A bitter huff escaped you.

"Nothing I do ever is, Katie.", you said. "Cut to the case. Our beanie wearing friend is starting to ask questions."

On the other end of the line, she sighed.

"It's not like no one is supposed to know.", Laswell explained, hesitantly.

"But?"

"But we wanted to keep you in the dark as long as possible. So that you won't back out."

Now you had to laugh.

It wasn't a lighthearted, happy laugh, but one that was so bitter and drenched with all the dark memories from the past.

"I beg of you, Laswell.", you said, as serious as sin all at once. "Even if, I never was allowed to back out."

"Officially-!"

"Officially my ass! When I back out, I'm basically singing my own death certificate."

"That's not true."

"Of course it is. I'm alive because they need me. But once I don't work anymore, they won't need me anymore.",
your gaze darkened. "Tell me, Katie, do you know what they do with race horses that can't run anymore?"

Silence on the other end of the line.

Your eyes jumped to the pilots.

They weren't responding to anything, no small movements of their mouths nor other facial expressions.

The channel that Laswell was using was probably highly secured and not accessible for them.

But you always needed to make use.

"Say it, Katie.", you let your gaze wander out of the window. "I know that you know it. Especially you should know."

The sound of someone swallowing hard filled your ears.

"They put them down.", she finally said.

A satisfied yet bitter smile appeared on your lips.

"That's right.", you mumbled, more to yourself than her. "They shoot the horses that can't run anymore. Who am I but a race horse, Katie? I can't back out of a race. I need to run. Or I die. That's what I've been made for, isn't it?"

Again, she took her time to answer.

"That is true."

"Of course it is. Now, the intel that's missing. I need it. Every detail. And don't sugar coat it. I'm not in the mood for your top secret kind of bullshit."

"Fine. If you insist."

"It seems I must. Otherwise you won't even tell me what I am supposed to be doing."

"You're supposed to be the captain of this team."

Again, you couldn't help but let out a huff.

It amused you time and time again how she managed to beat around the bush so many times.

So many times she tried to avoid the unavoidable and even more times she pretended as if there was nothing wrong about what she and you did for a living.

But it was wrong. It was rotten to the core.

The only difference between the two of you was that you didn't care.

In the end, it was just following orders for your own survival. It was nothing more but the natural balance of power.

You killed so that others could live. You took the title of monster so that others could be deemed angels.

In the end, the world needed it's shadows, because if they wouldn't exist, light wouldn't either.

It would all just be grey.

"Katie...", you said her name as if she was a long lost sister that finally called to announce she'd join you for Christmas for the first time in years. "I know you've worked with him before. Price. He's a capable man, Katie. I might even be a bit jealous of him, that's how capable he is."

"He is a top notch operator.", she agreed.

"Right. So would you please, for the love of fuck, quit fooling around and tell the facts? If he's on the team, another captain isn't needed. I'm basically useless here."

On the other end of the line, someone said something.

That someone wasn't Laswell.

Officially, nobody knew about your existence. Unofficially, there was a group of about half a dozen people who knew and had the power to give you commands and hand out jobs.

You didn't know them personally and the only face that you still remembered was Katie, since she had plenty of authority across the globe despite being of American nationality.

She was some sort of agent to you, organised all the trips and bargained with the countries who needed you most.

Right now she was probably also in contact with the French, since they were the ones who had official ownership.

Despite all the connections to her, you were a shadow without a nationality of your own. Even the name changed with most jobs.

It was a hard, unrewarding way of life, but at some point you had agreed to live it and now there was no turning back.

It literally was a ride or die kind of life.

"I have word that you're allowed to know, since you agreed to do it.", Laswell suddenly said.

Torn from your thoughts, you hummed.

"Right, I agree to do whatever you demand.", you nodded. "As always. Will always be. My intel. Now. I'm getting impatient."

"You're always considered a bit impatient."

"But now I'm loosing it for real. I need a job, Katie. Otherwise I don't know how to be useful."

A sigh escaped her.

"Right. Now, here's the official task."

"No. Not the official task. That means it was written to appeal to all those annoying human rights organisations and peace loving hippies. What is it really?"

Again, someone said something, but it was hard to tell what exactly.

A soft huff escaped you.

"Tell em' I said hi.", you joked.

"Not the time.", Laswell said.

Her mood was declining as well.

"Alright. Let's cut it short then, no?"

"You want the short version?"

"Short, but with everything important."

"Alright. You're captain in command as a gimmick. People need to believe you have high authority so that nobody questions your doings."

"Alright."

"Don't make hostages."

Your face froze.

"Survivors?", you asked.

"None. Everyone must be eliminated."

"What about Price then? Why did I get a team?"

"Because as someone who's nothing, you needed a foot on the European ground of law. Now that you're French, working with the UK, you not only have justification but also authority."

"It was for the formalities.", you said it out loud, tired of her talking games.

"As always."