PROLOGUE
This is how it works.
You kill one of us, then we kill one of you. Balance. Perfect balance. How can the fight be fair if there is no equality among the ranks?
We have honour. You know this. We have honour you do not understand, do not accept, yet you know we have it. But we do not need you to accept and we do not need you to understand; you must only know the calculations. Kill one of us and we kill one of you.
Of course, numbers may vary. Some are worth more than others; simple as that. We do not count in lives but we count in worth. We count the real way, the proper way. We add and we tally and we divide and subtract. We are mathematicians, and we are murderers.
If we kill one of you, it is acceptable for you to kill one of us. This is the natural way of things. Sometimes you may never reach our ranks; sometimes we cannot avenge our own loss. It is fifty-fifty, and everyone gets to roll the dice.
But do not underestimate us.
You may kill us if we kill you; you may create the balance if you can. We may evade you; we may tip the scales if we can.
But if you attack first, then we will attack next.
Choose your targets carefully. Study them, research them. Know your enemy. Know what you will face if you kill one of us; be prepared once you begin to thin our ranks.
Do not kill the wrong man.
Do not kill my husband.