Counting Cards [Holly/NPC]

"... Right. Iris, I'm going to leave it to you."

He gave a nod towards the two of them, the Impmon giving a small sigh as he turned around. It couldn't be helped, really - Holly was a new recruit, and they only had a week of training to go on, at that. Suffice to say, such a straightforward method wouldn't work every time.

But to make use of every moment of that 90 second window so early was remarkably impressive. Before he stepped out, Dark looked back over his shoulder. "I will have to personally break that rule in about six hours. I'll check the dead-drop location they specified to see if they dropped off the payment. Iris, make sure she gets some sleep."

And with that, the Impmon would step on out - once more, leaving it to Iris.

It was a long night - that's how it always was, after one of these jobs. Secure as they may have seemed during and right after the act, there was always the risk of an unseen force, an unknown camera, a single misstep that could have blown the entire operation.

So they waited. Peck and Dark watched TV and listened to a radio in the common room, flicking from news channel to news channel to see if there was any news regarding Count's death. Come early morning, the Peckmon would slip out to get a few newspapers - as he did every day, just for cover - to see what was being reported on the situation.

And come six hours later, the Impmon would carefully slip outside, staying invisible in as long a stretch as he could manage, before ducking into an alleyway or hiding spot to rest and recharge. He'd eventually reach that dead-drop location - a wooden crate behind the clock tower - and with a thick envelope in hand, he'd return back to Fall Lane, just as the morning sun started to peek through the sky.

Some time later, when Holly would wake up - either on her own, or with Iris telling her to - she would find Dark in the main room, nodding carefully to the Meicoomon. "You hanging in there?"

"Mm."

A 'little shaken'? It was clear to Dark that she was downplaying it a little - pulling herself right up to that table, resting her head atop her arms as she leaned against the table. The Impmon returned a simple nod to Iris' comment - and a message back, as their shadows intersected.

Then she has the mettle to take this on. That lack of 'thought', of 'emotion', is what makes us survive these encounters.

The Impmon gave a slow sigh outward, and pulled up a newspaper as Holly asked that question. "As to be expected, they're making quite a story out of it. The Count's mysterious disappearance, and the hole left in the chair. At the moment, they're wondering if the Count was ever murdered. Current investigation's revealing a number of debts he had with the underground that remained unpaid. They think that one of them might be responsible, or that he simply fled town when the heat was on him."

Of course, that meant no-one was implicating them, a key factor in all of this. For the moment, the Impmon simply slid an envelope across the table, nodding towards the Meicoomon.

"Your cut, in this."

Of course, it felt a bit surreal. The first endeavor was one that often got burned into the hearts of these assassins, and it seemed that it would be no different for Holly.

Even as Dark explained the news, she seemed distant and unsure, as if the weight of her actions was starting to fall back onto her. But she had gone past a bridge of no return: with that one act, she had sealed her position into their ranks. Her first question was one that made the Impmon raise a brow.

He sighed, and then answered:

"You'll train. You'll live your life, both in the Network Plains and here. And you'll be kept in touch for your next assignment."

It would be then that the Impmon would press that envelope towards Holly - and as she looked, well, she might see what she expected: her payment. This was a large stack of bills, enough to even be felt through the envelope at both sides, her sizeable cut for participating in this act. This was after deducting Dark's, and even Iris' cut - and of course, the amount held by the guild to keep this place running.

She didn't understand.

But Dark did, at least in his own heart:

"We are assassins. We stop the fights that might tear up this world's cities before they ever happen. And when we do so, we are compensated for our services." Dark's tone was direct, not leaving much room for misinterpretation.

"Take some time to figure it out in your own head. And, Iris, spend some time with her. Show her how to vent excess data."

"Hm. Teach her to be more efficient at it - we don't want to cloud our own data signals that much."

And with that, Holly and Iris would be left to sort out the immediate effects of their little job. Holly wouldn't be used to their process, but for them, it proceeded much the same way. Their actions cause a big wave in the news, and investigators are on the seen, pouring over it for any piece of evidence. A few calls are made in to the papers in Whitewater and Terminus, wanting any information on what happened. It becomes the biggest talking point for a few days...

... And, inevitably, everything falls silent. No new leads, no evidence found, nothing solid enough to figure out what happened. In one week, its left to the margin of the paper, and in two, there's simply no trace that Count ever existed.

The next time Holly would be due back in the hideout would be about a half-week after the initial incident, where, already, news of the Count's disappearance was already falling into nothing more than mere speculation. Holly would've had time to level herself out - and, as far as the Boss was concerned, she'd be ready for normal training.

... But how would she be, after recovering from her first job?