“Then she vanished,” the man finished for him, taking a slow sip of his drink.
“Yes, sir.”
Silence stretched.
The man set the glass down with deliberate care.“Do you know what I paid for?”he asked mildly.
The guard hesitated.“Her expertise, sir.Her memory.The accounts—”
“And?”
The guard’s throat worked.“Her.”
That earned him a faint smile.
“She was chosen,” the man said.“Not taken at random.I don’t invest without intent.”He leaned forward slightly, light catching his eyes now.“She understands systems.Money.Movement.She can hold an entire network in her head and tell you where to cut it so it bleeds quietly.”He paused.“And she is beautiful.”
The word was spoken with ownership, not admiration.
“She belongs to me,” he continued.“I paid for that right.In full.”
The guard nodded frantically.“Yes, sir.Of course.We were preparing her.She was compliant enough to be useful.Resistant enough to be interesting.”
The man’s fingers stilled.
“Interesting,” he repeated softly.
The guard flinched.
“She was not meant to be broken,” the man said.“She was meant to be shaped.”He tilted his head.“Do you know the difference?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I doubt that.”
The man stood then, height unfolding slowly, deliberately.Power radiated from him without effort.This was not a man who raised his voice to be obeyed.
He rose from the chair and crossed the room with unhurried steps, the soles of his shoes silent against the laminate flooring he had chosen himself—easy to clean, resistant to stain.He stopped directly in front of the guard, close enough that the man could smell the alcohol on his breath.
“You were instructed to prepare her,” he continued.“To condition her.To keep her functional.”
The guard nodded frantically.“Yes, sir.We did.She resisted, so—”
“So, you took liberties,” the man finished, voice still calm.
The guard froze.
“She was not damaged when she was delivered,” the man went on.“And yet when she vanished, she was, as I understand it, broken.”His eyes hardened.“That suggests enthusiasm and actions were taken when none were authorized.”
The guard’s mouth opened.No sound came out.
“Oh,” the man said softly.“You thought because she was paid for, she was yours.”
He turned his head slightly.“Deal with this.”
A figure detached itself from the shadows near the wall—a man who had not moved, had not breathed loudly enough to be noticed.He stepped forward in one smooth motion and reached for the guard.
The blade flashed once.
