[19] INTENTION

Nobody really knew what laid under the praying hall of the Sactum of Kiv in Esbara. But that was the way of the Desperado—hiding in plain sight.

Mamba lit his cigar in one of the medical chambers of this hideout. The events of the last week almost broke his composure. The man lying on the bed beside him would be dead if he weren't his partner.

"Quit staring at me like that, dear partner," Python said, propping his back against a pillow. "Are you still mad at me?"

Mamba exhaled smoke to his side. "My men and the twins are gone because of you, Python. And what do you have to show for it? You couldn't kill a puny little Mojo and on top of that got fucked up this bad yourself."

Python waved, thinning his eyes. "It doesn't matter, partner, we'll kill them all after I can use Alchos again."

Mamba snorted, smoke blowing out of his nose. "You expect me to wait three months for your weak ass to heal? At least be real when I'm around, Python."

Python leaned toward him with a grin. "I don't even know why you assassinated the Kratur Master, Mamba. So don't talk about being real when you haven't even told me why this shit even started."

"That's none of your business, Python," Mamba said, waving dismissively. "I give you tasks that I know you'll like, why does anything else matter?" He snorted. "But look at you. Couldn't even do a simple fucking task like this."

"Aww, don't do me like this, dear partner," Python said, frowning playfully. "Don't you remember what I did to that kid who killed Bagrif and Musta?"

Mamba shook his head, taking a puff. "Those two… No room for weak. I still wonder why I keep 'you' around, though."

"Because you love me, partner," Python said, drawing a heart in the air by waving down his index fingers. "We're partners, aren't we?"

Mamba rolled his eyes. "Keep doing shit like this and I'll ask Kobra to replace you."

"But I did what you said, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. You made a fool of the Onyx Ten out there, that's what you did."

"He will die, just let me heal. I have a few others to kill too."

"He already should've been!"

Python sighed. "Why do you want to kill him this bad?"

"He killed 'my' men," Mamba said, pointing a finger at his chest. "Nobody can get away with that until I personally give them a ticket to live."

"Wait…" Python said, sitting upright then turning to Mamba. "Your men, who were they after that day? They weren't after that Rillon kid, right?"

Mamba exhaled, buttoning his suit then getting up from his stool. "There's a kid that I'm after, don't ask why. He was my target from the very beginning. I want to capture him alive, that's why I didn't send killers after him that day."

"Capture him?" Python said, eyes lighting with curiosity. "You want to ask him something?"

"Yeah," Mamba said, putting away his cigar, "something important. But I just can't locate him."

"You asked Gecko and Monitor?" Python asked. "They should know."

Mamba shook his head. "Even they can't find him, which only means the council is directly protecting him for some reason."

Python gasped. "Protecting? What does he look like?"

"Huh?" Mamba turned toward Python. "I don't know. He's just a kid. Teenager, probably. Skinny, short, brown hair…"

"Oh…my lord," Python said as if realizing something, leaning back into his pillow. "I saw that kid. He was in the Raven stronghold."

"What?" Mamba said, pulling the stool then sitting on it. "You sure?"

Python nodded. "The description matches, plus the Ravens were protecting just that kid."

"You were that close?" Mamba said, jaw closing up. "You should've just captured him, you idiot!"

"Jeez, sorry, dear," Python said in a sassy tone. "Who was it that wanted to keep secrets? If you just had told me that he was the real target all along then—"

"Fine, fine," Mamba said, waving aggressively, "this one's my fault, happy?"

Python smiled. "So what're you going to do now?"

Mamba sighed, shrugging. "Have to go with your plan to make them hand the kid over."

"A war against Kyubu in its capital city sounds fun, right?" Python said with a grin. "I knew you'll understand it eventually—"

"I was talking about waiting for you to heal," Mamba said. "Then we'll take out every Seeker in Esbara until the council hands us that kid…Sliff Venrio."

Python's face soured. "I declared war on Kyubu in the name of the Onyx Ten. If we don't deliver, our name will just be—"

Mamba stabbed a finger in Python's chest. "You don't get to speak on 'our name', Python, not after making such a fool of us."

Python fell back, looking away as he sighed. "Just admit the truth already, dear partner. You're just too embarrassed to ask Viper and Anaconda for a little help."

"Because I don't need it," Mamba said loudly, standing with a stomp. "This has nothing to do with them. This is my own shit to deal with. If you're having too much trouble as a partner, then you're free to leave, Python. But don't expect me to let you get away easily with all that you know." He walked past the bed toward the door.

Python exhaled softly. "I never said anything about leaving, partner. In fact, who's the one who wanted to change his partner just a moment ago, huh?"

Mamba glanced over his shoulder from the doorway. He met Python's eyes. Then turned away, nodding. "Get well soon…partner." With that, he left Python's ward.

"Now that I think about it, Python's not that bad of a partner. But then…why can't I trust him? I should change that. After all, he trusts me with whatever I tell him. I should trust him too… I'm his partner, after all."

***

Alaric stood up to greet the first-in-command of Kosmos—Drivic—who was accompanied by their second-in-command—Haydon. Both men were older than Alaric himself but that just made Kosmos even greater, as its heads had way more experience than any other guilds' leaders.

"Settled with your 'affairs' yet?" Alaric asked. "Or can we leave now?"

Haydon walked over to the switch board, turning on the tube-light on the right wall of Vyzen's ward, illuminating the room. "We both have things to discuss."

Drivic sighed. "I just think that Mistress should also join us. What if the threat is real?"

"Real?" Alaric said in confusion. "If it weren't real, why would we be heading to Kyubu."

Drivic and Haydon shared a glance.

"It was just one guy who said its war," Haydon said, returning to Alaric. "It could be just a bluff, you know."

"They're Desperado," Alaric said. "Why're we even having this conversation? They can do anything to Kyubu if they wanted to."

Drivic looked at Haydon with a frown. "He just doesn't believe that."

"Huh? Why's that?"

Haydon shrugged. "Do we even know what the Onyx Ten are after?"

"They're after Kyubu! The whole region!"

"I didn't mean that, Alaric," Haydon said, waving. "I meant, how did it even start? It definitely didn't start with them wanting to go to war with us, did it?"

"They want to kill Rillon because he killed their guys," Alaric said, rolling his eyes. "Don't you read the paper?"

"Why did Rillon kill 'their guys'?"

"He was protecting the only survivor of the Goltara incidents."

"Why would the Onyx go after him?"

"Because the survivor was linked to an associate of the Onyx and they think that the survivor has killed their associate or played a big part in his death."

"How do you know this?"

"The Kratur assassins told me."

"'Told' you?"

"They…strongly hinted."

Haydon sighed. "So all this was based on just a theory?"

Alaric scratched his head as he shook it. "Look, Haydon, the Onyx Ten has declared war on Kyubu, that's not a theory, alright? Rillon killed gangsters of the Onyx Ten, that's not a theory as well. Assassins tried to kill Sliff Venrio—the survivor—two times already. And guess what, that's not a theory either."

"Okay, okay, I get this much," Haydon said, nodding. "But tell me how is this 'associate' you spoke of, linked to the Onyx Ten?"

"They came to avenge him!" Alaric said loudly. "They killed a whole damn Master for him. What more proof do you need? Jeez…"

Haydon took a step back, putting his palms forward. "Okay, relax! But which gang was he in?"

"Gang?" Alaric said, looking to the side as he stroked his beard. "He didn't have any tattoos."

"Huh?" Haydon said. "Then why would the assassins avenge him if he wasn't in their gang to begin with?"

Alaric sighed, standing up, placing a hand on Haydon's shoulder. "Do I need to tell you everything again that's not a theory?"

Haydon turned, sighing. "Let's just go."

Drivic shook his head, exhaling harshly. "I told you that you just can't stay here, no matter what."

"Eljin, man," Haydon said, shaking his head. "How did he end up like that? Do we know how the Desperado got him and Vyzen?"

"Urg…" Alaric said, raising his chin. "Nope. Unfortunately we don't."

Drivic patted Haydon's shoulder. "He'll be alright. Mistress Valisha is protecting this hospital, not even a wyvern would dare to hurt him."

Haydon lowered his head, nodding. "Hope so…"

Alaric stepped in between them, wrapping his arm around their shoulders. "Let's get going then. We must not forget that we too have people to protect."

Drivic and Haydon nodded. "Right."