DIVISION 52 - BOOK II

CHAPTER LX

R Y K O 

I bounced my knee and took a deep drag from my cigarette. The ashes were littered over his cheap rugs.

My guard held his bloodied head still as I cast my eyes around.

"I thought they paid Division agents well..." I mused, unimpressed.

A grunt.

My Dawn Guard snapped a fist into his stomach and he coughed hard. Before dragging in a wet breath.

"Don't see much–outside that tower do you?" He rasped.

I scanned his blonde locks falling into his face. He was quite attractive for outer city standards. I flicked the rest of the cigarette onto the floor and tilted my head.

"What was his name again?" I sighed, rolling my hand in a circle.

He tried to speak and received more attention to the torso. I eyed my security lead and he descended the armour of his mask to meet my eyes.

"Dex, your imperial highness." He answered formally with a firm salute.

I nodded and dropped down into a crouch before the moron.

"I'm going to cut to the chase, Dex." I tasted the word and it was disappointing on the tongue, "–I need your friend so that I can get face to face with the right person... You know of Proximo Dartega correct?"

He watched me steadily without answer.

I halted my guard with a hand before they could loosen that tongue.

"I'm not a fan of the whole butcher then ask method... It's all rather Neanderthal to me." I smirked watching the hate simmer on his face. The loyalty coming into play. "If you don't want to give me answers I will just have one of my men take your place–and I mean that in a literal sense, Dex–"

He spat a mouthful of blood across my face and I lunged backwards.

My snarl was not nearly enough for these savages. I levelled my gun at his forehead and barked out to my men as they drew him up to his feet.

"Someone scan his fucking face so I can blow it off." I growled low, letting the fusion hum blue.

They complied like their lives depended on it–because they did.

I slowly wiped his spittle and vile red from my face and grew more impatient as he laughed.

"Take my face, sure. But Artella–won't buy it for a second." He grinned, slumping against the arms that held his head up, "You're so–dead." He chuckled. 

The scan flashed green and my guard nodded once.

I smiled back at him.

"I don't know who the fuck that is–" The gun fired and he became lifeless. "And I don't care."

I wiped the fresh blood off my skin and holstered my weapon. My guard dropped him unceremoniously into a dirty chair in the dark corner before standing to attention around me. I glanced at one of the faceless elite and pointed.

"You. You're about right."

"Your highness?" He questioned.

"Take that faceless mask and play the part of that street urchin. I'll debrief you on your objective once we can forge you his access from his comm." I answered flatly, walking out the door of the apartment. 

I kicked a Division jacket across the floor and nodded down to it.

"You may want to outfit yourself appropriately too."

"At once, Empress." He returned quickly.

I pulled out another cigarette and took a deep drag. An alliance with these simpletons was never in the cards it was just a facade. You couldn't rule over the simple–they just threw their shit everywhere and called it culture.

"The evidence, Empress?" My security lead questioned, glancing at the disarray.

I snorted and joined him.

"It was a shit hole when we found it so there's nothing amiss to find–but remove any trace of blood and the body." I added, glancing at the darkened corner. "We can't have the Division getting that little piece of information too soon."

My eyes stopped on a holo photo of a much larger man with his arm wrapped around the deceased blonde. I tapped the screen with the cigarette and nodded. Built like a walking fortress with intelligent eyes to match. A potential issue.

"Find out who that is." I murmured, staring at the dark eyes and colossal size of him. He was even larger than Scorpion's second.

My security head stood near but at a respectful distance and scanned it intently.

"I will have a report in a moment, Empress." He confirmed.

I sniffed and turned from the room once more. My guard was now dressed as dreadfully as the dead boy was. I flicked a hand out and my guards melted from the room in formation and took defensive positions around the flat outside.

The fusion craft was humming on the roof as we crossed it and the doors opened to me.

The faceless mask was now rendered and slipped onto my guard's neck. He took the form instantly and the same handsome blonde face stared back with blue eyes. I plucked a tumbler from the side and filled it. The fusion thrusters fired and we increased in altitude.

"Not bad. But you have some homework and intelligence to do." I said, leaning back in my chair and smirking at his calm gaze and salute. I took a long drink and exhaled smoke. 

"I have that report ready, Empress. This may prove problematic–"

"Please..." I drawled, swiping the holo pad from my security head with an eye roll. "They're all just killers with..."

My words stopped as I scanned the report on one, Artella Maxim.

"Who the hell is this man?"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably and wrung his armoured hands.

"The most successful contract killer in Merridian, Empress. Wanted in three continents. And we..." He took a moment and I met his eyes with a hard look.

"Out with it." I snapped.

"Well, we just killed a member of his only known family."

I turned back to the holo pad slowly and stared at the video feeds of confirmed kills on record. At the sheer number of them. At the endless bounties to his name. The credits. The political figures. The untouchable people he had ended regardless and disappeared. His Underworld track record would have terrified the most lethal I had in the Imperial guard. Hell, it would have terrified the head of the Division if she saw it.

"It's too late to undo this." I levelled my hard look on the new face of Dex. "The stakes are simply a little higher on your job, soldier."

He gave me a firm nod with no fear. The Imperials didn't breed that.

"You need to keep your contact with this man as brief as possible and gather intelligence on Proximo Dartega." I stated turning the holo pad to him. "He had ties to Makayla Xavier, it shouldn't be hard to find excuses to be in their circles."

The truth was, this man was already a dead one. My job was to extend that for as long as we could to build a good profile on them all in that steel and glass fortress. This was not a guns ablaze attack–this was a covert and concealed war. One that could be won from within. One that could be done once the key players were removed.

And Proximo Dartega had to fall first.