Zack and Octavius had kept sparring throughout the day, and only until the sun approached the horizon, dying the atmosphere reddish-violet did they finally cease. The sluggish and exhausted Zack was seen strolling the complex with his friend.

"Ugh, I'm so damn tired...I've never trained this much in a single day ever," Zack uttered. I've been sparring with Octavius for several hours...I can't believe Nathan and Lilith do this every day.

"Heh, you're too lazy, bro," Octavius teased. "Well, you'll get used to it. Whether you like it or not."

Zack's expression soured to a frown in response to Octavius's words. Zack was snapped out of his exhausted and soured look as something caught his eye while they walked. He noticed several men in the same blue overalls as himself, but they had abnormal features.

He observed an individual rolling his right sleeve to reveal a mechanical arm. The other men were just as peculiar, as Zack noticed the right side of another's face was replaced by metal, even having a visible glow where his right eye should be. These cybernetic attachments were common among the men, as different parts of their bodies were replaced by something mechanical.

"What the? What the hell is going on with those guys?" Zack questioned, which garnered Octavius's attention. "Are those super soldiers or something?"

"That's not a bad guess, Zack. A lot has changed since you left, and the director has gotten even more power since there aren't many super soldiers in the way now," Octavius explained. "Our organization, the Blueblood Corps, has amassed great funds, and the director used a portion to research cybernetic alterations on regular human workers. He said it'll be good for our organization's defense."

"Blueblood Corps? Did the director give this organization a name while I left?"

"Yeah, since our business was expanding, he wanted to make it more official with a name," Octavius responded.

"I see. I'm guessing the funds come from arms trafficking and providing private services to smaller organizations, right?" Zack assumed. "At least, that's how the boss made money when I was there. He'd send me to blow stuff up for other smaller organizations to make allies."

"Well, we still do that, but we've dabbled into something else," Octavius replied. "You remember those pills I gave you? Well, where do you think we got them?"

"Wait...don't tell me," Zack muttered with narrowed eyes. "The director went into drug dealing, too?"

"Yeah, drugs sell for a lot...especially the harder and purer ones," Octavius confirmed.

Well, that does make sense. Zack thought. This organization is like a better version of a mafia organization, huh? I'm surprised the director talked people into making them cyborgs, though.

"There's supposed to be a deal going on about now," Octavius remarked. "The Silverdust Brothers are talking with the director now."

"Who?"

"The bosses of smaller company than ours and are long-time allies. They've been manufacturing some of our drug supplies," Octavius stated. "Come on, follow me."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"W-Wait, we're meeting them?" Zack muttered as Octavius moved quickly. Are we even allowed to barge into their meeting!? "Alright, I guess..."

*

The director's home was full of activity as he was met by two individuals in his living room. His isolation was interrupted as he accommodated two other men in his home. There wasn't much to these men, other than them donning a polished grey suit as if made from silver. They also wore several silver rings on their ring, middle, and index fingers.

"This month's drug supplies have been delivered," One of the men stated. "Now, about our payment..."

"Uh huh, my men have confirmed that they received the goods, William," The director stated as he smoked a cigar. "You brothers haven't failed to deliver the goods, so I wasn't surprised."

William, as referred to by the director, seemed to be a rather serious man, judging by his cold and stern expression. He was a fairly tall man who looked to be in his early thirties, with mid-length black hair kept in a classic brushed-back hairstyle and matching color eyes.

William stood beside the second individual, likely his brother. The brother seemed around the same age and had very similar features to William; it was as if they were twins. The only difference was that the brother had a different hairstyle; he grew out his hair and kept it in layers. He also had a fairly friendly smile on his face, unlike William.

"So, you can give us the payment in cash--"

"But, my men have also informed me that some of the drug supplies we ordered are missing," The director continued. "You've delivered the goods, but not all of it. Isn't this the second time this has happened recently?"

"...Some of the packages were damaged and caused some drugs to spill, hence why you're missing a few," William admitted. "But that was a mistake."

"You think losing my valuable cocaine is just a mistake? I gave you a pass the last time, but you let this happen again," The director retorted. "You're not going to get the full payment. Consider me letting you off easily since you're one of my long-time manufacturers."

"WHAT! You're not paying us what we agreed on because of that!?" The other brother exclaimed as his friendly smile was quickly washed away. "You should be happy we're even manufacturing the drugs for you!"

"You dare shout at me, young man?" The director retorted as he gazed at him with narrowed eyes.

"HUH--"

"...Calm down, Noah," William suggested. "It's fine. We'll take the reduced payment."

"You will, this screw-up is your fault, anyways," The director mocked. "Now, our business here is done. You may leave."

"Tch, okay," William muttered. Noah seemed visibly upset at the director's words, though. "Let's go, brother."

"...Okay." Noah agreed as they approached the door. The director didn't bother to watch as they left in their anger.

"This will become a strain on our future relationship," William uttered as he opened the door.

"It will if you make a mistake like this again," The director remarked. The two brothers walked through the door, leaving both sides with a bad taste in their mouths.

The brother's gaze immediately shifted to observe Zack and Octavius. They were standing near the director's home, which made the duo the brothers saw first.

"Uh, hello," Zack awkwardly greeted.

"Tch," William uttered before the brothers briskly walked past them.

"I guess the deal didn't end well," Octavius muttered as he watched the Silverdust brothers walk off.

"Yeah...I'm glad we never barged into their meeting..." Zack stated with a sigh of relief.

Octavius immediately entered the director's home with Zack following.

"Oh, Octavius and Zack. What can I do for you?" The director questioned as he leaned back on his couch, even putting up one of his legs on a coffee table. "Have you gotten accustomed to the complex, Zack?"

"Ah, yeah. Octavius has shown me around," Zack answered. It's weird hearing the director wondering about me. "We got some sparring in, too."

"That's good. I want you to get even stronger."

"What was that about, boss?" Octavius questioned. "The Silverdust brothers left the house rather upset."

"Oh, I told them they won't receive the full payment for carelessly damaging my products," The director answered. "It's their damned fault."

The clueless Zack stood there and listened with uninterest.

"They damaged some of the packages again?" Octavius questioned with raised eyebrows. "What the hell is wrong with them?"

"Good question, I can tell you what's wrong," The director remarked. "Whether on purpose or not, they're becoming incompetent. It seems they want me to absorb their organization forcefully to fix this incompetence."