Sabotaged

While Draco was engaged in negotiations with the governor of Sahba, preparations for a deadly journey were underway above the skies of Saudi Arabia.

Muhammed was currently inside his mythical-grade spec-ops plane, and he was preparing to touch down on one of the Khalid Dynasty's runways.

"Zahra, when we land please check on the status of the troops we requested. I need to check in with my sister." he said.

But unbeknownst to Muhammed, his second and fifth brother had been undermining his mission while he was away in Dubai! 

"It shall be done, Master." Zahra said, watching the plane land down and get ferried into a private hangar. 

After the plane landed, Muhammed and Zahra exited the plane's cockpit and walked out through the landing ramp.

After touching down, the plane was immediately attended to by a team of Hamin engineers.

Muhammed paid them no mind as he got into a white SUV that was parked and waiting for him.

He told the driver to take him to Amira's compound, and he sat in silence as he watched the bustling Royal Palace from his window.

He was confused at the number of Hamin soldiers running about the palace grounds, for this was not the normal level of activity. 

When he arrived at the front of Amira's compound, he found that Samir and Sada were waiting for him.

He got out of his car and walked up to the two.

"Greetings Samir, greetings Sada. Where is my sister?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Sada stepped forward, "She's gone. His eminence stationed her on the Qaleat Eayima for the time being."

This was news to Muhammed, "Do you know why?" he asked. 

"No, but Draco was also taken. He messed up and the eighth prince sent him to the Ahmar Cage." she said sadly.

Muhammed had to think for a bit before he was able to remember the Las Vegas drug dealer they had brought to the Dynasty just two weeks ago.

"Him?! So sister made the man powered? What was she thinking?" Muhammed asked, confused.

Sada just shook her head, not knowing what to tell the fifth prince. 

Sighing, Muhammed got back into his SUV to head to his own residence.

The trip there was uneventful, and when he got out he found Zahra waiting for him in her white robes. 

"Something strange is happening here in the palace. What news do you have?" Muhammed asked her.

Zahra had a perturbed look in her eyes, "It seems that the palace has not received our message. There were no troops waiting for us, and the Death Barge had already left on a mission." 

Muhammed's eyes narrowed, "Strange indeed, there must be hostile forces within the palace sabotaging our mission." 

Zahra nodded, "It looks that way, for the entire royal palace has been preparing for war with Greed's forces." 

Muhammed looked towards the central palace in the distance. 

It stood as a monument of power in Saudi Arabia. The forces of the Khalid Dynasty were nearly unmatched in the world, but he knew that a war with Dubai would be disastrous for both parties. 

If his message had been blocked from reaching the palace, then that meant that the Dynasty's forces had been preparing for all out war.

His father and the other princes likely assumed that his peace-talks had failed, and were defaulting to what they knew best. 

He knew that he had to find a way to relay his message to his father, for a war with Greed would be tantamount to World War 3. 

*** 

Almost two thousand miles away, unknown to anyone in the Khalid Dynasty, Draco was hiding away in the city of Sabha. 

Sabha was a city in Libya, and they were currently dealing with a problem involving desert bandits.

Draco had agreed to assist the governor of these lands, Saalim Khalid. 

He had been able to deduce that the governor was an estranged man of royal blood from the Khalid Dynasty, the place he had just escaped from. 

Perhaps he was a distant relative, or maybe even a banished prince's son. 

However, all Draco knew for sure was that the man had been in close relations with an infamous warlord, Khalifa Haftar. Considering that the Khalid Dynasty had just executed an attack on his main base of operations, this meant either two things.

The first, this meant that this 'Emir.' had somehow been responsible for the warlord's attack. To do this he would still have to have ties to the Khalid Dynasty, putting Draco at edge to him. 

Secondly, he could have actually been inconvenienced by this attack. Hey may or may not be aware of who had done the attack, but the fact that it happened regardless was bad news to him.

Draco hoped that it was the latter option, for 

Draco was now sitting in a small residence that Saalim had designated for him outside of his palace. 

He was still within the governor's courtyard, but it essentially sat next to the outer wall of the palace grounds. 

Draco sat at the end of a long, mahogany table. This table had eight chairs, and seven of them were filled up around him. 

Amber said at the other end of the table, and her team of five scientists and researchers sat around her. 

There was still the last seat, and it was filled by Snow. Draco had rescued her from the very soldiers that he had just recruited, so tensions between them were kind of high. 

She silently watched Draco, trusting that he knew what he was doing. 

Standing to Draco's right was one of the soldiers Draco had picked up earlier in the afternoon.

He said that his name was Addo. Draco judged that he was the most level headed of the African soldiers who had tried to stop him in their roadblock. 

Addo wore a dark brown and green military uniform, its camouflage made to hide its user in forest conditions.

As Draco looked at his other four soldiers standing around the edge of the room, he realized that he needed to get them more appropriate uniforms. 

Looking ahead, Draco decided to address the most pressing matters.

"I'm glad to see my forces gathered together." he said, looking over the individuals wearing stained white lab coats. 

He laughed, "A little worse for the wear, but all in one piece." he said, a magnanimous smile on his lips.

The scientists and soldiers all looked at eachother and chuckled awkwardly. 

They were all inwardly thinking, 'This bastard! Isn't he the one who did this to us?!"

But outwardly everyone in the room expressed their gratitude to Draco for saving them, or in the soldier's cases, sparing them. 

Draco continued, "We have a number of items on our agenda. Firstly, I plan on hiring all of you on formally." he said, looking at the scientists. 

"You can decline, of course. But you should hear out my offer first." Draco said, not actually intending to let any of these scientists go. 

"You will all be allowed to pursue your full creative liberties, and I will give you my financial backing and protection. However, when the time comes, you must agree to assist me in developing 'products.' Draco said, adding emphasis to the word. 

Their eyes lit up when they heard this, for it was a better offer than they were expecting. 

Amber smiled at Draco, "You know, we all just thought you were going to kidnap us and force us to do human experiments like that warlord did."

Draco laughed, "That's still not off the table if you don't behave. Kidding, kidding." 

The scientists smiled awkwardly and scratched their heads, not sure if they believed him. 

"I can promise you that you will be well taken care of working for me, and that your scientific achievements will be great." Draco finally said, turning serious. 

Amber nodded her head, "Well you have my support, I'm sure that my team also agrees." she said, looking at the rest of the scientists and researchers also nodding their heads. 

Satisfied, Draco turned towards his right to look at Addo, his new head of security. 

"Addo my friend, you will be in charge of my soldiers for the time being. To signify your rank, I have a gift for you." he told the man. 

Addo spoke broken English, one of the other reasons Draco had chosen him over his comrades.

The man looked at Draco with curious eyes, understanding the word "Gift."

Draco reached under the table and pulled out a sword from his duffel bag. 

This sword was made from a shiny steel, and was coated in some type of conductive mineral. When the sword's mechanism was activated, it would surround the blade in a thick layer of electricity. 

Handing this sword to Addo, the man took the sword as if it was the greatest treasure he had ever laid eyes on. 

It was likely just a low-grade artifact, but even this was more than the man could ever hope to obtain on his own. 

The other soldiers in the room watched the sword with greedy eyes, for they now knew that there was a chance for Draco to give them such treasures as well. 

Draco understood this, for he addressed all five soldiers in the room. 

"If you serve well, you will not only be granted riches, but also power beyond your wildest imagination!" Draco exclaimed, a sleazy smile on his face that would put any salesman to shame.