Expose the Double Agent [ Job | Solo ]

It seemed like they had been walking forever. Oddly enough, Iulia was in the lead instead of Brutus. How she knew the location, Diana was unsure. Brutus was most certainly the leader in the group. So why wasn't he leading them? To think the one who had taken the job didn't know where he was going... it was odd. Though she wasn't in the position to question any of them. Her friends were there to help her manage the fight last time. A three on one situation would be trouble. However, Vita didn't seem like much of a fighter. While she was skilled with a bow, the girl was extremely timid. Diana began to wonder why Brutus kept her around but it wasn't any of her concern. Iulia paused in her tracks to turn and face them.

"We should take the back roads. Who knows how many of his goons are around here."

Diana furrowed her brows in confusion. She bit her thumb and gazed up briefly to the sky. If there was any danger, Bellona would have spotted them and alerted her. Were they really that close to the target? The situation didn't really quite add up. Diana opened her mouth to speak but was immediately interrupted by Brutus whom had placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Their eyes met with a great deal of hostility towards one another. "Don't argue against her decision, rookie. Unlike you, she knows what she's doing," he growled, shoving her back a bit.

The nerve! To shove her and talk down to her. He was really pushing her buttons. However, Diana decided to take a deep breath and let it go. He would get what was coming to him. "Understood," she said. If her pride was a flame, it would be boiling her alive. It was hard for her to bite it back. So much for promising to respect her after she defeated him. Iulia smirked a bit before continuing to lead them. It still didn't feel right. She was usually one to follow her instincts and her gut was never wrong. A few moments later and they had arrived at a door. It was one of those secret doors with the sliding slot to whisper passphrases into. Iulia took it upon herself to knock on the door.

"Who goes there?"

"Redwood."

"Ah... is that so? If you drink, you will die. If you eat, you are fine. What are you?"

"Fire. Is this really necessary?"

There was no response. It was quite suspicious that she knew how to get into this establishment. Diana was beginning to feel overly cautious of this woman. It seemed Brutus and Vita were completely oblivious to her possible trickery. Though she did not know this woman for very long. The small pause of silence passed and the sound of locks being undone began to sound. Iulia gave them all a look and motioned them to conceal themselves. Diana crouched behind a nearby crate and listened closely. The door creaked open and there were whispers. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Eventually, the door slammed shut.

"Rookie. Get in there and back her up."

"What?"

"You heard me. Now go!"

Diana moved out of her current position. She was reluctant to do this task. Depending on the strength of those who were inside, this would prove to be quite the challenge. For a small man who talked a lot of shit, he was more of a coward than Vita seemed to be. At least the girl had her bow out and drawn, ready to either shoot Diana or anyone who tried to attack her. Diana pressed her ear up against the door. It sounded as if there was fighting inside. She stepped back a few steps, winded back her leg, and kicked the door open with ease. After the small bit of debris cleared, she walked inside. The fighting looked fake and staged. Were they even trying?

"Help me out here, girl!"

Iulia shouted over towards Diana who was still not phased by their performance. She just stood there until Iulia stopped her childish act. "Is this a joke?" she asked, resting her hand on one of her swords. This day had proved to be quite interesting. She began to wonder who these people even were and where Mars had found them. Everyone in the room seemed to cease their fighting and turned towards Diana. "Not again..." she groaned. It seemed that every time she walked into a room nowadays, there were a handful of folk ready to fight her. Diana drew her sword and got into a stance. Iulia was already on her route to escape and Diana could care less. However, there was one question that was in her mind that couldn't go unanswered.

"Who are you, Iulia?"

The woman stopped and gave her a look like she was a sea hydra. Diana had asked the question in such a curious and civil manner that it caught her off guard. "W-Who am I? Ha! Well, I'm the loyal assassin of the man you hunt as of now. Good luck finding and getting to him. He pays us enough coin to keep people like you off his ass. Though none of you are worth my time but you're certainly good practice for these men. Have fun, boys!" She blew a kiss towards the group of men surrounding Diana and took her leave through one of the windows. Diana shrugged, satisfied with the answer she had gotten. At least her gut was correct. She had that to boast about later.

"Just come at me and let us get this over with."

They were all mere humans. Even though their combat skills seemed quite refined, her strength always reigned supreme in these situations. Diana back stepped a few centimeters, drew her sword and placed both hands upon the grip. She brought the sword up to her side and pushed off with her foot into a short dash. In the blink of an eye, her sword was already through one of the men. She preformed her other move right after in a fluid motion. Her sword sliced through her other victim as if he was paper. She twirled back around, making a rough diagonal sweep with her sword. A sharp, concentrated slice of air blew out from her location. The force she used made her spin back on her heel. This took out two of the men with now only three left. Fear was clear on their faces. But Diana wasn't ready to show them much mercy at this point.

"Get out of my sight."

The first man to bravely approach her let out a war cry as he charged towards her. They clashed swords and the other two men ran at her in a poor attempt to overpower her. Diana pushed away from the man with her sword to get some distance. She waited until they were all somewhat aligned as they tried to slash at her and sliced twice diagonally in order to finish them in one go. One of the men held up their buckler to save himself and interrupted her second slash. Diana grit her teeth and ducked below his follow up attempt to slash at her. She then sliced cleanly through his legs, leaving him to drop to the floor. The last of the men who was also fatally wounded landed a clean slash into the back of her leg. Diana winced at the sudden stinging sensation in her leg but took no time to finish him with a devastating punch to the head.

She took a moment to recollect herself, trying to catch her breath. Diana tried to get on her feet and failed a few times before she managed to fight through the pain. She limped out of the room and rested her back against the wall. Blood trickled out of her wound like a calm stream. Vita rushed herself over to her and forcefully turned Diana around. "W-What?" Diana was confused but soon came to the realization that Vita was trying to help her through the sharp needle piercing through her skin. "S-Sorry!" A tight, painful pull of the fibers that held her flesh together and it was done. Diana wearily turned back around. She reached into her bag and pulled out her handkerchief, wrapping it around her leg.

"What the hell happened in there?! Where is Iulia?"

"She turned out to be a pretty bad actress. We'll run into her again."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"She wasn't on our side and on top of that-- an assassin. A cowardly one at that."

"Ah! Solomon's ass! I should've known!"

Brutus slammed his fist into one of the boxes, making it splinter and crumble around it. Diana rose from the ground. "What will you do now?" The man was as red as a ripe tomato and his face as tensed as a ferocious beast. Diana covered her mouth to silently chuckle beneath her breath. He looked like he was about to explode until Vita laid her hand on his back. It was almost as if he wasn't angry to begin with. "Brutus, calm down. I'll figure something out." It was the first time Diana heard the timid girl speak. He slumped down to the ground as Vita walked away from him. Diana leaned against the wall and tilted her head down. She stared at the paving stones and the occasional insects that passed by. It was going to be a long night.