Now that there were so many fewer members of the group and many of those that remained were spooked after all that happened, Daielle had been doing daily check-ins, as he called them, a way to keep them united and support each other. In reality, she suspected this was a way to keep all of their members in check, make sure their anger and fears were pointed at the premier and their resolve to be a part of this group remain in place, leaving them no chance to question their own poor leadership.

She had heard of Daielle a few times during her time with the group, and then again while she was imprisoned with Kahal and his brothers, but she had never actually seen the male until afterward, and didn't realize how high up in the chain he was. She was seeing him speak during these daily check-ins but she hadn't found a way to observe him more closely. Here was her chance, she noted as she walked in the direction Netaq had pointed her in.

She found the door cracked open so she put on a slightly nervous persona and poked her head in. "You wanted to see me?"

Daielle sat at his desk and waved her in.

There was a female sitting in an armchair to the side of his desk. Rahn nodded at her in greeting and the female gave a very slight nod in return. She was older than Rahn, but probably not old enough to be her mother. Rahn took the chair in front of the desk.

"Yes." Was all he said as he watched her take her seat.

She had had no real interaction with this male so far, and she had certainly never seen the female sitting beside them. She glanced at the female before returning her gaze to Daielle.

"Pay no attention to Niva, she is simply here to take notes, should I want to revisit anything." Daielle continued. "As you can imagine, running this organization requires me to have a personal assistant to help manage everything."

Rahn nodded. "Of course."

Daielle continued again. "I'm sure you can understand we have to take extra precautions now to make sure we can trust our members at this critical time."

Rahn nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I have some questions." He leaned forward, crossing his arms on his desk in front of him.

"Questions?" Rahn said nervously.

"Yes. About your time being held with the premier."

"Oh, um... I've told Schoun everything I know." Rahn had been hounded with question after question by Daielle's second in command over the last couple weeks.

"Of course." Daielle gave a slight smile and Rahn twisted in her seat. This weasel didn't make Rahn nervous but of course Lana would be different. "I would personally like to make sure we've covered everything."

"I understand." Rahn nodded and gave a nervous smile of her own for just a short moment.

"You used to work in the grand hall as a financial officer?"

"Yes."

"You caught someone skimming funds." He started and looked at her in question.

Rahn made it a point to tense her body and blow out a slow breath as if the subject was still a sore spot to her. "Yes. And I reported them, naturally."

Daielle nodded and waited for her to continue.

"I expected him to be immediately terminated from his position and thrown in jail for his crimes." She drew in a deep breath through her nose and released it through her mouth. "But those fools let him continue working there while they investigated. Several days passed by and he was still there."

"And this didn't sit well with you."

"Of course not. I handed them a criminal and showed them proof. It should have been immediate. Or at the very least they should have put him on leave while they investigated, not let him continue to have access to grand hall funds!" Rahn let her voice become more confident, slightly louder as if the memory still angered her. She looked away as if she were lost in memories.

"And how did that lead to your dismissal?"

Rahn looked at the male and drew in a frustrated breath, letting it out slowly as if to calm herself. "I've been through all of this before, I'm sure you've been informed. I really don't see how rehashing my past can be so important to you."

He sat up straighter as if to impose his authority and she made it a point to shrink back just slightly. "As I've said, I'm reviewing members personally to ensure our organization is safe from further harm. If you wish to remain here, you'll do as I say."

Rahn wanted to roll her eyes and sigh, these insecure males who thrived on power over others but did nothing to earn respect were possibly her least favorite type of people. Instead she drew in a breath and nodded. "I understand, I apologize. It's still a bit of a sore subject for me."

He gave her a slight smile, seemingly happy with her submitting to his authority. She could feel the pleasure he got from such interactions. Disgusting, she thought.

"So I took it upon myself to keep an eye on him. Anywhere he went within our work space, I went also. He didn't like that, of course. After a few more days, nothing had been done. The guard seemed to be taking their time or perhaps not doing anything at all. Meanwhile I was growing increasingly frustrated and likewise so was he with my constant watching over him. My own responsibilities fell behind and I was catching flack from our other colleagues. Everyone seemed to be more concerned over what I was doing than the fact that there was an embezzler still working as a financial officer!

She breathed in deeply through her nose and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. "So I decided enough was enough. There was clear evidence he was guilty but if that wasn't enough then I would do what I needed to in order to help things along. I gathered what evidence I already had and simply added to it. Enough so the guard would have no choice but to remove him. He was guilty, it's not like I was trying to frame an innocent person, so what was the harm? Anyway, I guess my constant scrutiny of him had him also watching me closely. He must have guessed I was getting desperate so he set a trap for me as well."

She looked down and away as if ashamed.

"Go on." Daielle urged her to continue.

"The guard caught me planting the false evidence. I was immediately let go, and all of the evidence against Mucht was thrown out. Even the real evidence."

"Do you know where Mucht is now?"

Lana scoffed and looked away. "As far as I know, he's still working there."

Daielle smirked. "Would it please you to know he is not?"

Lana jerked her head up and looked at him, her eyes rounded in surprise.

"He was caught handing classified financial information to a buyer by several witnesses, just a few weeks ago. There was no sneaking his way out this time, he was dismissed from his position and is now in the cells."

A smile grew on Lana's face before it faded into a frown. "They should have listened to me." In reality she was relieved Kahal had the foresight to continue her fake backstory. This news confirmed he had other informants from within the Grand Hall. Or at least he did not too long ago.

"Quite the dramatic workplace." Daielle commented before he leaned forward, placing his weight on his crossed arms on top of his desk. "And your superiors were quite the fools. I, however, can appreciate someone who takes the initiative to get things done, Lana."

Lana gave a slight smile and quietly spoke. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"Now, we must discuss the premier and your time with them." Daielle changed the subject and leaned back in his chair again.

"Tell me of your experience with the kidnappings. From the time the group first realized something was wrong up until the males returned to the grand hall."

Rahn recounted the entire experience for them, the female beside them taking notes as she spoke.

"Now the part I'm very curious about is the escape. Did you help the females?"

"First of all." Rahn said with slight anger in her tone. "No one told me any of that was going to happen. For all I knew, I really was kidnapped and in danger. I had no idea what I was supposed to do or if I even was part of the plan. So I went with my gut and just kept with the flow of things. When that male was going to assault the alien female, I drew the line. It was obvious he had some... personal plans for her and that didn't sit right with me. So when the opportunity arose and they knocked him out, I wasn't going to stop them. And then there was a wide open door to freedom. How can I stop three females when I am only one, anyway? So I thought it best to continue as if I was simply in the same situation they were. In case I was still needed afterward."

"And when your group of females made it to the guard, you separated from them then because...?"

"Because the masked male that just randomly showed up and showed us the way out said he was going to look for the three brothers that were taken with us. I didn't know what this organization's plans were or who that male was, but I figured if I could somehow follow him and keep an eye out, maybe I could learn something useful or help in some way."

"And did you?"

"No." Rahn leaned back in her chair, looking away as if embarrassed. "Someone spotted my attire and grabbed me, hauling me off to some other facility in the woods I didn't even know the group had been using. I guess they didn't know what my role in all of that was supposed to be either. Because then I was thrown into yet another holding room as a prisoner. Yet again! No one spoke to me or told me anything, just threw me in there. A simple 'you're no longer needed, go back to the grand hall and play the distressed victim' would have been fine. I could've done that. Or if there was a purpose to me being in the room with those males, maybe someone telling me what that purpose was would've been helpful so I could have actually known what to look for or what to do. Or maybe they weren't sure which female I was in all the chaos, I don't know." She crossed her arms and drew in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly as if to calm herself again.

"What were the prince's reactions to having you in there?"

"They seemed pretty exhausted by the time I was added to the mix." She shrugged.

"And the masked male?"

She said an internal thank you that they had managed to capture Gashi before he had sent a response to Daielle's message. Grabbing Gashi and his tablet was good forethought on Kahal's part as they had been escaping the factory. "Apparently this Gashi male is one for theatrics. He came into the room saying he wanted to wait until the male was awake to unmask him."

"And?"

Some male came in insisting Gashi was needed right away, so he angrily left without unmasking him.

Daielle banged his fist against his desk in frustration.

"So then what happened, how is it they managed to escape after being in there for days?"

"I assume the masked male had prepared for the possibility of getting caught. He had some type of tool hidden in his mouth that he used to pick his lock."

Daielle stood and took a deep breath, running his hands over his bald head. "This is upsetting. I was hoping you would have more information for me regarding this male's identity."

"I apologize for not being more helpful."

"Can you think of anything else?"

Rahn thought for a moment. She still wasn't sure if he trusted her so she needed to give him something. She looked up at him with rounded eyes and a slight smile. "Now that I think of it, there might be something!"

"What?" Daielle leaned forward, eager to hear it.

"The brothers, they seemed to know who this male was. Or they were at least familiar with his outfit, perhaps. I think they had seen him before. Maybe he is a guard?"

Daielle looked deflated and sat back in his chair. "Of course I guessed he was likely a guard or someone who worked for the premier."

"I wish I was more help."

After a moment of thought, Daielle turned to look at her again. "They didn't suspect anything from you?"

"Not that I could tell. They seemed more concerned for my well-being than anything else. I didn't tell them about my plan to turn back and follow that male, they assumed I'd just gotten caught while me and the other females were escaping so I just went with that."

The male across from her nodded slightly and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as if in deep thought.

"Am I allowed to ask what all that was about? The kidnapping? What were we trying to achieve?" She asked timidly. She knew it was a risk to ask questions now, but she couldn't miss the opportunity to learn any bit of information.

The male immediately bristled. "All you need to do is what you're told, when you're told. Outside of that just always have the organization's best interests in mind as you claimed to have done before."

She tensed at his tone and his words. "You... are you saying you don't believe me?" She said weakly as if afraid and sad all at once. Then after a pause she sat up straight and spoke more confidently as if she'd just become angry. "After everything I've gone through? I've lied to my partner and to the Royal sons and their Life Partners for this organization! I've put myself at huge risk several times in my short time here! And still no one even tells me what we're doing? Or what our main goals are! I've put a huge amount of faith in you and this group." She stood and began to pace before then stopping in front of his desk and planting her palm on it. "I think I've earned the right to know what kind of organization I'm part of here."

The male stood angrily and she forced herself to finch and take a step back. "You're dismissed."

She took in a breath before nodding silently and leaving the room. She kept on her show of being nervous as she exited and exhaled a long breath while making her way back to the meeting hall. It was much more crowded now and she found a seat in the back corner where she had a good view of the entire room but also where she could flee easily if needed.

That male was... off. She was sure of it now. She had decided early on, just from the stories she had heard throughout the underground, that Daielle was a narcissist. Now she had a strong suspicion he was instead a high functioning sociopath. He could lay on the charm to get people to think he was their friend or to talk them into doing his bidding, but Rahn could see in his eyes and the way he held himself, that he had a lack of feeling for others and was a skilled manipulator. And, she noted, it seemed the high functioning part of him was quickly degrading. It was only a matter of time before he escalated his big plans.



~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:



Not much actually happens in this chapter, but we needed a glimpse of what the new life of this secret group was after the raids and we definitely needed an introduction to Daielle, didn't we?

Some of the earlier events of this book may have seemed a bit weird or far fetched or pointless, but that was all on purpose, to lead into the fact that Daielle is a bit off mentally. What do you think?

Stay tuned for more to come! The action continues.