CHAPTER 173: PLANNING AND PREPARATIONS
Inside the study, Victor poured a drink for James and another for himself, downing his in one long gulp, the burn doing little to settle the storm in his chest. It had been one helluva day for all of them.
Harry broke the silence first.
"James… what the hell happened today?"
James turned his head sharply in Harry's direction, eyes glinting with silent warning.
Harry raised his hand slightly. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not questioning why you reacted the way you did, we all would've lost it the same way. Hell, we did with our wives. But… the real question is; why does it feel like your power is changing? Growing. Showing sides we've never seen before?"
Jared leaned forward. "Maybe it's not that it's changing. Maybe it's just finally revealing what's always been there… and that's what's scary."
Henry nodded. "Exactly. If there's more to this power than what we've seen, and we've barely scratched the surface, then it's a time bomb waiting to explode."
Victor exhaled heavily. "Or worse, it's a gamble. A dangerous one. Because we don't know the rules. We don't know what sets it off, and we don't know what else might come next."
James ran a hand down his face and leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the swirling liquor in his glass.
Harry leaned forward. "Look at Daryl. The bastard knows his powers. He's studied them, mastered them, and he's telling us that what we saw tonight wasn't even the worst of it? That means we're knee-deep in trouble, James."
"And you," Jared added, "we don't even know the full extent of what you can do, because you never really use it. What if there's more inside you; hidden or dormant and we don't even know what we're dealing with yet?"
James let out a frustrated breath. "That's because no other powers have shown up. Not in all these years. I don't think any more will," he said stiffly. "And even if they do, I'm not a maniac like Daryl. I don't go around wielding chaos."
The room fell silent. Heavy with thought.
Victor finally broke it. "Speaking of Daryl, where the hell did he even come from? And how the fuck did he get those powers? He didn't stumble across them in a cereal box, that's for damn sure. Someone gave him that edge. Someone's backing him."
"Yeah," Henry muttered. "And that 'someone' is smart enough to stay hidden."
James shook his head. "I was a fool," he said suddenly, his voice low but filled with regret. "I should've known Harold was planning something like this. I should've seen it coming…"
"James, don't do that to yourself," Jerry said quickly, sitting forward. "This isn't on you."
"If it is," Jared added, "then it's on me too. Because I should've sensed something. I should've known."
"Well this is no time for regrets," Victor said, voice serious now. "James… you do know what this means, right?"
James stared at him without speaking.
Victor continued anyway. "It means we're facing a powerful enemy. One we don't know. One we don't understand. A super soldier who came out of nowhere, and who's not working alone."
"And if he exists," Jerry added darkly, "then there are more of them. This could be the tip of the iceberg. A whole generation of enhanced freaks like Daryl, created with god-knows-what and we're about to be knee-deep in a war we don't even understand."
The room fell silent again.
James inhaled sharply as he nursed his drink gently.
"Here's how we're going to play this out, guys."
Without wasting time, he placed a series of quick calls to Angelo, Beatrice, John, and Antonio, updating them on everything that had happened so far so they could all be on high alert. When the calls connected, his voice was crisp and commanding.
Then, turning to the room, James said, "Guys, meet John. I've been working with him in secret up till now. He's been doing a lot of groundwork behind the scenes."
"Hold on," Jared started, narrowing his eyes, "wasn't this the same guy that berated Belle and Cassandra at the party? I always wondered why he did that."
"Welcome to the fold, John," Jerry added, and one by one, the others offered nods and quick greetings.
"This is how it's going to play out," James began again, his voice like steel now, focused and cold.
"John, I want you to use Belle. Milk every piece of information you can about Daryl, what she knows, what she suspects. Rebuild your relationship with her if you have to. Let her in on the secret that Daryl is alive and it is purely because of her uncle. She might use her mom to dig deeper, either way, get something useful from her."
He paused, eyes narrowing like a predator zeroing in on prey.
"In case that doesn't work, though I'm sure something will. Antonio, finish up your mission and get back here. I want a full update on how many people you've been able to round up so far. And I mean everyone. Also, find out how many more of us are still out there. Use any means necessary. Even call in favors from the underworld if you have to."
"Angelo," he continued, "get me everything on Daryl. His history, his medicals, his training, his failures. Find every trace of information there is. I don't care how deep you have to dig."
"Jared," James turned to him now, "I want to know every single person Daryl has been in contact with; family, fake friends, handlers. I want a timeline, names, movements. Use any method necessary."
"Jerry," he said next, "you've got access to databases the rest of us can only dream of. I want you in deep, deep enough that even the devil gets nervous. If their intel fails, yours won't."
Then, he looked at Harry.
"Harry, work with Victor. Create something, anything to stop Daryl's powers from disabling you guys the way they did today."
"Uh… James, I don't think that's even possible. I mean we've barely found the one to stop us from reacting to you especially when you blow up by mistake" Victor started hesitantly, speaking for both of them.
"Nothing is impossible, Victor," James cut in sharply. "It's either you produce a drug to kill him or a defense strong enough to protect yourselves against him. Those are your only two options."
He barely paused before continuing.
"Jerry, Harry, you two are going to help me start figuring out my powers. I need to know what I'm capable of. Every limit. Every crack. Every trigger so i don't mistakenly blow up like i always do". He added the last part with a sneer.
"We start tomorrow. I only want to rest tonight."
He took a deep breath, then turned slightly, his voice lowering with intensity.
"Beatrice, continue protecting my wife. What happened today can never happen again. And find a way to make Cassandra and Belle pay for what they did at the party. Make sure they pay, or you'll regret it a million times over."
He looked around the room slowly, eyes locking with each of theirs.
"An open war has been declared on us. And in war, we don't sleep. We fight."
"Yes, Boss," they chorused, each one rising to their feet, fists clenched, resolve hardened.
James ended the call and turned toward the guys, lips parted to say something else.
That's when the door opened, and Diana walked in.