New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Alexander looked at her, feeling she was still hiding something from him.

"And how will you warn me if the situation changes?" he asked.

Katherine smiled at him once more. She then pulled out a small earpiece from a plastic case she had in a pocket of her blouse.

"With this, of course. Did you think I would let you go in there all wild west and wreak havoc on the place? No, young man. I will be in your ear all along the way and guide you through the halls myself."

She didn't trust Alexander would simply do a clean job, in this case. Ever since she knew he would be on the op, she had done her homework on him.

She had called Jack Boudreau and asked him for his opinion on the young man. She also pulled out any and every piece of information available online about Alexander Leduc and studied his pattern of behaviour.

He was hardly the most stable person, in her opinion. Let alone do a quick job of the men, she hardly believed he would do a clean one, either, if left on his own.

Which was why she was adamant that he carry the earpiece.

At first, Alex pushed the earpiece back. He had a feeling she wanted him to use this for more than just staying in touch.

And he didn't want any voice in his ear acting like the angel on his shoulder.

This was a day where the devil on the other shoulder would take the wheel. These men deserved what was coming their way.

But Katherine shoved her hand back forward, her face now stern.

"This isn't a request, Alexander. Put the earpiece in. You are not going inside the compound without me in your head."

Alexander was about to ask if she thought she could hold him in place, but before he even opened his mouth, she hushed him with her other hand.

"I know what you're thinking. I couldn't hold you here if I wanted to, yada yada yada. But you are mistaken about one thing. I might not have the power to force you to stay here. But I can force Violette to never contact you again. To leave your guild on New Eden. And even force her to never play again. Weigh your next words, Mr. Leduc."

Her tone had gone cold and authoritative in an instant. And somehow, even without the use of mana, Alexander could feel she was applying some kind of mental pressure on him.

'Is this just natural charisma?' he wondered, slightly taken aback.

But he wasn't about to put Violette into this position. He somehow knew that if Katherine applied these threats, she would make sure to tell the girl whose fault it was they suddenly cut her off.

And he couldn't bring himself to cut her chances. Even if he wanted nothing more than to decorate the inside of that mansion with its occupant's innards.

"Fine," he grumbled, snatching the earpiece.

Katherine went back to her wide smile as he put the earpiece in, as if the entire interaction hadn't happened.

"Good. I will expect you to follow my lead in there, and not question the orders that I may give you. After all, this is still my op. Are we clear?"

Alexander clicked his tongue, but nodded his head reluctantly.

She looked at the screen again and spun around.

"Well, won't you look at the time?! It's time to open the gates for our lost little lambs. Alfred, tell your men to apprehend all of them. And if even one of them starts trouble, put them down."

"Yes, ma'am," Alfred acknowledged, rising to his feet.

He exited the bus and started barking orders to the mercs outside. They quickly jogged to the gate about two hundred meters ahead and surrounded it.

It was almost comical to see the twenty-odd mercs jog forward like this was boot camp.

Alex was about to follow them when Katherine raised her hand toward him.

"Tut, tut, tut. Not yet, my impatient little psychopath. Wait until we apprehend them before heading out. We wouldn't want you to cause more trouble for the brave men and women in uniform."

Alex almost felt like she treated him like a kid, and he hated it very much. But the respect he had for all of this woman's surroundings and herself, along with Alfred and Violette, kept him from snapping back at her or making any offhand comment.

Katherine liked that he kept docile. She wasn't treating him like this without reason, though.

Contrary to what Alex thought, that she wanted him to remain civil, it was quite the opposite. She was riling him up.

And she planned on riling him up even more once he was inside. She would yank on the metaphorical leash until he was in front of the one that had caused his daughter to almost die.

And then she would let go.

Her soft smile turned into a more devilish grin, which escaped Alex's eyes since he was looking at the main screen above the techies, and watching the op start.

It took close to twenty minutes for all the Bianchi thugs to be on their asses, with zip-ties holding their hands behind their backs. And not cheap ones, either.

Alex was impressed by how in order everything went. He had expected more of a fight.

But the moment a single one of them tried to rebel, a single bullet to the head fixed the problem, and all the others suddenly became soft as kittens.

Katherine smiled as they tied the last one up, and looked at Alexander, who looked at her as well.

"Now, it's your turn. Good luck."

Alex nodded back at her and walked out of the bus.

He started strolling toward the gates, taking his sweet time. But as he did, he recognized one man tied up on the ground.

It was the cop that had been in his room, the day he woke up, after his first real altercation with the Bianchi butler. But he wasn't wearing his uniform.

The man was sweating bullets, as he watched the mercs tie all of them. And when he saw Alexander walk up to him, his stomach dropped, as did his mouth.

"You! No. No, no, no no! It can't be!"