Vanquish

Chapter 2

After ten years worth of hard training and experience, Adam and I were easily two of the best Guards in the House. Best meaning skilled, talented, disciplined, efficient, impressive. Guards being a sugar-coating for a trained murderer that kills people for money. Good money.

 

There were lots of so-called professions that the House offered training for. However, they didn't offer the training, as such. Nobody applied. You didn't come to the House. The House came to you. The main trainers and investors seeked out potential in people, often from a young age, and it was a completely foreign concept for anyone to refuse their offer for a trial run or even a place in the House. Which considering the generous salary and heaps of comission, depending on your rating, popularity and reputations, of course, wasn't at all surprising. The more popularity one gained, the better rating one would receive from both customers and trainers themselves, resulting in improved reputations. Ultimately leading to more hires, better hires and increased popularity, and thus was the cycle each of us followed and thrived toward.

 

As Adam went off for his monthly test, I wished him the luck he didn't need and went off to me own class. Armless physical defence was never a favourite of mine, but it was essential, and so I went along willingly four times per week for ten years without fail.

 

As I walked in through the large metal doors, which were padded on the inside of the training room, I quietly took in my surroundings. There were three more people in the room than the norm, two of whom had just moved up in the ranks, having proved themselves worthy. They both wore the familiar smug look on their faces and walked with the typical swagger that was obviously gained from their most recent achievement. I chuckled under my breath and shook my head; they'd be limping out of this room, not swaggering. Leonard Patterson – our trainer in this particular class – was absolutely ruthless and suffered no fools – beginners or not.

 

The third person was a new trainee that had not yet worked out their way around the establishment, and swiftly left when someone kindly informed him where he was meant to be in order to help in avoid the inevitable humiliation that some of the more obnoxious Guards in this class would undoubtedly cause him, or maybe Leonard himself for that matter. I silently changed my walking shoes to my boots and kept my head down whilst waiting for Leonard to turn up; the other boys in here were lethal and their tempers could turn on a six-pence. Despite the fact I was perfectly capable of holding my own and could've taken each and everyone of them if I was that way inclined, there was no need to be causing conflict with other dangerous people. Not now, here, when we had work to do and things to learn.

 

And hour into our session, there was a knock on the door. We all stopped our practice and stood up straight at the sound, expecting a member of authority due to the powerful intonations of the three, solid bangs. Wiping sweat from my forehead, I watched Leonard open the door to a young girl, no older than sixteen. She opened her mouth before Leonard had the chance to and said something I couldn't quite decipher from the distance between us, and he smiled lightly in return.

 

One of the boys shouted something at the girl about the Escorts section being on the second floor of the building and how she should clear off and leave the men to do their work.

 

Her dark eyes flickered over him as though he was no more than a rotten vegetable shes found on her plate when she responded with a dreaded calm to her voice that forced a cold shiver down my spine, “You'll be on the second floor when I throw you through this ceiling.” Leonard smirked.