Control [2430-1-2 Wed 11:00 am]

[Digeo d'Asola]

It was dark inside Digeo's office. The lights were low, just as he preferred, and he was watching the feed from Titus' last kill. It had been captured on a camera meant to catch who had been stealing from a dumpster. It had been easy to seize the tapes and do away with the men who had saw it.

In his office, Digeo focused on Titus. It wasn't a shock to see him killing recreationally, even if it was against Guild rules and was incredibly distasteful. The boy was insane. No one was more aware of this than Digeo, who had raised him after the unfortunate incident with his parents. He had tried to guide the boy onto the proper path, tried to give him everything he needed, but to not spoil him. But the sickness ran deep, too deep to remove without surgery and a full frontal lobotomy.

Of course that had been an option. Carve up his mind, stuff pills down his throat and produce a mildly retarded heir that would do as well as all the others. But Digeo couldn't do that to Titus. He couldn't cut that brilliant mind up, tear it down until there was nothing unique left of it. He was a weapon this way: a weapon that could turn on the one who wielded it if they did not take care. Otherwise, he would be nothing but a blunt tool, and Digeo had no use for blunt tools.

Titus moved like a cobra, swift and deadly, that knife of his taking the man to pieces in minutes. He was faster than Digeo had ever been, and that was a dark thought. Digeo was the best there ever was, the smartest and the quickest and the deadliest. Titus did not have Digeo's patience, perhaps no one did, but that deadly speed was enough to make Digeo stop and wonder if Titus was worth keeping around. If he suspected what Digeo was doing, what he had done...

No. Titus did not have any patience. If he suspected, he would have acted, and he would be dead. Titus was still useful. But perhaps he would have to keep Titus at arms length. A cobra could not bite what was not within reach.

The light on his desk lit up. Titus was in the building. He dismissed the footage and waited.

[Titus Vere]

The Assassins Guild had two locations. The first, a grand structure positioned at the top of a building, all tinted glass and burnished steel, was not the real headquarters. People came and went, they secured contracts and applied for positions, but the real assassins did not appear there (except for Digeo) and their records and money were not kept anywhere near it. The glass palace was a decoy, nothing more.

The real headquarters was contained in a concrete building that was more like a bunker, thick solid walls with no windows. Above them was an office building. Below them, a watch factory. You could only enter from the factory, wearing worker's clothes and carrying your own in a bag. Your ID was scanned first, and then as you climbed the stairwell to the offices, your entire body was scanned and screened for any and all foreign objects. Fail to mention you were carrying anything, anything at all, and you'd find yourself dead in seconds.

Titus was well used to the journey by now. Inside, the building was lovely, if sparse. A lack of windows was made up by viewscreens that filled each wall, clusters of data displaying here and there, giving the entire area a slightly unsettling ambient feel. There were places to dress, and Titus did so, tiding up and making himself presentable. He hoped Persephone and Skye were getting along. If they fought, it would certainly make his life more difficult.

When he was slicked and polished, he headed to Digeo's quarters. There was undoubtedly a job to be done, or uncomfortable questions to be answered. He let himself in, knowing Digeo already knew Titus was in the building. He knew whenever anyone entered.

"Good morning." He greeted Digeo, standing before the desk and waiting.

[Digeo d'Asola]

"Good morning." Digeo responded, sliding a holophoto toward Titus. Titus took it, as he always did. A face appeared, an older woman. "This is your target. Madeline Torin, age 53, CEO of Multerra Banks Inc. She's made a lot of very important people very angry. Do not be discrete. We are sending a message, and it must be heard."

"Security will be high. She has had threats in the past. From what we understand, she has a weakness for younger men and fine wine. A bottle of Elvish wine will arrive at your apartment this evening." He motioned for Titus to turned the holophoto, and he did. A layout of the banker's chambers were there. Knowing Titus, he would memorize them and then melt the paper so no one evidence could be found. "She'll be attending a banquet Friday. I've arranged for tickets for yourself and guests. Find someone who will provide an alibi for yourself."

Digeo watched Titus silently noted down the details. He was an excellent assassin, if reckless. Madeline would not be the only one to lose her life tonight. Any servants would likely be dispatched by Titus. He would not be merciful. That word was simply not in his protege's vocabulary.

[Titus Vere]

Another assassination. Titus carefully listened. This time it was meant to be a message. A message for who? When Titus could risk it, he would investigate further and discover if this woman was connected to the others he'd been ordered to kill. Digeo had some larger goal in mind, and Titus wanted to know what it was.

His face revealed no sign when Digeo mentioned guests. Did he know already? There were cameras outside Titus' home, if Digeo was monitoring them, he may have noticed Skye enter yesterday. But Digeo was usually more direct with Titus, less likely to play games (or so Titus had thought). At any rate, now was not the time to panic. Now was the time to make sure all the paperwork was in order so when Digeo did learn about Skye, he would not be able to contradict Titus' assumptions without revealing his own true intentions.

He tucked the holophoto inside his jacket. "Of course." When Digeo did not make a move to suggest anything else, he simply nodded and left the way he'd come. His clothes remained where he'd left them, and Titus changed again.

The factory workers did not notice him leave and slip away onto the walkways. Instead of heading upwards, Titus went down. He had papers to gather for Skye, fake blood-tests and IDs, and everything essential. And perhaps if there was time, he could find a public terminal where some fool had forgotten to log-out and could do some research without worrying about Digeo peering over his shoulder.

[Digeo d'Asola]

The boy left as quickly as he'd come. Digeo felt himself wondering why he was so urgent to leave. He quietly checked Titus' apartment. Two life-signs were within, one identified female, and that nosey loud-mouthed artist Titus had dated for two years. Digeo indulged himself with a little chuckle. At least Titus showed a healthy interest in sex, and were two women waiting for Digeo when he was that age, he would have been just as eager to return home.

Digeo turned away from the house, and back to the walls. With a slide of his hand across his desk, he brought the footage up again. He watched Titus move swiftly, ever so carefully, and noted with a growing concern that he did recognize the killing blows. They were frenetic and full of rage, but there was a carefulness to them as well, a calculated edge.

He brought up the crime photos taken at the sight of the Vere murders, and asked the computer to match the wounds. They did, and they were perfect replications, more perfect than they could have been if Titus was aware of what he was doing. The boy had duplicated the murder of his father exactly, right down to the last stab to the torso. How long until Titus realized what he was doing? And how long until he realized the truth?

Digeo replayed the footage and made himself reconsider if Titus was worth keeping alive.