The Society

The cold bit into Umar's cheeks as he walked along the empty street. The steam rising from the manhole covers reminded him of Gotham. As he turned the corner, he started to second guess his decision to accept the invitation. He knew it was supposed to be an honor, he was told it was for the greater good, but a couple of years ago he could never have imagined himself in this situation. Turning an openly jihadist organization into a millitant arm of the government, controlled by a shadowy group of people? Who could possibly be responsible...no they couldn't have come up with this. Umar knew that he must keep an open mind in the new world, but this was a stretch, even for him. He had heard stories of these people which he used to think only happened in fiction.

Worst case, Umar thought, he could walk out at any moment if he thought that things were getting out of hand. They wouldn't harm him, he had an insurance policy against that. He stopped abruptly, and looked at the small piece of paper in his hand. He looked up to see a giant metal sculpture giving way to two parallel buildings. To the average person, these looked like fodder for the city demolition squad, but Umar knew that they were untouchable because the reality that lay inside. His trained eyes spotted the electronic security, the patrol pretending to be asleep at the front desk, and the thin sliver of light coming through the window on one of the upper floors. Taking a deep breath, he took out of his pocket the small access card given to him and tapped it twice.

Could this really be where it all happened? He thought to himself. "Four up and to the left" he repeated under his breath as he followed the precise directions that were whispered to him the previous night. Suddenly, Umar was standing in front of a wall of smoke. He glanced over his shoulder. The clear hallway behind him vanished as the door clicked shut. Out of the smoky depths a familiar voice spoke, "Welcome, to the Society."