Aim for the Head

It was not every day that Nine would receive a job that came from a higher up. It was even rarer to get a job from the big boss. It was beyond rare to be personally asked by the boss to meet him and discuss the job itself. Nine would go to his office, fully equipped and on her best behavior. This would only be her third time seeing him in person, the other two times would be when she first past her final test, and the second being when she saved his life from an assassin.

The conversation they had would be short and to the point. There was a rival company, one of large financial standing. It wasn’t an immediate threat, Red Ways and this other company had no dealings, nor were they in the immediate same market, but…the amount of funds their company had amassed was…discouraging. If conflict was to start or, perhaps just on a whim of the rival company, they could easily buy out Red Ways, and while not a major wrench in Isaac’s plans, it was still a wrench. A wrench worth avoiding.

Nine was to infiltrate the main building, find the boss of the company, put him down, and plant evidence which would hurt the company financially. She was also free to take any of the assets herself, if she so desired to, which…she did not. She had more freedom then her counterpart, Seven, but she didn’t have strong values in money. Plus, she didn’t want their to be way to track it back to her and by extension Chimera.

Short and sweet. Nine had her job and she was expected to do it at the utmost delicacy. Delicacy and speed. The fact that her boss, not Sasha, but Isaac, had asked her to do this…she would need a damn good excuse if she failed to complete this job. She doubted that even her death would be an acceptable excuse.

She took her time preparing, checking her rifle, prepping her gear, and reviewing her plan. It would be simple enough. She would go in through the sewers below the office building, enter through a small access point which would lead into the basement. She’d work her way up, stealthed of course, find the main office and put a bullet in the boss’s eyes. She had evidence that would be…incriminating to say the least which would lose the company a great deal of money.

There was…of course, another option. If this job proved to be too difficult, she was given a backup plan. She was to find something that could be used as blackmail. Anything would do. This was less preferable and it would hurt reputation some, but given the wealth of the company and the target…there was some understanding that this might be a tricky task to do.

With everything ready, she would set off. She would find a sewer entrance a few blocks away and…she would start off towards the building, ready for whatever this company had to throw at her.

The building was like any other, reaching to the sky with it's magnificent construction and perfectly balanced infrastructure. Far below, cars blazed by in beams of light and metal, creating a neon map of the city for the privileged to enjoy. Despite it's average facade, the building was quite heavily guarded with a large, and professional, team of high end security consultants. Every guard was armed with various weaponry, ranging in both calibre and style. The entrance was guarded by 4 different guards, shifts changing regularly to make sure said guards were well rested and diligent. The basement was also watched over with 2 guards, same shift protocol as well. Every lift was attended with an armed escort, as well as all the fire exits, emergency exits, front desk, lobby door, bathroom entrances, employee break area, boiler room, and even the car lot. This of course didn't include the armed escorts in the executive areas, including the top 15 floors, the penthouse, the cafeteria, and the private lift and heliport on top of the building. Apart from the personnel, the building was also under close scrutiny with a highly advanced camera system which was heavily encrypted and led to three different security rooms with their own personal security escorts. Needless to say, the building was being watched, intensely.

Though the building was heavily guarded, it was also filled with plenty of non-personnel foot traffic. Contractors, buyers, other executives and company representatives, important political figures as well as military generals. The company was a jack-of-all-trades type, with it's fingers in every possible financial institute and every political angle it could clutch. Typical business in Corporate America. The C.E.O. of the company was somewhat mysterious, though he was not hiding. General knowledge of him was that he grew up in a rural, even somewhat ancient part of Europe with a dialect all it's own. The closest counterpart anyone ever mentioned about him was Romania, though even then it was still far more ancient then they even knew. There was one thing they could all agree on..... the head of the company had a stare that could rival Medusa's. Perhaps this was why his security was so rigorously extensive.... or it could be that he was worth well over 50 billion dollars alone with his own personal assets, separate from the company's gross income.

Frederick was currently in the middle of a meeting with another company executive, speaking on the grounds of either a merger or full on buyout. The company he was working for was heavy in medical advancement and research, a very profitable and important leg to have for a power such as his. The conversation was tense, to say the least.

"..... I will mention this again Mr. Gretton, the buyout I am offering to you is well over 75% of your company's gross income for the coming 3 years. I believe it is a very generous offer to a man of such wealth as yours. However, the merger clause is quickly closing in on itself, and time is running out for that deal. Both offers include a hefty sum to be deposited to your personal banking account in Switzerland, immediate of course. I hope for an answer by the end of day." Frederick speaks in a familiar, yet altered accent, similar to Romanian but not quite on the dot.

"And I say again, my company is neither for sale, nor are we interested in a merger. The medical research we are conducting is far more important than any amount of money you could ever offer. I respect your position Mr. Balthazar, but I must decline your offer. I fear that a merger could disrupt, or even stagnate our research process and create a shortage of medicine that could cost us more than the company, or your offer, is worth." He spoke with a firm Boston accent, showing his origin as well as his humanity, something that was rare in a high up company executive.

The handsome, albeit somewhat terrifying Mr. Balthazar lightly rapped on his desk with his fingers, giving his next offer/negotiation some preemptive thought. This man was stubborn, and being from Boston, possessed a much more iron clad will than most of his other clients. Everyone had a price, however it was the idealists that were the most cumbersome when it came to negotiations. [color=crimson]"I completely understand your concern Mr. Gretton, however I have explained, in great detail, that if the merger were to happen, I would in no way impede your progress or disrupt your research. I am just as concerned about these medical breakthroughs as you are. You are passionate, concerned for the whole of mankind, and you have an iron will like nobody else I have ever seen. The only thing you lack, is funding. Tell me Mr. Gretton..... would we have that miracle cure in a pill, if you had just a little bit more money?" The sharp eyes of this insatiable C.E.O. were fixed on his counterpart, studying his reaction to his last statement. He did not need to mention the name of this miracle cure to make it clear what he was talking about. Perhaps there was hope yet, to come to an agreement.

There was much to be considered. Nine knew this all too well. As she trudged through the sewer, doing her best to stay out of the foul scented liquid, she thought over her plan. With her cloaking, she could try and make her way past all the guards and to the top of the building. Though, she doubted it would be easy to do so. You don't make as billions of dollars and not have some high-end security. Either she would alert the guards or the climb up would take hours, maybe even a day. There was no promise in that time she'd lose her target.

Alternatively, she could try and lure the guards out, maybe even the big man himself. She couldn't just start shooting up the place, wasn't her style and the big man would be...cautious. There would be more guards than normal. There would have to be another course of action. She needed some sort of distraction, one that wouldn't directly alert the tower that there was some kind of external danger, an accident of sorts.

The question was...how? Or rather, what?

She let out a sigh, she couldn't think as she walked through this sludge. She would come up with a plan when she was actually at the tower.

Speaking of the matter, she was there. Well, not inside, but the grate she could use to access the tower was right here. She had traveled further than expected. Getting lost in thought could do that, she supposed. Part of her wished she had a bit more time to think it over, but wishing could only get you so far. There was a job to do.

The grate was easy enough to get through, at least via her skills. It was a short crawl through a narrow chamber into the basement and she was careful not to make a sound, knowing that the basement, despite the few access points, would be guarded like the rest of the building. This basement, it looked like...a boiler room?

She tucked herself in a tight area between two large cylindrical and peeked out into the main room. There looked to be at least...four? Five guards? It was hard to tell from her spot and the room was poorly lighted. Thankfully, at least that meant more cover for her. Plus, the machines in the room would do well in masking the sound she might make.

The entire room was covered in pipes and nozzles and small consoles. There were also several large boilers, though it did offer a good place to hide, the heat which radiated off of it would threaten to burn her. She thought that if she was wedged between them that she might boil and sizzle to the point of setting off the fire alarms.

The fire alarms.

She thought about that for a moment. A mishap in the boiler room, causes smoke to rise and a good portion of guards would have to come check it out. The building itself might be evacuated as well.  But, that also might call for the boss to leave the building. That could change the game too much, though would he still have the same amount of security? Probably not, a fire would not warrant all the extra protection. Probably...she would go up as he went down, maybe meet at the halfway point? Or...perhaps, instead it would give her a chance to get into the penthouse or one of the high-end meeting halls. She would either bump into him there or maybe she could find out some useful information.

A fire would be it. But the question was, how? She didn't know enough about machines to set it off, plus if she spent too much time figuring it out then she'd probably be caught. However, if a boiler was to...explode due to an unforeseen circumstance then maybe, just maybe, that would do what she needed it to.  Plus, a boiler exploding sounds a lot like a grenade exploding, it would at least mask it. This...this might just work.

This was the plan. She would position herself on the far end of the room, opposite of the boilers. She would reach into her side pocket and pull out a fragmentation grenade. She took a deep breath, looked over to the guard to make sure that they were at least looking in another direction.

And then she pulled the pin. She threw it. It landed right between two of the larger boilers. She grabbed cover, and...boom.

The grenade itself was loud, but if she was lucky, the boiler would be louder and...hopefully, the guards would now be distracted. Even if the boiler didn't explode, hopefully, the fire alarm would go off and the building would be evacuated. Hopefully.

At least her cover had offered protection, there wasn't a scratch on her. That was one thing that went right at least.

"..... I respect your position, as I have said before Mr. Gretton, however if you refuse altogether, I may need to resort to more aggressive means of expansion. You do not own the right to operate exclusively with medicine and said research to go with the field. I am trying to come to a rational business arrangement that will satisfy both our needs and put to rest any doubt you have. Have you ever heard that old saying, if you love something, it's best to let it go? I can tell you're a passionate man, and I enjoy a challenge on that front, but what I see from you is not a man who is being stingy with their company, but a man who is being stingy with their toys. If you would consider...."

The C.E.O. was interrupted during his final statement, a rather loud and invasive explosion. The floor was high up enough that the tremor did not reach, however Frederick had the superior hearing that no other human in the building possessed, which explains the confused look on Mr. Gretton's face when he stopped mid sentence. "Who the hell do you think you are...... were you about to threaten me Mr. Balthazar!?" The man stood up, now enraged more than before as he leaned on the desk and scowled to the foreign man. "I'll see you destroyed.... your company is nothing to me."

Frederick's eyes shut right before he rolled them in both disgust and disappointment, finding his patience wearing thin with this paunchy, self-righteous, humanitarian. Diverting his concern from the explosion he heard, he refocused on Mr. Gretton, but only with his eyes as he pressed the intercom button, not breaking the stare he had now fixed on his big-wig guest. His eyes were like blades that sliced through every layer of armour the paunchy man had put up to protect himself. Mr. Gretton felt his stomach turn from just the gaze, trying to avoid the eye contact, but finding it chillingly difficult.

"Ms. Anglethorpe, would you please send word to the lower floor security. I would just like a check in is all, and get back to me as soon as you can... thank you."

"Of course, Mr. Balthazar." The intercom goes silent for a moment, only to buzz once more with an almost immediate response. "Sir, security team 3 is reporting a large explosion in the boiler room.... apparently one of the tanks just burst open, causing damage to the room and injuring a few guards. They already have a second team going in to check on the damage and the wounded, and the proper authorities have already been alerted. We're on hold for ambulance and fire rescue.

"Thank you Ms. Anglethorpe, it sounds like we may have some structural issues in the near future. Please call for a building wide evac, that includes all the staff members and security detail. I shall be down with Mr. Gretton shortly." He releases the button and goes back to his guest. "You're either incredibly resourceful, or incredibly lucky Mr. Gretton.... looks like your table has opened up, at least until we can get this situation sorted. I'll send some of my people to discuss the contracts and what not, I have an incredibly talented lawyer. She will be more than convincing of this generous deal. Now if you'll follow me."

Frederick proceeds to lead Mr. Gretton out of his penthouse office to the private express elevator. They both enter the lift as it starts to descend, only to be stopped about halfway down. The auxilery power must have forced a shut down after the explosion... it clearly caused more damage than originally thought. This forced both C.E.O.'s to exit the lift and proceed on foot. 46th floor, the wall reads as they begin to make their way down the only accessible flight of stairs that hugged the right side of the building. Mr. Gretton, being as out of shape as he was, began to pant and sweat as they rushed downstairs..... Frederick seemed perfectly fine and virile though, as a young pup in his prime.

Downstairs in the boiler room was panic, no fire left after having been doused by the second security team upon entering. When the second team came into the room not long ago, all they found was a burst tank, two injured guards needing immediate medical, and a face full of steam. One guard managed to override the steam valve, stopping the steam from further clouding the room, while the other two guards aided in removing the injured personnel from the now hazardous room. Every guard, despite being so many there, was completely focused on the incident and evac, not even checking to see why the tank had burst. Their priority was not to find the culprit, but to get everyone to safety and abandon the room.

Nine grinned, not only was she left unharmed, but her plan worked rather well. The security was in full motion, the fire alarms were blaring, and she had all the cover she needed to move forward. She wouldn’t move from her spot for a few moments, wanting to allow the first crowd of guards through. Sure, she was in her stealth suit, invisible to the point of only being a small blurb, she could still be felt. The last thing she needed was to accidently be bumped into and discovered.

The guards, much to her expectations, were quite efficient. They handled the situation with “relative” ease and calm, though they still had a lot of work to do. Not only did the generator blow up, but there were a few injured. It was perfect. No better cover could be provided and now that a few minutes had passed, the traffic had slowed enough for her to make her exit.

She left the space behind the machinery and moved to the small staircase which led up past the guards. The smoke in the room nearly coating her completely, allowing her to pass by completely unnoticed. The hallway had been relatively well protected as well, no doubt to make sure no one entered or left without their knowledge.

She took in a deep breath, judging the best way forward. The guards stood a good distance away from each other so they could cover more ground. While that was efficient it also left plenty of room for her to go undetected. There were a few addition rooms as well, maybe they connected to other hallways or rooms, though…thinking on it, if she tried to get into a door then the guards would most certainly notice a door just…opening with no one there to actually open it. It would blow her cover for sure, so for now she would have to go forward and hope to find an open doorway somewhere.

In quick little sprints, she would dart forward, though still remaining crouched, staying out of the direct line of sight of the guards. One by one, she passed each guard, her form quick yet graceful, as if her movements had been rehearsed several times. In the matter of thirty or so seconds she was on the other end of the hallway, and if she moved well-enough, the guards would be none the wiser.

There, at the end of the hallway there was a split leading in three directions. Well, technically four, but she didn’t intend to move backwards. Using her best guess, the elevators should be shut down or at least not running given that there was an explosion. That was just usual safety precautions. That left the stairwells. The question was then if there was a special stairwell for VIPS, namely the big boss…there were so many factors. The signs on the wall gave her some guidance at least.

Two stairwells, one to the left and the other to right. The way forward would only lead to more office rooms and then the lobby. So…that left two ways. The question was which. She didn’t have time to waste on this though, so…she turned right, quickly moving down the hall and towards the large door at the end which was labeled as “Stairwell”.

In a quick motion she pulled the door open and moved in-

Or at least she would, but she was suddenly stopped by the form of another. She bumped into a security guard causing them both to be knocked back a few steps. Obviously he would see nothing, but…that was far from subtle. The guard quickly drew his gun, aiming at the “empty” hall. Nine stood still, eyeing the man as he slowly moved forward. This was far from a good situation…

Letting out a breath, she quickly moved forward, thrusting her arm up and slamming an open palm into the guard’s chin, sending him up a foot and then collapsing to the ground. He groaned, laying on his back. Before he could react though Nine would take the butt of her gun and slam it into his forehead, knocking him out.

The situation was dealt with, but…there was a time limit now. The guard would only be out for so long. She quickly dragged his body into a nearby janitor closest only a few feet from the stairwell door and pushed him in. She couldn’t risk blocking the door, so she would just have to move quickly and hope to find the target before the guard woke up and alerted everyone of her presence.

With a hurried pace, though still mindful of keeping her footsteps quiet, she would begin to move up the stairwell, eyeing upward and listening to hear for any sounds that would come from above. There was a chance a group of people would come down and bump into her, but she would address that when the time came…

Huffing and wheezing, the paunchy business man continued to descend the stairs with Frederick. The tall, nimble CEO seemed less than concerned for his fellow business man, however it was a well known fact that he was attending a meeting with him in his own building  so if he were to disappear, it would reflect badly on Frederick, especially in the eyes of the local authorities. Despite his ability to climb these stairs sufficiently quicker, he placed himself as to remain near to his associate.

As they descended, Frederick remained silent as he used his superior hearing to try and piece together what was going on. He wasn't so sensitive that he could hear everything as clear as crystal, but he could pick up certain things..... panicked breathing, doors clicking open and shut, even the sirens that were still a few blocks away. However it was the distinct sound of a human grunt and body thud that caught his attention. Someone had just incapacitated one of his guards on the lower floor. Frederick and his associate were still at least 12 floors up, but were coming down quicker with each passing second.

Frederick then stopped the both of them, the paunchy gentleman not objecting, but taking the opportunity to rest and catch his breath. Standing perfectly still, he focused his senses to the lower floors, having descended a few floors before actually stopping. Now that he was only 8 floors up, he could hear and smell everything below, including the burning that still flowed from the boiler room where the explosion had originated.

With such intense focus, Frederick could hear various voices and sirens, panic and chaos..... but he could also hear his associates heart pounding like a drum. The man was so out of shape, he was near to a coronary.... what luck that would be for Frederick and this still tabled discussion of merging.

They began to descend again, the man still huffing as he had not caught all of his breath, though fear of the danger drove him on. A few more steps and Frederick again stopped, even as his associate continued. The paunchy man would look back, questioning his reason for not moving, but allowing his personal greed and narcissism to make he decision to leave him behind.

Frederick remained still, focusing his senses once more while his associate made his way down and out of the stairwell. Frederick could sense something was around, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.... not out of fear, but out of caution. What Frederick didn't know, was that his associate had walked right past the intruder without even a second thought. Still as a predator in tall grass  Frederick waited for something, anything that would alert him to said presence. All he needed was a click, a bump, an exhale..... even a heartbeat.

Even without her skills and abilities, she could hear the huff and puff of someone moving down the stairs. That didn’t seem like the target she was after, but she heard another pair of footsteps and patiently waited, waited, waited until she saw two people moving towards her. One was a large man she didn’t know, the other…the other was her target. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that this man was her target, but…there was something about him that put her on an immediate edge. The way he…hesitated, the way he waited, as if he knew something was wrong. As far as the reports went he didn’t have any powers or anything that would set him apart from others outside of his fortune, but the way he waited made her gut scream out that this was trouble.

She didn’t breath, she didn’t move, she just waited along with the man. Time seemed to freeze as she considered what to do, what her options were. She wondered why she didn’t just shoot this man, but something felt like it wouldn’t be that simple. The other man even moved past her, he didn’t notice her, could the boss? Could he actually see her? No…that wasn’t possible. There were so many unknowns about this.

But there were two things she did know for sure…

She would get nowhere by standing still and that the first person to act would be the victor. She had to act. She had to do something. Her brain felt like it was going explode as it considered all the possibilities. She took in a sharp breath and moved, not towards her target, but away. She quickly backstepped, drawing her combat knife with one hand and attempting to grab hold of the fat man. In one quick motion she’d try and flip him around so that the front of the businessman was to Fredrick. (Everything past here is if she did succeed in the previous motions) She would hold the knife to the businessman’s neck, her stealth suit decloaking, revealing herself to both parties. Her face would still be slightly obscured by her visor. Regardless, she’d still glare at Fredrick, thinking of her next move. She’d hope this at least buy her some more time to consider the next step of the plan.

With her free hand she’d begin to reach into side holster. “Fredrick, right? That’s your name? Either way it doesn’t matter. Don’t move a muscle or you lose an asset.” That last part was an assumption, but it was the best she could do in the moment. From her holster she’d draw a pistol-like device which could fire a grappling hook. She wasn’t quite sure what the next part of the plan was, but she’d at least wait to see what her adversary would do. Depending on the man’s next actions would determine hers.

The man was nearly out of the stairwell when he was suddenly pulled aside and held at knife point, the assassin showing herself at last. Frederick was already aware of her presence, by both sound and smell, even before she had deactivated her cloaking system. Some pretty fancy technology used to simply avoid detected. Likely the first thing the assassin would notice is Frederick's reaction to her taking his newest client hostage, or lack of reaction.

Frederick's face was stone cold, expressionless, like a clay mask that was hiding his true intentions. His eyes were just as cold and piercing as his expressionless face, staring through you rather than at you. His hand gently clasped around the railing of the staircase, his posture tall and confident, even in this particularly daunting situation. As they stood their, a Mexican stand off of sorts, Frederick used his keen senses to observe his assassin. Her scent was lovely, like berries and candy, which indicated that despite her profession, she liked to smell nice..... or she was still fresh from a night out with a man  or woman.

"I'd ask you to refer to me as Mr. Balthazar, but seeing as you're supposed to kill me, it would be a futile effort on my part. Etiquette is everything, young lady. Perhaps you could release the man that is in this situation, it is clearly me you want." He paused and took a single step down, noticing her slowly pulling her sidearm out of her holster. "I'd rather avoid a bloody mess, it simply isn't good for business. However, just for clarification, if you do happen to draw that weapon it will not bother me to.... sacrifice an asset, as you put it, in order to protect my own life."

His eyes shift from her to his associate and back again. The tension in this situation was palpable, at least if Frederick was capable of feeling such things. His hand held fast on the railing, but it was a gentle and loose grip, not indicating stress level or caution. It was as if Frederick were in complete control of the situation, which was far from the truth. In fact, he was making this up as he went. Luckily he had a few centuries of experience dealing with people like these. This wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill him.

Nine took a step back as she saw the man take one forward. She glared under her visor, wondering what kind of fool this man thought she was. He was underestimating her. It was clear he didn’t care much for this man and that it wouldn’t get her far, but it was one extra step. That’s all she needed, though for the moment she decided on placing the hookshot back into her holster. It wouldn’t do her much good in this situation, for now…she needed to get him off guard. For that, she would have to play along, at least for the time being.

“I didn’t think it was good for business to let your assets die either.” She pressed the knife into the fat man’s neck, though still not breaking skin, just a threat to show she was serious. “If you really wanted me to let him go or hope to recover some sort of business with him in the future then you’d make me some sort of offer. You really don’t know who you’re dealing with do you, Fred?” His name would be said with a bit of force, a sort of show that she didn’t plan to show him an ounce of respect. Anything to get him angrier. People rarely thought as clearly when angered.

Her hand did go to her backside though, digging through one of her back satchels. She wouldn’t pull anything out yet, but her hand was wrapped around what she needed, another tool to buy her time if she needed. “So, tell him…how do you want to go about this? You know why I’m here and I wanna say…I’m pretty confident in my abilities, though with that said…I know you’re not a normal target. So, what’s the plan, Fred? We gonna get this over with or did you have something you wanted to say to me?”

Frederick held firm where he stood, observing her every aspect as the situation only intensified. His cold eyes stared directly through her, glancing over portions of her body, taking account of not only her flexibility, but the tools she clearly has hidden well on her body. He was also observing her body language, seeing how she was reacting, how she inched ever so slightly in this direction or that. She was clearly not comfortable with this, else she would have already tried to kill him. Perhaps she knows what he is..... which means she had to die  here and now.

"Mr. Gretton, please try and remain calm. This woman is here for me and me alone. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Please, do not panic." He took another solid step forward, his grip on the railing loosening once more. His eyes had never left the assassin's visor, even as he was addressing his associate. In Frederick's mind, he was in complete control of this situation. He had established with his associate that he did in fact care about his well being, a blatant lie, and had made her seem like the only monster in the room. If anything violent were to occur, he could play it off as an assassination gone wrong.... and ultimately, he would still end up consuming Mr. Grettons company name, liquifying him and his assets into his own empire. Frederick just hoped that the assassin would be volatile enough to hand him the situation.

Nine laughed a bit, giving Mr. Gretton a small nudge. “You hear that? He really does care…after he just said he didn’t care if I was to kill you.” She eyed her target a bit, taking another step back as he took one forward. The last thing she needed was a close range fight after all. “Here’s what I propose…you take five steps back and get on your knees at that flat bit up there. From there, I’ll let porky go.” She nodded, though she never really planned to let him get up that far.

Given the current situation whoever made the first move would have the advantage. She, of course, had already made a first move of sorts by grabbing this porky man, but that only did so much for her. It seemed as though he was a heartless dealer. That just made the job all the easier, at least, in terms of putting to rest the morality behind killing him.

“So? What’s it going to be, Fred?”

If Frederick did go along with her plan and he began to back up she would enact her plan when he took three steps back. The hand behind her back held a smoke grenade to which she would pull the pin. She’d count down and then drop it at her feet, covering her and the porky man in a thick cloud of smoke. From there, she would have to act quickly, reaching to her back and pulling her sniper rifle forward, aiming it to where she had seen Frederick and pulling the trigger, hoping the shot hit its mark.

If Frederick didn’t comply, if he didn’t start moving up the stairs, she’d take another step back, gritting her teeth a bit. “I’m not going to let the man go, so you better have another sort of offer ready. You’re going to find that I’m a very stubborn person.”

The cold stare of Frederick's eyes held firmly on her and her hostage. His face showed nothing; no emotion, no reaction, no concern..... nothing. He has been alive long enough to know that most people who emote like she does, also possesses fear and react accordingly. He could hear her heart, see the sweat beads forming on her temple as she negotiates her way out of this situation. The dark looking man would comply with her demands, for now.

His shoes would click on the steps as he took the first one, the leather creating a nice sheen as the light bounces off the toes. Another step and the click resonates throughout the staircase, breaking the silence and only adding to the tension. He took his time with each step, making sure to milk the situation for every second he could, trying to instead outlast the assassin, knowing his constitution was significantly stronger than hers..... well, confident that it was.

"I accept your terms, assassin. I shall retreat to the stoop, and go to my knees..... on the condition that you allow my associate, Mr. Gretton, to go free." Frederick would take another step back, bringing him up to three steps. He was still a few steps away from the stop, but if there was one thing Frederick possessed, it was integrity.... even if it were dark and foreboding. His hand rested gently.on the railing of the stairs, his body nor face showing any indication of his intentions. The assassin would have to trust is his words to know that what was going on in his head.

Nine considered the Frederick’s offer for a few moments, eyeing him over. It would be a risk to comply with him, but at the same time…it could give her the in that she needed. Having a hostage put the ball into her court, but if the ball never entered his court the game would not be able persist, they would just stay where they were forever. She needed things to move forward. She would have to take the risk if she wanted to get this job.

Smirking a bit, she nodded and let go of the hostage, kicking him in the back of the knee to drop the porkly man. She would take a step back from the collapsed man that lay in front of her and would wait to see what Frederick would do. Of course, it seemed as though he was a man of his word and upon his third step back he would enact her plan. The hand behind her back would drop the smoke grenade, quickly covering the area she was in with a thick cloud of smoke. Not even a moment later, Nine would pull the trigger, the barrel aimed at wherever the Frederick last stood. If her calculations were correct, the bullet should impact against him with enough force to easily kill a normal man and send someone of his weight back a good few feet.

She wouldn’t wait to find out though, the risks were still too high. She’d quickly dodge to the right and bring herself to railing, rolling over the side of it and allowing herself to plummet four floors, before grabbing on the railing of the lower staircase and pulling herself over it. She’d quickly scan the area to see how far this floor’s door was. It was a few steps down from her, easy enough to get to. That was, of course, if nothing had stopped her from jumping to begin with.

The smoke grenade was obvious, as was her intent to shoot him. Despite the assassin's incredible finesse and athleticism, he could already smell the smoke and used iron that encased her rifle. The cloud spread quickly, breaking off visual contact between the two, before Frederick was affected by the intense impact of her bullet. It would shred into his shoulder, causing him to grunt as well and throw him back into the remaining steps with a loud, heavy thud. It took him only a moment to recover from the impact, however his left arm was useless for the time being.

Once the smoke cleared, he noticed that Mr. Gretton had already fled through the door the assassin entered, ridding him of the liability that was his associate. Now he could pursue this threat without remorse, or distraction. Waving away the smoke with his right, still functioning hand, he took a moment to focus his senses. The smell of gunpowder, smoke, and Mr. Gretton's body odor was still prominent, so focus was difficult to find.... however he did pick up on the assassin's scent, barely. She had dropped down a few floors, that was easy.... but would she still be there, or long gone. As long as her scent was palpable, he could follow.

The man would head down the stairs, starting off with a small limp as his left arm dangled lifeless. He cursed beneath his breath, not in pain  but impatience. "Must be getting older... this used to happen faster...." His movements became more aggressive as he descended the stairs, slowly getting more and more animalistic as he got closer and closer to her next scent cluster. As he descended, his shoulder began to swiftly heal up, gradually regaining mobility and flexibility in his left arm. This healing process was swift  however it left him drained, and hungry.

Nine let out a small grunt as she landed down on the stairs. She looked to the stairs leading upwards and grimaced as she heard the steady footfalls of the still living target. The fact that he was still walking after a shot from Vigil confirmed her fears that he was something beyond human. She hadn’t been prepared for someone empowered by genetics or whatever force made him stronger. Well, mentally prepared. There wasn’t much more she could do in terms of her equipment to face off against the damn super humans. Vigil would have to cut it for now, but she doubted she’d actually get the kill, which means she needed evidence, something good enough to be held against him. Proving he was empowered in itself wouldn’t be enough, she needed something more…

There was no time to get that now, she needed to act. She slammed herself through the door on this level, grunting as she pushed it shut. She didn’t have long to act, she needed to do something. She quickly darted down the hall of this floor and turned, pointing Vigil at the door. There would only be one way for the man to enter, one way to shoot. She needed more time and for that she needed to do more damage.

Flipped the switch on Vigil she readied her rifle, planning to fire off one of the beam shots, a powerful blast of energy that could cut through steel. Against flesh, it was especially devastating. If this didn’t put the man down she wasn’t sure what would. If Frederick came through that door, provided he did nothing to stop the shot or misdirect it, Nine would pull the trigger and fire her shot right at the center of the door, the beam 3 feet in diameter. If he didn’t, she would hold her fire and listen, waiting to see what would happen.