The last twenty four hours had been pretty shitty, to put it mildly.

A killing machine had ambushed me, I'd been stalked and forced to stay awake all night as a result, and now I found my vision obscured in a car with powerful kidnappers.

Mondays right?

I was taking the time to rest, though it was impossible to fall asleep in the circumstances. Nonetheless, I could feel some of my energy replenishing at a snail's crawl.

I had long lost count at thirty minutes by the time the car halted and I heard the sound of the car doors opening around me. Strong hands grabbed my shoulder and yanked me outside much harder than necessary.

I stumbled as the hands led me away. "Um...sir? I'm not sure who you think I am but I can assure you I won't go for a big ransom. Maybe we can put this all-"

My words died in my throat as a fist crushed my stomach. I slumped to the floor, my lungs suddenly struggling to find oxygen.

"Shut up."

Saying that first might've been a lot more helpful.

Hands once again grabbed my shoulder, this time it seemed to be two people with one holding each shoulder as they hauled me up and dragged me forward. I cursed my impotence as I could do nothing against my captors. For all I knew they might be leading me to my death.

After five minutes of walking with the bag still enveloping me in darkness, my captors stopped and the bag was unceremoniously tugged off my head. I looked around warily, my eyes scrambling to adjust to the sun which had risen to its full glory.

I had always hoped I'd die with the sun shining. A good omen, my father used to say.

Tacky Suit held an object in his hand and after a beat I realized it was my mask.

"You never learned not to go through people's things?" I growled, taking the mask. "Or not to take people without their consent?"

Tacky Suit ignored my jab which was probably for the best. "Behind that door are people you may not want to share your true identity with."

I began to put on my mask then all of a sudden it hit me. I looked up at the forbidding warehouse we stood in front of which was easily ten times the size of my house. Tacky Suit's friends shared his terrible style, down to the insufferable shades and military haircut. Furthermore, a glance around showed we were far away from civilization, surrounded by the copper sand of a desert.

I was now almost positive these people worked for the government at some level.

"We don't have all day," Tacky Suit, tapping his foot impatiently.

I numbly put on my mask as I tried to wrap my head around my predicament. I was as much of a threat to the government as a mouse would be to a T-Rex.

One of Tacky Suit's friends walked up and pushed open the large double doors. I must've not heard his command in my daze because he pushed me forward and sent me stumbling through the door and crashing to the floor for the second time in a span of five minutes.

I promised myself the first chance I got I would bury the idiot next to his suit.

For now though, my attention was taken by the auras I had been sensing appearing much closer. The door must've been acting as a barrier that made them feel farther than they were because now it felt like they were directly in front of me and as I raised my head I saw why.

They were.

In the large clearing, a good amount of people were gathered. Most sported the silly suit and military cut here, standing off to the side in intervals with their arms folded mercenary style.

In the middle though were four people wearing masks who now stared at my embarrassing entry.

I certainly had a knack for first impressions.

I stood, carefully brushing my shirt off. I wasn't wearing my suit but that didn't mean I had to look like a ruffian.

"Onward," Tacky Suit commanded.

I obliged with a quick glare in his direction, walking up to the masked individuals who observed me curiously as I did them. I didn't recognize any of them from the news or RogueNet forums so I figured none of them were at the top of the totem pole. Regardless, I could tell they were no pushovers and one in particular, who towered over me like some silverback gorilla, had blood all over his tank top.

Something told me it wasn't his.

In fact, as I neared I noticed there were blood specks on each person, two of which were women. I was the only outlier with a blue spotless shirt. My observers noticed this too and I could feel their curiosity dissipate as they internally labeled me weak, verified in their mind by my modicum aura.

"This is the last person so I will begin explaining as promised."

I looked up at the host of the voice who had gone unnoticed. He was peering over the ledge of a platform upstairs with an amused grin decorating his face. The upper half of his face was hidden behind a flowery masquerade mask and judging by the disorientation of his voice, I suspected he was using a voice changer.

"You may refer to me as Sol," the man continued cheerfully, "before I get to explaining why I've decided to hold this meeting with you lovely gentlemen, however, I think it best we go through introductions."

Tank Top grunted, folding his impossibly muscular arms across his chest. "Do you think this is some joke? Why don't you come down here and-"

"Ah," Sol interrupted, clapping his hands together, "it seems I have a volunteer eager to go first. Nod if the information I announce is correct. You are codenamed Rhino, a bit lacking on the creative side, I'd say. You are specialized as a Brute and have a seventy percent success rate on your jobs. Your most notable job was at a Las Vegas B bank where you singlehandedly carried out the robbery, though it wasn't pretty. "

Rhino frowned, clearly taken aback. His mask resembled a rhino with demonic eyes, hence Sol's jab at creativity. Before he could collect his bearings Sol was already moving on, his eyes drifting to the next man standing a few feet away from Rhino.

"You are codenamed Kraken and are a specialist in hacking. You have a ninety percent success rate and most impressively, you never actually set foot in the banks you rob."

Kraken didn't give Sol the benefit of a reaction, keeping an even stare in the man's direction. He wore a full-face gas mask, complete with ventilation fans on either side of his cheek. He also wore a full length trench coat that made him look like some detective from three centuries ago. Somehow the look worked for him though.

Sol smiled at Kraken's lack of reaction, moving on to the female next to him. She wore no mask at all, her sharp features free to observe. "And you have no codename, though some know you as Umbra. You specialize in disguise with a ninety-five percent success rate in your many jobs."

Umbra frowned at this, her hazel eyes slimming to a slit. She raked her fingers through straight brown hair, "I don't like men that do their homework." Her voice was unbelievably smooth, as if she was singing a lullaby.

I immediately felt wary of her.

Sol's smile widened into a grin. "You'll hate me then."

Sol's eyes flashed to the next female and he seemed to smile genuinely for the first time. "Codenamed Raven," he paused dramatically, "a specialist of the shadow."

I took an involuntary step back from the woman. The others cast wary glances, with Rhino looking like he wanted to test out her strength right then and there. Raven seemed accustomed to the scrutiny, keeping a curious gaze on Sol.

Shadow specialists were Inquisitors known for their cult activities. It was said they worshipped the shadows and they in turn gave them control. As creepy as that was, their infamy came from their bouts of rage where they went on a carnage-filled rampage.

What was about ten feet away from me was a ticking bomb. Maybe even a nuke.

Sol seemed to be enjoying our reaction. "She has a ninety-eight success rate. Quite the accomplishment."

Raven had her face painted with makeup as shadow specialists usually did. She had a star tattooed above her right eye and a cross on her left cheek. I couldn't speak for the others but they creeped me the hell out.

"Last but not least," Sol announced. His gaze locked onto me and I suddenly felt like the smallest creature in the universe. "Codenamed Scarlett Hood-"

Rhino chuckled at my name, which was pretty grand coming from him.

"A speed specialist." After the bombshell of Raven's reveal, the others seemed almost bored as Sol continued. "He has a one-hundred percent success rate..." Three heads turned, excluding Raven's, confusion evident in their eyes. I could almost read their eyes, questioning what had they missed.

"Although the difficulty of his missions is a bit underwhelming," Sol added.

Understanding comically flashed across the six eyes at the same time deciding that I was still some weakling, just that I'd done bottom tier robberies. Technically, they weren't wrong.

I shrugged up at Sol. "A job's a job."

Sol straightened up, placing his hands neatly behind his back as his smile disappeared. "Not quite Scarlett. Not quite. You see, the job I've summoned you all for is far from your average job."

I perked up at that and I wasn't the only one. This guy reeked of power and status, the fact that he had gone through the trouble of kidnapping five strangers was peculiar.

And intriguing.

Still, I wasn't sure I wanted to involve myself in whatever mess this was turning out to be.

Sol nodded, satisfied that he had our undivided attention. "The stakes of this job are higher than anything in a long time, which calls for the formation of a team."

I groaned inwardly and the rest of the team showed similar discomfort with the idea. In our line of work, forming teams was strongly frowned upon. A team forced you to aim for big scores that could be split evenly and still be worth your time, but the greed of man made that risky in itself. After spending energy fighting off security, police and machines, people were ganged up on and their share taken. It became so common that now teams were extremely rare and when they did happen, it was only between trusted friends or family members.

Needless to say, the risk of teaming up with strangers was ridiculously high.

Rhino turned his eyes sweeping among us before settling on me. "I think there's some people who will hold me back."

Sol chuckled. "I doubt that but I don't blame you for your concern. Not to worry, there will be plenty of time for everyone to prove their usefulness."

"I don't remember accepting the job," Umbra said, raising an eyebrow. Sol's lips twisted into a devious smirk. Umbra sighed. "Is this where you point out that refusal means you'll kill us?"

Sol threw his hands up innocently. "Of course not! That wouldn't make for a healthy working environment, now would it?"

I noted that he didn't actually confirm he wouldn't kill us. Somehow he had found out our identities and considering he had gone through the trouble of kidnapping us, I didn't know if he would allow such loose ends to wander around freely.

"I've other people in mind if any of you refuse the offer," he continued, his charming smile never faltering.

"What's the objective of this job?" Kraken asked, his arms folded thoughtfully. The gas mask was a bit over the top but I found myself being drawn to his calm demeanor.

"I'm glad you asked," Sol said before pausing as he began to pace dramatically. "This heist will turn a wheel that will knock our despotic government off their heels and flat on their faces."

He stopped pacing, turning to face us with the most serious expression he had displayed thus far.

"The objective is to win back the country."

Chapter Four - Sol

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