Mission

Timothy Saunders bowed low in front of the most prominent members of the oligarchy. Zigfried von Schroeder, Maximillion Pegasus, Gilbert Jones, and Bakura sat on intricately carved onyx chairs with fine silk cushions surrounded by their bodyguards. Pegasus sipped a glass of wine while Gilbert fidgeted with the buttons on his sleeves.

A representative of Stellar Defense wearing a decorated black suit formally introduced him to the CEOs. "Agent Saunders' service record with Stellar Defense is impeccable. His missions have had a 100% success rate, and he has singlehandedly quelled more rebel activity than anyone in the field. He is practically a fighting machine."

"A machine, eh?" Bakura asked.

Timothy Saunders straightened his spine, standing at his full height of 162 cm. "Your eminences, if I am a machine, I am an organic one. I thrive on the lifeblood of others. If I don't kill, I don't eat."

Bakura shot a sideways glance at Gilbert Jones. "What the hell is this thing, Jones? It doesn't speak like a regular person."

Bowing his head to the albino in the blue suit, the elderly CEO explained, "W-we genetically a-altered him t-to fulfill certain t-tasks for the government."

Pegasus raised an eyebrow. "You mean to say you cloned him? By the look of him, that means you started this project at least thirty years ago. Why have you kept this from us for so long?"

Agent Saunders stood rigid, unblinking as the white and lavender-haired CEOs scrutinized him. With his training, he knew better than to speak out of turn. His boss had already been reprimanded many times by the other members of the oligarchy. While they depended on Jones to keep their government secure, they also lashed out at him whenever he made the slightest error. The stress had caused Jones to age prematurely while the other CEOs remained full of health and vitality.

"N-no, sir. We picked several prime specimens and used a retrovirus to ch-change their DNA. Agent Saunders was the most successful. I was thinking we could use him to t-track down Noel."

Zigfried von Schroeder snorted. "Zis Noel is nothzing but a joke cooked up by zose peetiful rebels. Vhy send your best agent after zem?"

Gilbert Jones looked at the floor. "We've been trying to catch them all along, but so far we've only caught a few s-stray rebels. Noel is m-much better organized. Wherever they are, they keep to themselves. We need to assign someone to track them 24/7 and c-connect the dots."

Pegasus spoke smoothly and sweetly as he swirled his glass of wine, practically patting Jones on the head with his words. "Excellent idea, Gilbert-boy! The sooner you get those pesky Noelites out of our hair, the better." He turned his attention toward Agent Saunders. "So tell me, how does one go about catching underground rebel organizations?"

The short brown-haired man spoke, his electric blue eyes focused straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular. "One studies their patterns and tries to predict their next move before they act. Then, one intercepts them while they are attempting to execute their nefarious plans."

Bakura let out a maniacal laugh. Then, his tone darkened. "In other words, corner them like rats."

"Yes."

Bakura chuckled again. "I think I like this 'killing machine.' Very well, Jones. Send him after those vermin."

Timothy Saunders kept his face placid as he was dismissed. Over the past several years, he had not had any occasion to show emotion. What little he had left was so expertly buried that he would have to cut himself open with a knife to reach it, if he ever had any desire or need to reach it in the first place. Emotion was useless to him in his profession. However, a tiny ember in his soul lay shielded from everything else around him. Caked in the ashes of his stillborn child, it sat there unchanged as the years passed.

Author's Note: This is where I transition from the new stuff I wrote to rewriting the crappy old stuff I took down. I've been in prequel mode up until this point. I'm really dreading the rewrite and it might take me a long time to get through it all, so if you want to go straight to the sequel "Buildings Don't Fall," enjoy!