“That wasn’t part of the plan,” Three said.

“Those were my orders,” Chunk replied, mechanical voice flat.

“You can stop the charade. I know it’s you in there.”

The voice laughed, mechanical filter gone. “You’re too sharp. Sometimes I wonder if I should retire you, after all.”

“What, and only keep the idiot tools? Sure, good luck with that.”

“See? Far too sharp.”

Three glanced at his companion. “So? What was that all about?”

“Four has already been on the run for too long. Your failure was truly unfortunate. It made the higher-ups antsy, gave them the idea that he’s stronger than he is. Not sure if they’re more worried he’ll spill, or come back for revenge. Either way, they want him gone, immediately, and they’re crawling up my ass to get it done.”

“Your solution to that is to bomb an innocent garage? The higher-ups are going to love that.”

The voice chuckled. “We aren’t the ones bombing the garage. Regis Group is.”

Three raised his eyebrows. “Is that why you asked for that girl?”

Chunk shook his finger at Three in a gesture so un-Chunk-like that Three couldn’t help but stare. “I didn’t ask for the girl. I requested a rooftop meeting for discretion’s sake. Torre chose to send her. How could I have guessed that he only owns one flightsuit? And it was her choice to take that bomb from us and plant it on that garage. I can only imagine her motivation. Maybe, just maybe, she had a run-in with a group of muggers known to lurk in the area. What a tragedy that she planted the bomb on the wrong building.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Why the girl, though?”

Chunk shrugged. “An adult might think twice. Kids are easy to manipulate. They follow orders without thinking, as long as they’re delivered firmly enough.”

“Is that how you see us?” Three grumbled.

“Not you, anyways.” Chunk glanced at him from the corner of his lenses.

Three shook his head. “You’re a real bastard, you know that?”

“It gets better. I had men on standby in case things went wrong, but what do you know? Four saved her from the muggers, all on his own.” The voice giggled like a child. “You really can’t make these things up. It’s incredible. I’m dying.”

Chills crawled up Three’s back. He couldn’t entirely suppress a shudder. “All of this was your plan? That’s why we’re here, acting like Regis dogs and bombing this building for them? All so you could get that girl to bomb a single garage?”

Chunk shrugged. “Four found help, dangerous help. If we’re going to terminate him, I need to send a message, one the higher-ups wouldn’t let me send: that he isn’t safe, and no one who helps him is safe, either. But you know what they’re like. Minimized damage, no unforeseen causalities, no media, no attention, nothing flashy—dammit, sometimes you need to blow shit up. They just don’t get it.”

He sighed, wearily, then shook his head. “I’d do it without all this mess, but, well, I can’t afford to take the blame. This way, I did nothing. Her hands moved on their own. Regis Group is the one who bombed that building, and it’s not my fault that a few idiots were caught in the blast. In fact, how fortunate that it flushed Four from the bush.”

“Damn. That’s a mess of a plan,” Three muttered.

“If it was easy to exploit a loophole, everyone would do it.”

Three watched the faint white glow vanish into the night, little more than a falling star. He shook his head. “You’re insane.”

Chunk slapped him. “Don’t talk to your boss like that.”