Chapter Two

***2.5***

Zella Mills - London

They spent forty-five minutes scanning the footage. Analyzing the many details in the video. At the forefront was a masked figure in bulletproof attire, shooting shock beams at the Red Hound militia. It was none other than Finnigan Watts. One of the three most popular immortals.

Another attacker stood behind Watts. They recognized this attacker from the energy barrier she was forming with her body. Her name was Jade. She could withstand the barrage of bullets that the Red Hounds were letting off. Just two attackers ambushed and rubbed out the Red Hounds unit. Those attackers were immortal. But the masks would give the public enough doubt to continue defending the immortals.

Luckily, there was a money shot that gave them what they needed. After the decimation, a face appeared in the right corner of the footage, behind the energy barrier. A helmet covered their famed golden quiff, but their piercing brown eyes looked right at the camera lens. Hubert Quinn pointed at the camera, seconds before the shock beam attacker rose his finger and destroyed it.

They regarded Hubert Quinn as the frontman of the immortals. The centerpiece. The one with the pretty smile that made the world fall in love with the immortal deities living in society. His involvement with this act of genocide was enough to blow the whistle.

“What’s the deal with this Red Hounds assault, anyway?” Lola Osei asked. She had been working as their assistant for around two weeks now.

Zella told her about the incident. “Two years ago, a rogue branch of COG hired the Red Hounds militia to infiltrate and seize a base in Oshela, Africa. After they seized the base, COG soldiers moved in. It was part of their agreement. The Red Hounds received guns and money to help fight their home country's war. But the COG didn’t want the militia unit to remain living, knowing that this seizure of the base was their plan. If the Red Hounds talked about it, it could spark political unrest against America. And the American government would hold COG accountable. Those militiamen were too much of a threat to America in COG’s eyes.”

“Something like that could also sway public opinion,” Khloe added.

Zella nodded. “The COG staged an attack near the base and sent the Red Hounds into a counter-attack. That attack led to this footage. They set the whole thing up so the immortals could annihilate them.”

“Why dint COG just have the immortals take the base in the first place?” Lola asked.

“Ambushing a unit in the wilds is one thing. But these bases have all kinds of trackers, tracers, and security. It could be apparent to whoever is watching who the attackers are. Just think how it would look if there was any footage of the immortals seizing a base, or if there were any survivors who could identify them,” Khloe said. “But if Red Hounds do the base takeover first, then America’s hands are clean. COG just has to say they moved in to assist the locals. It checks out because COG is always in everyone’s business. And then all COG has to do is have the immortals do the clean-up and people will be none the wiser about COG hiring the Red Hounds to take over. Anyone can buy the Hounds. COG doesn’t want them informing potential enemies of what took place.”

“Well, too bad for them. Because we’re about to expose them.” Joe said.

Elias, their other assistant, continued to rewind the footage, replaying it in a loop. Lola turned to Zella and spoke. “We’re going to edit the footage a bit. Brighten up the visuals, and slow down the important parts so they don't miss it. We also need to run it through a validation tool so people will know it’s not AI-generated.”

“Good call,” Zella said.

“And we all agreed on the reporter we’re sending it to. Am I right?” Lola asked.

“Elaine Rowe is the best choice,” Khloe said. “She’s unbiased and independent. She runs the stories that mainstream media fears. And losing a few sponsors doesn’t phase her either. Her parents left her a fortune.”

“Agreed,” Joe added.

Lola nodded back at them. “And just one more thing. Do we have a name? The world is about to rave about the group that exposed the immortals after killing one of them. If we have a solid name, our cause will spread further.”

“We’ve got the name,” Joe said, eying Zella.

Zella hummed in agreement. “Solace. The name is Solace.”

-Mere Immortal is written by Gary Swift. If you see this on another website under another name, then someone has plagiarized it. Visit mereimmortal.com for official chapters. Substack premium subscribers get to read further ahead in the story.

-This version of Mere Immortal is written in US English.