Despite himself, Kirian felt his heart warm at the collection of torture weapons lining the walls of the very room he’d found himself trapped in not too long ago. The interrogation room.

Now that Kirian had the proper time and presence of mind, he could appreciate how efficient the room was. It was dark, and while he couldn’t hear any other noises now, he knew it was one of a few. There were no windows, or overhead lighting. A solitary lamp shone harsh light directly at the chair, leaving the rest of the room cloaked in shadows.

Sitting in the chair this time, was a still shirtless target. The man was obviously conscious, but didn’t resist the restraints. Kirian felt irritation rise within him at the fact that he still didn’t know the asshole’s name, but he pushed it down. Now wasn’t the time.

In this room, the target looked duller. His posture was defeated and his red eyes were focused on the middle distance. Peppered along his sallow skin were small cuts, abrasions and burns. Two fingers were missing and, from the blood dried around his mouth, some teeth were too. Water dripped from the hem of his pants, as if he’d been waterboarded hours ago. He looked so different from the boisterous party host Kirian had seen not three days ago.

Kirian hadn’t looked at Mr. Radashawn or Tobias since he’d been summoned. It had been somewhat disconcerting when a nameless guard had arrived at his door earlier, and he wasn’t sure what it meant.

Now, when Mr. Radashawn spoke in his deep, business-y tone, Kirian snuck a glance at him. He wished he hadn’t. He looked bad. Well, not bad exactly, but… worse for the wear. It could have been the light, but the circles around his eyes were more pronounced and his clothes were bunched and wrinkled.

“If you’re so determined to die with your secrets, then I have no choice but to give you the death you deserve, “ was what Mr. Radashawn said before turning on his heel. He had been facing the target, but now he was headed for the door. As he passed by Kirian, he didn’t even look him in the eyes as he muttered, “He’s all yours.”

Kirian felt conflicted, this wasn’t right. Nothing about this fit his understanding of Sebastian or the job he’d been tasked with so far.

Again, some part of his head was nagging him, demanding that he was missing something, that he needed to know more. And no matter how much he told that part of him that it wasn’t his job to know, it didn’t let up.

Kirian turned towards the door himself, and took a step towards the retreating figure. Instantly, Tobias stared him down and cleared his throat in warning.

Kirian chose to ignore it. The old man could just taze him again if he wanted to stop him that bad.

With a rallying breath, he started jogging towards Sebastian. Tobias did not tase him, or even move towards him. Kirian took it as a good sign and picked up the pace.

He reached Sebastian just as he walked through the doorway, and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. He felt the muscles go rigid under his hand, and soon he was looking into those gorgeous brown eyes. His hand had fallen away, and it now hung awkwardly between them.

Sebastian’s face betrayed exhaustion, and frustration, but something else was swimming underneath the surface.

“Sebastian, “ Kirian said softly, “what’s going on?”

“You wanted to kill him, so kill him, “ said Sebastian.

“That’s not what I mean.” Kirian was getting frustrated now. What did he mean? What did he want?

“I want to help,” is what he settled on.

This brought a new emotion to Sebastian’s face. Surprise.

“You didn’t get all the information you wanted, right. I can help with that,” pressed Kirian.

“We already tortured the man, he wouldn’t spill. Whatever he’s hiding, it’s worth his life,” answered Sebastian. Clearly the mission had been disappointing. But now, Kirian knew something. This wasn’t just a kill, it was an investigation.

“Some things are more valuable than your life,” said Kirian. He felt slightly awkward, pushing like this.

“That might be, but we don’t know what that is right now. And, I thought you were all about the kill,” Sebastian responded.

Kirian knew he was right, or he would have been if anything about his time in this building had been normal. Kirian was on uneven terrain, and it was bringing things out in him. He stuck to what was safe.

“Oh, I definitely want to kill him. I’d actually settle for killing anyone. But I’m also a curious guy,” he settled on.

It earned him a halfhearted smile that didn’t reach the other man’s eyes.

“A curious guy,” Sebastian scoffed.

“A curious guy who likes a challenge, “ Kirian amended, “ You haven’t told me anything about the target, or what you’re hoping to get from him. Maybe I could help, if you trusted me a little.”

“Why should I trust you, assassin? Why should I trust anyone?” asked Sebastian. He said it so low it could have been a whisper. Like he was telling Kirian a secret.

“That’s a bit above my pay grade. All I can tell you is that I have no one to tell your business to and, if your face is anything to go by, that it’s worth a little risk to get those precious secrets,” Kirian tried. He flashed his own faux smile.

Sebastian sighed. He absentmindedly pulled at the knot of his tie, wriggling it loose.

“Tobias,” he shouted.

Dutifully, the man stepped away from the target and made his way towards the two. Kirian didn’t miss the caution in his eyes.

“Keep an eye on Viggo. We’ll be in my office.”

And with that, Sebastian was walking again. Tobias looked as upset as ever, but Kirian was already in step behind Mr. Radashawn.

—--------------------------------

The walk had been quiet. Tense. Guards at every station looked at Kirian as if he was some attacker. He supposed he had been fairly recently.

Finally, inside Sebastian’s office, Kirian felt he could speak.

“So does this me-”

“Sit,” commanded Sebastian, interrupting Kirian.

Kirian bristled against the tone and the disrespect. He still felt some resentment towards the other man, but he had a feeling it wasn’t a good time to start an argument.

He sat.

“What I tell you here, can’t leave this building. This room, even.”

Kirian nodded.

“Viggo… he’s not really important. He’s a weasel. A useful one, at times, but he has no loyalties. My… the previous leaders of Rad Co. knew this.” Sebastian started.

“The previous leaders, were they related to you?” Kirian dared to ask.

Immediately, he regretted it. Sebastian, now sitting behind his desk, looked very tightly wound. His jaw clenched at the question, and his perfect posture was breached by a hitch of his shoulders.

“Yes. The previous leaders were my parents. They used Viggo as a… resources man. When they needed things, he could get them. Thats- that’s not important. What I’m trying to say… Viggo was everyone’s source. It worked for years until… he betrayed them. Of course he did, the fucker. He was a… he helped the people who…” Sebastian was clearly struggling.

Kirian sat silently through it all, and had been listening intently. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, but he kept his face neutral. Encouraging, hopefully.

“My parents were killed. You really don’t need to know much outside of that. Viggo helped the people who did it. And before he dies, I want to know the details. I- I need to know how they did it and who orchestrated the whole thing,” Sebastian finished.

“Ok, so you have no clue who… did it,” Kirian cringed internally at the awkwardness of the phrase.

“I have a pretty good guess, but I want names and details. You didn’t even know who I was, so you might not follow the rest,” Sebastian responded.

“Try me.”

“Do you know anything about Oasis Inc.?” asked Sebastian.

Kirian shook his head.

“They’re a relatively new competitor. They moved into the scene about 10 years ago. Maybe more now. No one really knows who’s in charge, where they came from, anything. They’re very secretive,” Sebastian explained.

“What makes you think it was them?” asked Kirian. He was trying to find the connection between all the facts Sebastian had laid out.

“Oasis… when they first showed up- it was a massacre. Lots of little gangs were crushed and they took their place by force. This city has a very delicate balance, peace may not be the best thing for business, but too much attention is much, much worse.”

“So Rad Co., and Oasis are rival gangs?” Kirian asked. That he could understand.

Sebastian was already shaking his head as he responded, “No, we are a business. Legality is a construct that falls apart with a little bit of money. We have lawyers, connections, our employees get health insurance for god’s sake. We are not gangs, we don’t fight it out in the streets.” He sounded almost offended.

“Right…” Kirian conceded. To him, the label didn’t really matter.

Sebastian started again, ”It’s complicated. But, they’ve been challenging Rad Co. for years. Ophid and us, we’ve always been somewhat cordial. When there’s an issue, we keep an eye on the bigger picture. But Oasis, they just wanted to take. And they didn’t care what they lost. They would send their own people with bombs embedded to bum rush our building. They set up snipers, goons to our other locations. They didn’t just want our territory, or our business. They wanted the whole city.”

They were both quiet for a beat. Kirian had questions. About what kind of business they all did. About how Ophid fit into everything. But he felt it wasn’t the right time to ask.

“Assassin…”

“Yes,” Kirian said.

“You said you could help. How do you suggest we carry on?” Sebastian asked. It was a challenge.

“Well, forgive me if I need a moment to wrap my head around all of this information. As for the task at hand, my opinion hasn’t changed. Something is more valuable to Viggo than his life, we just have to find it,” answered Kirian.

“Easier said than done,” said Sebastian.

“Then let me handle the doing.”