The location of the meeting turned out to be a towering, matte-black building at the center of the city’s core. It was in one of the many financial districts— an area that Marcus begrudgingly admitted that he didn’t know much about. Despite its impressive size, the building seemed to blend in with its surroundings, and the lack of branding— an anomaly in these parts— had Damien stumped as to what it’s purpose was. Even now, as they drove up the ramp to the parking lot in front of the entrance, there was nothing to indicate what sort of business was happening inside.

Marcus parked the truck and the duo made their way to the front door, where they found Kat leaning on a pillar just outside, her arms crossed and a look of deep concentration on her face.

“Nice to see you actually came through.” Marcus said to her. “You sounded a little too cautious about this Zero business, so I figured you wouldn’t be on board.”

“I’m still not on board,” Kat replied, “but I want to see this person with my own eyes. And like I said before, I’m hesitant for a good reason, just as both of you should be.” She turned to Damien. “For your own sake, I hope his recklessness isn’t rubbing off on you.”

Damien shrugged. He wasn’t sure whether Marcus was being too reckless or Kat was being too cautious, but the confrontations with the Royals and NPD earlier in the day suggested that she might be in the right here.

“Let me guess,” Marcus said, “you already did some research on this building, didn’t you?”

Kat nodded. “Didn’t find much, though. Units inside are leased out to all kinds of corporations, and the application process has loose requirements. That seems to be the point, if you couldn’t tell by its design. It’s made to help keep these businesses inconspicuous.”

“So in other words, we still don’t know shit.”

“That’s right,” Kat said as she kicked off the pillar. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The doors at the front entrance slid open as the trio approached, revealing a spacious and fancy-looking lobby. Apart from the receptionists behind the counter at the center of the foyer, only one other person was here: a blond-haired woman standing in front of the elevators at the far side of the room. She wore a traditional women’s business suit, and her beauty caught Damien’s eye the second he looked at her.

“That’s her,” Marcus said before leading them towards the elevators. “Told you she was a bombshell.”

The blond woman gave a graceful bow when they approached. “Welcome and thank you for coming,” she said in an incredibly formal and almost robotic tone. “Please follow me to the meeting room up stairs.”

The elevator doors opened as if on cue, and they all stepped into the capsule. Once the doors closed, Zero pressed the button for the 50th floor, causing the capsule to let out a soft whir before gently starting to rise.

“So, Zero,” Marcus said, “I’ve been thinking-”

“Not now,” the woman interrupted. “The discussions will not take place here. They will take place in the meeting room upstairs. Please do no speak until then.”

Damien wasn’t sure if he’d heard that exchange correctly, and he shared a questioning glance with the two pirates. Even Marcus seemed caught off by her response, and a strange awkwardness quickly filled the capsule. It remained silent until they reached the 50th floor, at which point the elevator let out a ding and the doors slid open. They exited toward the right and made their way down the silver, lifeless corridor to a metal door at the very end of the hallway.

The blond woman turned around then gestured to the door. “The discussions will take place here. Master Zero is waiting for you inside.”

“Huh?” Marcus grunted. “What are you talking about? Aren’t you-”

“I am not Zero.” The blond woman interrupted again. “I merely acted as a go-between. Surely you didn’t believe that Master Zero would reveal himself without establishing some credibility and trust. Now, please, step inside. He will not tolerate being made to wait.”

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Kat narrowed her eyes at Marcus. “Another surprise, huh?” She then brushed past him to trigger the proximity sensor of the door, and the metal hatch slid open. “Like I said, let’s just get this over with.”

Damien and Marcus followed her into the large room ahead, and it became immediately clear that they’d entered an office space. A sea of sunshine breamed in through massive windows, and a rectangular desk at the far end held three empty chairs before it. A single figure sat on the other side, the sunshine from behind obfuscating the details.

“Welcome,” the figure said with a deep, masculine voice. “Please. Sit.”

The trio shared a glance before advancing toward the chairs. It was only after sitting directly across from Zero, that Damien got a good look at this mysterious person. A series of silver, metallic strips covered a good portion of the face, reminding Damien of Roger’s embedded circuitry, through Zero’s were far more elaborate. They started at the chin then moved upward around the the cheekbones and eyebrows, before trailing over a freshly shaved skull.

It was as if they were designed to highlight the focal point: a pair of pitch black orbs where his eyes were supposed to be. Damien wasn’t sure if the man across from him could actually see through those demonic-looking eyes, but staring into them filled him an uncomfortable eeriness. They looked incredibly wrong and inhuman.

Zero leaned forward on the table and brought the tips of his fingers together in an arch in front of his chin. “I do not like to waste time so let us get down to business. I have an opportunity that I believe the three of you will find most desirable. It will be somewhat similar to yesterday’s job, but the approach will be different, and the reward will be larger.”

Kat raised her hand at him. “Hold on a second. You’re just gonna get into it like that? No introductions, no ice breakers?”

“I see no need to reveal unnecessary information.” Zero said in his consistently deep and monotonous voice. “This is a business opportunity and we all stand to profit from this collaboration.”

“That may be true,” Kat said, “but that’s not how we operate, and we know nothing about you. I spoke to a lot of people, and no one’s heard of a ‘Zero’. You expect to just pop up out of nowhere with the intel you had and expect us to trust and follow you?”

“You believe that I can not be trusted because your street-dwelling friends have not heard of me?”

Kat’s brows furrowed, but Zero’s soulless eyes remained fixed on her, and he continued nonchalantly. “There are higher forces at play within this city than you comprehend. Just because street dwellers do not know of my name, does not mean that my information is questionable, or my intentions dubious.”

“Even so,” Kat said, “why do you need us? If you know as much as you seem to know, you could hire anyone in the city.”

“It is a matter of pragmatism on my part. I require a small, discreet team, and you proved yourselves capable of working as three yesterday.”

Kat raised an eyebrow. “How did you know we were three? None of us told you that. And none of us told you about Damien, but you referred to him by name.”

Damien just now noticed that Kat was doing all the talking on their behalf. He’d already decided ahead of time that he’d stay an observer for this meeting, seeing as he was still too unfamiliar with this new world. Marcus’ silence however, seemed strange. He’d expected the more outgoing pirate to take the lead, but he seemed avoidant, his gaze alternating between the windows behind Zero and the desk between them.

“That does not matter. What matters is that I have the information, and you have the skill. Even more important than that, our interests are aligned.”

Kat raised another questioning eyebrow that demanded more information.

“I understand that you are looking for a friend.” Zero casually added.

“How did you-?”

“As I said, it does not matter how I know. What matters is that we seek the same thing: information on TrillTech. Specifically, their illegal operations. Our partnership will be founded on that desire, though mine stretches further to the point of their annihilation. Naturally, everything we obtain during these collaborations will be shared by both parties.”

A switch went off in Damien’s head, and he now saw how all of this was related to TrillTech. But an important question remained. Did Zero know of Damien’s personal circumstances, and his desire to get at TrillTech. Seeing as the demon-eyed man had already learned his name, it would be safe to assume so.

Kat paused for a moment to ponder what she’d just heard. The resistant scowl on her face slowly disappeared, and she let out a quiet sigh of concession. “What’s exactly is this job and how much are you paying?”

“The next operation will be something of a test, so the pay will not be great.” Zero said. “Ten thousand funds each. But should you succeed, you can expect greater challenges, and much greater rewards to come.”

Not much? Damien thought to himself. Based on what ’d seen so far, and what he’d heard from his two pirate associates, that sounded like a good amount of money. His eagerness got the best of him, and he couldn’t help but interject into the conversation. “When is this job?”

Zero turned his head directly at Damien for the first time, the inhuman eyes making the hairs on Damien’s neck rise. “Should you decide to accept, we will have a briefing tomorrow and I shall give you the details then.”

Marcus slowly slid his chair back and he spoke up for the first time. “Okay, fine, we’ll discuss it amongst ourselves and let you know. Is there anything else?”

“No,” Zero said, holding his gaze on Damien. “You are free to leave, though I would prefer if Damien stay for a moment longer. There is something we must speak about.”