"Go on."
Once Arias said this, a smile appeared on Slade's face, but he didn't immediately answer. Instead, he cast Rose a glance and shook his head in the direction of the door, making the message clear. Rose frowned and clicked her tongue but didn't object to leaving. "Whatever, I'll be outside the door," she added in an irritated tone before walking out.
This made Arias curious about something, so he asked, "Is it something your own daughter can't hear?"
It was a good question, but Slade had his reasons. "In my line of business, you can't even trust family. I'm not coming to you with this idea because I trust you. Rather, you have the funds, resources, and authority to make the project thrive. Think of it as me pitching something to an investor."
Slade was honest with his answer, so Arias just nodded. It would've been stranger if Slade trusted him already.
"I see. Then carry on," Arias prompted. Slade first put his cigar into an ashtray before clasping his hands together and resting them on the table before he spoke. "Well, I can't go into many details until I'm sure you want a part in this. But in summary..."
"As you already know, children with special abilities are quite expensive on the black market because of the high demand. Not too long ago, I began working for some individuals who started a project that could awaken a person's meta-gene."
"It's not a perfect process, with the rate of failure far surpassing that of success. With the Justice League getting deeper into the matter, the project was put on hold, and I decided to keep a low profile while the top brass looked for a solution. I think you could be that solution."
"You have the funds and resources to get yourself a big piece of the project. Furthermore, with the authority you have in Gotham, you could ship the finished goods through here. For clarity, a single child with special abilities costs anywhere between 50 to 800 million in auctions. What do you say?"
After giving a rough outline of the contents of the project, Slade reached for the ashtray and picked up his cigar, puffing it as he waited for a response.
Where most people would be looking at the risk-to-profit ratio, Arias was pondering something else.
In his mind, selling the finished products just like that was a sheer waste of potential. But before he could even think about employing any of his ideas, he needed Slade to introduce him to the fold.
From there, Arias could see how best to take over the project entirely, whether by force, money, or more psychological means. With that in mind, he gave Slade his answer.
"The potential is there, so I'm willing to be a part of it."
Slade showed a toothy grin and nodded. "I'll let them know a solution to their problems has been found, then."
…
It would take three days before Slade finally got the feedback he wished for, and a meeting was arranged.
In the days leading up to the feedback, the League of Assassins had already assigned a few capable individuals with the task of eliminating Arias. Luthor was sure to stress the fact that Arias was a tricky person to deal with. However, the main reason the League was so cautious was because of Slade, Rose, and Wonder Woman, all of whom they considered great threats.
Harley was skilled in combat but still very lacking when compared to a killer trained from a young age. Both Slade and Rose were not only skilled, but their meta-abilities enhanced those skills to even greater heights, putting them among the very greatest killers Earth had to offer.
Diana's threat level came from her various abilities that made it near impossible for a normal human to best her, no matter how well trained. Her senses were sharp enough to detect the direction a bullet was traveling, while her reflexes enabled her to block them using her wrist bracers.
Safe to say, her speed, strength, and agility would present a major problem for the assassins.
As if that weren't bad enough, all three resided in the same building as the target. A target with a security system under a private supercomputer and private satellite monitoring.
Brilliant, overpaid technicians and software engineers worked dutifully to ensure the channels under the system were as secure as they could be. For someone to even hope of breaching it, an unholy amount of cyber skill was needed.
Because of this, the assassins sent had no choice but to play a waiting game. After all, given Arias's position, it was only natural for him to make movements for varied reasons. When that moment came, they would strike.
…
That very day when Slade got confirmation, the assassins would catch a lucky break. The meeting was set to take place abroad.
The location didn't matter; all that did matter was the fact that Arias was making a move. A fact which they discovered upon learning his private jet would be in use in the coming days.
Although unaware of the assassins lurking, Arias knew there were a good number of individuals likely monitoring his movements. He had to ensure he was cautious enough to avoid being tied to anything problematic.