The Watcher: Adaptability Of A Bounty Hunter

Chapter 6) New Toys

Roman was led down another hallway. Agma made sure he was at the front of the formation. His two attack dogs, otherwise known as Mari and Cliff acted as security guards. Moving in tandem with the still shirtless prisoner. Apparently Dulvian hospitality wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Unlike the disgusting, unkempt state the rest of their headquarters was in. Everything beyond the double doors connecting the interrogation room to the next wing of the base was damn near spotless. The walls and ceiling were painted over with a fresh coat of gray paint. While the solid stone floor lacked any form of scratches or cracks. This did nothing to ease the freezing temperature, which currently tormented the bottoms of Roman’s feet.

“I’d appreciate some clothing,” Roman said amidst a shiver.

Cliff opened his mouth to speak, but Mari interrupted before any words came out, “You’ll get new clothes when we get where we’re going. Geez, for a monster you sure do like to complain.”

“Where are we going,” he questioned, “A storage room of some kind?”

“Oh please, what we’re about to show you. Well let's just say it’s not right to keep it inside a dusty closet.”

“And you just keep a spare set of clothes there?”

“No, we had them moved there while you were rotting away in your cell.”

“How did you know I’d agree to work for you?”

“I didn’t,” Mari looked ahead, “Agma did, there isn’t anything he doesn’t know.”

More tales of Agma’s supposed divinity? Roman had already heard enough from the neighborhoods in Tafabid’s western district. Hearing anymore of it was like pouring salt into the ocean. Albeit, these claims did seem to have a shred of credibility to them. 

Agma was without a doubt, cut from a different cloth. The man just seemed to be a step ahead of the rest. Was this a coincidence, result of copious amounts of intelligence, or did it somehow relate to his bloodline? Roman doubted that he’d ever learn the truth.

Roman’s gatekeepers eventually came to a stop before a sleek, chrome door. Agma pressed his hand up against the glass scanner, which responded with a short bleep. The door retracted upward, disappearing into the ceiling. The Dulvian turned around, and c****d his head back. Cuing to Cliff, who shoved Roman through the doorway, immediately followed by the rest of his posse.

Inside the room, Roman bore witness to an empty room. That seemed to go one forever, roughly the size of a small football field. To Roman, this appeared to be a repurposed warehouse, or maybe an old maintenance bay. All speculation with no proof whatsoever, it’s hard to judge the architecture of any given building from within its walls. Although there was one questionable aspect of this lengthy room. The floors, ceiling, and even the ground he stood on consisted of large, individual white tiles. The atmosphere such a clean, sterile environment created was that of a hospital. 

“Welcome to Shadows Requim’s very own simulation grid,” Agma declared, throwing both of his arms out. Behind him, Roman rolled his eyes and hugged his shoulders, waiting for the clothes they had promised him.

“Aren’t these things supposed to be glowing blue?” Roman asked amidst a shiver. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a feared Assassin,” Roman turned to the left at the sound of Cliff’s voice, only to be hit in the face with a thin white shirt. “Cause right now, all I see is a scared little man.” 

Mari came from the right, and tossed a pair of black sweatpants his way, “Seriously, you're shaking like a damn puppy.” 

Roman growled, not much else he could do aside from stomach those jabs at his pride. He started by unfolding the crumpled up shirt, it was a white tank top which he promptly threw over himself. And of course, it was a size too small, clinging to his upper body like wet cloth. The pants were fine at least, and anything was better than wandering around half naked.

“Why are we here,” Roman’s words were addressed towards Agma, “And don’t play coy, I know you’ve got some kind of purpose for all this.”

"Hm, was it that easy to predict? Or are you letting those silly rumors cloud your judgement, bounty hunter.”

No answer, and Agma chuckled and stuck his hand up to the right of him, snapping his fingers, “Take a step back please.” 

Mari and Cliff followed Agma’s suggestion without so much as a peep. Roman stood his ground, and suddenly two of the floor panels pulled back. Out from the opening, came a rectangle steel box, about the size of Roman’s body. A thin, frosty mist excreted from the gap in the floor.

Cool air brushed against Roman’s tanned face, he winched, the cold was only growing the longer he stood before the container. He tried to hold out, save his ego from another devastating blow, but the cold was just too much. Roman took a step back, joining Mari and Cliff, he could already hear the childish remarks cooking up inside their minds. 

“You were right, we are here for a very specific reason,” Agma circled back, and slumped his back against the perfect metal coffin, “Consider this your… advanced payment.” 

He slapped the side of the box, it replied with a gentle click as the magnetic locks disengaged. Slipping neatly into their compartments, freeing the double doors that ran up the length of the device. Which swung open automatically, inside appeared to be a strange white substance, almost like compacted snow. The temperature inside had to have been below freezing. Even though he stood a foot away, the cold still penetrated him.

“Y-You got me a freezer full of ice?” Roman c****d his head to the right, “Thanks, this’ll be great once I retire.” 

Agma laughed and straightened his posture, “Why don’t you take a look inside.”

Roman raised a brow, he turned to Mari and Cliff, who shrugged in response. Cliff folded his muscular arms and said, “You heard the man.” 

There was a moment of stunning quiet in the room. No one spoke, no one questioned, but all were watching Roman. Cautiously, he returned to the front of the rectangular crate. Agma was standing to his right, with his face curled into a smirk. That damned look on his face, nothing got under his skin quite like that grin. For he already knew that expression far too well. 

Agma wasn’t treating Roman so politely out of the goodness of his heart. No, the man simply knew he was stronger than him, This lack of hostility, the blissful ignorance he showed when confronted by Roman. It was simply because Agma, the Dulvian devil pitied such a weak man. A realization that rattled Roman to his core.

Roman inched closer to the storage device. The frozen wind grew more present with every step. He stifled the urge to shiver once he reached his destination, upon closer inspection, the steel container still only seemed to store some kind of special ice like material. Befuddled, Roman glanced at Agma who only nodded expectantly. With little options left, Roman reached out and pressed his palm against the snow.

Cold, as expected, but shockingly enough his hand barely melded in with the contents. The frozen water he had assumed filled the entire box, was in reality only a thin layer of dust. Underneath his palm, he felt something smooth and texture less, Roman dragged his hand to the right, pushing a layer of the white powder aside. Unveiling a glass covering, behind it’s most, fog covered surface there was a vague humanoid shape hidden away. Colored with hints of red and what appeared to be a muddled brown or steel.

“It’s a container.”

“Not just any container,”   Agma stepped away from the box's side and joined Roman at its front, “You’re looking at a type 35, temperature enhanced storage unit.”

Agma inched forward and reached down for the control panel, and the device responded with a soft click. Suddenly the protective glass shell inside the storage unit pulled back. The already chilly air was made unbearable as the machine vented the majority of its accumulated frozen oxygen. Momentarily generating a small cloud of white smoke that smothered the surrounding space. An unfortunate reaction as the below zero temperatures collide with the comparatively warm innards of the simulation grid. 

“These contraptions are used by the elite in Alexandrian society. They claim the frozen temperatures help preserve the contents within. No proof of this of course, it's just another way the corrupt flaunt their wealth,” Agma said before turning back towards Roman, his eyes flashed with an unmatched confidence, “Regardless, it’s a sign that it's an exceedingly important item.” 

Roman spotted small wisps of white gas trails flowing outward from within the unit as the chemical reaction started to dissipate, slowly revealing what was hidden inside the metal box. Once he realized what he was looking at, his jaw felt like dropping. And Agma knew this well, the Dulvian threw his arms out yet again in an extravagant flourish, coinciding with the disappearance of the white smoke. 

“I assure you, this will be more than enough to ensure your cooperation.” 

Roman’s eyes burst open, blackened steel laced with rivers of illuminated ruby L.E.DS that ran up the arms and pooled at the sharpened ends of the shoulders. Four glowing eyes embedded into the smooth and flat faceplate, beefy forearms with small slits above the knuckles, and a collar of white fur attached to what looked like a crimson red cape. An elegant design, one that Roman had seen only once before.  

“You seem familiar with this set,” Agma pointed out. 

“Yeah, it's the armor worn by the Irenous royal guard.”

“Very good Roman. This is indeed a set of Irenous royal guard armor, albeit a very heavily modified version of one.” 

“How did you get your hands on this? Finding a single piece, let alone a full suit of this armor is extremely hard to come by.”

Agma sneered, “You should know, you were the one who secured the asset for us.” 

“Impossible,” Roman rebutted, “My client was Alexandrian. Not just that, but he’s the governor’s son. I don’t exactly see the connection between him and a Dulvian extremist group.” 

“We have supporters scattered across the kingdom. Some in high places, and if you think the governor's son is out of my reach, Well, I’d love to see your reaction to our network of spies.”

So it was true, Governor Wolf’s child was secretly an undercover operative for Shadow’s Requiem. Looking back it actually explains quite a bit, the Dulvian organization could be found anywhere in Alexandria. But the group seems to have established a permanent presence in Tafabid. In fact the western district is widely known to be under the requiem control. 

At first Roman believed it was a result of the large Dulvian population in the city's ghetto. But upon reflection it made sense, you can’t drive out an infestation if the insects knew exactly when and where the exterminator was going to strike. And thanks to the governor's son, the nest of bugs flourished. While under the Watcher persona, Roman had tried to avoid any tasks that would bring him into contact with any of the big fish in the underworld. Not successfully it would seem, even without direct contact, he was used like a pawn.

And Roman knew Agma was using him like a tool. His expression alone was more than enough to sell the reality of the situation. Even so, he was currently wrapped around Agma’s finger. Because of this Roman didn’t want to push his luck, they’ve tolerated his disregard of their cause for now. But everyone has a limit to how much abuse they can tolerate, and he wasn’t interested in figuring out Agma’s cap. 

“Well, in any case. Why did you need this armor in the first place?”

“It's quite simple really,” Agma moved in front of the cold storage device, “If I am to lead my forces into battle, a sturdy set of combat armor is a requirement and Irenous is renowned for their armor designs. So obviously I deemed it necessary to acquire. However by the time the sample was collected, I had already discovered something far greater. As such, this armor became something of a pet project for our R&D team.”

Roman checked out his surroundings, the least he could do since his ‘gracious’ host blocked him off from the armor. Mari and Cliff had been shockingly silent as of late. He twisted around and spotted them a few feet away, chatting amongst themselves. They seemed close, to what degree he still wasn’t sure. 

He recalled back to their fight on the rooftops, when Mari had transformed into that nightmarish creature. Cliff desperately tried to calm his partner down, far exceeding the lengths one would go for a simple co-worker. This could be chalked up to his concern for the mission, after all Mari didn’t seem too concerned about Roman’s well being. Still, something about the way he cried out for her proved there was some kind of deeper connection between the two. 

“Roman,” Agma said over his shoulder, pulling Roman back into the moment, “Could you come closer please?” 

Roman did as he was told, taking his place next to the Dulvian Devil. Most of the compacted snow had melted away, on the front anyway. The backdrop behind the armor was an entire wall of white dust. Agma pushed another button on the controls, which generated a full read out of the armor’s features and capabilities. The display was overlaid on top of the actual armor, providing all relevant information on the specific parts and how they related to each other. 

Agma pointed towards the helmet, “Visor equipped with both heat, and night vision sensors.” 

Then the chest, “The base is made up of the strongest metal alloy available. Not even a mana blade could cut through it. You may not be invincible, but this armor is the closest you’ll get.” 

His finger moved from the chest to the bulbous forearms, “I assume you’re curious as to why the forearms are a bit, bulky. Well, this suit comes with weaponry already installed. Housed inside each of those compartments, lies twin swords made out of Eradium. Only downside is they can only be deployed from the gauntlet. Think of them as your old wrist blades, just much longer--” 

“I can read you know.” 

Agma paused, seemingly startled by his sudden outburst. But in the end, he quickly recomposed himself and turned to directly face Roman, “I suppose you can. Well if you don’t need any further explanation…” 

The lanky man stretched out his hands and grasped the blackened mask. He pulled it off it’s stand, which came off neatly and with little struggle. Roman was unsure of what was happening, he tilted his head and Agma released a short chuckle. He slammed the armor piece against Roman’s chest, who simply gave another confused look in response. 

“I’d like a demonstration,” Agma stated. 

“What, You want me… to get inside the suit now?” 

“Indeed, I’ve yet to see it in action yet,” Agma snapped around to Cliff and Mari who were still engrossed in idle chit chat, “Mari, Cliff. It's time.” 

Like a lightbulb that just had it’s switch flipped, the two Dulvian agents burst to life with shocking vigur. They both bolted towards Agma and Roman, coming to a stop next to them. He’d never seen such loyal deviation to one man before. Sure, Cliff wasn’t afraid of voicing his opinion but he’d never disobey Agma. The Dulvian Devil was the owner who blew a whistle, and those two were the rowdy pups.  

“Wait, time for what,” Roman said.

Agma smirked, “We’re going to run a small field test. Surely it won’t be an issue, I mean you have defeated these two in battle before have you not?”

“About time, I’ve been dying for our second match,” Cliff spoke with an eerily cheery voice. 

Mari on the other hand had already drawn her violet mana blade, “I’ll show you who’s the real monster here~” 

Roman wasn’t exactly scared or completely confident either. If anything… he was confused as to why these two have taken up such a grudge against him. But when he thought about it for longer than a minute he realized the answer. He did drop an entire water tower on top of them the night prior. 

“Well Roman, what do you say?” 

Roman looked at his captor, turned employer, then he shot a passing glance at the two agents who failed to capture him on their own. It was apparent there was a new fire burning within them, one not easily quelled. When all was said and done, Roman slowly brought his gaze down to the Royal Guard helmet he held. With less than five minutes spent on consideration, he twirled the mask around and slid the metal shell around his head. All four of the glowing red eyes, sparked white for a moment as the system calibrated to its new owner, but it swiftly returned to the classic ruby red.

“Let’s get this over with.”