Hello Everyone, I would like to say first that I am very grateful for all the kind words you gave me and being patient with me after my Grandfathers death. It was very unexpected as I had just seen him a few days before he was hospitalized and he looked to be doing fine. While I could not be there for his final moments I was able to see him and give my final goodbye at his funeral. Again Thank you all for what you said and I am glad to say that I am back.

Now, back to the story. I had a blast writing this chapter to the point were I kind of pushed back the side mission part to add this in. I will go more into detail down below, so please enjoy the Chapter!

Shock and Awe

Junior forgot what he was about to say, as his mind struggled to react to the unknown voice behind him. Thankfully the Twins were sharper, jumping off their seat grabbing anything useful to fight the unseen threat. However the sight of them with out their weapons and covered in bandages was not the most intimidating looks for bodyguards. But to their credit, his stunned expression hardly fit the tough mob boss image he was supposed to be. Although their sudden movements caused the couch they were on, to crash over to the floor with a sharp bang jolting him from his stupor.

Quickly leaving his chair Junior kicked the furniture back towards the shadows where he thought the voice came from. He hoped that was enough to stall their guest, as he vaulted over the desk grabbing his weapon as it shifted for close combat. Exploding the only intact room left was something he tried to avoid.

He landed between the girls and turned to face the intruder. Pain returned to most of his body but he ignored it as the chair slammed into something solid, whether it hit a body or wall was unknown.

It then clattered against the floor before falling still.

After that it was only a deafening silence that filled the room as the trio starred into the darkness, searching for any movement they could detect. Melanie was to his right, shifting her footing to the side inching her body closer to her sister while still able to kick around him. Junior knew she was worried about Miltia as she was faintly shaking from the strenuous movements, but Melanie was not in good shape either. A sharp pain reminded him of his own state, but he had to block it out and focus before they ended up worse. Luckily his favorite drink was kicking in dulling the pain.

Seconds passed as they stared at the dark corner of the office, in that moment they could feel their bodies pushing their senses to the limit, ready to act and counter anything throw in front of them.

However it was a pointless attempt.

They all felt it first. A sudden pressure that crawled up their backs halting them from moving as the footsteps followed behind them. To their left in the corner of their vision a tall hooded figure emerged, their boots clicking against the wooden floor as they walked methodically passed them.

Stopping at the desk the hooded figure reached to his side grabbing something off his waist before he spoke. "Sorry for interrupting but no man should be downing any of that swill." His back was still to them, but the sound of his voice was definitely that of a man's.

The hooded man paused turning slightly towards them waiting for a response. The trio did nothing too shocked to react. With a calm tone he continued. "Personally I prefer something smoother." The stranger said showing the bottle in his hand as the liquid inside slushed around. Junior recognized it was one from his top shelves. "But I'm not here for just a drink. I heard a lot about you Junior, something's good." Placing the bottle on the desk gently, a soft click of the glass hitting the wood echoed in the small room. His tone soddenly getting an edge to it. "And something's not so good." With the other hand a pistol slide down next to the bottle, the harsh thump made the three flinch as it hit the wood.

Opening the bottle the hooded man grab a glass and started to pour a drink.

The girls looked to Junior for any sigh of what to do. With a word they would rush the man together, hurt or not they would fight. This was not the first time someone threatened them. However it was the first time someone had broken into the office while they were still freshly wounded. His vanishing act also doing little for their confidence.

But Junior remembered something, he was still breathing.

The man had more than enough time hidden in the shadows to take his life while still in his chair and vulnerable, yet he revealed himself to them. If Junior had learned anything from this business, it was getting a feel for people and why they did what they did. Unless they were sick in the head then it was a mad man's guess.

But since he was still with the living and a Businessman of sorts. The hooded man wanted something from him.

So the quiet theft of his alcohol, the sudden vanishing trick appearing behind them again, even dropping his gun on the table was all part of the man's plan to shake them up. They were all scare tactics to give him the edge in the conversation. They were fighting all right but this was a business brawl.

With the girl's eyes still on him, he shook his head and lowered his club resting it against the floor as if it was a cane. Seeing they were not fighting the girls lowered their improvised weapons. The hooded man continued making the drink putting ice in the glass.

Junior slowly nodded to the wall where the Twins gear was resting against. Quickly but calmly the girls armed themselves and stood by his side, but just close enough to get between the two men if they needed.

Like flipping a switch the trio returned to the gang persona they honed over the years, properly armed now they looked a little like the part.

Steading his breathing Junior relaxed the tension in his body using his years of experience to his advantage, the man had struck first against them but he still had a chance to turn things back to their favor. "So you heard of me, then you must need something if you went to all this trouble for a private meeting." He had to get control of the conversation junior thought. "If you're a client you could have gone through the proper channels. It would have been bad for business if we hurt a customer for just popping in." It was a shit bluff after what they did a few moments ago but they had few options.

Still not looking at them which pissed all three off, the hooded man shrugged to the question finishing the drink he put glass down on the desk. "True, I was hoping you might have something that would help with a job I'm working, but after seeing the place, you can't blame me for checking it out to see it was not abandoned."

Junior gripped his hands tighter on his club, while he was set on not fighting, the man had hit a nerve still sore from the night before. With anger backing his confidence he thought it was time for his own scare tactic. "Well you have to excuse the mess, we're just cleaning up after a few Hunters lost it and went wild. Me and the girls were just about to take a look to see if they woke up yet. You best start talking before you join them." Junior smirked feeling in control again and took a step forward with the girls on his heels to grab the guy.

They barely moved an inch closer to him when he turned on them.

They looked to see the face of the man but what they saw made them pause. Instead of flesh and blood they saw metal and wire. An unsettling and disturbing image that made their bodies refuse to get any closer to the figure as their instincts took over holding them back from a threat.

Junior thought he had seen every type of man to walk into his bar; from the spineless elites of high society, the vagabond Hunters and mercenaries, to the blood stained fiends of the underworld.

This man was different from them, his body was cloaked in a heavy pressure. Cold yet absent, his mask resembled death. It reminded them of the Grimm.

And Corvo watched as the three froze looking at him.

The mask he wore was made by a man named Piero. An inventor that became a friend who was also the brains behind many of the tools Corvo used during the Rat Plague and the Witches Revolt. But the mask, Piero would say was his greatest creation. A vision that had haunted the inventor's mind for years before finally understanding it all after a dream, or a nightmare.

Even with all the wonders he had brought to the people of the world, the mask was always his choice yet never revealing the vision that inspired it. Refusing out of fear of remembering.

It was near the end of their time together that Piero finally told Corvo the dream he had that night. It was before he joined the conspirators, even before he made a name for himself in the city. He was just a curious man working and trying to understand the world when at his desk without realizing he was not there anymore. He remembered the feeling of falling into nothingness, he could only describe it as a Void all around him yet he was compelled to stare into it.

And what he saw.

What he could only describe.

Was Death itself staring back at him.

Either genius or madness Corvo could not tell, nor did he feel the right to say after everything that had happened in his life. But true to Piero's word the mask did what it was designed to do, and Corvo wearing it became death to those he sought.

Given the state the three now stood before him, the mask still had the same effect in Remnant.

Noticing one of the girls inching closer to the others Corvo quickly shifted his gaze on her. The sudden act made her whelp. Eyes widening in a panic as she shrunk before him. He then returned to face Junior. The informant had lost any momentum that his little speech was trying to form as he looked more likely to piss himself.

Corvo had worked with men like Junior before, they all called themselves by different titles never taking a side but working for both. In the end they were just thugs for hire. Snitches and squealers that would seek out and betray others secrets for profit staying out of the fight. They had eyes and ear in every part of the city, taking in any new information to use.

While a great source of information, they were only loyal to themselves. Corvo had felt their blades in his back before, no matter how well he paid them, a threat was all it took to sway them. There would always be someone to rat out another, all he had to do was look.

So he had a method of dealing with them. He sighed and said, "If you're in a rush, I'll make this quick then."

Junior swallowed hard, his blind gamble had blown up in his face, and he was dealing with the aftershock even missing what the masked man had said. The twins seeing this leaped for him. Reaching out to pull him away and into the club where maybe reinforcements could make a difference. But they were too slow. The masked man had moved first, his hand a blur with something in it. From the table or his person they could not tell as he was already on top of their boss as they stumbled forward.

He faintly heard the girls warning, getting Junior's mind working again. Only to his surprise seeing the masked man suddenly in front of him and feeling something hit into his chest. Flinching, he grabbed at the spot and closed his eyes in a reflexes. What he thought was the final moment of his life he could only gasp as he waited for the pain.

But it did not come, what he thought would be a warm and wet sensation in his hand felt hard and smooth instead.

Daring to open his eyes he looked down to see he was not harmed, in fact he blinked a few times not trusting his eyes as a large am ought of lien was now in his hands.

Speechless he turned to the Twins to see they had collapsed to the ground sharing his shocked expression seeing him fine and with money in hand no less.

Quickly getting to their feet and their boss the Twins eyes never left the Lien. Melanie grabbed a few of the cards as she looked them over with her sister. Seeing that they were real the girls looked to Junior who nodded back at them to confirm the rest to be the same.

They turned back to the masked man.

He shrugged. "Like I said, I'll make this quick." He pointed to the Lien. "That's your down payment, and you'll get more if I'm happy with what you know." He said to them as he returned to the desk leaning against it. The twins were still suspicions but followed their boss as he walked over, their weapons still ready, as Junior cleared his throat to talk.

"So, you're hiring us?" He asked still sounding a bit confused.

Junior couldn't tell but it looked like the man had smirked briefly under his mask before handing him the drink from the desk. "Depends if you're worth it." Junior felt his brow crease but took the glass and a slip from it instead of saying anything. He also noted how good the drink was taking a longer drink as the mask man continued. "I'm looking for someone; a theft with orange hair, wears a bit of eyeliner, has a bowler hat, uses a cane and suddenly has a large bounty on his head. And seeing as he had your boys working for him in the last robbery you two much know each other."

Junior gagged for a moment but recovered wiping his mouth with a curse. "Fucking Roman."

I swear I will get into the action soon, But like I said I had a lot of fun writing this and what was just a few paragraphs turned into its own chapter. I was going to go into the side mission chapter and have Corvo finally do what he does best but after my grandpa I stopped writing for a bit and by the time I came back I felt I needed to add more.

I am happy to see you all again and finally post another chapter. I hoped you enjoy the chapter and please leave a comment I will see you all soon!