Chapter 2023 - Meeting The Council (1)

Haru and his team had a task to ensure that the villa does not have hidden traps or passages that would make Sarah end up in a tricky situation. The worst thing she imagined was that she gets knocked out and kidnapped while Aiden and the others are waiting outside. They checked the place in advance and stepped away so that others can arrive without being seen and Haru, Julius, and Allen came close to the villa when they saw Sarah approaching this place.

Of course, drones stayed in the vicinity and they saw everyone who entered the villa in the meantime. Some people had their faces obstructed, but Eve confirmed with confidence that no weapons entered the villa, just as Jarred previously promised. 

"Your lack of trust is disturbing.", Jarred said to Sarah.

"I must confirm that your associates are not going to harm me and that has nothing to do with you, Jarred. They were able to put you in a position where you will risk years of our successful cooperation in exchange for one meeting. It is normal for me to assume they are dangerous. Or do you think that I am unreasonable?"

"If someone wanted to harm you, they would stage an assassination or kidnapping and not a meeting.", Jarred responded stiffly.

"People tried to kill us and kidnap us. They didn't end well.", Sarah said.

Jarred was not in the mood to bicker, and there was no time either since Sarah arrived late.

Jarred was aware that Sarah was irked by his initial demands, but they were not his demands. Jarred followed protocols that the Council always follows, and he didn't expect that Sarah will refuse them numerous times before they were forced to bend the rules for her.

"When you meet with them, you will see that the benefits outweigh the risks.", Jarred assured Sarah.

Sarah responded with a tight smile and walked into the villa with Jarred. Oni and Nala followed closely behind.

Sarah left Nala and Oni in the hallway where a number of people stood straight with their backs against the wall. Those were bodyguards who arrived with other members of the Council.

Sarah followed Jarred inside silent room which was dominated by a circular table. A spotlight hit the center of the table from the ceiling, illuminating the table and leaving the rest of the room in the darkness.

However, Sarah was wearing Eve-lens, so darkness was not preventing her from seeing the faces of the six people who were looking at her with various expressions and Sarah was curious about them.

What's with all the secrecy? Was it because of the topic of the meeting or about their identities?

Based on the movies, this type of secrecy is required when a public person wants to do something illegal, so they want to conceal their identities in order not to be caught if things go wrong. In practice, it doesn't work like that. Sarah met with a few people who were secretive, but they were the ones who wanted to meet with her and because of that, they agreed to her conditions.

These people were exceedingly unreasonable which started them off on the wrong foot before they even exchanged a word.

Sarah didn't come here to make a deal, she came to sate her curiosity because she wanted to see who is so pompous to stubbornly ask her to come without adjusting their unacceptable conditions.

Aiden's theory was that they are looking down on Sarah and Sarah was eager to see if that is true. Based on a few expressions full of scorn, Aiden was right.

Sarah wondered if they called her here for a friendly meeting or to declare war, but… Sarah hoped that Jarred would not bring her here if anything unfriendly was the case.

Eve worked in her usual ultra-fast speed to create profiles of each person present so that Sarah knows who these mysterious associates are. Sarah's expression almost cracked when she saw a familiar face, Suvedini.

It made Sarah wonder if Suvedini really came to help her find Aiden because Mr. Patel sent her, or did Suvedini use that chance to approach them in order to spy on Sarah and her family? Sarah's mood worsened when she remembered that Suvedini attended several events and she mingled with Sarah's kids and friends and family and… did she do all that only to collect information? Was Mr. Wang part of that as well?

Sarah was aware that Jarred is a man with many faces and Sarah trusted that he will not harm her, but she was not sure what to think of Suvedini and this opinion will be reshaped based on how this meeting goes.

"Please, take a seat…", Jarred said to Sarah while gesturing to one of the empty chairs.

Sarah took a seat and a light above her went on, illuminating her.

Jarred sat two seats away from Sarah.

Her curiosity was piqued when Jarred placed a palm-sized golden medallion in the groove on the surface of the table.

Sarah's eyes moved over the shadows around the table, and she saw that each occupied seat (other than hers) had a golden medallion in front. They were of different shapes, and about the same size. The medallion in front of Jarred was shaped like an octagon and it had a hammer made out of the black diamond. Suvedini had in front of her a hexagon-shaped golden medallion with an emerald in the middle that was cut in the shape of a snake. It reminded Sarah of Suvedini's pet krait snake called Kala.

Sarah observed the groove on the table in front of her and she assumed that is a placeholder for a medallion. It was shaped as a kolovrat!? Lebedev's family symbol is a kolovrat, and Sarah wondered if is this a coincidence, or if that spot was reserved for her.

Sarah's eyes darted over the medallions. Each of the medallions on the table was made out of gold and had a precious gem in the middle, and that reminded Sarah of a medallion that she keeps in the vault under the Cliffside Villa with other valuables. Her medallion is a golden kolovrat with a swan made out of sapphire. Stella gave it to Sarah for her birthday several years back.

With Eve-lens, Sarah noted the dimensions of the kolovrat-shaped grooves in the front of her, and with a few movements of her fingers, Sarah asked Eve to compare it with the kolovrat-shaped medallion that she keeps at home.

It took less than a second for Eve to confirm that they are a match.

Sarah's mind exploded… Is her medallion supposed to fit this groove? What does that mean? At that time, Sarah assumed how that is an oversized pendant and she remembered that Stella said how that belonged to her grandmother (Sarah's grand-grandmother) and that Sarah should keep it by her side when the times get tough. Sarah assumed that it's like a good luck charm, but now she understood that it's much more than just for luck, but she had no idea what it means.

Sarah had so many questions and she hoped to get some answers from seven people who were gathered in this room to meet with her, however, they were all sitting in silence, hidden in the shadows and Sarah's temper was rising. Did they invite her here to look at her? For that, she could have sent them a photo. She felt like the main attraction in some freak-show, and she didn't like it, not even a little bit. 

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