My plan is simple, just die for me

Knoxx slowly raised his glass, the steaming liquid bringing a satisfied sigh to his aged face. None of those present had any idea that Maxwell was a deserter from Atlas, as Maxwell was certain that Benjamin must have thought he had died in the Dead Island incident.

"I believe you're extending some kind of invitation to me, correct? I'll have to decline. Associating with mercenaries is no different from trusting some random thug."

Maxwell showed no surprise, it wouldn't be easy to convince a general to abandon his high rank to align with a mercenary who simply handed him a fancy red card. He smirked, casually leaning against the bar. "I was born on Promethea too, lived there my whole life."

"Where are you going with this? I hate beating around the bush. Just tell me what your intentions are, what do you need my boys to do for you?" Knoxx's irritation was evident; he preferred being direct and to the point. Perhaps that was why he wasn't in such a rush to track down Steele's whereabouts.

"The Apex Predators is a group handpicked by me. I intend to build a corporation, but I need capable individuals rather than filling my ranks with incompetents. My goal is to make Promethea great again with my technology."

Knoxx didn't laugh, he could see Maxwell was serious. He lowered his gaze to the red card.

"Apex Predator..." he murmured, his eye scrutinizing Maxwell more closely. The man was equipped with top-tier gear, weapons Knoxx had never seen before, and that strange helmet resting on the bar. "And what could an old man like me do for you? You really think you can take on the corporations and come out unscathed just with my help?"

Maxwell kept his smirk, but his posture stiffened slightly, mentally preparing himself.

"I don't think, I'm certain. I have a plan to—" Maxwell paused as Knoxx gestured for his soldiers to step outside. They hesitated for a moment but obeyed. Maxwell exchanged a glance with Moxxi, who immediately understood and ushered her children away. She returned shortly after, staying close to calm Jess and serve more drinks.

"Continue," Knoxx said, unfazed by Moxxi's presence.

"You may look down on yourself, Knoxx, but know this, Atlas is currently standing on the rickety cart you call your body. My initial plan was to wait for you to die, which would trigger internal conflict within Atlas. That way, I could buy up the scraps and assimilate them into Ouroboros."

"So your brilliant plan was to just wait for me to die? I may smoke a lot, but I doubt I'll die before I get off Pandora," Knoxx scoffed, though his heart clenched slightly at the thought of what would happen after his death. He knew full well that Atlas had many internal enemies, and it wouldn't be surprising if an assassination attempt were made against the corporation's current CEO.

"That's true. But when I said 'wait,' I meant waiting for the Vault Hunters to kill you. They've already taken down Steele, killing one more Atlas officer wouldn't make much of a difference." Maxwell silently offered a prayer to the Vault Hunters; they were his scapegoat. Not that he felt particularly guilty, after all, there were already bounties on their heads. A few extra million credits wouldn't hurt, right?

"The Vault Hunters? I have the best Devastators and Lance Assassins," Knoxx chuckled. This kid sure knew how to tell jokes.

"The Vault Hunters just opened and killed the Vault monster. Do you really think taking down an old man and a few women in spandex is out of the question?"

"They did what?" Knoxx pushed his glass away, suddenly unsure if he had been drinking too much. "How do you know all this?"

"I guided the Vault Hunters, like puppets on strings," Maxwell locked eyes with Knoxx. "I want them to kill you."

Moxxi felt the air grow heavy. She looked at Maxwell seriously, unable to understand what was going through his head.

Scooter nudged Ellie with his elbow as they stood further back. "What do you think's goin' on? I ain't never seen Mum this serious before."

Ellie furrowed her brow, trying to catch every word. "Shut up, ya idiot. I'm tryin' to listen."

The siblings exchanged glances but stayed quiet, realizing something far bigger was happening.

Meanwhile, Jess remained hidden behind the bar, her heart pounding in her chest. Her hands were sweaty, clutching the hem of her dress tightly. Fear paralyzed her, but Moxxi slid a reassuring hand over her shoulder.

"You're contradicting yourself," Knoxx finally said, his tone calm rather than angry. "Why do you need me if you're planning to kill me?"

Despite the silence earlier, he wasn't frustrated, Maxwell seemed to have thought this through far too much just to spill his plans to his supposed target. Was he just some cliché villain who loved explaining his schemes to the heroes?

"I've thought about this a lot, and this was the only way to get what I want. If Atlas doesn't receive news of your death, its enemies won't crawl out of hiding to kill the corporation's key figures. And what would stop me from buying Atlas at a bargain price?"

"If I did nothing, the Vault Hunters would absolutely kill you, which would allow me to buy Atlas, but I'd lose a general."

"The only solution I found to achieve both goals was to fake your death. But I couldn't be the one to 'take your life' because your father, Guillermo Delphino Knoxx III, was a legendary figure to the people of Promethea, a man who fought bravely in the first Corporate War."

"If I were the one responsible for your death, I'd be hated by Atlas' entire army and its civilians. Even if I did buy Promethea, I'd inherit a population that would constantly spark rebellions and harass my operations. Other corporations would fund and arm these rebel groups and militias with weapons and intelligence."

"..."

Maxwell stared at Knoxx, and for a moment, a heavy silence fell over the bar. Then, Knoxx stood up, adjusting his uniform. "You have an ECHOnet server, right? Call me later."

Turning to Moxxi, he asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"It's on the house. Consider it a welcome gift to the family."

Knoxx said nothing, merely nodding before walking toward the door, his soldiers following closely behind.

As the door shut behind them, Maxwell let out a long sigh, rolling his shoulders as he finally noticed the red card was no longer on the bar.

"Well… three to go. Good thing the uniform came with a few extra Apex Predator cards."

[Quest:]

( ) Earn Knoxx's loyalty

( ) Earn Athena's loyalty

( ) Purchase Atlas

[Reward: 2000[C] + 1x Mastery Point + ???]

"A Mastery Point? Is that for upgrading my attributes?"

[A Mastery Point can evolve a Max-level skill. The skill will gain a new trait.]

Maxwell's eyes gleamed as he thought about the implications.

"I thought you'd gone insane," Moxxi huffed, pouring herself a glass of whiskey to steady her nerves. "Jess, you can come out now. I hope you didn't make a mess under there."

Behind the bar, Jess finally worked up the courage to peek out. "He… he's gone?" her voice was quiet, trembling.

Moxxi gave her a reassuring smile. "For now, sweetheart. But it looks like he's going to be a recurring figure around here."

Jess nearly fainted at Moxxi's words.