September 12, 2005 – 20:55 (Montreal Time)
"Sonylla! I didn't know I'd see you here!" said Matasia.
"You two know each other?" said Coralis.
"Yeah! Well… Kind of… my brother knows her better, but ooh Holy gods from above, he'll be so pissed off if he hears I now work with Matasia, I love it! Is she joining us?"
"I am… provided no bad blood with you?"
"Girl! I should be the one telling you this! My bro cheated on you, how in gods world can he do that?" said Sonylla, hugging her. "When I saw you fighting with Blue in South Africa from the CMMA war room, I would have gotten wet if I wasn't mated, that was so hot!"
"You didn't tell me you knew each other that night."
"How about I tell you how I know Matasia when you tell me about Plurio's demise?"
"Fair. The past is what it is and sadly, this is not the time for story night."
"You were involved in Plurio van Lur's gruesome demise?" said Matasia.
"That cherub statue will tell you all about it, and the one beside it will confirm," said Henry, pointing at it.
Fifteen minutes later, as Coralis and Sebastian were telling those who were there what they had been told at their morning meeting, Stephanie arrived, shortly followed by Jasm and Cruz. Sebastian quickly stood up when he sensed vampires, but Coralis put a hand on his shoulder to hold him.
"Vampire liaisons from Chicago, they're fine."
"Sorry. I scented vampires behind Stephanie, and I reacted."
"Then recognized their specific ones. These two are safe."
"Wait, Hendrick said you knew the two vampire liaisons from the night they followed you after receiving your finger branding, right?," said Sebastian before sitting back.
"Yes. From that night, and yes, my reaction wasn't any better than yours."
"Please don't tell that to Eva, she won't let me live it down."
"Blue, I saw that."
"Shall I tell your mate instead?" said Coralis before answering her sister-in-law. "Stephanie, remember Saskatchewan. You know I'm worse. Be glad I could reassure your mate through mate-link. Jasm and Cruz, welcome aboard. Drinks? Apologies, this damn war has put us all on edge and turned us into overbearing assholes around our mates."
"You know what? I don't even wanna know what she said to him," said Frank to his sister, filling drinks for the newcomers. "You know she's right."
"I vouched for Jasm and Cruz if you must know. I hired them," said Coralis.
"Jeremie was right, it feels like watching history channel," said Patrick, the werewolf liaison.
"Tomorrow, I'll hire another wolf liaison, and either a moose or a squirrel. I was recommended to hire at least three shifter liaisons, but I'll go with four. This week, a few more agents for Sonylla's team, and I think that'll give us a decent initial crew," said Coralis.
"Blue Thunder, this is exactly how I know I chose to correct district to dodge Tobly," said Panjik, sipping his drink, sitting comfortably in a single-seater chair. "Not only have you managed to successfully prevent a situation between your second and recruits, recognizing accurately the situation for what it was, but you've been transparent and honest about it. You're a natural and you listen to situations around you."
"I listen to situations to an extent. I was told the CMMA was still dealing with the Saskatchewan compound's aftermath, I wasn't listening to anything that night.
"In all due respects," said Cruz, taking the drink Frank gave him, "I am certain they have dealt with the aftermath of our last vampire war against Lucas for a lot longer than the AEEA did. I told Prince Hendrick I didn't care what I would need to do, if I had the opportunity to work for you, I'd do anything, and I meant it."
"Same for me," said Jasm.
"Sis, you should know by now that the more trouble you give to your enemies, the better it is. Allies will work around regardless," said Erik.
Coralis proceeded to tell the group how she envisioned their district to develop over the next 10 years and about the budget she would have to pay everyone involved to achieve that.
"It's fine for me, I'm in," said Cruz.
"Me too," said Pat.
"We'll also need receptionists, more guards and probably someone responsible for training once we can move into your headquarters," said Sebastian.
"Basically, the Core Elders didn't tell you much more than what we thought it was going to be like," said Chiwa, sipping her drink. "Still count me in."
"About what you thought it'd be?" said Panjik, watching Frank refilling their drinks. "The Core Elders themselves can't anticipate how this reform will turn out to be, they can only set baselines and safeguards for how they want the new CMMA structure to operate moving forward. None of us are seers and as you know, the future is unwritten. I, however, am impressed about with what you all have achieved within 24 hours of the announcement. I can take over the advisor role and some responsibilities regarding training."
"You haven't even heard the best part yet. Wait to hear about the headquarters building Blue and Sebastian got us," said Erik.
Frank started laughing and couldn't stop. Stephanie gave him a confused look.
"Sister, brother Frank probably just understood the vision we had with it," said Henry.
Sebastian told their crew about the building they acquired earlier that day, showing them the blueprints, while Erik showed what they captured from his hologram.
"This reform is a lot better than I thought, and I think you couldn't have picked a better building to establish our headquarters. We literally have been given a blank card on what we want to do with this district. I mean, not literally, but close enough."
"Bro, there is something we're missing here. Only an elemental, that's all I can tell you," said Stephanie, sitting on a stool next to Frank.
"They can see everything in the elements when we don't. If they believe that piece of junk is valuable, I will believe them. We'll see once they're done fixing it, I guess," said Frank, sipping his drink. "Only an elemental, like you said."
"Nah, forget what I said, it's not even just the elementals, it's everyone but us. Even the shifters and the vampires are seeing what they see."
Thirty minutes later Coralis's phone rang. Seeing it was Alpha Collins, she warned her crew she was going to put the call on speakerphone.
"Alpha Collins, what can we do for you?"
"For me? Oh no, I'm not calling for myself or pack's affairs, but to give you a heads up. As you can imagine, our useless Alpha King isn't too happy with your nomination. He declared his intentions to fight against it and have you removed, but know that my pack and many others who are based in your district are planning on breaking away from his influence if he carries on with his threats."