Look Me in the Eyes (and tell me that it's me) [Zhongchili]

Chapter 32 - Gnosis

Ajax returns to the Fatui.

He goes back to his suite and writes his report by the book, with his Fatui-issued ballpoint, on his Fatui-issued office chair. He includes that he knows who Nikolai was—he's not going to risk hiding it, and it might win him some loyalty points with Pierro. He submits his perfect report at the perfect time and goes to bed at the perfect time to wake at the perfect time to spend the day conducting a perfect training session. He's a model soldier, who follows his orders, trains seriously, and hopes that the man he was ordered to kill is living safely in secret.

After three days, Pierro asks to see him.

Ajax spends the walk there praying that Pierro hasn't caught on to what he really did. If he has, he'll be spending a long time in a dark place in the not too distant future. They're probably not allowed to write letters from the torture rooms. His siblings will worry about what happened to him.

However, when he arrives, he's relieved to see that Pierro is smiling.

Or smirking would be a more accurate descriptor.

Pulcinella is here, too, because of course he is, standing by the desk with his hands curled around his cane and looking far too smug for Ajax's liking. They both watch Ajax enter the room and send a knowing glance to each other, an unspoken conversation playing between them.

"Tartaglia, welcome, we've been waiting for you." Pierro gestures to the front of his desk and Ajax moves to stand where he's instructed. "Or should I say, welcome back?"

Ajax presses his fingertips against the underside of the desk. That's an odd thing to say. He returned immediately after completing his mission.

"I returned three days ago, as requested, sir."

"That is not what I mean." Tapping his papers against the desk, Pierro's smirk twists across his face, the skin stretching like kneaded dough. "You have proven that you have truly returned. Pulcinella and I were holding some concerns about your ability and loyalty, but this? This is truly remarkable. Incinerated? Electrically incinerated? I must say, we're impressed."

"Just doing my job, sir," Ajax replies cautiously. The less information he adds to potentially poke holes in his story, the better off he'll be.

"I told you!" Pulcinella pipes up. "I told you he'd do marvellously, despite all your huffing and puffing. Looks like you owe me a bottle of that fine wine from your cellar, as we agreed."

Pierro clicks his tongue and Ajax swears his cheeks redden slightly as he dips his head, examining the paperwork before him. "Yes, yes, as we agreed. Naturally."

Pulcinella chuckles, and Ajax can't help joining in on the chance to rib Pierro.

"Hey, I think I deserve one too. Or maybe Pulcinella can find it in himself to share, hey?" He nudges Pulcinella with his elbow, and the room freezes. Pulcinella's laughter ceases and both he and Pierro fix him with cold stares.

"No." Pulcinella pronounces the word deliberately. "I would prefer not to."

The air temperature dips, and Ajax steps back, repressing a shiver. "Haha, right, as you prefer."

"Anyway." Pierro reaches to the side of his desk to pluck a thick, brown folder from atop a pile of other, equally thick, folders. He slides it towards Ajax, the number '32' circled in black ink on the front. "Your next mission."

Ajax swallows down the thick globulet of tension sitting at the back of his throat. "Yes, sir. Ready and waiting for orders."

"Good." Flipping open the cover, Pierro's finger lands on the photo of a man around Father's age, grey flecks speckling dark brown hair and creases dipping towards kind, dark eyes. "This man, Councillor Volkov, is in possession of an important object belonging to Her Majesty. You will return it to us."

Councillor Volkov—that sounds familiar. It takes a second for Ajax to recall from where he first heard it—that's the councillor who recently celebrated his twentieth year of service at Snezhnaya's city council. Despite the wastage of funds spent on the celebration, he's a good man, from what Ajax has heard, championing tax breaks for lower income earners and promoting a variety of social initiatives.

This is not someone that Ajax wants dead. This is not someone that Snezhnaya, as a whole, wants dead. This is a man who (mostly) works for positive change.

And yet he, too, has a Fatui target painted on his back.

Ajax nods, then asks the unavoidable question, "You want him dead, too?"

Pierro shakes his head. "Not strictly. That is to say, you may kill him if you wish, but it is not key to the success of you mission. We have no protest against this particular individual."

"But he took something from Her Majesty?"

This is odd. A few rogue agents smuggle drugs and they're sentenced to death, but a man takes possession of an object belonging to Her Majesty and he's free to go? It's difficult to see the logic.

"No, not taken. Purchased. He believes it to be a replica, but our intelligence forces have determined it to in fact be the authentic item." Pierro turns the page and taps on a picture of what appears to be an oversized chess piece, tinted ice blue at its centre. "The Cryo Archon's Gnosis. It was lost during the Triumph Over the Heavens, and we have spent centuries attempting to track it down, only to repeatedly run into replica after replica. Now we have located it, and Her Majesty was quite determined that this task should fall to you. A questionable decision, in my opinion, considering your track record, but one I shall respect nonetheless."

"That wasn't my fault," Ajax snaps before he can stop himself. There's no reason he should feel the need to defend Tartaglia's past failures, but nonetheless the accusation needles deep. "You know Signora was responsible for that."

"I see." Pierro's lips twitch. "Well, we shall see how you fare, but do not disappoint us. Even if the source of the Gnoses power no longer exists, thus rendering them inert, they are a part of our nation's history. More importantly to you, this one is the rightful property of Her Majesty. Every other surviving Archon has come to repossess their ancient heart—it is unthinkable that She is the only god left wanting for her own after so very, very long."

How stupid. So this Gnosis isn't even good for anything any more. He's an errand boy. Pierro is reducing him to a mere errand boy.

Whatever. He'll show them. This time he'll retrieve the Gnosis for Her Majesty.

They'll see.

He'll prove Pierro wrong, and he shall emerge victorious.

*   *   *   *   *

Author's Note: And so, once again, it comes to pass that Tartaglia is tasked with claiming a Gnosis. Prepare for a chonky chapter next week! Depending how long it ends up, I might or might not split it in two with a Saturday / Monday update, I haven't decided yet. (Send me luck I have to finish it over the weekend 😂)

If you're enjoying the fic, please leave a comment, they make the author very happy. 🥺 (and thank you to everyone who has so far!)

Thanks to Reg  for betaing!