The warehouse was shrouded in darkness, as expected. It wasn’t that big of a problem since the interior was mostly empty, but Rose still wished that they would turn the lights on. It didn’t help that the floor was covered in cheap steel plates. Stepping on it felt like walking on thin ice that could break at any moment and plunge them into cold water.
Soon after entering, they noticed a man sitting on one of the crates piled near the back. His features remained concealed in the darkness until he walked toward the center of the warehouse, where the faint glow from the streetlights outside illuminated his face.
"It’s good to see that you made it out safe and sound," Viktor said with a smile. "Well done, everyone."
Silence lingered between them for a moment before it was broken by a sigh from Rose.
"You won’t believe what we had to go through." She said. "I’m definitely going to have nightmares after today."
"This has been the single most stressful job I have ever participated in." Said Mr. Pike.
"Well, you are coming out of this with a loss." Said Kirk. "It’s a shame about that red sword of yours."
"A shame, indeed." Letting out a wistful sigh, Mr. Pike looked around then turned to the fixer. "I take it the client has yet to arrive."
Viktor lingered with the answer, looking at the three one by one.
"There have been some last-minute changes." He said.
"Of fucking course." Kirk threw his hands in the air. "After everything we went through."
"Don’t worry, you will be paid in full right now." The fixer explained. "I will receive the item in the client’s stead and handle delivering it myself."
"I mean, it’s their business, but... Why the sudden change?"
Meeting the client has never been a critical part of the job, and Rose certainly didn’t care about meeting them. In fact, after everything she had gone through in the past few hours, the only thing her heart desired was to be done with this job. That said, it would be a lie if she said she wasn’t curious about the reason.
"Beats me." Viktor shrugged slightly. "Something came up. They didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask."
"No matter." Said Mr. Pike. "Our job is done. Once we receive the payment, it will no longer be our problem." Glancing at Rose, he added. "Ms. Violet, it you would."
At the suited man’s prompting, Rose stepped forward and held out her bag, handing it to the fixer. Once he checked the contents, Viktor turned to them with a smile and said in a light tone.
"Has any of you tried it?"
"Can’t say I wasn’t tempted," Rose replied with a resigned smile. "Who wouldn’t want to know if they were the heir to an ancient empire?"
"Last I checked, they’re all dead." Said Kirk. "If anything, that thing brings nothing but trouble."
"Well said." Mr. Pike replied.
A notification appeared on Rose’s OAM, and going by the silence, it seemed like the other two got on as well. Twenty million Gold had just been deposited into her wallet.
Seeing eight digits in one transfer notification could easily give the average person a heart attack, but looking at it, Rose couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame. Such an amount could allow one to live the easy life for decades, and if converted to normal currencies and kept in a bank account, the interest alone would be enough to live comfortably for the rest of one’s time.
Twenty million Gold was a really big pay—most mercs don’t live long enough to get jobs that paid that much. Nevertheless, after running into a group of genetically enhanced freaks, getting shot at by police and cyborgs, and almost getting frozen to death, it suddenly didn’t feel like an adequate amount.
The plan was to grab a few more relics from the rich scion’s collection so they could bump the gains from the heist, but between him showing up and the heroes following right after, there was no chance they could have done so.
"Asking to be reimbursed for the red sword might be too much, but I will see if I can get you a bonus," Viktor said as he gazed at the bag. "We were never told that the heroes would be after this thing."
The air in the warehouse suddenly changed, and the heist trio’s expressions darkened.
"As I thought..." Mr. Pike muttered.
"I’ve suspected it, but... are we sure?" Rose asked.
"Finn listened in on their comms. Those four weren’t looking for the scion."
Though everything pointed to that being the case, it was still hard to believe that the BEO would dedicate one of its most important assets just for this one purpose. All of a sudden, everything they heard about the white scythe no longer gained a bit of authenticity, making them question what purpose the people who asked for its retrieval had for it.
"It just keeps getting messier and messier." Rose frowned. "I’m having a headache just thinking about it."
"That makes two of us."
Kirk stated his agreement was nothing out of the ordinary, but at that moment, all eyes were suddenly directed at him.
"... Kirk," Viktor said. "What do you think you’re doing?"
With movements so swift no one noticed at first, the tall man produced a pistol and pointed it at the fixer’s head.
"Nothing personal, Vik." He said. "I will be taking the relic."
Though only Viktor had a gun pointed at his head, both Rose and Mr. Pike found themselves frozen still, but while the purple-haired woman was utterly confused, the suited man beside her retained his stoic expression.
"That’s not a line you want to cross, Kirk." He said. "We have already been paid for the job. If the item isn’t delivered, it will only impact your reputation."
"Don’t worry, old man." The tall merc replied. "I’m just returning the item to its original owners."
"... as I thought..." Mr. Pike shook his head, looking disappointed. He then turned to his left then to his right, shifted his body and looked behind him, then returned his sight to the traitor. "Well, can’t they at least show themselves already? There is no point in hiding now that you blew your cover."