I'll Go With Because I'm Not Evil

Trezlan always knew he'd have to kill Aelanes. It was one of those things he set aside in his mind "Oh and kill Aelanes", a check box hanging out there. He knew he had to kill him before the red war, after the red war he definitely knew he'd have to do it. But like any other long term maintenance issue, you keep ignoring it hoping something or someone else gets there before you do. Trezlan understood that Aelanes had the same condition that Morley did and that he somehow avoided. He just assumed it was their asshole nature that kept them dying over and over again while he lived mostly unscathed, but that seemed like a polite fiction with reality probably being something else entirely.

Aelanes's lair was unnaturally clean. He had taken residence at the top of a building he personally owned and every hallway was devoid of color, just a stark white metal. No windows, no paintings, no humanity whatsoever. Trezlan could sense that something was wrong, there was so much magical power in the building, but nothing that he could directly see. It was like he could sense the trap, but not see it yet.

"I'm so glad you came." It was a huge open room with a skylight, just as white and empty as the rest. Aelanes was standing in the middle, surrounded by elaborate blood runes. Trezlan sucked in his breath a little bit, Aelanes had effectively turned himself into a huge necromantic bomb.

"Well your invitation was so hard to ignore, though I do have to say you've looked better." Aelanes's entire face was covered in boils, it was similar to the malady that affected Morley, but not the same type, it seemed each man suffered a unique horror which made Trezlan wonder where his necromancy showed its damage.

"Do you like my runes? I looked them all up, I believe you've used some of them even." The runes were more brute than anything else, Trezlan had used the type of magic several times, but never overlapped like Aelanes had done.

"I have to wonder how much damage that will cause when you set it off."

"Enough to kill the whole planet, that is unless you want to help me Trezlan, do you want a whole planet on your conscience?"

"Well I've already got a whole galaxy, what's one more planet?"

"YOU SHOULD DIE! YOU SHOULD SUFFER!!!!!" Aelanes flexed his power, the runes started shining bright, he was close to blowing everything up, Trezlan had to think on his feet or he'd be not making that evening shuttle off planet.

"I get that you're upset Aelanes, no one told you the dangers of necromancy and here you are hundreds of years later feeling that tearing away at you, but no one also told you something really important about necromancy..." Trezlan acted quickly and drew the pistol, and fired once, the bullet hit Aelanes in the middle of his torso, not a kill shot by any means.

"You doddering old fool, what does shooting me have to do with necromancy."

"Oh that we get our power from a higher power who's not too fond of us normally." Aelanes was going to say something when his face was suddenly sucked in on itself. His entire body followed shortly there after. Hanlon clapped behind Trezlan.

"Bravo, I loved that bit at the end."

"That's another one you owe me Hanlon."

"I'll put it on your bill of things you owe me Lorentino, neat trick putting one of my runes on your bullet."

"You did tell me your ordinarily can't find them, so I figured much like the Fire God highlighting where one is would get you to come calling."

"Naturally, you look good, though I guess you'd rather I leave."

"I'd hope you can untangle all of those runes or the rest of this planet will go along with poor stupid Aelanes." With a wave of his hands the blood runes were gone, Hanlon always had a lack of thing for theatrics.

"It's good to see you Trezlan, if only for a little bit, son's looking good as well."

"Stay away from the boy Hanlon."

"Oh Trezlan, if he's anything like you he'll be knocking on my door soon enough." Hanlon disappeared and Trezlan was moderately annoyed, ever since he learned of what Hanlon really was, the man only got more obnoxious not less.

Father Never Knows Best

Rolando awoke angry. He didn't know what his father hit him with, but he did know Trezlan was gone and Dubois was left. He couldn't be mad at the assassin, he was of course just doing his job, but he was pissed as all get out at his own father. Trezlan was a liar and worse, but he thought just this one time the old man would be honest with him, he thought wrong, and he knew that, but it still burned him up inside.

"So you'll not take me to where you dropped off my father?" It was a useless question both men knew it, but pride demanded it be asked.

"You need to understand what must be done and move forward." Dubois was not a verbose man, he let actions speak for him.

"We'll have to agree to disagree, so what now?"

"Now we kill Lyn's assassins, and then we kill Lyn, he's not on planet mind you, but I know where he is." Dubois did not in fact know where Lyn was, but he knew he could find him, its what he did.

"I can help with the assassins that's within my duty, but if you expect me to go off planet that would get me kicked out of the military for sure."

"Fair enough Lieutenant, but I will warn you I value my life above yours if the choice is there."

"I understand Dubois same to you." The assassin cracked what went for his smile and then exited the shuttle into the dank undercity portion of society. Rolando paused for a moment, wondering what exactly he'd agreed to, and then followed after.

Boys Are Back In Town

"I'm glad to be working with you Rolando." Trezlan was in an unusually cheery mood. Well unusual to Rolando, he was sure his father was happy for someone, not usually him. He only recalled disappointing Trezlan at all times for everything. Deliah, his mother, told him that was just Trezlan's way, but he always took it personally that his own father never seemed to appreciate what he did ever even when it was something that Trezlan wanted.

"Yeah its great to be working with a known criminal and an assassin on a nebulous task while I'm technically breaking my oath to the empire." The three of them were riding in Dubois's shuttle, they figured it was safer since Lyn wouldn't be actively trying to kill an assassin, in theory.

"He does have a point Trezlan, perhaps we should put him back with his people."

"Nonesense, he's already screwed for what he did, might as well see it through to its bloody end." Trezlan had already told Rolando a lot of people were going to have to die, it was something he always said, it seemed to Rolando that death was something Trezlan used as the solution to every problem.

"Gee dad you're so kind to me, so exactly what are we doing?"

"We aren't doing anything, you two are going to deal with Lyn, I will take care of the necromancer."

"Yeah that's not how this will work, you can't cut me out of this Trezlan, I'm not an assassin, and I'll be bringing that necromancer in, he's got to answer for his crimes."

"Gentleman if you are going to argue I'm going to turn this shuttle around." Dubois never had any children of his own, but plenty of the other Mordere's did, so he was used to these kind of disputes, usually about something similar.

"This isn't an argument," Trezlan reached over and touched Rolando's cheek and he passed out.

"Some kind of skin poison?" Dubois had never seen someone be able to touch someone and make them pass out.

"Trade secret, keep watch of the boy, he's useful enough in a fight, now drop me off at these coordinates I got business to do." Dubois did as he was instructed, it was the price of his orders allegiance to Trezlan. When Rolando woke up he was furious, but most son's generally were when their fathers left them behind.

Not the Best Reunion

"There was an explosion, market district." Rolando and Barker had settled into the local police monitoring station. Rolando knew that his father would cause a problem sooner or later it was in his nature. Barker was skeptical up until the bomb went off. It was almost enough for Barker to believe that the Lorentino's had some intrinsic link to each other. Or that Rolando was working with his father as his superiors long suspected.

"That's dad." Rolando was already snagging his gear getting ready to move.

"How do you know? Could be a gas explosion or any number of things?"

"He's in town for less than a week and something exploded, I know that's my father."

"Sound reasoning, lets go, I'll brief the team on the way." Rolando and Barker made their way up stairs, they had a shuttle waiting to take them to the bomb site and Rolando was almost inside when he got a sense something was wrong and he grabbed Barker and ran away from the ship, right before it exploded. Barker looked to be in bad shape, he took a large hit of metal through his back. Rolando was mostly fine, some scratches and bruises, but the ship and its occupants were dead. Medics arrived shortly to care for Barker. Rolando didn't really know the man, but he felt bad he got blown up. Still he had a job to do, so while the medics were tending to Barker he took the key to his shackles and undid them, he had to get to his father to figure out what in the gods name was going on. Back in the command center as people were rushing around he managed to snag one of the techs.

"Can you get me video of that explosion?"

"Which one sir the one we just had?"

"No no the one from earlier at the cafe, I just need to see it." The technician looked at him with a perturbed glare and then pulled up the burning building where the explosion had gone off. He turned around to make a comment toward Rolando, but he was gone, when the technician turned around he could clearly see him near the explosion though it was many miles away. The technician just turned his screen off and went for a break clearly shit was way over his head.

"Dad." Rolando didn't know how far he had shifted, but he could feel it in his veins enough to know the answer was far. He wasn't surprised to see Trezlan standing there even though the feed showed no one, Trezlan was a mysterious man.

"Rolando."

"Dubois." The assassin was a bit of a surprise though for Rolando, he did not expect to see him again.

"Lieutenant Lorentino." He tipped his non-existant hat.

"There now everyone see's everyone else, I'm glad you're here son, I might actually need you." Rolando immediately regretted everything in his life that had lead him to somehow winding up as a cog in his fathers mechcination yet again.

Your Problems Are My Problems

Dubois always had a knack for finding people. It was how he wound up as a Mordere in the first place all those years ago. It was a gift he believed he got from the Fire God herself. He never had to look, he just seemed to go in a direction and run across who he needed to find, and that's how he seemingly out of the blue ran into Trezlan Lorentino. Lorentino was revered by his order for all sorts of things, most recently his efforts during the red war, but he was also known for his direct contact with the Fire God, she favored him for whatever reason and so his order kept him and recently his family safe, whether he wanted it or not.

"Mr. Dubois always a pleasure." Lorentino was ageless, though through necromancy not any kind of godhood as some people assumed, Dubois's order tended to kill necromancers as they showed up, but Lorentino again was a special case.

"You have a problem."

"I have several problems Mr. Dubois you'll have to be specific." Lorentino was seated outside a cafe waiting for his order, Dubois didn't see the godling Valrym, but he knew he would be around.

"Mr. Lyn is trying to kill you, and your son."

"Yes I'm aware of that, but what really concerns me is what is taking my food so long? I swear to the gods eggs with bacon should not be this hard to acquire." Dubois never could understand how Trezlan could be so blithely aware of the danger. Or how in modern cities he avoided being seen by all the cameras everywhere, maybe he was a god?

"There are times I don't think you take things seriously." Dubois took care not to mention Lorentino's name, he figured whatever kept him off cameras would not keep his name off audio recorders.

"I take everything as seriously as it warrants, when you've lived as long as I have you take solace in the simple things, like breakfast which has been over an hour..." Trezlan stood up just as an explosion blew up the cafe. Both men were tossed from the outdoor area into the street, miraculously neither seemed very harmed.

"Ready to take Lyn seriously now?"

"I'm seriously pissed he ruined my breakfast, so yes Dubois I am."

No One is That Lucky

"Wow me with your brilliance Lorentino." Barker and Rolando were in Barkers small office, they were looking over various files on Trezlan. Most of it was complete bullshit to Rolando's eyes. Trezlan was said to be almost a thousand years old, he was either involved in starting the red war or key in stopping it and he's supposedly unkillable by conventional means as he's some kind of god. Those were the most egregious examples to Rolando, what he knew of his father was that he was a borderline competent business man with some talent for bullshit and magic ability. He still didn't have a clue how he was going to find the man let alone convince him to help them set up a sting.

"Give me a moment Barker I'm going to unleash something on you, you'll see." Rolando had no idea what he was going to do. He tried the device he had used to connect the last time but it was none functional, so he was left to just searching out his name on the net and seeing if his dad left him anything. Barker was not impressed with his idea, until of course the screen lit up with Trezlan's face.

"I hope you've got a good anti viral on that network, you've been in some ugly places young one, oh and is that Lieutenant Barker? Nice to see you again Barks, well this is the first time you're seeing me, but I've see you before, no Sergeant Kyriac with you? Rolando you might want to ask that little Sergeant about your mom when you get a minute." Barker just stood their mouth agape, Rolando was equally stunned.

"Mr. Lorentino..." Barker started in seemingly unphased beyond the amazement of seeing Trezlan in the flesh.

"You need my help setting up an ambush, you can't promise me anything blah blah blah, look boys its nice you think you can do something here, but you can't, do me a favor stay out of this one, I know Rolando I said you can have this one, I lied there is unfinished business here and your dad has to clean house, do me a favor don't get in my way don't worry he won't be alive when I'm done." The screen winked out and Barker looked over at Rolando.

"So that's that then?"

"Nah he's just being an asshole, but we do know he's in town at least, so that's definitely something Barker, and you said I couldn't..."

"I swear Lorentino, I'm going to be there when your luck runs out and it'll probably get me killed."

"Well you might want to skip out on this one Barker, I can only imagine that it's probably going to get at least one person killed."

"Hopefully the necromancer killing those people, come on lets brief the team."

Lining up Dominoes

Dubois hated the light. It hurt his eye, it reminded him of how age had racked his body, and most importantly it let others see him. Even with modern sun glasses the pain of light hurt him during long exposures. So being in front of the Royal authorities while they questioned him on his questionable use of his assassin license was painful for more than just the questions. It had been a rough few weeks for Dubois ever since he helped the Imperial Government he'd been subject to all kinds of new regulations he wasn't even aware existed. He would have cursed his luck for the situation, but he felt it probably not wise considering it was the fire god herself who set him on his path.

"Fifteen men Mr. Dubois."

"I'm sorry what was the question there." It had been three hours of questions at this point, Dubois had let his mind wander, the light was especially harsh it felt.

"You killed fifteen men, in a public space, we have video."

"I'm a licensed assassin, these men were on a list I've provided all of this to your office I don't know why we're doing this dance."

"I'm concerned Mr. Dubois, as an assassin we don't even have an accurate accounting of your activities, and you're required to report all lawful kills to the proper authorities, but you go months without reporting." The inquisitor was a thin man with a bird like face, Dubois had thought of all the ways he'd kill him if given the chance, strangulation seemed like the best.

"I go a long time between jobs, I'm not the man I used to be Inquisitor."

"And yet you recently involved yourself and your brotherhood in imperial affairs."

"I don't see what one has to do with the other, I gave my statements to your government after the incident, my people were in the right place at the right time, didn't even request payment, if anything you owe me not the other way around."

"We don't view it that way and we think you owe us and we'd like to collect."

"Of course, your government can't simply pay an assassin you have to indebt him to you to do your dirty work, let me guess the head of the Lyn family." The inquisitor smiled.

"You have one week."

"Going to need longer than that to find him, give me a month."

"Two weeks."

"Fine inquisitor, but after this we're done, and believe me you don't want to see me again." The man scoffed at the threat, but Dubois never made threats, he made promises. Just like he promised someone earlier to kill Mr. Lyn anyway, if anything the Imperial government got in the way of that, but he couldn't exactly tell them that, Lyn wasn't on any official lists after all.