9 Chapter 8

"Eyes over here." Siegfried said, calling everyone's attention. "Your target will be Henry Johnson. Or rather, the demon assuming his identity. For ease of reference, we'll just refer to it as the target." He started. "As we speak, we have a team currently engaging the target to a date. It's also important to say that this target operates on its instancts. Any intelligence it exhibits is purely an assumption of Henry Johnson. You could say it's part of its predatory behavior. With this, we have a lot of advantages we can use and it's imperative that we make the most of it."

"As soon as a date is confirmed, it's likely that the meet would be tonight. That was the target's pattern when it claimed the lives of those five women. Now, we already have a volunteer who'll act as the date for the target. She'll go on the date and do what the previous victims did. If all went according to pattern, the target will invite its date to another location. The criteria of the place the target always chose was secluded and dark. This will be the turning point for us."

"Once at that stage, our volunteer will lure the target to a secluded area of our own choosing. This location varies so we chose five locations that fit the target's criteria. This will be finalize later on. Your roles in this would be quite simple. This will be an ambush mission. Once the target is in the designated area and the volunteer is secured, you're clear for engagement. Use everything you have to exterminate this target." He finished. "So, any questions?" He asked.

One of Squad S' members raised their hand prompting Siegfried's attention. "Yes, Granite?" He responded. "It's said here that the target strikes approximately once a month. And yet, it has picked up another target just one day after the murder. Is this inconsistency in the data or is it's appetite got bigger?" Granite asked, as expected from the team's tactician. "I believe it's the latter." Dr. Arimanius responded. "From my studies of the accounts of the ancient Scions, a demon's appetite does get bigger. After devouring five women, it must've an acquired taste by now that it couldn't resist fulfilling." He said. "And what would stop me from thinking that it is intelligent and capable of learning?" Granite asked once again. "Like Siegfried said before, the intelligence it's displaying is nothing more but an assumption. A demon such as this that hunts like a wild animal possesses low intelligence and purely act on instinct." Dr. Arimanius guaranteed.

"Alright. That should be enough. All the information have been sent to your handheld devices. You can study them there. Dr. Arimanius will be accompanying you as you make your attack strategy. We'll head out at 0600 hours. Disnissed." Siegfried said, followed by everyone vacating the meeting room.

****

Meanwhile, Alyssa was back at their car. Her day was quite a roller coaster. She was just expecting to do her normal routine; filing in documents, receiving calls, arranging Lucille's schedule and manh more. And yet here she was discovering that the company she's working for was a part of a quasi-governmental project formed to combat demons. Demons. She's well-versed in the country's history and the four thousand-year old war. She's always interpreted that war as a metaphorical event. That was the age of superstition after all. But now, she has just found out that all of it was real. There was no metaphor in that. All of it was real. "What have I gotten myself into?" She asked out loud.

The car door then opened and she saw her boss coming in. "Ms. Adineatha. Luz. Is the meeting finished?" She asked. "For now. They're formulating a plan for tonight." She responded. "I see." She then lowered her head and sighed. She was still quite in shock of everything that was talked about in the meeting room. "Ms. Adineatha. I don't want to be part of this. I don't care if refusing this would terminate my status as your protege but.........I can't..........I just can't do this." She said looking away.

Lucille looked at her protege with concerned and understanding eyes. She felt guilty that she subjected her to something like this. Reaching out, she held her hand getting her attention. "First and foremost, I apologise for the secrecy. I know it's not an excuse but I was beholden not to say a word due to confidentiality. It's too much. I know and understand. I, too, was shocked to hear what the true nature of this project is." She said. "I will not convince you to join me on this but your status as my protege won't be affected. This VANGUARD projec is separate from AICorp. Officially, this doesn't exist. So, I have a job for you. I'm sorry if this is so sudden but I need you for this." She told her. Alyssa just looked at her. Whether she disliked her proposal or not, she didn't show. "From time to time, I will be needed here. So, I need you to fill in for me while I do my job here. Can you do that for me?" She asked. Alyssa looked away for a moment. Holding onto her office whenever she's not present was no longer new to her. However, this time, she's basically asking her to be her substitute. It would be a tremendous task but she's counting on her. She then looked at and met her gaze. "I'll do it." She responded.

****

At the Observation Deck of the training room, General Dubois and Defense Secretary Ortiz joined Dr. Arimanius as he set up the training room for Squad S. They were the squad chosen to combat the demon that was currently targeting women. It's MO was to lure women in an online dating site using the guise and account of a deceased man named Henry Johnson. With five victims now, a quasi-governmental task force was formed to counter it. However, Defense Secretary Ortiz shut down the task force after seeing the potential danger of the two members currently making up the task force. So, with luck, the Defense Secretary was hoping that he won't be doing the same with Squad S. He truly wanted to end this otherworldly threat but he won't use a solution that was more dangerous than the problem.

"I still think that we should deploy VANGUARD for this, sir. I mean.... that's the reason why they're formed." General Dubois said. The Defense Secretary grunted before looking at his way. "I've already overlooked the fact that you've already had a plan in motion to kill this demon and didn't tell me. You also failed to know about the Soul Arms. Insist that I reconsider and I will charge you with insubordination this time." He threatened. "Seriously, Dubois. You were supposed to be a liason for the project. Your job was to watch and report everything. They may have most of the reins in this project but that was because of the need to keep this secret. Remember, the government has minimal involvement here so that we can bail easily." He explained. "I understand, sir. With all due respect, I only wanted to remove this threat on our streets that's why I gave them the go signal with their plans." The General reasoned. "And in doing so, you became ignorant that they're harboring weapons endowed by godly beings. Who knows the repercussions if those two were released. I want that monster destroyed too, Dubois. But we have rules. And we shall always uphold the rules first above everything." The Defense Secretary said. "Understood, sir." General Dubois answered.

"Prepare yourselves now. I'm going to make a hard light construct of the demon. It's description and abilities are all based on the data available to us." Dr. Arimanius said through the intercom. Down at the training room, the leader, gave him a nod. With that, Dr. Arimanius pressed the button. The hatch on the ceiling opened and the projector lowered itself. Like before, light was first projected on the floor. The particles within the beam of light comverged and formed the demon.

The resulting creature possessed a lithe and slender body. It has a face in a perpetual grimace which showed its sharp teeth. Three rows of small horns crowned its head. It had long, slender arms which all ended in sharp claws. It also possessed long, slender legs with toes ending in sharp claws. "That is one ugly bastard." Defense Secretary Ortiz remarked. All parties present in the training room shared the same reactions of the Defense Secretary.

"That's the demon, Squad S. Right now, I have the construct on dormant. You just tell me what aspect of it you wanted to test. From the footage recovered from that mission, I was able to make estimations about its strength, speed and durability. Use these data to formulate your plan in exterminating this monster." Dr. Arimanius instructed. Secretary Ortiz and General Dubois now walked closer to the viewing window, watching Squad S formulate their plan. "Hmmm. I've read their records. I hope they're as good as they're stated to be." The Defense Secretary remarked. "I know for one that the leader, the one called Flare, is an excellent fighter and leader. I've read his mission reports before. Among Squad S, he has the most missions that involved coordinating with the military." General Dubois said. Secretary Ortiz simply nodded. "Oh you just watch Mr. Secretary and General. They aren't called the strongest team for nothing." Dr. Arimanius said. "Just sit back and they're gonna give you a show."