Ch 12 RH-5

A set of pictures, two video recordings, some blood and skin samples and, just to be sure, a live streaming of someone stabbing a Eury and Sammy body-double (- Zuwa never told how or where he got them from, just that his people are into "meat replication") and the perfect fake death was accomplished that easily.

Eury- " Huh", the girl remarked at how quickly and smoothly that went. " Never thought that poofing someone out of existence would be that easy."

Zuwa- " No, no, you misunderstand. It's only because we got all these extra hands", the man said with a smirk, patting the gelatinous back of the bounty hunters -" that we managed to set up the scene so perfectly. As for the fingers-"

Eury- " No problem, I sold some of them for a lower price than this. Just concerned for Sammy though-", but the boy was sparking with curiosity and joy at the sight of four-fingered palm.

Sammy- " I look so cool now", he mustered, ignoring the conversation around him.

Eury- "…Huh. Still, I am guessing that we're not out of the boiling bowl yet, right?"

The old man shook his head, but before saying anything he turned to two bounty hunters and gave them the evidence to cash-in the reward. "It's going to be a significant cut for the 'dead' merchandise, but you'll probably get something for finishing off the girl."

All the while Diaz was tapping his foot close-by, keeping an eye on Zuwa, mostly just guessing scenarios about who the man really was. In his list of characters, the old man was everything from a special officer, RP actor to even a clone of the original Zuwa. And the real one was still in his tower, hammering away at rusty nails and brushing a new coat of paint over the black, moldy corner.

Diaz- " I mean, why wouldn't it be possible…And I'm still betting on an android imposter."

The bounty hunters leader, Dimotelo, was twiddling his thumbs, puckering his lips and from time to time taking a quick peek at the old man. A salty water kept sliding from the top of his forehead, but his lips barely registered it; the man was too busy building up the courage to ask for something.

Dimotelo- " CANWEGO?", he blurted out of nowhere, giving a scare to everyone present. His arms felt like they were about to uproot and leave by themselves, but Dimotelo kept, at least, his feet firm.

Zuwa-"…No? Like I said, you boys work for me now? Did, did you forget about that or-"

Diaz and Eury exchanged furtive glances.

Dimotelo- " No, no, of course not. It's just- it felt like the job was done- and we"

Zuwa- " And you are also witnesses now. So I only have two options. Can you guess what those options are?" As a person with darker skin, Zuwa's wrinkles were less visible than others; still with how deep he frowned, his whole forehead became like a shiny, flat field.

Dimotelo -" Clear, crystal, right! My bad, apologies for even bring it up. "

Zuwa- " Good. Now where was I?", but he received another message. After parsing through it, he pulled out a map and noted the destination. " Dimotelo, take your two of your boys over here. It's a simple mission, you'll pick up a package, and wait for further instructions. Me and the teen brigade over here will go to forge some new identities for them.

A sense of relief flew past by the bounty leader, but then a paranoia started to grab at him. "What if…he knows more than he lets on?", he thought. "What if we…run away?", he dared to ask.

Zuwa- " Just check the rest of the message. You'll find attached details that you guys might recognize. That's what Noble Metal is capable of." It took Dimotelo only glimpse to held his head down and silently walk away, with his boys in tow.

- "See ya when we come back", said the beat-down bounty hunter.

Diaz and Eury watched them getting eaten by the pitch blackness of tunnels, and once even their footsteps were consumed did Zuwa tell the trio to follow him.

Zuwa- " And Diaz…we can have our chat after you meet the big boss. Imagine we're on lunch break, silent and focused on the latest episode of our break show."

The boy felt his fist light up, but after everything he saw, a inkling of fear made him change his attitude toward the old man. He was no longer the weird, kind mentor, but a well of danger. But his teen cheekiness was in full bloom though, and he did had one weapon that could hurt Zuwa.

Diaz- " Robo Councilor was innocent after all", he blurted with a giant grin plastered on his face.

Zuwa- " What? No, goddammit, I still haven't caught on to the rest of season. Why-"

Diaz- " And Peruse…was the one who lied to Robo Councilor as a favor to-"

Zuwa-" La la lA LA LALAL! Filter mode on, all phrases related to 'Robo Councilor: The Android who wards your heart' to be sent to spam folder immediately." The old man turned to his pupil and while he felt a tinge of rage from the spoilers, he couldn't also help get a doze of pride for him.

Corridor after corridor brought the trio on a path that not even Diaz has ever heard about. To be fair, probably none in the Underlevel was probably aware that such tunnels even existed, considering that the first path they took was further into the pitchness that Diaz knew as a death trap.

The rumors were probably true, but half of them were also clearly a ploy deployed by Zuwa and his boss to keep prying eyes from investigating further. Once they reached the tip of a ravine, the old man picked up a rock and threw down.

Sammy-" Ohh…why didn't just let it to drop?"

Zuwa- " Because I want to hit something", he said, while massaging the back of his neck.

A moment later, cogs and belts came to life while staircase lifted itself up the visitors. Acting like an elevator, though, the stairs lower them as it retracted back until they reached a small entrance in the wall. Around 3 meters in all directions, Diaz would have guessed.

It didn't took long for the rock walls to be supplanted by straight hallways illuminated with green neon that seemed to lead toward tens of rooms. An echo carried the whispering voices of it's inhabitants, but Zuwa barely acknowledge them while passing by a few people hurdled together. Neither did them, though, just ghosts ignoring each other's existence.

He knocked once, twice on a door that wouldn't seem out of place in a submarine. " Right, so only the girl and Sammy are to speak with the Noble Metal. Diaz and I will sit nearby, silent, otherwise things might get ugly. Got it?", he asked while staring only at the underground worker. Diaz just nodded.

Zuwa- " Good enough. As for you two, or at least you girlie, keep the sect talk to a minimum, or none at all. Noble is no longer interested in that subject, especially to go over it with an occasional parish visitor."

Her rolling eyes said a story, but she agreed to the condition. Which in turn brought her to her own stipulations.

Eury- " Can't figure out why your boss agreed with it, but hope they don't do anything that would force me to use the gun. Or Diaz for that matter."

Zuwa- " Yeah, I think you understand now why I am a bit on the edge with this whole deal. But Noble said that it was OK, so here we are. C'mon, let's not keep the boss waiting. "

While neither of the Trio didn't knew what to expect from meeting this Noble Metal, most of their guesses revolved around a person decked with prosthetics and enhancements. Which turned out to be partially true; from a metallic point of view, Noble Metal had a body shielded with a sleek looking body armor, but what it was attached weirded them out a bit.

A very pale humanoid with sunken eyes, no hair and skin and meat that appeared to be falling off, hunched halfway toward the ground that needed special back support to not croak over. A mask helped him breath, and judging from the voice filter, speak as well.

-" I am Rhodium, the fifth Noble Metal in line. Now, can I have your names?"