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Arrangements
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For two hours, Hadrian taught Natasha the basics of Escrima.
And just as he expected from her, she was a fast learner.
Like a sponge on water, she absorbed every move he showed her with ease, causing Hadrian to elevate the impression he had of her.
She not only understood the purpose of every action but also embraced the art.
It was almost as if she felt a close connection to the martial art instead of just learning it out of necessity. (1)
Hadrian supposed that the brief history he told her earlier might have made quite an impression upon her than it did on him.
Of course, the session was not that perfect.
There was a bit of hurdles as Natasha herself had a bit of difficulty in getting used to some of the lessons.
Her footwork and knife handling, in particular, were a bit amateurish.
Of which Hadrian can understand, considering she was still young, despite her capabilities.
When it came to approaching her enemies, Natasha’s movements were acceptable.
There was no wasted effort on her part.
She was both graceful and efficient, more focused on conserving her energy before going all out once she was within attacking distance.
In a way, it was similar to how a black widow would act. (2)
Get in close, pounce, and attack.
Although, Hadrian noticed that she was prone to leaving herself open in the back.
It was how that thug managed to trip her from before, much to Natasha’s irritation when he mentioned it once.
As for teaching her how to handle a knife better, Natasha was a bit resistant to the lesson, something Hadrian can sympathize with.
She had most likely been trained in how to use it to defend herself from future assailants, but not quite enough.
Her handling with the knife was peaking to the point of above average, but it was definitely in need of improvement.
Natasha was good with a karambit, but when she took out a different knife and (upon his request) did a few attacks as a brief demo, her inexperience began to show.
The girl was having trouble accepting that her knowledge and experience with the knife had left much to be desired.
Therefore, the matter left Hadrian with little choice but to simply prove how wrong she was.
In a span of several minutes, the two engaged in a knife-to-knife combat, of which Hadrian had easily won several times.
By the end of each bout, Hadrian made sure to drive the point home by restraining Natasha and placing the knife in his hand either at her throat, or directly in front of her eyes.
Granted, it was a little over the top and Hadrian could have found another way to ensure her willingness to learn the lesson, but the girl did not make it easier on him.
She had been stubborn and often tried to engage him into grapples.
The redhead was not the first to try such a move on him.
In the past, there were plenty of people who tried to engage him in close combat via grapples.
And they all learned quickly not to do it again the first time after he showed them why.
Fortunately for the redhead, Hadrian had to keep up the appearance of being a ‘mundane’.
Thus, he was forced to endure her feeble attempts to grapple with him.
Hadrian literally had to be mindful not to let her take advantage of their bouts by always keeping his distance and forcing her to only use her footwork to maneuver and keep up with him.
To use the knife in her hand to defend herself from his own strikes and unexpected surprises.
Hadrian did his best to remain calm, to maintain his professionalism.
But…
“…ngrrr…” was the girl’s low growl.
‘… hehe…’
The grin was just itching to appear on his face.
It was difficult to restrain himself, especially whenever Natasha glared at him after being tripped by him a few times whenever the opportunity presented itself to him throughout the rounds.
But, in the end, he managed.
At their last bout, Natasha was forced to concede defeat after she was disarmed by him without any weapon in his hands.
The difference between their experience, skills, and senses was too large a gap for Natasha to force or carefully plan her way through the spars.
No matter how much she glared daggers at Hadrian, who merely endured her displeasure with a calm smile and the patience of a well-mannered gentleman.
In the end, a slightly dismayed Natasha gritted her teeth and surrendered.
There were no words. She was just stubborn like that. (3)
The girl only glared at him, but stood in attention, as if waiting for him.
From there, Hadrian started the lesson in earnest.
And time passed, he was impressed.
To her credit, Natasha had proven herself better than he had initially expected, despite her stubbornness and temper.
After her surrender, Natasha had been in low spirits, but not for long as she merely discarded her loss and focused herself entirely on the lessons.
She learned the basics of Arnis, even managing to learn some moves that were a bit advanced for her current level from Hadrian, and adapted to the drills.
However, Hadrian has this feeling that she was simply leaving the matter of her loss in the back of her mind.
Impassive as she looked, Natasha might be planning to get revenge by learning everything that she could from him and pay him back later for her defeats earlier.
And knowing her by now, Hadrian knew the thought crossed her mind and would not put it past her to not consider the idea.
The magician does not know how she would accomplish it, considering that the deadline of their contract was after the operation, and she would be on her merry way.
… but he would let her have her fun for now.
Only the astrals know how much the girl needed a bit of luck, if not some time to center her life at least before whatever caused her to go down in this path messed it all up. (4)
However, like with all things in life, the impromptu training had to come to an end.
TANG
TANG
TANG
The soft chimes of bells ringing suddenly appeared from a few feet away.
Hadrian stopped, glancing at one of the sunbeds where his holo-phone and Maya were.
Maya’s tail was swishing excitedly, delighted by his attention.
Hadrian flashed his familiar a light smile, but his gaze went to the device next to her.
The holo-phone’s screen was blinking, and the soft chimes of bells coming out of its speakers.
The timer he set earlier has gone off.
Turning his gaze back to Natasha, who was crouched low 2-3 feet away from him.
“… okay, let’s stop here.” Hadrian announced, stepping back from his combat stance.
Natasha blinked, panting slightly.
The girl slowly clambered up to her feet from her crouching position, having been forced to do a roll to avoid a swinging attack from Hadrian earlier before the latter stopped attacking.
“What? Why?” The girl asked, confused.
Hadrian lifted a brow.
“The operation is scheduled to commence tonight.” He reminded her, sighing through his nose at her look of realization as he continued. “It’ll only be detrimental for you if you’re tired before the operation even begins.”
Natasha nodded slowly.
“… fine.” Natasha conceded, appearing downcast, but understanding his point.
Hadrian shook his head.
“I also have other things to do.” He then moved to the door, glancing over his shoulder as he did so. “Don’t spend the rest of your day training. Rest up while you can for a few hours after you’re done here, and meet me later in the study. We’ll have one last briefing before the operation.”
Natasha didn’t speak, only nodding quietly.
Grabbing his stuff and Maya in one of his arms, Hadrian moved to the door.
Using one hand to open it, he stepped outside, leaving the redhead to her devices.
Wasting no time, Hadrian went up to his room, took a quick shower, changed his clothes, and walked straight to the study, all of which occurred in a span of 10 – 15 minutes.
Currently, he was seated behind the desk, looking at the screen of the holo-pc.
He was examining the drafts of the plan that he had consulted with his handler yesterday, while double-checking whether Luka’s team was up to speed with the stages via texts.
Not that he lacked faith in Luka.
The aide’s support had been helpful so far, and the team who are joining him are all members of AEONS. They were all trained by professionals in the trade, highly competent people who know punctuality and are equally aware of the consequences should any of them dare display a hint of laziness before and during the operation.
It might be a waste of time for most, but Hadrian was merely doing his part as the spear point of the task. And if there were any decision and adjustments in the mission that must be addressed, members taking part in the operation will need to run it by Hadrian first.
Luka and his team would hardly begrudge him for being responsible and mindful of his duties, not that they actually have a choice in the end.
Fortunately, there were none, and no complaints were voiced either.
He only received updates on what was going on in their ends as Luka and his team prepare for the operation tonight.
Leaning back into his chair, Hadrian gazed out the window.
He exhaled, noticing orange-blue skies darkening as the moments passed.
In some parts, he admired how the color changed to a crimson streak.
‘… like blood…’
A faint smile formed on his lips.
The irony was not lost on him.
…
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…
[… Three hours later …]
"Nngggh..."
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CREEAAAK
The chair below him groaned as Hadrian stretched his back with a sigh, having sat on the chair for a few hours by now.
The plan for the operation was now official.
Hadrian had just shared it to others via messages, after a short brunch with Maya and Natasha, with the latter taking a nap after eating and helping him with the dishes.
He had a lot of material to work with after his short reconnaissance with Natasha, so he was not lacking in which options that would go well with the others.
In truth, he already drafted a viable plan to make it official, which mostly resulted in how he had proceeded with the previous assignment a few days ago.
But, since he was going to be accompanied by a certain redhead, Hadrian was forced to rethink his options and draft a plan that did not involve him casting spells or something that was too out of the ordinary.
It was a bit difficult on his part, but after reviewing his options and studying the warehouse from the pictures and videos he had taken, Hadrian managed to make a good plan that would further bolster his (‘Rey’, his alter ego) infamy to great heights as well as prevent Natasha from seeing him cast spells or use some of his abilities.
On a different note, two hours ago, he had recently spoken to Luka.
And the aide has a bit of news to report to him.
After the little fiasco he had with the mercenaries inside the marketplace, it seemed that Rey’s infamy blew up as rumors of his debut in the criminal underworld spread like wildfire.
Since he left several witnesses alive, some of which were traumatized and some missing one of their limbs, Rey’s existence had solidified as the former recounted his experience to others.
Honestly, it was quite amusing… to him, that is.
The image of cutthroat mercenaries retelling their encounters with him to any bloke who would listen, which had been embellished (unsurprisingly) over time, with great fear and dread in their voices, was an amusing one to imagine in his head.
The aide went on and reported something else.
The surviving mercenaries had mistakenly assumed that they endured the event was due to him (Rey) being uninterested in taking their lives. (4)
When in actuality, it was the opposite.
In truth, Hadrian did a light scan on all those mercenaries’ histories (via Moon Cell Automaton) when they came at him one by one, and killed most of them due to their past deeds.
The ones he left alive were simply unlucky to have made difficult choices in their lives, which led them to their current jobs, and even more unfortunate enough to cross his path that time.
As his grandfather had mentioned in the past, the surviving mercenaries were the lesser of evils compared to the rest that he had killed.
Yes, they all have criminal records and had done some pretty questionable deeds in their lives, but they were all light crimes, such as theft, murder (that was within reason), and other things.
Such people are the kind that Hadrian would leave alone since they seemed to be redeemable.
On the other hand, the ones who perished at his hand were the typical sort of rubbish commonly seen to linger on street corners and shady pubs, harassing any and those they thought weak.
The sort of irredeemable vermin who revels in the acts of unjustifiable murder, human and drug trafficking, sexual assaults (to the young and old) and other kinds of depravity that their ilk would find sickeningly entertaining.
Hadrian had seen their pasts, albeit in brief parts and flashes only.
But what he had seen was enough to motivate him to never let any of them see the light of day and prey on other people anymore.
The mercenaries who fell at his hands were killed as they had been all greedy, ambitious, and relentlessly cruel, unrepentant of their actions even when they knew their victims are suffering.
These were the sort of mongrels that truly causes his blood to boil and feel a great urge to hack something, or someone, to death.
While he was not heroic or a naive fool whose head was full of flowers, Hadrian felt that if he had left those mercenaries alive, without letting them have a taste of their own medicine, they would all just carry on and continue to trouble others that do not deserve their cruelty. (5)
If he simply left that time, he would feel partly responsible as they continue with their disgusting acts of depravity.
What’s more, as a former king of an ancient kingdom, Hadrian’s personal honor will never allow him to be ignorant of such actions, not after he has seen it.
The risk was too high for him to walk away.
It was why he had decided to cull those mercenaries in cold blood.
After what he had been through, Hadrian did not regret his actions, nor did he take joy in the act of killing as the mercenaries were simply new additions to the bodies he disposed of in the past.
A fitting quote from a certain famous playwright came to mind.
‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown…’
Closing his eyes briefly, Hadrian sighed heavily as he laid a hand on Maya’s fur (who had been on his lap since he returned to the office).
He brushed her fur gently back and forth, a mechanism to distract himself from grim thoughts, not that his furry familiar minded being on the receiving end of his attention.
Regaining composure, his thoughts soon went to Natasha.
The redhead who was currently staying under his roof, until after the operation.
He had no issues with the girl in question, but he was curious about her past and identity.
She had been truthful with him so far, seeing as he saw her signature on the contract, and she did not deny that it was her name that she had written on the paper.
What roused Hadrian’s interest was…
… he felt as if he had seen or heard of her before.
Granted, her red curly hair and green eyes drew his attention in the marketplace, along with the fact that there was something about her that caused him to want to help her.
But there was something else, and it had been bugging Hadrian since he had accepted the girl’s insistence to return the favor and allowed her to stay with him for the meantime.
The subject was not always in his mind, but it was there, nonetheless, just waiting in the furthest back of all the ones that took a higher priority for him to take care of first.
“Hmm…”
For some reason though…
Whenever he pondered about Natasha’s identity, he would remember that fellow magus and friend of his, Caules Forvedge. (6)
Caules was one of Lord El-Melloi II’s students, and one of the people in the Moonlit world that Hadrian was fortunate to have as a reliable ally and a good friend in his previous life.
Back on topic though.
Hadrian was confused as to why the fellow mage would come to mind whenever he thought of Natasha’s identity.
It was not as if he had met her before.
With his photographic memory and the automaton guarding and keeping his mind organized, Hadrian would immediately know if he had met Natasha before.
“Hmm…”
No, it was something else.
Perhaps it was a brief memory of a friendly discussion that he had with Caules before Zelretch had passed the title of Lord to Hadrian.
The problem was…
Hadrian could not recall what it was he had discussed with Caules that kept reminding him of Natasha, and this was coming from someone with a near perfect memory.
It was on the tip of his tongue, he knew.
Maybe the automaton could help him sift through his memories and find what he was looking for.
Creeaak
The door to the study opened, and the source of his thoughts came into view.
Like the first time he had seen her, she was dressed in dark black clothes: a T-shirt with long-sleeves and a round neckline that was a bit loose on her slim frame, black cargo pants with a tactical belt, and a pair of ankle-length dark brown boots.
The clothes were new and made of higher quality.
Obviously, these were the ones that she bought from the clothes shop the other day.
Fortunately, no tears or rips can be seen.
Not yet anyways.
Strapped around her upper right leg was a dark brown leather holster for the Classic, and from Hadrian’s acute magic perception, Natasha was wearing the Aegis slim vest under the shirt.
Giving Natasha a slight nod of approval, Hadrian was pleased that the girl looked clean and ready for the operation.
“Well, don’t you look lock and loaded.” The reincarnated magician commented with a smile on his lips.
“…Hmph.”
Instead of deigning him a verbal response, Natasha merely shook her head with a light scoff.
She then walked towards him, closing the door behind her before she moved away.
“Are we leaving yet?” she asked, taking a seat on one of the two chairs in front of his desk.
Sighing at her lack of manners, Hadrian leaned back into his chair and gave the redhead a pointed glance.
“One of these days, you will need to learn proper etiquette, Natasha.” Hadrian said dryly, causing the girl in question to blink in confusion.
“How would that help me?” Natasha asked bemusedly.
“Life is not just about survival. There will be times when you will need to mind your manners. Manners matter, especially when it comes to leaving first impressions.” Hadrian stated calmly.
He placed Maya (whose ears flattened in mild displeasure for taking her off of his lap, one of her favorite places to take naps) on the desk beside his finished paperwork.
“Oh? And what kind of manners would those be, Rey?” Natasha raised an eyebrow.
“For one, you should have knocked on the door before you enter. It lets the occupant in the room know that they have a visitor, instead of an intruder. Second, you should always ask for permission before you take a seat. It is a polite thing to do, as it means that you respect the owner’s space.” Hadrian finished, giving the young girl a deadpan stare.
“… Meh.”
Natasha merely shrugged in response, unfazed by his calm scolding and firm stare.
“Haah…”
Expecting such a reaction from her, Hadrian left the matter alone and sighed in exasperation.
“As for your inquiry earlier, the answer is no. Not yet.” Hadrian said, recalling her question.
“When will it start then?” Natasha asked, displaying a bit of impatience in her tone.
“Once I receive a call from Luka.” Hadrian huffed, glancing at the holo-phone that was on top of the paperwork before turning back to her. “He is still mobilizing the team. Once they are on the way, then we can go and start the operation from there.”
“And what will this Luka guy do while we’re doing the heavy work?” Natasha frowned slightly.
“He and the team are assigned to secure the perimeter during and in the aftermath of the operation.” Hadrian answered simply.
“During and in the aftermath?” Natasha parroted, lifting one questioning brow.
“The former is to prevent any civilians from getting close to the perimeter and witness the operation. As for the latter… well, you’ll see what it is later on.” Hadrian said with a small mysterious smile, much to Natasha’s curiosity and annoyance.
Before she could question him more, Hadrian continued after a moment of silence.
“Anyhow, since we have time, this is a good chance for me to brief you in on the plan.”
Hearing this, Natasha perked up, sitting upright on the chair.
Noticing her attention, Hadrian nodded in satisfaction before he turned away from her for a brief moment and rummaged through the drawers of his desk.
“First, before we begin, do you recall the layout of the area we drove by yesterday?” Hadrian asked, glancing in her way.
She gave a nod of confirmation, and he turned back to his task.
“Good.”
When he found what he was looking for, he grabbed it and pulled it up into view.
It was the holo-pc.
He then detached the device into two, setting the other open before extending it to Natasha, who grabbed it in one hand. Just like before, Hadrian linked the two devices, so that what he was viewing would be seen on her screen as well.
In this case, he opened the layout and images he took of the target’s warehouse.
“This is the blueprint of the warehouse and these areas here are the ones that I took yesterday. And this building right here –“
Hadrian zoomed in on an image of a large building with a glass paneled roof on the screen.
“– is where the safe might be kept. Since you are so insistent in returning the favor, I’ve decided to give you an important part to play in this operation, which is to search and retrieve the safe. Well, assuming that the safe is being kept in there. If not, then the next course of action is to check if Keres is keeping any ledgers or dossiers in his office.”
By this announcement, Natasha snapped her surprise gaze at him.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you want me to search a whole building?” The redhead asked, incredulous.
In response, Hadrian flashed her a small smile.
“Don’t fret, Natasha. You only need to search his office in this part of the building. You can sneak in from here, here and to here.” Hadrian assured.
He gestured to the images, points of interest, for the girl to enter without issues respectively.
“Simply memorize the layout and I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Divide and conquer. That’s really the core of this entire plan, little spider.”
“What about security? There’s bound to be armed guards patrolling these parts.” Natasha pointed out; brows furrowed in concern for herself.
“Oh, there is.” Hadrian agreed, chuckling at the annoyed glance she sent in his way. “But you do not need to worry yourself over it. I’ll handle them myself.”
“How?” Natasha asked, curious as to where his confidence was coming from.
“I have a plan to lure them to where I’ll be making my entrance. Once they are at my location, they won’t be able to leave. Simply put, they will be trapped there with me, which should provide you enough time to thoroughly search his office and find the safe without worry of being caught.” Hadrian stated nonchalantly,
There was undaunted confidence in his tone that caused Natasha to assume he had a plan, or a device prepared that would allow him to accomplish such a feat.
Whichever it was, it was enough to set aside her concern.
“I see...” Natasha nodded slowly, conceding.
Then a thought came to mind, and she asked.
“And what happens after I got the safe? Do I go to you?”
“No.” Hadrian denied calmly, much to Natasha’s surprise and curiosity.
“No?”
“Your utmost priority after that would be to exit the building and deliver it to Luka, who will be waiting for you nearby. Give the safe to him and your part is done from there. The retrieval and security of the safe is of utmost important as per the client’s request.” He explained.
“And what’ll you be doing then?” Natasha asked, aware that she only heard of her part of the assignment and not his yet.
Hadrian turned his gaze to her, slowly.
Calm and poised as he appeared, Natasha will never forget the slight curve of his lips, a small smile, which caused her to almost squirm uneasily in her seat.
To her credit, Natasha remained impassive in expression, well aware that the source of his displeasure was not directed at her.
The only sign of her true feelings was the slight tension around her shoulders.
“Me?” Hadrian asked slowly.
Adorned with a small smile, his handsome face remains pleasant to look at as ever.
… yet the aura of dread emitting from him was unmistakable.
“I’ll be occupied in entertaining every single one of these gentlemen. If the Root would smile at me today, I might even successfully corner the target in one place where I won’t need to worry about him escaping outside of the room.”
“Root?” Natasha murmured, blinking in bemusement.
Her discomfort faded as she pondered what that was.
“…”
With his unnatural senses, Hadrian heard what she said.
But, entertaining her on what the ‘Root’ means was a large can of worms that even he was not idiotic enough to open.
The girl had proven herself to be quite a glutton for information.
And elaborating on what the term means would simply lead to more questions that Hadrian had no time or the intention to answer for her.
Thus, he was aware but chose to ignore her quizzical look on the matter.
Instead, he redirected on the subject of the briefing.
“For the meantime, once you deliver the safe, just wait with Luka outside while I do my part.” He continued, meeting Natasha’s attentive gaze with a calm demeanor.
Natasha frowned slightly at his statement.
“Wait, I’ve seen the people working inside that place and you’ll be fighting all of them? On your own?” Natasha asked skeptically, recalling what she had seen yesterday as they cruised the area.
“Yes, and I do believe I’ve already said that before.” Hadrian said with a hint of a smile on his face.
“This is not funny, Rey. There are armed guards working there.” Natasha reminded with a frown, miffed at his calm composure.
“…?”
Hadrian blinked, surprised by the vehement concern that he sensed from her via empathy.
‘Well, what do you know? Despite her slight temper and somewhat unruly demeanor, she does care…’ The mage in disguise chuckled inwardly.
Hiding his amusement behind a huff, garnering a curious glance from the redhead, Hadrian composed himself and placed the holo-tablet on the desk.
“Thank you for your concern, Natasha. But I’ll be fine. I can handle myself, and it’s not going to be the first time I’ve faced such odds before.” Hadrian reassured calmly after a few moments, gracing Natasha a gentle smile that silenced her protests on her lips.
“Just focus in doing your part and wait patiently with Luka after you’re done. I’ll come and fetch you once I’ve finished mine.”
The aura of confidence permeating from him caused Natasha’s usually stoic expression to become strained.
Natasha wanted to protest, to insist that he should reconsider his plan and that maybe she could be of help, but something stopped her.
It was not just the fact that she was aware of his combat prowess and almost convinced by his level of confidence.
The Black Widow in her was curious, highly interested in whether he was capable of being true to his words and not blowing out hot air. (7)
The darker side of her wanted to be an observer, to find out more about him and how it would benefit her in the long run.
‘I want to protest…’ was her initial thought.
But…
‘… I want to see how strong he is…’ was the Black Widow in her.
Suddenly, feeling self-conscious, Natasha became torn, divided between two sides of herself.
One side was concerned (rightfully so, seeing as the possibility of him dying was quite high), while the other was more calculating and wanted to see the outcome of his promise.
In the end, Natasha did not have time to ponder and decide as the world seemed to have done it for her.
The small, delicate piece of device that Rey called ‘holo-phone’ vibrated and rang a classical tune of a piano and violin.
Natasha watched in curiosity as he picked it up and used his thumb to fiddle with its functions.
Like a flick of a switch, the positive and carefree demeanor vanished and was quickly replaced by a calm and calculating expression.
He glanced up from the small device and met her gaze.
The smile from before reappeared, but dimmed in its positivity.
If anything, it appeared grim than disarming.
It was still pleasant to look at though.
“They’re on the way. Time to get ready, little spider.” Hadrian announced.
“…?”
Natasha blinked.
Then, her brows furrowed as she glanced down at herself before returning to him.
“I’m already ready. You’re the one who’s not.” Natasha pointed out, bemused as she gestured to him.
Hadrian chuckled, a wry smile on his lips as he shook his head at her casual wit.
“True…” He nodded, then continued. “But you still need a bit of equipment to truly be of assistance to this operation. Come, I’ll show you.”
The excitement in Natasha’s eyes was enough indication that she was not against the idea.