Dreams.

"You are back."

Alex heard that voice, and he immediately felt his fatigue max out.

"Don't sneak into my room."

Aglaya was on his bed, in a dark red frock. The ever-present smile was as unnerving as usual.

"I had some information for you. How was the shooting practice?"

He walked towards a chair and sat down.

"It was fine. What information do you have?"

He wanted her to leave as soon as possible. Her manipulation skills really made him uncomfortable.

"Which gun do you prefer? According to the reports, your current choice of weapon is a special edition Glock and roses. Do you prefer handguns over rifles?"

The usual barrage of questions began. She was a pain precisely due to this. Her never ending questions wanted to reveal every single detail of his life, or confirm previously discovered information.

"I prefer to get close to the enemy. Sniping is effective, but finishing the job is done best when you are within 5 meters of the opponent."

It was risky, but it was the best way according to him.

"Hmm. Custom handguns it is."

She had took out a notepad from nowhere and wrote her findings.

"Now. Information."

She flipped a page on her notepad and said,

"Do you have any enemies in the Curran family?"

"One is my adopted sister, Megan. And the other is my brother, Abel."

The two people that hated him the most, according to him.

"What about the twins?"

"They didn't care about me when I was a kid. They could find me as a threat now, but I haven't seen them in ages."

Liam and Lucas. He still didn't know what their deal was. He was expecting a meeting in the future though.

"And do you know about your father's training camp?"

"Yes. I know. Jin told me before he left."

She tore the paper and said,

"Everything makes better sense now."

The people that were at this camp.

Dima, Jane, Jin, Liam, Lucas.

The last minute entries.

"Megan and Abel."

They were taking up missions under the supervision of their father with the context of the training camp. This meant that they were training to reach the same level as the current projected heads of the family.

"Doesn't surprise me."

The Curran family is rampant with useless favoritism. It would be weird if his father didn't do it.

"According to the rules of this camp, they get to take 5 missions in five months."

"Son of a-"

5 missions in 5 months, ranging from B to S class.

"They aren't that good. How did they get into this situation?"

She placed the paper on the bed.

"Take it. Whatever you want to know, you will find it in this."

Alex stood up and walked towards the bed. He hunched and grabbed the paper. She grabbed his hand, and gave him a peck on his cheek.

Alex could always see it coming. But he didn't resist.

"My payment."

She wiped her lips. Alex kept his poker face.

"Anything else?"

Her lips moved and said,

"Nothing."

He flipped the paper in his hand.

"Two heads?"

Collective citation.

Ronald Curran has added a special case prompt which focuses on the matter of his successors. He wants to inform us that there might be a real possibility of him having two successors to his family. The candidates are kept confidential.

"When was this citation made?"

This wasn't the real copy.

"Right before you arrived here."

Another piece of information that could prove vital.

"Every single head has a plan for succession. And you aren't in any of those plans."

An assassin for hire. Or a retainer. The rest of his life could be spent like this.

"I don't have a problem."

Alex gave the paper back to her. Her smile faded.

"What do you mean?"

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"This is exactly what I want."

He was fine with being out of the political side of this. In fact, this reduced his burden.

"I don't understand-"

Aglaya was taken aback. A smile formed on his face.

"Do you think that I want to become the head of the collective?"

He was still in shock.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Her comprehension was stuck.

"You are very wrong, Aglaya. I don't care about the collective. My entire stance towards it it is neutral. My ambition lies in something very basic. Not in a plan that could be chalked up to a glorified desk job with fake honor and respect."

The very same smile. The very same expression. This was the Alex that she loved with everything she had.

"I want to become the greatest assassin in the world. That can be achieved with or without the collective. If you are looking for a person for your family, you are at the wrong place. Being the head will never be my dream. My dream is to break the chains that restrict me from becoming my ideal. And trust me, I will do that. No matter how long it takes."

He lifted her chin with her hand, and closed her mouth.

"So if you have any problems with me, you can leave. I won't hold it against you. But if you want to be my partner, you have to remember this fact."

Her face was red. Her face was actually red!

"I am an assassin. And one day, I will be the best assassin."

He gave her a slight peck on her cheek. She was frozen. This had never happened before. Her IQ, her degrees, her confidence, nothing could have prepared her for this situation.

He took his hand off her chin.

'Success!'

He wanted to scream right now. Getting one over her was a huge victory.

'Different.'

That single word was ringing in her head like crazy.

She lowered her head, and left the room in silence. She needed some time to recollect her thoughts.

He crashed on his bed, and went straight to his system space.