Take a Shot

Darkness

Genisus Zero was not an easy man to ruffle, but this red-eyed woman was going to be the death of him, he could already tell. She was here to establish contact between himself and a cross-continental ally, Geechis Trankil, the head of a criminal syndicate called Harmony. It was the very same syndicate that his brother, the late Guild Master of this very guild, had refused ties with on several occasions. But Daymeon was dead. It was Genisus's time now.

"What did you say your name was?" Genisus asked, trying to contain his excitement. Her face remained mostly impassive, one well-manicured eyebrow raising. Everything about her was very well put together. She filled out those simple, black, ninja-like clothes in the way only a woman with a nice figure could, and the flash of stomach he could see between the end of her short top and the start of her high pants showed the figure wasn't just genetics but work ethic as well. He had no doubt she would be an entertaining fight, and she was likely thinking the same thing about him. It surprised him that Geechis hadn't sent her with more firepower, as all he saw was a pistol and some rudimentary magic device, but the shiver that rolled his spine when she caught his gaze back was enough to make him forget about it.

"I didn't," she said simply. Her voice was rough, deeper than he'd expected, untamed, an unmasked threat just like her eyes. Her accent was enthralling, enough to subtly convey her exoticism despite her fluency in his language. His intrigue drew teeth into his smile, a narrowing to his eyes.

"Indulge me?" he purred. She sat back in her chair, crossing left leg over right and leaning to his left, setting her arm on the armrest and leaning her cheek onto her fist.

"You seem like a smart man, Mr. Zero," she said quietly. Her tongue rolled every R sound in the sentence. Genisus shuddered again, leaning forward and setting his arms on his desk. It had been quite some time indeed since he'd felt fear. His breathing got heavier the longer he looked at her. She was so delicious. He'd love to open her up and see what made her tick. She gave him a small smirk as she whispered, "Figure it out."

Genisus grinned. His heart thudded in his ears. She would probably like to hear it, too. He could tell she was like him. She had introduced herself as one of Geechis's assassins, and he recognized the stain of blood in the beds of her nails when they'd shaken hands. This brazen display told Genisus two things about Geechis: he was a very smart man, and he had no qualms about flaunting his power and wealth. But the boss had made a mistake in sending him this woman. He had no intentions of sending her back. He could make her an amazing magician. It didn't matter whether she did or didn't currently have magic; he would give it to her. He'd been perfecting the method, after all, so it wouldn't be too difficult. He would kill whoever came to retrieve her, and that was just for the hell of it. She would enjoy that, too, he'd wager.

A slight cough broke, "Sir, her name-"

"Not now," Genisus sighed, slumping back into his chair and crossing his arms. Mood killer. He cast a glare over to the left, where his apprentice stood, looking boredly at the two. Genisus pursed his lips. The boy was talented, intelligent, relatively good-natured. He had potential as the successor of this silly guild Genisus had inherited. Sebastian was here for this to be part of his training - learning how to forge alliances - but with how enthralling this woman was, Genisus was tempted to send him out. But that wouldn't be setting a good example for this boy, one of the only ones different than the other hooligans in the guild.

"Sebastian, you've got to learn to read the room," Genisus instructed, nearly hissing. The young domineer sucked in his bottom lip, popping it on the way out, but nodded. The popping was disrespectful, but Genisus was too far to immediately correct him and the boy did assent, so he decided it wasn't worth getting up. Genisus returned his gaze to the lovely woman in front of him.