands?”
“Fine. What nonsense are you after?”
“I'll spare you the finer details for now. I want you to work something out for me within your little government. I'm after a position of some . . . influence. I wish to be an administrator,” the leader said.
Even to Meeki it sounded silly. The administrators were known to be extremely elitist in who they allowed in their ranks. The current four have been in power for at least ten years now.
“You must be joking. If this was before you kidnapped my scout, I'd be laughing at such an impossible request,” Lucifer said.
“I am dead serious. I'd even be willing to take a position as a fifth administrator if that is necessary. You have two weeks regardless,” the leader said.
“Two weeks until what?”
“Until the hostage and the current four administrators are dead.”
“What? You can't be serious, I won't take such ridiculous threats.”
The leader folded his arms and seemed almost bored with the call. “It's not empty. I have the will and the way to instrument their assassination. I could do it within days if I wanted, but I'm giving you two weeks because I'm such a nice guy.”
Lucifer suddenly huffed and began to rant. “You have no idea what you're trying to do here, are you? You can't just come around thinking I have enough power to sway them in any way. With such a ridiculously low time frame, you may as well kill them now! Why don't you—”
“Don't tempt me.” The leader's arm quickly darted forward to press a button. The call disconnected and the video conference fell to silence. The cultists fidgeted in uncertainty.
“We'll be killing the administrators even if he gives in to our demands, of course. I don't care about the hostage so much, we'll let him go once he recovers,” the leader muttered.
James tapped his finger impatiently on the table. “Sir, the woman—”
“Yes yes, the woman,” the leader said, followed by a deep sigh. “She does know too much. She'd be a liability if we let her go freely, so she'll be joining our cause.”