SWNOVELXO Chapter 530: He Wants Bodyguards
As Lea had said, another job had already been sent to us not even an hour after that conversation.
[New target. Head to the meeting point indicated for next assignment. Please bring all members of your Mercenary group.]
Huh… That's new…
I checked the map and apparently the meeting point was located on one of the upper rings.
"Is this a trap?" I couldn't help but blurt out.
Lea peeked over my shoulder to look at my Codex, "If I may be so bold, Mistress… I do not think so. If they really intend to kill us, they could have just told us to meet somewhere to collect the reward money instead of sending it to us and asking us to meet up."
"It could be a ploy to make us lower our guard?" I suggested.
"Perhaps… But I don't think that's the case. Still, I suppose we should go and have our guard up while we're meeting them."
Hmmm… I don't think we need to worry much since Amber and Mara will be with us anyway.
And as though on cue, the door opened and the people I was just thinking about entered.
"Oh, you're back already~" Amber giggled, immediately running up to hug me from behind. "Ehehehe~ I missed you, Tera~"
I chuckled, "We were barely gone for a day, Amber."
"Mmm… I still missed you~ Hmm? What's this?" She asked when she saw my Codex.
Before I could answer, Lea had tapped Amber and Mara on their arms before pointing at her head.
I was wondering what she was trying to hint at until I realised Amber and Mara were staring at Lea quite intently before they quickly turned back to me.
"I also don't think it's a trap, Tera."
"I am of the same thought, Captain."
Did… Did they just went ahead to read Lea's mind so that they can be brought up to speed about what happened in the last few hours?
That is such a cheat… We don't even need to explain to them what happened because they can already see it for themselves…
I cleared my throat, "Ahem… So… What do you think they want to meet us for?"
Lea gestured at her personal terminal, "I believe it's most likely something to do with that election event. Either he wants us to take out a competitor or he wants us to do something big so that he can be credited for it."
"Why us though?"
"We're the ones who managed to complete the raid after all so they probably needed Mercs that are of a certain calibre."
Well… If the Mercs that they were reaching out to were of the same quality as the ones we saw during the raid… Then I understand why then…
"In that case, I suppose we're going then?" I asked.
Amber hugged me, "Don't worry Tera! I will protect you!"
Right. I'll take that as a yes then…
*
We reached the meeting point which was basically in front of some restaurant building on a really posh part of the station's ring.
I was wondering how the meetup was going to happen when a limousine stopped in front of us, the back door opening automatically.
No one was around and the driver didn't even step out either so I assume that we were expected to get in the car.
We climbed into the car and the door shut behind us before the vehicle moved off without any word.
The back of the car was also completely empty so we were just left at the back of the car by ourselves as we were being driven to who knows where.
I gave my girls a look, "Are we really sure this is not a trap?"
Amber grinned, "Don't worry! Even if it is, we'll just kill everyone here!"
Right… Just saying, we're not armed at the moment as we had to disarm when we reached this floor. So in case of a fight, unless our attackers are also just using their fists, the only people who could fight were Mara and Amber.
Well… If those two were serious, I don't think anything in this station could stop them anyway so I don't really need to worry.
We stayed silent the entire car ride since I had no doubt that the back of the car was bugged with listening devices and probably even cameras that this guy might try to use anything we do or say against us.
When the car finally came to a stop, it was in an underground car park and the door opened once again.
This time, there were a few people in suits standing outside and another limousine was parked right beside ours with the back door already opened.
They want us to switch cars then?
I climbed out of the first one and entered the second limousine to find Deviminio seated inside with a glass of wine in his hands.
He nodded at me as soon as I entered, "We meet again, Miss Tera. Thank you for all the work you have done for me the past few days."
I waved at him, "It's fine. That's what you paid us to do anyway."
"Hmm… So I have," He grunted, before gesturing at the chair for us to take a seat.
When the door closed, the first limousine sped off while ours remained where we were so I'm assuming this was done to throw off anyone trying to follow us.
The guys in suits then dispersed to get into the other vehicles scattered around the carpark before driving off as well, leaving just the limo we're in parked in the centre.
He started silent for a moment more before turning to me, "I suppose you're wondering why you're here?"
I nodded slowly.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out his personal terminal, taking a moment to tap on it before a screen was projected on the side of the car cabin, displaying the election news article that we saw earlier.
"Are you aware of this?" He asked, gesturing towards the article.
"Yes. I presume the task you are hiring us for is related to the elections? Probably something to secure your position?"
He leaned back and placed his wine glass down, "That is correct. I--"
I held up a hand and stopped him before he could continue, "First things first. We won't be taking any jobs that involve stealing or assassination of one of your competitors. So if it's that kind of work, you will need to find someone else."
He blinked at me for a moment before shaking his head, "Fortunately, it's not something like that, you don't need to worry."
The Station Administrator tapped on his personal terminal and the screen changed to show a top down map of some location which I don't recognise.
"This is one of the districts in the Second Ring," He explained, right before a dot appeared on the map before a red trail started weaving through the streets.
The line followed the roads and went one big circle around the map before returning back to where the red dot first appeared.
"I'm planning to do a tour around the area as a publicity stunt. I am pretty sure that my competitors will try to take me out while I'm doing this."
I frowned at him, "What's the point of this though? Is this supposed to show how good the situation is in the second ring where you can just walk through it or something?"
"As I said, it's a publicity stunt. I don't expect you to understand since I doubt you are in politics but this is something that will help me get ahead in the upcoming elections if I manage to do it."
"Uh huh… And I'm assuming you want us to… What? Take care of any opposition that might show up during your little march?"
"That's right. I will have my own security of course, but no reason not to get more people to help with this and you've proven to be very effective and worth the money we're spending on you."
"Ok… So you basically want us as some hidden bodyguards or something? Or are you expecting us to be walking alongside you?"
"Hidden. Unfortunately, to the public eye, being seen with Mercs would not be good for my image either. No offense against you."
I gestured at my group, "Just so you know, we have never done bodyguard missions before, are you ok with that?"
"I have full trust in you."
Really? Either this guy is desperate or he really means those words.
I then looked around the car, "Any reason why you need us to come here personally instead of just sending us the mission through a message or something? Because this feels like something you could have just told us through a message instead of in person."
"In spirit of the work you have done for me so far, I will be honest with you. Our meeting has been recorded on video and in the event of my death, a video of our meeting will be released and you will be one of the prime suspects for the cause of my death. Do your best to protect me and I will pay you extremely well, fail and I'm afraid you and your party will be turned into criminals."
I furrowed my brows, "You're blackmailing us?"
"I do what I must."
This fucking bastard. So he set us up that we can't even refuse this mission of his.
"How much are you paying?"
"If I make it back in one piece, twenty million Credits. If nothing happens in view of everyone there, I will throw in an additional ten million Credits."
"All that and you erase any records of us meeting with you. And I want this in writing," I countered.
He paused for a moment before relenting, "Deal."
Can't believe we got ourselves roped into this…