Life in Nirvana wasn't for the weak-hearted. Despite being a futuristic city with flying cars and sentient robots, Fright City was a lawless place, and power was the only language needed to rule over the city.
Since both Ashton and Anna did not lack 'power', they easily impersonated someone he had little to no information about without anyone questioning him. Essentially, their life in Nirvana wasn't all that different from their merc life in space.
Ashton arrived in the city as an Inquisitor from the capital, but after a couple of weeks, he became known as a bonafide mercenary with a kick-ass partner.
Although he strictly used his Undead genes, Ashton was the strongest person in the city, followed by Anna. So it wasn't a surprise people in higher places wanted to connect with them.
They also wanted to work with them because it was rare to see an Undead having such a close relationship with someone on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The contractors were a bit more interested in them than their talents. Their interest worked in Ashton's favour as he got information that was otherwise out of his grasp, like the information about Alina.
"Back again?" The bartender casually asked the duo, "The usual?"
"Yes, please," Ashton hissed back, "Anything else about the chick?"
The bartender shrugged while preparing the drinks, "Not much, but I heard Makarov and his goons went after 'er. An 'our later, they 'were found dead in an alleyway."
"The chick was better than we were led to believe." Anna tapped the table thematically with the music, "Can't wait to face her."
"I just hope she doesn't show up in me pub." The bartender jabbered while stroking his three-foot-long beard, "It'd be a shame to lose this beauty. Either way, 'ere you go, Blood monk for the lad and mint lemonade for the lassy."
The duo grabbed their drinks, tossed some credits and left to check out the rest of the pub. Skull n Bones was a pub only in name; in reality, it was more like a guild for the mercs.
From weapons to information, from business to pleasure, everything needed by mercenaries was readily available for them, albeit at the right price.
The department of pleasure was usually handled by human captives, as undead women were quite cold regarding matters like intimacy. No matter how hard the men tried, they could not rile up their cold blood.
To maintain their cover, Ashton had seemingly 'bought' Anna from one such establishment and had trained her to be his partner.
It wasn't weird as thousands of undead had humans as their pets, slaves or worse- dinner. That was also why the pub had a lot of options for food and drinks suitable for humans alongside ones consumed by the undead.
That's why Ashton did not have to worry about getting his share of 'nutrients' to keep his undead and vampiric needs in check. However, before they could finish the drinks, someone important called for them.
"There they are!"
Pub's owner welcomed them as soon as the two entered his office. Tall and obese, this pale-skinned man has a generally unflattering feel about him.
Maybe it was the half-eaten human leg in front of him, or perhaps it was his disgusting smile; Ashton wasn't sure why being around Draco repulsed him so much.
There was nothing Anna wanted more than bashing open the bastard's head like a rotten watermelon. Unfortunately, a 'slave' like her wasn't supposed to act of their free will, so she could only put a smile on her face while thinking of a hundred ways to kill him.
"Draco, it's always a pleasure to see your rotting face," Ashton put the fakest smile on his face before assuming an empty seat across from the man, "You were looking for me?"
"Yes, yes, I got a job for you two," Draco replied in a heavy Russian accent, "You heard about the girl from the lab?"
Ashton nodded, "Timothy told us what happened to Makarov's crew. I assume the lab rat might not be a rat after all."
"Bah! Makarov was a fool!" Draco dismissively waved his hand around, "It was not a job of his calibre, yet he stuck his nose and look at him now. Dead!"
"Wasn't it you who sent them after her?" Anna chimed in, but Draco paid no attention to a 'lowly being' like her.
At this moment, Anna decided to kill the bastard once they were done with their primary objective. Her bloodlust was leaking madly. Thankfully, Ashton was there to conceal it with his aura.
"Let's get to the chase," Draco spat, "Some special client sent a job asking for you. It is related to the girl; sending you the details now."
With a ping, a notification materialised in front of Ashton's eyes. A gig offer, the task was simply retrieving an 'asset'. In the place of the item's name were two digits: 04. Undoubtedly, Alina was nothing more than a test subject for the corp.
It was clear the gig was from someone working within Tartarus, even if it did not explicitly mention it. This job could be the entryway Ashton had been looking for, but it would be suspicious if he readily accepted the gig without questioning the lack of details.
It would seem Draco had predicted what Ashton was about to ask and immediately blurted out, "Don't overthink about unnecessary details. The pay is good, and on top of it, the client has offered a bonus as well. Accepting the job won't hurt you."
"Yeah, I assume your cut must be quite significant if you're trying so hard to convince me," Ashton closed the tab and went into business mode, "Come on, spill it; where's the catch?"
Draco sheepishly stared at Ashton like a deer caught in a bear trap. His following words would either lead him to gain the biggest jackpot of his life or the worst hit at his credibility.
After all, Draco had already accepted the job on Ashton's behalf. Backing down now would take a severe hit on his image, and Ashton's refusal might also end up costing Draco his life. But before Draco could say a word, Ashton intervened.
"You already accepted the job, didn't you?" Ashton mumbled.
"Well... in a way, yes." Draco stammered, "Please just help me out this once, I'll-"
"Fine, we'll do it."
"What!?" Draco yelped, expecting Ashton to refuse.
"I said, we'll do it. But you'll owe me for it," Ashton replied and got up, "and it's going to cost you a lot."
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com