Imperator: Resurrection of an Empire

"Did you read them?"

Leaf 3 stiffened at the accusation, though she wasn't surprised. Miri trusted no one—not even her own agents just as Julius had instructed of her.

"No,"

Leaf said evenly.

"As you ordered. I retrieved them, nothing more."

"Good,"

Miri said, her lips curling into the faintest smile.

"If you had, I would've had to kill you."

The room was silent for a moment, the weight of the words pressing against the air.

Leaf 3 didn't flinch.

She'd heard the threat before, and she knew Miri wasn't one to bluff, even If she wasn't the one to do the killing she could already feel it there was a third presence in the room that she could not see with her eyes...

It was surely him, Death always standing vigile of his precious Miri.

Death was a mistake born from Zeff poor penmanship, when he filled out a form with what looked like Deff instead of Zeff and because of that almost everyone in the agency started to call him Deff which due to his actions eventually became Death.

Obedience was the foundation of the rebellion's intelligence network, and even the faintest whiff of treachery was dealt with swiftly.

Miri gestured for Leaf to step back as she carefully opened the satchel.

She retrieved the scrolls, untying the crimson ribbon that sealed them.

Her fingers moved with precision, unrolling the first parchment and scanning its contents.

For several minutes, the only sound was the crackle of the torches and the faint scratch of Miri's nails against the parchment as she read.

Her expression was unreadable, though her eyes flickered with interest as she absorbed the information.

"These are valuable,"

Miri murmured at last, rolling the scrolls back up.

"Operation Eagle Strike... The Romans are planning to expand their naval dominance to the eastern regions. They're mobilizing their fleets as we speak. And if these projections are correct…"

She trailed off, her mind already calculating the implications.

"We'll need to move quickly,"

Miri said, glancing up at Leaf.

"Your work has set the stage for something much larger."

Leaf inclined her head slightly.

"Glad to be of service. Now, do you want the debrief, or do you already know what happened?"

Miri smirked.

"Tell me everything."

Leaf 3 stood at attention, recounting every step of the operation with the precision of a soldier.

She started with the entry into the palace, detailing the guard rotations, the vulnerabilities she'd exploited, and the routes she'd taken through the corridors.

She described the moment at the vault, the clay orb of smoke she'd used to escape, and the tense chase through the palace gardens.

"The Praetorians were better prepared than anticipated,"

Leaf continued, her voice calm but firm.

"They almost caught me as I left the vault. They've increased their patrols, and their discipline is stronger than it's been in months. Someone's tightening the leash quite nicely though infuriatingly as it is for us."

Miri leaned back in her chair, her fingers steepled.

"Interesting. The Praetorians have always been sharp, but perhaps thanks to our repeated successes the King is getting more serious in training of his Elite guards to better prevent our infiltrations."

"It's possible,"

Leaf agreed.

"But their defenses still have cracks. They haven't figured out how we get into the palace all the time. Not yet at least."

Miri nodded thoughtfully.

"That may change. We'll make sure to train the next batch of agent double hard so that we can continue to take on the changes within the Praetorian ranks. The Romans are no fools—sooner or later, they'll find a thread to pull, in an attempt to unravel the tapestry of intrigue we've built."

Leaf hesitated for a moment, then added,

"There was one other thing."

Miri arched an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"The guard I killed… they weren't ordinary. At least, one of them wasn't."

Leaf's voice lowered slightly.

"The one stationed near the fountain. He was stronger, faster. His movements were almost unnatural, like he'd been enhanced. It wasn't skills—not that I could sense—but it was something."

Miri's expression darkened.

"Enhanced, you say? That complicates things."

Leaf nodded.

"It's possible they've been experimenting with something or some kind of physical augmentation. If that's true, it's not just our plans we need to worry about. If this 'secret' exists we also need our hands on it to boost our own operation success rates."

Miri stood, pacing slowly as she considered this new information.

"The Romans have been advancing their sciences rapidly in recent years. If they've begun applying those advances to their soldiers, it changes the game entirely."

She turned back to Leaf, her green eyes sharp and unrelenting.

"You've done well tonight. Your work will set the stage for our next move. But we'll need more information. I'll send word to our agents—they may know more about what the Romans are experimenting with."

Leaf dipped her head.

"What's next for me?"

"For now, rest,"

Miri said, her tone softening slightly.

"You've earned it. But don't get too comfortable. You'll be needed again soon. There's a storm brewing, Leaf. And we'll need shadows like you to guide us through it. In time you'll be sent out to Francia to start growing our presence there."

"Yes Milady, I shall rest up and prepare!"

With that Leaf 3 bowed her head and left the inner chamber, the door closing behind with a clatter.

"Another victory for us, and the birth of another agent."

"Ha ha ha, Berta must be tearing his hair out right about now!"

"Now now Zeff, don't forget we've lost plenty more times than they have don't forget."

"I know, don't need to remind me but cmon Miri recently we've been winning more and more often, but that 'change' the leaf mentioned it's most likely the king's doing to help even the battleground once more since he did the same when we were still starting out to help get our efficiency up."

"Hmmm, but to have the Elites become even stronger if the king does indeed push that change to the entire army, Romanus will be growing by leaps and bounds but..."

"I know that means I'll need to go out again as the Kings blade to meet the new enemies while you protect us from being stabbed in the back."

"Well I need to make sure the kingdom is still around for our son to grow up to follow in his fathers footsteps."

Zeff had no response just sheepishly scratching the back of his head.