Templar Strategy

Ekaterina nodded as she agreed with Dahlia. She then said, "Very true. They only have the options of leaving for a better life, turning to a life of crime or suffering till they waste away. Its sad to see this happen, but it also means this will complicate our mission since one or more criminals are either involved and some will likely interfere with us. I fear our involvement with those criminals will only reduce the population even more." It was known that Ekaterina could summon a horde of blood thirsty rodents and swarms of bugs to wipe out large numbers of threats if needed.

Dahlia took a sip of the champagne as she listened to Kat speak. She loved that although Katerina was a princess, she considered Dahlia as her equal.

“If evil comes against us we must do all we can to restore order,” she responded. “We must not allow evil to overcome.”

Ekaterina smiled and raised her glass to Dahlia as she replied, “Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini tuo da gloriam.” This meant not for us, my Lord, not for us, but to your name give the glory. It was a popular quote among the Templar teachings. Then Ekaterina asked. “So what were you up to after we left the last mission?”

Dahlia took a sip of the champagne. She returned Kat’s smile.

“I was given a job for the security of Israel,” Dahlia explained to her. “I was able to prevent a planned bombing.”

Dahlia quietly thought of the Templar quote from the princess’ lips. “Yes,,” she agreed, “for His glory. What most people do not realize is that the creative force placed that same energy within each one of us. We were created in His image. Take the story of Cain and Abel, for example. Most translations and interpretations fall short of the meaning of Yahweh’s words to Cain. They declare that God told Cain, ‘You must overcome the evil,’ as if it were a command for Cain to find some way to do so. The language actually is saying, ‘You may overcome the evil,’ because it is within each one of us.”

She looked at Katerina’s lovely face. “I so much love how you have been able to use this gift. Many in my home would accuse me of being a witch, using witchcraft. I’m not. I simply use the creative energy that the Creator placed within me, while they, they are dead because they have lost that connection. It is dormant.”

Ekaterina smiled at Dahlia and replied, “Thank you Dahlia. I treasure our time together too. I was blessed to learn at an early age that in our hearts we have to have balance in our lives and hearts. We must strengthen our minds, bodies and spirits at the same time. Should we neglect one of them we stop growing. I wish those sword swinging muscle heads would figure that out. To make it worse the bar is set higher for us because we are women.” Ekaterina sipped her champagne and sighed.

Dahlia’s smile took on a mischievous appearance. “That works to our advantage,” she said. “Two beautiful, desirable, young ladies. We can use that to get to the men on the other teams. You use your appeal to get to Powers. I’ll use mine to get to Choi. We’ll have them eating out of the palm of our hands. There will be nothing they can hide from us.”

Ekaterina giggled and covered her mouth as he musical laugh ticked the ears of those nearby. Her face turned a bit red from her laughter. Once she composed herself again she sipped her champagne to clear her throat. Then she replied, "You are a bad influence on me Dahlia. I almost feel sorry for the men you charm.....almost." Ekaterina gave a sly smile then sipped her champagne before she asked, "So what do Choi and Powers have to offer us?"

“Information, for one thing,” Dahlia surmised. “They may have information of other operations where we may not have any involvement. There was also information the Illuminati knew that the Dragons didn’t. And, vice-versa. So, they have been keeping information from each other during the investigation. Plus, an extra measure of protection for us in a conflict. I know you have my back and you know I have yours. Wouldn’t it be great to have others looking out for us?” Her smile got broader. “What to you think, Kat?”

Ekaterina elegantly bit her bottom lip as she suppressed her smile. She knew Dahlia was a bit of a wild cat and had a very successful track record, especially compared to the men she competed with. She elegantly touched her lips with her pointer finger as she contemplated the idea of corrupting Powers and using him as a chair and giggled. Ekaterina removed her finger from her lips as she replied, "I can't argue with your line of thinking. I can see Agent Powers and Choi being a excellent bodyguards, but my intuition tells me that the hacker Alyssa and the old samurai Sung were the thinkers in the group. Then that Sartre guy is a big mystery, while that Dragon Lady Eun-Ji comes off like a snake in the grass. We will need to be carful since we have to many unknowns in this mission. So how do you plan to get close to Choi?"

“Oh,” Dahlia mischievously exclaimed, “I have my ways. After all, what males can resist our charm?”

She chuckled holding her champagne glass aloft for another toast to seal the mission within the mission. Dahlia was assured of their success. She realized that if Dahlia herself were a male, she wouldn’t be able to resist Kat’s beauty and charm.

Ekaterina giggled as she elegantly clinked her glass to Dahlia's and made a delightful ring from the crystal glasses. She knew Dahlia was a devious woman and found her charming and fun to be around. Her friendship with her not only helped her tolerate her stiff royal life, but also the dangerous life of a Templar Agent. She cherished these brief moments like the calm before the storm, while knowing that she could loose it all one day. The rush of the crazy life she was living made her heart race as she giggled with Dahlia. The two enjoyed the rest of their flight.