Duck Hunting

{ JUNE 1259 | 5 MONTHS BEFORE THE JENZAYA EXTINCTION }

Knock! Knock!

Venus was alerted by the slamming on his door. "What is it?!"

"Venus, it's me."

He immediately recognized the avaricious voice. Venus went over and opened the door, expecting Midas who stood in front.

"I've got good news for you," he said. "I need your capabilities for this next task."

Venus felt his excitement swell and burst simultaneously. "Finally! All you imbeciles were getting light and I was just here waiting! My ability hasn't been used for more than long enough!"

"Great to see you're as ready as ever. Come with me to my study."

Venus was led downstairs and into Midas' office, where Vidia already sat waiting.

"What's this imbecile doing here?"

"She's in on the task too. All three of us are."

Venus pulled a face of disgust. "I have to work with you imbeciles…?"

Vidia was offended. "I'll fucking blind you Venus."

"Excuse me?" Venus turned her way. He began to raise his arm with intent to blast because he couldn't hold it in anymore. His energy had been pent-up for months now. "I'll detach your head from your body right now—"

"Stop." Midas caught his arm. "Have you two forgotten about the Pact?"

They both looked at Midas, brushing off their frustration.

"Let me remind you guys, 'as victims of the same threat, we must never turn against each other and refrain from ever raising our abilities against one another.' Do you two understand?"

They sighed. "Yes…"

"Good, now I don't want any quarrel like that happening while we're on this mission. This is our loudest move yet, so any mistakes or distractions can easily expose our positions."

"What's the task going to be?"

"We're targeting another individual; another big connection to the Nexus."

Venus shuffled his feet. "First a student, then a CEO. Who's the imbecile this time?"

"Another CEO for the same company we'd already targeted."

"Initiate Co.?"

"Yeah. The guy's Peter Stephens, and he's the apparent next CEO in-line for Initiate Co."

"So he's not the CEO yet?"

"No. But think of him as a heir to a king. The king was Richard Jennings, who we've already crossed off. Peter Stephens is the already-set replacement as the last pure connection to the Cardinal Nexus. He's going to be promoted to this position eight days from now."

"So our role's going to be to prevent that."

"Exactly Vidia. Eight days from now, Peter's going to be flying out to Xavier District for a promotional conference. You and I are going to board the same flight he's on to ensure his failure."

"And me?" Venus awaited his duty.

"You're to establish his failure." Midas pointed his palm towards the ceiling. "I want you to be my artillery, and strike the plane we're in right out of the sky."

"While we're in it?!" Vidia was suddenly panicked.

"I'll use my ability to absorb the energy of fear in the plane after its been struck. There will undoubtedly be enough to fuel a safe physical landing for the both of us." Midas looked over at Venus, noticing that his hand trembled.

"Venus, you okay?"

He looked up. "Yeah… I think I'm just a little too excited to get back into it…"

Midas grinned. "Perfect. That's what we need."

"I don't understand our role though. What do you mean 'ensure his failure'?" Vidia asked.

"I need you to permanently blind him. That way, if he unfortunately lives through the crash, he'll still be denied the position of a CEO. Sure he'll be alive, but one can't lead on a company without proper sight, right?"

Vidia nodded in understanding.

"And I'll accompany you to make sure you get out of there alive. To clear up any confusion, Venus is the hitman, you're the precaution, and I'm the support. Get it?"

"I do…"

"Great. In the next week I'm going to develop fake passports that we can use to book the flight, and I'm going to try and get our seating as close as possible to Stephens. For you Venus, I'm going to locate a hidden vantage point that you can strike the aircraft from while unnoticed. We can't have you unleashing your outspoken power in front of witnesses."

"I know, I know. Just give the day, place, and time, and I'll be there ready to do some target practice. The imbecile won't see it coming. Call it duck hunting."

Midas scoffed. "Your remarks are as cold as ever. I see that you're both well-informed now. Mentally prepare yourselves in the next few days. It's going to get ugly past this point."

The three Sins were ready to make a lasting statement.