The Plan

One day later .

Angel base .

" The dark souls attacked our Northern base . They took the people we rescued and .... "

" And ..... "

" They also took some of our members .... The rest of the members managed to escape before the dark souls destroyed the base completely . " , Brad reported in a grim tone .

All the members of the angel base were gathered in the hall , at one side some wounded people were sitting , they were the members from the North base who escaped from the dark souls' cruel clutch .

Joseph was sitting with a cold expression . He didn't utter a single word , there was complete silence in the hall , everyone was looking at Joseph and was waiting for him to explode .

After a long while , finally the volcano erupted .

" HOW DARE THEY ? HOW DARE THEY ATTACK OUR BASE ? ..... ALL THESE YEARS WE WERE TRYING NOT TO GET INTO ANY TROUBLE WITH THEM BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY INTENTION OF STOPPING THEIR NASTY CONDUCTS . But , ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . NOW , THEY HAVE CROSSED ALL THE LIMITS ... HOW DARE THEY TAKE OUR MEMBERS . " , he stopped for a moment before continuing , " Brad , we can't sit like this and let them attack us again and again . We have to settle their problem permanently . Because of some silly revenge they are going too far . This time , we have to think of something . "

" I agree . " , Brad spoke up , " But , what can we do ? Nobody had expected that they'd know the location of our base . There's no way that they could find out the location .... only if they weren't helped by someone of us . " , he spoke up giving a short glance at Riley whose eyes returned a cold stare .

" It seems , that Lucas had sold all of our informations to them . " , Joseph said sternly .

" We can't risk anything at this point . What if they come after this base , next ! " , Rain spoke up .

A tinge of anticipation surged up in the hall . The members couldn't help but whisper among themselves regarding the possibility .

" That's why we need to stop them any how . " , Joseph said boldly shutting down all the whispers .

" But we apparently know nothing about them .... "

Joseph cut Brad's words , " We have to take the first step at least . "

" How ? "

" Rain , did you prepare the thing , I asked . " , Joseph said to Rain .

Rain nodded and started , " As you asked , I've collected all the possible points about the dark souls from the reports of their previous activities . In most of the cases , our members reported encountering two particular dark souls , one having the power of fire and the other having water power . Though other dark souls were also present , nobody has ever seen them using any kind of spirit power . So we can presume that those two play the most significant role in their group . During the Rainbow orphanage case , Brad also confirmed the previous points about the two dark souls and it was also reported that the dark souls were working with the vampires . But apart from that we have no solid information about them . "

" Does anyone have anything else to share about them ? Like , where to find them or the limitations of their powers or something as such ? " , Joseph said towards the gathered members .

Nobody said anything . Enilese was listening to Joseph's words with a frown , a bitter restlessness was building up in her heart . If she wanted she could inform her members about her remarkable encounters with a particular dark soul , she could also disclose the fact that his destructive powers probably don't work on her . But she chose to remain silent , one reason was that if she had to share it with them she had to tell them everything and she didn't want that . And about the other reason , she couldn't bring herself to disclose anything about that person .

" I think , one person can . " , Enilese came out of her thoughts at the words of Brad . She frowned a bit .

" Who ? " , Joseph asked .

" Of course , it's Riley . " , Brad said , immediately every pair of eyes in the hall turned to Riley as he looked up with a cold expression on his face , Brad continued , " Isn't he the one who receives the letters from the dark souls ? Someone definitely has to come to deliver the letters to him . So , he must've met some of the dark souls or at least one of them . He definitely knows about them better than any of us . "

Joseph looked at Riley who remained silent for a moment and then started in his cold voice , " I've already told you everything , Joseph . "

He nodded and spoke up , " But , I want you to say everything in front of everyone , today . "

Riley had no other choice , so he started , " A few years back , I got a mysterious text from an unknown number . It said , the dark souls wanted to deliver a letter to our leader . It was strictly mentioned that I must come alone to receive the letter and also I must keep the meeting location secret . I talked to Joseph about the text and he asked me to do as they said . Like that , I collected the first letter . After that whenever they wanted to deliver letters they just sent a text asking me to come to the location . "

" Well , is it that simple ? " , Brad said , Riley looked at him with his sharp eyes , he continued , " Isn't it suspicious that out of all the people here , they contacted you for this job ? "

Riley had faced this question so many times before and like always , today too , he chose not to answer .

" Brad , we can talk about that later . Riley , you tell us , who delivers the letters to you ? " , Joseph spoke up .

" It's one of them but I don't know much about him . He always comes with his face covered and because of that reason I never got a chance to read his thoughts . "

" You didn't see his face , you couldn't read his mind either , how can you be so sure that it's a dark soul ? " , Brad asked again because for some reason he never found Riley's words trustworthy .

" Even if I couldn't read his mind I could sense his strong powers and I can confirm that he is the one with the power of fire . " , Riley spoke up and almost immediately an unknown anticipation surged up in Enilese's heart .

" Did you meet anyone else apart from him ? " , Joseph asked .

" No , it has always been the fire power that I sensed . "

Joseph nodded a little , he said in a disappointed tone , " So we don't have any useful information about the dark souls . We need to find more information about them . "

" But I think , we can proceed with whatever we have found so far . " , Brad said . Joseph looked at him questioningly . Brad continued , " The opportunity has always been there , it's just we didn't know about it before . Now that we've found a way to finish one of them or should I say the most dangerous one among them , we should not waste any more time . "

" What are you trying to say ? " , Joseph asked .

" I have a plan but to make it work Riley must co-operate with us . "

Riley looked at him but didn't say anything .

Joseph spoke up , " Please tell us about your plan . "

Brad started , " We have to bring the dark soul to a specific location where we'll be hiding beforehand . Once he arrives there , we would attack him altogether . He might be very powerful but when different powers would surrounded him from all directions how long , do you think , he would be able to last ! " , Brad said in a menacing voice .

" But , how can we bring him to that place ? "

" That is Riley's job . He has the dark soul's number , he can send him a text asking him to meet at the location . The dark soul recognises his number , he would surely response . "

" Do you think , they are fools that I'd ask the dark soul to come and he'd agree to come to a random place just like that ..... "

" Come on Riley . " , Brad cut him off , " You are intelligent . I don't think , I need to tell you how to lure him to the trap because you already know how to do it . "

" Don't we have any fair option to do this ? " , Riley spoke up .

" We've always been fair in our conduct but did they ever consider any of our effort ? The game of betrayal was started by them when they manipulated Lucas against us . It's time that we finish their game with their own trick . " , Brad stopped for a moment before continuing , " When it comes to destroying the dark souls .... everything is fair . "

" But , will the plan work ? What if he turns out to be more dangerous than we expect ? " , Joseph asked .

" As I said , he would be continuously attacked from every direction , we just have to try to the point when he can't defend the attacks anymore and the next moment would be the end of him . "

Joseph sighed and said , " I hope the plan works . "

Riley wasn't saying anything so Brad spoke up , " Riley , I think , you haven't made up your mind yet . Why are you thinking so much ? Just bring him to us and all my suspicions towards you would be gone . "

Riley's face was expressionless as always , Joseph spoke up , " Think about it , Riley . I'll wait for your decision . I hope , you won't disappoint me . " , with that he walked out of the room . Slowly the other members also left . Only one person stayed behind , it was Enilese . She wasn't feeling well . Because of some unknown fear her heart was beating very fast . A feeling of restlessness was engulfing her entire body . Brad's words were repeating in her head . With such uneasiness , she came to her room . She sat on the bed and held her head with both hands .

' What is wrong with me ! Why am I feeling so restless after hearing Brad's plan ! Why can't I accept it ' , she thought to herself and sighed . She came to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face . She muttered , " Is it because he saved me ? " , she looked at her haggard reflection in the mirror and spoke up after a moment , " No .... no that's not true .... I am okay .... nothing is wrong with me .... they are our enemies ..... he is our enemy ..... their is nothing wrong in the plan ..... " , Enilese was repeating the same words again and again as if trying to convince herself , but the restlessness in her heart was still there , her confused emotions were still choking her from inside . She couldn't help but splash more water on her face to get rid of the growing uneasiness .

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The day had already passed as the night had taken its post but Enilese's emotions were still disturbed . Her tired eyes were staring at the ceiling , even after trying so hard she couldn't stop thinking about Brad's plan . She was also trying to guess what Riley's decision would be . She was having a hard time sleeping . After a while , she got up from the bed and walked out of the room .

......

She didn't know where she was heading to but she got very surprised when she realised that her subconscious legs had took her to the right place ..... she was standing in front of Riley's door . She took a deep breath and slightly knocked on the door but only then she realised that it was really late and she shouldn't have knocked on his door at this hour . She thought of going back but before she could turn to leave the door was opened .

" You ? " , Riley frowned as he saw Enilese standing there .

" Um... it ..... it was a mistake . Sorry . " , she was about to leave but he spoke up , " If you want something , just say so . "

Enilese was looking down , she said without lifting her eyes , " I .... I wanted to ask you something . "

" What's so important that you couldn't wait till morning ? " , she didn't know what to say , it was indeed very awkward .

" Anyway come in . " , he said as he stepped aside . She entered the room and Riley closed the door behind .

" Ask what you wanted to . " , he said straightforwardly .

Enilese didn't look at him , she was afraid that if she made eye contact with him all her emotions would be uncovered instantly .

She said looking away , " Have you decided anything ..... about .... Brad's plan ? "

She couldn't believe , she actually asked the question .

He frowned a bit and said , " I have . "

" W.... what have you decided ? "

" I'd co-operate with the plan . " , as he said that immediately Enilese's heart became cold .

" You would ? " , she asked in a shaky voice .

" Yes , I thought about it . Brad was actually right , when it comes to destroying those social enemies everything is fair . "

She nodded slightly and said , " I see . I'll leave now . Sorry for disturbing you at this hour . " , she moved toward the door but he spoke up , " You came , at this time , just to ask that ? " , she remained silent .

" May I ask , how does it interest you so much that you couldn't even wait till tomorrow morning ? " , he was looking at her crossing his arms over his chest .

" Please consider my action as a mere act of curiosity , nothing else . " , she said as she opened the door and left without giving him any chance to ask anything more .

Riley knew that she lied . To know that he didn't need to read her mind , her emotions were clearly visible on her face . He stared at the retreating figure for some time before closing the door .