Following his assimilation into the Black Island Mafia, Tomas Gaspar had been visiting Jimmy Falcone on a daily basis, pushing him again and again to order a hit on Renee, but to no avail.
2 weeks had passed of the daily banter between the two men, during which Tomas, in his frustration, had ceased spying on the Soweiland Intelligence Agency.
Despite that, Craig had stuck to his word and hadn't reported back to his superiors, thanks to the constant reminders of the danger he was in that he got every time he bumped into Tomas in the hallways.
Both Jimmy, Craig and Tomas however had gotten suspicious of the radio silence from the Ministry.
Eventually, it hit.
"Good afternoon James." Tomas said as he walked into the room, wearing a completely different getup composed of a tank top, jeans, leather boots and sunglasses. He was also holding a small radio.
"Bah, of course it's you again. Will you ever leave me alone? We aren't killing the girlie girl." Jimmy announced.
"So you've told me. This, however, might change your mind." Tomas smirked, placed the radio on the table and turned it on.
The intense intro of Sowei City 1 News began playing, and once it was done, Theodore Soleman began speaking.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to Sowei City 1! I'm your fabulous host, Theodore Soleman and this is my assistant Steve." the reporter said.
"Hi!" Steve exclaimed.
"We're coming at you live from the entrance of the Sowei City Castle, where today's council session has finally finished-" Theodore Soleman continued.
"Is this just this morning's news? What do you hope to gain from this? They never make any announcements here!" Jimmy pointed out.
"Then allow me to get to the point." Tomas said and pressed another button on the modified radio. The machine quickly skipped through most of the councilors refusing to give any announcements, Leo threatening to beat up Soleman for asking an intrusive question, Lucius calling security on Soleman for asking another intrusive question regarding his late wife, and O'Lop saying something about how lucky is on his side before an explosion described by himself as "my cookies!!" went off in the background before finally settling on the last interview, Renee's.
"So Renee, have there been any developments regarding the alleged mafia lurking in Black Island?" Soleman asked.
"Yes, actually. Yes there have." Renee said unenthusiastically.
"Really? Would you be so kind as to share?"
"On national radio? As if! Only thing I'll share is that we've captured quite a few of their agents. Including one apparently high ranking Jacques Lanos-"
Tomas paused the recording.
"WHAT!?" Jimmy yelled out. "So that's why he hasn't shown up in a week!?"
"Precisely." Tomas said, jerking an eyebrow.
"It was you, wasn't it?You helped them! You're trying ta destroy us from the inside!!" Jimmy deduced.
"Please, as if I'd ever be so stupid to put myself to you so easily. As much as I dislike you, I dislike them far more."
Jimmy said nothing, and just glared at the man instead.
"The point of all this is not how they captured them, but who did. Renee is still behind all this, and had it not been for her, Lanos and the others would all still be here. You must remove her from the equation already!" Tomas explained.
Jimmy hated the fact that Tomas had a point. But when push came to shove, he had to make a decision.
"Fine. Lanos, get me Aaron Knoxx!" Jimmy ordered, to no response.
"Oh, right. Tomas, go get me Aaron Knoxx, will ya?" Jimmy said.
_____________________________________
A couple minutes passed and Aaron Knoxx walked through the door of Jimmy's office.
"Sit down, gun." Jimmy said.
"What now? Another private contract?" Aaron asked.
"Correct. Taking out Monroe so soon was a bad move. His replacement has been breathing down our necks. They even captured some of our own." Jimmy began explaining.
"You want me to kill Renee Pascal." Aaron deduced. Jimmy nodded in response.
"Now hold on. You don't expect me to kill an innocent girl, do ya?" Aaron asked.
"She's far from innocent! She meddled in our business!" Jimmy shouted.
"She's doing her job, Falcone. You only want her gone because she's not afraid of you." Aaron said.
"She should be! I'm the Man with No Name, god damnit!"
"The public already fears us, Falcone! Killing her will only make us look like cowards. Like we can't take a hint of opposition! And if you wall go down I don't get paid!" Aaron said.
Jimmy frowned.
"Forget it. I ain't doing it." Aaron announced.
"I am afraid you have no choice in the matter, killer." Tomas said, walking out of the shadows. His glasses were absent, meaning his purple eyes were on full display. Aaron's eyes went wide when he realised who he was talking to.
"O-or what? You'll fire me?" Aaron asked.
"No, there's no use to that. I could just kill 10 innocent civilians if you don't do it. Maybe your partner James, too. Would you really be able to live with yourself, knowing the blood of 10 innocent people is on your hands?" Tomas grinned.
"Fine, you win. I'll do it. I'll kill Renee Pascal." Aaron said. "Just don't hurt anyone else."
The assassin glared at the lanky man one last time and walked out of the room.
"You're really cutthroat, Gardner! Impressive!" Jimmy praised.
"It was a bluff. Father always told me that morals are but a tool meant to be manipulated." Tomas said.
"Who the hell was your father, Fred Gaspar? Hah!" Jimmy joked, as Tomas frowned.
_____________________________________
Aaron had made his way on the hill that had a direct view of the Sowei City castle, carrying a sniper rifle.
He had gone through some old interviews in which Lucius had revealed that his eldest daughter's favourite spot to unwind was the roof of the castle, and he was hoping to catch her there.
And he was right. Renee was sitting close to the edge, her legs swaying rythmically above the dark abyss that was the trench surrounding Mount Soweiland.
Nearby, Nick had dosed off while pretending to watch over the girl. He was sleeping while standing up.
Leo had also just climbed up the stairs leading to the roof.
"Hey Renee." He said. "How's it goin'?"
"I'm fine. What do you want?" Renee replied.
"Chill out, we're on the same team." Leo said as he raised his hands in defence.
"Oh, it's just you. Sorry. Just stressed." She explained.
"What's up?" Leo said as he leaned on a flagpole.
"It's just the job, y'know? It's been two weeks and we've had no news from that Craig guy. You think something happened to him?"
"I'm sure he's alright-"
"And I'm worried that something might happen to me, or dad, or Jessie or anyone. Like what happened to mom. And Tom. And Monroe." Renee went on.
"I suppose we shouldn't have made you do this job, then. Sorry." Leo apologised.
"No, it's fine. I want this job. I'm getting to the bottom of this."
"Don't overwhelm yourself, Renee." Leo advised, and patted her on the back.
In the meantime, Aaron had finished setting up his sniper rifle. He kneeled down, took aim, and took a deep breath.
"Sorry in advance." He muttered, and took the shot.
A clicking sound was heard in the distance.
Leo turned around. Everything was moving in slow motion. He spotted an assassin. Tall, pale, sporting an all-black jumpsuit and goatee. A bullet heading straight for them. He could see clearer than before.
Leo lost control of his limbs. He grabbed the flagpole next to him and ripped it off the roof with unnatural strength. Then he slammed it on the ground, creating a shockwave.
Nick got toppled over, still sleeping, and Renee nearly fell off the roof. The bullet stopped in it's tracks and fell into the gorge, and Aaron was knocked a couple feet back, hitting a tree.
Leo then fainted.
"WHAT THE-" Renee exclaimed. "LEO?!HELP!"
"What the hell just happened?" Nick asked.
"GO GET HELP, YOU IDIOT!" Renee shouted.
Aaron was in shock, but before he could process anything, Geowar teleported behind him in an instant.
"Hey there!" Geowar said.
Aaronet out a screech and took out a pistol, and shot at Geowar three times. He deflected all three with a shield construct.
"I'd leave if I were you." Geowar said, and Aaron took of running.
Following that, Geowar teleported back on the roof where Renee was still trying to nurse Leo back to consciousness. Nick had tripped and fallen down the stairs in his attempt to go get help and was also unconscious.
"Finally, someone! Do something!" Renee told him.
"Hold on. You're going to need to tell me what happened first." Geowar told her.
"Well we were just talking and all of a sudden he slammed the flag into the ground and then some shockwave or something happened and he fainted." Renee explained.
"There was an assassin Renee. And Leo awakened his powers in order too defend you or himself. I'm not sure who the target was." Geowar explained.
"He what?" Renee asked. "Why did he fall unconscious? Is he alright?"
"Calm down, it's just a natural reaction to exerting this much power in one go for the first time. When I awakened my powers I burned a whole building down. It was awesome!" Geowar explained. "Don't worry, he'll wake up in an hour and be just fine."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS COULD HAPPEN EARLIER?!" Renee shouted. "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!!"
"I could have, but where's the fun in that?"
"FUN?! YOU THINK THIS WAS FUN?! I THOUGHT HE DIED!!"
_____________________________________
Aaron had run all the way to the edge of the city, where he took a carriage and boat back to Black Island.
He made his way through the halls clenching something in his fist, anxious.
"There's my favourite assassin! Did you do it?" Jimmy asked when he walked through the door to his office. He deliberately left it open.
"No. Her friend or whoever the hell that was summoned some ancient eldritch powers and then I was chased by a ghoul or something." Aaron explained.
Jimmy stared at him and then started laughing.
"Are ya serious? Did you not bring evidence or somethin'?" Jimmy asked.
"No, I didn't do it. The bullet stopped in midair. I missed."
"But you never miss."
"I missed."
Jimmy's smile turned into a frown.
"You expect me to believe this?" He asked. "You chickened out. We didn't hire you to chicken out, and come up with RIDICULOUS EXCUSES!" Jimmy raised his voice as he slammed his fist on his desk.
"I expected this reaction." Aaron gulped.
"You failed your most important contract. You're fired! Don't show your face around here anymore!"
"Will that really go well with your boss?" Aaron asked.
"Tony's a figurehead. I'm the one who runs things! And I'll make you regret disobeying my orders!"
"You'll kill the civilians? Right. I'll make sure you don't." Aaron said and revealed he was holding a live grenade. Jimmy stopped in his tracks.
"You wouldn't." He muttered.
"And FYI, I tipped off the cops every time you sent someone on a solo mission." Aaron confessed, and took out the pin. He dropped the grenade on the ground, bolted out of the room and shut the door behind him.
"You swine!" Jimmy exclaimed as he ducked behind the desk, and the explosion ensued.
On his way out, Aaron came across Carter Jeeves.
"Aaron!" He greeted. "Been a while. What have you been up to?"
"You'd have to kill me if I told you." Aaron said, and walked out of the hideout, smirking.