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[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPI58qxIhbQ]Stunned into Silence[/url]

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[i][b]Time: Evening - Day of the Satellite Attack
Location: 49th floor of Troon Tower, New York City, New York[/b][/i]

"[i]Mein gott.[/i]"

Franz von Sigmaringen stared agape at the television screen before him. The Hounds of Humanity had been increasing their terror campaign against most countries in the world in response to the growing superhuman trend in society, but never had they pulled off such a spectacular coup against the countries of the world. This was the Hounds' 9/11, their apex moment. Their declaration of intent. The images from the television screen were blazed into Franz's eyes. The wholesale obliteration of an entire city, captured by one terrified survivor's camera lens - the scintillating sight of the ruby red beam coalescing into a hammer of destruction that modern scientists no doubt could only dream of inflicting with the push of a button. Franz shook his head and rubbed his chin as he took in the sheer scale of what was being shown. His own personal servant and right-hand-man, Justus, was the push of a button away, and yet Franz was stunned into inaction. He had several members of the cabal in Philadelphia... no doubt they, too, had been killed by the satellite's blast, as had hundreds of thousands of humans. They were little more than cattle, or even flies, to Franz, but still, he remembered the days of the great wars of the twentieth century, the wars that should have ended all wars. He remembered seeing first-hand the destruction of cities like Hamburg, Rotterdam, Dresden, Essen - the devastation wrought by the Allied bombing attack on the dams of the Ruhr... the stunned, soulless eyes of the survivors, victims of horrors that civilians had no business suffering, no matter the crimes and tribulations of their leaders. Was it possible... that he felt remorse? Sympathy, for these cattle? Slaughtered in the feeble attempts by madmen to stop the inexorable advance of the denizens of Earth into a new age? The casualty figures were astonishing. Hundreds of thousands feared dead. Millions perhaps homeless. A financial centre of the United States simply erased from existence in a single blast. He flicked through the channels of the television. All were reporting the same matter - the satellite's destruction of Philadelphia, and two other towns whose names Franz could barely register in his scrambled mind. Some even had the odious sounds of the Hounds of Humanity's 'spokesman' in the background - those he turned off quickly. He could scarcely afford to lose his temper.

A tell-tale patterned knock at the door brought Franz back to the present.

"[i]Kommt hier.[/i]"

Justus walked in. A thin, balding man of fifty-seven, he was no vampire - merely an American human who had sworn to serve Franz in every capacity. The descendant of German immigrants from Hamburg, he was a sorcerer of some skill and power, but it was his insight into matters that Franz valued more than anything - and his loyalty. Justus seemingly had an idea of matters even before they had fully unfolded - perhaps a small degree of foresight could be attributed to him. He looked at the television screen and nodded curtly. "A shocking attack, is it not, my lord?"

"You could call it that." Franz's voice was insipid in response.

"I have been attempting to contact our friends and allies in the Philadelphia area, my lord. I'm afraid the news is unwelcome." [i]Of course it is, you fool - have you not seen the pictures before you? How could [b]anything[/b] have survived that?[/i] Franz's inner thoughts dared him to respond. But it would be too harsh on Justus. He was, after all, only doing his job - and that was what Franz wanted him to do. A simple flare of the nostrils was all Franz let on externally - Justus continued, heedless of this, "So far, we have only been able to contact the Liebig Cartel. They have two survivors - Karl, and Hannelies. I'm afraid the other cabals - Burnside, Choltitz and Steff - are all feared dead in the blast."

Franz shook his head and looked out of the window at the New York cityscape. Beneath, cars and pedestrians rushed around, perhaps trying to get home as soon as they could to find out if their families or friends had survived. Police sirens blared all across the city. A nation thrown into chaos and fear - and Franz sympathised with them. Such a state would ordinarily be a chance to expand influence, to begin a new age of vampiric dominance of the underground, and yet Franz feared the intervention of the Hounds - or the federal government. This once-irritating group of pups had bared their teeth, and torn the throat out of the United States. It was only a matter of time before the US responded. Franz had seen it all before - martial law, curfews... unworkable conditions for men- [i]businessmen[/i] such as himself. No doubt the stock markets would take a nosedive as a result of this... the ramifications of which concerned Franz even further. Justus was talking about more matters which Franz cared little for, and tuned out as he watched New York's bustle beneath him. Then, one word stood out more than anything.

[i]Katarina.[/i]

"Hold." 

Justus stopped at his master's request. Franz looked over at him, cold blue eyes gazing deep into his servant's own. "What did you just say?"

"We think there has been a sighting of the Countess, my lord."

Franz's head was in a whirl. Was it true? Had she returned after four hundred years of absence, four hundred years during which Franz had slaved away, preparing situations for her return only to see them shattered time and again by external forces? And now, at the crux of his power, his persistence had paid off, and his mistress, the Countess of Prussia, had returned? "Where?! When?!"

"In Las Vegas, my lord. Willy Groner phoned in just this morning... it seems she was travelling with a group of individuals unknown to us, during which time, a group of the Hounds of Humanity arrived and attacked. There was no sign of her afterwards, nor of the others-" Again, Justus faded into irrelevance. Had she been killed? Had these Hounds taken Katarina away from him just as fate was about to decide they would meet again? Franz's fists clenched on the the armrests they sat upon. His teeth gritted, as his muscles tensed with anger, with rage. He glared at Justus, hissing through teeth clenched tight.

"Justus. You will do two things. You will do everything in your power to find Katarina. And also... you will get me that fucking Pole!"

"My lord?"

"Zielinska! Now!"

Justus bowed and strode out of the room at once. Franz seethed atop the Tower... the Hounds would pay.