117 - Benjamin Scott

117 - Benjamin Scott
Benjamin Scott

They would associate him with the wolf, who was determined to kill every Bishop he encountered. Benjamin Scott knew that if he went after Ralf, he would risk having the Bishops on his back.

I take a deep breath and lean against the wall where Ralf had been just moments ago. I watch as Victor approaches with his phone in hand, stopping beside me. From the look on his face, I know something has happened.

I sigh and decide to smoke for a bit, waiting for Ralf to do what he needs and bracing myself for what Victor has to tell me.

"Mr. Scott asked me to call him," he says. I nod in acknowledgment.

I know something happened, but I’m certain it has nothing to do with Miley or Camilla, she would have called me in a panic. I still have time to convince Ralf to go to her so we can ensure everything is resolved.

"Are you going to call him now?" Victor asks.

I calmly light my cigarette and offer one to my bodyguard, who accepts.

"Did he seem nervous?"

"No, I believe they’ve discovered something about who was receiving money from Maximilian!"

I smile, imagining that’s exactly it. I nod, confirming that it’s what I suspected.

"I want to resolve this situation with Ralf first. Once I know whether or not he’ll go, I’ll call my uncle."

I see my soldier nod, and we stand there observing the comings and goings of people. A huge sense of unease settles in me, as if something is missing, or as if something is about to happen.

I begin scanning the area, looking for any sign of danger. But since we’re in one of the city’s busier neighborhoods, a commercial and business hub, it’s extremely crowded.

"What is it?" Victor asks beside me.

"I don’t know. I feel like I’m being watched."

I notice him stepping forward slightly, positioning himself almost in front of me, ready to shield me from anyone with malicious intent. My eyes fix on the parked cars across the street.

"Maybe someone followed us?"

"Impossible. No one knew about our trip..."

At least no one outside the First’s inner circle. They are extremely careful, and considering the affection all their women have for my wife, I’m certain none of them would orchestrate anything to have me killed.

"Maybe it’s just knowing what might be happening, wherever he is," I say, noticing an SUV pulling up not far from where we are.

I glance at Victor, who shifts his position to stand even more protectively in front of me. I drop my cigarette and slide my hand under my button-down shirt, gripping the handle of my pistol.

"Be careful, don’t play the hero."

I say this with genuine concern for the guy, who has become much more than just my soldier. Today, he’s my friend, the man who knows far more about me than even my own cousins.

I hear his laugh as we spot two men stepping out of the SUV. It’s more damn Bishops, hurrying as if they’re late for something.

"What the hell is going on here?" I ask as they rush past us and into the hotel.

"Do you want to follow them?"

I roll my eyes and step past Victor, who quickens his pace to stay by my side. We walk toward where they went, passing the elevators and heading down a wide corridor.

I see them turn right, so we slow down to avoid being noticed.

Before reaching the end of the hallway, there was a sign indicating that the conference would be held in the grand auditorium. I smiled and shook my head.

“Seems like he enjoys tempting fate…” I whispered to Victor.

“But he has something none of us do in his favor!”

That, I couldn’t argue with. After all, we can’t transform into enormous wolves capable of splitting a body in half with just one bite.

We stopped at the end of the hallway to wait for them to move away or to decide whether to enter the room where their meeting was taking place. I tried to think back and then realized they were in their centennial week.

Every hundred years, the order holds a meeting with all the Bishops to celebrate what they are. What surprised me was Ralf knowing the exact location.

“Have you noticed he knows exactly where to find them?”

I looked at Victor and nodded. I was starting to believe someone was feeding them highly specific information.

“Should we go in?” he asked.

I leaned my body against the wall and looked at the ceiling.

“I don’t want to get involved with the deaths of more Bishops. I feel like they’ll end up associating me with the death in the Bronx.”

“Hardly. The place was full of cameras. I’m sure you noticed when you entered…”

I started laughing, realizing how foolish I’d been. We were so rushed when we entered the place that the last thing we thought about was the surveillance cameras that were undoubtedly there.

“I need to call Henrique and see if he can erase the footage, even after a week.”

“Are you going in or not?”

There was no avoiding it. I needed him alive to help Miley. I looked at Victor and then back toward the hotel entrance, confirming that no one else was heading our way. I nodded and pulled my pistol from my waistband.

“No waste. We only have two magazines, and we have no idea what’s happening in there,” I said, checking the magazine of my pistol, which was fully loaded.

“Let’s go!”

We walked through the next hallway, focusing on the single door at the end. Beside it, there was a sign indicating the convention taking place inside.

“Have you ever watched The Witches?” Victor asked.

I started laughing, understanding the analogy. I stopped by the door and grabbed the doorknob, pistol in the other hand.

“Ready?” I asked as I began to hear groans and cries for help.

“Absolutely!”

We entered the room and saw the horrifying scene before us. There were men of all ages sprawled across the floor, some alive, missing limbs, and others already dead from the severity of their injuries.

I looked up to see Ralf with a man around my age. He was biting the man’s shoulder while the victim tried to stab the massive wolf with a dagger, though it clearly wasn’t doing any harm.

There was nothing to be done here. Everyone’s fate was sealed. If they survived, they would never again be Bishops. I lowered my pistol, realizing there was no need to use it since none of those present posed a threat to us.

I scanned the room, counting at least twenty men. When I met Ralf’s gaze, I saw him place his paw in the middle of the unfortunate man’s spine. With a swift motion, he split him in two, killing him instantly.

"We have to go now!" I say.

I watched the large brown wolf walking among the chairs, observing what he had done, and in the blink of an eye, he was back in his human form.

"We have to get out of here!"

Victor says, holding the door open to give us space, and we quickly leave.

"I’m ready to help Miley, even though I still don’t understand why we’re still suffering like this," he says, wiping the blood off his hand with the Vatican’s flag.

"If you, who we assumed understood, don’t know, imagine our family!" I reply as we follow Victor, who walks calmly ahead.

"Before we went in, you said something. I want you to explain it..."

There was no way to avoid this question, especially since I had dropped the bombshell just before he went off to kill, who knows how many. I walk alongside him, heading out of the hotel as if nothing had happened, and we move toward the car I was using.

As soon as I get in, I see him turn toward me. In his eyes, I see all the anguish and pain that someone feels when they lose a loved one or a family member.

"We went to the church in the Bronx, and when we got there, one of the bishops had killed everyone you left behind. I noticed he had the same magic in him as you!"

I speak and look at Victor, who changes the direction we were heading

"Is something wrong?" I ask without looking back.

"I don’t think so; it’s just for safety," he says, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

"What did this bishop look like?" There’s urgency in his voice.

"A little older than me, red-haired, and he had the same look in his eyes as you..."

The moment I said this, I saw his eyes change, as if the animal within him wanted to reveal itself, showing me exactly what I had just described.

"Exactly the same..."