Is this destiny?

~ Unknown location ~

Jarred was sitting in his spot at the circular table and observing the seven outlines of the other members of the Council who are sitting in the shadows.

In front of Jarred on the table is a palm-sized golden medallion that is shaped like an octagon and has a hammer made out of a single black diamond in the middle.

"Are we waiting for someone?", Jarred asked.

"It seems that Sloan won\'t make it.", one voice responded. "We can proceed. We are here to discuss the latest changes related to your candidate, Jarred."

Jarred leaned closer so that his face is illuminated by the light that is falling at the center of the table from above. He looked at the hexagon-shaped golden medallion with an emerald in the middle that was cut in the shape of a snake, and then he looked up, toward the shadow behind it.

"I assume Suvedini has updates.", Jarred said dryly. 

Suvedini leaned forward and gave Jarred a tight smile before responding: "As we all know, Voronins are decimated. I\'m here to share details on how it happened…"

Suvedini told everyone how Voronins have a new Grand Master and that half of the Elders were replaced by people who came from Sarah\'s side, and that Voronins are cooperating with Lebedevs. Suvedini didn\'t know all the details of how it happened, but at the barbecue party where she came with Mr. Wang, other than all three Hill sisters and the White brothers, she saw Lebedevs, Voronins, the Ronin twins, Mathew, Ellie, and Jasper, and it was not difficult for her to connect the dots that they all collaborated in the coup that happened in the Voronin family. Her analysis also included a theory that they have someone with a strong background in technology because there is no other explanation how they performed such swift actions with nearly zero casualties considering all the jammers and network security that Voronins possessed.

When she finished with her updates, Albert leaned forward into the light and spoke: "So she is the reason why several other organizations got their hands on what used to belong to Voronins… She is dangerous."

Albert is based in Sweden, and he is very familiar with the situation in Europe. He noticed that a large number of resources belonging to the Voronin family changed hands overnight, and he agreed with Suvedini how that could not happen without heavy casualties unless a technology expert was involved. At the same time, several other forces increased in power. He didn\'t connect those events with Sarah before, but now that he heard the report from Suvedini, he was confident that Sarah is too dangerous to have around.

"Don\'t twist things.", Jarred scoffed. "Which one of us doesn\'t have power in hands?" He turned to Suvedini. "I suppose that you summoned us on this meeting for more than just a report."

"Yes.", Suvedini confirmed. "As we can all see, Sarah is growing in power at an alarming rate, and it\'s only a matter of time until she crosses paths with one of us and our interests collide. I suggest that we don\'t delay in reaching out to her as a Council. Too much power might make her neglect the significance of our organization."

Albert was not willing. He didn\'t see Sarah as a good candidate. "She will destroy us."

"Do you always need to be so dramatic?", Jarred asked. "Why do you always see calamities?"

"And what do you see, Mr. Smith?", Albert asked mockingly.

"I see a powerful ally. I believe that with Sarah joining us, we will have the support of the Army of Chaos, Lebedevs, and Voronins, and let\'s not forget that she has a number of other organizations who are ready to help her out. Having Sarah at this table will bring us a significant boost in North America, Europe, and Asia. We only need to ensure that she sees the value in working with us."

Sinet leaned closer to the table, so that light falls on her face. "I agree that it will be more beneficial to have Sarah as part of the Council than risk having her against us. But how can we ensure that she sees us in a good light? Do we need to offer her some benefits?"

"Benefits?", Albert repeated angrily. "What kind of benefits does that brat deserve? Once she sees all the might gathered at this table, she can either see the greatness or fail to do so. Her failure to acknowledge us will be a sure sign that she is shortsighted, and we should eliminate her on the spot." Albert heard Jarred chuckle and he turned to him. "What is funny?"

Jarred smiled. "You just accepted that Sarah should be brought here."

Albert glared at Jarred. He didn\'t want to get Sarah into Council, he was only making a point that they should not give her benefits and that if she does not see their greatness, they should kill her, damnit!

"There is no point in bickering.", Suvedini interrupted an incoming quarrel. "Sloan is not present, so we can\'t make a decision at this time, but we should not delay this either. Let us meet in a week from now and cast a vote. At that time, if you have any arguments for or against opening our door to Sarah White, I suggest you come with evidence, and not just theories of disaster. For anyone who can\'t come in person, we will assume that he does not have a strong opinion one way or another, and his vote will be added to the majority of the ones who came to the meeting."

Rance leaned forward, allowing the light to reveal his face. "What happens if we vote against Sarah becoming part of the Council?"

"Then we will need to eliminate her.", Albert said with a smirk. "There is no way that we can leave her without controlling her."

Jarred shook his head in disapproval. "Stop talking about controlling her. Or are you saying that we are here to control each other?"

"Control is a strong word…", Sinet said. "But we do remind each other that no one is above others. I don\'t agree with killing without a good reason, but if we vote against bringing her here, we need to at least make her aware of our existence. Only if she knows that there is someone more powerful than she is, she will be forced to practice constraint."

After the meeting ended, the people left the room, and only Jarred and Suvedini were still sitting at the table.

"I thought you will approve of me urging them to hurry the process.", Suvedini said to Jarred.

"I don\'t think they are ready for Sarah.", Jarred said. "They are discussing if we will allow her to come here, but none brought up the point that Sarah might reject joining us."

"Sarah is pregnant.", Suvedini said.

Jarred didn\'t see the point. "So?"

"She will avoid risky situations in order to ensure the safety of her child. That is why she will join us, and then we have until the child is born to convince her that we are the good guys."

Jarred burst into a hearty laugh.

"Ah, Suvedini…", he said while wiping invisible tears from the corners of his eyes. "Good guys? Is that how you see us? If you think that the pregnancy will make her more docile, I think you misread Sarah. She will probably be fiercer."

"So, what do you suggest then?"

"We need to approach her as allies and build trust until she accepts us."

Suvedini didn\'t understand. "Trust? That is not how Council works."

"Maybe is time to change that. Leave it to me. I will get Sarah here.", Jarred said confidently.

---