“It’s a good day for crime! Hehehe today’s going to be another great day for me.” Whistling a short tune to himself, a lanky man dressed in finery stepped out of his carriage in the Outer Circle. Quickly entering the building that the carriage stopped in front of, the man disappeared within the dark building before anybody noticed. Even though he unofficially controlled the area, it did not do to look like the nobility in one of the poorest parts of the city. Desperation has made men and women do more for less than attempting to rob me. Musing to himself, the man walked down the hallway towards his study.

“Good morning, Boss!” The guard outside of the kingpin’s office greeted the finely dressed man with a big smile. However, his heavily scarred face made it look like more of a grimace.

“You’re looking well, Hound. I heard your wife had a second child last night?” Stopping for a second, the kingpin leaned against the wall.

“Oh, yes, yes. My wife gave birth to a second boy. I’m glad that she survived the birthing. I didn’t think she had another one in her since the first birth was so hard.”

“Mm. Well go to Stock and tell him to give you three gold coins when you’re done with today’s shift. You can also have some time off to help your wife with whatever she needs, just let Notes know ahead of time. We take care of our own.” Nodding once at the guard, the kingpin pushed open the door and went in.

“Thank you very much, Boss!” Beaming as he went back to duty, Hound’s face seemed to light up the room just a bit despite its craggy exterior.

Inside the man sat at his desk, but not before checking to see if his defensive runes were still active. A blue rune flashed within his right eye as he double checked the integrity of his study’s magical defenses. Seeing that all was in order, the man nodded to himself and looked at the paperwork on his desk.

“What do we have here today? Hmm...it seems that the Fourth Street Vipers haven’t paid their taxes this month. I’ll have to send an enforcer to make them behave. It’s their first time so…..Badger seems like a good choice.” His eyes lighting up at the thought of how his victims would react, the man nearly cackled out loud as he went about his work.

Soon, a knock was heard at the door. “Center. You have a visitor.” Not even looking up, Center continued with his paperwork.

“Who is it, and what do they want? Quill, I swear to the Six that if it’s like those Smith twins from last week I’m going to have Hound beat some sense into you. My time is important this time of the month.” Still writing furiously as he reviewed the mountain of papers on his desk, Center frowned.

“Oh, don’t worry. I guarantee that you’ll be interested in today’s guest. He’s the one responsible for the Dire Boar Mount incident two months ago.” Even though Quill was sure of Center’s impending response, she still did not dare to enter without permission.

Pausing, Center finally looked up from his desk. “The Dire Boar Mount incident? If you’re sure of this, then come in.”

Permission granted, Quill quickly pushed open the thick oak door. The moment her hands touched the handle, a yellow rune lit up on the back of her hand. The same rune lit up on the door itself as the door unlocked in response. With a bright smile, the young woman gestured for her guest to move into the study.

“Please come in and take a seat. Quill, this gentleman is?” Looking up, Center was shocked initially by the man walking in. He wasn’t too impressive, but what stood out was the man’s lack of presence. It seemed to the kingpin that there was a void where a person was supposed to be. If the man in dark brown leather wasn’t standing in front of him, Center would have sworn that there was nobody there. However, the unknown man did have one discerning feature. He wore an ancient looking mask with no features.

“Oh yes. This is Mr. Rhodes. He’s the person responsible for the Dire Boar Mount incident. We have verified the claim through the use of a Memory Clone. Priest did the procedure himself. He’s clean.” Bowing deeply to Center as she handed a white orb to him, Quill quickly left as she closed the door once more.

“Mm. Very good, very good. Well Mr. Rhodes, you may address me as Center. I welcome you to my little corner of the Outer Circle. What can I do for you today?” Leaning back in his chair, made out of the most expensive wood available, Center crossed his arms.

“I want to be a fixer.” Short, straight to the point. Rhodes’ voice sounded nothing like the man dressed. It was very...average.

The man looks odd, but his voice is just...really average. I don’t know quite how to describe it. Center smiled as he quickly thought about his options. It’s never a good thing to decide too quickly. Let’s see if I’m going to be comfortable working with him first.

“That’s...a tall proposal. Let me review the Memory Clone to see what you are capable of. Please wait a moment while I do so.” Seeing Rhodes not say a word, Center took it as his assent to do so. Raising his hand, Center put touched his forehead to the white orb. Memories from the viewpoint of Rhodes flashed through Center’s mind. Everything, from the planning to the actual assassination, was shown to Center from the most important viewpoint of all. Sighing, Center looked Rhodes with more respect than before.

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“Well Mr. Rhodes, I would love to work with you. However, my organization is one based on experience and loyalty. You would have to go through a trial period, you understand.” Easing himself in his chair, Center’s smile returned to his face. He always these type of conversations best. Born with a business sense rivalling history’s greatest merchants, Center had built up his underground organization over the past decade with both business acumen and a ruthless streak.

“What does this trial period entail?”

“You’d have to do a series of jobs for us. In order of increasing difficulty as judged by our current fixers. It is a sort of...audition if you will. We will, of course, pay you a fair price for any work that you do for us. You will not receive the premium for each job, as only our in-house personnel get paid the premiums.”

“So, like a contracter.”

“Yes, yes. Exactly like a contracter. I can see that you understand as well. I do dearly love working with those individuals who understand business as well as you and I do.” Opening one of his drawers, Center pulled out a grey piece of paper out. “All you need to do to become one of our contractors is to sign this, well, contract. Please read it over and let me know if it is satisfactory for you.”

Picking up the piece of parchment, Rhodes’ eyes flashed imperceptibly as he read the contract in full. A short moment later, he placed it down on the table.

“This is a Partial Spirit Contract, is it not?”

With a start, Center lost his composure for just a moment. How does he know what a Partial Spirit Contract is? I could count on one hand the number of people in this city that should know what it is. Heh, this Mr. Rhodes is certainly getting more interesting by the minute.

“Ah, you sure have good eyes and knowledge. I see no reason to hide what you have already seen through. Yes, this is a Partial Spirit Contract. Trust is a very big part of my business, Mr. Rhodes. Unfortunately, even with your Memory Clone, I do not have much trust towards you. However, since you know about the Partial Spirit Contract, you should know that it binds me as well. I cannot move against you on risk of crippling myself.”

“You can’t. But it doesn’t say anything about your men. And I’m more worried about my physical well being with them involved.” Rhodes’ facial expression was hidden behind the mask, but his voice held a tinge of disapproval. Center’s smile got even wider.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s just a risk that you need to take. Rest assured, Mr. Rhodes. My organization is very, very trustworthy. I know that doesn’t mean much to you right now, but keep in mind that this is only a Partial Spirit Contract. Other organizations have been known to do worse for less.”

After a short moment of silence, Rhodes nodded. Placing his hand on the contract, he sent some of his mana within. A flash of white light later, and his part was done. Center then placed his hand on the contract as well, completing the contract.

“I can guarantee that you won’t regret the decision that you made here today. Mr. Rhodes, I hope that this is the beginning of a profitable relationship. Of course, once you finish the preliminary tasks, you do not have to formally join if you do not wish to. You are free to leave at the end of your contract.” Scooping up the grey parchment as if it were a treasure, Center stashed the contract into a secure drawer.

“Now that the contract is complete. You’ll report to Raven for your first assignment. Hmm you’ll need a name. We all have names. It helps us from ratting each other out and keeps us safer. Do you have a name you’d like us to call you by?”

“I have no preference. Call me what you will.” Shrugging his shoulders, Rhodes crossed his arms.

“Well...I’m bad with names. What about Mask?” Sighing to himself, Center despaired at his uncreativity with names.

“That’s fine.”

Nodding, Center snapped his fingers as he chanted. A small surge of mana came from the palm of his hand, and congealed itself as a nearly translucent moth.

“Raven, it’s Center. Mask is new. He’s our newest contractor to be a fixer. Give him his first assignment. He did the Dire Boar Mount incident. I expect great news from you about his performance.” His message completed, Center waved his hand. The moth circled once around Center’s head before shooting through the wall towards Raven somewhere else in the building.

“Quill, my dear. Please show Mr. Rhodes, now called Mask, to Raven. His first assignment should be given to him shortly.” Calling out to Quill who was waiting patiently outside the door, Center looked at Mask.

“Mask, it has been a pleasure meeting you. I do hope that the next time we meet face to face you’ll be one permanently joining us.” Looking down, Center quickly lost himself in his paperwork once more.

Mask turned around, and walked out of the study since Quill had already opened the door for him. Walking in silence, Quill took several twists and turns before leading Mask to a large warehouse. Seated on a barrel near some crates, a man in pitch-black clothing was furiously polishing an apple.

“Raven. This is Mask he’s here– “

“Yes, yes, yes. I know why he’s here. Mana messages always travel faster than you walking. In fact, I’d bet money that my grandmother could walk faster than you Quill.” Abruptly looking up, Raven took a large bite out of the apple.

“Hmph. You don’t need to be so rude. What if I was walking slower for Mask’s benefit? It is his first time in the hideout after all.” Puffing her cheeks out, Quill glared at Raven.

“You’re a glorified secretary. He’s a trained killer. The Dire Boar Mount incident was no joke. I don’t think Snake could have gotten out of that deathtrap of a villa if he was there. Have you seen uhh...Mask’s Memory Clone? That shit is outrageous. I feel like I learned a trick or two and I’ve been assassinating people for two decades now.” Still taking massive bites out of the apple, juice dripped down Raven’s chin as he spoke between bites. “Mmph. These new apples from the Spade’s Orchards are really nice. Hey Mask do you want one?”

“No, thank you very much. I’m not hungry.”

“Shit man you don’t need to be hungry to eat. Have you seen Badger? I swear that bastard is always eating something. Maybe he even eats in his sleep. Off you go, Quill. I can take care of it from here.”

Muttering something indecent under her breath, Quill pouted as she walked away from the two men. Shaking his head, Raven smirked.

“Ah, she’s just really sensitive. Kind of strange though, considering that she’s worked with us for almost five years now. I think she’d be used to our abrasiveness by now. But I guess that blueblood really runs deep eh?”

“Quill is nobility? Why would she be working here?”

“Ah fuck. I said too much. We shouldn’t talk about others while they’re not here. Well, shouldn’t talk about the in-house people while not with them. Trash all the other contractors no question though. I know some of the boys will be making fun of your Mask the moment you’re gone. Some even to your face, heh.”

“My assignment.”

“Ah, yes right. Nearly forgot about that. You want to be a fixer right? Do you even know what that entails? We’re not one trick ponies like some of the other members.”

“Fixers fix problems when the others can’t. They do everything from assassinations to heists to hostage rescues.”

“Huh, so you do know. You can call me Raven. I handle all of the fixer assignments here. I don’t know what Center has told you, but you’ll get to know me very well in the next couple of weeks. For your first assignment, how do you feel about bal masqués?”

“Masquerade parties? I hate them.” Mask suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Well, you’re shit out of luck.” Raven chuckled.