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

Chapter 33 - A Weapon's Regret

Author's Note: Additional content warnings (outside of those in the front page tags) apply for this chapter:

Familial death (not Ajax's)

Disassociation

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This time, Ajax's mission takes place at a mansion a couple of miles outside the city. He arrives after nightfall, a crisp breeze cutting through the cool, clear night. It's probably not technically considered a mansion, but compared to anything Ajax has seen before, it is. From behind the black iron fencing surrounding the property, Ajax estimates that the building is at least three stories high, not including the windows with their sloping triangular hats set into the slate roof, and he counts two sets of windows either side of the front door, for a total of thirteen rooms visible just from where he's standing.

Damn, he's in the wrong career.

The building is set within several acres of land, with a well-kept lawn at the front, and a fir forest around the back, dozens of trees trimmed to an identical height and shape, arranged in neat, military lines, maintaining their vigilance over the grounds.

It's towards these trees that Ajax follows the fence, and once he reaches them, there's a gap large enough for him to fit through, just as intelligence informed him: a few rusted away rungs, obscured by the foliage, yet to be identified and repaired by the property's maintenance team. He slips through and settles behind a bush, observing the rest of the property. Most of the lights are off, apart from one room on the ground floor, where Ajax spies the councillor working at a large mahogany desk, a line of lights on the second floor, and a room on the first floor, where the window has been left open ready for him. A maid mops the floor inside, a Fatui agent plant, ready to provide him directions once he makes contact.

There's the crunch of footsteps ahead, a security guard patrolling the grounds, his flashlight cutting a lone line across the lawn. How that's supposed to help track down an intruder is anyone's guess, but Ajax supposes most security is designed for deterrent rather than active conflict in any case.

Once the guard's back is turned, Ajax slips towards the mansion, and scales the wall up to the first floor window. He pulls himself over the sill and rolls to the side in order to avoid the security guard's line of sight. He appears to have entered a dining room of some kind, although the room appears better equipped for decoration than for eating, expensive china ornaments cluttering the glass, silver edged table that takes pride of place in the room's centre, where the maid-agent waits, performing the perfect impression of tending to a stubborn patch of dirt on the floor.

Ajax gets to his feet, offering a two-fingered salute to her. "Hey," he says. "Agent 4510, I presume."

"That is correct, sir." The maid sets her mop in the bucket and stands to attention. "Honoured to meet you, Harbinger Tartaglia, sir."

"At ease, soldier." He thinks that's what he's supposed to say. That's what he's seen in the movies, anyway. "What do you have for me?"

She pulls out a piece of paper and unfolds it, holding it out to him. "The layout. Councillor Volkov is currently working in his office on the ground floor. We are currently here, and the target is the master office here on the floor above." She points at each location as she lists it off, then hands the map to Ajax. "Quickest way is through the door behind me, up the staircase, turn right, through the hallway with the statues in the corners, through the door and there you are. Also, beware of the guard dog. It bites—hard."

"Alright. Staircase, corridor, dog," Ajax repeats. This doesn't sound difficult. In fact, it sounds remarkably straightforward. This is something any ordinary agent could've taken care of. It's strange to send a Harbinger for this, but he'll take this any day over his last mission.