Epilogue: Go And Try; You'll Never Break Me

Director of The FBI: Start recording. Meeting Attendees: Johnson Meril Director of the FBI, Special Agent Diana LaDon FBI, Doctor Shelby Lynne consulting psychologist with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, Agent Jessica Canin NSA, and Vice President of the United Status Robert Jameson. Meeting to watch footage of Grendel Tavi Smith's encounter with Black Road members at the Union Quarry, to discuss information provided to us by Doctor Candice Card, Tavi Smith's legal guardian, and to discuss first contact by representatives of the US government. Ladies, gentlemen--any questions about the Quarry footage.

VPOTUS: It's confirmed. Tavi Smith is a Grendel.

Doctor Lynne: I would say quite obviously, sir.

VPOTUS: Then what's the problem. He has a daughter.

Agent LaDon: Tavi doesn't know about his daughter, sir. I'd like to know why Candice has not told him.

VPOTUS: It doesn't matter. The girl gives us a handle on the Smith boy and Dr. Card. We can throw her in jail for having sex with a minor. The child is definitive proof of that. Even if we can't turn Tavi Smith, we'll have the girl.

Agent Canin: Actually, you don't have anything.

VPOTUS: Excuse me!

Agent Canin: No, I won't. Do you have any idea what you people have done?

Agent LaDon: I didn't do anything.

Agent Canin: So you, at least, have an idea. Thank God for that! Maybe we can salvage something out of this fiasco.

VPOTUS: I don't appreciate being spoken to in that tone of voice.

Doctor Lynne: Especially by people who work for us.

Agent Canin: They didn't tell you. Oh! This is going to be awkward.

Doctor Lynne: Tell us what?

Agent Canin: I don't work for you or him. I never did.

Agent LaDon: You're the handler.

Agent Canin: I'm very disappointed in you, Diana. You could figure that much out from the documents but you still followed orders in the Smith family stupidity.

VPOTUS: You take this too far, Agent Canin.

Agent Canin: I'm sure you think yourself a powerful man, Mr. Vice President. Enough political power to get yourself onto a winning presidential ticket.

VPOTUS: Then you know to be careful with your words, young lady.

Agent Canin: You don't scare me. Not anymore. If you want, I can arrange for the man who does terrify me to pay you a visit.

Director Meril: Did you just threaten the Vice President of the United States?

Agent Canin: Threats are pointless.

Director Meril: That certainly sounded like one to me.

Agent Canin: Director, I am Grendel Zakai's handler, which is synonymous to being on the other end of a megalodon's leash.

Doctor Lynne: You've confirmed it? Zakai is a Grendel.

Agent Canin: Not like David or Tavi, but I shot him and watched high speed tape of the entrance wound fully healing before the bullet exited his body on the other side.

Doctor Lynne: That's not possible.

Agent Canin: And the fact that the people in the know don't actually believe is what landed us in this mess.

Agent LaDon: Zakai? The Widow's Son? The NSA keeps the world's best contract killer as an asset?

Agent Canin: We didn't have a choice.

VPOTUS: Neither Agent LaDon or Director Meril are cleared for that information.

Agent Canin: Thanks to you, sir, they are.

VPOTUS: You don't have that authority.

Agent Canin: My boss does.

VPOTUS: You work for me.

Agent Canin: Like I said, I don't work for you. I never did. I always answered only to the President. Did you really believe he would give you control over Zakai? Give you authority over a contract killer we suspected of being a Grendel?

Doctor Lynne: No, it doesn't make sense the President would hand over that much power.

Agent Canin: He might have ended up dead.

VPOTUS: How dare you!!!

Agent Canin: He's joked about it more than a few times these last couple of days concerning you, and the man is much closer to being like his political image in real life than you are.

VPOTUS: He will hear about this. No one talks to me like that! NO ONE!

Agent Canin: You rendered a weapon of mass destruction useless to your government. For all intents, you've committed an act of treason.

VPOTUS: That's enough!

Agent LaDon: I don't understand.

Agent Canin: And now, Mr. Vice President, you want to make it worse by taking Tavi Smith's daughter and declaring war on him.

Doctor Lynne: Nobody has said anything about kidnapping the girl.

Agent Canin: Doctor Lynne, dealing with the Vice President for his actions would be politically disruptive. Do you believe he won't sacrifice you?

Agent LaDon: Do you really have balls that big, Agent Canin?

Agent Canin: Call me Jessica, please. You and I are going to be spending time together trying to salvage the situation. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt by believing you were too distracted by Tavi to put it together. The FBI also isn't known for handling assets like Tavi. The NSA had to rewrite the manual when we agreed to a truce with Zakai.

Agent LaDon: A truce?

Agent Canin: The documents you were given are censored. Director Gray and I agreed it would be better if your dealings with Tavi Smith were not colored by previous mistakes.

VPOTUS: They were not mistakes! People did the best they could. Anyone would have done the same thing.

Agent Canin: The first time we went at a Grendel, we did it full bore. Managed to kill his wife and wound his son. David killed six agents that day. The next week, he murdered Director Gray's family and the three agents protecting them.

Agent LaDon: Jesus Christ!

Agent Canin: We haven't been able to locate David for years. We stopped looking when Zakai came into the picture. We more than suspected Zakai was a Grendel, but we hadn't learned our lesson yet. They went hard at him too. He dropped four agents the first time. It made a lot of people angry. A strike team was assembled to kill or capture him. He slaughtered the team's families first, and then he killed them. He killed the families of everyone involved in giving the order and then he killed them. The only survivor was a junior agent.

Director Meril: You!

Agent Canin: The United States does not negotiate with terrorists, but we will play a game of 'you scratch my back, we won't go anywhere near you' with the world's most dangerous man.

VPOTUS: It's a very interesting story, but what exactly does it have to with this, other than giving Director Meril and Agent LaDon more truth than they can handle.

Agent Canin: One Grendel is our enemy. One Grendel is a rabid dog living in our backyard. Taking advantage of the work done by Dr. Card, we hoped Tavi Smith would be an equalizer.

Agent LaDon: Shit!

Agent Canin: Exactly my sentiment.

Director Meril: I don't understand.

Agent Canin: The Vice President and Doctor Lynne made a grievous error in judgment.

Doctor Lynne: Young lady...

Agent Canin: Shut the fuck up! I'm tired, and I'm angry! Just shut the hell up, you jackass!

Agent LaDon: Jessica.

Agent Canin: They thought because Tavi Smith plays the part of Dr. Card's lapdog, he really is one. So they said, 'Here puppy, jump into our lap!" and he sheared their legs off.