Caius was midway through a report when the knock came. It was strange. He was not expecting anyone.
"Come in," he said.
The man who entered was one of his senior subordinates, he was trying to stay neutral, but clearly he was excited. Caius understood the situation by now.
"There's a new request," the man said. "Actually—two."
Caius lifted his gaze. "Explain."
"Same target. Different parties, different intents. Young half-wolf named Riven."
Caius froze. A half-wolf?
The subordinate continued, oblivious. "Both parties are offering obscene amounts of money. Enough that it triggered the escalation protocol. According to the rules, it goes through you first." He was so eager for approval, a commission like this rarely comes by.
Caius leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping once against the armrest. "What do they want?"
"One wants a mercenary unit. Retrieval and confirmation. Alive."A pause."The other wants assassins. Clean kill."
Silence settled between them.
