"I DOUBT YOU don't know much about us," Leah squeaked, her voice shaking a little but her eyes fierce with fire. "If you have all that information written down about your staff and if you're really working with the government, who's to say that you don't already have our life biography hidden somewhere in this office?"

Surprised that Leah had spoken back, Julius Cain roared with laughter.

"Simple," he replied. "If you're important enough to have a life biography, we wouldn't dare to recruit you even with the government offering us support. You'll be too visible of a personality to properly get the job done. What we're looking for are the children of the night, the monsters and the shadows that roam the streets, if you will."

Red crept onto Leah's cheeks at Julius Cain's sharp and offensive retort. She quietened back down into a timid little mouse, settling with glaring at the tall man from where she stood. Words no longer left her lips for she was utterly defeated. Satisfied with her quick obedience, Julius Cain's grin merely broadened.

"We'll have plenty of time to discover each other's strengths and weaknesses here in my expansive facility. However, the most pressing question is still but one. Will you stay and work with me?"

"Why do I feel like you're not giving us all the options here?" Devora mumbled. Even though her voice was kept low, she knew that Julius Cain couldn't possibly miss it. He would've easily caught it, no doubt. The telling smirk on his lips confirmed Devora's suspicions.

"The second option, if you choose to refuse my proposal, is to forfeit your life. It's as simple as that. I didn't think there was a need to actually put it to words since I assumed that you were aware." The older man shrugged. "After all, isn't that what goes on in Hollywood movies these days? Young spritely teens such as yourself would've watched a couple of movies and read a couple of books while growing up, right? The second you stepped into this building, your fate was sealed. You know too much about us to run around alive on the streets."

Even a pin dropping to the ground could be heard in the silence. For a moment, no one dared to speak. Or rather, it was perhaps they didn't know what they should reply. Julius Cain presented two choices: to kill or be killed. There was no going back to the civilian life Devora had lived prior to all this mess.

However, did she truly mind it? Was her normal life so great that she would risk life and limb to go back to?

"If I choose to accept..."

Travis was the first one to break the silence. His line of sight was still focused at the ground, his hands rigidly glued to his sides, fists tightly clenched. Everyone whirled around to look at him, surprised that he was the first to respond to Julius Cain's absurd proposal.

He looked up, determination and hatred brewing behind his eyes. The teenager seemed like he had aged ten years since the first time Devora met him.

"If I agree to work for you, does that mean that one day, I'll be allowed vengeance?"

There was no need for Travis to put a name to who he was talking about. Only one man's face appeared in mind and it was the man that had put an end to a young girl's life just recently. Leon Gray, the burly middle-aged man that had scars and tattoos all over his skin. He was the only possible candidate.

From where he stood, Julius Cain's laughter could be heard. He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"Sure," he said. The look in his eyes told Devora that he knew fully well who Travis was talking about. "If you have the capability to."

There was no mistaking the glimmer that sparked from both Leah's and Travis's eyes. The two siblings immediately stood tall and proud, life returning to their faces in the form of a pink flush. There was even a sadistic smile quirking the corners of Travis's lips upward. The joy on their faces couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

It was pure bloodlust.

"Then there's a deal." This time, it was Leah who spoke. She took a small step forward, a hand placed on her chest. "If we're allowed such a small thing, then our cooperation is assured."

"We accept your offer," Travis agreed.

"Splendid."

Julius Cain clapped his hands together once before reaching back for a button on his desk. Pressing it, he spoke into the small microphone before releasing it. There were no speakers inside his office hence his message couldn't be heard by the others. Nevertheless, it was obvious that he was calling for somebody.

Within the next minute, Devora's suspicions were confirmed. There was a knock of the door before it pushed open, two figures stepping in. Immediately, Devora recognized them as the pair in the stack of papers she had browsed through just minutes ago.

Even though their photos seemed menacing, they looked perfectly like ordinary people in real life. Unlike Leon Gray, the two teenagers that entered the room weren't in any bit menacing. There were no large scars or tattoos on their hands except for a few minor injuries scattered here and there, scars that even Devora could boast a few about due to mistakes made in the kitchen.

"You called, Boss?" The male — Dallas, if Devora recalled his name correctly — asked, scratching at the back of his head. He seemed more casual than anyone else that had stepped into Julius Cain's office. Even Nathan's actions were a little stiff.

"From now on, your partnership with each other is dissolved. You'll have new partners helping you out with missions." At his words, the two people that had just entered the room turned around to face each other, surprised. "Take these two newcomers under your wing and make sure they're taught everything they need to know."

"I didn't know that we're due for more," the young woman, Candice, snorted. She wore a grin on her red lips, a hand on her hip as she assessed the two teenagers standing opposite her. "You." Pointing a finger at Leah, she gestured her forward, her finger curling. "You're with me. Let's get this show on the road."

The young girl followed obediently, her back rod-straight as she marched towards Candice. Once the latter was sure that Leah was trailing behind her, she patted Dallas's shoulder twice before leaving the room, disappearing just as suddenly as she came.

"We have a mission due in a few days," Dallas mentioned, taking a step forward to where Travis was. However, the young man barely even offered Travis a glance. His eyes were still fixated on his superior, his gaze questioning. "We can't bring them with us. It's much too soon. They'll get themselves killed."

"Proceed with that task with Candice, then." Julius Cain waved the matter off like it meant nothing, barely even sparing Dallas a glance. "For the time you're gone, Nathaniel will be watching over them."

"Got it, Boss." Grinning cheekily, Dallas turned on his heel. His hand found Travis's wrist, dragging the younger teenager out of the room behind him despite Travis's startled yelp. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do and too little time!"

With Travis and Leah out of the room, Devora was the last one left who has yet to affirm her decision in staying. The answer should come easy enough. After all, she was tasked to choose between life and death, surviving or perishing. The normal self-preservation trait of a human would've been to agree on the spot. However, the words fail to come despite how much Devora searched for them.

There was a ticking in her head that consistently repeated itself. She hadn't even realized that her hands had found the hems of her clothing, wringing the life out of the material and giving it even more wrinkles than it had before. It was only when she felt Nathan's hand briefly feather past her skin that she remembered where she was and that there were people waiting for her answer.

"Well..." She started, gulping her fear down. As bravely as she could, she looked up, staring straight into Julius Cain's eyes. "I don't have much of a choice, now, do I?"

His sinister smirk was more than enough of an answer.

————

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