'Pardon my inferior intellect but your explanation leaves more questions than answers, why would they want to slip out? Why give up a life every assasin on earth yearns for'

  A knowing smile slid across my lips, 'true they yearn for it but can they withstand it? For a rookie assasin, life in the axis' quarters is garrulous torture. Sure, the heir is the only one alive who went through the experiment but even the form of living observed there is not that far from an asylum. For mentally–though not morally– sound individuals to be hearded like insentient creatures.....'

  'Its rather cruel' he finished for me 'but you said you fled because you knew too much.. what exactly did you know?'

  'Well, i knew of the experiment and about the heir's origins, nothing much but also nothing the higher–ups would want a mid-rank assasin like me knowing. The axis wants unquestioning obedience you see'

  'And how did you know all of this'

  'Snooping mostly' I evaded, diverting my eyes to the side.

  'You could collect information from right under their noses yet you were just a mid rank assasin you say' he probed.

  'Ranks are not just based on skill, to reach the higher positions you need to have spent a considerable number of years there, they like to ensure they have your complete loyalty'

  'And how many did you spend there?'

  'Almost a decade, i was raised there but i only spent about five years in the work force'

  'I didnot know the axis took in children' he remarked .

  'They do under special circumstances'.

  'Oh, so you weren't born there'

  'No– I don't see how this is related to the issue at hand, I can assure you my birthgivers were not especially significant people in the Axis's registers'

  He rubbed a hand against his forehead, assuming a strained expression 'Right, sorry i was getting ahead of myself there, the....'

  'I've answered enough, your turn now' I asserted pointedly.

  'If you want to know my objective, well i didnot lie to you. I want revenge' he sneered 'they owe me a blood debt'

  'When all is said and done, they are the axis and you know better than anyone else how unattainable your objective is'

  'It sounds so, doesn't it....' his head drooped causing strands of loose hair to veil his expression 'well then let me narrow it down to one individual. I want revenge on AVA, the heir'

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  I was most painfully aware of a brief falter in my expression as I almost panicked to control it

  'But now I'm not so sure' he continued 'whether they are still with the Axis. From your information a higher up helped with the coup five years ago that time coincides with AVA's abrupt withdrawal from the criminal world, their movements came to a most unprecedented halt...and that led to much contemplation, now it seems the rumors were true'

  'The heir still works with them' I said with conviction, the leg i had crossed over had started to go numb 'i donot know who it was that helped stage the coup but it couldn't have been him, he most definitely wasn't involved'

  'He? Pardon me, but almost no information is known about the heir apart from their radical killings, not even their age or gender, how can you be so sure? Even within the axis few have seen that person'

  'Because i saw the heir that day' voice low, my gaze lifted to meet his. 'He was only a child in the cusps of adulthood, a child of the devil. That look in his eyes....it was hardly human' I paused to draw in a breath 'Apart from that, as long as you reason it out, you'd understand the heir has to be male. Part of the authority in the axis lies in the hand of conformist occult leaders, they would never let a female heir exist'

  'I've heard of them, they're supposedly a church of satanic worship'

  'Hn' I affirmed 'by the way do you have accomplices among the Axis's ranks? For one of their fallen out collateral spies, you sure seem to know a lot'

  He only smiled to answer my suspicions, neither denying or confirming.

  'Alright then, my next question, whatever are you trying to use me for?'

  A mild look of surprise came over him 'whatever do you mean? I never used you now did I'

  I pretended to have not heard him 'from the looks of it, you were trying to use me as bait huh? Yes... thats why you let Azrael get away, you must be trying to draw someone out. Who, AVA?'

  'Hey, i never said that!?'

  'Well it wont help, frankly, I'm not important enough to coax AVA out of hibernation '

  'Well turns out you underestimate yourself, cus thats where you are wrong' he produced a thin sheet of animal skin parchment from his pocket and handed it to me. Upon it was an ambigram with the letters 'AVA' in bold succession.

  'This was left at the Huang's estate, it was inside one of the wooden boxes in the cellar. I initially thought this was a hoax, but if what you say us true and AVA still works within the axis then we have to reconsider. As long as AVA is there, in consideration with their decorum, no one else from the Axis dares use their name as a hoax.' Vittore explained

  Without lifting my eyes from the parchment I mused 'so you're cahoots with the police too, how convenient.... this looks authentic enough, congratulations AVA is in town, whether you live up to your name and stand victorious or get sent to hell by the devil is the question'

  'To kill or get killed, that is the question' he joked, sure lacks a sense of crisis.

  'Now that I've made my stance clear i hope you'll stop using me against my notice.'

  'Again, never admitted to using you, this is all your conjecture' he objected 'Anyway, now that the fish has taken the bait, you can either work with the rest of my accomplices or work independently'

  'Either ways i have to work under you dont i?' I sighed. He flashed another one of those shit eating grins. Finally, I could bear it no longer and got up feeling slightly unsteady on my numb right leg. 'I'll work independently thanks'.

  'That'd be best as it seems AVA is particularly interested in you'

  'We dont know that yet, we were both at the scene you never know who AVA came for' I countered, as I strode a few steps forward with my hands clasped behind my back.

  'Hmm, that is no matter since we are working together whether they come for you or for me, it entails the same thing. Come, let us shake hands to commemorate this union. From now on we'll trust eachother and not try to pull one over our own' he held out his hand and topped the gesture with another shit eating grin. –my foot.

  I slapped his hand aside with the back on mine to peer at at the desk behind him. Sure enough.

  'A canturbury long–range, nice..

  'This is only for self defense— wait did you say long–range??' From his voice, this time he was genuinely shocked.

  'Oh yeah, what did you think? Come to think of it isnt this the one you used back at the Huang's residence...that recoil must have hurt'

  'No wonder' he whispered to himself, his fingers of his left hand unconsciously brushed against the knuckles of his right.

  I raised an eyebrow, without any conscious effort at schooling the mockery in my eyes.

  'Trust huh?'

  'This was just for self defence, look its empty' as if to display his vow of trust he handed the revolver to me. Bad idea really.

  'So the man hiding in the shrubs outside' I stroked the black casing, a pretty little thing 'is he also for self defense'.

  Before he could open his mouth, he found the nuzzle pressed against his forehead. Without so much as a flinch though he remarked casually, as if in passing 'oh no, he's not one of us'

  'Say less' I whipped the revolver towards the window. Gripped in lackadaisical hold, a bang rang out, followed closely by a shrill cry. . 'I took care of him for you, now you owe me one'

  'Thanks' he managed with a pained smile, rather insincerely.

  Pressing the Canterbury down of the desk with a thud, I turned to leave.

  'Take it with you' Vittore huffed. You may need it.