Perpetual Threat

The Explanation

"Are you two familiar with a woman named Nariko." Chris asked.

"Yes, I remember hearing about her before. Isn't she the badass Japanese assassin?" Victoria asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes she is." Ben answered.

"When I went to Japan a couple years back for some temporary martial arts training, my sensei said she was one of his best students. He also said his only regret was watching her turn into a mindless, heartless killing machine." Victoria said.

"Wow. I guess you are up to date with the Japanese assassin. Okay so do you know who Hunter Wild, Amir Ali the Arabian prince, and Mistico the Italian spy are? Chris continued.

"I know a brief history of each person and I know they are wanted for some kind of crime in almost every country. Why do you ask?" Victoria asked. She was a little suspicious. Even though she acted like she did not really know any of them, she did. Victoria had met every single one of those people and they were not the type of people you would want to make enemies with. Most were revered in their country, but they were ruthless and dangerous.

"Is that all you know?" Ben asked her.

"Yes. That's all I know." Victoria lied. She still did not know whether or not to trust Ben or Chris so she decided to feign ignorance. The less she let on, the greater the chance she had for an element of surprise if need be.

"Okay well they are very dangerous criminals and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Apparently Nariko set up a meeting in Tokyo, Japan with all those leaders of crime. No one knows about it except for us. One of our international spies is acting as a mole in Nariko's chamber. He tells us any updates that might be important. Do you guys know why this update is important?" Chris asked.

Even though Sarah and Victoria had a pretty good idea why this update was so important, they just shook their heads and pretended not to know.

Ben narrowed his eyes at the two girls but continued on with the explanation. "Nariko and the other criminals would never be caught seen together. If they were seen working together it meant that whatever they were planning could not be done alone. This is the worst case scenario you will ever find, because this means their plan is HUGE, especially if it cannot be done alone. These criminals are typically known for their independence."

"Okay. What does all of this have to do with us?" Sarah asked even though she was ptetty sure she already knew what the answer was.

"Well, you two were sent here on the requests of Cornelius Grimm. I guess I should explain to you guys why Cornelius Grimm would go against his own kind first." Ben continued.

"Nooo. You should just let us figure it out ourselves." Sarah said in a sarcastic tone with arms crossed around her chest.

Ben glared at her and opened his mouth as if to counterattack her rude statement with a comeback, but shut it again. He decided it was not worth arguing with pretty much one of the only people who could help him out.

"Anyways, why does the idiot want to betray his own kind?" Victoria asked, interrupting the two before they started bickering.

"Well, when Nariko sent out the 'invites' to the criminals to join her gang, she made the one little mistake, at least to Cornelius, of not sending him an invite too. Now he is frustrated and wants to beat her at her own game or what he thinks is a game. Unfortunately, this is not a game. Cornelius invited you guys here because he believes you guys are the only ones who can defeat Nariko, with his help obviously."

"Invited us?! He didn't invite us! He practically kidnapped us!" Victoria yelled. Her anger was reaching a boiling point. Ben could see it in her eyes and for once in his life he did not know what to do about it.

"Yea!" Sarah agreed. She was a bit frustrated about that fact, but because she didn't know Cornelius Grimm at a personal level the way Victoria did, she was not that angry.

"What makes you think we are willing to help my worst enemy?! I'm not stupid. If we end up defeating his enemies, he is just going to go back to being the villain he is!" Victoria added

"First things first, Nariko and her deranged gang are not just Cornelius' enemies, they are everyone's enemies. If they are not defeated, there is no question that they will take over the world. Even if Cornelius does go back to being a villain, wouldn't you rather continue kicking his ass than watch a bunch of high rate criminals dictate how you should live your life? Would you rather see your future kids taken to be put into the army? Would you want to be conscripted into an army? Do you want everything you own and love to be taken away from you? Think about it Victoria. The world needs you. I need you." Ben said softly, taking Victoria's hand while looking down into her big brown eyes.

Victoria just stood there looking into his deep blue eyes (she realized that they changed from turquoise to sky blue depending on the lighting). She was frozen in spot as she thought about everything that Ben had said. As much as she disliked Cornelius, she knew she would rather spend her life stopping his plans than having to live under criminal rule.

"VICTORIA!!!!"

"Huh?"

"Where were you?" Sarah asked. "We have been calling your name for the last five minutes!"

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking." Victoria mumbled and tried to shake her self out of her trance by letting go of Ben's hands and gaze and standing up to pace across the living room floor. At one point she was sure she saw a smirk on Ben's face, but when she looked at him again, it was gone.

"So... Have you thought about what Ben said?" Chris asked as Victoria sat back down on the couch. He was more than a little curious to know what her response would be.

"Yes I have."

"And?"

Victoria looked at them and she began to layout her proposition.