Chapter 72: The Council of Nine

Chapter 72: The Council of Nine

May 23rd, 2089

William Pendragons POV

My name is William Pendragon and I am the King of England. Although I am proud to be a king, it is most certainly a trying task to be solely responsible for the prosperity of so many souls. I understand why my eldest daughter was so hesitant about becoming my successor. She finally agreed, although she had a strange condition that she demanded be fulfilled before she would consent to the investiture as crown princess. I want the authorization and resources to look for the man in the eastern fox mask that attended my birthday masquerade ball. I have no interest in being Queen unless I can get reliable retainers I can trust such as him.

As a father, I automatically have a dislike towards this man that seemingly captured my daughters interest, but as a king I am intrigued at what my daughter told me about him. How could anyone survive two consecutive explosions let alone do so without any notable injuries? My instincts cry out that there is more to this than meets the eye, so I acceded to my daughters wishes and even exceeded her initial requested manpower and resources.

That decision occurred about 4 months ago, and we have yet to even catch a trace of him. Looking into the guest list we got his name but discovered it was fake. All his documentation was also falsified and it was apparent that he was an infiltrator of some sort. We then proceeded to comb through our immigration records to see if we could get any photos of him at the airport or if we had his passport in our records. We have a rough sketch of his face courtesy of my daughter. She is quite talented at drawing, but she apparently only caught a brief glimpse of his face so we only have an approximation to work with.

You frost-bitten, vodka-chugging buffoon! How dare you make such unfounded accusations?!?! President Morris shouted with enough vigor to shake the rafters. Continue to spew shit from your mouth and I will start wondering whether I am actually talking to your face! I know for a fact that the US has been subverting the International Treaty on Large-Scale Energy Weaponry! Do you still have the balls to claim otherwise after your failed weapons test 2 days ago in the Empty Quarter?!?! Premier Sharapov roared back with equal ferocity.

I could see the rest of the Council tiredly looking on the exchange. No one was reckless enough to try and interfere. In fact, the posturing between these two is a regular occurrence. Experience has shown that it is far easier to wait until they became too hoarse to shout before continuing with Council business. I, however, decided that today was not the time to be continuing as usual. Especially considering that an unknown event of global proportions occurred two days ago. Whether it was first contact with foreign life forms, an unexpected cosmic phenomenon, or an illegal weapon test we need to investigate with the highest possible urgency.

Mr. President, Honorable Premier. Now is not the time for the usual squabbling. My voice was harsh and quite unlike its usual even tone. It succeeded in attracting their attention and I chose to continue speaking while they were still processing. Two days ago, we had an unknown event occur that suspiciously coincided with the start of a series of unprecedented natural disasters around the globe that are still ongoing. We need to investigate the cause and respond appropriately. And that will not happen if we do not cease our bickering immediately.

One of the other Council members, Emperor Akintola of Zaire, chose to interject King William is correct, this matter is one of utmost importance. Empty accusations will lead us nowhere. So, lets start this meeting. I gave him a subtle nod in appreciation which he returned. As the only two monarchs on the council, we often support each other.

President Morris and Premier Sharapov gave each other a brief glare before nodding and sitting down for the Council meeting. Finally, we can get started. I will do my utmost to ensure that every single intelligence apparatus available to us is investigating this event. I also want on-site investigators in Saudi Arabia as soon as possible. No secret will be kept from us and that also applies to the fox that has been eluding me so far. The Kingdom of England does not give up so easily. The hounds are coming, Mr. Fox, the hounds are coming.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only