"Huh, these guys must be really serious about drugs..." Filmon said as shots flew past him, hitting the wall and trash cans spread around him and Ares.

"Addicts are always the most terrible, no wonder that guy was willing to pay 100,000 just to get them out of here..." Ares said, peeking behind the wall and shooting at the tweakers they were sent to scout out.

"Yeah, but this is just infotech, we've already done our job," Filmon said as he looked around another corner, seeing it was clear.

"We can get out this way, since we've confirmed their numbers and conditions, it's an easy 15k, no need for 100..." Filmon said as he walked in the opposite direction.

"Wait for real?!" Ares yelled in shock, grabbing Filmon's shoulder and stopping him from leaving. "We could make way more money kid! Are you crazy?"

Filmon looked between the hand on his shoulder and Ares, eventually dusting off the hand as if he was disgusted Ares had touched him.

"Ares, I already said what I wanted to do, what's the difference between 15 and 100? Money's money right?" Filmon said, shrugging as he continued to walk.

"I thought you wanted a successful company? Without money a company can't function, in this business more is always better, stop being stubborn, throw away your ideologies and get money!" Ares yelled, frustrated by Filmon's behavior.

"Hah... The liar and the cheat is questioning me, fine Ares." Filmon turned and walked swiftly past Ares. "I'll get that 100k since it seems to affect you somehow..." He finished, pulling his Darra Polytechnic Umbra out of his inventory and stepping past the wall.

[Bloodlust]

"Phew... All of you die," Filmon muttered as he started shooting, running forward and dodging bullets.

Bloodlust wasn't just a great skill for attacking, but defensively it was one of his strongest skills as well.

Filmon ducked behind a ledge, narrowly dodging a volley of different bullets.

"You're getting close," Ares said through their call. "Want me to jump in? We're in this together remember?" He finished, peeking behind the wall as Filmon rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead." With those words, Filmon jumped from his hiding place, landing on top of a car and dual wielding two different guns."

Filmon moved again, opening the car door just as another volley of bullets chased him.

The bullets ricocheted off the door and flew into the alleyway. "Crap," Filmon winced as one bullet made it through, burying itself into his leg.

Filmon ignored the pain and kept moving toward the other end of the alley. "You joining in or what?" He asked Ares, who immediately peeked from the wall, rushing into the small battle zone, shooting the druggies trying to kill Filmon as he sneakily made his way through.

"I'm right here kid," Ares called back. "Now shut up and take these fuckers out!"

The two of them moved like clockwork, dodging bullets left and right, shooting the enemies as they did so, until they finally reached the other side.

"F-Fuck!" A man cried as he crawled away, his body riddled with bullets and his legs torn off.

Bam

With one more shot to the head, Filmon killed the man instantly, a conflicted look on his face as he watched Ares.

"What is it?" Ares asked, noticing the sudden attention.

"We could have just left, your greed is astounding," The boy said, a strange look in his eyes as he sighed, walking off down the alley. "Is 100,000 that important?"

"Of course, you have these dreams of making your company big, but you didn't want to kill these people for money, you want to use the stock market but you've made no income significant enough to even be considered a legit business," Ares said, shaking his head at the naivety of Filmon.

"Huh... I guess you're right, the only way to really make it in this world is to be cruel huh?" Filmon said, seemingly not paying attention to Ares as he began to walk off.

"We should go to the bar, that's the meeting location... We can go and get my money."

Ares stared for a second, squinting his eyes as he heard Filmon refer to the money as his. "Alright... But will the client really just be sitting in a bar?" Ares asked.

"Of course, why would I lie to you?" Filmon answered.

With that, they rushed off.

A few moments later they stopped in front of a bar. "Even if he doesn't show, I need a drink for sure."

They sat down and ordered their drinks, a smile appearing on Filmon's face as they waited for the client to show.

After ten minutes, Filmon decided to strike up some conversation.

"You know Ares, this is where I first talked with you," The boy said suddenly, grabbing at the glass placed in front of him.

Ares grabbed his glass as well, nodding at Filmon's words. "Huh... I guess it is, you were way different a few months ago haha..."

Ares took a sip of his drink, staring into his glass as Filmon chuckled.

"Yeah, I was a total nerd back then, I had all these hopes when I got here, this naive mindset that it was just like the place where I was from... I even thought I wouldn't have to change much... I was wrong."

Ares eyed the boy for a moment before asking. "Why did you change? You seem more stressed, but also there's something else about you now..."

"Fear mostly," Filmon replied, sipping his drink. "If I'm being honest, I've been scared since I landed here in night city, I just want to see my family again, that's all."

Ares nodded slowly, thinking about what he'd said. "I know how you feel, I lost my parents a while back too, so I know what it's like to be alone, and scared."

Filmon smiled at that, pouring himself another drink. "Nah."

"What?" Ares asked, looking at Filmon with a confused expression as the boy finished his drink.

"I said nah, quit it with that relatability shit, and quit it with the promises..." Filmon looked at Ares for the first time since they'd stepped into the bar, his smile looked crooked and cruel to the other man.

"What are you talking about?" Ares asked, getting up from his seat.

"I'm done with this, you fucked up Ares, you broke that contract I had you sign..." Filmon said as he stood up as well, stepping up to Ares as the man started to look nervous.

"Wait... What?"

"You're in big trouble now Ares," Filmon said, a smirk on his face as he pointed around, the bar was empty except for a few people guarding the exits.

"Filmon... You damn liar!" Ares yelled as he lunged at Filmon, stopping as blue vibrations suspended him mid-air.

"You like it? Little invention Vix created, we're gonna start selling these next week to the highest bidder, and naturallyonce we get in the stock market, those little penny stocks that Horizon is will grow, and once I convince a few bigger names to invest, well..." Filmon pointed to the ceiling. "Nowhere to go but up."

"W-What are you doing, let me go kid, I've done nothing but be loyal-"

Filmon pressed a button on the remote controlling Ares's entrapment, making electricity strike Ares.

"Ahhhh!"

"Loyal Ares? You accepted a hitman job when your only responsibility was information. Is doing a different job loyal!?" Filmon yelled angrily. "Is keeping the other 200,000 euro bucks that you got from Anders's wife... Loyal?"

Filmon breathed heavily as he pressed the shock button again, cackling as Ares screamed.

"I admit my mistake, but I didn't think you could handle something like that, it was for your best interests kid! You're not evil like those other corpo bastards! You should just give up!" Ares yelled desperately as Filmon looked at him.

The boy sighed and pressed another button releasing Ares and allowing the man to fall to the ground with a hollow thud.

"Ares, the first thing I learned about you was that you were a backstabbing lying piece of shit... I took you in sure, and I had my reasons for doing so, but... did you really think I trusted you?"

Ares groaned as he got to his knees, looking at Filmon in confusion. "What are you saying?" He asked, his breathing hitched as Filmon smiled again.

"Didn't you find it odd? Why would I suddenly come to find you after two months? You have been named worthless all around the streets. Why would I bother?"

Filmon paced, smiling at the bartender as he gave him another glass. "You didn't have any suspicions? Maybe you wanted to believe someone would trust you again after so long, after your big fuck up with Herrera not getting the Excalibur prototype."

"Wha... What are you talking about!?" Ares yelled in anger as he attempted to get to his feet.

Filmon scoffed and grabbed Ares by the shirt, pulling him up to stand. "What I'm saying Ares is... I've been playing you since the start. I just needed access to your sources, the fixers, the workers you know, and also... Your huge files of information you had stored in that little chip in your head."

Ares widened his eyes as Filmon released him from his grip and began to walk away, sipping his drink. "How did you...?"

"Vix found out about the chip when she was helping me hack into your system, we'd been watching you for weeks before I approached you that day, but after what happened with Herrera, you were on the run. You were scared... So you were weak and gullible. So to make it easier on Vix... I invited you to the team."

Filmon had a sparkle in his eye as he chuckled and looked back at Ares. "Do you get it now?"

Ares was silent, looking up at Filmon in shock. "You damn back door bastard... I trusted you-"

"But I didn't trust you Ares, I just tricked you, and now that we have all the information you've collected during your 14 years of being in night city in a data chip... I don't really need you anymore Ares."

Filmon's eyes were blank as he locked eyes with the large man, a smile tugging at his lips.

Ares jumped up, pulling out a and shooting instantly.

Filmon rolled his eyes as the bullet missed him.

"Come on Ares... What's the point of resisting? You should have figured out by now that this has all been planned. I own this bar now fuckhead. The owner gave it to me because I pretended to be a street kid and he took me in... It only took a week for him to put me in his will, I had to lie about my passions and whatnot, but he loved the idea of a kid trying to get into the bar business...

Ares widened his eyes, "No way... You've got to be lying, there's no way you could have done so much in two months!"

Filmon groaned at Ares's stupidity, rubbing his temples as he looked at the man with an annoyed expression. "Can't you see that this place is empty? It's because I paid all these guys to usher people out once we got here, for the next 30 minutes... These guys are my workers mate."

Ares widened his eyes as dozens of blades dug into his skin, courtesy of the bartender and the four other men who'd been guarding the door.

"I remember I asked you if you thought I was weak Ares..." Filmon said as he yawned, looking back at Ares with a neutral expression.

"So... am I weak Ares?" Filmon asked, smiling as he nodded at the bartender. "Go ahead and dump him wherever, I expect sales to double by next week, don't slack off!"

Ares groaned, the blades piercing his body stinging, as if hellfire was targeting specific parts of his body.

"Fuck! I should have known, you're just corporate scum already huh?! I can't believe I was so stupi-" Ares felt a blade stab into his throat, the cold hazel eyes of Filmon staring down at him.

"I can't believe it either," Filmon chuckled out, retracting the mantis blades and turning around.

With that Filmon left, ignoring the angry people waiting outside of the building and walking down the street, his jacket fitting him more snugly than he remembered, as if he had somehow grown into it.

"Yeah, it's whatever, I just need to see you all again."

"Is this horizon?" A man asked a few days later, walking through the doors.

Filmon covered infotech in Ares's "Absence", though he had posted online they were looking for someone to fill the position.

"No, the sign is just for show," Vix scowled, pushing past the man as she left the building. She looked pale, and tired. She'd clearly been working hard for her part of the company.

"Yes sir, you are in the right place," Filmon said, holding out his hand and shaking the man's hand. "What can we do for you..."

"My name is Mr. Ralston, I represent one of the smaller corporations that deal with private inspectors in night city," Mr. Ralston spoke with a British accent and a hint of cockiness in his voice. "We would like to discuss the possibility of a deal with your corporation, we have seen your ads and the few reviews you have. Do you have a minute?"

Filmon looked at the man, surprised at what he had said. "A deal with our company?" He asked, sitting down at his desk as the man did the same.

"Yes," The man said, assuming continuing was fine. "Since you are in your early stages, my boss wants to buy your company and use it as a sub-center for our PI's-"

"No thank you," Filmon interrupted, turning his attention to his computer. The meeting was over.

"S-Sir? He's willing to pay 800,000 Eurobucks and hire you on as a supervisor, surely you should take some time to consider the offer?" Ralston said, gulping as Filmon continued to type away at his computer.

"Nope, I won't be selling my company, I'll probably swallow up your little company by the end of the year anyway," Filmon said, smiling kindly and standing up, his hand outstretched. "Thank you for your consideration."

Mr. Ralston's eyes widened in shock before he stood up. "Who do you think you are? Swallow us up!? How dare you threaten-"

"Boss?" Razor said, walking in the doors for the first time in two weeks. "Is something the matter?"

Behind Razor were several questionable-looking men, half of them looking unstable, and the other half looking as if they'd been on the streets for years.

"I think everything is fine Razor... Isn't it Mr. Ralston?" Filmon asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at his guest.

The man clenched his jaw, glaring at Filmon with contempt. "Fine, you'll regret it when your company goes under, Mr. Ralston said before pushing past Razor and his group.

"So... Is this the reaper division? You're a day early." Filmon kicked his feet up on his desk, relaxing as he looked at the group.

"Yes boss, two weeks was more than enough to find ten people, I will have them properly trained and fitted for business, I can start working next week," Razor said with a slight bow to his head.

Filmon inwardly sighed. 'This guy is too formal,' He thought as he gave Razor a thumbs up. "Alright, I trust you can handle it."

"Thank you, boss!" Razor said loudly and turned his gaze onto the others. "Let's go you all, we've got training to do, meet at the very top of this building in ten minutes, I will have your uniforms and workout uniforms ready by then."

With a nod from Razor, the men dispersed, looking around the building and a few looking over at Filmon.

'I need to make more money if I'm gonna apply for the IPO shit...' Filmon thought to himself, getting out of his chair and walking to the door.

'How do I continue? This might take to long at this rate...' He thought as he left the building, walking down the streets deep in thought...