The Liberal Assassin

"…and we will bring in a new business partner from the Slums. Nash Skinner is a very capable man with great influence on the people there. He will work alongside Ignacio who will be taking over the position of Chief Executive Officer of Luna Services."

Gasps and murmurs broke out after I ended my announcement. It was a rather sudden thing so objections are expected. I could see that Felix frowned in disapproval but opted to remain silent about it until the meeting was adjourned.

One by one, the board directors and major shareholder representatives left after they were unable to convince me to change my mind. I tidied the table with the help of Ignacio after they had left. Only Felix remained as we had anticipated.

"Why?" he asked. "Luna Services is doing so well, why now?"

I smiled and exchanged looks with Ignacio. The brunet nodded and took the cue to give us some privacy. The moment the door clicked shut, I turned back to Felix. "Sorry, Felix. This isn't good enough for me. I want to do more for the people in the Slums and I can't do that while I'm tied down by obligations as the figurehead of the company."

The pompadour loving man frowned. "You've done a lot for the people in the Slums. I've heard that Pantiumite sales increased and it has become a lot more affordable for people living in the Slums. What is it that you can't do?"

Turning away, I found reshuffling the folders more interesting. How am I to explain to Felix that people were dying in the Slums because of some illegal human experimentation? He's not the same as Ignacio and I can't tell him the truth. He was a civilian who didn't know anything. Then again, if Ignacio didn't know my identity, I wouldn't have told him anything either.

"It isn't something Pantiumite or credits can solve," I told him, sticking as close as the truth as I could. "Luna is sick and I need to find out what's wrong with it."

Felix gave me a puzzled look and a certain genius came to mind. "Ignacio pointed out to me the other day that there was something wrong in the way we live. I want to level the differences between the Inner City and the Slums. The system is wrong and I want to find out why."

The shrewd businessman paused for a while. "Are you referring to the citizenship rights in the Inner City?"

It wasn't exactly about citizenship rights but that was a side effect of the root cause. I was going to have to eventually deal with that issue too so I nodded. Felix sighed in relief.

"I understand. To be honest, I feel the same way too. In history, our forefathers worked together to make living better for one another as survivors of the Great Combustion. Look at us now, tearing at each other's throats over credits."

He waited for a reaction of some sort from my end but I never gave it. Resigned, Felix left the subject as it was. "It's fine if you don't want to disclose your plans but I want you to remember that I'm always ready to help. Accomplishing so much at your age is not something that is easily done. Don't shoulder all your burdens alone."

When I stubbornly refused to say anything, Felix came over and ruffled my hair. I relished in the feeling as Felix's hands were always so warm that it melted away my worries.

"Thank you. Still, I wouldn't have been able to do it without your support."

The investor grinned. "Nah, I think you'll have managed it somehow. I'm just glad that you came to me. Just don't forget to call me often, I would like to think that stepping down would give us more time to meet in private but I'm already beginning to think otherwise. I really don't like it when you have that look in your eye as if you were gambling with the devil."

I was a little shocked if not extremely touched. I never thought that I would feel so vulnerable in front of anyone. The way he saw me like an open book scared me in a way that felt strangely tingly. Although I wasn't technically lying to him, the knot in my stomach persisted. Half of me wanted to cry, to blurt out the plans but I knew better than to do that. The thought of seeing Felix's dead body because I simply couldn't keep my mouth shut sent chills down my spine. Instead, I kept my head down as he walked out the door, leaving a disappointed investor behind.

Every step away killed me on the inside but I strengthened my resolve. There was no way I was dragging Felix into my blood-stained world, I simply couldn't.

***

"Why are you here again? Don't you have better things to do? Unlike you, I have to work!"

The disinterest in Nash's voice made the inner child in me pout. "Fine! I'm leaving anyway!"

Nash huffed. While it was true that I visiting a little more often, he didn't have to be so cold about it!

"You've been coming over every single day since the handover. Now that Ignacio is handling the paperwork and I'm stuck with the logistics thanks to your hare-brained plan of putting me on the official employee list, you can find someone else to bother."

Every valid point made by Nash felt like laser gunshots. While it was true that my whimsical resignation had been tough on both men, I did my part to help by easing the media attention on them with my hard-core partying.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work, Mr Party Boy." Nash left the room promptly and I stared at the ceiling blankly. Might as well get on to doing what I had no time to do before. Mia's cell samples won't analyse themselves.

I was able to afford a better apartment after Luna Services had stabilised but hadn't really moved into it while Ignacio found a place of his own somewhere in the Slums. I don't know where he goes to every night but I wasn't going to pry my nose where it doesn't belong. Long story short, I finally moved into my new apartment and was utterly bored out of my mind with the lack of distractions.

My new apartment was so strategically located that if Spencer bothered to think out of the box for a bit, he might come close to identifying who the Night Walker was. I could easily walk to the Academy and bypass the security to utilise their facilities any time I wanted. Why would anyone want to break into the Academy with only a bunch of snot-faced kids? Well, apart from Centurion and Bluetonium the top research facilities with insane security, where else would there be cutting edge technology for experiment and research?

Calling for a wheeler from Slums which was now possible, I waited for about five minutes before it arrived. Impressed with the number of changes since the borders had opened, I hopped in and took a short nap. I didn't exactly want to go back to that apartment but I didn't have anywhere else to be.

Once I was back in my new apartment away from the unforgiving cold, I decided to hit the showers. It was still one of the things that comforted me. Remembering the new addition, I wondered if Allen liked his new pal. After many years with only a lonely boy for company, I finally decided to get the poor duck his own company. I actually fell in love with her the moment I set eyes on her while window shopping yesterday and thought that she's perfect for him. She was a lime green whale that could squirt water from the rubbery top, imitating the mammal while it existed. Her name was Marie, a beauty through and through.

I was enjoying bath time when it was cut short. Hit by a sudden wave of wooziness, I vaguely pondered how exhausted I truly was. My lids felt heavy as I settled into a more comfortable position in the tub. It was blissful until foam and bitterness filled my mouth. I sat up sputtering soap and water with the bitter aftertaste still lingering. Perhaps it was time for bed.

Not even bothering to dry or dress up, I headed to the bedroom wearing a towel around my waist with my hair still dripping. Flopping down, I enjoyed how the sheets c.a.r.e.s.sed my skin, ignoring how the pillow was getting soaked. It felt heavenly on my weary bones and Pyros knows I just how much I needed this beauty rest.