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Three Weeks Later
The hell house was full to capacity, the ongoing chatter was deafening as almost all of the present soldiers of The Brotherhood talked over each other, The Supreme flanked by the two members of the high council quickly restored order.
“Silence!” he bellowed.
The chatter seized at once, a pin could be heard if it was dropped in the silence.
“We are gathered here to discuss the unknown whereabouts of one of our most decorated servant, and decide our next course of action” The Supreme said.
Charles Binnins watched as event unfolded from a seat at the very back of the hall, he had been worried about Hogan’s state of mind before he left, he knew something was wrong with the man, but he had hoped it was just a trivial situation, after all Hogan was a man known for brooding. A week had passed since his departure and the notion was that he had been unable to find the Christian encampment.
“I did tell him to take a tracker bird, it would have been much easier and faster” Steve had said.
Robert had gone around boasting that he would have already found and cleansed the Christians if he had been sent instead but everyone still trusted Hogan to complete his mission and return to base. One week became two weeks, and the worry started to mount, he was taking too long, had something happened to him? Charles had thought, he had checked in with his comrades and reasoned with them.
“What could be taking him so long to finish?” Charles had asked.
“I personally think he is in a bad shape, I even fear something might have happened to him, something much worse.” William had replied.
“Rubbish, I have never seen a person better at handling himself” Brad replied.
“You are his closest companion Charles; did you notice anything out of the ordinary before he left?” Stella had asked him.
Charles had wanted to quench the growing fire, revealing his concerns about Hogan’s state of mind before his departure will defeat that purpose; he still had the tiny thread of hope and decided to remain at Hogan’s side for a time frame.
“No, nothing at all” he had answered.
Two weeks turned three weeks, by now there was no subtlety in the news of Hogan’s disappearance, even the birds had the matter on their lips, Robert had taken full advantage of the situation, he smeared Hogan’s name at every given opportunity. By the fourth week, The Supreme summoned every soldier of The Brotherhood who was ‘somebody’ to the hell house. Charles conveniently took a back seat to avoid any limelight for being Hogan’s close companion being thrown at him.
Back at the dead silence of the hell house, Robert raised his hand, seeking permission to speak, of course he wouldn’t pass this opportunity, Charles thought. The Supreme nodded his approval at the eager Robert who stood instantly and walked to the front of the podium.
“Hail Lucifer” he greeted.
“Hail Lucifer” the entire hall replied.
“Some weeks ago, I and the deserter that is Hogan, stood right here, at this very spot, he was given the sacred task which I very much knew he didn’t deserve, you all trusted him, put his name in high places, but deep down within me I knew he was not a devote Cifer! I knew he still had a piece of his own will, wriggling to get free and independent of Lucifer’s own will. There is no argument here about what has happened, Hogan has simply failed his task, he has deserted us, and he has given in to his own rotten will”.
William Ziffler shot up his hand, the supreme again nodded approval at him; William rose and greeted the gathering before speaking.
“There are several things we are not considering here, I have served with Hogan Willmort for years in the service of our lore Lucifer, he is a devote Cifer to his core, he reverences Lucifer with every cell in his body, he has never had any second thought in doing Lucifer’s bidding, he does everything required of him without relenting…”
Charles flinched at the words of William, he must not have noticed Hogan’s demeanor before he went on his latest mission.
“…this leads me to my point, have we considered the fact that harm may have come Hogan’s way? Or I even fear worse, rather than tarnishing his name and reputation.” William said.
“Nonsense! You claim to have served with him for years, yet you cannot smell what is right in front of your nostrils” Robert snarled, his mouth twitched.
“You question the loyalty of my commander based on a mere grudge!” William also raised the tone of his voice.
“A mere grudge? W…” Robert started.
“If I may?” Everyone’s attention was drawn towards Groth who raised a hand.
Charles felt a bit of relief, Groth had always favored Hogan, even at a very young age, if anything; he could help defend the loyalty of his friend. The two figures of Williams and Robert grumpily took their seat, Groth was the most respected man after The Supreme. He stepped forward and removed the hood of his cloak.
“What I am about to say might come as a shock to most of you…”
Charles’ earlier optimism withered, he widened his eyes, and he suspected the opening words of Groth did not hint at a statement in Hogan’s favor.
“…I have known Hogan since he was just a boy, he showed tremendous promise even at a young age, I trained him like I did a lot of you present here today, but Hogan is blessed with a gift from Lucifer himself, that makes him stand out from the rest, he is a special servant of Lucifer, or should I say ‘was’”
A low rumble of murmuring started to rise but Groth raised his own voice to drown it out;
“I’m afraid I have a commitment to Hogan, as my trainee and as a special companion, but I have a greater commitment to our lord Lucifer, there is no comparison between these two and for this reason, I will do what is right in the sight of our lord, I fear Hogan Willmort is no longer a devote Cifer.” He said.
The noise he had succeeded in drowning burst forth, Charles who had thought he was the only one who noticed Hogan’s wavering opened his mouth agape for a few seconds before remembering to close it.
“Silence!” The Supreme bellowed again and the noise ceased. “How did you come to this conclusion”” The Supreme questioned Groth.
Groth visibly took a deep breath before answering.
“Hogan questioned the will of our great Lucifer, he questioned the very tenets by which we live by, he came to me in turmoil and confided in me, I thought I had put his head straight but in the light of his disappearance, it is no co-incidence, it is not wrong to say that Hogan Willmort has broken his vows”.
Charles caught the eye of a shocked looking Steve, before quickly breaking the eye contact; he glanced across to Stella Winchester who also had an unsettled look. Charles’ worst fear was now a reality, and he was disappointed on two accounts, the lesser account was Hogan not seeing it fit to confide in him about his doubts and secondly and more significant, him having the doubts in the first place, a feel of betrayal engulfed him.
Groth calmly walked back to his seat and The Supreme remained silent as if deliberating on the next course of action, a tense atmosphere quickly filled the hall.
“What shall be done?” The Supreme finally broke the silence.
Robert immediately shot his hand in the air again, The Supreme glanced away from the direction of his raised hand but no other hands were forthcoming, he nodded his approval at Robert once more. This time there was no hint of anger on Robert’s features, he looked quite smug as he made his way to the front of the podium.
“I am glad the truth has been revealed and I have been proven right, you all now see from my eyes, and as for what must be done, it is plain and simple, I have always made my interest for this particular mission quite known.”, he said before turning towards The Supreme. “Send me, I will complete this mission, I will wipe out the infidels off the earth”.
The supreme silently consulted with the high council members before speaking.
“You have been granted this mission, go to Santa Fe, find the Christian encampment and cleanse them, take your comrades with you and one tracker bird”. The Supreme said.
Robert took the knee, “It will be done your grace”, and he stood and turned to the congregation with his arms wide opened. “My fellow servants of Lucifer, I will remove this shame brought upon us by the incompetent Hogan, and I wish for my path to cross his, he will rue the very day he was born and the very minute he desecrated this assembly.”
Charles Binnins felt betrayal, anger, disappointment at Hogan, but in the midst of these he still wanted to hear the side of his friend, a part of him still wished that the very conclusion of the meeting wasn’t entirely true.
“You are all dismissed” The Supreme said.
Rowdiness filled the hell house as the soldiers rose and several discussions started, Charles held his head low and navigated his way out of the hell house but his effort to remain overlooked proved to be futile when Robert halted his advance.
“You were uncharacteristically quiet during proceedings Charles” Robert said as the rowdiness continued around them.
“What should I say Robert?” Charles felt irritated at the confrontation.
“Where does your loyalty lie? Are you still a devote Cifer?” Robert asked.
“You dare question my commitment to Lucifer?” Charles asked, enraged.
“There is a saying that birds of the same feather flock together, you were his close ally, and it is all too suspicious you did not notice his wavering belief or if you did, you said nothing about it.”
Despite the obvious truth in Robert’s statement, the smug attitude of his confrontation ticked Charles off even further, he took threatening steps towards Robert but a hand on his shoulder shifted his attention.
“Let it go Charles” William arrived timely at the scene.
Williams’s presence doused the fire in his stomach; he looked pointedly at the smirking face of Robert and proceeded to walk past him.
“Lucifer is watching Charles!” Robert clamored after him.
***
The events at the hell house brought an awkward silence in their midst, Charles and his comrades gathered at his residence to make sense of the whole situation. Charles’ residence is not as lush as Hogan’s, it is a bit smaller, the floor is an old-fashioned parquet and the walls are the blue of the ocean, it had a porch that was a wooden box, the formality of the entire house was both frivolous and well receded. The awkward silence in their midst stretched on as they dawdled around the sitting room.
“What do we do?” William Ziffler broke the silence.
“There is nothing we can do, this is beyond us” Stella replied.
“Do you all believe that? That Hogan has renounced his commitment to Lucifer and deserted?” William asked.
“All evidence points at that” Said Stella.
“What evidence? The word of Groth?” William asked.
“Groth knows Hogan more than every head under this roof” said Brad.
“I still don’t understand what would make Hogan falter in his service, things were going smoothly, he was the most decorated soldier of The Brotherhood, he had no reason to falter” Brad said.
Charles almost scuffed at his naivety.
“I don’t know which is worse, to think that he is dead or that he is no longer a devote Cifer.” William said.
“You still hold on to the theory that he is dead?” Steve asked.
“Why not? Hogan’s reputation makes him infamous, which makes him a target for the rebels” William suggested.
“Nothing. can, kill. that. man.” Brad drummed on a table.
“Hogan is alive” Charles finally spoke, they all looked at him, “Hogan’s belief wavered after the mission at Crofton just like Groth said, I sensed it too, he was troubled, he chose not to confide in me but he confided in Groth, but still we should not make a conclusion out of this, it could be anything apart from his death.” The solidarity towards his friend still stood tall despite the handwriting on the wall.
“So how do we then reach a conclusion?” Steve asked.
“Leave that to me” Charles said, an idea took shape in his mind.
“What will you do?” William asked.
“I will go with Robert and his regiment to Santa Fe, but not as part of the group, I will instead shadow them” Charles said.
“…and if Hogan is not in Santa Fe?” Stella asked
“Then we will remain in our current state of limbo.” Charles replied her.
“The Supreme would not approve your venture” said Brad.
“I doubt the supreme will be much disturbed by the absence of a single soldier as myself, there are more pressing matters occupying his mind” Charles replied Brad.
“What do you plan to achieve?” Steve asked.
Charles turned to Steve and looked deadpan at him, “The truth about Hogan Willmort”.
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