Save his stake

Thursday morning 3:36 am - Killer Wind headquarters.

We finally arrived at the organization's headquarters after a monotonous thirty minutes in the dark and repetitive scenery of the forest. We had cut the predefined paths and were galloping madly thanks to an endurance incantation. This made our mounts move faster without tiring.

When we saw our house, we slowed down, get down off our horses, and levitated the target to the basement to tie him to an iron chair designed for situations like this. Justine told me she would check on me later, then closed the basement door with my equipment under my arm. My job was to look after the hostage. As after any mission, my mentor had gone to take care of some business, look after the horses and tidy up, which gave me a good fifteen minutes' respite.

Justine was an independent woman, who particularly appreciated money and the comfort it could provide. At least... I saw this as one of her most obvious weaknesses. When she passed me, I could only see a tall, elegant silhouette, more than a shadow of her former self. Justine was indeed very secretive, but as soon as she gave you a smile or a favor, all suspicion turned into trust and this was undoubtedly her best weapon.

I lived with her as if I had always been her daughter and got used to seeing her constantly on the move to escape her own demons. She was followed by her long blonde hair, which she had hardly ever tied back in twelve years of work. My mentor often piled them into her ever-present scarf. I had come to believe that she needed these bits of fabric for emotional support to cope with the guilt of her crimes on a daily basis.

Her soothed eyes sparkled with silenced feelings, dominated by the intense blue of her eye. Sometimes I felt as if they were leading the way to the purest of Edens.

Like me, she was a solitary and mysterious soul: I will never be sure of knowing her completely. Sometimes she would change completely for no apparent reason. She was the kind of woman who was constantly surrounded by a fog of questions...

Why had she taken the trouble to take me in? Why had such a tender soul as hers chosen such a degrading profession?

Despite my attempts, Justine had made me understand very quickly that she would say nothing about it, perhaps she wanted to spare me a great deal of torment. In the end, not knowing allowed me to keep certain stability. I was only concentrating on who I wanted to be instead of taking my energy chasing an unpleasant truth.

The past can't be changed, there's no point in feeling sorry for yourself.

Without Justine, I could never have become the perfect mercenary I was so proud of. If I was a formidable opponent, Justine was just as formidable, especially when you didn't know what she was capable of. This opportunist deceived as she breathed with a subtlety that even I didn't possess...

The most amusing thing about her was that although she chased money like a dragon, my superior was content with a very austere life once she returned from work. She spent her time keeping the house clean or cooking. It was confusing for outsiders to see her so serene and generous when you knew she was capable of killing in cold blood for a few coins.

But I couldn't complain, Justine was a great cook and she could make all kinds of pastries.

This was Justine, the perfidious scavenger that I was going to confront face to face. As soon as she returned, we would engage in a meandering conversation that I would prefer to avoid because her authority exceeded mine.

What were we going to do with the prince?

Personally, I'd keep him under my thumb.

We were supposed to kill him and get rid of him like any other target, but I was adamant about it. He was the key, the one who would bring Big Brother back to my side and solve my memory problems.

I planned to make the prince disappear without getting blood on my hands. By making him my slave, my property. I had thought it over on the way back, mentally organizing a plan that would allow me to format him. In a neutral silence, I contemplated his body at my mercy, strapped to his chair.

What a pitiful piece of trash! How low I have fallen to pick up someone in the rubbish...

Since he was sleeping, I took the opportunity to examine him indiscreetly. I guessed his weaknesses, I studied his musculature – not the best – and his dirty clothes which gave him a miserable look.

We'll soon be playing together, just be patient, my prince...

I certainly wasn't going to dismember, disfigure or burn him, and Justine was going to scold me for that unprofessionalism. Having spent all my time meditating, my break was over. I heard the stairs creak, the pressure building as each step was heavier than the next. A chuckle passed between my amused lips. As if her stern mother act could intimidate me!

Try as much as you want Justine, I don't care about your anger and this pressure.

She abruptly placed a glass of water on a single-legged table with a ridiculously small surface. It was the only piece of furniture in the room apart from the strapped chair where the victims were waiting in anguish. That was the purpose of this arrangement, after all. There was nothing warm about this place, only emptiness, and gritty walls.

Justine and I were the only ones who had witnessed all the horrors that had happened in this room. It was regularly cleaned because of the bloodshed, but despite our regular maintenance, there was still soot that gave the place a degraded and dirty look...

The woman said coldly, “For when he wakes up.”

I watched from the corner of my eye as the glass was placed roughly on the table. Our target would not wake up for several hours. To serve him water so kindly when he was not our guest seemed to be a desperate act to buy time.

Justine hated having to lecture me, as much as I hated being treated like a child.

My mentor tucked herself further into the neck warmer of her uniform and held her shoulders tight. We were well aware that we were venturing into a minefield. For my part, I prepared to strike back, no matter what kind of attack she made. She went straight to the heart of the matter, no longer having to hide her anger.

“What the hell did you do? Why didn't you inform me at last? You should never have brought him back to me alive, let alone dragged him around so much!”

No matter how irritated he was, his signals didn't affect me.

I had better have a good excuse because a bad answer would break our bond of trust. Between partners and accomplices, this was the basis of our organization.

“The prince woke up before I could kill him. I had to fight with him to keep the alarm off.”

It didn't matter if I altered the truth, only the result mattered.

“Come on, you know very well how to avoid that kind of situation. Why did you bring him back conscious? You could have killed him on the spot. You should have,” she insisted sternly.

“I wouldn't have had time to sign off on the murder without being caught. So I ended up drugging him. I didn't have time to carry him, so I thought it would be quicker to make him run. He wasn't in his right mind, nothing threatening...”

“Do you think you can make me swallow this poor lie? You almost ruined the whole mission and our investments! Three months, we've been at it for three months! You'd better come up with a better excuse. And promise me you'll never go solo again when the bounty is this big..."

Justine let out a tired groan, relieved to have escaped in one piece from the Hiven Palace.

It was unusual for me to make mistakes. Especially if we were talking about work. Justine was inevitably intrigued by the cause of my failure. It was obvious that I had agreed not to kill the target. I would, however, keep the truth behind this choice to myself.

As much as Justine, I was not accustomed to seeing myself fail. You never get used to frustration anyway.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to lie to you..." I said to satisfy her, even though I didn't regret any of my actions.

It wasn't sincere, and she must have known that.

It's so much easier not to make a fuss.

If I had seemed worried for a while, I wasn't anymore. Without fear, I allowed myself to stand up to my mentor “I know I failed in my duty... but I have no reason to kill him. He has not yet committed any crime and he is not responsible for the actions of his family. Nor for being born an heir. One does not choose one's condition, no one knows that better than you.”

My last words stuck like knives in Justine's heart. I knew that she had suffered from the system, and that being a noblewoman would have saved her a lot of trouble. These past traumas remain forever in the eyes of a broken person. Justine had those eyes where storms and fires had been raging since we first met.

It was in this way that I guessed that she was living in denial. I had deduced that she would never allow herself to be happy again because she had regrets on her conscience. If I hadn't met her, Justine would be alone and mad by now.

Anyway, happiness is a poisonous illusion.

Was I partly to blame for the ills that plagued her? I recognized that I had broken hundreds of souls, but not his. Her pain was immeasurable, she felt so bad about herself... I watched her suppress an old pain that was foreign to me. She remained silent for a few seconds, finally coming to her senses “May I ask how long you've been concerned about the fate of victims?”

I might have known her as my mother, but she had raised me. It was hard to fool her. The woman clearly saw that there was no question of empathy on my part. Held back by this trick question, I grunted in annoyance. After all my efforts to keep this midget alive, I wasn't going to let Justine touch him. That award was mine, I was leaving her the cash bounty... So she had no right to stand in my way!

“Since you no longer respect our principles. You are blinded by money, Justine...” I reproached her.

Unhappy to hear the facts coming out of my mouth, the boss glared at me as if that would shut me up "Oh, don't start, you rude girl. We need that money, it benefits you as well as me. I care for us, and you're jeopardizing us with that dead weight in the basement. Do you really think you can get anything interesting out of him? Honestly?!”

“Don't be fooled, we can get a lot more out of him than just some information. We can make him work for us. Give me a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised.”

The woman was not so disappointed by my proposal now. She laughed without worrying about what the stunned boy would think when he woke up.

“Well, I didn't think you were so bold to play on the long term! What are you planning this time?”

We were on the same page, determined to find a compromise that would work for us both.

Life is just a strange game where we have nothing to lose, we agreed on that.

Agreements have the advantage of thwarting conflict, don't they?

“The more he trusts us, the more he will talk about himself. I'm sure he'll be useful for bigger projects...”

“Wait, you want me to take care of the prince? And take him in? When we can't even exchange him for a ransom? Don't dream too much, it will be at your expense!”

“It's already been arranged, I'll take care of everything. All you have to do is feed him. I'm sure he'll fall for your sweet cakes!”

We were talking about the cattle in front of the cattle. The poor cattle were not even allowed to impose themselves in this discussion that would decide their future. Without embarrassment, we argued about their condition in front of their sleeping bodies.

No matter how much the cattle listened to us, they would not understand anything.

“Very funny, what are you getting at? We can't hold him indefinitely.”

I played my last trump card, getting Justine on my side “Recruit him.”

Baffled, my mentor wondered if I had lost my mind. She no longer looked like an amused woman at that moment.

“What? I won't let the whole world know you didn't do your job. Our reputation will be worthless and the royal army will be after us! It's rude of you to ignore our traditions: hiring a novice, on a whim, without making him pass the test... Never in a million years.”

I expected this answer because I had the solution that would reassure her.

I plan everything.

“You got it wrong Justine, don't underestimate me! I would never do such a thing! We'll fake his death and only then hire him. So much for tradition, it's better that he doesn't know about some of our practices. If you insist, we can submit them to him later, there is no hurry! I will train him and be responsible for any collateral damage. One day, he'll end up bringing in enough money to pay his pension...”

“I don't want to be involved in this. Especially if you're going to offend the mercenary code of honor,” she said frankly. “You're welcome to make him your soldier, but I'd rather not complicate my life. The more we are, the more tiring it is to manage. Besides, I don't want to share my wallet with that spoiled brat who doesn't know the value of money. Who knows if he won't betray us one day?”

“Not a chance, I'm going to slap a property seal on his face. The kid's probably temperamental, but I assure you he'll be profitable: he grew up with the elite after all!”

“That won't stop him from getting killed if he doesn't comply,” she corrected me. “You seem really determined to put a ball and chain around you... You know that this seal only breaks when you die, so why? Why him? It could have been any other clown, someone more predisposed, but strange: you've murdered them all without a second thought!”

Seeing Justine treat him like an ordinary person offended me.

Big Brother is above us all. There is nothing ordinary about him!

I couldn't say anything more to her, except to cross my arms with a condescending sneer. The seal would bind me to Big Brother when he returned. My connection to the prince was strictly personal, not her concern.

“He's got something special, I can feel it. I'll kill him if he doesn't show any value.”

This time I had answered ambiguously so as not to have to spill the beans. This victim was special to me, he was like a reincarnation of my model, only less clever. Justine was particularly interested in my notion of the word 'special'.

All that remained was to confuse her.

“If it's of any use to you...” she responded with a tired gasp.

What? She's letting me win?

I could hardly believe that the blonde had just given up on the idea of insisting on this detail. In any case, I wouldn't have revealed anything more to her and my closed expression assured her of that.

Perhaps you would understand one day?

To continue in this direction would have wasted her time and in Justine's eyes, time was money.

“Thank you,” I said with a deep voice.

It was only polite, and nothing more. I was about to walk away when the leader warned me, “Every member of this organization is facing death. You’ll feel guilty because he’ll not survive for long...”

I can't feel guilty.

“It's nice of you to worry, but you don't have to! As long as I'm behind his back, I assure you that I'm the only one capable of cutting his throat! I know the risks, don't worry,” I say, more relaxed.

I have everything under control.

“If you say so. But don't forget that you've attacked the most esteemed personality in the country, there's no more disabling starting point! Without your do-it-all toy, I don't know if you'll be able to brainwash him. He'll be very unstable and we won't always be able to keep an eye on him. You're on your own, but I don't want a panicked brat snooping around my house! Imagine if he helped himself to the workshop, it would be a disaster!”

In spite of the various constraints she was putting on me, my boss seemed to be rather in favor of sparing him, as it would cost her almost nothing.

So I'm all set.

“Come on, Justine, I've known what I was doing all along! You can imagine that he'll make up his mind very quickly with me. I can be persuasive, even without my secret weapon! As for the rest, he'll have a new identity, a new look... Don't worry about that. If he prefers to die... we can’t help him”

Of course, this was not part of my scenario. A small smile formed on his face, I imitated him hypocritically.

“I hope for your sake that you are not making the biggest mistake of your life. I'll give you a chance: if I think he's bothering me too much, you'll have to stop.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Ah... That reminds me of when I decided to take you in, it was a big responsibility, you know...”

I refused to think about the past she was talking about. I'm not that weak thing anymore.

You don't know what they did to me. What they did to Big Brother.

“It reminds me that I have work to do if you don't mind,” I gritted my teeth.

“Please, he's all yours. When you're done with him, send me something to confirm his death to the clients. See you tomorrow~!”

She was almost laughing... It was going to be a tough job... and my mentor assumed I was going to spend the rest of my night doing it. At the expense of my health, the priority was to pick up the prisoner when I woke up, roast him a bit, and only then think about getting some rest.

Justine doesn't understand anything! The cellar is the most entertaining time. You just have to know how to do it...

~~~~

The way had been cleared, I had won the first round of the game. But I did not know that I had just embarked on an endless journey with the heir. A journey that would break all borders and souls...