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can you inspire others through control.  
    “Apologies, Holy One.”
    Sean smiled at her and spoke, “I know your nephew is in the hospital for an appendectomy. Be assured that the bill has been seen to. Also, please convey my congratulations on your wedding anniversary. You may leave at 5 o’clock today.”
    The elevator door closed before she could reply. This time, Sean did not bother counting the beeps as the elevator sped down to the basement to a secret Genjix safe house. A few minutes later, he entered a private room deep underground. The fifteen people waiting for him stood up when he entered. He nodded to a few of them and ignored the rest. They knew who he was, and that was the only thing that mattered.
    There were five Genjix among them. Two were newly raised enforcers whom Sean trusted enough for mid-level missions. Three were older Genjix assigned to assist with confirmation of the vessel. While their technology was advanced enough to track Quasing outside a vessel, there was still no reliable method of detecting a Quasing within a vessel other than through physical contact by another vessel. At least, not yet. Standard vessels were too valuable to expend on a surveillance team, but Chiaolar, Heefa, and Iku’s vessels were old and no longer fit for active fieldwork. This mission would be a perfect way to utilize these resources. The Genjix did not waste.
    Sean nodded to Marc, who took a seat next to him. The rest were humans with ambitions to become vessels, hoping to prove themselves worthy enough to be blessed. This mission would be the perfect test to see which one of them was the most deserving.
    “Praise to the Holy Ones,” Sean said, taking a seat.
    “Praise to the Holy Ones,” those in the room intoned.
    “Some of you I know, and the rest of you aren’t worth knowing until you prove yourself,” he started off. “There are two more operatives on their way, once their duties elsewhere are concluded.” Sean clicked a button on the table and the room dimmed. A screen on the far wall turned on and an image of Edward appeared.
    “This is the Prophus agent Edward Blair, killed last night infiltrating our Hancock research facility. His Prophus, Tao, is a senior player in the conflict. Notable vessels: Genghis Khan, Lafayette, and Sun Yat-sen.”
    A picture of a dark-skinned woman appeared next to Edward. “This is Stephanie Qu, operating under an unknown alias. Her Prophus, Haewon, is one of their primary rainmakers. Notable vessels: Churchill, Voltaire, and Peter the Apostle.
    “We have fresher leads on Tao, so that will be your primary focus. Security forces tracked him to a large male under two meters, heavyset, with dark hair. Possible ethnicities could be Latino, Asian, or he could just be fond of the tanning bed. The target escaped driving a white sedan believed to be American-made, most likely a Ford, a four-seater model made within the past five years. Unfortunately, there were no cameras in the vicinity to record the information.
    “Your mission is to track and confirm the new vessel. The Prophus hide their people well. Obviously they have already washed any relevant data in the government systems, so scan for those characteristics. I want passive surveillance until he is located. Then physical confirmation must be made and the vessel captured alive. I don’t care if you put him in a coma, as long as he is still breathing. Also, put surveillance on Edward’s family. Knowing how sentimental the Prophus are, Tao’s new host is bound to pay a visit one of these days.”
    “White car and a short fat guy? Not much to work with,” Marc said.
    “If this were easy, I would have just pulled up his address by now and kicked down his door myself,” Sean growled.
    “What about DMV records?” one of the humans asked. “There can’t be that many white sedans in the city.”
    “The Prophus aren’t stupid.” Marc shook his head. “Even if you locate the right car, all their records will