The White Feather- A story of infinite worlds

A Game Of Blood

“Are you all right?” Veda asked Amanda, examining her bruises.

“I guess, but he’s not feeling too good.” Amanda said, looking at Thomas.

Thomas was sitting at the window in Amanda’s room. He hadn’t spoken a word since they came back at the mansion. He just smoked and stared at the street for hours.

“Hey man, what’s on your mind?” Veda asked Thomas when they were alone in the room.

Thomas didn’t reply. So Veda just lit a cigar and waited.

“It’s all just a f*****g game.” Thomas said softly.

Veda shifted his gaze towards Thomas’ face.

“Now everything makes sense. The snipers at the prison, the killing of my teammates who came to stalk him, everything……” Thomas spoke after some time.

Veda’s face became tensed.

“What?! What do you mean?” Veda asked, putting out the cigar.

“Get out. I need time to think….” Thomas said.

When Amanda returned to her room after dinner, she was shocked. Everything was upside down; the bedding was lying on the floor, tables were inverted and the ceiling fan was lying in a corner. Thomas was searching for something behind the cupboard.

“What the f**k is all this?!” Amanda yelled.

Thomas lifted his finger and rested it on his lips, signaling silence. After about two minutes of searching in vain, his face dropped.

“Nothing!” he said in disappointment.

“What exactly are you searching for?” Amanda asked, putting her hand on Thomas’ back and rubbing it gently to make him feel relaxed.

“He knew everything before it even happened. How did he know? There has to be a wire somewhere.” Thomas said, agitated.

Amanda’s frowned.

“What are you talking about? We took every possible precaution. There is no way in hell that they knew our plans…..” Amanda said in confusion.

“See? That’s what I thought, but there has to be some way to breach us. There’s always an open door and I just need to close it.” Thomas said and looked around.

“Baby, look; I know you're a genius about these things and everything. But maybe you’re just being paranoid. Get some rest, and we’ll figure it out in the morning.” Amanda said, leaning towards Thomas.

“Paranoid is good.” Thomas said, kissing Amanda.

When they separated, Thomas looked into Amanda’s eyes.

“Hey, you can trust me. I know your life has taught you the opposite, but you are the only thing I ever want.” Amanda said, laying her hand on Thomas’ cheek.

Suddenly, Thomas’ eyes shined and his pupils dilated.

“What is it?” Amanda said, taken aback.

“You worked at the Golden Palace. From what I remember, they were pretty tight with the security, right? Tell me about it.” Thomas asked in excitement.

“Uhh….let’s see. We were strip searched before entering the premises. We were given firearms registered to the hotel. Every gun had a unique set of bullets. If someone was shot, they could know exactly who shot him by examining the bullet. And yes, no electronics were allowed inside the hotel.” Amanda said, trying hard to remember every detail and assist Thomas as much as she could.

“So by electronics, you mean cell phones.” Thomas asked.

“Of course.” Amanda said.

“Where’s your phone?” Thomas asked.

“It…..it’s in the living room.” Amanda said, realizing what Thomas was suggesting.

“Bring it here, and DO NOT talk about this whenever you are near that phone. Understand?” Thomas said, looking straight into Amanda’s eyes and sending a chill down her spine.

She nodded and quickly walked out of the room. After a while, she came back with the phone in her hand. Thomas was alarmed but he kept his temper in control.

“Hi baby, you’re still tensed?” Amanda said naturally.

For a split second, Thomas was shocked. But then, he just went with the flow.

“Uh…yeah; I’m still trying to wrap my head around some things. I’m pretty sure that there’s a mole among us.” Thomas said with low energy.

“Oh no, baby. These are all good people; there’s no chance that they are working for Chakra.” Amanda said, trying to comfort Thomas by rubbing his back.

Thomas let out a deep breath, faking disappointment. He then signaled Amanda to pass the phone and slowly took off its back cover. The insides were as normal as they could be. A bead of sweat appeared on Thomas’ forehead as he took out the battery.

Still nothing; Amanda’s looked away in disappointment but Thomas continued to inspect the insides of the machine. He used his pocket knife to unbolt the structure and Voila! There it was- a thin sheet like microchip fitted right over the mic interface.

Thomas smiled and silently put the pieces back in place. Amanda had seen the alien device and was sweating more than Thomas.

“I’ll get Veda and discuss the possibility of a betrayal.” Amanda said cautiously.

“Yeah, you do that.” Thomas said, mesmerized by the ingenious planning of his villain.

“Why didn’t you destroy the chip?” Veda asked as soon as he entered the room.

“Where’s the phone?” Thomas asked Amanda.

“Outside.” She replied.

“Now, to answer your question, because we don’t know it exists.” Thomas said with a smile.

“What are you saying?” Veda said, trying to clear the mystery in the air.

“Well, we’re not looking at a chip here. We are looking at a gold mine. This little spy will do more good for us than it could ever do for them.” Thomas said, laughing in joy.

“This is gonna be interesting. Go on, I’m listening…..” Veda said, taking a chair.

“Okay, so all this was pretty much a game for him. We took all the precautions we possibly could, but he was always watching our every move. It was either undeniably genius of him or incredibly stupid of us, but it dosen't matter.

Now, he knows us better than we know him. He knew our every move and every tactic. Until now…..

From now on, we must keep up the illusion and let him think that he’s in control. It’s time to let the snake think that he is in control and catch it by its tail. I’ll come up with a plan in the morning. But remember, DO NOT act strange or spill the beans around that little phone of hers. No one else must know and we don’t talk about this unless I say so.” Thomas said grandly.

He had just tasted the first major victory in a long time and the magic floating in the air made Veda and Amanda realize the significance of the small discovery which was about to turn the bloody game in their favor.