“Well,” Hameed spoke slowly, “It seems General Howe has decided on a rescue mission for Alexander Howe. However, I am strictly against it. Council Leader John Howe’s actions have been questioned long enough and it seems fair to say that he must step down!” At this, several reporters started mumbling amongst themselves. “In fact I think both he and his nephew, if he is to be rescued, must be ostracized from the world of politics!”

“What the hell?” Mr. Stone yelled. “So this is it? That’s all he wants!” He slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair.

Another reporter quickly and loudly asked, “Are you accusing John Howe of treason?”

“The truth is, citizens of Regnum, John Howe is a threat to the very existence of the human race. He has had contact with the vampires till now! He has been in power for too long. If we are to have a man like John Howe who sides with the enemy stay in power, it will spell doom for all of us.”

Ken looked at Angel. “This is insane,” he said. “It’s obvious now that these reporters are probably on his payroll.”

Angel nodded silently. Her mind was hazy. She tried to make sense of what she had just seen on TV.

Mrs. Stone came in with three hot cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table. “What’s happening?” she asked her husband.

“It looks like there’s a really huge scandal going on with the Howe family,” Ken said. “A scandal in the Howe family!” he repeated with sarcasm. “Imagine that. It’s nothing but a damn act.”

“But I’m sure Alex isn’t involved in any of this,” Angel said, wanting to defend her man no matter what.

“...and,” continued Jarad on the television, “If we must, we will arrest Howe and charge him with treason and acts against humanity, since he must have been aware of this whole operation. We, the Council as a whole, think it better if John Howe were to be exiled from the Regnum. He should not be allowed to stay with us in our society.”

Another reporter interrupted him, “But do you have any actual proof, Mr. Hameed? Is this not a matter for the Supreme Court and also for the people?”

“Yes—”

“And,” the reporter added, “what about the nephew? Shouldn’t he be rescued before these procedures?”

“Such an act will definitely provoke war with the vampires, and I’m sure Regnum would never want that. As I was saying, the...”

Angel paid no attention to the holoTV and went to her room, silently praying in her heart for Alex’s safety. The realization that he had been kidnapped was now fully sinking in. She sobbed into her pillow.

When John came home his mother was waiting for him in the hall. “What’s this I see,” she asked him. “Why did you let him go?”

“Mom,” John said, sitting on the sofa in the living room, “just hear me out, will you?”

“Did you hear what Jarad said?” Helen asked. “He wants to impeach you!”

“What?” His back straightened.

“HoloTv on,” Helen commanded the computers of the house.

In front of John, the holographic screen popped up.

Jarad continued with his speech, “The Council and I have proposed a new Constitution. We can promise a better, safer way of dealing with elections, all the way from the Leader’s Chair to the Municipal hierarchies. We have decided to depart from John Howe’s old ways and follow a new plan of action. If John Howe wants to go and rescue his nephew, so be it! But the moment he leaves he will not be welcome back!” Some people clapped at this statement while others jeered.

John shook his head and sighed, “I expected this to happen. But I’ve got other plans.”

Helen muted the TV while Jarad elaborated on his plans of action. “So you have a way to save Alex?”

“All I can say is everything’s going to be fine.” He took the container out from his leather bag and opened it. Helen’s eye glittered at the sight of the beautiful specimen. John unrolled the scroll and read it out loud:

“My dear friend John,

Long gone are the days of old when we fought side-by-side against the tyranny of Anaxagoras. I have never forgotten you all throughout these long years. Right now, I want you to know what I am planning. It has taken me some time to plan and realize how to go about doing what we had originally envisioned. For that, we must be patient. On Earth, the Imperial Vampires want to kidnap Alex. We, as his family, know that Alex is the Falsifier, the Equivocator. Nevertheless, these vampires have no idea of who Alex really is. They think by kidnapping the Falsifier they can study his DNA and be able to create a super-vampire. But that is also being done on us Rebels. We have been tested on and they want us to be the pioneers of this new super-race.

They are foolish to do this because when we join the humans, we will be very dangerous enemies for them. This time we will be unbeatable. I am taking Alexandros with me and I promise you I will keep him safe. No harm will come to him, and no one will know who he really is until the right time comes. So I need you to trust me on this, my brother. You will have to embark on a rescue mission. I will get the Rebels ready once you enter the Earth’s atmosphere and we will start the fight before you come to collect us. When we get to know what the enemy’s real plan is, we will be more than ready; we will use their own weapons against them!

It is up to you now to start the mission. Until you get here, I will try to tell young Alexander everything he wants to know about his vampiric lineage. Good luck, old friend.

Nikolas yus-Faviane Gareng.”

It was clear by her eyes that John’s mother was deep in thought, calculating the next move. “Jarad’s made it hard for you to rescue Alex,” she said.

“I doubt it. I know that the entire Council, except for Richard, is against me. I knew it from the very beginning, ever since the people elected me Council Leader. Jarad’s just jealous and I know he won’t get too far with his plans.”

His mother glanced at the TV and suddenly cried out. “Oh my God!” There were replays of Jarad giving his fiery speech and then getting shot three times in his shoulders and chest.

“Turn on the volume!” John said.

The same reporter that Angel’s parents had been watching appeared after the replays. He yelled, “Could it be that John Howe has sent a message to Jarad Hameed for his candid and shocking statements about the Howe family? This is surely a devastating blow to what we knew as democracy.”

“What the hell is going on here?” John yelled, standing up. “There’s no way I planned that.”

Suddenly the window smashed open and a green can projected into the room, letting out tear gas. John grabbed his mother by the arm and led her out. He opened the door and they ran outside. A dozen people crowded the large iron gates of the Estate, shouting hateful remarks against the Howe family. Numerous reporters wrested to get past each other and get a good story. Security guards tried to hold the crowd back. John realized soon enough they must have been paid by Jarad to do this. They protested, holding up signs and slogans of hatred.

“Enough of this,” John said to his mother. “I’m going out there to face them.” John walked outside of the gates. “People of Regnum!” he said as loud as possible. He repeated his words four times more until the shouting ceased to total silence. “People of Earth! I understand what must be going through your minds right now. You may think of me as scandalous. You may think of my family as scandalous. You want to think that what Jarad says is true.” He was careful not to say outright that Jarad bought them. “Go ahead then. But let me say this. I believe in democracy. True democracy as he does, if not more. But I want to remind you of one thing. I have fought with pride and honor in the line of fire! Do not forget those who died on that fateful day of the last battle. I tried my best and I am proud to say that I fought side-by-side with my fellow Anisaei, my fellow Vampire Rebels and gave my best to win back our rightful place on the Earth.