"Who's asking?" Marcus replied as he took another swig of his coffee.
The man chuckled as he sat beside Marcus at the bar. "My name is Frank Vox, but you can just call me Fox."
"Raven," Marcus replied as he took another sip of his coffee. "But apparently you already knew that."
Fox chuckled as he waved down the bartender, a high-tech spherical robot with a large red dot as an eye of sorts.
The robot flew over to Fox with a quiet hover.
"You have an order?" It asked in a light, yet monotone voice.
Fox nodded. "Yeah, get me a hard whiskey, something with a lot of alcohol." He said with a grin."
Marcus watched the interaction with a calm and curious gaze.
"I'll be right back." The robot replied as it flew off.
Fox nodded as he turned his attention toward Marcus. "I need someone to kiss the dirt." He said bluntly. "An office guy, he's involved in some undesirable business."
Marcus sighed as he squeezed his cup.
"You know I don't kill humans," Marcus replied with slight frustration.
He had made it a rule to avoid them at any cost, as he knew firsthand what happens when you get blood on your hands, you become a target.
Fox then grinned unwaveringly, revealing his stained yellow teeth and black gums. "Oh, I know that Raven, rogue androids and mutants only, right?"
Marcus immediately knew something was wrong. His mind began racing as he tried to figure it out.
"That's right," Marcus replied with a stone face, not betraying the panic that was rushing through his veins.
"Elise is her name right?" Fox said with glee in his eyes. "Leader of the south hounds?"
Marcus's eyes widened slightly.
"What are you talking about?" Marcus said coldly.
Marcus had a sinking feeling in his chest as the pieces had already begun falling into place.
Somehow this bastard had found a way to threaten Elise, but it was hard to believe as Elise was almost untouchable, however, Marcus couldn't afford to let his guard down based on an assumption.
"I heard you and her have a little thing going on, a truce, one with more stings than a harp." Fox said with a chuckle, "She a good fuck?" He asked.
Marcus' eyes widened completely as the air was sucked right out of their lungs. "How the fu–"
"Might wanna calm down, a lot of people might be listening," Fox whispered as he cut Marcus off from speaking.
Marcus clenched his fist and his blood began to boil. He knew Fox was right about losing his cool, yet he couldn't help but wonder how the hell Fox knew about him and Elise, how much did he know?
The robot bartender returned with a large bottle of whiskey on a plate attached to one side, and a few glasses on the other.
It hovered before Fox and placed down the steel plates. "Enjoy." The robot replied as it flew off.
Fox grinned as he grabbed the whiskey by the neck of the bottle. "This some good shit raven, want a little?" Fox asked as he began to fill a glass.
The light brown filled the small whiskey glass quickly, Fox grabbed it once he was done pouring and reached it towards Marcus.
"I don't want your damn whiskey, tell me how the fuck you know about Elise." Marcus hissed.
Fox shrugged his shoulders as he down the whisky in one go. He then smacked his lips when he finished. "It's smooth." He replied.
"Don't fuck with me." Marcus said in a low and threatening tone, "Answer my question."
"Or what?" Fox replied, "ya gonna kill me?"
He then took another shot of whiskey. "That would be pretty funny though, the man who doesn't kill humans, killing me because I threatened his piece of tail."
Fox then chuckled again. "Then what?" He asked.
Marcus was left in a hard position. Somehow Fox had not only figured out about him and Elise, but he also seemed to know exactly who to push his buttons.
Marcus concluded that there was no way Fox was alone in this.
"Who really wants this guy dead?" Marcus asked. "Because I know for a fact that a two-bit criminal like you didn't come up with this, if you wanted that guy dead you would've just killed them."
Fox nodded, clearly impressed with Marcus's intelligence and intuition. "You're as smart as they say, Raven, a real thinker."
Marcus narrowed his eyes as Fox continued. "Truth is, this 'office' guy is the president of Murrow Pharmaceutical company, and lately he's been working on a cure for Mel-13."
Mel-13 was the virus that created mutants with just a drop of contaminated fluid.
Marcus couldn't believe his ears, this wasn't just a simple job, it was a damn suicide mission!
"Who the hell wants this guy dead?" Marcus hissed in a whisper, he almost completely forgot about the threats to Elise due to the sheer stupidity of such an idea.
"Honestly I don't know who and I'm not paid to, I'm just a messenger, and your girl, she's just the leverage, so what's it gonna be Raven?"
Marcus' grip had tightened around his coffee cup, his leather gloves making a squinching sound as his grip tightened.
Marcus was conflicted about such a choice.
All his life he had lived and killed on his own terms. There was nothing anyone could do about him, as he was never a threat to their operations and there was nothing tying him down.
Yet within a matter of minutes, he was thrown on the card table with a man who seemingly held all the cards.
He wanted to call Fox's bluff, but he knew Fox wasn't bluffing.
Someone like him would never do something this brash unless he was firmly in the victory seat.
With a heavy sigh, Marcus conceded. "Fine, is capturing him an option?"
"Not a chance kid, you'll have the PD after you from coast to coast, he has to die, no witnesses and no mess."
Marcus closed his eyes as he released his coffee cup. "Alright." He said calmly, "I need two things, proof of Elise's safety and details on the job."
Fox's grin widened, revealing more of his decayed teeth. "Good, to see you pick the sensible option, I'll have a contact meet-up with you with details on both requests."
Marcus nodded as he stood up and stepped away from the bar, as he turned to leave Fox called out to him. "Loose lips kill, Raven, let's make sure our 'friend' stays in the dark."
Marcus glared at Fox with a burning frustration in his eyes, before turning to leave the bar.
Stepping outside, Marcus was greeted with neon lights, and congested streets filled with autonomous cars and trams, alongside massive skyscrapers in the distance, blocking out the stormy, night sky.
Marcus flipped up his hood as he began walking down the sidewalk. His mind was a swirl of conflicting thoughts and emotions.
Marcus tried to think of ways to get out of this devilish situation, escaping with both Elisa and leaving his assigned target alive.
Marcus knew that if he went through with this killing, his life would be over, as nothing would stop Fox and his employer from threatening Elise again in the future.
— — —
An hour later Marcus found himself in his apartment cleaning his weapons as he mulled over potential escape plans when suddenly there was a knock on his door.
Marcus sighed as he rose up from the kitchen table and began to make his way toward the front door with a pistol in hand.
There could be one of two people at his door, a client or Fox's contact.
Either way. Marcus still could take chances.
Reaching the door Marcus stood a few feet from it as he pointed his pistol at the door. "Who is it?" He asked in a deep and demanding tone.
"Lily, I was sent by Fox." A light cheerful voice called out from the other side of the door.
"Lily," Marcus repeated as he slowly lowered his pistol.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Lily said with a giggle.
Marcus scoffed as he slowly opened his door.
As he opened it, he noticed that no one was there, that was until he heard Lily's voice again.
"Hey big guy, don't ignore me." She said with a wide smile.
Marcus looked down only to see a android in the form of a young girl. She has gray silicone-like skin, white hair, and bright yellow eyes with a glowing hue.
She or rather it, was dressed in a black dress, and it was armed with a rifle on its back.
"Is this a joke?" Marcus asked in confusion.
It wasn't unusual for gangs to use androids as messengers and expendable guns, but this was outlandish, almost to a comical extent."
"I know my appearance is surprising, but you shouldn't be so rude." The android replied.
Marcus rolled his eyes as he stepped back from the door, "Whatever, I don't even care anymore."
Lily walked into Marcus's apartment with a curious gaze, its yellow eyes scanning everything in sight.
Marcus closed the door behind the android and then began to make his way back towards the kitchen table.
"Start talking," Marcus said coldly.
Lily smiled as it followed behind Marcus.
"Thomas Townley, president of the Murrow pharmaceutical company, has been scheduled to be killed tomorrow before announcing the creation of his miracle cure."
"Tomorrow?" Marcus asked as he sat down, "If you knew this announcement was coming, why didn't you arrange for his death sooner?"
Lily chuckled with a grin. "So you don't have time to weasel your way out, we know you're quite the resourceful man."
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
This person knew Marcus far too well and it was reaching an uncomfortable level.
"Continue," Marcus said as he returned to cleaning his sniper rifle.
"The target will be in a hotel with a security detail of 20 men, with Captain Andros leading the security detail."
Lily continued. "Your task is to kill Mr. Townley before he leaves the hotel so that he can be replaced, do you understand?"
Marcus nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, but what about Elise, where's my proof that she'll be safe?"
"I'm that proof, I receive a constant feed on Ms. Lafayette, you can check it at any time."
"Like surveillance?" Marcus asked skeptically.
Lily nodded. "Indeed."
"Let me see it," Marcus asked as he placed down his sniper and reached out a hand.
Lily stepped close to Marcus and opened their hand to reveal a hologram of what appeared to be Elise smacking around a subordinate, "you damn fool, stop wasting my fucking time."
Marcus unknowingly smirked at the video.
That was Elise alright.
"How do I know it's not fake?" He asked.
Lily grinned. "You really want to test that, fail this mission and you'll get a front-row seat to her head popping like a grape."
Marcus shifted uncomfortably at Lily's words.
He could tell that threat held some serious weight behind it.
"Fine," Marcus said reluctantly. "Let's discuss details."
— — —
Early in the morning of the next day, Marcus was making his way through the city on his motorcycle with a duffel bag on his back.
In it, was the uniform of Mr. Townley's security detail, a silenced pistol, a few gadgets and drones for surveillance, and a body bag.
As Marcus entered the inner city, he got a call from an unknown number.
He answered it by tapping his earpiece.
"Raven, your first stop is the Fillmore Hotel, it's where the security detail will be awaiting Mr. Townly." Lily's voice rang loud and clear in Marcus, ear.
"Yeah, I know." Marcus hissed as he went full throttle, his bike roaring loudly as he zoomed down the street, the chilly morning air smacking against his exposed skin and sending a shiver down his spine. "So, who am I supposed to replace again?"
"Officer Mill, he looks similar to you and he's quiet, should be easy enough to replace him without anyone noticing."
Marcus nodded. "Mill got it, but I'm not killing him."
"You don't have to, just make sure he doesn't see you, otherwise you'll be exposed and Elise…"
"Yeah, I know." Marcus hissed, cutting Lily off.
A few minutes had passed and the Fillmore Hotel finally came into view. Its grand stature and architecture were entirely unique and elegant.
A stark contrast to its dark and meek surroundings.