The Liberal Assassin

Fifty-five minutes.

That was how long it took for Khronos to subject me to unspeakable means of cell regeneration therapy. I cradled the left wrist that had to be re-broken because of my struggling. Never again will I get him to treat me if I'm not on the brink of death. As effective as his methods were, they were inhumane!

The mad genius strolled into the room after changing to his usual attire and smiled. "I think we're ready to hold that meeting. Please make yourselves comfortable."

The new room Khronos led me to after a maze of passages looked nothing like the makeshift infirmary. The underground hideout bigger than I first thought and I made a mental note to ask for a blueprint later. It wouldn't do any good for the owners of the hideout to get lost in it.

"Titus!" an overly energetic voice yelled.

That was the only warning I had before I was smothered.

Ignacio looked at his friend disapprovingly but joined in for a short group hug.

"It's nice to have you back," the brunet smiled gently.

The hug was embarrassing but heartwarming. Nash had never been much of a physical contact person so I found myself secretly wishing they were my older brothers.

Before I could get too lost in thoughts, someone in the room cleared their throat loudly. Rush pouted and glared at Nash before pulling away. The loss of contact made me remember about the underlying tension I still had with Nash since the last fight. After collecting my sense of emotions, I gave it a lot of thought but didn't have time to talk it out yet.

Rush fussed over wanting to be in between Nash and I so nobody stopped him from assigning seats. The room was lavishly furnished and I wondered if Ignacio had something to do with it. It wasn't as large as the infirmary but the couches were definitely expensive. The floor was covered with colourful carpets and the lamps gave the room a very warm feel. I wasn't freezing despite the thin material of the shirt which meant there was an internal heating system in place that Khronos must have accounted for.

"Team Night Walker's first meeting will now commence," Nash began. "I know you don't like how things have turned out but you'll at least hear us out. Working alone this whole time has worn you out and we think it's time to start working as a real team."

I glared half-heartedly at Nash. It was true that running as the Night Walker at night and studying during the day tired me. In fact, there were times I wished I could apply for a vacation as the Night Walker. However, vacations were luxuries that vigilantes couldn't afford.

"The team was founded on mutual interests, it's true that there wasn't much of a system but we'll discuss it now." Khronos sat upright and looked me in the eye. "Just to put everything out in the open, I joined because there were things I wanted to know. What have they discovered in Project Nova Homo? Will there be a potential solution for this cursed body of mine? Can Pantiumite's efficiency be further enhanced or will there be a suitable alternative for it?"

Rush nodded. "What can you do for the Night Walker in this team? We already have the Pantiumite's formula so I don't know how else you can contribute."

The scientist grinned and pointed to his brain. "I'll take over all the background work and assist him virtually in the field" He then turned to me. "You've developed Kevin and Cain but programs cannot respond to unforeseen situations like the incident at Luna Security. Other than virtual assistance and coping with the background research work, I have extensive connections all over Luna. My skill set will be indispensable to the team."

"Welcome on board. I'm not really against the idea of a team with anyone here but it would be nice to sort out the roles to know what I wouldn't need to take on in future so I could focus on the other aspects."

Nash chuckled. "A lot, I would say. Khronos will take care of the backend and support you've been handling up till now. Ignacio will be your proxy as he has been doing and be your financial support."

"I'll be your sidekick! I can fight too! Or offer you a lift in your escape plans."

I had to stop him there.

"I never agreed to have a sidekick."

"You don't know how to be discreet," chided Ignacio and everyone in the room silently agreed.

His exuberant expression melted into one of shock and fear. "I'm still useful in other ways… please don't kick me out of the team!"

"Well…"

"You can be the information centre," Khronos cut me off. "I know you're the leader of the Red Bumbles or something…"

"Red Rumble," he growled.

"Right. With your influence in the underworld, it is easier to spread false information and collect interesting rumours."

"Sound interesting," Nash grunted and I agreed wholeheartedly. Rush was capable when he didn't have the Night Walker Fever Eyes Syndrome.

"Well, then Nash, what's your role here?" I shot at him. There really was no reason for Nash to be on the team since we have all grounds covered. We have the brains, money and operations down to a pat.

The old man had the nerve to roll his eyes when he told me I needed a babysitter. Despite my protest, nobody else objected. Ignacio had the audacity to nod in agreement and I felt utterly betrayed by his lack of faith.

"Now that the roles are settled, how about we get to the main agenda?"

"Main agenda?" Now that's new. Nobody mentioned about the main agenda and I thought the purpose of the meeting was the official announcement of Team Night Walker and its members.

"Well, after your spectacular slip up, we decided to draw up a master plan without your consent," Khronos continued as if he hadn't ignored or offended me. I continued to lag behind mentally from the shock of being removed from the attention spotlight.

"The order of the hits would follow as proposed by Khronos and the methods by Nash," Ignacio presented.

I could only stare at the hard copy of the plan with my mind still reeling from an information overload. What about my plans? Apparently, my silent thoughts weren't as silent as they should be because Nash scowled.

"If your plans were flawless we wouldn't be having this meeting. Khronos knows the background of all your targets better. You didn't bother to do a check on Luna Security before barging in as if you owned it. I wouldn't be surprised if you invited him over for tea the next time."

"Nash!" Ignacio hissed. Almost immediately, Rush turned murderous.

"Boys, please settle down," Khronos jumped in to play the mediator's role. "Titus, it's not that we don't trust your judgement but your coverage wasn't thorough enough. I understand your constraints with time because you had to strike while the iron was hot. Now that we are a team, don't you think the plan's chances of success would be higher? Of course, this is only a proposal. The final say still lies with you as leader of Team Night Walker. Our job is to assist you and help you succeed."

Calming down, I gave Rush a pat on the shoulder. The gang leader relaxed a little but trained his eyes on Nash who remained impassive.

"Could we get back to the plan? I'm sure Ignacio has a lot to cover."

With murmurs of agreement, Ignacio continued to elaborate.

"I'm sure the list was arranged with the purpose of collecting information. Arvin has gone into hiding and nobody knows where he is. As such he would be the last target and the method of disposal would be entirely up to you. Our only lead now is Lilith and she's next. To extract information, the target has to be questioned. Lilith can be found mostly at work or at home and Nash proposed that you ambush her in her own home with a silent field erected beforehand. The serum should get her talking and once you have the information, you don't need to kill her unless she has a greater role in the experiments. You could make her forget the whole ordeal with hypnosis so there is hardly any downsides to using this method. As much as the Parliament is at fault, there are members who are still doing a service for Luna."

I nodded. From my investigations, Melvick and Colette were not involved with the experiments. Neither victim deserved to die but without something like the truth serum, I had no options. Melvick refused to say anything till the end and it had been pointless murder. The new drug sounded good but I had my concerns.

"You mentioned 'hardly any downsides'. What's the risk here?"

"Well," the scientist shifted uncomfortably. "I modified the formula a little so the pain serum now works as a truth serum. It messes with different parts of the mind but only works on the weak-willed towards emotional pain. I won't guarantee the success."

"What exactly does it do?" Rush held the glass of clear liquid to the light.

The scientist smirked victoriously. "It makes a person relive their worst nightmares on hearing a pre-conditioned word during the hypnosis until they tell the truth."

"Has it been tested?" I asked. A truth serum with hypnotism and mental trauma sounds like something the Night Walker would do. However, it's a huge risk to use it in an operation without testing.

"Well, not really. Test subjects aren't easily available when you're confined to your apartment. That's why you can let me know the effectiveness of it after you've tried it on Lilith Malfoy."

"If it doesn't work?"

"Keep her alive," Nash growled. "I'm good at interrogation."

Everyone in the room shuddered and I felt the hairs on my skin stand. There was no way I wanted to be on Nash's torture list.

"This serum should work and based on her answers, we may opt for a different method for the next person. For now, we have Berriwott Emmerich lined up. The guy might be a dud so don't expect too much. After Berriwott, Kalifa should be next. I can bet you she has the information we need."

"So that's why you made her the target after Lilith… you want to test if the formula of the truth serum works before going for the real catch."

"I see you're not just a hot-tempered street rat. Yes, Kalifa should give us the answers we need. From there either Rion or Janon would be next. Rion would be too tough to reach and Janon relatively easy. Neither of them will be important targets until we know who's behind Project Nova Homo."

Ignacio made a face at the weird sounding name and Rush cringed. Nash remained emotionless but I swore I caught his fingers twitching.

"In other words," Ignacio broke the silence. "The sequence will be Lilith, Berriwott, Kalifa and Arvin last after Janon and Rion whoever first."

Rush nodded and I eyed the list. "What about the methods of disposal?"

Nash pointed to the list and I squinted. Whoever wrote the list had terrible handwriting.

"Berriwott will be trapped at a hotel that Ignacio will arrange a meeting at. Rush will go undercover as the staff there and slip something into his Pantiumite champagne that will give the same effects of being drunk. After which Ignacio will call for Rush to take Berriwott to a reserved room. You'll need to set up the silence zone again and then interrogate him there after giving him the serum."

Well, it was better than my initial plan to pretend to mug the man on his way home in the middle of the night.

"How about Kalifa?"

Khronos shrugged and Nash sighed. "Why can't anybody read?"

Realisation that the atrocious scribbles belonged to him set in slowly when everyone else tried to make sense of the scratches.

"That old woman visits the bank vault every month. Her shoe collection is extensive and priceless. Khronos will down the system for a while and fool it while you do your deed. No one is allowed inside the vault except Kalifa so you should be quite safe. Just don't get caught leaving or entering. The place has no ventilation so don't stay there too long. The blueprints of the bank will be given to you later."

"Cool! It's not as creative as my original plan to blackmail her illicit affair with Colin to her dangerous but official lover but it will do."

"That ice queen has a lover? And an official one too? He has to be blind to fall for someone like her." Khronos scoffed and Nash raised a brow at the scientist.

"That's new, who is he? Do we know him?" Ignacio sat on the edge of his chair.

"The one who nearly killed me… From what I know, Rion was the one who started wooing her first. He is the sponsor for some of her shoes."

Rush whistled lowly and Khronos paled. "Let's vote. Who thinks blackmailing is a better idea?"

Rush and Nash voted for it and that left Ignacio for the vault plan.

"Well, majority wins. I guess you should stick to your plan."

I frowned. "No, I'll follow the vault plan."

This surprised Nash and Rush so I decided to explain a little.

"Kalifa could easily deny the rumour because Colin is dead. Also, Rion will eventually know that the source came from the Night Walker. He would believe his lover over his enemy. The plan's not a very well thought out one."

Deflating, Rush pouted and Ignacio playfully poked his best friend's cheek in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Well then, are there any other plans?" I looked around and Nash squinted at his own handwriting.

"I don't think so. Besides, the situation could change a lot in the field so nothing is set in concrete."

I nodded in agreement. Believing too much in a plan was how I failed to account for the security when trying to ambush Rion. The hunter got hunted and it's not something I wanted to repeat if possible. However, with about half the Parliament members falling victim to the Night Walker, they were definitely tightening security and making it more difficult for us.

"When do I start?"

Rush gushed how it would be good to start tonight. Nash disagreed saying I needed time to train and get the muscles back to shape after such a long bed rest. Ignacio tried to dispel the tension between my mentor and his best friend while Khronos watched on in amus.e.m.e.nt. What a lovely team…

"Well, I'll have to agree with Nash. As much as I would like to start tonight, I can't say for certain I'm capable of dodging homing lasers."

Khronos hummed in approval of my decision. "I knew this would happen. Thankfully, I've designed a training room with some extra stimulation to aid in your training. Nash has approved of it and I think you'll be quite pleased with the extra features."

"Training room? Exactly what is this place?"

"My impregnable fortress, my headquarters, my lonely palace and Team Night Walker's new secret base."

"How big is this?"

Khronos hummed an unfamiliar tune and continued to lead us to the training room. I thought he wasn't going to answer but he did anyway.

"It's the size of the entire recreational section as it was the closest to my apartment."

My jaw dropped in disbelief and I glanced over to Nash for confirmation. The ex-hitman merely shrugged. I didn't think Khronos was joking but it made me more curious as to how he got such a huge place developed without anyone suspecting a thing.