The entrance to the big building was just thirty yards away and neither spoke as they walked. Four guards manned the doors and two of them opened them. Four more on the inide. Plain BDUs and combat boots.

He accompanied Sarah to a pair of elevators and she punched the fourth floor button and turned to smile at him. It was one of those smiles, one you can kind of figure maybe or maybe not. Confident but friendly and welcoming.

"Conrad wanted to see you as soon as you arrived," she said. "Until you meet him you don't need me or anyone else influencing you."

The doors opened and they entered. When the elevator stopped they exited into a wide corridor with a stone floor and walls painted in medium neutral colors. No gray walls or floors or furnishings here as one might find in a military installation. And the Templars were a military organization, no matter what else they might be.

But Templars aren't women. Or weren't.

The corridor terminated at a pair of doors, dark wood and new looking, as if in an office building. Sarah stood to one side.

"Go in," she said. "I'll see you later."

Henry pushed the doors open and entered. The room was big and well lighted. Most of the opposite wall was windows. The man at the desk was rising to greet him. He didn't extend a hand and Henry didn't expect it - the practice had largely fallen out of favor in most places he had been in for the past few years.

"Welcome to Warington Keep," the man said. "You know my name but very little about me - I know somewhat more about you but not much. The briefing you received yesterday didn't tell you much more."

Henry nodded. The photos he had seen showed a man of middle age and just over average height but photos hadn't prepared him. Conrad Lawrence moved with the easy grace of a martial artist and had a suggestion of a brooding look. He was dressed in a dark olive uniform with minimal insignia and decorations. A shield over the right breast pocket and two rows of ribbons over the left pocket. Henry had never known much about military decorations even when he had worn them except that they were an annoying part of a dress uniform. Perhaps the Templars didn't much much stock in them either.

"Your... emissary told me only that a Templar lord wished to see me," Henry replied. "Colonel Williams had me meet him in his office and said that I should go. How much he knows I have no idea."

"Gordon and I are acquainted," Conrad said, "from some years back. We talk regularly and when a certain subject came up he said I might want to see you. I'm aware of you by reputation only but it is an impressive reputation."

"I get around some," said Henry. "What was the certain subject?"

"Operation Seraphim Lightning."

"That's old news," Henry said. "Unless I missed something."

"Seraphim Lightning was the beginning of it," said Conrad. "Knocking out the keystone one might say."

"Yeah, it was kind of the beginning of the end. I became involved in some other things."

"You're aware of the developments, where the situation stands and how it arrived there?"

"Pretty much."

"In that case I'll start in the present," Conrad said. "The situation is stable all over. A few dozen small cells remain active - we suspect at least half of being operated by foreign players - but it's essentially a done deal. The new constitution was ratified - almost perfunctorily - and aside from the aforementioned malcontents it's pretty much over. The one variable - one that the government doesn't seem to be thinking about just now - is the Templars."

"Where do they fit in?" asked Henry.

"How much do you know?" Conrad asked.

"The official history, some of the apocryphal stuff. Rumor is that most of that is... not relevant."

"In the historical context," Conrad said, "the history has some relevance. It will help you understand how the present situation came to be. Not many know that we exist. I'll fill you in as we go along."

"I didn't know there were Templar women," Henry said.

"The most Templar thing about us is the name," said Conrad. "You don't believe the orginal Templars were celibate, do you?"

"About as much as I believe priests today are celibate."

"I imagine that many of the old ones were true believers," Conrad said. "But men are men. I said the name was about the only link to the original Templars but there is another, more important one. I'll get to it in a bit. Let me show you something."

Templar Dawn (2024)