Humbled || Watch Dogs

Chapter One

I can't believe I'm back here again. All this time and he was right here.

Aiden pushed aside his thoughts as he focused on the task at hand. The Merlaut loomed over him, reminding him of what had started it all. Standing on the manicured grass in front of the building, he surveyed the situation. Two guards stood at the front door. He would find no entry that way. Quinn was sure to have put him on the top of the South Club's most wanted list and Aiden knew Quinn had his picture. He might have gotten away with it a few months back, but not since he had caused them so much trouble. Aiden walked around to the right and saw a side door—locked, but unguarded.

Despite his pounding heart, Aiden calmly walked to the door. He made no attempt to hide himself, but went to the door as if he worked at the hotel and had every right to enter through a secure door. He was no amateur. Aiden knew that trying to act inconspicuous was the best way to get caught. No one so much as glanced in his direction.

The lock was easy to hack and, with a buzzing click, it disengaged.

"I'm in," Aiden muttered into his earpiece.

Clara's soft voice answered back. "Be careful, Aiden. Lucky Quinn didn't make it to the top of the underworld without taking out some big players."

Aiden knew she was right. By all rights, he should have been nervous, even fearful. The Chicago South Club was nothing to laugh at. But he wasn't afraid; wasn't nervous. His hunger for revenge left no room for such indulgent feelings. The only thing he felt was anticipation and an eagerness to finally put a bullet through Lucky Quinn's smug head.

"Don't worry about me," Aiden replied. He turned the handle and entered the hotel.

Aiden found himself in an empty hallway. It dead-ended to his right. Not needing to worry about being flanked, Aiden went left and hugged the wall until he came to the corner. He peered around the corner and saw a solitary guard with his back turned. It was too good of an opportunity to waste so Aiden stepped up behind him and took him out with his baton. Once he had dragged him around the corner, Aiden made a round of hacks through the cameras in the hotel lobby.

There were no more guards in the hallway Aiden occupied, but, through his sweep, Aiden counted eight more throughout the first level. Two stood by both entrances. Two more stood by the front desk. The final guards were pacing a loop around the lobby.

Mentally preparing himself, Aiden sidled around the corner and ducked behind a large planter against the wall. Owning his unauthorized presence may have worked with the general public, but The Club would spot him as soon as he stepped in front of them. And he didn't want them to know he was there just yet. Surprise was one of the few things he had going for him and he wouldn't give it up easily. From his new vantage point, Aiden could see the front desk. The hallway let out just a little behind it, so he could have walked up to the two men there without them knowing. He was just about to do so when a patrolman walked in front of the mouth of the hall, forcing him to pull back into cover. He didn't wait for long.

As soon as the man had passed, Aiden pulled out his silenced pistol and charged up behind him. Grabbing him by the neck, Aiden successfully silenced the man's shout for help, choking him, but keeping him on his feet. He steered the man around to face the guards at the desk and put them down in quick succession with two perfectly placed headshots. The Club members collapsed behind the desk. As far as Aiden could tell, no one had heard the commotion and view of the bodies was obstructed. His hostage had finally passed out so he hid him back in the hallway behind the very same planter he had used as cover.

Unfortunately, Aiden didn't know where the second patrolman was when he had begun his assault. In a stroke of bad luck, the guard came around the corner just as Aiden stood back up.

"He's here!" the man yelled.

As the man called for backup, Aiden took the moment's hesitation to dive for cover, laying down a round of cover fire himself. None of the shots landed, but Aiden hadn't expected them to. They had served their purpose and given him enough time to get behind the desk. Once there, he ran around the other side to flank the guard. His plan succeeded. Aiden came flying up behind the man and was just pointing his gun at his head when the two guards at the front door arrived having heard the call for help.

Aiden didn't have time to jump for cover so instead he shot the man before him in the shoulder, causing the man to drop his gun. Aiden slid for the assault rifle and sprang up behind the man, grabbing him and using him as a human shield. The guard took several bullets from his comrades' weapons before Aiden laid down a spray of gunfire in the direction of the foyer. Both men fell, clutching fatal wounds. Aiden dropped the dead weight he was struggling to hold up and crouched once again behind the bullet-ridden desk, taking stock of the situation. The good news was there were only two guards left. The bad news was that since his adversaries had opened fire and Aiden himself had ditched his silencer, the whole building knew something was up. Aiden had to act fast.

The men were already firing when they came into sight. Aiden had no choice but to stay put and wait them out. The problem was, these men were smarter than their companions. They alternated firing between themselves so that one could reload while the other kept Aiden contained. At that point, the desk wasn't going to last much longer, much less Aiden. He had to take a chance or he wasn't going to make it and he refused to let it end there.

Keeping as much of himself in cover as possible, Aiden stuck his right arm around the desk and blind fired until he heard a satisfying cry of pain. In the brief lull that followed, Aiden stood and, within the span of a second, aimed, fired, and felled his last opponent.

As the smoke cleared, Aiden suddenly felt a nagging sting on his right arm. He looked down to see a small tear in his jacket, a small trickle of blood oozing beneath. He had been hit, but barely. The bullet had only nicked the outside of his arm. It was the single, parting trophy from his encounter.

Ignoring the slight pain in his arm, Aiden went to recover his pistol. The magazine had been emptied with his last shot and he replaced it, at the same time moving toward the back of the lobby where the elevators were situated. Aiden pressed the button and waited in what would have been silence were the smooth jazz coming over the loudspeakers not still playing in a mockery of what had just transpired.

"I'm through the lobby. Getting into the elevator now," Aiden reported into his earbud. There was no answer. "Clara? T-bone, you there?" Still nothing. "Shit. Must have jammed the coms when that guard raised the alarm," Aiden murmured to himself.

A pleasant ding sounded and the elevator doors opened before Aiden.

"Nothing I can do about it now," he said as he stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor. As the doors slid closed, Aiden added, "It's time we met face to face, Lucky Quinn."