MEET THE CLEANERS

#The Colosseum, The Same Day The Princess Went To The Market.

The officiator (a.k.a the bushy-bearded man who runs the arena) was discussing business with his little brother when one of the guards came to inform them that the cleaners were there and that their boss was waiting for the officiator.

After sending the guard away with an instruction to send the cleaners to the special booth, the two siblings made their way to the special space they had built in the colosseum. A space that the Royal family itself would be occupying during the most exciting part of the tournament.

The space was exactly 50ft in length and 50ft in width and was elevated 30ft above the ground to make spectating the fight in the arena easy, whiles a roof sheltered the king and his family from the weather.

When the officiator, followed by his little brother made their way into the special booth by way of the stairs, they met the cleaners lined up behind their boss, a small framed but dangerous man who had dark hair and demonic black eyes. He stood behind the seat that had been offered to him no doubt by the guard but which he hadn't sat in for some reason.

When he saw the officiator and his brother, a grin made its way unto his face. A grin that vexed the officiator to no end and he decided to warn the man before he crossed a line that would prove fatal for him.

"I will wipe that smirk off my face if I were you, Duhamel. Your head sits on your shoulders right now simply because I will it. Touch my brother again and I won't be so kind next time." The officiator said calmly even though he was boiling inside.

The cleaners were a covert assassin group that had some impressive records, mostly due to how effective their management was. Their business even went overseas and they had branches in all three kingdoms. Duhamel was the leader of the branch in the Viking Kingdom and had been on the officiator's payroll for a few years now.

The war had been a blessing in disguise and the cleaners were getting a lot of business as people hired them to perform hits on old enemies that were now in a different kingdom. As the only assassin group that operated overseas, the cleaners got all such offers. People were even beginning to use them as a means of smuggling items from the other kingdoms since the cleaners seemed to be immune to the ban on foreign ships. Nobody knew how they did it but they were able to travel to the other kingdoms just fine when even the royals couldn't.

A few months ago, he had been hired to assassinate the officiator's little brother. He would have done so too if the people he had put on the job hadn't been killed by the officiator who had been visiting his little brother at the time. Only one of Duhamel's boys escaped the officiator and he had told Duhamel that the officiator was no ordinary man.

Duhamel had later found out that the officiator was related to the man they had tried to assassinate. To not mess up a good business relationship, he had written an apology to the officiator and added his contractor's name at the end of the letter. The following day, the man and his entire family were found torn limb from limb. Everybody thought it was done by wild animals but Duhamel knew it was the officiator.

"I'm sorry. I need to be cheerful in this line of business else I'll go even madder than I already am at the moment so please let's not make a scene." Duhamel replied with a full-blown smile this time around.

The officiator snorted and took his seat, followed by his brother who was still tight-lipped, then Duhamel followed.

"So to what do I owe this call?. I can tell you have a Job for me, so let me hear it." Duhamel went to business.

"Yes, I have a job for you. A very important one." The officiator said seriously.

"What kind of job is it? The normal slave raiding, smuggling of illegal goods or what?" The assassin asked.

"None of the above. This time, I want you to assassinate someone. A very important someone." The officiator revealed and Duhamel cocked a brow in surprise. The officiator had never asked for assassination before. It was all trade for him. Just who had angered him now? And why didn't he just do what he did to the man who put a contract on his brother's head? Duhamel wondered.

"Difficulty?" Duhamel asked.

"Extremely dangerous and difficult."

"Mode"

"Complete wipeout" the officiator answered.

"Timeframe"

"Must happen at the finals of the gladiating tournament."

"But that means witnesses and possible interference." Duhamel pointed out.

"I know." The officiator answered simply.

"Well, it will cost you a lot. This job is beginning to look like a nightmare, but luckily for you, we deal in nightmares. We have the best archers the kingdom has to offer, so fear not." Duhamel assured.

"I'm sure you won't fail. I have one request though. Can you keep the real target alive long enough for me to say a few words to them?" The officiator asked.

"What?, But that will mean my boys have to get close to this person. That will cost you triple, officiator." Duhamel said in mock outrage whiles he jumped for joy Inside. He was going to make a shitload of coins from this guy.

"I'm sure it will. I expect the best from your group which is why I want you on the job in person." The officiator said seriously.

"Oh. Just who is this person you want assassinated? He must be an important person if you're willing to spend enough to put me on the job. You know I don't come cheap." Duhamel sat up straight with a smile. He loved it when a challenge fell on his lap. He was eager to start preparing for the job. Well, until he heard The officiator's next words.

"He's important alright and I need the best of the best to deal with him because he is the King. Erlick." The officiator revealed and Duhamel's smile shriveled at once.