Mark of the Phantoms

Chapter 6: Opportunities

     "That's a suicide mission!" Damyan groaned.

Aleixo merely scowled. Aleixo knew Damyan was a fool and a coward, yet he expected him to prove his worth. Aleixo was aware that Damyan was an opportunist who had once been wealthy and was willing to do whatever it took to regain that feeling of satisfaction.

     "If you do not want in, then fine. Only you would not receive the... generous amount of money I am to offer."
     "Money? That's the first," Damyan said, leaning in.

Damyan slumped his shoulders and looked down onto his lap, projecting a feeling of disinterest, hoping to conceal his true feelings from everyone: he wanted that money and he wanted it now. Despite his efforts, however, Aleixo was able to easily detect the smug expression that Damyan was trying to conceal.

     "Why am I here?" Neith asked.
     "Why wouldn't you be?" Aleixo replied.
      "Because apparently, I'm not worth anything according to you," Neith snapped.

Aleixo picked up the bread and began to spread butter on it, trying not to throw it at her as he thought about throwing her back into the street. He had thought about sending her back to the street thousands of times since he had recruited her, but all he had to do was remember why he had recruited her to begin with, and that the reason still held true. It brought clarity to his thoughts.

     "Neith," Aleixo slowly began, taking a bite of the bread. "You are not worthless. If you were, I would've thrown you back into the streets already. Nobody in my gang is exactly...worthless."

He glanced over at Keris, only to be met with her gaze, which was already fixed on him. The depths of her eyes were keen, and they radiated a feeling he could not quite place. They looked as if they were once bright, now turned dull.

     "Your skills are needed in my plan, hence why I brought you here today," Aleixo said.
All she did was nod at him and put her gaze down at her plate, which had bread on it. She hadn't touched it.

     Adel spoke, "I assume you need my engineering skills, Mr.Vitalis?"
     "Indeed."
     "What exactly isn't worthless about me, Mr.Vitalis?" Neith began again.

Keris's eyelids flickered, and he sighed. Slightly grinning at her expression, Neith's eyes focused on her.

     "I'm not sure why you're rolling your eyes, Keris," She growled. "You've proven that you're better than me, so I'm not sure what I'm doing in this mission."
     "We. Are. Not. Comparable," groaned Keris.

Neith's eyes returned to Aleixo, and he raised an eyebrow.
     "I need you to do some calculations for me. You'll have to take shots that Keris can't."
     "Alright," she answered flatly, her gaze locked on his. She was clearly trying to intimidate him, but it was all for naught. He knew he had the upper hand and wasn't afraid to show it. She could try all she wanted, but he was unshakeable especially since he knew she'd do anything for him.

He could see the way her voice got slightly higher pitched, and her back straightened around him. She pulled her hair back so he could glance at her chest, which he knew better, and never did to make her feel desperate.

     "What exactly are your plans, Mr.Vitalis?" Damyan questioned. "This mission is damn near impossible. Edward Cutler is the head of Oros or even Aclea for that matter and you plan to take him down? He has spies and other people working for him crawling all over the damn place, especially here."
      "Yeah, who's to say one of his men isn't listening now?" Adel added.
     "We are in a room... hidden by a bookshelf," Aleixo sighed as he put his fingers to his temples.
He reached in his pocket for a packet of cigarettes and lighted one, hoping to get through this conversation without hitting his head into the wall and calling it quits due to the foolishness of the conversation.
     "The waitress could be one," she said.
     "I did a background check on her yesterday. She is not one of his spies I can assure you," Aleixo said.

Adel leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Everyone sat in silence, at times eating the bread, waiting for the waitress to come back with the meals she had noted on her paper. Everyone avoided eye contact with Aleixo.
     "I'm in," Keris said too casually for comfort.
Their gazes snapped to Keris and Damyan frowned at her while Aleixo's face was completely blank.
     "Girl- uh, Keris was it? Do you even know how dangerous Edward Cutler is? He sends human heads as a gift, so he calls it; When people threaten him," Damyan said.
     "Well, I guess we'll have to see if he can catch me," Keris sighed.
     "Don't you have a family? He'll send their heads the moment he finds them," Damyan objected.
Keris maintained her silence, and the group collectively scowled at her, her expression now distant.
     "He won't find them," Keris said unmoved, shaking her head.
     "Lass, you never know what he'll do, he's unpredictable. Your family may very well be in danger if this is what you do," Adel reasoned.
     "He won't find them. I can take care of myself," Keris snapped.
Another uncomfortable silence filled the room.
     "As I said, I'm in. I don't think I have much of a choice anyway," Keris said, glaring at Aleixo.
     "You have a choice, but you know exactly what it means if you choose not to do it," he said.
She sent a look that could send a man into cardiac arrest and spoke.
     "I hope you kill yours-" she began to hiss.
     "Alright!" Adel cut her off, "I'm in too then. My gadgets will be very useful and I'm always up for a good challenge, I suppose."
The three looked toward Neith and Damyan for their response.
     "How much money are we talking about?" Damyan asked.
Greedy coward, Aleixo thought.
     "1 million Sivori," Aleixo responded.

Adel's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing the news. Standing beside her, Damyan adjusted his tie despite the fact that it did not need it.

Aleixo's gaze fell on Keris' face and she didn't seem to care, which made him even more frustrated than he was prior. He wondered how someone could be so indifferent to something so important, so much.

     "I will do it," Damyan said, clearing his throat.
     "I figured," Aleixo murmured.
     "What's that supposed to mean?" Damyan frowned.
Aleixo ignored him and kept his gaze on Keris.
     "Is that all, then?" Keris asked.
     "Yes, I'm still coming up with the plan but the point of this dinner was to introduce the mission and for you to meet your crew," he said, eyebrow raised.
     "Great. Nice to meet you all," Keris said flatly and pushed her chair back.
     "Where are you going?" Adel asked.
     "I've got somewhere to be," Keris responded.
     "Where?" Neith stepped in.
     "Considering how much you seem to hate me Neith, I can't seem to figure out why you'd want to know where I'm going," she snapped.
Everyone stayed silent as Keris began to walk out.

Keris opened the old bookshelf to exit the dimly lit room. As she pushed it open, a waitress carrying a tray of wine glasses came rushing towards her from the other side. The two collided, causing the wine to spill all over Keris' new vest, blouse, and hands.
      "Oh god, I'm so sorry!" the waitress panicked.
Keris looked down at her hands to see the deep red wine staining them. Aleixo took note of the way her eyebrows furrowed and the way she looked at her hands as if she had never seen them before. The way her eyes held a story that seemed to span lifetimes. A history, where in another life she wished she didn't have to look at them that way. Hands full of stories of agony, death, and suffering.

She resented it, and it was plastered all over her face. It was as if the weight of her past was etched into her skin and more was written every year.

Oh, how he relished in the thought of himself turning her into a monster. The way he would make her eyes not only dull of light, but be black. Black with no escape, no light, no forgiveness. Her mask had fallen. It was tragic and it was an opportunity.

The waitress grabbed Keris's hands to wipe them with a towel, but Keris snatched her hands away and rushed off. The waitress cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't worry, you did me a favor," Aleixo said with a horrifying tone in his voice followed by a wicked smile that he could tell left an eerie sense on the girl's body.