The light drizzle of rain suddenly turned into a downpour when the five assassins finally returned to their headquarters. The sun had settled for the evening as they hopped out of the pickup truck, their clothes soaked from the oncoming rain. Aria was still fast asleep, with Amy holding her carefully in her arms. Cindy and Kai were mostly fine, besides some minor injuries. They just needed a few days to recharge their aura, according to Ben.

Ben thanked the driver of the pickup truck for his kind gesture, offering him a cup of coffee and gas money for his troubles. The man politely declined, however, taking off quickly in his truck, once all five assassins were out of his ride.

"Hm, he must've been in a hurry!" Ben remarked.

"More like scared out of his mind," Amy replied. "We forced him to give us a ride all the way here. Jeez, I'm soaked. I need a shower, pronto," the elf complained, quickly running inside of headquarters.

Past normal office hours, the usual vibrant and lively first floor was a complete ghost town.

"Damn, nobody wanted to work overtime today, huh?" Amy said. "Well, I'll take Aria to her room and watch over her. I'll try to explain things to her once she wakes up. Hopefully she's in a more... reasonable mood by then."

"Sounds good," Ben replied. "Man, I could really use a drink right about now. You two wanna join me?" he asked Cindy and Kai.

"Um, what about our training?" Cindy asked.

"Hmm, you passed," Ben said bluntly.

"The fuck you talkin' about, Ben?" Kai asked. "We've only been aura training for a day!"

"Yeah, what gives? I thought we had another month to go," Cindy agreed.

"Well, you managed to survive Aria's onslaught, somehow. I'd say, you would've died rather quickly if you hadn't shown some proficiency with aura. Just keep practicing in your downtime, and you'll be fine!" Ben explained. "Use Aria and Theodore's teachings and just go from there. Develop your own style of aura that you can call your own."

"Um, okay?" Cindy replied. "We only managed to survive because we got lucky, though. Do you really think we're ready, Director Ben?"

"Oh, you'll be just fine!" Ben smiled. "I'll work on getting you guys your first contract soon, so just hang tight. In the meantime, your only job is to train your aura. Meditate, eat well, and exercise. Now, how about those drinks?"

"Well, my hand's still aching like crazy, so I could use a few shots to take the load off of that!" Cindy said.

"Oh yeah, your hand... It'll be fine! I'll bandage that up for you in my office while we drink." Ben replied.

"Oh, praise Lesus. Are you coming, Kai?" Cindy asked.

"Missing out on free drinks would be a crime, so of course I'm in!" Kai responded.

"Great, you guys get to have fun while I babysit," Amy frowned.

"Don't you owe me a few bottles, sis?" Ben replied snarkily. "Don't worry, I'll bring you a cup and check on you guys in a bit."

"You better!" the elf responded.

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

"Just Where have you three been?!" A voice echoed loudly throughout the empty building.

"Oh hey, Shirley!" Ben responded.

At the top of the escalator leading up to the second floor, an angry voice rained down on the five assassins. There stood a woman of small stature, fiery eyes, auburn hair, and light brown skin. She seemed very annoyed for some reason, tapping her feet rapidly and her bushy eyebrows furrowing fiercely.

"Who is that, Director Ben?" Cindy whispered.

"Yeah, and is she single?" Kai chimed in. "She's a total babe!" he continued, his eyes fixated on the woman.

"Oh, she's our dad's... secretary. Yeah, let's go with that," Ben grinned. "So, what's up, Shirley? We just had to run a few errands. Everything okay?"

"Errands?" Shirley questioned. "Did those errands require Director Aria to be unconscious in your arms, Amy?"

"Yeah, well this and that happened, and none of your goddamned business!" Amy retorted. "What the fuck do you want, old hag? I'm kind of busy here, if you couldn't tell," she said, holding Aria in her arms.

"Rude as ever, I see. You surely take after him," Shirley grumbled. "Your father is back from his trip, and he wishes to see you. He ordered me to go find you, seeing as none of you bothered to answer your phones. I've been looking all over this damn building for you!"

"Oh, daddy's back?" Amy said joyfully, accidentally dropping her sister to the ground. "Oh shit, sorry sis," she said, squinting her eyes and waving her arms around in panic.

"Uhhh," Aria groaned, finally awaking from her slumber. She picked herself up slowly and observed her surroundings, holding the back of her head as she winced in slight pain. "How did I get back here? What happened to me? And what are you two doing here?" she asked, glaring straight at Cindy and Kai.

"Erm, well, ya see... there's a funny story behind all this," Cindy muttered, lowering her gaze and scratching the back of her head.

"Okay, enough of this bullshit!" Amy yelled. "Aria, daddy's back, daddy's back!" she continued, jumping around like a child and holing her sister's hand. "So, keep your fucking bloodlust in check for a little bit. We'll talk it all out with daddy, so let's go greet him!"

"F-fine," Aria complied, reluctantly. She was able to soften up just a bit, thanks to her sister's cheerful spirit and the news of her father returning. "Let us go and greet our dear father now, shall we?"

"Well, we'll just leave you guys to it, then!" Cindy said, trying her best to scurry off. Kai was following right behind her, until they were interrupted.

"Father would like to see the newest assassins, as well," Shirley said.

"Yaaay," Cindy cheered softly and sarcastically.

The group made their way to the highest floor of headquarters, the fiftieth floor. Stuck in the elevator while it ascended rapidly, Cindy and Kai were nervous and sweaty as they stood beside the woman who attempted to kill them not long ago. It was a tense ride above for the two of them, and they were relieved once they were finally able to get off. They wanted to at least have room to run, if Aria tried to go after them again.

Finally arriving at the top floor, Cindy and the others entered a spacious and luxurious complex once they hopped off the elevator. There was an office on one side, and a fully equipped bar on the other. There was also a lounge area with the biggest television Cindy had ever seen.

"Holy shit!" Cindy and Kai said in unison. Their eyes widened, like children in a candy store, as they captured their surroundings.

"Heh, there's much more where that came from," Amy said. "We got game rooms, movie theaters, jacuzzis; you name it!"

"Damn, this guy really is loaded!" Kai said. "We better get on his good side, Cindy."

"Yeah, definitely," Cindy said, completely amazed by the place. "So, where is he?"

"Right this way, please," Shirley said, guiding the group throughout the maze of a complex they were in. "Oh, he was just here moments ago," she continued, opening the door to a lounge area. "This one? No... where the fuck is he?!" she complained after opening numerous rooms.

"I'm back here, baby!" a voice called out.

"What, he's in the gym? You never work out, old man!" Ben chuckled as he led the group towards the gym room down the hallway. "What's up, Pops?!" he yelled, swinging the door open.

"Ben, Amy, Aria! What up, dudes?!" Father greeted his children merrily, as he pushed his legs vigorously on an exercise bicycle.

The man pushing away on the bicycle was an abnormally large ogre with a bald head. He was older, looking to be in his sixties, with a belly that had surely seen copious amounts of beer. He had small tusks protruding from his mouth, as well as brownish green skin; a typical look for an ogre. Except, this ogre was the largest Cindy had ever seen. She couldn't help but stare at the man with her mouth agape in awe, as he peddled along on his bike with a smile on his face.

"Daddy's home!" Father yelled, the sound of thunder echoing throughout the building.