✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ a.k.a. Part I - Infinity War✔

08

Jyn had of course accepted the invitation to be a guest of the Atlas for a few days. When the manager sends out the invitation and that personally to stay as a guest, you stay. You stay. For the sake of respect.

Welcome to the Atlas.

Half an hour after Jyn checked in and settled in her room, her first reaction had been to pull out her cell phone and make a call. Many people who understood the situation she was in were as good as zero. There wasn't. At least in her 'normal' environment. The not so normal one, whom she only knew thanks to one person, was a bit more useful in this respect. At least she hoped so.

"You're so stupid," it was the first thing a dark-haired man threw in Jyn's face, stunned, a good hour after her call, immediately after she had opened the room door, let the old acquaintance in without a word, and he turned to her snorting as he stood in the middle of the room, "Are you serious, your brother is taking out insurance for you for no reason? I'm sorry, but so far I've always thought you were intelligent, but you're stupid for no reason. Bottomless. Congratulations, you are now a part of what you should never become a part of. But no, you absolutely had to know what his unsettled bills were. Brock makes sure that you almost become untouchable for a certain society and you end up destroying it."

"It's okay. Let it be good. I understood it long ago," to understand that Jyn didn't need anyone to tell her it wasn't the best decision, so Jyn pointed to the table with a gesture of the hand with a brown file on it that was brought to her right after checking in, "I never wanted him to assure me, Rollins. You, I took you as insurance back then. How long did you know my brother? How long did you two work together? How long were you his goddamn deputy?! Years. S.H.I.E.L.D., S.T.R.I.K.E.S., Project INSIDE, Pierce, Winter Soldier and Hydra. He's fucking my brother. Just because you were his deputy, he had made you one, I wanted you as my insurance. If something had happened to me and he had been alive at that time, there would have been a massacre, which should not have happened. You should prevent these massacres. Do you think I wanted him to do that? No. And yet here we are Jack, okay and I signed. Unfortunately, it's all a bit (too) late to be corrected."

"No wonder why you of all people are his sister," Jack loudly snorted his nose bridge, massaged the root of his nose and saw Jyn take a glass and fill it to the edge, "There's a reason no one knows anything about this company or ever says a word. All killers. YOU are not. You are now living by old rules. You have committed yourself to abide by their laws and to uphold them. You, Brock and you, are fundamentally different in one respect. He is a mercenary, not you. The problem is, I should assure you, only from now on you belong to the New York clan, Atlas. Jyn, these are, so that you finally understand what you've let yourself in for, assassins. Full-time. This community, around the globe, is centuries old. No comparison to S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra. You, once again extra for yourself, you have committed yourself to abide by their laws and rules. Without exception. On lifetimes. Means for the rest of your life. Join them. So what could they do for you that nobody else supposedly could do?"

"A dead witch", which immediately gave her a dumbfounded look, which Jack threw at her and she immediately raised both hands apologizing, "Yes, I'm sorry that I didn't let you know what I was doing or what I was doing. I'm sorry, Jack. Only after I made the job official did I unfortunately enter the atlas. Order plus coming here and then not wanting to know about anything, doesn't do well in this society."

"You're ruining your life for that," Jack asked with a snort, but then he stalled, because something didn't fit together, "Too easy. What is the real background? Since I've known your brother long enough, you're not completely unlike him, and I've known you not only since yesterday, but for a few years, it's a bit too easy. Just a dead witch? A phone call. Nothing more. How many of the former S.T.R.I.K.E.S. do you know and who of them wouldn't mind doing this job? But this one. Your life doesn't belong to you anymore anyway, so you can start by telling me what the real reason is."

"I have nothing more. So what else can I lose big," Jyn clicked, sitting on the sofa, her feet on the edge of the table in front of her, clutching the glass with both hands and staring into it empty, "The value of a life can be seen in our stamina, and we supposedly have the remarkable ability to overcome fatigue, endure pain, and fight on. As long as we do not lose sight of what we are fighting for. What we actually live for. My brother is dead. My dad hates me. No, since Brock is dead, I am no longer existent for him. My marriage is over and it won't be any more. What I have left, however, is my job. Wonderful. A ten to sixteen hour job and it doesn't always stay that way. Five million for a dead witch who is still not dead. Yes, I have sealed my life with five million dollars, so to speak. Could have hit me worse. From now on I have to keep their order to summarize everything, but at least I know why when someone presses a gun to my head. Brock has left a lot unfinished. It's great when you experience it that way. Except for one, two or even three rules, which will determine my life from now on, I can live on normally. I am not obliged to work as a mercenary. After all, there is enough of it in New York. I'd rather live by their rules than not make life difficult for this witchbitch. Let the play suffer. Five million is a sum of money, and if one or the other thinks about it for the money, I will kill a would-be Avenger, who in the eyes of the population has long been considered a threat. So you do the world a favour and the bitch who killed my brother is dead as well. A small price I have to pay for it."

"If happiness is on your side and the Dead Man has heard of your mission, you can consider it done," Jack assured her, and watch from the door as Jyn looked at him completely absent, "The world thinks Hydra is the greatest evil, but they don't know what's really going on in the world, right in front of their eyes. There has long been a new world order. Congratulations, you have joined it. Manipulation, murder and blackmail are only one of the many things from the death penalty, which is common practice here, apart from that. If I were you, I'd slowly learn how to handle a gun blindfolded. And your self-defense is for the ass. The little bit of MMA training is a joke. You'll be dead within seconds and that even if one of them doesn't have a gun. Time for you to take an example from Brock in terms of training, discipline and endurance. Goal and focus. Otherwise, you've lived the longest time."

With a thud the door behind Jack fell into the lock, Jyn shrugged at the same moment and just stared at the door.

Shit.

And there were only a few days left until the marathon.