A gentle clipclopclipclopclipclop echoed in Jade's ears as she rode through the bright streets of Divinus. Although it was nighttime, bright city lights were coming from every direction, blinding her unadjusted Rustican eyes.

She was in a gentle trot, in no hurry to get back to her boss. The mission had been a complete success and nobody would be giving her trouble. Even with the finest detectives Divinus could buy, nobody—nobody—would ever discover the truth.

She had killed him. He was a brilliant Divinus leader and she had taken him out. Why?

Simple. She had been told to. It was her mission to serve Rusticus, and when she was told to do something, she got the job done with no questions asked.

As the lights of Divinus gradually faded, Jade picked up the pace. Even her dark thoroughbred was nervous.

Rusticus was… a bad neighborhood, to say the least. Okay, technically it wasn't a neighborhood, in fact it was everything east of the Mississippi River. But it was full of desperate radicals, murderers, and criminals.

Not a good place to be at one o'clock in the morning.

So, as Jade sped through the dark cities, and the haunted alleyways, she dreamed of Divinus.

Divinus was the exact opposite of Rusticus—wealthy. It had good doctors, fine houses, and safety. The people there were generally well-mannered, unlike the desperados of Rusticus. Except for their incredible greed. The people of Divinus like money. Whoever has the most money is the most important. Money is everything to Divinans.

Sharing money with poor unfortunate Rusticans?

Yeah. Right.

Imagine them, the fine, well-mannered and greedy Divinans giving even a cent to those unruly Rusticans.

But back to Jade.

She approached the modest old building still moving rather briskly. The Rustican government was a common target for attacks, as people have the tendency to blame.

Jade dismounted, tied Quarter, the horse, to the fencepost carefully. He was technically government property, and she couldn't afford to lose him.

She only relaxed once she was welcomed by the warm building. Fresh air filled her lungs as she went to see her boss to report her latest success.

"Ah, Jade. How did it go?"

Fortunately, her boss was not a criminal Rustican, but a rather polite, business-like government agent who thought of her as Rusticus's most valuable asset.

"I killed the man."

Despite this, he had no trouble sending her on illegal murder missions to make a statement against Divinus.

"As I expected you would. The world's most spectacular assassin never fails. But no time for flattery. This mission is quite important."

"I am ready to do whatever it takes, Sir."

"Good. Tension has been rising between Rusticus and Divinus for years. It's simple: we just hate each other. Everything about each other. War is inevitable. And since Rusticus has the money, they will have the weaponry. But we have you."

"What am I supposed to do, sir?"

"There is a man. He is very suspicious and we have tracked various accounts of his for some time now. He is ordering materials to make extreme weaponry. We assume that it is going to be used against Rusticus once the war begins."

"My mission?"

"Kill him," Jade's boss said simply. "His name is Beck Oliver: 143 Nile Road, Holiday, Divinus. Take your time. He's looking to hire a new cook for his home, so take the job. Earn his trust. Unless war breaks out between the territories, you are not to hurry this one. Security's tight at his house. He designed most of the systems himself."

"Not a problem."

Okay, that's the first chapter of my new story. In case you didn't catch on, Jade lives in Rusticus, the poor, desperate, uncivilized territory. Beck lives in Divinus, the wealthy, well-mannered, greedy territory.

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