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Dec-7-2018 16:55

It could not have been more than a week since they defeated the mysterious Jack, the mastermind behind the Order of the Sphinx, and his dastardly plan to create a "perfect world", a world full of eunuchs making everyone the same.

In that time, Marc made an enemy and then a friend though Edward Carlyle, a soon-to-be disgraced FBI agent. Edward's team died fighting Sphinx, he was held responsible for each of their deaths. But it was Jasper who sacrificed himself to create the perfect distraction.

Marc sat alone in the dark nursing a bottle of gin, reflecting on the past events. He jumped at the sound of a lout rapping on his door.

"It's open!" He called out without looking up.

Riza walked in. "We're heading to the train station. The train leaves in an hour to Karachi. You ready?"

Marc gulped the last of his gin and tossed the bottle behind him, shattering the glass against the wall as he stood up. He heafted his bag over his shoulder and smiled.

"Let's go get our friend."

Jan-15-2019 18:01

Upon seeing who it was, Chubin breathed a sigh of relieve. ‘Oh it’s you, detective Joe! You just gave me a heart attack!’ Joseph smiled and the two shuffled away to an Irani cafe nearby. It’s was Joseph’s treat and the man ordered mutton patties for the both of them. Chubin had Joseph caught up on the local buzz as they sipped their khari chai, but on Anais Nin he had nothing.

‘Never heard of that name,’ Chubin replied, ‘I would’ve heard of her if a western lady of your description with that name had been here.’

If this statement came from anyone else, Joseph would have laughed, given Karachi’s population was over thirty thousand strong. Chubin, on the other hand, knew what he was talking about.

‘Was your lady in disguise? Did she use another name?’ Chubin queried. Joseph shrugged. It was possible, only if Joseph knew why Anais was in Karachi in the first place. The search was going nowhere.

Jan-15-2019 18:04

‘Thank you Chubin,’ Joseph slipped a swag of rupees in Chubin’s good hand. He knew they would soon end up in the gambling den they just visited. As he was about to get up, Joseph remembered about the missing pilot. ‘I’m sure you haven’t heard of it, but has anyone been up to hoaxing radio signals lately?’

Chubin suddenly tensed up, ‘so you heard too?’

Joseph sat tight and fixed his gaze on Chubin, ‘go on.’

Chubin licked his lips. His eyes darted around to ensure no one was eavesdropping. ‘Someone in the deep was making sure no one can find her.’

‘Who? Do you mean Amelia Ear—‘

‘Shhhh!’ Chubin hushed the detective. Everyone seem to go about their usual business but Chubin seemed to see ghosts around him. He squeezed his wooden arm with his good hand as his mind struggled, ‘no I’m not getting involved with this, sorry Detective Joe,’ he finally said.

‘At least give me something! A group, a place, a name, anything!’ Joseph hissed.

Chubin knew he owed Joseph for having at least one good arm. He took out a pen and wrote down something in Persian on the paper napkin, then he flipped it face down and slid it to Joseph. ‘This is as far as I can go. Thank you for the mutton patty and have a safe stay in Karachi.’ The shifty man quickly scurried away.

Joseph had no idea why he insisted on finding out about hoax signals, but it seemed important to him. Joseph carefully placed the paper napkin in his inner suit pocket and returned to the hotel.

At the early hours before daybreak, sitting on a lounge chair in the quiet lobby, Joseph took out the paper napkin and looked at the Persian characters. It looked like two snakes with a slit on top of each one: گرگ

Jan-17-2019 19:23

Marc found himself back in France. He held a rifle in his hand. On his back was a large bag with a stretcher and crutches. Slung around him was a bag of medical supplies. He was back in war, leaning against the trench wall, the smell of smoke filled his nostrils and burned in his lungs. “Oh, God,” he thought to himself. “We’ve come a long way, boys!” A booming voice called out. A whistle shrieked, echoing in the distance. He climbed up the latter, and charged across the “No man’s land” and into the heat of the fight.

Marc jumped awake. Another nightmare. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat up in the bed. After drinking some water, Marc lay back in his bed, unable to fall asleep. All he could see in his mind was Riza. God, she was beautiful. Had he crossed the line on the train? Was it just a fling? He could still feel her soft skin against his, the smell of the shampoo that she used. He took in a deep breath and sighed. “Am I falling for her?” He whispered to himself?

Do I stand a chance? No matter how hard he tried to fall asleep she was still there every time he closed his eyes. Her eyes, her dark hair. He could feel it in his hands still.

He sat up in bed and lit a cigarette. Marc stood up and put some clothes on. He needed some fresh air. He stepped outside into the cold desert air. Shivering slightly until his body adjusted to it. Dry air was something he wasn’t used to, not with the weather in London or New York. Karachi was different.

He walked around the hotel and into an alley. “You lost, boy?” Someone asked with a deep English accent.” The man approached Marc, standing a whole head taller than Marc. Looking down at him he snarled again. “Are you lost?”

“Look, I don’t any trouble,”

“Well, you’ve found it.” He slung his fist punching Marc in the mouth, bringing Marc to his knees and splitting his lip open with a sicken splat. Blood poured from his lip down the front of his mouth and into his mouth.

Marc stood up seeing the tattoo on the man’s arm. Eye shaped with a ringed plane

Jan-22-2019 09:18

The Circle of Light. They didn’t operate out this way. Did they?

Marc, once again, distracted, took another punch to the face, knocking him down, yet again.

He stood up wiping blood off his face. This time, he fought back. The man had strength. His muscles felt like iron in Marc’s hands. Marc wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and squeezed. The object wasn’t to kill the man, but to knock him unconscious. The man tried to pull Marc’s arm of his throat, but Marc only squeezed harder.

Just as the man was about to pass out, Marc heard a yell in the distance, immediately followed by a shot that rang through the air. Marc felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder as blood slowly oozed out through his jacket. Marc immediately looked up to see a familiar face holding her Colt 1911...

***

Joseph stared into the two snake like characters, wishing he had picked up Persian back when he picked up his contacts along the way. He just had to consult his friends or the library when the rest of the world wakes up.

Just then, Joseph noticed movements from the corner of his eyes. A lady with short hair quickly sneaked through the hotel exit. ‘Vulkie?’ Joseph muttered under his breath. He quickly followed, worried about his friend.

Once outside, Vulkie swiftly dashed around the hotel and stopped abruptly before a small alleyway. She pulled out her pistol like a string puppet and aimed into the alley. As Joseph came closer he realized the gun was targeted at the two men locked in a struggle, one of them being Marc. Joseph was not fully certain but Vulkie seemed to be aiming at Marc’s head.

‘No!’ Joseph yelled, but the shot was fired too soon. Marc was shot in the shoulder and the burly man took the chance to jab his elbow into Marc’s chest. Seeing that he was out numbered, the man scurried away, melting into the dark alleys.

Vulkie seemed to have woken by her own gun shot and cried out seeing what she had done. Joseph ignored her and attended to Marc’s wound immediately.

Jan-22-2019 09:19

‘The bullet grazed to shoulder, you should be alright.’ Joseph concluded after he examine the wound, and assured Marc as he put pressure on it to stop the bleeding.

‘Oh Marc, I’m so sorry!’ Vulkie cried, kneeling in front of Marc, all three of them on the ground, ‘I must’ve tried to shoot the man but got you instead by accident!’

Joseph didn’t think so but he didn’t want to point fingers either. Marc was too tied up to see Vulkie’s intentional aim. Without Joseph’s distraction, it could’ve been Marc’s head. Vulkie was an old friend, probably the first one he met besides Anais, and he knew he could trust her with his life. So what the hell just happened?

Jan-26-2019 10:55

"God... this humidity is killing me," Vulkie yawned, while getting into her comfortable bed.

She had determined, earlier on, that her room wasn't as fancy as the other ones; the ceiling showed slight cracks and the wallpaper of one wall was starting to come loose.

Sitting up in her bed, she poured herself a glass of water and thankfully drank it in one turn.

Vulkie could vaguely hear creaking bed noises and a small snore. "Well, I guess Ed had a lot of explaining to do to Molly." she joked to herself and turned the lights off, whilst leaving the ceiling fan on.

*** An hour later ***

Jan-26-2019 11:12

(Apologies, by accident, I hit the "Post Reply" - darn it!)

As Vulkie opened her eyes, she woke up and sat right up in her bed; she was having the same dream again that she was troubled with for the last few weeks.

"That brazen bull... the cutting..." she murmered to herself, whilst rubbing her sleep off. Noticing her pill bottle, she grabbed it in an instant and unscrewed the lid and swallowed two of them.

Reflecting on what she had just done, she turned the bottle in her hand and examined how many pills were left. The bottle was half-empty now and it had been nearly full when she got it from Marc.

"I really have to stop using these things; but then again, they do help with the pain," Vulkie noted to herself, whilst putting the lid back on and placing the bottle back in her bag, next to her Colt 1911.

Earlier on, the gang had been so kind as to provide her with another magazine and bullets and she had generously accepted the offer, feeling bare-naked without her trusty weapon in working condition.

The creaking bed noises were still going on; finally deciding she had listened enough to it, Vulkie got out of bed and dressed herself on again.

"I'd better take another look at these documents I've found. They might contain a clue I missed, whilst hurrying to the group," she thought and went downstairs.

On her way down, she bumped into a man, who said: "Do you know what time it is, Miss? Shouldn't you be asleep by now? It's three in the morning!"

Vulkie gave no reply and moved on downstairs, as if in a trance. The man tried to stop her, but she shook him off and scurried her way out of the hotel and towards the alley next to it. It was as if she instinctively knew what she had to do...

*** A few moments later ***

As the shot rang out, Vulkie got out of her trance. Immediately, she looked what ensued in front of her; Marc kneeling on the ground, grasping his shoulder and exclaiming a slight noise of pain...

(cont.)

Jan-26-2019 11:23

"Oh Marc, I’m so sorry!" Vulkie cried, kneeling in front of Marc, all three of them on the ground, "I must’ve tried to shoot the man but got you instead by accident!"

As she looked into Joseph eyes, she spotted something; was it disbelief? Did he think she didn't aim at the man?

Vulkie tried to recall the moment, but her mind was a total blur. The last thing she remembered was a man who had made a comment and had tried to stop her.

Guiding Marc back to his room, Joseph grabbed a first-aid kit and began the stitching, while Vulkie handed Marc a bottle of whiskey and offered him a few painkillers.

Generously taking a swig of whiskey, Marc told them what had transpired: "... and this man had a tattoo. To me, it looked like an eye shaped with a ringed plan. Do any of you know what that could possibly mean?"

Vulkie shook her head, having no knowledge of such things, but she did offer an idea: "Maybe we can go to a library or ask around in the morning; I'm sure there must be at least someone with some knowledge about these kinds of things."

Carefully getting up, she moved towards the door, while Joseph followed her. "Hang on for a moment, please," he proposed, while closing Marc's door.

"Can you tell me exactly what you were aiming for?" Joseph queried, recalling the events that had transpired earlier.

"I was aiming at that man Marc was fighting with, you saw it yourself, right?" Vulkie retorted, all the while looking towards the ground. Even she wasn't sure, as she couldn't remember anything between the man in the hall and the shot.

"Well, for now, be sure to get some rest. In the morning, we'll talk about our next steps to take," Joseph concluded, before moving towards his own room.

He made a note to himself to tell the others what he had seen, but not with Vulkie in their presence. It would be a heavy accusation and he needed to find more proof if he want

"That was... peculiar," Vulkie murmered to herself, as she went to her room...

Feb-6-2019 18:33

“Any idea what this means?” Edward asked staring at the symbol that Zeo showed them. “If did,” Joseph said, “I would have told you already.”

“Ow!” Marc yelled, jerking his arm.
“Damnit, Marc,” Zeo snapped, “hold still. This isn’t easy.” Joseph was sewing Marc’s wound shut with some thread and a sewing needle provided by none other than Molly, who always seemed to be prepared for anything. Not exactly an ideal way to get stitches, but the hospitals weren’t always trustworthy. Marc knew Vulkie didn’t mean to shoot him, or so he thought. It wasn’t like her to accidentally hit a friend, but cases of friendly fire had been common in the past. No, he thought to himself. Vulkie was hypnotised. The trans she was in, was a trans that Marc knew how to put people in. A trick he was taught by some underground connections he got close with.

“There’s only one way to find out what this means,” Marc said, after Zeo finished. He snapped the paper from Edward, who yelped. “Watch it!” he yelled at Marc as he nursed the new papercut.

Marc walked out of the room, Zeo right behind him, followed by Edward. All three of them left quickly, leaving the women behind in the room.

“Excuse me,” Marc said to the concierge. “Can you tell me what this word means?”
“Ah,” he said in his thick arabic accent. “It says ‘Wolf.’” Then he froze with a concerned look on his face.

Feb-6-2019 18:34

“Does this mean something to you?” Marc asked.
“Not here,” he said, looking around. A gesture showing that there was too many ears in the room. He whispered in Marc’s ear where to meet him.

“Ensure that you are not followed,” He said.

That evening Marc found himself sitting with Joseph across from this concierge from the hotel. Edward, reluctantly stood watch outside of the small home where the man lived, making sure no one was watching.

“This is the signature of the one called ‘The Wolf.’”

“Who is he?” Joseph asked.

“No one knows for sure, but people go missing when this signature shows up.”

“Anais…” Zeo whispered.

“Who?” He asked.

“A friend of ours went missing,” Marc said. “She was last seen here in Karachi.”

“Not long ago,” the concierge whispered, “there were some Americans here. One was a pilot, I don’t know about the other one. Then this name shows up.”

“So,” Marc said, “we find the wolf and start asking questions. Where can we find him?”

“That’s all I know. Look in the underground. You’re sure to find information there”

Marc and Joseph thanked the man and walked outside. The three men got back in their car and headed back to their hotel to share their new information. The game of cat and mouse was about to begin. No one knew what they were about to be in for.