Amon listened closely as Ven told him everything she knew about the mayor. His name was John Glass, and he had offended a high ranking official of the Order, resulting in him getting assigned to a distant city and permanently being excluded from the Order's decision process. He was massively wealthy regardless of his disgrace and didn't care much for power. He left most decisions to experts in various fields, and they ensured the city ran smoothly. As such, the city was able to function relatively well despite the mayor's lack of investment.

They discussed a variety of plans but eventually came up with a two-facetted idea. First, Ven would try to infiltrate the mayor's mansion using her connections in the city guard. In case that failed, Amon and Bel would try to find more analog, and more forceful, ways to enter the mansion. As soon as either of them had a way inside, they would take action. As for the way they would take care of the Holy Knights individually, they would have to wait to see the situation inside, but they would prioritize stealth action over fighting.

Before they parted ways to complete their part of the assignment, the two of them exchanged contact information and agreed to contact each other via their encrypted phone. Before they parted ways, Amon's gaze drifted to the multiple cuts he had managed to land on Ven in the fight earlier, and something suddenly dawned on him. " I might not be the best person to ask this but, how are you going to deal with your uniform having several cuts? It's not exactly inconspicuous.

-That shouldn't be a significant problem. I have a spare uniform in my locker. As long as I can get there without attracting attention, I should be fine. There aren't that many people here at this hour, so I'll be fine unless you want to lend me your clothes?

Ven's cheeky smile almost made Amon blush, and he ignored her last comment. He got up and motioned to the door.

-We should probably leave before someone finds us here.

-Alright, I'll contact you if I find anything. Otherwise, contact me when you manage to enter the mansion. Also, we should leave at slightly different times to avoid some suspicion."

Amon understood her meaning and took the initiative to leave first. As he borrowed the identity of a dead man, it was much more urgent for him to get out early. He opened the door and followed the way they had taken to get here. Looking around in Oliver Black's wallet, he found a magnetic card similar to the one Ven had used, and with its help he made it made it back into the lobby of the Barrack. Without tarrying, he left the way he came. The guards at the entrance of the metal walls were different, and they didn't pay him any attention as he went home.

It wasn't convenient for Amon to be seen in his hotel with this guard uniform, so he took his time going back. It was already evening, and by the time he had arrived, the sky had darkened considerably. Borrowing the cover of darkness, Amon climbed to his hotel room once more. The night hadn't gotten any cooler and to wipe away the dampness that invaded his clothes, he hopped in the shower.

While he was scrubbing his body clean, he thought back to the events of the past few days. This was his first real mission for the Ravens, and he was anxious to accomplish it flawlessly. On the one hand, he was ambitious and wanted to move up the ranks and on the other, he merely wanted to repay the Ravens for saving his life when he was just a kid.

He was born in the slums of Cairo and was an orphan by the age of five. He was taken in by a group of thieves who used him to complete petty theft and treated him horribly. One day, that group crossed the path of a Raven, and they were instantly obliterated. Instead of abandoning Amon, that man had chosen to take him under his wing. He barely ever spoke, and when he did, he was teaching Amon about the cruelty of the world the Order had created. By the age of fifteen, Amon volunteered to join the Ravens, and the man gladly introduced him. He found out he had excellent compatibility with physical augmentations and the Ravens trained him for a while, before assigning him to do some odd jobs with Bel to gain some experience.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Amon cut off the water and dried himself with a towel. He wrapped it around his body as he got out of the bathroom. He saw a light on cellphone blinking, and he guessed either Bel or Ven had sent him a message. He used his fingerprint to open the device and saw that Bel had sent him a short but efficient message: "Couldn't find anything. Any luck on your side?" Amon quickly typed out a reply saying he had an unexpected encounter and a new lead. He asked Bel to come to his hotel room tomorrow morning, and he would fill him in on the details then.

Amon didn't want to meet at the Den this time as they needed to prepare for the mission ahead. In his luggage, he had some clothes and essentials, but it was mostly filled with gadgets and weapons that could be useful for the task ahead. He quickly sent another message to Bel asking him to bring his luggage tomorrow morning. He didn't know what to expect from the mayor's mansion, but he wanted to be prepared for everything.

Amon looked at the guard's clothes he had taken from the man named Oliver Black. Would his family miss him? Was he a good father, a good husband? Amon couldn't help but regret the situation he had been put in. He didn't regret what he did; he regretted that the Order's arrogance in ruling over the world had led to this. The only way for everything to come to an end would be either the collapse of the Ravens or the collapse of the Order. With a last sigh, Amon folded the man's clothes and stored them in his luggage. This military uniform might come in useful later.

Amon cleared up his bed and laid down for a good night of sleep.

When morning came, Amon rose with a start. He was immediately fully awake as years of practice had allowed him to be ready for action as soon as he woke up. There was a small coffee machine on the small dresser in the room, and Amon fixed himself a drink. When he realized he was naked, he quickly put on a pair of underwear and slowly drank his coffee as he looked back on the files concerning the Holy Knights.

From what he knew, Bel was a morning person and should be here shortly. As he was supposed to lead this operation, he wanted to be prepared and not have to rely too much on Bel to bridge the gap in his experience. It was about eight in the morning when there was a light thud from the door. Amon put the files to the side and approached the door. In the peephole, he could only see the sinking chest of a man in a light shirt. Judging solely from the height and the skinniness, Amon knew it was Bel and opened the door.

Bel looked around the room and greeted Amon with a loud "Good morning." It seemed the prospect of finally fighting Holy Knights put him in high spirits. He dumped his luggage on the ground near the dresser and sat on the chair by the desk in front of the bed. He was dressed in regular clothes, but they couldn't hide his bony body. "So boss, what have you found yesterday?"

Prompted by Bel, Amon recounted the events of the previous day while omitting the whole part about Ven. He instead made up some event about him interrogating some guard from the Order to gain this information. He didn't know why but he wanted to avoid telling Bel about Ven just yet. He didn't trust her fully just yet, and he had an inkling that if Bel found out he had talked about their mission with someone else he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them.

-I see, so they have turrets mounted to the mansion itself. That could be a problem, but thankfully we aren't doing a frontal assault. Do you have any plans to sneak inside the mansion?

-To supply the troops from the Order brought by the Holy Knights, the entourage of the mayor and every servant, they have to have supplies come in at regular intervals. If there is an auxiliary entrance for delivery, we might be able to use this to gain access to the mansion itself. If we wait until nighttime, there will be minimal security inside as most of it is outside. We'll have to be careful, but with most people inside asleep, we'll be able to move almost unimpeded.

-Do we take care of any Holy Knight if we happen across them?

-If we can, it'd be best to kill them as fast as possible."

A grim smile flashed on Bel's face, and he threw his luggage on the bed. "We better start preparing then."