Shades of Grey

"No way. Absolutely not! I refuse!"

Luna immediately roared in defiance

"There's no way I am gonna be working with this...this pervert! It's bad enough that we have to work with Horo! No offence.

"Some taken"

Horo was caught off guard and somewhat offended. Why was he catching strays when he didn't even do anything wrong this time.

Leo was inclined to agree with her but he could tell from the complicated look in Lily's eyes that she had a different opinion.

"I hate to say it, Luna but Miss Rachel can offer us clear benefits that we can't ignore. The amount of intelligence her family gathers every day would make any standard agency blush!"

Horo slightly nodded his head with a slight grimace.

"Lily's right. If she really wanted, she could probably find out the color of our underwear we are wearing…No. You be quiet."

Before Rachel could retort, Horo shushed her sharply. Being told to hold her tongue made Rachel's eyes flash with irritation. She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Look, we're at a crossroads here. We need all the info we can get if we're gonna still be standing after the dust settles."

Horo's voice was firm yet weary, Rachel's gaze hardened for a moment before softening into a wry smile.

"So are you asking me to be loyal to you guys? No can do. The only things I am loyal to are myself and my paycheck!"

Leo facepalmed again at the woman's blatant admittance that she could be bribed.

'Am I really just going to be surrounded by psychos? Is this my curse?!'

Lily huffed as she put her fists on her waist. "Fine then. I will hire you on the grounds that you remain loyal to your mission."

"It is a pleasure to work for you Boss~!"

Rachel immediately saluted Lily with a big grin on her face which made the other girl feel like this had been her goal this entire time.

"Fine. I'll follow along with Lily for now but the second she steps out of line, I will crush her!"

"Ooh~? Promise~?"

Luna turned to Leo, her eyes pleading to him even as she radiated murderous rage.

'Can I kill her? I really wanna kill her!'

Leo's gaze was firm as he mouthed the word 'No'.

"Tch! Fine. I need to go out for a smoke… I can literally feel my blood pressure spiking"

She grumbled but relented, heading out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. 

"Take your time Luna, we have lots to discuss!"

Lily fixated an angry glare at Horo who could only chuckle sheepishly in response. 

"What were you thinking releasing all that information?! Your family is going to hunt down whoever was involved. Even you wouldn't be safe if they tracked it back to you." 

She lightly slapped his shoulder to illustrate her frustration. 

"L-Lily I had a plan in mind. Besides, the Samael family is too busy trying to put out the fires to focus on Leo right now. I think all things considered, my plan worked out pretty well." 

"But what now? It won't take a genius for a family like that to find out it was an inside job. I appreciate you bringing your 'gift' but it will be meaningless if you end up dead as a result!"

Leo was silent, his head bowed as he felt guilt washing over him, he felt utterly powerless. Was Horo's days truly numbered? However Rachel interjected unexpectedly. 

"Couldn't you use this to your advantage?"

Lily's and Horo's ears perked up at that. 

"...How?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that? 

"Well it's simple manipulation and misdirection. Use a scapegoat. Have someone take the fall."

The unexpectedly simple answer caused Lily and Horo to trade surprised gazes. DIdn't they already have the perfect scapegoat in Elise. 

Lily's gaze snapped back to Rachel. 

"But what if she talks? I don't think scum like that would go down without trying to drag a few people with them. '.

Rachel leaned in, her voice dropping to a honeyed whisper

."Oh that's simple. Make it so they can't talk. I can take care of that if you wish. Do you want them to have a numb tongue…or perhaps I should remove it~. All it is is a simple slip of the hand… a sharp twist… and poof, problem solved." 

Her grin widened as she twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers, as if discussing something as mundane as tea preferences.

"Can't we just call the cops? Have them protect Horo and keep him away from the Samael family." 

Hearing the naive question caused Rachel to chuckle more. 

"The world isn't in black and white kitty. It's in shades of grey. When you have as much power and influence that his family does, even a SWAT team could be bought or crushed.."

Leo's fingers trembled beneath the table. He clenched his fists, forcing the doubt out of his mind. He didn't want to be this kind of person, but… No. If he hesitated, Horo would die. If he backed down, they all would. His breath steadied, his eyes darkened. There was no other choice.

"Alright Rachel…Do it. Cut out Elise's tongue. But don't throw it away…."

"You have some weird fetishes but okay. I won't judge Kitty

"Shut it with the jokes. Can you stop monkeying around for 5 Goddamn minutes?!" 

'

Rachel didn't say another word before she got up and walked away, looking for where the men had taken Elise. 

"Alright Leo. Care to fill me in on your master plan! Why not just kill her and be done with it."

A dark glint flashed through Leo's eyes, the emerald green flickering an ominous crimson red. 

"We release her without her tongue, let her roam the streets in a panic while you  Horo go back to your family, give them her tongue and your 'proof'. Let the hunter be hunted down by her own family."

Lily's gaze was filled with concern. Leo had suddenly answered with a cruel and heartless suggestion.

Horo on the other hand was in awe. He recognized that he wasn't great at planning around himself as his preservation instinct was shot. Leo's suggestion was dark and poetic. 

'Leo...'

Leo shook his head as he felt a familiar noise inside of his head. He must be imagining it. 

'Leo…'

'Again? I must be going crazy! That voice is impossible!'

'''LEO! Can you hear me?!'

'I can hear you….Astra'

Somehow an in game NPC was in his head now.