In no time, everybody was at my house, so I led them to the basement, so the kids wouldn't be able to hear us, even if the conversation became heated. I wasn't planning on screaming at anybody, even though I felt very frustrated. I couldn't be sure, though, that others wouldn't raise their voices.
Most of my friends were visibly disturbed by what happened. Marting and Hailwic, on the other hand, clearly felt ashamed.
Also, everybody brought their seeds, so all of them ended up again in my vault, where they were completely safe.
- I have a solution - Hatta kept saying right from the entrance, and he repeated himself when we were underground.
- Ok, say it - said Hailwic.
- Wuxia has two seeds. We can give you the one Amit has. We already talked about this, and we were going to end up on the same planet anyway. It's the best solution - he said.
- We need to find the thief, and kill them! - hissed Ki'rai.
In a blink of an eye, two knives appeared in her hands, as she was showing her teeth. She was very bloodthirsty.
- I doubt we will find anything - said Daniel. - This was well planned. Somebody knew exactly where to strike, so we should make a list of people who knew.
- Did Aisha know? - I suddenly asked.
- No - Hailwic shook her head.
- Then who the fuck knew? - Asked Will.
The city was dominated by our faction, and there were very few people who could barely do anything. Stealing a seed was way beyond the capabilities of anybody I could think of. Not to mention the fact, that it was a secret, shared only inside our group.
As I was searching my head for the possible culprit, Daniel started asking for the names of those who knew about the seeds. He pulled out a small notebook, and a pen then started taking notes. At some point, I started listening to those names, but I wasn't able to attach the tag of a possible rat to any of them.
- It had to leak somewhere else - Will suddenly spoke something that I already had in mind.
- Then who? - asked Hailwic.
- Who else knew? Is there anybody who isn't already on the list? - Daniel asked, then began reciting the names.
- The only people who are not there, and knew about the seeds, are The Great One, Katri Xel Avakadaisu, Druoag, and Genusha - Will pointed out.
- Was Genusha in the city? Was he in Arc? - I asked.
- If he was, I would know - he said immediately. - And since I don't know, he couldn't be here.
- He could sneak in - said Hatta.
- No, he couldn't. I have a net of spies who tell me about any ships landing on earth, and I get the list of people on each of them. I also have people in many countries, who keep track of the aliens inside their borders. Then the gate to Arc is also watched. He wouldn't be able to sneak in - Will explained.
- He could tell somebody - the leader of Wuxia argued.
- But who? We didn't have any aliens crossing to Arc in months - Will pointed out.
- Even when Katri and Druoag visited Earth, they didn't cross here. I Took them to their destination from India - I added.
- He could have a man inside - Daniel pointed out. - A human, lured by money or something.
- A nobody wouldn't be able to steal from us - said Hailwic. - I know how it sounds right now, but we really kept an eye on that thing.
- Nobody is saying you didn't - I said.
Obviously, she took that in a completely opposite way. Her glare was throwing daggers at me.
- There is no point arguing here - Will quickly jumped to help me. - I'll search everything in the city, and use everything I can to find who was behind this. You should proceed according to plan. If Amit is willing to resign from planting his own city, you should take upon his generous offer.
Martin nodded in silence.
- I'll let you all know if I find anything - Danniel said, then left immediately.
After his departure, everybody else, except Will also left. I knew immediately that something was bugging him. Something he didn't want to talk about with others around.
- Just say it - I said after a moment of silence, during which we both were listening to the last person was far enough away.
- Do you think it could be somebody from India or America? - he asked me. - With the work, Celestine is doing, they could...
- No! - I stopped him before he said too much. - Nobody is saying shit about seeds. It's just a project to help those in need. There is no way she leaked anything. Besides... Do you think they would have the means to pull something like that out?
He shrugged his shoulders.
- Few people from the military camps they have set up here are quite decent, but... No. You are right, they couldn't pull something like that out. Not with Martin and Hailwic. We all are fucking overreacting - he shook his head and sighed.
I nodded.
- Yeah.
Even though I agreed, the thought of Celestine speaking too much to somebody out there was already planted in my head. It began growing rapidly, but I was conscious of that and killed it before it was too late.
We have already talked it through. She knew the stakes. there was no way she would say anything like that. It was something else. Something we were missing.
- I should go too... Maybe there are some traces we will be able to find - he said and headed straight to the door. - Fucking hell...
With the last words that left his mouth, he left. I stayed there for a few more minutes, still trying to contemplate who would be able to pull such a thing off. For some reason, I couldn't shake the image of Genusha, back from my last visit to Loistavadvaar, from my head. He kept showing up like an annoying fly that just keeps returning to piss you off completely, so you are willing to drop everything just to squash it.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!