Killian Gray drummed his fingers on the polished mahogany wood, waiting impatiently for his client to show themselves. He looked around the opulent room the guards had escorted him to. It was richly furnished and warm, comfortable, and well lit by candlelight, driving all the shadows away from all but the most narrow crevices carved from the black obsidian walls. Those walls were what he despised most about this place. Polished to a mirror shine, he could clearly see the scars that crisscrossed his pale, shave head, running from the top of his head and down his face, like jagged, ugly mementos of battles hard fought.
“Where the hell is this guy?” He growled out, his native earthling accent sounding oily and thick, reminiscent of the South African region from where he was born.
Dragging a long shaky nail across the table repeatedly, he tried everything he could to take his mind off the pulsing headache ripping through his frontal lobe. His withdrawals had increased in intensity since he broke through the Sirius tier of Gamma class. Now he was lucky if he could manage a full day without a binaric intake. How unfortunate for him his symptoms started now, right before meeting a client. He tried to sit still, tried to not focus on the way his skin felt like something was burning underneath his skin, or the how his stomach was threatening to void itself at the mere mention of water. Fuck, he needed a hit.
A door opened behind him, pulling him from his thoughts of discomfort, as a deep booming voice filled the room with a false sense of warmth.
“Good evening Mr. Gray,”
“Howzit?” Killian said, turning to see a mountain of a man clad in a flowing white robe, young and dark-skinned with a mop of white hair combed over, hiding one of his golden eyes. He watched the man make his way from where he stood in the threshold, to sit across from him at the head of the table. When he spoke, Killian clocked the golden gleam of plated canines.
“My name,” The man said, holding his arms out in a symbol of passivity, “Is Seprith Caustos, Prince of Amreith.”
“Alright,” Killian said, tweaking his head to the side slightly, and closing his eyes as a fresh wave of nausea washed over him, “Now that introductions are out of the way, care to tell me what the hell I’m doing here?”
Caustos tsked, a smirk forming out of one of the corners of his mouth, “My my, so impatient. Tell me,” he said, leaning forward to rest his chin on the palms of his hands, “How bad are the withdrawals for a Sirius ranked Gamma class?”
If the remark was supposed to throw Killian off, he didn’t show it. Instead, he simply scoffed, responding with a growling sneer, “They’re not pleasant.”
“I can imagine,” Caustos said, nodding while offering a false look of sympathy, “It’s a shame, you know.”
“What is?” Killian asked, to which Caustos responded with a shrug.
“I mean, I’d heard of the great exploits of Killian Gray for years. Hunter of hunters. The mech murderer. But sitting across from you I don’t see that.”
“Oh?”
“Indeed, you see,” Caustos said, his eyebrow raising slightly, “Right now, I’m seeing a shell of a inhabiting the body of a once great warrior. I’m seeing a junkie looking for his next fix. It’s a shame really.”
“I don’t really care what you see, you spoiled brat,” Killian said, irritation overpowering his current ailment, “Are we here to do business, or are you just going to run your mouth until I get fed up enough to leave for more serious prospects?”
Caustos merely smiled, looking at Killian for a long time. Long enough for Killian to growl in frustration, pushing away from the table as he stood, muttering about wasted time and silver. As he did so however, his mumbling was broken by the clattering of an object being tossed across the table towards him. Looking down, Killians eyes focused on the familiar shape of a binaric jack. He looked up at Caustos, searching his eyes for the hidden intent behind his actions, but failing to gleam anything, decided to voice his curiosity.
“Just what the hell are you playing at, boy?” He spat, saying the last word like a curse.
Caustos chuckled softly, bringing a hand to cover his mouth as he did so, “Consider it a gift,” He said, motioning with his hand towards the sharp metallic spike, “I know I wouldn’t want to conduct business suffering through withdrawals, which means I wouldn’t expect my guest to either. Please.”
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Killian eyed the object for a long while, mulling over the pros and cons on what to do. A sharp jabbing pain in his skull made his decision for him however, causing him to quickly snatch up the jack and swiftly plunge it into his synaptic uplink, cooing in relief as a fresh injection of binary rushed through his system.
“Better?” Caustos asked, raising an appraising eyebrow.
“Much so,” Killian said, a soft smile daring to cross his face.
“Excellent, now please…” Caustos gestured with his hand to the chair Killian had been sitting in a moment before, “Would you care to join me so we can conduct business on a level field?”
Killian didn’t audibly respond, but he did as requested, plopping down in the chair and placing his elbows on the table, leaning forward with interest, “So… Prince Caustos,” He said slowly, highlighting his patrons honorific, “If you know who I am, then that explains why I’m here… Who do you want put in the dirt?”
Caustos’s smile grew wider, clearly pleased with what he was hearing, “I’m glad you asked, Mr. Gray. I need you to kill a pilot of course, I’m willing to pay the sum of 500,000 silver to see that it’s done.”
Killian whistled, his eyes widening slightly, “Who is he,” He asked, leaning forward, becoming more intrigued by the minute, “Some Beta company head? A freelancing Gamma?”
Caustos laughed heartily, waving away both statements as he shook his head, “No, nothing as strenuous as that,” Then his laughter stopped, his smile growing hard as he looked into Killian’s eyes, “Just a relinquished Alpha Class.”
Killian had to do a double take, cocking his head to the side as confusion washed over him, “I thought you said the price was 500,000?”
Caustos nodded, slipping back into his easy-going grin, “I did, but the price isn’t for who I want gone. It’s how I want him gone.”
At this, he reached under the table and produced a plain manilla folder, before sliding it over to Killian, speaking as he did so, “The specifics are all there, and we’d be happy to outfit your Shadow before you depart for free space.”
Killian gave the Prince another long stare before slowly trailing his eyes down to the folder. He tentatively reached for it, pulling it towards him as he opened it and leafed through it’s contents. As he did, his eyes grew wider, nearly bulging out of their sockets. He looked up at Caustos, mouth slightly agape in shock, then back down to the page he’d stopped on. Back and forth, he rapidly looked towards the pamphlet and the prince trying to wrap his head around what he was being asked to do.
“You know these are illegal right?” Killian exclaimed after a long moment, “As in, instant death penalty illegal.”
“More like, instant eradication of an entire ruling family illegal Mr. Gray,” Caustos said nonchalantly, “But yes. I know the weight they carry. Almost as much as the surety they bring to wanting someone dead.”
Killian continued to read for a shot while longer, shaking his head in disbelief before closing the pamphlet shut. He looked up at the Prince, his eyes still in shock, searching for the right words. Caustos beat him to it however, as he spoke up in dry deadly tone.
“You’re more than welcome to decline. It doesn’t matter to me who does the job as long as the job is done. If it’s not you, I’ll just move to the next name on the list. Obviously you will be drugged and escorted off planet, and Amreith will deny any and all involvement in this matter should you decide to speak on it. Hell, depending on my mood, I’m sure I can fabricate a story to sell to the media that this was all your idea. Because at the end of the day, I’m just a law abiding EarthGov noble, and you’re a Free-Space killer. Who’s going to believe you?”
Killian was speechless. For the first time in a long time, someone had actually… unnerved him. Thrown him off his game in such an intense way that he couldn’t fathom the reason as to why. Which is why, even though he’d asked the question earlier, this time, he genuinely wanted to know.
“Just what are you playing at boy?”
Caustos smirked, another chuckle erupting deep from his belly as his golden canines flashed in the light, “The most dangerous game, Mr Gray. Politics.”