After leaving little Darlene at school, Kyle and Manwell were now on their way to city hall. They decided to go through a bit different route than usual, just so they could see the streets outside downtown. Despite its massive size, LA was mostly the same everywhere - gray buildings, wide roads with narrow sidewalks, sound of horns and the smell of exhaust fumes from the thousands of vehicles in sight. But that was not what they were looking for. Senator Manwell wanted to see they way of life of the average American. And boy did it vary vastly across just one major city. For the 45 minute ride so far he saw a dozen different points of view, and some were more saddening than others. He saw everything from people getting groceries and dropping their kids to schools, to homelessness, drug abuse and a robbery in the middle of the day. His heart was getting older and it could not bear such things as easily. Sure, he had a job to do and superiors to keep happy and with full pockets, but in some moments of clarity and retrospect, he considered himself a man of the people. A man splitting himself too thin. He wanted to keep his bosses happy, to keep the people happy, to protect his grandchild and to ruin the Black hoods. Even if he knew in his heart he can not do everything, he still tried. But... One thing at a time. First he had a meeting to attend. The time was 9:35 am when Kyle parked the car in front of the tall white building and Gregory got out of the car, going towards the entrance. Kyle quickly caught up with him and the two men went inside. Once inside they were greeted by the guards, but still asked to pass a mandatory safety inspection. Manwell put his belt, phone and wallet in the small tray and passed the metal detector first. No issues there. Second was Kyle, who put the same items, along with a small knife and a gun. The guards were about to ask him to step aside, but the senator simply explained that this man was his head of security and so a gun was mandatory. He even offered to show them the proper documentation. The guards said it is okay, just as long as they were given time to register the gun in case it was to be used. After that Kyle took a few steps through the metal detector and the machine sounded it's alarm. One of the guards halted him and Kyle raised his hands where they could be seen and slowly took off the glove covering his prosthetic arm.

  "Lost that one in Afganistan a while back" explained Kyle.

  The guards looked at each other and then at Manwell, who just nodded.

  "I see. Thank you for your service"

  Kyle nodded, took his belongings and weapons and accompanied the senator to the room where he had to change. Gregory took off his striped shirt and his gray trousers and went in a dark blue suit, and a white shirt with a red spotted necktie. He looked a bit like a former US president, aside from the darker brown hair... with a few white spots. Kyle was not expected to follow a dresscode or even be at the meeting, but he was still presentable, just in case.

  After exchanging a few more greetings with the staff and the people passing by, the two men took the elevator to the 5th floor where the meeting was scheduled to be.

  "Sir, don't you get tired of always having to greet everyone or shaking so many hands?"

  "Truth be told, Kyle, I hate it. After doing it for a few years I'm more that tired of it. But it's a part of the job. Can't go around acting like I own the place."

  "Partially why I never got into politics." responded Kyle.

  "Yeah, right." after a small pause the senator added - "Man I really should've ordered a slightly bigger suit. This one is tighter than I remember"

  "Well sir, neither your age, nor your sweet cravings at night help your case."

  "Are you implying I am getting fat, Kyle?"

  "And old too, sir." Kyle responded calmly.

  The two men giggled and waited to arrive to their destination. Manwell was thankful for having someone like Kyle by his side, to distract him all the seriousness and dry conversations around him. The elevator arrived on the fifth floor and the duo went out and headed towards room 528. On the walls of the hallway were a few paintings and portraits of previous mayors and governors. The wooden floor was covered by a red carpet and a few plants were being put next to some of the doors along the way. Kyle pitied whoever had to clean that every day. After arriving at the door, the senator tightened his necktie, made sure his suit was perfect and gave Kyle a signal. The bodyguard opened the door and looked inside, catching the attention of the people inside. He walked in, followed by the senator and the latter got on the podium, greeted the mayor, shook hands with him and looked at the small group gathered by him. Inside the room were D.A. Irina Maine, police commissioner Blake Holt and the mayor of LA Douglas Coulson, along with their respective seconds and a few city officials. The senator tapped the microphone to test it and then addressed the crowd.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming on such short notice. First I'd like to remind you this meeting is unofficial and therefore no recording is allowed. If you all would please put your phones in the soundproof cases next to your seats and surrender your cameras and smart watches to my head of security."

  Kyle walked through the crowd with a box, collecting small cameras and a few smartwatches and then put them outside the room. Then the senator continued.

  " Thank you. Now that's done let me introduce myself in case any of you don't know me. I am US senator Gregory Manwell. I will try to keep this brief. The reason for today's meeting as you might have guessed is the increasing thread of the Black Hoods."

  The room few silent. The attendees looked at one another and back at the senator. Each and every one of the people gathered has had a brushing with the hooded men and women. And more than a few of them were left with a bad aftertaste. Senator Manwell continued.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "A week ago it was brought to my attention that the Black Hoods have targeted small criminal enterprises and absorbed their resources, after dealing with the people on site. I don't need to remind you how hard each and every one of you worked to establish those enterprises and the importance they had as cogs in a larger machine. The people up high are not happy. And neither am I. Somehow you not only managed to screw up protecting the assets and interest of Congress, but also failed to find the people responsible."

  From the crowd could be felt a sense of disappointment. Anger. Fear. And desire to fix their mistakes.

  "I took it upon myself to figure out how to put a few roadblock in the Black hoods' way. And I think I have a solution for these hooded menaces."

  The attendees looked with thrill waiting to hear what the senator has decided. A lot of them were in alignment with Manwell's ideas. They too despised the black hoods for one reason or another. And each and every want of them has worked hard to undermine their influence and to thin their ranks.

  "Well don't keep us in suspense Senator! Please tell us!" asked the mayor.

  "Okay then. It might seem simple, but this could lead to something huge. We will wage a silent war on the Black hoods." said Manwell.

  "But haven't we been doing this for the past 3 decades already?" asked commissioner Holt.

  "Not like this my friend. I am not talking about undermining their influence. I am talking about an all out assault. The kind of war that leaves bodies. But still one kept under the radar and out of the official records. I'm talking swat teams raiding their bases, prosecuting them with everything we can get our hands on. And maybe even drag some civilians into the mix."

  The shocked looks of the crowd filled the room. Even Kyle could not maintain his cool. "Has he gone mad?" he thought. "What is he trying to accomplish?".

  "Sir, forgive the confusion, but what exactly is the point of this? You are known as a man of the people and now you want us to wage an active war AND use civilians?"

  "I am not talking about shooting people on the street for crying out loud. Forgive my bad phrasing. I am talking influencers. People who are known around the country, maybe even the world. Now I don't expect LA to single handedly get rid of the Black hoods, but if enough people are scared of them or disturbed by them, we can use this to push the governor's hand in Sacramento, to pass a state law that marks them as terrorists. Once that is done other states will follow, and then we can make it a federal matter. Then we can justify using excessive force."

  Mayor Coulson jumped off his seat.

  "Senator Manwell, with all due respect, you can't expect any of us, or even the governor to pass such a law, be it local or state wide. This is suicide. Waging an all out war on the Black Hoods is like begging to be torn apart by wolves."

  "Please relax mister mayor. When the time comes to publicly speak about passing the law I will take it upon myself to deliver the news."

  The crowd was in awe and finally managed to calm down. He was going to take the blame all on himself? Did he have a death wish? Or is he just trying to protect his associates? The senator was not stupid by any stretch of the word. But something so bold and reckless was bound to have serious consequences. The senator continued.

  "All I need from you is to instruct your people to be on the offensive against the hoods. They are not stupid, they will know someone orchestrated this and has an end goal, so they will look to sever the head of the beast, not fight it's body. You will all be safe. Relatively. Now if there are no questions I will pass each head of department a folder with instructions. Follow these to the letter, and if a black hood asks you about who put you to it, you point them in my direction."

  Unease still filled the room, but at least the crowd felt reassured a bit. Everyone except for Kyle.

  "Ladies and gentlemen it has been a pleasure. I understand your concerns but please don't be afraid. This is the way to finally deal with these menaces. If any of you feels threatened please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will help keep you safe with everything I got. Have a good remainder of your day and I'll check on you all soon. Good luck!"

  The senator walked off the podium and into the crowd, shaking hands and thanking everyone for their help and hard work. He knew what he was asking of them. He knew what kind of disaster this could lead to. He didn't want to drag innocent people into this. But it had to be done. It was the only way to make enough noise make all this public. A war in the shadows was restricting, and the government knew it. Every government was looking for the perfect way to openly declare war on the hoods and maybe they finally found it. He and Kyle walked out of the building and got back into their car.

  "Sir. You know they Black hoods won't just sit idly and watch right? They will fight back. Making this war public and gaining the favor of the population may be favorable in the long run. But those who started this will surely be gone by then."

  "Kyle. These assholes took my son and dauther-in-law from me. As long as Darlene is safe and they are brought down, I will die happy. Speaking off, I need a security detail on her 24/7. And take her to a safe house."

  "Yes sir. What about D.A. Maine, commissioner Holt and mayor Coulson?"

  "Put a detail on them too. These people are important. So it's my responsibility to keep them safe and make sure they can do their job."

  The senator's mind was racing. He wasn't sure what would happen, but he knew it wasn't going to be easy or pretty. He needed more allies and asking Congress or G20 for help was impossible. He was just a pawn in a bigger game. But he needed to make sure whatever mark he left on this conflict, it was going to be significant. Then he remembered something.

  "Kyle, what do we know about the Hunter?"

  Kyle needed a few second to process why would the senator ask this. Finally he said:

  "The only two things anyone, black hoods included know about him, are that he is a man. And he is under the age of 50."

  "That's it?"

  "That's it. Nobody has survived to give a description. The man and age thing comes from some CSI investigations. The shoe size he wears in definitely a man, and he can't be over 50 and still be able to kill rooms of people in CQC. Why you ask?"

  "I've heard he fights against both sides of this conflict. I know he can't be bought, but maybe he can be used. Either way we need to know more about him. If we can't use him, we need to dispose of him. The last thing we need is another front to fight on. And I've heard stories. He doesn't mess around."

  "What do you have in mind?" asked Kyle.

  "Nothing, I was just asking. Drive us home, Kyle. I need to make a few calls and report our progress. And then see what to do with Darlene."

  "Yes sir!"

  Kyle started the car and slowly headed towards the mansion. He was worried. The senator was bold and influential, but the Black hoods had many resources at their disposal. He needed to be ready. He needed more weapons, and hopefully ones that can actually kill the bastards. He knew this was a bridge that had to be crossed, but he just hoped he would have more time to gather information. He got on the highway and drove steadily towards the beach house. Kyle was good and always kept his eyes peeled. But even he did not see the hooded figure looking at the car.