I had allowed myself to shutdown for most of the day, all nonessential functions were put into hibernation mode. The only functions I really kept active at times like this were my security protocols, just incase anyone tried to sneak up on me. I had too many emotions and feelings recently and felt it was time for a reboot to help rewire my brain. Unfortunately, it did not seem to change anything when I awoke.

Another difference between myself and humanity is that I did not dream. Instead, my brain replayed random memories and experiences in my head as I hibernated. I could not create or imagine something as I slept, just relive it. I knew nothing had changed from last night until now, since I still felt too many emotions connected to recent memories. I did not think this was possible, and not knowing about myself unnerved and aggravated me. Perhaps instead of attempting to get access to my command key, I should put more effort into finding my creator.

I contemplated this for sometime, not even realizing how late in the day it was. My door was still locked and my bag in it's place, no signs anyone had entered the room. I looked out the large window on the far end of the room. Caliber's residence was a neat and well designed apartment, and I did not leave the guest bedroom much. Max stayed in one of the two master bedrooms when he visited, which became more often since I moved in here.

I sat up straight in my bed and blinked several times. My vision switched through the spectrums until I was seeing the world in infrared. I quickly scanned the apartment and concluded I was alone. Alistair and Max must have already gone to set up and finalize the auction at Alistair's chosen location. This was almost like a holiday for criminals, a lottery of sorts where the winner could go from a nobody to the ruler of a criminal empire. All they had to do was use me to achieve their goals.

I looked at my cellphone and began using my tools on it. I learned a trick several bosses ago using my tools and computer-like brain, to keep my same phone but change any way of a previous employer from calling or tracking it. This way I did not have to go purchase so many new ones, it saved me time and the inconvenience of interacting with more people.

I fixed my phone and gave myself a new unused number, then tossed it in my bag. I was supposed to wait in the apartment until Caliber came back and gave me his final orders. Part of me knew this was the deal, though the other part of me grew restless and bored.

I put on my casual outfit, a white hoodie, jeans, and boots, and put my work clothes away in my black bag. I sat on the sofa in the living room and turned on the television, already guessing what would be on the news.

"Arsine blamed for burning of local warehouse..." One reported said.

"Tune in later for more on the story of the late night police shooting near a popular docking district." said another.

They had no idea that I was the one to blame for both crimes. I smiled, slightly amused at the idea, but it quickly went away when I heard a light knocking at the front door. In a place like this, unexpected knocking was never a good sign. I blinked and switch to my X-ray vision to see who it was, partly out of caution and partly out of not especially wanting to answer the door. I was surprised to see it was Maximum.

"Did you forget your own keys?" I asked as I walked across the room and opened the door. Max staggered in, more injured than my X-rays had been able to scan. Nothing was broken, but he was bleeding in several spots on his arm and one on his torso.

"What happened to you?" I said and helped him into the security room. The security room was a special area that was bullet proof on all four walls and had many supplies and machines that were needed to help repair injuries. It routinely proved quite useful in our line of work.

"My father is...dead." He said through gritted teeth as he sat up on the examination chair. He took off his shirt with a grunt and I could see he had been shot in the arm and side. I quickly determined the wounds were not fatal, but may result in a large amount of blood loss.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. It immediately became harder to focus on the task at hand. I attempted to wrap up Max's wounds and apply pressure as we spoke.
"Tell me what happened." I stated quietly.

"It was at the auction..." Max started, pausing between breathes whenever his pain arose.
"He had the highest bidders in one area to finalize who would win you. I was one of them, so were Delilah Ramos and one or two of your past employers." He stopped for a moment when I tapped his shoulder lightly. The bullet was still in there.

He gritted his teeth and nodded slowly and I continued my work. I used special tools hidden within the room to try and get the bullet out of his shoulder. It was a successful procedure, considering I was not a surgeon and these were not the best of conditions. It was especially successful if you did not consider his loud scream and additional bleeding when I hit something that was not the bullet.

"I apologize, but you did move slightly." I said to him as I continued cleaning the wounds.

"Oh, silly me." He responded, his weariness exposed in his voice.
"By all means, finish killing me."

I rolled my eyes, which originally took me some time to master as it was not a very useful function of the eye, and applied excessive pressure to his shoulder.

"It turned out," he continued after a groan of pain,
"That because of Delilah and Briggs' recent deal, she was able to acquire and purchase most of his territory after his death. They had a clause where the other can continue should one be assassinated."

For some reason, that last word hung over me for a moment. Assassinated. In my understanding of language and context, only figures of great power, influence, and importance, could be assassinated. Criminal thugs like Jason Briggs were not assassinated, they were simply murdered.

"As you can imagine, this did not go over well with any of the other bidders." Max continued.
"Eventually the time limit ended, and the winner of the auction was decided. However, before father could hand over your key, Yokozuna and his army attacked and captured him."

Yokozuna was the leader of a branch of the local yakuza, and had trained all of his people to be living weapons as well as obedient. He himself was a very large man, 6 feet 8 inches and about four hundred pounds, but somehow had the agility to pull off some very impressive maneuvers.

"After his men grabbed dad, all of our guys swarmed in and a gunfight exploded out of control. Every gang that was in attendance attempted to get the command key from my father, even if he died in the process. I suppose it worked, I saw him get shot myself and I know for a fact he no longer had the key on him." He finished. He was breathing slowly, but if it was from the physical or emotional pain of the attack was impossible to tell.

"After he was sure to be dead, our personal guards and hired guns secured me out of the area, the only heir to his throne, if you can call it that. I came back here to make sure you were not taken away yet." He added and looked into my eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, I always wondered what people saw when they looked into mine.

"I am fine." I stated. However, I knew this would not be the case for long. Whoever had my key would surely soon use it.
"What do you plan to do now, Max? You are the head of your father's territory now."

He nodded slowly in reply and sat up to be closer to me.
"I had my father's body moved and there will be a funeral in the upcoming days. I will show I am not afraid of anyone or any group. After that, I will try and conduct business as usual, I am fortunate the money was automatically added to my father's account when the twenty four hours were up. If I had more time I may be able to trace where it came from, but there is no need." He concluded, not needing to say more. He knew what would happen with me by then.

"I was hoping when everything cleared, you would move to a more secure place with me and lead the territories with me, Eve." He added.
"I am angry at myself for not bidding enough or being able to retrieve your command key."

"It is alright, Max." I replied and kissed his cheek lightly. It felt odd to me, but it seemed the appropriate response, and Max did not seem to mind.
"You did all you could. If circumstances were different, I would go with you. However, there is no time. I must leave now."

"What? What do you mean, Eve? It can't be now." He responded in anger and confusion.

"I have to before my new commander orders me to do something I regret to you. Don't worry, I will see you again." I kissed his lips quickly, which felt even more strange to me, but was enjoyable, then ran and collected my things before he could reply. Maximum Caliber was the one person I did not want to hurt, but I had no choice. My new commander was already ordering me to find them at their residence, though I recognized the coordinates that were being transmitted to me. The house had once belonged to Ricardo Ramos, a former boss of mine and father to Delilah Ramos. It was she who was now in control of my command key.