After a few beers at the airport bar, Mark finally took his time to head to the place where to conduct his interview. When he realised that the place he was heading to was a ProTech facility. He wasn’t surprised at all. Billion-dollar corporations sending out hits wasn’t new.
Oil companies would kill journalists, the tobacco industry would murder doctors and scientists, while the tech industry would not care if a whistleblower kicked the bucket. All was business in the world of capital. The value of human life was measured by their importance and how easy it was to remove them from the equation. Morality and the justification for killing someone was not something people talked about. Because no one liked a hypocrite.
As he walked inside, smiling with his Hawaiian shirt and briefcase. A blond, middle-aged woman approached Mark and shook his hand. ‘Good to see that you can make it, Mister Esmen. I’m Leo and I will be your interviewer. I suppose you are here for the job.’
Mark shrugged, acting casually around her. ‘Of course, I didn’t come here for vacation. What do you have for me?’
‘Right this way.’ She gestured for him to follow her to the elevator so they could head to the basement. ‘I assume you read the file and signed the NDA? Will I have faith that you will keep your silence?’
‘I have no idea what you are talking about,’ Mark replied, making it obvious that he was aware of the file and the NDA. Even though the contract was vague and didn’t give him any knowledge of the target. What was important was it told him to not speak about the contract or the NDA. ‘All I was given was an address, money, and a potential job opportunity. Everything else? Not sure, didn’t get it, and didn’t read it.’
Leo smiled, satisfied with Mark’s introduction. ‘Then let’s not waste time. The presentation is about to start soon.’
In the basement, Leo escorted Mark to a small room with a projector. Inside were a few other men and women. All of which were hardened killers. Mark knew the look of murderers and psychopaths. Seems like everyone is after the same person. Mark thought to himself before finding a spot to sit down.
Seeing that everyone was there, eager to figure out who they needed to kill. Leo went to her podium to give her presentation. ‘Hello everyone. It is good to see you are all interested in the job. However, before I continue, I want to remind you that you are all under contract to stay silent. Nothing I say in this room will be echoed outside of it. You are all already paid in advance for your silence, so I hope we are on the same page when we discuss your target.’
She turned on the projector, revealing a badly scarred reptilian creature. His jagged snout split open, revealing blue blood. His green scales being an inconsistent colour and covered in various scars and old wounds. A monster, not a man. Everything about him made everyone recoil, like they accidentally stumbled into some sort of conspiracy.
‘What the fuck is that!’ One man shouted.
Leo grabbed a laser pointer and pointed at the reptile. ‘That is your target. He is what you will hunt down and kill. Though I will point out that the target is extremely dangerous.’ She clicks a button to go to the next slide, revealing multiple mutilated corpses of the reptile’s victims. ‘The target cannot be negotiated, bargained, or talked to. He is effective in close quarters and long-range combat. Essentially, you are dealing with a special forces' operative with a lot of pent-up anger. Which will mean you will have to use every tool at your disposal. Collateral damage is allowed, accidental deaths of civilians will be covered up, and you will do everything to take them out. Every piece of equipment handed to you for free will be made by ProTech. Anything else and you will need to outsource yourselves. Upon the completion of the mission and the elimination of the target, you will keep the equipment if you wish.’
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to take it in. The fact that something monstrous exists, that aliens might be real, or the fact that ProTech accidentally played god and made something evil. No one was sure which was worse, and no one wanted to pry to see what the truth of the matter was. As in that case, knowing too much would put them all at risk.
‘Well, chap seems dangerous.’ Mark casually said to Leo as he leaned back in his chair. ‘But what is the bounty on his head?’
‘700 million dollars.’
Like that, everyone’s hesitations vanished. Almost a billion dollars for one person’s head. An opportunity that would make anyone retire early if they succeed in the killing of a dangerous individual. Plus, with the fact that equipment would be freely provided by ProTech, a company with one of the most extensive military hardware production operations in history. Everyone was on board.
However, Mark raised a brow. He wanted the money, but something about the deal seemed off. ‘The presentation and offer seemed interesting, but will we get further information on our target?’
‘No,’ Leo sharply replied. ‘Every information about the target is purely classified. However, if you all accept the contract. I will provide you with any relevant document on how the target fights and our past operations against them. As well as the people who hunted and lost their lives trying to kill him. Hopefully with that information, you can learn from their mistakes and succeed.’
‘Do we know where our target is? How can you tell who killed them and who gets the bounty?’ Everyone nodded along, seeing that Mark had made a solid point.
‘The target is currently being tracked via satellite. We know the location and where they are at all times. We will also keep track of you, so finding out who gets the bounty or not will not be an issue. However, if you all feel that killing each other to get a bounty is a good idea. Just know that we will transfer the bounty to their next of kin. If you feel that is unfair, just know that people who were involved in the killing of the target will be given a bonus as well. The person who also won the bounty is free to split the winnings with anyone else if they so decide to. All I ask is that you do your jobs and complete it, preferably, while working together.’
Mark smirked, willing to take the job now more than ever. ‘Well then, sounds good. So when will we get our documents to read over? Just so we can all get to understand the person we all have to risk our lives for to kill.’
Leo clicked her fingers. Soon after, a worker pushed a trolley full of files into the presentation room. Mark groaned, seeing that an individual file was about five inches thick. Which made him happy that they were giving him enough information on how to best deal with the target. But dreaded because he could tell that he and everyone in this room were not the first round of candidates to hunt down to kill the undesirable target.
Seeing that her job was done, Leo prepared to walk out of the room to leave the mercs alone so they could study. ‘It is good doing business with all of you. If you have questions, feel free to find me on the 5th floor.’
