The Zaragoza estate, one of the most prestigious estates in the world and one of the most secure. The Zaragoza name holds a lot of power. Celebrities, Entrepreneurs, CEO's and some of the most influential people have the Zaragoza name. Some speculate that even the law doesn't affect them. Walking through it feels the same as always. They've lived here for years. Brandr designed the estate with our wants in mind.
He was outside of the meeting room with his back facing us; it looked like he just got here or just got out of a meeting with Araceli and the rest of their team. They were still discussing something, however, most of them started leaving. The only ones still talking were Brandr, Araceli, Cross, and Maelik.
By the time we reached them, the other three turned to leave. They saw us and waved as Brandr turned around to see who was behind him. The other three already started walling again when Brandr was looking at us and realized we were here.
"Morning, you three came earlier than I expected," Brandr greeted us with a blank expression, "Lani, Kei, Gawian.". He was not surprised by this. He already knew we'd be here early. This is how he was. Even if I didn't want to come, he was fully ready to drag me here against my will. That's what's terrifying about them. Their ruthlessness has no exceptions, even when it comes to family. Even if he probably already knew this was the outcome. How do they know everything? Honestly, I don't know. It might as well be a superpower or one of the others telling him, the latter most probably.
He turned towards the door, opening the door to the meeting room. He looked at us with a smile, something that looked unsettling during these kinds of situations, looking back at us. Brandr was the first to enter with us, following him. He was probably going to be our handler for this mission. Now I'm glad I came since he would be one of the worst people to be forcefully dragged by.
Brandr, codename: Blade. One of the family heads and the oldest of his side of the family. If people usually want to get information from someone, they usually go to them. Everyone in this family is dangerous, especially the eldest of each side of the family.
"What's this about?" Lani asked the question that was on all our minds as we entered to meeting room
"Well, Lani, to answer your question, there's... something you three need to do. You guys should know about the string of murders going around. We investigated it, and all the victims have something to do with Viata. They were all looking into it one way or had a connection to the person looking into Viata," he replied to Lani, his back faced still towards us, walking around the table, taking his position at the head of it.
He started fixing the projector to present the information to us, turning around to check that it was working. Kei turns off the lights then closes the door as he enters.
"We know it's murder due to the way their bodies were found," Blade started to explain to us as he put up the presentation, "these murders have been happening for years, but it recently became more frequent. At first, we didn't think there was a correlation between the murders; however, as I said, the link between them was Viata," he continued.
The presentation shows the statistics of all this. The murders have now reached a global audience since they have been happening all over the place, and it's not just limited to one country. People are starting to make links and theories as well. The news had the courtesy to not show the bodies, but that doesn't stop people from talking; people are starting to take this as a murder mystery. Those exploration channels are looking into it, making a global sensation.
When the victims were found, it was hard to identify who they were. The bodies were mangled. Lying in a pool of blood when found. They were found days after they 'initially' died, they were tortured and died less than twenty-four hours after being found. Most, if not all of them, were skinned in at least one area of their body, probably skinned alive, some of them had their skin gone from their forehead to the base of their neck, which showed their facial muscles and bones beneath. Some had their eye ripped out of their sockets, some fully ripped out, some staying connected to the bodies by blood vessels, lying out of their eye sockets. That's one thing they have in common.
A lot of them were either by acid, blood loss, head trauma, or decapitation. There were no exceptions. Missing organs, bones, limbs, or all of the above, some having their head found hanging on a tree. I guess he saw the look on my face since the asshole smirked in my direction when he turned back around, "Surprised?"
"I have an idea of who might be the next targets," Blade stated. The file shows Collin Xanders, a 28-year-old male college history professor, does martial arts and classical arts like music. And adoptive sister Kara Xanders, a 26-year-old female, a fourth-year college student studying her second degree in criminal psychology, currently doing an internship at a local police department, like her brother, she loves history and studied it as a minor. They live in the States, near NYC. They've been looking into lost civilizations for years and stumbled on Viata a while back based on their search history, they've been looking into whether they've existed or not. It shows how they found out about Viata, as the first time it pops up is when they were researching a different topic, they might have found something on Viata then, or due to one of the previous victims posted and went down that rabbit hole. Shit.
"So, you want us to befriend them, keep them safe, and stop or potentially kill the murderers?" Kei asked.
"Bingo. But. If it were up to me, I'd send more of us, but grandfather put me up to this and told me who to send, so what can I do?" he replied. "You have the choice not to do it if you don't want to... Gawian, it's you're call." They stared at me, waiting for my response.
"Fuck it," I said, "let's do it and get it over with. Either way, we would still be involved in this mess sooner or later since it involves Viata, right? So why not get it done with?"
"Perfect. I'll join you guys after the deadline. The others will join, but I don't know when, so you have to ask them. Start packing. The information should be sent by the time you're done," Brandr told us as he started to pack his stuff away, "Preferably, the sooner you reach there and befriend them the better. The flight is tomorrow 4 pm commercial. Other than that, the rest is up to you. Stay safe. Better be safe than sorry." once that was said we started to exit the meeting room. The three of us and Blade went separate ways, he going the same way as Cross, and the others went, while we went the same way we came.
He's right about that part. The sooner it is done, the better for all of us. The homeland... Why now? Why only now? It's been years since the destruction. And only now Viata starts to call, why?
It was silent again. Like the library. The only sound there is our footsteps and our breathing. The quiet before the storm. We were all going the same direction, me to the library, those two, probably to their rooms. As we got closer to the library, Lani spoke up.
"You actually took up the offer with how much you hate the States, huh? You sure you're our brother?" she said.
"He is Lan, the real question is, how sure are you that you aren't adopted?" Here they go again. They always do this. I could hear them arguing with each other again. This is getting annoying.
"Stop. You two heard Blade, the sooner we get there, the better."
"You sure?" they replied in unison. Well, that's one thing they can agree on. At least this time it's not murder.
"Move it, you two," I said, stopping in front of the library door, turning to go inside. I could hear them walking away, the sound of their footsteps growing weaker.
Entering the library again, it was still quiet. The others were still not back from whatever they were called for, it was just as empty as when we left to go meet Brandr. My spot was the same, no one touched it.
If I'm going to the States, I might as well bring some of the other things I'm working on and some entertainment. There's a high chance that I'll bring everything with me, probably even more. But for now, I'll just clean up and pack. I wonder if I'll be able to come back here after this mission? That would be a dream. Viata always has a price to pay...