Each call went to the highest officials in every sector of governnt and military. Arthur listened with satisfaction as shock and confusion erupted from the other end of each conversation.
"Mr. President! How are you, sir?"
"I'm fine," the President said smoothly. "I need you to drop everything and co here imdiately. Bring the strongest awakeners—every S-Class and high A-Class you have access to. This is not optional."
"Sir, the demon portals aren't slowing down! We can't afford to pull our best fighters from—"
"I don't care," the President's voice carried absolute authority despite being Arthur's puppet. "This takes priority over everything. Get them here within the hour or face court-martial for disobeying direct presidential orders during warti."
The stunned silence on the other end spoke volus before stamred compliance followed. "Y-Yes, Mr. President. We'll mobilize imdiately."
The next call went to the Secretary of Defense.
"I need you at the White House. Now. And bring your entire team—everyone who had involvent with the Fateless situation."
Arthur could hear the secretary's sharp intake of breath. "Mr. President, if this is about the desert base incident, we have reports that—"
"It's about Fateless," the President interrupted coldly. "I received intelligence that he's been spotted. We need to discuss our response strategy imdiately. Bring everyone who interacted with him during his facility stay. Everyone. Including Director Hawthorne, Donald, the interrogators, and the awakeners. I want them all present."
The summoned President's way of speaking did not change at all. "This is the reckoning we've been preparing for. Either we handle him now with overwhelming force, or we lose our chance forever. Move."
Secretary's response ca quickly, professional instinct overriding any suspicion. "Understood, Mr. President. We'll have everyone assembled within ninety minutes. Should we prepare for—"
"Just get here. I'll brief everyone when they arrive."
Call after call continued, each one pulling more complicit officials and powerful awakeners toward the White House like flies to honey. The summoned President perford his role flawlessly, using exactly the right tone and phrasing to ensure compliance without raising excessive suspicion.
Charlotte watched the manipulation unfold with sothing approaching awe. "You're gathering everyone responsible in one location. Those who wronged you, used you, tried to kill you—all of them coming willingly to their own execution."
"Efficiency," Arthur replied simply. "Why hunt them down individually when I can make them co to ? They think they're assembling to discuss strategy against the terrorist Arthur Fate. They have no idea Arthur Fate is standing right here, listening to every word, preparing their final judgnt."
The summoned President ended his final call and turned to Arthur with perfect subservience. "All targets have been contacted, sir. They'll arrive within the next hour."
Arthur and Charlotte then moved to an observation position within the White House itself—still present but concealed. They would remain hidden, watching, waiting for the gathering that would bring all their enemies together.
"Now we wait," Arthur said quietly to Charlotte as they settled into their concealed position. "Within an hour, everyone responsible for what happened to us will be in one room. And then justice will be served."
Charlotte gripped her staff, ready to support her brother when the mont ca.
The Fate siblings' revenge was entering its final phase, and the United States governnt had no idea they'd already lost.
---
The ti had passed, and nearly two hundred awakeners and top officials from all sectors arrived at the large bunker beneath the White House. Few people knew this bunker existed—a massive underground facility designed for catastrophic ergencies, with reinforced walls, independent power systems, and enough space to house hundreds comfortably.
The gathering represented the concentrated power of Arica's awakened elite. S-Class and high A-Class awakeners filled the chamber, their combined presence creating an atmosphere thick with barely contained magical energy. Military officers in full dress uniforms stood beside governnt officials in expensive suits, all of them summoned by presidential decree.
They ca believing this was about strategy. About coordinating a response to the terrorist Arthur Fate, whose recent sighting had apparently triggered this ergency assembly.
None of them realised the terrorist in question was already here, watching from the shadows with a cold expression.
Arthur stood concealed in a corner of the massive bunker, his spatial manipulation bending light around himself and Charlotte to render them effectively invisible. From this vantage point, he could observe everyone who entered, cataloguing faces and matching them to mories.
Jas entered first, the supposed first s-rank awakener, one of the strongest beta players. The S-Rank awakener with the Blue Fla talent carried himself with the confidence of soone born to privilege—son of a high-ranking official, accustod to authority and respect.
Arthur rembered Jas from the facility. They'd been held in adjacent sections, occasionally crossing paths. Jas had never been overtly hostile, but Arthur knew that there was a hidden agenda. Jas had known what was happening and done nothing to stop it; rather, he tried to befriend Arthur to manipulate him.
That made him complicit. That made him a target.
Behind Jas ca his team—six A-Class awakeners who'd served as his squad during military operations. All of them had been present during Arthur's captivity, all had witnessed or participated in the manipulation.
Donald arrived next, his expression incredibly worried. He had been put under the death sentence and released after Arthur's death was confird. But now that he was back, things were going to be tricky, or so he thought. It was the man Dr. Michaels had called after discovering Arthur's talents.
Arthur's eyes glinted as he watched Donald arrive.
Raymond shuffled in with the lower-ranking military personnel—the guard who'd been stationed at the dormitory inside the military headquarters. Arthur rembered him as neither particularly cruel nor kind, just another cog in the machine. But he'd been there, enforcing the rules that kept Arthur separated from Charlotte.
Charlotte's eyes widened as she recognised a figure in the crowd. "Arthur...Isn't that..."
Arthur nodded, his eyes landing on the figure Charlotte was referring to. "Yes...It's him."
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