"Hello, Herman. Good to hear from you. What can I do for you?" Karl asked as soon as the call connected. He leaned back comfortably in his chair while glancing out of the villa's window toward the forest beyond. In his mind, Herman should have been drowning in work at the moment. The expansion had completely overturned military planning across Europe, and there was no shortage of crises demanding attention.
The governments had expected technology to degrade outside the cities, but few had realized just how quickly it would happen. Even though the Trial System had warned humanity beforehand, most people had dismissed the warning entirely. The Trail system that delivered those warnings had sounded insane to many listeners, making it easy to ignore his words. Those who believed him were either too frightened to speak or too isolated to convince anyone important. Now humanity was paying the price for that arrogance.
"Well, it's about a rather unusual matter," Herman replied. He briefly summarized Natan's investigation, the rumors concerning the hidden family, and the request for a recommendation letter. The explanation only took a few minutes, but by the end of it Karl's relaxed expression had disappeared. Instead, genuine interest appeared in his eyes.
"Now that is interesting," Karl said thoughtfully. He tapped his fingers against the wooden desk while considering the implications. "They are not the type of people who contact governments proactively." His tone became slightly amused. "Then again, governments have become stronger than ever. I imagine nobody trusts you not to build mana-metal missiles as a precaution once the technology becomes available."
Natan nearly choked when he heard that statement. Karl had casually revealed a military contingency plan that was supposed to be highly confidential. Herman merely rubbed his forehead in resignation. At this point, he was no longer surprised that influential families somehow knew things that should have remained secret.
"You don't need to worry about your intelligence sources," Karl continued. "They are correct. That family is coming out of hiding again." His voice remained calm and matter-of-fact. "They need resources and wealth to continue their craft, and remaining hidden forever was never a realistic option."
Natan immediately leaned closer to the phone. This was the most useful information he had received in weeks. Every report his agency gathered raised more questions than answers. Finally speaking to someone who actually knew the truth felt like finding water in a desert.
"It may be presumptuous of me to ask, sir," Natan said carefully, "but what can you tell us about that family? More importantly, why did they disappear in the first place?" He tried to keep his voice neutral, though his curiosity was obvious. If Karl noticed, he gave no indication.
"Your son is clever, Herman," Karl said with a chuckle. "Very well, I'll indulge him a little." Natan immediately felt embarrassed by the praise. Herman, on the other hand, looked entirely unimpressed.
"They went into hiding because they became too well known," Karl explained. His voice lost some of its humor as he spoke. "More importantly, they were forced to violate one of their ancestral rules." There was a faint sadness in his tone, suggesting that the matter carried considerable historical weight.
Natan immediately seized upon the opening. "And what rule was that?" he asked. Sweat had already begun forming on his back. He could feel Herman's disapproving gaze from across the room. Interrogating one of his father's friends was probably not the smartest idea, but the opportunity was too valuable to waste.
"This will be the last question I answer directly," Karl warned. "After that, you'll need to visit me personally." His tone became firm enough that neither Herman nor Natan attempted to argue. "You can collect the recommendation letter at our forest. If everything goes according to plan, you'll even be able to travel part of the way by river."
Karl paused briefly before continuing. "The rule they broke forbade the assassination of ruling figures." His words hung heavily in the air. "Kings, queens, dukes, ministers, presidents, talented heirs, and other individuals critical to the future of a nation were all protected under that rule."
Natan frowned immediately. "That seems strange for an assassin family," he remarked. The contradiction was difficult to ignore. Assassins who refused to kill important targets sounded almost absurd.
"It sounds strange until you understand why the rule exists," Karl replied. "Their ancestors realized that killing rulers only creates endless enemies." He sighed quietly. "A family can survive individual feuds. It cannot survive every nation on a continent deciding it needs to be exterminated."
The logic was brutal but effective. Herman found himself nodding despite the disturbing subject matter. History was full of examples where organizations overreached and paid the price. Even the strongest groups eventually collapsed when surrounded by too many enemies.
"They were forced to break that rule centuries ago," Karl continued. His voice grew colder. "The noble house ruling both their ancestral territory and ours stationed a fleet nearby." For the first time since the conversation began, genuine anger seeped into his words. "The fleet existed for one purpose: to burn their homeland to the ground."
The room fell silent for several seconds. Even Natan stopped asking questions. He could easily imagine how such a threat might force desperate measures. If survival itself was at stake, ancestral traditions suddenly became secondary concerns.
"So don't worry," Karl said eventually. "They are not going to threaten national security by assassinating government leaders." His tone relaxed again. "However, if someone places a contract on one of your politicians or rising talents, they may still perform a fake assassination."
"A fake assassination?" Herman repeated.
"Exactly," Karl said. "They sneak into the target's residence, bypass every security measure, and leave proof they were there." He laughed softly. "No deaths, no injuries. Just a terrifying reminder that somebody wants you gone and that your security isn't nearly as good as you think it is."
Before either man could react further, Karl's tone became serious once more. "There is one thing you absolutely must remember." His words came slowly and deliberately. "If your government ever kills one of their people while that person is attempting to withdraw peacefully, your administration will collapse almost overnight."
Herman nearly dropped the phone. "You're joking."
"No," Karl replied immediately. "I'm completely serious." There was no humor in his voice now. "They are assassins first, but they are information brokers second. Their intelligence network is among the most extensive in existence."
Natan exchanged a worried glance with his father. He suddenly felt as though he had wandered into waters far deeper than expected. Every answer Karl provided only made the family sound more dangerous.
"They possess the ability to identify political weaknesses, economic vulnerabilities, and military secrets with frightening efficiency," Karl continued. "In theory, they could eliminate key leaders, cripple vital infrastructure, and inform neighboring nations of the resulting chaos before breakfast."
Natan refused to surrender completely. "Why should we believe that?" he challenged. "You said they've been hidden for four hundred years. They're living on old achievements."
For a moment there was complete silence. Then Karl burst into laughter.
The sound coming through the phone was so genuine and uncontrollable that both Herman and Natan became deeply uncomfortable. Karl laughed for nearly a full minute before finally calming himself. Neither man understood what was so amusing, which only made the situation worse.
"Living on past achievements?" Karl repeated once he regained control. "That's a good one." He wiped tears from his eyes while still chuckling. "No, Natan. They haven't been sitting around doing nothing for four centuries."
His expression became serious again. "The reason people think they disappeared is because their original organization vanished." Karl folded his arms as he explained. "They spent twenty years recovering from the damage they suffered. After that, they returned to business."
"Under a different name?" Herman guessed.
"Under many different names," Karl corrected. "No organization connected to them was ever allowed to become too large. None were permitted to survive longer than thirty years." A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Every time one network became visible, they dissolved it and created another."
Natan suddenly felt sick.
Years of investigations flashed through his mind. Criminal syndicates dismantled. Smuggling networks destroyed. Information rings shattered. He had spent decades believing he was permanently eliminating those organizations.
"Wait," he said weakly. "Are you telling me that some of the networks I spent my career fighting were theirs?"
Karl's grin widened.
"Not all of them," he admitted. "But enough."
The color drained from Natan's face. His entire life's work suddenly felt questionable. Every victory he celebrated now seemed uncertain. Had he actually defeated those organizations, or had they simply chosen that moment to disappear?
Herman watched his son's growing despair with concern. He had never seen Natan look so defeated before. The normally confident intelligence director looked like a man questioning his entire career.
"Oh, relax," Karl said with another laugh. "You really did cause them problems." His tone carried genuine amusement rather than mockery. "According to their matriarch, your investigations were some of the most entertaining challenges they'd faced in years."
Natan blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me correctly," Karl replied. "They expected those networks to eventually dissolve anyway. You simply accelerated the process." He chuckled again. "Apparently they found your persistence refreshing."
The intelligence director did not know whether to feel insulted or proud.
Meanwhile, Karl smiled quietly to himself. There was one particular detail he had deliberately left out of the conversation. The matriarch's personal opinion of Natan was far more interesting than simple professional respect.
Still, that was not his secret to reveal.
If Natan truly intended to visit the family, he would discover the truth soon enough.