While Xavier stood before the girl who was the boss of the mysterious organisation he sought to trade with, the electricity in the entire building somehow managed to be switched back on. Following that were dozens of armed men that swarmed into the penthouse, aiming their guns at Xavier as soon as they did.
Immediately after they did, Xavier grabbed his gun that was attached to the belt he had taken from the unconscious man. Then he aimed it at the girl he believed to be their boss. He wasn't taking any chances with his life, and it was clear that they were all on the verge of opening fire at him.
Xavier was capable of a lot, but dodging bullets or trying to go up against them was simply idiotic. It would take them merely a split second to gun him down. And with that in mind, he did the only thing he could to ensure he lived.
"Back off or I'll blow the head off your boss," he threatened, but they didn't back down and everyone was silent and still for a moment.
Xavier couldn't blame them for the hostility they displayed towards him since his hands were soaked in blood and he was practically naked. Their boss was also crawled up in a corner and covered with furniture, which didn't give off the best impression.
From an outside perspective, all kinds of misconceptions could arise, especially in the current situation, where none of them really knew what was going on or what had happened. However, snapping out of her daze and regaining her composure, she jumped up and walked in front of Xavier, who still aimed his gun at her.
"Stand down all of you," she instructed.
"Immediately!" she added, seeing that they were hesitant to do so.
Xavier was surprised by how docile and obedient they were before their boss. The armed men displayed complete loyalty and respect, which left one question.
Who was the one that betrayed her?
She was asking herself the same thing, but that was a question that could be answered another time. Her main priority was saving her 2 closest subordinates.
"Get 1 and 2 to the infirmary quickly. They could die at any second. Take 3 there as well and call me as soon as any of them wake up. The rest of you, start cleaning up and making preparations to cover this up."
As soon as she gave out orders, her men took a moment to split the tasks between themselves before starting to get stuff done. They hurriedly took her closest subordinates, who seemed to be called 1, 2 and 3, to wherever their infirmary was. Meanwhile, the fact that the body double was her third most senior subordinate surprised Xavier, who did not notice anything special about her.
It also left him with a lot of questions. However, before he could ask any of them, he was also dragged off to the infirmary by none other than the boss herself...
-
"Tell me everything that happened," she said to him while leading him away.
Her men were still looking out for her and didn't trust Xavier with her alone. But after she was stern and adamant that she'd be fine with him, they gave up and focused on completing the tasks she had assigned them.
"Well, I killed the 4 assassins and got shot twice. That's about it," he responded plainly.
The reality of what had happened and what he had done had already sunk in for Xavier, so it was best to just be honest about it and face it head-on.
"Your first time?" she asked.
Xavier simply nodded his head, but from how calm and nonchalant he was, she doubted it.
Then, looking up at his eyes, her doubts disappeared. She could see all the conflicting emotions in his mind and recognised those eyes as those of someone that had experienced his fair share of struggles.
"I will repay this debt and appreciate your help. You saved my life and likely that of my most trusted men by doing what you did and giving them emergency first aid. I will..."
"Leave that for another time. Right now, it's critical for you to take care of your organisation. I'll also leave it to you to find out who the rat is."
"The rat?"
"Yes, the one that somehow replaced some of your glass walls with those that aren't bulletproof. Come on. I thought you were smarter than this."
With a serious and disappointed expression, she urged, "Do explain."
"Well, in the shootout, I noticed that only a few of the glass panes that made up the wall were not bulletproof, which were conveniently the ones at the centre of the penthouse where the dining table was. The assassins also knew that the body double you prepared wasn't the target, so they must have insider information. Meanwhile, those assassins were skilled but also didn't seem to be assassins by trade. What kind of assassin fights in close combat, and then tries to negotiate? All that leads to someone having it out for you and someone high up in your organisation helping them."
Nodding her head while racking her brain as to who it could possibly be, she trusted everyone that worked for her completely. Despite being her senior in age and also being there for her while growing up, she was their boss. And so she had no doubts about the loyalty of her closest subordinates.
Or did she?
They were numbered to ensure identities weren't leaked and for the convenience of it. At first, it seemed a bit dehumanising, but it created internal competition to get a higher number. There was a series of trials and votes to increase one's number, and combat wasn't the only factor. It was also her choice whether they were promoted.
The lower the number, the closer they were to her and the more skilled they were, but the more they knew about her and the organisation. It also gave them access and responsibilities in her organisation that could allow them to try to stage an assassination.
If it wasn't for Xavier, whoever it was behind it would have succeeded, and that scared her. She was sure of the identity of the person that had it out for her and was capable of such an assassination attempt. But she didn't know who would betray her and aid them. She was inclined to believe that it was one of the lower numbers that had aided the assassins. But she didn't want to jump to conclusions until she was sure, which led her to turn to Xavier.
"You've clearly figured everything out, smartass. Just tell me who it is."
Despite her tone, it was clear that her request was sincere, but Xavier merely shook his head.
"If you can't even handle your own organisation, then maybe deciding to form a partnership with you was wrong," he stated before leaving her stumped and entering the infirmary.
Xavier remained armed and no matter how much he was urged to hand over his weapons, he refused. Thankfully, since he had saved her life, their boss told them to let him do as he pleased and give him the finest medical attention that they could.
And just like that, a few hours passed...