Author's Note: This is the first draft and it has not been edited in any form. Please feel free to point out any mistakes. 

Thank you! x 

|| Not Edited ||

Warning: Blood and murder. 

Dominating the centre of the chessboard was the black queen piece, standing tall and commanding attention. The previous opponent's queen had long been conquered, leaving an open question: who would act as a worthy replacement? Traditionally, when a pawn successfully manoeuvred its way to the opposing side of the board, it gained the extraordinary power to transform into any desired chess piece — be it a Queen, Bishop, Rook or Knight.

Adrian leaned back and intertwined one leg over another. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips.

The queen was his, and the opponent was on the brink of losing. "I don't have all day, Sir."

The person sitting in front of him quivered in fear as tears streamed down his face.

"P-please"

In a faint voice, he managed to whisper as he looked at Adrian, trying to receive an ounce of sympathy.

In response, Adrian sat up straight in his chair and firmly placed his arms on the solid wooden table that held the chessboard. His veins stood out prominently as he flexed his wrists and locked eyes with the individual seated before him.

"I have given you a fair chance. Should you emerge victorious, your departure will be unscathed. Should you fail, however, death awaits,"

He raised an eyebrow and gestured toward the scattered chess pieces resting on the board.

"You cannot back out now."

He remained silent after that, opting instead to meticulously place his Glock 17 gen 4 on the table. The sound of the gun hitting the surface of the table echoed all around the room they were sitting in, causing the guy to jolt in his seat. He was insignificant, but what he had done held a lot of significance to Adrian. While he found a certain euphoria in wielding the power to end a life, he prided himself on exercising restraint and only resorting to such extremes when justified. This nameless man had served himself on a silver platter with a side of crimson blood to Adrian- an offering too tempting for any gentleman to resist.

The silence was deafening, for the other man at least. Adrian's eyes were roaming leisurely on the board and observed there were still chances the man might win. The knowledge didn't worry him in the slightest.

After all, one could never be too careful while crossing a road.

The man's hand shook like a leaf in a storm and without putting much concentration on his moves, he placed his king at the edge of the board.

Adrian's lips twitched. The action didn't go unnoticed by the man and started taking deep exaggerated breaths, in fear and panic. Adrian moved his Queen from where it stood creating a small box around the man's King.

Normally, he would first have to force the enemy's King to the edge of the board. After the king reached one of the sides of the board, he could then push the King to one of the corners, and after that, he would win easily with his king and bishops to end the game.

Or, with Checkmate With King And One Rook. Or, in a different way. There were a few to opt depending on the game. But this one, oh no, to his utter amusement, this one had been the easiest.

This man had directly placed his king at the edge, leaving only one way where he could move; at the uppermost right corner. Dutifully, Adrian placed the queen in a way, that only the movements he wanted from this person would be permitted, and so the time started ticking.

Adrian calmly moved his king, until it was at a suitable final position where it threatened the enemy king with no possible response - checkmate.

With a flick of his eyes, Adrian met the fearful gaze of the man who had just made his sixth futile move. The king teetered on the edge of the board as Adrian's Queen swooped in, sending it cascading to the floor with a hushed thud.

"You deserve to die. That was the most boring game of chess I have played, and I play chess with my seven-ear-old niece."

"Si-sir"

"Hmm?" Adrian looked at him with a small smile on his plump lips. A smile that made the man wish he had never crossed paths with Adrian Alexander Flores, but he did and he had betrayed him. Adrian's finger traced the outline of his gun, waiting for the man to finish. Everyone deserved their last words.

However, after two seconds of heavy breathing and no words, Adrian felt the boredom seep into his soul. His eyes met the person who was staring at him with his mouth parting rather unattractively, and he wrinkled his forehead in disgust.

"You are too ugly to breathe."

The sound of the gunshot echoed in the stilled room followed by an unceremonious thud. Adrian stood up from his seat, his six-foot-six figure towering over the now-dead body. He took in the blood that was slowly flowing out of the body, transfixed with the beautiful sight.

He created that.

Adrian had killed him. He took the life of a person who was gifted by...well he did not know. He never really believed in God. But he had the power to take it away. And it was the most beautiful feeling. The power was beautiful.

Whoever said, "Knowledge is power" was right.

Whoever said, "Power is power" was right.

Because he had both, and being the puppetmaster, was always one of the fun bits of the game.

Picking up the phone on his desk, he made a quick call.

"Dispose of it."

Two men came in shortly after and looked at the man lying down.

"What did he do?" one of them asked Adrian as he lifted one side of the body with a huff.

"Tried to double cross me for the Feds."

"Ooohh, rookie move." Noah, the guy who had asked the question spoke, mirth lacing his voice.

"Shut up." The other guy, Juan, spoke as he lifted the other side of the dead man.

"He is fucking heavy." Juan then grunted.

Adrian silently observed the two men who had worked for him since he was brought into this world, and they never disappointed him. Juan was six feet one, with striking tanned skin and light brown eyes. He was more of the silent type while Noah being younger than all of them, was more callous and carefree. Not more callous than Adrian.

Noah looked a lot like one of those sweetheart guy, one anyone would take to meet their parents. As for what he did, was the thing parents warned their children to stay away from.

"Juan."

Adrian spoke in a quiet tone, prompting Juan to stop in his tracks and harumph as the man's leg who was being supported by both him and Noah, came in contact with Juan's stomach.

"Give the body to Ahmed. I want clean and precise cuts on this man's body. Deliver the head to the organization he worked with, and throw the rest of his parts into the fire. Meet me after you are done briefing Ahmed about what to do."

Juan nodded while Noah pouted knowing he was not being selected for this assignment. Adrian strolled towards the window and leaned against the wall, with his hand inside his pocket. Noah might be brutal but he wasn't ready for what this assignment entailed.

People who didn't belong to the crime world had been after the Flores family for years now. Adrian had decided to let them be on their own, even after everything they had done.

Revenge was a funny little thing, many wanted to dish it out, and many wanted to achieve it. Adrian? He really did not care for such silly little emotions. Right now, he wanted to play with little Miss Adelina.

It was time, to deal with the strings which had been tied between the Puppeteer and the puppet.

___

After thirty minutes, Juan sat on the seat the previous man was sitting on, staring at Adrian as he waited for him to say something. Adrian opened a drawer to his right and brought out a thin file.

"Adeline Rose Garcia, she is your next assignment." Adrian pushed the file towards Juan who nodded his head and took the file from Adrian and started flipping the pages.

"Sir, what about the child?"

Adrian shrugged indifferently, "It's fucking baby. Kill it, keep it alive, it doesn't matter."

Juan furrowed his eyebrows as he seemed to be in deep thought and for a moment Adrian wondered if he would have to do the task himself. Babies are awfully delicate, and rather than growing into a messy war, death would be a far too easy way out. One he was willing to provide. If anything, he was being kind.

"We can take the baby in along with the child."

Adrian sighed in relief, "Too time-consuming. Baby is not the concern, bring in the mother."

"Alright," Juan nodded his head. Adrian spoke before he could walk out of the room. "Take Albert with you."

"Only?"

"She's one woman with no former training in any combat. Albert will be going just to make sure you do your job properly."

"Ah. Okay."

Juan walked out of the, and Adrian sighed again.

He would have to visit his company soon, and knowing Juan would not be back until the afternoon, he decided he would go there right now.

After all, there was no better time to do things than the present.

Adrian's company dealt with the manufacturing of weapons, electronic tools and devices, providing anti-malware and creating software for other companies too.

It was the easiest way to keep track of everyone and everything without anyone suspecting him, or understanding how the information had been leaked. His anti-malware helped others' systems to be protected and free from everything else, except him. It was honestly a child's play to use Spyware through the anti-malware.

He was busy reviewing the turnover rate for this month when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw Juan's name and immediately picked up the call.

"Sir, someone already attacked them. The child is dead and the mother is hysterical."

Adrian furrowed his eyebrow, "I will look into the matter later. Someone already did the job, good for you. Is she there?"

"Yes,"

"Take her."