"Your money is all mine n-now. All m-mine...!" Natia's slurred incoherent babble distracted the roulette table's shocked guests as Ryo ascended the ceiling, hopping from chandelier to chandelier. Natia's inherent lack of confidence, combined with her troublemaking demeanor, made her acting skills transparent in the crowd.
As the casino security guards took notice of her odd behavior, Ryo miscalculated a leap toward an elongated metal grid, causing the chandeliers to shake from side to side. Several of the casino patrons and customers caught Ryo's lingering presence above them and signaled for security to chase after him.
Ryo, who leaped earlier, failed to calculate his jump power and slipped off of the metal grid. His sweaty hands latched onto the edge of the grid. He peeked below him and watched Natia raise both of her eyebrows in worry. After watching the security guards seize Natia, Ryo slipped off and slammed his back against the roulette table, causing the casino's chips to soar across the room.
"Ryo?" A gentle female voice echoed through Ryo's ears, mesmerizing him beyond thought. "Ryo, are you there?"
"Hey," Natia's voice rang clearly, and a light slap to Ryo's back caught him out of his daydream. He found himself in Kathuz once again with Natia by his side beside the storage room of a small abandoned factory near their mission objective location. He had been preoccupied with his absent-minded thoughts about the mission plan even when Claire and Jinrai had been debriefing them through his nanosuit's communicator. Instead of focusing on the plan at hand, he simulated it through his mind and expected the worse. "Are you listening?" She asked.
"Ah, right," Ryo acknowledged Natia and tuned back into his communicator. "Sorry, I was thinking about something else."
"There's nothing we should think about right now more than this," Natia stated, placing her hands on her hips. She eyed her dress wrapped behind her shoulder, preparing to disguise herself after debriefing the mission plans. She then looked at Ryo's suit behind his neck as well, believing Ryo was not strongly focused enough. "Come on. Wake up."
"I had a feeling you were zoning out," Claire's voice rang through Ryo and Natia's communicator. "Need a quick refresher, or are you good?"
"I'm good," Ryo said, shrugging his shoulders around to stretch himself. "The mission just needs to go smoothly, and it's been a while since I've done something like this. Just a little stressed out."
"Don't worry," Claire comforted, having a fatigued and hoarse voice alongside him. "We're all stressed out about the mission because we all have our responsibilities. After we end communication, we have to do our best not to contact each other until our missions are successful. I'll be heading to the party, and Mr. Jinrai will do the same at the canal."
"Are you up for this?" Natia asked Ryo, tapping on his shoulder with a concerned expression.
"I am," Ryo solidified with a nod. "She has to pay for what she did to Sumire."
"All right, then it's time to get in your disguises," Claire requested. "Once finished, use your viper patch to gain access to the casino on the first floor of the building across from you. Find the Jester's lair and hopefully, she'll be there. And you two should be prepared for a fight."
"I'm ready," Ryo said.
"So am I," Natia said.
"Disguises on, and communicators off, then," Claire initiated. "Good luck, you two."
After severing the link to their nanosuit's communication, Ryo and Natia nodded at each other and separated into the shadows to change into their respective outfits. Ryo hastily stripped down to his underwear and unfolded his purchased suit. He inhaled a deep breath of the plagued air and began buttoning his suit on little by little after draping it over his body. The slim-fit tuxedo wrapped around him comfortably. He buckled a leather belt around his dress pants combo, straightened his white collar, and dusted himself off before embarking from the shadows.
He stretched his arms and legs to widen his tuxedo for increased comfort. He rested his back against a lamppost and waited for Natia to finish. A was minute passed, and there was no sign of her. Another minute passed by even quicker than the last, making Ryo worry about Natia's condition. He approached the opposite side of where he was dressed in his suit and knocked on the fence dividing their position.
"Natia?" Ryo's voice came through an echoed filter through the shadows. "Are you doing okay?"
There was no response.
"Natia? Are you there?"
There was still no response.
Ryo assumed that she was still taking her time to dress in her disguise, so he turned around, folded his arms together, and waited longer. Just as his completely unaware back was turned, Natia emerged from the shadows, flustered beyond control. Her timid and self-conscious attitude toward her newly selected dress caused her body to violently heat up, rupturing her senses with uncertainty.
She hugged her torso with her arms to cover up her tightened waist. It was not the dress that tightened her, but her confidence. The halter revealed her entire back, strapless without a brassier for extra sexiness. She wanted to cover up the transparent tribal sleeves, but she was so fixated on her waist that it was impossible to tackle two places at once. Her eyes were lathered with mascara, lips with red lipstick, and purple eyeshadow above her elegant eyelashes.
Ryo turned around, worried about the mission objective and Natia's confidence. He did not know she was there. "Natia, I need you to-" He stopped abruptly after meeting Natia face to face. Natia caught his eyes scanning her newly selected dress, speechless and frozen like a statue. He then peered up at her eyes to see her reaction to his first impression, which he believed hardly mattered as long as she was successfully disguised.
"What?" Natia's bitter voice was mixed with shyness as she turned away from Ryo.
"Nothing," Ryo replied, turning away in unison with her. He then mustered the courage to turn around and compliment her, despite their mission objective. "You... you look great." He plainly stated.
Natia's eyes dragged toward the ground where she stood, accepting his compliment shyly. "Thanks. You too," She replied sternly, attempting to maintain her original personality without letting her shyness envelop herself. "Let's hurry up and get to that casino. It's hot as fuck down here."
"Got your patch ready?" Ryo asked, holding up his Seething Viper identification card.
Natia held it up for Ryo to see. "Right here." She said.
"All right, let's move," Ryo replied, placing it away.
The two of them moved away from the storage facility and blended in with the moving crowd down the street in Kathuz. They slid past the numerous amount of rugged traders and merchants holding massive barrels and sacks to cover up their position. After crossing the street, they approached the first-floor building and entered with a concentrated firm expression on their faces.
The security guard standing on the opposite side of the floor did not look like a denizen of Kathuz based on his formal clothing and proper stature. He assumed a power stance with his hands folded down his pelvis, splitting his legs shoulder-length apart to establish his order inside the building. Ryo and Natia exchanged glances at each other and approached the security guard of the elevator.
The security guard, who did not budge, eyed both Ryo and Natia's classy and formal attire. He smirked before lifting his palm forward, requesting and gesturing for something in return. "ID?" His rough voice sounded like dragging dirt.
Ryo and Natia held up their Seething Viper badges, utilizing the most convincing poker face that they had ever tried in their lives. The security guard nodded, opened the elevator for them, and punched in a custom numeric code behind him that he had blocked with his burly body. He then jerked his head toward the open elevator, signaling Ryo and Natia to enter.
"Have a nice time, little rippers," The security guard chuckled, "Welcome to the Meister's Casino."
The elevator slammed shut, and the elevator's instantaneous speed shoved Ryo and Natia apart from each other. They jerked backward as the elevator's ramped-up speed gradually came to a halt. Ryo and Natia's bodies were unprepared for the rising speed as their bodies were like ethereal spirits lifting toward the heavens.
By the time the elevator reached its final destination, Ryo realized that they had ascended over one hundred floors from Kathuz. Based on logic, they were not in Kathuz any longer; they were in Aries. The elevator opened, and an automated robotic voice spoke aloud saying "Meister's Casino, First Floor Lobby. Please enjoy your stay."
Lively jazz music pulsated through the lobby's walls with its impactful drums and divine trumpets shattering the establishment with its inviting alacrity. As Ryo and Natia took their first strides forward, their appearances reflected off of the lobby's quartz and granite floors. Several casino human and alien patrons and customers were adorned in classy clothing and exchanged glances at their alcoholic drinks in merriment.
Ryo and Natia entered through the double doors leading to the casino. The Meister's Casino's supreme, royal, and authoritative existence made even the celebrities of Aries nervous to step foot upon its reputable perfection. Ranked as one of the highest classed areas in all of Aries, the Meister's Casino's first floor was depicted as an expansive three-tiered home to gambling fanatics, nightclub party-goers, and diners seeking to lavish in its three five-star luxury restaurants serving their exquisite, expensive, and unique cultural foods.
"We need to survey the area," Ryo whispered in Natia's ear. He activated his nanosuit's visor but forgot that it was rendered useless in his previous fight with the Seething Vipers. "Damn it. Can you scan the area?"
"We don't have outside surveillance," Natia muttered. "If we get caught on their security systems, we're done for. We're on our own for this shit."
Ryo shook his head, disappointed in his forgetfulness. She was right. Their responsibility for the invasion of the Meister's Casino fell on their shoulders. If the Jester was here, then he was responsible for dealing with her regardless of the risks.
"I say we should split up and gather intel," Ryo decided. "I'll check out the nightclubs, and you check the casino areas. Try and listen in on conversations or ask people around for the Jester."
"Okay," Natia stated, examining the neon-lit sign to the casino entrance. "If anything happens, if you find out anything, you contact me through the communicator. I don't want any unnecessary bad communication bullshit to stop us from finding this bitch."
"Deal," Ryo said, moving ahead to the center of the expansive first floor. "Talk to you soon."
Entering the nightclub establishment was a challenge. Drunken men and seductive women barricaded the path to the entrance as the dance floor dragged them outside the lobby. Ryo managed to slip through and stepped on the maroon-colored carpet encrusted in golden jewels, signaling a change of scenery. Casino guards were standing near other elevators adjacent to each other, ignoring the hospitality of the gregarious guests.
As soon as he entered a small walkway, stretching his suit out by extending his arm, an elegant bearded man with his mustache twirled for style approached him with a plate of fried croquettes. His tuxedo was reminiscent of spy movies. "Care for a croquette, sir?" He asked with a heavy accent in his dialect.
Ryo kept his facade up. "That sounds lovely." He said, before nabbing one.
"Please make yourself at home at the Meister's Casino." He recommended before heading toward other guests.
Ryo downed the croquette the moment he turned his back. Soothing live piano and trumpet music played towards the corner of the room from expert musicians, supporting the dance floor's slow pace. He noticed how close He was to the dining table and moved out of the way so other guests could pass through. After examining her situation, he realized she was the only guest mindlessly standing around awkwardly, waiting for something to happen.
I'm not used to this environment, he thought, eyeing multiple casino fanatical guests walking past his position. The more difficult mission was to identify which ones he couldn't speak to, in addition to those worthy enough to speak to in the first place. The Jester's location in the monumental casino could have been anywhere, and he was starting to grow weary and nervous by the second.
"I must say, it is absolutely wondrous that Polycyclone established this casino in the first place," A middle-aged man with an accent exclaimed to the roundtable of guests around him. He held his champagne glass up into the air with other guests, male and female alike. "We must all thank their combined efforts for this, or we would not be standing here! Cheers to them!"
"Cheers!" The other four guests around him cheered jubilantly, sipping from their vintage wine and champagne glasses immediately after.
Sounds familiar, he thought. If a company were to utilize their expenses to create such a casino for entertainment, he believed that the company could do anything in Aries. After brushing aside his side thought, Ryo realized that he could not obtain information from their table judging based on what they were speaking about and how filled they were. He instead moved closer to the conversing tables, seeing multiple guests either pampering themselves or filling themselves in with other overly pampered guests.
There was no luck near the dining area of the nightclub, so Ryo took to the dance floor to survey for additional information. The pulsating dance music exploded vibrantly, leading to the guests leaping in unison and dancing their hearts out to the rhythm of the beat. He slipped past the fanatics and observed them, hoping to find clues to the Jester's whereabouts.
"Hey, handsome," A slender long violet-haired female with pink lipstick tapped on Ryo's shoulder and turned him around. She grasped Ryo's waist and pulled him close to her. Ryo's inattentive nature made him exhale in anxiety. His face was met with the woman so closely that he could see all of the woman's facial beauty marks and moles. "Wanna buy me a drink?"
"Oh," Ryo voiced out. His mind raced with a million questions and decisions, but he ultimately decided that he was going nowhere with the intel that he had. He clenched his parched throat and was direct to the female. "I'll buy you a drink... if you can tell me where the Jester is." He blatantly requested, placing his hand on the woman's exposed shoulder.
"Ooh, aggressive now, are we?" The woman expressed, biting her lower lip before rotating her body around. She wrapped her left arm around Ryo's neck and ground against his genital area with her voluptuous and curvy ass. "The Jester, hmm? Cutting straight to it, are we?"
Ryo's docile mood was not ready for the pettiness of the woman's sexual behavior. "So you know about her, don't you?" He asked.
"Maybe," She flirtatiously said, flipping her dyed hair against his cheek to further entice him. She then turned around and pulled Ryo close once more. "If you buy me that drink, I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"All right then." Ryo finalized, heading toward the nearest bartender with his hands locked with the woman's. This was the first time that he had ever held hands with a woman, and there was no sense of excitement or anticipation for how petty she was to him. Only someone with a higher caliber that he knew would be able to make him happy.
Before he could take a single step forward toward the bartender, the woman pulled him back and whispered in his ear. "I don't want to go to that bar," She said. "I want to go to the VIP lounge in the back. That's a place where we can have lots of fun."
Ryo nodded. "Okay," He agreed. "Can you lead me there?"
"First timer too, hmm?" The woman teased them once more, pulling him out of the dance floor. "Be a good boy and follow me."
Ryo followed the woman toward one of the VIP lounges; a set of maroon-colored double doors were guarded by bouncers who requested all VIP passes be held up front for checking and entry. The woman, who held Ryo's hand tightly, pulled a part of her revealing dress to expose her breast. The VIP pass was tucked inside. She giggled as the guard nodded at her. The two gained entry with ease, entering the lounge without a single issue.
Little did Ryo know that the VIP lounge was nothing but a mere trap. The woman shoved Ryo forward in front of two casino guards waiting for trespassers or suspicious individuals. The guards seized control of Ryo's two arms and yanked him back toward a locker room, slamming his back against the metal.
Ryo used his quick and decisive thinking to act. He activated the mag booster on his nanosuit to pull the woman and the double doors back shut. The woman collided with one of the guards seizing him, and they toppled to the ground. Ryo utilized his nanosuit's strength to pull back his arm away from the other guard, ramming his forehead against the locker to knock him unconscious. With another swift kick to the jaw, he rendered the other guard unconscious.
The violet-haired female dragged herself back, panicking at Ryo's indiscernible and unexpected strength. She grasped a hold of an open locker, clutching it in fear as Ryo approached her.
"Nice try," Ryo voiced out in a witty and sarcastic manner. "Still want that drink, or are you fine?"
"Nobody asks for the Jester and gets away with it alive," The woman violently hissed at him, scowling with a death-defying glare. "Her presence is too sacred for someone as filthy as you. You'll die under her feet!"
Ryo approached the woman and kneeled. He held out his Seething Viper badge and aimed it at her for her to examine. "Sorry to say, but I'm with her," He lied. "Now, you can go about this entire monologue about suspecting me as an intruder, but I'm just here undercover. And you're delaying an important message from me to her. Do you think she'll be happy knowing this?"
"You're... a Seething Viper?" The woman gasped, clutching the locker even tighter. "You... you're really one of them?"
"Yes, and I suggest you tell me what I want to know," Ryo stated, placing the badge away before eyeing her feared gaze. "Or I can make it quick."
The woman knew exactly what he was referring to. She closed her eyes and spread her dress apart, revealing her breasts and the VIP pass tucked underneath. "Take it," She begged as her voice rang drearily. "She's in the VIP lounges in the casinos. I don't know if she's here tonight, but that's all I heard from the other guests, I swear!"
"Thank you," Ryo said, taking the VIP pass away from her possession. "Now, I suggest you forget this ever happened. Or, I could tell the Jester about this and she could pay you a visit."
"N-no, please!" The violet-haired woman pleaded on the ground, palms down, and her head slammed against the floor. The reaction that Ryo anticipated would not be as extreme as she had made it out to be. Instead of simply apologizing, the violet-haired woman slammed her forehead against the ground multiple times until it pierced her skin and bled profusely. Scarlet blood splattered across the floors as she rammed her head against the ground, followed by slamming it against the lockers to the side.
"P-please... see...?" The violet-haired woman's mumbled and garbled words were barely recognizable from her major self-inflicted injuries. "No Jester, p-please. She does not need... to c-come. I'm s-sorry." She voiced out before falling unconscious.
Ryo, who was stunned by the mere fact that the woman was punishing herself for a simple lie that he had told, realized just how threatening his enemy was. As the top assassin that nearly took his sister's life, Ryo sensed that the people idolized and sanctified the Jester's presence as if she was a pure-blooded goddess. The fact that the woman nearly committed suicide at the thought of the Jester's presence and visitation meant that she caught a glimpse of death peering into her future.
With the VIP pass in hand, Ryo hid the two guards' bodies in separate lockers with his mag booster. He lifted the violet-haired woman and placed her on a nearby bench before healing her wounds with his nanomachines. Although she was unconscious, Ryo took the time to heal her, for his sympathy took over.
He exited through the double doors, and the two guards had disappeared to assist other customers around. It was only a matter of time before the casino guards he took out would awaken.
He was now on a time crunch.