The W1RLD

Written by: The Masked Eidolon

Edited by: The Masked Eidolon

Enjoy 🙂

Chapter 22 - Preparations for Transformation

TWO MONTHS AFTER CHAPTER 21:

The man in black sighed as he approached his place of work, employee's key in hand. He walked up to the building's metal door, inserted the key into its lock, and turned it to the side, opening the aperture. As the man walked into the building, a warm, refreshing air enveloped his skin, prompting him to take off his jacket. Wrapping the leather garment across his chair, he picked up a tan envelope on his desk and started to flip through it.

"Let's see..." he muttered, turning pages until he found the one he wanted, "The tour's today, huh?"

He put the folder back on his desk, and went to make himself a cup of coffee, because today, he needed all the caffeine he could get. This evening, three of the top-performing soldiers would earn a trip to the Virgilian castle, where they would receive a detailed lesson on how to perform an interrogation. The man in black would be a chaperone on said trip. Other than office work, it would be his first official duty as a Lieutenant, so he had to perform well.

The coffee machine dinged, signaling that the man's espresso was ready. He picked up his mug by the handle and brought it to his lips when he heard the building's door open. A fellow military officer walked in.

The woman took off her jacket as well, and hung it on her chair, "Make me some coffee as well, will you, Ethan?"

"Sure thing, captain." Ethan said as he put more powder into the machine, "I have a question for you, though."

"What kind of question?" Stone responded.

"Which three students will I be escorting today?"

Alex sat down at her desk and began skimming through some notes, "If we average out all of our students' combat scores with their critical thinking ones, the top three soldiers would be Lucas Cunningham, Derek Byrd, and Chandler Grant."

Ethan sighed. Ever since he heard that only the top students were allowed to go on this trip, he knew deep down that interacting with Chandler would be inevitable. However, there was still a chance that he could convince Alex to take him off the mission.

"Why did you choose me to be the chaperone, then?"

"Because you're the newest Lieutenant, and you need hands-on experience." Alex said, still keeping the majority of her focus on her paperwork.

"With all due respect, this probably isn't the best kind of experience for me." Ethan responded, "You know that Chandler and I do not get along very well."

"I don't see how that's relevant."

Ethan took a sip of his coffee, "I want to avoid any unnecessary complications."

"Such as?"

"Disrespect, bickering, refusal to comply with orders... this should all be quite obvious."

Alex looked up from her desk work and gave her full attention to Ethan, "You're a Lieutenant, Clarke. Bickering with a subordinate is beneath you. If anyone ever challenges your authority, you deal with it how a Lieutenant should. With punishments."

"I know that, captain." Ethan stated, "I just don't think there's any reason to provoke Chandler by having me chaperone him."

"This isn't about provoking Chandler, it's about testing you." Alex declared, pointing at Ethan, "You're a new officer, and all you've done is record filing, so it's about time to test your leadership chops. I want to make sure that you have what it takes to work out in the field."

Ethan frowned, recognizing that he wasn't getting off the job, "Well, if that's your intention, then I'll make sure to perform well."

"Good. I'm glad you understand." Alex said as she turned her attention back to her desk.

Suddenly, the percolator next to Ethan dinged, emitting a stream of bright red light from its centrally-placed LED.

Ethan waited for the last drops of coffee to drip into Alex's cup before grabbing the newly filled mug and handing it to his superior, "Your coffee's ready."

Alex grabbed the handle and took a sip, "Thanks, Ethan."

"No problem." Ethan said as he walked back to his own desk and began sorting through some documents he needed to notarize. Before he could get any work done, however, a ring of keys sailed through the air and landed right on his desk.

Ethan turned in the direction the projectile had come from, and saw that Alex was standing up, mug of coffee in hand, "Lock the place down for me, will ya? I've got to get some morning training in."

Ethan sighed and picked up the keys, "Alright, captain."

.

.

.

.

The thin steel doors of the gymnasium creaked open as captain Alex Stone walked through, carefully closing the entrance behind her. There was training to be done, indeed, but not for her. For her newest and most loyal pupil, Chandler Grant.

The specialist paused his stretching to look in Stone's direction, "It's about damn time you got here."

"I had to dodge Ethan." Alex said, taking off her backpack and sifting through its contents, "You know how he is."

Chandler stiffened the moment he heard his rival's name, which caught Alex's attention and prompted her to smirk, "What? You scared of him?"

"No, he just annoys me." Chandler said, putting his hands in his pockets, "What's today's exercise, anyway?"

"We're not doing an exercise today. You've been training under me for two months, so I think it's time for a test." Alex explained as she took a wooden sword and an ivory coat out of her backpack, tossing them over to Chandler.

Chandler caught the two objects, but the coat was heavier than expected, and it took a considerable amount of strength to put on, "A weighted jacket? Are we going to be sparring or something?"

"You'll be sparring that dummy over there." Alex said as she pointed to the far end of the gymnasium, "More specifically, you're going to be lunging at it."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you're going to have 3 attempts to hit that dummy from across the room in one leap. The catch is, your feet can't be touching the floor when you land the blow."

Chandler turned to face the training dummy from his current position, and he did not like what he saw. It was approximately 9 meters away from him, and the world record for human lunge distance was 8.95 meters. Considering the fact that Chandler had a one meter long wooden sword in his hand, the jump wasn't impossible. But when the weighted jacket was taken into account, it very well may be.

Chandler turned back to his master, "Can I have a running start?"

"No."

"Then how is this possible?" Chandler queried, "Did you even test this assignment out before asking me to do it?"

"This is a training exercise that Rico gave Ethan the other day while I was watching. I liked the idea a lot, so I decided to give it to you."

Chandler widened his eyes, "You're giving me tasks... from Rico's regimen?"

"Yeah. But offending you wasn't the intent."

"Then what the hell was the intent?" Chandler fumed, taking his jacket off, "Because I refuse to train using Rico's methods."

"Ethan passed this test in 3 attempts. I want to see how you stack up to him."

Chandler froze in place with one arm halfway out of the ivory coat.

Alex, sensing Chandler's apprehension, continued her speech with a smile, "I know that you won't face Ethan in the next promotion tournament, meaning you'll probably never fight him again unless he assaults you for some reason. My basis for choosing this test specifically to measure your abilities with his is because it doesn't involve brute force. You have to carefully think about the assignment and find any possible solution. Ethan did this in 3 attempts. Can you do it in 3 as well? In 2? In 1? Or will you fail and prove yourself to be unworthy after all? I wanted the answer to this question. That was my intent."

Chandler gulped and looked down at his feet, "Well... If this is just a comparison..."

He slid the jacket back onto his left arm and stared down his master, a newfound gleam in his eyes, "Mark my words, I'll do this in three attempts."

Alex's smile grew even wider, "Now that's the Chandler I know."

Chandler turned around to face the training dummy and made a mental note of where he was standing. For several minutes on end, he tried to think of ways that he could reach the dummy with only one leap, but his mind kept drawing a blank. With no test runs to base his hypotheses off of, he could never really judge whether one of his plans would work. If Chandler was going to game the test with a trick answer, he first had to fully understand the test. Which meant throwing away one of his attempts in order to see how far he could go with brute force alone.

Without giving the idea a second thought, Chandler jumped as far as he could towards the training dummy. He soared through the air, but the burden of his weighted jacket drove him down, and he crashed to the ground without even making it halfway to the dummy. From the corner of his eye, Chandler could see Alex crossing her arms and frowning, no doubt disappointed in his first attempt at reaching the dummy. But that didn't matter right now. Thanks to Chandler's test run, he knew that there was only one way to complete her test.

Chandler hurriedly stood up, grabbed his training saber, and dashed over to the starting position, ready to enact his master plan. He closed one eye and leered at the dummy like a hawk observing its prey before jumping into the air once again. But this time, Chandler tossed his weapon at the dummy, intending for it to land before his body touched the ground. However, Chandler's plan proved unsound when the weight of his ivory coat dragged him to the ground an instant before his saber hit the dummy.

"What the hell!?" Chandler exclaimed, "How did that not work?"

"It didn't work because it wasn't a good idea. You have one more attempt left. Don't waste it."

"I know." Chandler said, standing up and facing his master, "I just don't see any other way to do this."

"Then maybe I was wrong about you and Ethan really is the superior soldier."

"No, that's not the case at all!" Chandler declared, looking his master in the eye, "I will complete the test, I just need more time..."

Chandler's brow suddenly furrowed as he spoke up once again, "How long did it take Ethan to figure out the solution?"

"Five minutes and twelve seconds." Alex said, checking her watch, " You're currently at three minutes and fifty-five seconds. The more time you spend talking to me, the more time you're effectively running out the clock. I suggest you quit thinking about Ethan and start thinking about the answer to my test."

"Well, shit..." Chandler muttered as he sprinted over to his training saber, picked it up and scrambled back to the starting position. His mind raced with ideas, but none of them seemed like they would work. Throwing his saber was the only way he could think of to bypass the gap between him and the dummy. There was no other method to succeed unless he could somehow think of a way to get a second jump using some sort of platform, object, or... baton?

Could Chandler possibly use his wooden saber as a platform from which to get a second jump off of? Without slipping off the stick like an amateur ice skater? No. It was stupid, reckless, and he would probably get himself hurt trying such a thing, but no other winning idea entered his mind. Chandler looked up at the gym's clock and found that he only had 30 seconds to pass the test if he wanted to best Ethan. And there was no way he was going to lose to Ethan again.

With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Chandler chucked his training saber about halfway between him and the dummy, leaping with all his might. The soles of his shoes slammed into the wooden saber, which rolled to the left and threatened to send Chandler to the floor for a third time, but he jumped off of the capsizing baton right before it threw him overboard. Now directly above the training dummy, Chandler let gravity do its duty as he landed on the wooden figure's right arm and delivered a sharp kick to its face.

Grinning like a kid at a candy store, Chandler addressed his master, "My time?"

Alex returned Chandler's smirk as she lifted her watch up for him to see, "Four minutes and fifty-seven seconds."

"Yes!" Chandler cheered, pumping his fists in the air, "Hah! Take that, Clarke!"

"Quiet now. We wouldn't want to let him know we're here."

"We're fine. I highly doubt he heard me from halfway across campus." Chandler exclaimed as he gracefully hopped off of the dummy and landed on the floor, slipping off his weighted jacket, "So, what was this test for, anyway? Just to see if I'm keeping up with the Joneses?"

Alex's grin faded as she spoke to her student once again, "I wouldn't test you for such a frivolous reason. I actually have an opportunity for you that'll help you crusade against Rico."

"Really?" Chandler said, face lighting up, "Are you gonna promote me or something?"

"Not yet. But I'd like you to join a political party I'm in."

"An anti-Inspector party?"

"Nope," Alex answered, shaking her head from side to side, "We're against the Inspector's brutal methods, of course, but mainly, we're an anti-Virgil party. Our long term goal is to depose him and install our own ruler who will treat the citizens of the Empire like human beings instead of slaves."

The corners of Chandler's mouth slid down ever so slightly, "But that's treason."

"It is."

Chandler stared into Alex's murky eyes as his smile and glow began to dissipate. He searched his master's face for any crack, any flaw, any hint that she was joking, but his heart sank when he found none, "We're really gonna commit treason?"

"We are. Me and my colleagues have been doing so for years now."

The specialist let out a concerned chuckle, "Do you realize how much shit we'll be in if we get caught?"

"Well, we haven't been caught so far, and we will continue to fly under the radar." Alex declared, eyeing Chandler with a slight scowl, "Unless someone here decides we shouldn't..."

"I would never rat on you."

"Indeed, you won't. But you don't sound as enthusiastic about this as I'd hoped."

"Hey, man." Chandler said, putting his hands behind his head, "I'm not going to be a problem. Because it's not that I'm not behind this. I am. 100%. And I'll join your party. It's just that... I'm officially in the game now. There's no going back."

"I see. Well, that's good to hear." Alex remarked, putting on a slight smile.

Chandler put his arms back at his sides and wiped off his palm sweat on his shirt, "Yeah. Of course. So, where do I sign up and all?"

Alex's smirk faded into nothingness as the direction of her words shifted, "Before I sign you up, I need to ask you a question. And I need your full honesty."

"Okay. What's the question?"

"Have you divulged our secret training sessions to anyone outside this room?"

Upon hearing this, Chandler's eyes drifted to the floor, widening as they did so.

Alex let out an audible sigh, "So you did tell someone about them. Who?"

Chandler looked back up at his master with a frown caked into his face, "A friend of mine named Lucas Cunningham. But I know him well and he's trustworthy. He hasn't told anyone else about this for two months straight."

Alex's brow furrowed as her voice turned ever so slightly deeper, "He's known about this for two months!?"

"Yeah..." Chandler uttered, grimacing as he painfully kept eye contact with his master, "I told him about your midnight visit to my dorm two months ago. I didn't know what to make of it at the time. If I'd known you were involved in a secret peace movement against Virgil, I would have never told him, I promise."

Alex's frown morphed into a deep and jagged glower as she turned around, heading towards the gymnasium's door, "This is a problem. A very big one, in fact. I'm going to need to consult with my party on what to do here. Get back to your dorm, and resume the rest of your day as normal."

Chandler held out his hands, signaling for Alex to stop, "Wait! Can't we talk about this? I didn't mean to harm your plans, really!"

The captain quit walking and turned back around to face Chandler, "I'm sorry, but we can't talk any further at the moment. My meeting with the party comes first. But I will promise that I won't harm you or Lucas Cunningham as a result of all of this."

Chandler put his hands back down with a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Any idea on when we can talk?"

"Let me see..." Alex said as she took out a notepad from her chest pocket, scribbled into it, and tossed it to Chandler, "You can meet me at those coordinates 12 hours from now, at 5:00 PM. We'll talk there."

Chandler opened the notepad, made a mental note of the location, and stuffed it into his own chest pocket, "Alright. I'll see you there."

Alex gave her student a short wave, turned around, and headed out of the gymnasium. A lot more work than expected would be going into Chandler's recruitment.

.

.

.

.

The Sun God sat idly in the Dark Knights laboratory, waiting for the man who would meet her there to talk. But this next discussion she'd be having was not a normal meeting. It was a testament to her newest student's lack of fundamental impulse control.

None of her other conversion targets had told anyone else about Alex's chicanery, out of fear that they would incite the ire of the Inspector, and be branded a traitor. And they were wise to do so, for when each one of them became Dark Knights themselves, they could operate in privacy, knowing that no one would ever be privy to their deadly secret. But apparently, not Chandler Grant. Chandler, the most loyal and dedicated student she'd ever had, was stupid enough to tell a friend information that could have him slaughtered for treason.

Alex saw a mosquito buzzing around in the air, and crushed it between her palms, "He just never learns, huh?"

At that moment, the laboratory doors burst open, revealing none other than Executive Mox Withers,

"You called a meeting?"

"Yeah." Alex grumbled, applying hand sanitizer to her two palms, "I need to discuss something urgent."

Mox frowned, "It's a weekday and this was unplanned. You better have given Virgil a good excuse for your departure."

"They think I'm out doing field work." Alex explained, getting up from her seated position, "I don't know if a majority of the officers bought it, but Rico ate it up. And that's all that really matters."

"I see." Mox said, looking around the room, "Where's Neon?"

"Neon isn't coming to our little meet and greet. It's just you and me."

"Oh." Mox grumbled, "It's that kind of meeting, eh?"

"Yup." Alex confirmed, walking over to Mox's position and staring him right in the eye.

"So, who do you want to kill?" Mox asked, staring at his colleague right back.

"A private in the military named Lucas Cunningham. He knows about my disloyalty to the Empire because Chandler Grant, dumbass that he is, decided to tell him about it."

Mox raised an eyebrow, "Well, can't you just convert Lucas as well? If Chandler told him and he's kept the secret, it stands to reason that he shares your ideology."

Alex shook her head, "I thought about this for a while, but that's out of the question. Ever since Norman got promoted to Colonel, I've been on teaching duty. And from my observations, Lucas Cunningham is simply a pushover. He may believe that the government is flawed deep down, but on the surface, he's too scared to defy King Virgil or any government official. Maybe he'll be able to stand up for himself one day, but I can't work with someone like that. It's far too risky."

"But if you just murder him, Chandler will know that you're the one who pulled the trigger."

"Exactly." Alex growled, a spark of rage lighting in her eyes, "No matter what method I use to dispatch him, even if it looks like an accident, Chandler will know that I'm involved. And when he finds out that his friend is dead by my hand... nobody will be able to predict what he does next."

"Hmm..." Mox said, stroking his chin with his fingers, "Well, this is a tough one."

Alex let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, it is. Which is why I called you here for this discussion. Because I need as many minds on the job as possible."

"Alex..." Mox started as he looked to his right, scratching the back of his head, "I appreciate that you value my skills and all, but you called me here on short notice and I'm not a planner. My expertise lies in combat. If you give me a plan, I can kill Lucas for you, but coming up with the plan itself has always been your job."

Alex wasn't convinced, "You directed the fire of the western slums, Mox, not me. Nobody thought it was possible, but you proved them all wrong and gave them the winning scheme. Maybe you can pull it off again?"

Mox turned back to Stone, scowling, "That was a combat mission, I'm afraid. In order to hide Lucas's death from Chandler, we'd need to manipulate and gaslight the hell out of him, and that's just never been my style."

Mox put his hand on the Sun God's shoulder, "I'll think about this dilemma throughout the day, and I'll radio you if I've got a solution. But I'm afraid that's all I can do."

Alex offered Mox a warm smile, "Well, that's good enough for me. I'll call if I find the solution before you do."

"Alright then." Mox replied, returning the smile and walking towards the lab's exit, "I've got to go execute someone anyway."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "You're executing someone? Who?"

Mox turned to face his colleague for one last explanation, "The hacker, Lawrence Hutchinson. Other than that one mission he was on when I killed Yossi, he's failed every single job I've given him, and he keeps demanding extra pay as well. So, I invited him to a meeting in my quarters for a special assignment, but when he gets there, I'm just going to kill him."

"Got it." Alex said with a slight grin, "Nobody's going to miss him."

"Sure won't." Mox confirmed as he turned around and made his way to the door.

The recurrent tapping of his shoes against the ground birthed grand echoes that bounced around the room and landed in Alex's ears. Echoes that fused with her brain and made her ponder what Mox had said about Lawrence. Echoes that made her realize the winning scheme of her current dilemma with Lucas Cunningham.

"Mox, wait."

Taking his palm off of the door's handle and looking back at Alex, Mox stood tall and attentive, "Yeah?"

Alex met Mox's eyes once again from across the sprawling laboratory, "Disregard everything I just said. I think I know how to kill Lucas."

.

.

.

.

The howls of guttural laughter coming from Mox and Alex's gullets could be heard far outside Mox's quarters. So much so that the guards outside of his room, annoyed, left their post to enjoy some sweet silence. Yet despite this gross breach of safety, the duo continued to guffaw, slapping desks, and wheezing like asthmatics. Their amusement hadn't come from a simple joke or a funny wisecrack. It came from an idea so profoundly insane that it was impossible to keep a straight face when discussing it.

Struggling to keep his composure, Mox finally managed to eke a few words out of the goofiest smirk he'd ever made, "You really are something, aren't you, Alex Stone?"

"Indeed I am." Alex replied with an infectious grin that made her every word seem like laughter, "It's a good plan, though, isn't it?"

Mox's smile burst into a few short chuckles, "No, it's a terrible plan. If anyone else told me about it, I'd slap them upside the head and ask them if they were trying to get caught by Virgil. But Alex, something tells me that you're gonna pull this off."

"And what makes you so confident?"

"You're the Sun God. Dark Knight spy extraordinaire. The plan's stupid, but it's right up your alley. If anyone can make this a success, it's you."

"Well... that is true." Alex conceded, brushing her hair to the side with her fingers, "I'm flattered."

"And I'm glad to have flattered you." Mox said, leaning back in his chair.

Deep in his mind, he knew the time for banter was over. Soon, Lawrence Hutchinson would arrive, turning any kind of chatter into a bloodbath. Normally, Mox would never turn a sword on his own comrades-in-arms, but at this point, Lawrence was no comrade. He was simply a leech, using his successful mission with Yossi to justify extortion of the Dark Knights. And the death of Fred Wilkins had proved that a revolutionary without dedication was nothing more than a loose end.

Mox's smile slowly disappeared as he checked his watch, revealing how long he'd have to wait before he got to stick a knife into Lawrence's neck.

Mox turned to Alex, "He should be here in about a minute."

Alex looked back at Mox quizzically, "We're still executing him?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we be?"

"I have an idea on how to use him."

Mox frowned, "What, are you sending him on a mission? If you give him a job, he's going to fail it."

Alex waved the suggestion away, "No, no. He'll still be executed. But if you hand him over to me, his death will have meaning."

"Meaning?" Mox queried, "What kind, if I may ask?"

A fist began to pound on the door to Mox's office.

"Exec Moxaks? I'm ready for the job! And the pay! Heh heh heh!"

Mox and Alex met eyes as Alex left her seat to get the door, "I guess you'll just have to see."

Alex turned the doorknob and pulled it back, revealing Lawrence's wiry thin frame, "Sun God? What a surprise, I thought Mox made this mission!"

"We developed the mission together." Alex claimed, holding out her hand to be shaken, "Didn't we, Mox?"

"Sure did." Mox chimed from the back of the room, watching Lawrence give Alex a firm handshake.

Lawrence closed the door behind him and took a wallet out of his pocket, "So that's how it is, huh? Alright then, let's do business. 20% up front. You know the deal."

Alex plucked ten one-hundred dollar bills out of her pocket and handed them over to Lawrence, "Here you go."

He eyed the money, then looked up at Alex, both eyebrows fully raised, "This is only 20%?"

"Last I checked."

"Goddamn!" Lawrence shouted, eagerly swiping the cash and stuffing it into his wallet, "Can't wait to get the other 80."

"You need to actually complete the mission to get the other 80."

"Oh, yeah, no problem." he barked, cramming his bloated wallet back into his pants, "I'm the best hacker there is when I give a damn. And this is some serious motivation. So just gimme the deets, and I'll make sure your job gets done."

Alex formed a wry smile, "Perfect. Me and Mox have decided to go on a smear campaign against the Inspector. We believe that discrediting him will lower morale in the Empire, and make its citizens more likely to turn to the Dark Knights. And today, a perfect opportunity to make Rico Jacobson look foolish has arisen. In no less than 5 hours time, me and another Lieutenant in the army will be giving three of our top performing students a tour of the interrogation chamber. For this reason, I want you, Lawrence, to break into Virgil's palace and purposely get caught by Rico Jacobson. This will allow you to outsmart him when he tries to question you in front of four witnesses loyal to the Empire. The story'll get around in no time."

"Wait, what?" Lawrence jeered, "You want me to get arrested? Is this a joke?"

"You won't be getting arrested for very long. After Rico's done with his questions, I'll break you out of your cell. You'll walk home a free man, four thousand dollars richer."

Lawrence wasn't convinced, "Well, the money's good, yeah, but Rico Jacobson kills his prisoners. If I get caught by him, I won't see tomorrow."

Alex pointed a finger at Lawrence, "That's where you're wrong. If you get caught precisely at 12:00 PM, he'll interrogate you with me watching. And since I'll be there, I can prevent him from doing you any harm."

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from." Lawrence said, crossing his arms, "But I don't know about this one, Sun God."

Mox got up from his seat and began walking towards the discussion, "Come on, Lawrence. Are you a pussy? This is four thousand dollars. And all you have to do is get caught."

"I have to agree with Mox, here." Alex sighed, "It's five times the pay of a regular mission, and you're just doing half the work. Only a coward would refuse this job."

Lawrence shot a glare at Alex, "Hey man, I ain't no coward."

He shifted his gaze to Mox, "Or no pussy. I'm just not a big fan of dying because I purposely got caught."

"And you won't die." Alex alleged, "I'll be looking out for you the entire time. Rico thinks that I'm his loyal friend, so he'll be on his best behavior around me. And even if he does decide to errantly kill you, I can physically stop him from doing so under the guise of wanting more information."

Lawrence looked to his right and crossed his arms, shaking his head while he did it.

"It's a foolproof plan, Lawrence. The only thing that could derail it is if your timing is off."

Lawrence looked back at Alex, arms still crossed, "You really couldn't pick someone else for the job?"

"We thought you were best suited for it." Alex said, grabbing a loaded wallet out of her pocket.

"Heh." Lawrence chuckled, "Well, the money is good."

Lawrence sighed as he rubbed his chin, debating whether or not to take the job. Five thousand dollars in total was a hard offer to refuse, but was Lawrence willing to risk his life for it? No, he wasn't. Although the Sun God's presence did ensure his safety when she was inside the room, there's no guarantee that Rico wouldn't just kill him the instant Alex left. And that was too much of a gamble for Lawrence.

However, there was one more reason why Lawrence needed to take this mission. His reputation. Lawrence was known throughout the Dark Knights as a serial slacker who failed every job he was given. And this was no accident, since he never liked the risk of breaking into Virgilian tech chambers. But his laziness had clearly gone too far, since his superiors were now sending him on an extremely dangerous mission that only disposables would be assigned to.

They obviously didn't care if he lived or died.

So, at this point, would Lawrence risk his life to change their minds? Yes, he would. He had to. Because if he didn't, he may just be executed anyway.

Coming to a final decision, Lawrence held out his right hand, "50% up front. And lemme get a burger from the cafeteria before I go. No way in hell my last meal is going to be a cup of cereal."

Alex took 15 Benjamins from her wallet and shook Lawrence's hand, pressing the money into his palm, "Deal."

Lawrence clasped his fingers around the money and rushed out of the room, ready to enjoy the biggest feast he'd ever purchase.

"Unlike your other one, this plan is actually pretty good." Mox said, taking a knife out of his belt and tossing it in the air, "Though I am loath to let Rico kill him instead of doing the deed myself."

Alex formed a shark-like grin, "We can always invite him back here."

"Nah." Mox remarked as he caught the knife and put it back in his belt, "His death should have meaning, right? I like that concept. So get outta here and don't come back unless Chandler is coming with you."

"You got it." Alex said, saluting Mox as she walked out of the door to his compound.

Five hours from now, she would show Chandler just how pathetic his government really is. And he would join the group he swore to destroy.