RB Chapter 162 Predators And Prey

Like sizzling oil on a hot pan, an elderly man, holding a cane and impeccably dressed in a well tailored suit paced around a room. It was elder Muti. Many people were in this large room, everyone, except him, doing something...whether watching a live feed of something happening somewhere, or relaying information to other parties.

This was a theater of operations...a command center for the city's war efforts. The ants which had started the clearing of the land around Kampala city with aplomb had now slowed down. Reason being the beasts forming a coalition of some sort to hold them back. Missions were being issued and many energy channellers were rushing to the front lines to help. But casualities had risen exponentially. Resources could be replenished but humans couldn't easily be done the same.

This theater of operations was located in Kampala city as it had all the technology needed to act as a communications center.

'How can I change the tide? The land so far reclaimed is too little.' He wondered as he paced around. So far no urgent situation needed his attention, but he had to be here in case something happened.

As the elder was pacing, the door to the conference room slid open attracting the gazes of all the people in the room. Like a peacock striding among a flock of chicken, a woman entered, her destination, the elder.

She was beautiful, like a doll. She was tall, brown skinned, brown eyed and most importantly of all, her curves matched with everything on her body, a type of woman, who among men would be considered the ultimate of perfection, a goddess!

Her expression was one radiating coldness and the gazes from the people in the room weren't fazing her in the least. She appeared to be used to the attention.

Even those who appeared to be very busy at least had one eye out for her, whether man or woman.

"Elder, there is movement." The woman, Bunyogovu, said upon reaching his side. It had been a whisper in the ear. The people here weren't exactly trustworthy.

"I will be going out for some fresh air. I will be nearby...should any situation needing my attention rise, you must come find me." Elder Muti addressed all the people in the room before walking out with Bunyogovu trailing behind him. Her black skin-tight SYMOR shimmering in the light.

"Those people appear to be cautious. They are only providing help from the shadows. Instead another party, also one of those on their hit-list is the one which is going to take care of another." Bunyogovu said after they had left the room. They were standing in a hallway with glass panels on one side providing a glimpse at the night scenery of Kampala city.

"Oh! What are the two parties?" He asked.

"Monki is planning to deal with Eric, Leah, Elena and...Chloe." Before that last name had came out if her lips, she had paused a little to concentrate on the elder's face using the soft light from the bulb in the ceiling.

"Monki acting on a group of brats? What's the story?" Elder Muti ignored her gaze altogether, asking about something that had piqued his interest.

"...I heard that he tried to join their team and was rebuffed instead. He has been grumbling about it like a dog. Practically every energy channeller knows now." She answered after some time.

"Well, it seems like he's the petty kind then. Get some men ready. After he succeeds, we must capture him." Elder Muti became excited at that.

"Too bad, those idiots are still cautious. I wanted to bag all of them." The elder's cane produced sound as its end hit the ground. He was a bit frustrated.

"They will have to expose themselves if they want to take a bite at Sally or Mugumivu. We still have plenty of chances. This is going to be a very long war." Bunyogovu provided counsel.

"So all we have to do is wait." The elder calmed down and regained his wits.

"A chance will eventually arrive. When it does, we will capture it!" He continued.

"Okay, keep an eye on the situation and inform me of any drastic changes." 

"Yes!" Bunyogovu acknowledged and looked on as the elder went back inside.

"Elder, you are truly a cold person." She sighed with exasperation upon remembering his indifference upon the mention of Chloe.

-----

On the morning of the next day, the time had just clocked to 5:00am, and four figures were already in the elevator. Various bags were on their backs and the elevator was heading downwards.

"Hwaaaa...we must at least complete ten missions before getting another day off." Elena said enthusiastically even as a yawn escaped her mouth. Dawn wasn't a good time for her but her excitement was too much for sleep to overtake it. Leah, who was beside her had her eyelids falling every few seconds. She was very sleepy, something about her snake genes, the cold bloodedness.

Chloe and Eric were very much awake and ready to go. They were used to this life. But even after staying in the wilderness and waking up on time...the two girls had wanted to oversleep as they had been in a safe location, with no need to keep an eye or ear open in case of ambushes.

"That would be impossible. If we become too tired, sloppiness will slip in." Chloe refused. She was standing side by side with Eric infront of Leah and Elena. If Leah hadn't been too preoccupied with preventing her eyelids from closing, she might have been jealous. Eric also nodded along to Chloe's refusal, agreeing with her.

"But...we will choose the missions which give out the most points as reward." Eric proposed an alternative idea.

He and Chloe wanted to accumulate enough points to exchange for the spectrum solution for Leah and Elena.

The elevator doors opened and they walked out into the lobby. It was filled with people...early risers like themselves, or those who had just returned from their shifts to go to sleep. Some were chatting among themselves, the topic being the the ongoing war.

Most of them weren't combatants, instead, most of their jobs were tied to logistics and resources.

While they were about to make their way out of the building, it happened!