Free Web NovelChapter 13: A Gift For Sable?
"Would you like some whiskey ?" Richard asked as he looked at the mercenary that the Grey Market hired to get rid of him.
He looked like a kid no older than twenty, which was surprising when he first saw him on the cameras.
But after his recent performance, Richard had quickly learnt not to underestimate him despite his looks.
That was the reason for the trap that the kid had willingly walked into, despite having time to turn back.
"I’m not really an alcohol person," Zero calmly answered, "but I would take a milkshake if you happen to have some."
"...." Richard silently looked at the white-haired kid before asking, "You don’t seem too worried about being unable to use your factor."
Zero just shrugged and leaned back in his chair. His Factor being disabled was going to be a pain, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t planned for a situation such as this.
So for now, he decided to humor his target.
"I know you were sent here to kill me," Richard continued, "and though you won’t succeed, would you care to hear a story before you die?"
"And what makes you think I won’t succeed?" Zero asked, sounding a bit amused, but before Richard could say anything, he added, "I’m guessing it’s because of her?"
He turned and looked at the lady on the sofa in the office. She had messy short black hair and red eyes, which seemed to let off a subtle glow. freewēbnoveℓ.com
A sign that her ability was still activated.
Though she just took a short glance at him before going back to doing whatever she was....which was nothing.
"Among most things," Richard said with a smile, "after all, not even the grey market has information on her."
That, he was certain of, after all, she was one he had personally acquired from the Villain group he worked with.
They had gotten her from the moment her Factor awakened, but unlike others they kidnapped, they decided to raise her, and now that her value was so high, they sold her.
To Richard.
"Though she cost half of what I own," Richard continued with a prideful smile, "she is worth every penny."
Zero continued looking at her for a while before turning back to Richard and saying, "Makes you wonder why they’d sell such a valuable asset."
"So.... About that story?" He added before Richard could think too much.
"Ah, yes," Richard stood up and walked toward the wine cabinet in his office, picked up a bottle and a glass, before walking back to his desk and pouring himself a generous measure.
"You see, I grew up in the streets," he started, "picking whatever scraps I could find just to survive another day."
Richard swirled the wine in his glass as he looked into it.
"But after I discovered the grey market, I swore to myself that I’d never go back to that," he continued, "that no matter what it took, I would never again be the kid with nothing."
He took a sip before continuing, "and for a while, the information brokerage was enough."
"After all, it brought me ’clean’ money and more importantly, a comfortable life," He set the glass down, "unfortunately, we humans are creatures of greed and soon enough that greed started showing."
"Especially when the grey market started expanding, with operators, fixers, and information brokers setting up every other month."
"Competition was increasing, and my margins were shrinking, and I could see, very clearly, the trajectory I was headed in," Richard continued, "In five years I’d be surviving on scraps again."
"So I made a decision," he added as he took another sip of his wine, "probably not the greatest of decisions, but it ensured I stayed on top."
Yawn~
Zero let out a yawn, interrupting the story as he said, "And here I was expecting some self-righteous story, guess I was wrong."
"No," Richard said, "I’m just a man who grew up with nothing and decided he’d rather do something uncomfortable than risk going back to it."
"I see," Zero said before sitting up straight again, "so why tell me all this?"
"Perhaps I just felt like sharing," Richard answered with a small smile, "or perhaps, I just wanted to give you time to think of your final words."
Sigh.
Zero let out, before finally standing up and saying, "Your story was quite disappointing. Fortunately for me, it’s time to end this, so do you have any last words?"
"You don’t get it, do you?" Richard said as he also rose to his feet, "You might’ve dealt with my men in this building, but even so,"
"At this very moment, a sniper has you in their sights, and with the slightest twitch of my finger, they’ll take the shot."
Zero was silent for a while after Richard’s words, an action that seemed to convince the information broker that the mercenary was right where he wanted.
"Fortunately for you, I admire your skills," he added with a smile, "why not join me and—" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
His words were cut off when Zero lifted his gun and aimed it directly at him before saying, "Why not get your sniper to take the shot?"
Richard frowned, but since the kid was foolish enough not to shoot first, he intended to take full advantage of it.
He lifted a finger, one that was a signal to the sniper who was on the top of the building across the street.
Unfortunately for him, even after waiting a while, there was no bullet going through the window, and in turn, the white-haired kid.
Richard turned around in surprise, withdrawing a communicator and trying to get through to the sniper, only to be answered with absolute silence.
Zero watched the man panic with a smile, and as if adding insult to injury, he said, "Haven’t you heard the saying, do not put all your eggs in one basket?"
The building where the sniper was supposed to be located was the same building that Zero had come from.
Said sniper was currently lying on the top of the building next to a half assembled gun with wide open eyes that were currently bleeding.
The receiver lying by him was repeating Richard’s panicked voice over and over; unfortunately, he had been dead for far too long to answer.
Richard finally turned back to Zero; his previous smugness and confidence were completely gone, replaced by panic.
He then turned towards the lady on the sofa and commanded, "Noa, do something!"
"I can’t," the lady, Noa, the lady on the couch, shook her head, "the gun was not created using a Factor, and from what we’ve seen through the feed, I can’t engage him in a fight, especially since he’s the one holding a weapon."
She was right, and Richard knew it.
The most she could do was disable someone’s Factor, after all, fighting was never her strong suit.
He then decided to go with the next best option,
"Money," Richard let out as he started chuckling, "I have enough money to buy my way out of this."
After all, when was it not about money?
With enough money, one could buy anything they desired, even their own life.
"How much are they paying you?" He asked as he looked at Zero, "I’ll double... no, triple it."
"Hmm," Zero let out as he slightly lowered his gun, "double the pay is always welcomed."
Richard was about to let out a sigh of relief, but the gun was suddenly lifted again to his head. "Unfortunately, I’m a man of my word, and I’ve already accepted this contract."
Before Richard had the chance to say anything else, Zero pulled the trigger without a change in his expression,
BANG!
The bullet went straight through the man’s forehead, causing his head to jerk backwards before he slumped in his chair, his eyes still wide open.
Zero then turned towards Noa, his gun turning with him as he looked at her for a while.
"If you’re going to kill me, make it quick," She said without the slightest bit of change in her expression.
"I don’t feel like it," he said before putting the gun down, "besides, my contract’s already completed."
"Doesn’t matter either way," she said as she lifted both feet on the couch and wrapped her arms around them, "after all, they’ll come for me again."
"..."
Zero looked at her, noticing the slight change in her expression before scratching the back of his head and letting out a sigh.
It was an expression he had seen quite a few times, an expression of someone who didn’t want to return to wherever she came from.
She didn’t want to go back to the villain group, and as twisted as Richard’s intentions were, she had seen it as a salvation of sorts.
Letting out another sigh, Zero withdrew the earpiece he had placed in his pocket earlier and placed them in his ear.
The moment they were turned on, a voice came through,
"That was fast," Sable said.
"It pays to come prepared," Zero replied, "but you could pay me extra for speed and efficiency...right?"
"...."
Sable was silent for a while before saying, "The cleaners will arrive soon, good job."
"Before you hang up," Zero quickly said, "I may have... possibly... sort of gotten a gift for you."
"A gift?"
"Yeah," he paused and glanced at Noa, who still sat with her arms wrapped around her legs.
"What do you think about raising a daughter?"
