Chapter 15- The A-Team

"He must've been lying."

"I don't think he was, Gemini."

"How are we supposed to meet this guy if he's in prison?" Gemini asked.

"Maybe he's getting out on parole." Mantis suggested.

"This guy agreed to help us break into another place while he's still locked up. Nothing from that sentence sounds like he deserves parole." Gemini mumbled.

Mantis flipped open his pocket watch. It was a few seconds to 4 PM. Don Jovi had been very specific about arriving on time, but Mantis knew it was likely to be a few minutes before…

Mantis noticed a construction worker climb out from a sewage drain near the prison. Dusting his hands, the worker grabbed his bag and began walking towards Mantis and Gemini.

The two walked towards the worker, who looked at both of them cautiously.

"I don't like it when two strangers just roll up to me without any reason." The man said.

"Mantis. This is Gemini. Now, we're no longer strangers." Mantis said, watching the worker with keen eyes.

"AHH! You're the two saps with the weird names! A pleasure to meet you both, my name's Ball." The worker said.

"Wait, wait. Your name's Ball?" Gemini asked, perplexed.

"Yup." Ball nodded. Mantis took a look at the man. He was short, but fairly in shape, though he did have a dark, round face.

"You're Don Jovi's best Greaseman?" Mantis asked

"Pssht. I don't work for that cranky bipkiss. He just calls me when there's an impossible job. Speaking of which, what's the job? The Don never mentioned it in his letter." Ball asked, rubbing his hands eagerly with anticipation.

"Why were you in jail, though?" Gemini asked, stopping Mantis before he could reveal any further details. Mantis knew the conman had trust issues, which was understandable coming from his line of work.

"Just for fun." Ball said.

Gemini blinked twice. "For fun?"

"Yeah. I'm what you would call a prison escapist. Been to 227 different penitentiaries, solitary confinement zones and asylums. Personally? I recommend the asylums. Weird, wacky cellmates and some wackier wardens. It's one hell of a ride." Ball explained.

Gemini looked at Mantis before broadly smiling at the short man.

"That's sick," Gemini said, in awe.

Ball and Gemini high-fived before Mantis continued.

"How good are you at breaking into places?" Mantis asked.

"Pretty good. I broke into 93 of those prison camps since I got bored. I mean, I kept breaking so many laws, but the stupid Nobelists and Central Kingdom guards can't do their goddamn jobs properly. So, I just broke into the prison and tried to break out afterwards." Ball said.

Gemini leaned over to talk to Mantis.

"Now, Mantis. I know I had my apprehensions about this guy at first, but this guy just walks out of jail cells like my wife walked out on me." Gemini said.

"I didn't know you had a wife." Mantis remarked.

"I don't. Not anymore. Now she's dead to me." Gemini said in a deep voice.

The prison began blaring alarms and prison guards yelled in the distance.

"Oh, I think they're looking for me. We should probably leave." Ball stated nonchalantly.

The three ran away from the vicinity of the prison as Gemini asked Mantis what their next step was.

"We hire the muscle of our group," Mantis said with a cheeky smile.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"500,000 Bitma."

"WHAT?! I could hire someone off the streets for less than a quarter of that price!" Gemini exclaimed in frustration.

"He's our cheapest one if you're looking for quality. Otherwise, the streets might actually be your best bet." Said the man at the guild entrance.

Gemini scoffed and seethed at the man and turned around to find his two companions. Mantis was looking at a couple of review articles pasted onto a board in the centre of the wall behind the receptionist.

"What's the damage?" Ball asked as Gemini walked over.

"Too much for us to even consider. These Bounty Hunters cost more than a fortune to hire." Gemini sighed.

"Well, at least they don't roll like most of the adventurers that we tried to enlist. I think the last guy we talked to looked at us like we'd escaped from an asylum or something." Ball said.

"Technically, one of us did," Gemini said, grinning at Ball.

"Technically, it was a prison. I escaped from an asylum last week, it's old news at this point." Ball snickered.

Mantis hummed and mumbled to himself. "No, way too expensive…"

"What's he doing?" Gemini asked Ball.

"He's checking if there are any suitable candidates. It would be a shame if we came all the way to the Bounty Hunter guild and left without asking at least one person to help us out." Ball explained.

While Mantis scoured the board for any possible candidates they could enlist, Gemini and Ball asked Bounty Hunters passing by if they were interested.

Of course, once they had mentioned what the job was, almost every single Bounty Hunter left immediately, charged a ridiculous amount of money or laughed in their faces.

Mantis walked over to Gemini and Ball with a smile on his face. "Found one."

The three leaned in closer to examine the review article Mantis was looking at.

"You sure this is the way we're going to roll?"

"Mantis, this might be your stupidest idea yet. And as a conman, I've had my fair share of stupid ideas."

Mantis flicked on his lighter and held a cigarette to his lips with a grin.

"Precisely why it's going to work."

Before he could take a puff of the cigarette, however, someone smacked his face, sending the cigarette flying out of his mouth.

"No smoking." A tall Bounty Hunter growled at Mantis, pointing at a sign next to him.

Mantis waited until the man left before picking up the cigarette and began smoking it once again.

"So, who's the next lunatic we're hiring?"

________________________________________________________________

"LET IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!"

Mantis and Gemini watched as Ball spoke to their newest member, interviewing him to check his suitability on the job.

"This is going to be fun." Gemini groaned, standing next to Mantis, who was sitting next to Ball. They had chosen a café near the Bounty Hunters guild, where they could discreetly discuss the specifics of their plan.

The "discreet" part went out the window the moment that the Bounty Hunter had arrived.

"Hi, my name is Ball. My two associates are Mantis and Gemini. What's your name?" Ball asked as if he was speaking to a child.

"Merc." grunted the Bounty Hunter.

"Yes, we know you're a mercenary. What's your real name?" Ball asked again.

"Merc."

Gemini sighed, exhausted. "What about your full name?"

"Merc Merc." The Bounty Hunter replied.

Gemini began to laugh uncontrollably, drawing the attention of even more people in the café. Mantis patted him on the shoulder to console him in his moment of insanity.

"Good to meet you, Merc. As Ball has already introduced us, let me tell you what we need you to do." Mantis explained.

"Do I get to burn things?" Merc asked in a serious tone.

"W…Yes, but I don't…" Mantis stuttered briefly.

"I'm in," Merc said, before wolfing down on his salad. After chewing the leaves, he spat them out and yelled in anger.

"I SAID I WANTED THE SALAD BURNED! ARE YOUR WAITERS DEAF?!" Merc screamed at the manager of the café, who was panicking at the sudden outburst.

"Sir, we don't serve salads bur…" The manager meekly explained.

"I'LL HAVE A BURNED SALAD, OR ELSE I'LL BURN YOUR CAFÉ INSTEAD!"

Mantis cleared his throat and flicked on his lighter. He held the vegetables over it, slowly turning the food into a blackened char.

Merc looked at the food with his eyes bulging, sniffing and licking the food like a wild animal. After munching on a burned carrot, he nodded appreciatively at Mantis.

The manager let out a sigh of relief and thanked the detective silently before resuming his normal routine.

Oddly enough, Mantis felt slightly annoyed.

As the four hailed a carriage to discuss their plans at the detective's office, Mantis felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Gemini leaned closer to talk to Mantis. "Remind me again what we found out about Merc from the guild?"

Mantis hopped into the carriage, squeezed into a corner with his three allies.

"Arsonist. He tried to burn down his family's house, the shop he was working at before he became a Bounty Hunter and, on one occasion, tried to burn the entire forest of Spiti down because an ant bit him on his toe." Mantis explained.

"Something tells me that's not even the most surprising part about him," Gemini mumbled.

"Yup. Turns out that he has an item that can produce unlimited dynamite sticks."

Gemini turned around in panic and accidentally bonked into Ball's head.

"Which item?!" Gemini hissed.

"There's a fanny pack around his waist. The review articles at the Bounty Hunter's guild said he always pulled some out by reaching in there." Mantis pointed at Merc, who was playing with the detective's lighter.

"Gee, thanks for warning us," Gemini grumbled.

"Ahh, trust me, it'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

________________________________________________________________

"PUT THE COOKIE DOWN!"

"NO! You can't burn everything you want to eat! It's inhumane!" Gemini yelled.

"Guys…maybe we could just calm down…" Ball sighed.

"No, no. Just, shh. I want to see how this plays out." Mantis told his slightly worried friend. Even though their new flamboyant friend had set half of the detective's previous case files on fire, Mantis was very entertained throughout the chaos of convincing Merc to stay in one room for more than 5 minutes.

As Gemini and Merc fought like children, with Ball and Mantis watching them with a smile on their faces, Mantis heard footsteps approaching the door.

Uh oh.

"Detective, your tea's ready. And what's with all the commotion in…side…"

Miss Hudson stood at the door, her mouth agape in shock at seeing documents, books and various other items thrown around the room. Her eye twitched slightly as Merc slowly hid the cookie that he had set aflame behind him, smiling.

"Mantis, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your wonderful new acquaintances." Miss Hudson said through gritted teeth.

"Uhh…actually Miss Hudson, I…" Gemini raised his hand, about to speak.

"Zip your sorry grease hole shut, Gemini. I'm all too familiar with your antics." The old woman said, seething with rage.

"Mantis, is this your grandma?" Ball asked, trying to be polite.

A vein bulged on Miss Hudson's forehead.

"Who? This old hag? My grandma's six feet under already, this one's on her way there pretty soon!" Mantis said, pointing back at Miss Hudson.

Two old friends were catching up outside the detective's office that evening. They heard screaming and four very loud thwacks. Unsure if they had just witnessed a murder, they chose to walk away, silently but quickly, and never return near the office ever again.

"Now, I'll be leaving the office in a few minutes. Make sure you boys clean up after yourselves once you're done planning the heist." She said, about to leave the room.

"Yes, Miss Hudson." All four men said simultaneously before she left the office.

The four sat in silence as Mantis flattened out a blue sheet of paper.

"She seems nice." Ball said, clearing his throat.

"Look, I know that we're all on board with breaking into the Assassins headquarters. But unlike some of us, I'm taking this seriously for my own reasons. I hope that the rest of us will too." Gemini said, glaring at Merc.

"I want to do this. I'm sick and tired of being "Don Jovi's Greaseman". I don't even work for the guy! This break-in could be one hell of an experience buff for me and my reputation." Ball said.

"You sure you want the Assassins to know about your involvement in breaking into their headquarters?" Mantis asked.

"Pssht. I'll be long gone by the time those bozos come looking for me." Ball said.

Mantis cleared his throat and took out a pen.

"Alright, enough horsing around."

Mantis clicked his pen with a grin.

"Time for the plan."

________________________________________________________________

"First, we need to find the location of the archives. I can't imagine the Assassins are stupid enough to keep a giant sign in the middle of their town pointing in the direction of it." Mantis said, drawing a rough sketch of the town.

"The Assassins most likely have defences that utilize their shadow powers. We need to be on the lookout for those and disable them before we reach the archive room." Gemini stated.

"The Alysides town itself is a massive problem. Each street corner, restroom and local bagel shop has commissioned detection systems. They're also located around the village so that if there happen to be any unauthorized or non-recorded personnel near the town, they can track them down and execute them." Mantis explained.

"That explains why they've always been prepared for an attack, even an unexpected raid around their town. Any idea on the range of the detection systems or how they work?" Ball asked.

"From what I've gathered, previous raid reports from our Bounty Hunter friends have confirmed they're mostly short-range. Think of it as a shadow trip-wire, of sorts. They detect humanoid shadows and alert a nearby totem." Mantis explained, writing the details down.

"Can we take these totems out?" Ball asked.

"No idea if we can. No one's been successful yet. And even if we could, there're the countless houses full of Assassins living in town. Each civilian has the potential to take us out like professionals." Mantis stated.

Merc grunted. "So basically, we can't even get into the town without getting detected. Great."

Mantis flicked on his lighter and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"The solution is simple. They never know it's us in the first place."

Gemini laughed briefly. "So your plan is to sneak around the Assassins? The killers who sneak around for a living?"

Mantis looked around with a confused expression as if the answer was obvious.

"Yeah."

Gemini looked at Mantis with wide eyes. "Oh."

Gemini took the cigarette out of the detective's mouth and took a deep puff, coughing.

"Look, this is all extremely risky. For all of us. Even for Ball, because I doubt Assassins lock up intruders in prison." Mantis said, leaning back into his chair.

"Yeah, something tells me that they don't roll that way." Ball sighed.

The moon began to rise in the night sky as the four pondered on their situation.

"I'm still doing this. I'd appreciate your help, but I understand the urge to run. Survival is a natural instinct ingrained into all of us. If you want to leave, there'll be no hard feelings from me." Mantis said.

"Really?" Gemini asked.

"Yeah. I'm Gifted, just like you, dumbass. I can't feel empathy, even if I wanted to. So I don't mind." Mantis said, holding out the ashtray for Gemini.

Gemini placed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, looking outside the detective's window as smoke swirled around his vision. The moon began to rise, with its pale glow being reflected on the windowsill.

"I'm still with Mantis. I'm doing this on my own terms. No more lapdog calls from Don Jovi for me." Ball said.

"Do I get to burn things?" Merc asked once again.

"Yeah. I've got a few ideas." Mantis nodded.

Merc grunted in acceptance. Everyone looked at Gemini, waiting for his answer.

Gemini sighed before smiling.

"Might as well go out with a bang. One last big score, like old times."

Mantis grinned and cleared his throat.

"Alright, listen up. Here's how we're going to pull off the only successful heist in history against the Assassins." Mantis said.

The detective pointed at Gemini.

"We're going to need a way in, without the Assassins ever suspecting a thing. And the only ones allowed inside the village…" Mantis said, waiting for the group to get the hint.

The Assassin entered the office and sat patiently in the waiting area.

"He'll see you in a minute." Miss Hudson said.

The Assassin nodded and flipped open a newspaper.

"No, no! Mantis, your plans are usually crazy, but this is stupid." Gemini said.

"It's simple. I'll call him and tell him I have a lead and a few questions I need to ask him. There's no other way. If we approach the town, we get killed. If we go in without any info, we get killed. If we manage to get to the archives without any escape plan…" Mantis explained.

"Ooh, ooh. I know this one. We get killed?" Merc asked.

"Five points to the arsonist," Mantis said, making Merc flash a proud, smug grin.

Gemini sighed and looked at Mantis. "Fine. What next?"

The Assassin looked outside as the sun shone brightly through the window of the office. The receptionist allowed the Assassin to enter the detective's office and closed the door.

The Assassin coughed as a wave of cigarette smoke filled his lungs.

"Ahh, you showed up. Please take a seat."

The smoke was so thick and dense that it clung to the room like a fog.

"You informed me that you were able to make progress on Sagi's whereabouts." The Assassin muttered, clearing his throat.

Mantis nodded, puffing out another cloud of smoke. All the Assassin could see was the detective's silhouette in front of him, sitting on a chair.

"Yes. I have gathered a lead on the person I believe to have been involved in Sagi's disappearance." Mantis said, toppling over a plate noisily. Something clanged behind the Assassin as well, making him turn around instantly. He couldn't make out anything through the fog.

"Go on." The Assassin cautiously said.

"I have investigated the area of Kleise and I have determined a few things. There were sightings of a man with white hair roaming the town. The man was seen around the vicinity of the Monarch Foundation. A person matching his description was also seen with the girl who had won the tournament." Mantis stated.

The Assassin's eyes widened slightly with recognition. Mantis grinned as he spotted the slight shift in the man's body language. The Assassin leaned closer, eager to find out more. His suspicions that Sagi was assigned to an area near the Monarch Foundation were indeed correct.

"Unfortunately, the Monarch Foundation didn't allow me to question her on the matter. Furthermore, it appears that this person had murdered a group of Elite Nobelist bodyguards the night before the tournament." Mantis informed. Technically, all he was doing was reporting a lead. There was no problem even if his hunch was wrong.

After all, he was going to find out the truth, one way or the other.

The Assassin felt an insect crawl on his arm and dusted it away. The report was now making more sense. This was valuable information, especially since the traitor had foiled their attack on Spiti. Kleise would be a valuable asset to their side to capture Keith.

"Thank you for the information, detective. I trust you haven't found anything substantial as of yet?" The Assassin asked, standing up from his seat.

"No, nothing yet. You wouldn't happen to have any information that you've perhaps forgotten to divulge that could aid this case?"

"Nothing that is of concern to you. That is all."

The Assassin left the office, greeting Miss Hudson goodbye when he noticed a peculiar man standing in the corner of the reception. The man wasn't here the last time that he had come to the detective's office.

"New hire?" The Assassin asked Miss Hudson.

"Oh, yes. The detective hired my grandson as a janitor to support his endeavours into the open world, bless his kind soul." Miss Hudson said with a strained voice.

The Assassin eyed the man suspiciously. He had a squiggly thin mustache and a fat belly.

"Hello." The Assassin waved at him.

The man seemed surprised that the Assassin spoke to him and began stammering.

The Assassin walked closer to look at the man. Something seemed off…

"Puis-je avoir un yaourt?" The man asked.

With a confused look, the Assassin watched as Mantis barged out of his office and yelled at the man, kicking him in the ass. Miss Hudson began to scream at the detective and pulled him off.

"This is domestic abuse!" Miss Hudson wailed.

"There ain't nothing domestic about this, lil' old missy!" Mantis yelled, pulling their new employee's underwear up into a wedgie.

"I should probably…" The Assassin said, extremely uncomfortable.

"Puis-je avoir un yaourt?! Puis-je avoir un yaourt?! Puis-je avoir un yaourt?!" The man with the mustache screamed in agony, making the Assassin instantly dart out the door.

"Assuming that I can pull off a mustache, sneak into the room while the smokescreen's up and replicate the design of the Assassin's robe using my ability, how are we going to find out about the layout of their security devices?" Gemini asked Mantis.

"Once we have our disguises, we'll need someone to sneak into their village and do some recon. Someone good at infiltration, stealth and being inconspicuous."

Mantis, Gemini and Merc all turned to look at Ball.

Ball smiled. "I guess that's when I'm rolling out."

Running silently past the trees, Ball momentarily stopped to check his surroundings. In front of him was the Assassin's village, guarded by two Assassins at the entrance.

"The walls are too high to climb normally and there's no way they're going to let me in even if I've got a disguise. We need to get past the entrance and then maybe we stand a chance with these disguises." Ball pointed out, drawing a checkpoint on the sketch of the village.

Merc grunted. "Easy. Just make a grappling hook. We'll need a compressed air canister first…"

Merc's three allies turned to him in amazement as he plotted down the schematics to make a fully-functioning grappling hook.

"What?! I know how to do things other than blowing stuff up!" Merc snarled.

"You just don't like doing the other things, do you?" Mantis asked.

Merc laughed in agreement. Gemini cleared his throat.

"I doubt that we can buy the materials we need for this heist with the money we have. Shouldn't we figure that out first?" Gemini asked.

"Well, fret not. I've got that worked out as well. We're going to need our resident disguise man for this one." Mantis said cheekily.

Gemini paled. "No, no, no, no…"

Gemini walked up to the old, rusty entrance of the shop Mantis had directed him to. The conman was wearing a dashing coat and had neatly combed his hair. As he approached the counter, he took a deep breath and rang the bell for service.

Mantis had asked him to go to "Barbara's Supplies and Utilities". The old woman did sell supplies and utilities, but she sold a lot more than that.

Such as illegal weapons, narcotics, banned materials and all sorts of under-the-radar goodies that would get someone a lifetime jail sentence.

It was barely a few hours since he had gone over the plan with Mantis.

"What is it?" Croaked an old woman chewing on a piece of gum.

Barbara, or Barb as most people called her, was a woman that appeared to be in her 80's, her hair thin and coarse.

"Hey, pretty lady," Gemini said.

Barb paused for a second and then pointed at herself in confusion. Gemini nodded and wiggled a finger at her, indicating for her to get closer.

"I've heard that you're the resident dealer for all things not-so-family-friendly around these parts. You wouldn't be able to cut a deal for me, would you?"

Barbara blushed. "Depends on who's asking."

"Well, I can get closer if you want to get personal on the details."

Gemini's eyes widened in surprise as Barbara grabbed him and latched onto his mouth with hers.

Barbara broke the kiss and giggled slightly, rushing to lock the shop door. Gemini quickly grabbed the nearest shoebrush and scrubbed his tongue viciously in disgust, throwing it before Barbara returned.

"So, where you wanna do this?" Barbara asked, out of breath and excited.

"Why not right here, right now?" Gemini asked, his voice turning husky.

Barbara swooned slightly before forcing herself to calm down. "About business…"

"Oh, that can wait. Right now, there's only one thing that matters." Gemini said, barely a few feet away from her.

"Right. Y'know what? You can just take whatever you want afterwards. Doesn't matter." Barbara said, with a goofy smirk, showing off her yellow teeth.

"Cool. My associates will be here shortly to collect the materials. So, let's not waste our time."

"Hehe. How old are you, exactly? Just to be curious."

"I'm 28."

"Mmm. Prime meat."

She grabbed Gemini's tie and lead him to the room in the back eagerly. Mantis looked in from the front window and gave him a thumbs up.

"Damn, Gemini. You're going to get lucky, aren't you?" Merc asked.

"Shut up, Merc. Once we have done the supplier…" Gemini said.

"You mean, once you have done the supplier." Ball snickered.

"ONCE WE HAVE THE SUPPLIES, let's make the arsonist useful, for once. After we have the grappling hook, what does Ball need to do?" Gemini screeched.

Ball used the grappling hook, latching onto the wall above. He slowly descended the other side using the rope and followed a group of Assassins to blend in.

"Did you hear about his plan?" Ball heard one of the Assassins whisper.

"Yes. It seems too bizarre as a tactic, even if the traitor was seen around Spiti." He heard another murmur.

"It would be best not to question the plan. The one who led the charge on the attack on Spiti was the council chief's new apprentice."

"What was his name? Dickler?"

"No, I believe it was Dreadlock or something of the sort."

Ball broke off from the group and roamed the village cautiously. He couldn't go around just asking for directions, but he had to find out where they kept the archive room…

Blacksmiths clanged their hammers against new weapons on their anvils, the brewery stunk of alcohol and vomit, while most others were gearing up supplies, such as food and drink.

He remembered that one of the Assassins mentioned an attack on Spiti. That would be useful info to relay to Mantis.

"Double the security around the archives, or else it'll be your head."

Ball watched from behind cover as a man with a white cloth wrapped around his eyes walked out from the biggest tower in the town. The man he was speaking to nodded in fear and then ran back inside the tower.

Ball walked casually past the man, who looked at Ball.

"Wait." The man said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ball gulped silently, his mouth turning dry instantly.

"Which designation are you in?" The man asked.

"Uhh…the archives, sir. I was reassigned to the archives division, upon your orders." Ball said.

"Ahh…I see. Dennis is very quick with relaying messages these days. I might have to give him a raise. Well then, off you go." The man nodded.

As the man walked, surrounded by a group of Assassins, one of them stopped next to Ball to speak to him.

"Be careful. Chief Dairokkan doesn't forgive inadequacy and insubordination."

Ball let out a deep breath of relief. It appeared that most of the Assassins were leaving the town for an unknown reason, with supplies and other materials.

As the Greaseman ventured into the tower, gathering the intel they needed to break in, he saw a large giant room that wasn't being guarded at the moment. Ball opened the door. It wasn't locked.

The door creaked open, revealing a room that screamed "cult". Symbols and patterns were drawn on the walls with blood, a counter was lined with small totems that swirled in dark shadows and a whip with deadly red glowing barbs laid next to all of the various items in the dark…

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Ball spun around to find an Assassin glaring at him. His first instinct was to fight, but in a tower full of Assassins, he knew just how futile that approach would be.

"Sorry, I got lost. I was assigned to guard the archives, but I've never been in the tower before." Ball said, scratching his head apologetically.

Ball pulled the hood covering his face down instinctively. Thankfully, the Assassins' normal attire allowed him to slip past their guards so far, but this could be the end of the line for him…

"Oh! Well, don't worry. The new chief's been a bit of a pretentious prick; thinking that all the newbies know exactly where to go. The nerve! Let me give you a bit of a house tour." The Assassin said, placing his hand on Ball's shoulder.

"This room is the alert room. It houses the security totems and the like. All shadow magic spells that guard the archives and other high-security areas, like the council headquarters, will be over here. And that's my post, so if you need any more help, feel free to drop by!" The Assassin said, with a smile.

Ball was slightly perplexed. This Assassin was being unusually friendly. Perhaps this was a trap.

"Here's your post. No one's allowed near the actual archive room, so this is where most of the security's posted. Behind this door lies the switch to the entrance of the archive room. The archives are on the floor above, but unless this switch is flipped, nothing can get in or out from there." The Assassin said, opening the door.

"Well, that seems fairly simple." Ball said.

The Assassin opened the door to reveal a large pit lined with sharp, pointy metal spikes. On the other side of the pit was a large lever on top of a small platform. Ball squinted in the darkness to find something thin shining in front of him.

"Careful, that's Quagmire silk." The Assassin warned.

The Assassin lit a torch and held it out for Ball. A mesh of razor-thin lines stretched across the width of the space above the pit, crisscrossing in a deadly net, preventing any access across the pit.

"After the previous chief's death, Dairokkan increased security. The Quagmire silk's lined with paralysing poison, they also act as tripwires, activating a mechanism for the new addition." The Assassin explained.

"What's the new addition?" Ball asked, nervously.

The Assassin took out a piece of crumpled paper and threw it onto the silk, activating a mechanism that made raging flames eject from either side of the pit.

"It's a good thing that Assassins can just waltz onto the other side using their shadows. Kinda makes you feel bad for the people who've tried to get into the archives previously." The Assassin said, closing the door.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ball muttered.

"Sorry for the hassle. I know it's a pain in the ass to get assigned to watch duty instead of something better, but that's how it's been since Dairokkan became the new chief of the council. The old chief was a good friend of mine, the cocky bastard." The Assassin said with a sad smile.

Ball looked around subtly, checking the area while he spoke. "I'm sorry. He must have been nice."

"Yeah, he was a bit of a dumbass sometimes. But he was a good chief. He would do anything to help his people. Even if it meant sacrificing his own life."

The Assassin sniffed slightly before clearing his throat. "Anyhoo, I'm going to go back to my post. Life was a lot simpler as a tailor. And surprisingly more exciting."

Ball quickly made a mental note of the layout of the second floor of the tower and left. The archive room's defences were intimidating and fortified.

But not impenetrable.

Ball grabbed the rope lying from underneath the bush he had hidden it under, recoiled it on the grappling hook mechanism and fired it. Climbing over the wall, the Greaseman knew he had successfully escaped with valuable intel for the heist.

Even though he had the strange feeling someone was watching him as he left the town.

________________________________________________________________

Mantis tapped his foot and flicked open his pocket watch. It was almost time for Ball to return. Although Ball was infiltrating the Assassins headquarters, the Greaseman felt fairly certain that he would be back 5 hours later.

If he didn't return, Mantis decided he would go in blind and finish off the heist.

An Assassin barged into the office, alerting Mantis, Gemini and Merc instantly.

Merc switched on his portable flamethrower, growling.

"WAIT! WAIT! Guys, it's me!"

Ball took off the hood covering his head, with his hands in the air.

The entire group let out a sigh of relief.

"Glad to see you're still rolling in one piece," Gemini said.

"Did you find out what I'm supposed to burn?!" Merc asked, fervently.

Ball nodded and began to list down the intel on the sketch. He told them about the tower, the room with the switch to enter the archive room, the security room with the totems and the placements of the guards around the town.

"Another thing. Apparently, the Assassins initiated an attack on Spiti recently, so they have fewer guards posted around the town for now. The bad news is that the chief of the clan has ordered more guards around the archives, which is exactly where we're heading." Ball said.

"So, if we do manage to find the switch to the archive room, which is filled with a spike pit, poisoned Quagmire silk that can cut through skin from just a touch…" Mantis said.

"And the flamethrowers built into the walls." Ball reminded Mantis.

"Right, can't forget about those." Mantis nodded.

Gemini felt his soul leave his body while Merc had a gleeful smile pasted on his face as he listened to Mantis.

"Once we've thrown the switch, do we know where the actual archive room is located?" Mantis asked Ball.

"Second floor of the tower, directly above the switch. There are a few alarm systems to detect unauthorized movement up there, but if we can get into the security room with the totems without being seen, we can disable them."

Mantis was about to light a cigarette but then threw it away with a smile.

"This sounds tough. But I'm presuming you have a way in, Greaseman?"

Ball smirked. "Of course, I do. 93 prison camps, remember?"

The team began to work on their gear, now that they had the intel from Ball.

"First off, the Assassins. I'm presuming that we should try to avoid killing them?" Gemini asked Mantis.

Mantis rolled his eyes. "Duh. I need to make my money back from those schmucks since I'm investigating their case after all."

Ball nodded. Merc agreed with a scowl on his face.

"We can sneak past them fairly easy, just need to avoid them and blend in with our disguises. Gemini can make more of those. Merc and Ball, you two need to find a way to flip that switch. I'll take care of the security room with the totems." Mantis instructed.

"So, I guess I don't need to be anywhere near the tower? Cool, I'll just be…" Gemini said before Mantis cut him off.

"You'll be our lookout. If there are any Assassins nearby while Ball's working on the switch, you'll need to distract them. You can do that, right?" Mantis asked.

"Yeah, just get them to sleep with you. I'm sure you'll show them a good time." Merc mumbled with a smile.

Gemini heard the arsonist and bonked him on the head with his fist.

"Mantis, there's something else. When I was about to leave, I think…" Ball said.

"I know, I've taken that into account as well. I'll get Merc to work on it."

Ball nodded. The detective's plans hadn't been faulty so far.

The group worked on the devices they needed. Gemini made duplicates of the Assassin's robe for all four of them. Mantis went over the infiltration plan with Ball, making sure they had a contingency plan for each situation.

Merc was the busiest of them all, assembling four grappling hooks, a special harness that Ball had asked to make and something else that Gemini wasn't able to understand.

"What the hell is that?" The conman asked the arsonist.

"A dildo for your mom. Now, shut up and sit down." Merc grunted.

The two began to fight again, with Ball laughing as they threw parts around. Gemini yelled in anger as his hair was singed, thanks to Merc trying to burn him with the detective's lighter.

Once everything was ready, the group strapped on their gear.

Mantis adjusted his glasses and lit a cigarette.

Gemini struck a pose in the mirror, practicing his conversation skills.

Ball cracked his knuckles, making sure the grappling hook was working.

Merc slung something big around his shoulder, wrapped in a white blanket.

"Do I want to know what that is?" Gemini asked.

Merc nodded with glee but refused to show it to Gemini.

Mantis heard a jukebox nearby play some music as the four of them left the office room walking slowly, each with a smug grin on their faces like they were about to take over the world.

"Woah, woah. Where are you boys headed off to?" Miss Hudson stopped them.

"The heist. Remember?" Mantis groaned.

"Against the Assassins? In the middle of the night?" Miss Hudson folded her arms.

All four of the men looked at each other. The old lady did have a point.

Before they knew it, Miss Hudson had forced Mantis to do the heist the next morning, locking them inside the office room.

"Goodnight boys." Miss Hudson said as she left the room.

"BURN THE WITCH!!! BURN HER!!!" Merc screamed to be let outside the office. His three allies restrained him until he fell asleep on the detective's chair.

His three friends laid down on a mat, uncomfortably close to each other.

"Man, you really need to get a couch in here." Ball grumbled.

Mantis sighed. "Shut up, Gemini."