Book Three – Chapter Six – Part Six – The Bank Robbery & A Chance Encounter

What now? Servi’s red tablet bounced in front of her.

“We wait for Carmelo. He said he’ll come get us.” The tables and chairs that once occupied the room appeared from her ring. After picking a chair, she sat down and crossed her legs. A piercing stare by a single ferocious blue eye dug deep holes into a plain door as a dupla appeared in her clenched fist. Its slippery surface almost floated across her skin when she twisted her hand and opened it palm up.

“1,000 dupla… Can’t believe this little coin is worth that,” Servi rolled it around and down her fingers before it came to a halt on top of her thumb. With a simple flick, she played with a single coin that most people would never see. In the impoverished parts of the world, a dupla with a 100 on it was nearly a rumor. And here was a girl playing with ten times that amount. Such a coin would be life-changing and promote many out of poverty, but that was the absolute furthest thing from her mind.

The needs of the poor, the sick, and the needy... Even the worries of the homeless and orphans of the world didn’t matter to her at that point. Even if it took the lives of a million Innocents to strike the Mafia from existence, Servi believed it would be an equal trade.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to eradicate the town in a baptismal surge of holy flame created to burn the sins of the area.

There was one reason why she was unable to bring herself down that far, and her name was Momo. Servi believed that Momo would be heartbroken. Not only because of the incredible amount of deaths, but because children would die. Servi had already killed five young teens in the assault on the mansion. What little morality she held close to her heart had already been shattered and twisted. A life was a life, and it didn’t matter if it belonged to a man or woman, an adult or child, or a Human or a Demi-Human.

If there was a chance for Momo to stay blind to the chaos, then Servi would’ve started the slaughter hours after she was taken. To her, the girl, who currently had lavender hair and a blue eye, who enjoyed staring at the moon and flipping a coin, there were no innocent people in Arcton.

She had to deny the growing urge to slaughter everything, but she didn’t know that urge remained behind. It was buried, that much was true, but it was growing.

But her reasoning began to change after the seventy-eight coin flip. Momo hated her. She never wanted to see her again. A part of Servi believed that it didn’t matter which route she took to save Momo. Her mind had already made its decision long ago when she yelled those harsh words.

Another part believed there was still a chance to reforge the friendship into something unbreakable and indestructible. Then again, that same part of her thought everything would be okay. It kept telling her that Momo wouldn’t mind. She’d be a little mad, but after everything she went through with her, she’d understand that it wasn’t something to be brought up out of the blue.

That part had betrayed her. But it was more than that. As a whole, Servi was a collection of different messed up parts trying to accurately portray an amnesiac girl who was prone to extreme anger and violence towards her enemies. She didn’t want to think she was a violent girl, but her actions, words, and responses reflected that spear.

But she could worry about that later. The first and foremost objective was Momo.

“5th, I do thank you for coming to Deset. I have made sure that those who were responsible for its disarray have been punished and executed. Mel’s disobedience was a fierce demerit on us Numbered, and I only wish I could have caught it sooner.” Carmelo lightly lowered his head to the one-eyed Elf in a black suit that would rival the deepest darkness.

Servi stood next to Carmelo, and it was only those three. Carrie wasn’t allowed to meet the 5th due to her actions at the drug deal the night before, but she wasn’t upset about it.

Before Carmelo had sent for Servi, Carrie and Old Man had returned to the room from the trip up top. Their only objective was to sell Monotonia and bring back dupla, and for the Mafia, that meant they had a relatively easy day. Nothing of note happened to the both of them, and they each greeted Servi. She knew they wanted to ask about the robbery, so she quickly went ahead and summarized the set of events she had told Carmelo. Most of the words coming out of her mouth were lies, but no one could fact check her. To Servi, they were a false truth that had become reality.

After she had explained everything, Carrie smirked and rushed around to Servi’s back. She didn’t say anything, but Servi internally groaned when she felt a set of hands wrapped around her stomach. Even through the armor, Servi felt her fingers work and waggle around. Still, she kept a mostly straight face and allowed Carrie to hug all she wanted. It wouldn't do her any good to suddenly make a big deal about it.

She could endure it.

And when the clock struck 9:31 PM, a methodical set of knocks came from the shut door. Servi stood up from her chair with a small cup of coffee in her hands and approached the door. As she gripped the handle, a calm and masculine voice came from the other side.

“Williana, the 6th is ready to introduce you. You know where to go.” After delivering the message, the mysterious speaker walked away, and Servi heard his footsteps grow silent. She turned around and told Carrie she had been called for.

“Alright. When Old Man and I checked in, the 6th told me I didn't have the right to meet the 5th. Whatever, it doesn’t bother me. Williana, just don’t do anything to piss him off. And don’t do something stupid that would insult the 6th. And please, don’t call him Carmelo,” Carrie said. She was on the top bunk of the bed and lazily hung her legs over the tiny railing.

“Got it. I’ll be back whenever,” Servi said. She downed the rest of her disgusting coffee and made her way to the room she was supposed to go to. Truthfully, Carmelo didn’t mention a room she had to go to, but she could narrow it down.

And her first choice was correct. The meeting room was in the same room that she had come from just hours ago. The same ceiling trembled high in the sky when she entered through the door. In the far distance, there was a wooden table complete with mugs, cups, and plates. Out of the three chairs, two were taken.

She saw Carmelo, and Servi would never forget that gray hair and those ears shaped like a 6. That meant the other man in the pitch-black suit had to be the 5th. But it was odd. As she closed the distance with calm and quiet steps that didn’t echo in the lonely room, she scanned every visible part of his body for a number.

There wasn’t one. Unless it was hidden beneath the Elf's suit, Servi didn’t know if this was the 5th she was waiting for. She only needed a single chance to verify it.

“6th, good evening. Did you call for me?” Servi asked in her most sugary voice. Behind it, however, laid a sharpened edge waiting to lash out and pry for information.

“That I did. Sit down,” ordered Carmelo. An exquisite robe adorned his body, yet like an out-of-place piece of furniture, his beloved bow sat within his lap.

Servi did as he asked and sat down. The chair was rough and circular around the armrests, and it did not match the table or room at all. It was wooden, yes, but that was the only thing it had going for it.

“Williana, my name isn’t important, so call me 5th,” the 5th said. His face was rough and gentle around his cheeks, and his chin and jawline were sharp, almost like it had been physically adjusted by someone stronger. His voice, deep and sultry, was lower than what she thought he would sound like.

“5th, I’m honored I could meet someone like you. I do not believe I am worthy, though,” Servi replied through gritted teeth, but she didn’t let it show.

“After Carmelo explained to me how you jumped in front to save your Numbered and how you were the only survivor of the robbery. I imagine it must’ve been awfully frightful.”

“Sir, I’ve been in battle all my life. I was afraid, yes, but only that I wouldn't survive to get paid.”

“That’s another thing. It sounds like you’re awfully strapped for cash. Care to tell me why?” The one-eyed Elf crossed his arms and sat back. A single yellow eye stared at the girl who had a bushel of lies that only waited to be used.

“I have some friends who were sold into slavery. I was told I could make a lot of money if I came here. That’s what the man who recruited me said.” Servi’s posture remained perfect, her two hands stayed folded in her lap, and a calming yet professional smile sat engraved on her face. Her one remaining, falsely-colored eye returned the gazing stare.

“I see. Carmelo told me about your skills. It’s very impressive for a one-eyed human to split an arrow through a chain-length fence, and he’s told me you’re proficient in throwing weapons?”

“I don’t have any formal training, but I’ve been practicing with weapons with all my life. After watching my friends and family be stolen away by that slave caravan, I decided I’d do anything to get them back.”

The one-eyed Elf reached down and retrieved a simple bow and a single arrow, and he placed both on the table. “The limbs on this bow are bent, the string isn’t elastic, and the arrow is missing two of its feathers. I’m going to toss this plate in the air. If you strike it, then I have an offer I want to give you.” He picked up a ceramic plate that had a bit of juice left on it. As for whether it was from chicken or steak, Servi didn’t know.

Servi nodded and reached out to take the provided items. As she turned channeled Soul Essence of Primal Combat, she nocked the disfigured arrow. The tale that the 5th told her was an understatement because the projectile had even more damage. The wood used to make its shaft had been slightly sanded off one side, and the quality of the feathers varied.

He grinned when he saw her hand glance over those flaws. “Good. I see you know how to inspect your weaponry. Yes, this little test is harder than it seems, but I assure you it is possible. Well, for an Elf, that is.”

With no warning, he launched the plate sideways across the large room. Servi took careful aim as she rapidly tracked the flying projectile. Her lavender wig followed her head’s every move. Carmelo and the 5th thought it would be an impossible challenge.

It was everything but that. To Servi, the one girl in the world who housed over a thousand souls deep inside her ring, the girl who could draw upon the combat memories stored inside those souls, it was the easiest thing.

Making toast would’ve been more difficult.

Putting on a sock would’ve been more of a pain.

Breathing air would’ve been more strenuous than exerting the effort to land such an easy shot.

As the broken plate fell to the wood, Servi placed the injured bow on the table in-between a half-filled cup of liquid and an untouched bowl of corn.

“Magnificent…” Carmelo whispered.

“I’m impressed. Carmelo, put her on wetwork tomorrow. I’m sure there’s a list of targets that we need taken out.”

“5th, she isn’t blessed. W—” Carmelo went to argue, but his boss interrupted by loudly coughing.

“Do as I say, Carmelo. Give her the proper equipment, and I bet she could kill from hundreds of meters away.” The Elf stood up and removed his hair. For a split second, Servi had to do all she could to not break out into a fit of laughter.

That’s where his number was. It was hidden beneath what Servi internally called a ‘security wig.’ He turned to Servi, whose face didn’t react at all. Apparently, he liked that because he pointed to her while facing the other Elf in the room.

“Carmelo, I do believe we’re done here. I’ll have her lead me out while you get the contracts for the wetwork in place. And don’t skip on the reward. If she completes all of them, then give her the big one. Even an unblessed can change the course of history with a single murder. If she messes up and gets caught, have one of our men dispose of her.” Then he turned to Servi, “Complete the assassinations, and you’ll have more than enough to buy your friends and family from even the greediest of slavers. Now, stand up and walk me out.”

Servi did as he asked and stood up. The 5th returned his hair to his head and sauntered over to his escort. His hands, squeezing at nothing but the air, soon found a home on her waist.

“Carmelo, she might be home late,” 5th said. The Elf he spoke to simply nodded and returned his attention to his cup of coffee.

“Williana, I assure you know not to do anything stupid or foolish,” he warned her.

“6th, I’ll be on my best behavior.” Servi growled the words, but they came out in a pleasant tone that made Carmelo consider something. He believed that her total disarray of the current situation meant Servi didn’t mind selling her body to anyone who asked for money.

“Well then, we’ll be going now,” 5th walked towards the door, and he held Servi close to him by the waist. She simply smiled and waited for the perfect chance as he led her down and out through the hallways. The odd pair, a Numbered and a Non-Numbered, attracted quite a few eyes. Once they made it up the dark and dank spiral staircase case, a stressful moment for Servi because the 5th became brave with his hand placement, they emerged into the laundromat-like area.

“5th, wouldn’t this be better?” Servi grabbed hold of his hand, which was on her upper stomach and nearly touching the bottom of her breasts, and maneuvered it down by her side. It took all she had to resist the urge to break him.

But that time was coming. And it was coming very soon.

“My dear, I’m a 5th. I can have anything I want,” the Elf said as he held open the glass door. Servi quickly skipped through it and turned around with her hands held behind her back. With a false smile blanketing her face, she seductively flickered her eyes and pointed to a dark alley.

“I know what you want. If you don’t want to wait, then how about we go that street over there? I’m fine with anything, you know,” Servi said. “I know how to please both men and women, and I believed I was trained very well,” Itarr didn’t want Servi to degrade herself by talking about like she was some kind of sex slave, but Servi didn’t care how she treated herself. She’d say anything just for a chance to get the 5th alone in the alley. “There’s no light, which is good because I’m a bit shy…”

She wanted to strike the moment she left, but her instinct told her to wait. The chances were somewhat high that Carmelo had ordered someone to watch the front entrance. The lack of visible light on this street tried to convince her, but she didn’t take it. Servi had to be absolutely sure she wouldn’t be seen by anyone close to Carmelo. Even she couldn’t pierce the deep, dark murk of the alley, and her eyes were far sharper than any Elf.

“A whore who knows how to kill is at the top of my lists. Fine! If you cannot wait, I will take you in the alley, and we’ll fuck like dogs,” the 5th replied.

Servi smiled, and not for the reasons the 5th believed. Behind those cute lips, attractive nose, and soft, supple skin laid an unfathomable and endless source of rage and hatred.

It was finally about to be unleashed.

“Now, start stripping,” the 5th said while fumbling with his jacket. He and Servi had only just entered the alley, and he expected Servi’s false sultry voice to respond in kind.

But she didn’t. The tone of voice coming from her was anything but sexy, and the 5th's heart skipped many beats when Servi said a single word.

“No.”

He wasn’t used to being denied. When he whipped around with his hand curled into a fist, he was met with a scowl that could give the devil a heart attack. With frightening speed, she wrapped one hand around his neck and squeezed tight enough to prevent any words from coming out. Next, and while under the blanket of darkness, she used Smokescreen to create a thick haze of smoke that couldn’t leave the alley. Servi then discovered she could use the property of Kaasuvuoto that restricted it to specific locations with techniques like Smokescreen. If she was correct, she could use it with any skill that emitted gas, fog, or smoke.

Once their forms were obscured by a foggy smoke, she finished off the beginning stage of her plan by crouching down low. Using all of the strength in her legs, she jumped. But while she couldn’t leap the building beside her with a single motion, a few well-placed instances of Earth Wall created the footholds she needed, and that allowed her to jump again.

With the wind forcing down upon their faces and hair, which forced the 5th's security wig to abandon its owner, Servi reached the top of the building. The 5th squirmed and tried his best to break Servi’s arm while under the constant threat of suffocation, but she didn’t let go.

Servi did a quick scan for anything that might have been out of place. Once the coast was clear, she retrieved a chair from her ring. The 5th squirmed even more and acquired his wish of freedom, but it didn’t last long. An unbreakable invisible force gripped him by the throat when he stumbled free and tripped on the rusted ceiling beneath them. He soon found himself stuck to the chair. Servi approached him with her hands outward and empty, but seven icy-blue ropes suddenly appeared in her hands.

The act was up, and it was time for Servi to strike back.