"A GPV," everyone in the room echoed before one of the Apostles asked, "Isn't that a government organization? How did the Magentas plan to mess with them."
"Yeah tell us kid," Dog Head said, making it painfully evident—at least to Mr. Valen—that they didn't care about his name.
"D-does it matter?" Mr. Valen played dumb, his voice deepening. "All I want is revenge against the—"
"Ten million," Dog Head interrupted, his voice chillingly serious.
"What?" Mr. Valen answered his expression portraying his confusion.
"I said I want ten million Vals," Dog Head expanded before adding, "Think of it this way, kid: what greater revenge is there than stealing the bounty you worked so hard for right under the Magentas' noses? We'll even give you a twenty percent cut—no games.'"
"They won't even know what hit them." One of the Apostles chuckled.
It was then that Mr. Valen gasped, stars appearing in his eyes as if he'd just been shown a revelation. "Yes, yes," he muttered before stating. "I can't believe I didn't think of this—"
"Now you're getting the picture." Dog Head and the apostles laughed excitedly before all huddling around Mr. Valen.
"What's the plan Chief?" They asked, urging him with a mix of peer pressure and fake indulgence.
"Alright, listen up." Mr. Valen began his tone a mix of determination and excitement. "The Magentas wanted to hide the plan from me, but I figured it out on my own."
"Figures," Dog Head nodded before saying, "I was beginning to wonder why they let you walk away with your life. If they knew you figured out their plan you'd be dead by now kid."
Breaking away from their uncomfortable huddle, Mr. Valen nodded and muttered, "I know."
Next he resolved to tell them the details of the plan leaving nothing out.
"I work at a local GPV facility—nothing fancy, but the security is a joke—just cameras and a single guard at the front gate. That's it, no private army, no silent lasers, just your average rent-a-cop who probably hates his job."
"Neat." Dog Head nodded, allowing Mr. Valen to continue.
"I've already got a bug that'll take out the cameras from the inside, it's untraceable. Once it kicks in, they'll think it's just a system hiccup. We've got about eight minutes before someone notices something's wrong and I have to turn it on from the inside so I go in first."
With that Mr. Valen stepped forward a bit while tapping his fingers together, counting.
"Step one: like they planned, you roll up with masks and gloves. No prints, no faces, one of you handles the guard, quietly. Put a gun in his face, knock him out, and drag him somewhere he won't be found for a while."
"Step two: you go in hard, everyone inside goes down fast. But don't shoot unless it's necessary, we don't need a murder charge, just compliance. We zip-tie 'em, keep 'em facedown while we work."
"Step three: one of the staff has a key card, my colleague, Shouldn't be hard to spot a douchebag with brown hair, get the key card, open the vault, take what we came for. In and out, seven minutes max."
Saying that Mr. Valen paused slightly, letting the tension build a bit before finalizing. "After that, we split, and we don't take the same car we came in, I'm sure you guys are more familiar with this stuff than I am."
There was a brief silence in the air, with the Apostles and Dog Head thinking deeply about the details.
Then they pulled back again resuming yet another private discussion that Mr. Valen was not quite sure of.
But Mr. Valen didn't mind, rather he waited patiently for their answer, his brows furrowed as he thought, 'Knowing Dog Head, he'd probably jump at this chance to prove himself to the other leaders.'
«There is also the fact that he might have killed me if I did not integrate myself as a vital part of the plan, now he is just playing along until he gets what he wants, either way, he is hooked.»
"What's your name kid?" Dog Head suddenly yelled out to him, promoting Mr. Valen to respond.
"I'm Valen."
"Valen huh," Dog Head muttered his tone low before he spoke up. "Your whole plan smells like bait. You sure the Magentas aren't setting you up to set us up?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Mr. Valen said in a fit of rage before pointing out, "they did this to my—"
"Pa!"
A loud slap echoed through the cathedral as Dog Head struck Mr. Valen senseless, his hand flashing out.
"Cry me a river fucking pussy," Dog Head frowned before nodding his head in thought, "for a set-up, this is too much, even for Lucien."
"Then what about the payoff," the first apostle cut in.
"Yeah, even if the place's a joke, that doesn't mean the payout's real. You got proof there's ten million Vals in that vault kid?" Another apostle asked.
And suddenly, Mr. Valen was short for words at the group not knowing how to respond to their questions.
"When is this heist taking place?" Dog Head suddenly asked, his tone low.
"Four days from now," Mr. Valen said softly before adding. "They plan to do it at the end of the month."
"Dog Head, a heist like this, we've gotta tell Moth and GlockBoss," the third apostle spoke softly.
His words seemed to spark something in Dog Head, his expression darkening quickly, "You think I can't fucking handle it?"
He suddenly yelled, the room quieting down as no one responded.
"I said do you think I can't fucking handle it?" Dog Head yelled again but still there was no response.
Then he turned to Mr. Valen, his voice deepening. "We move in three days, but one of my boys will tail you home—he'll watch you—you're gonna follow this shit through and if you don't I'm gonna put a fucking bullet in your head, do you understand?"
"I-I understand," Mr. Valen stuttered before rising to his feet.
"Then get out of here. You follow him," Dog Head commanded, dismissing Mr. Valen while ordering one of his men to follow.
Taking a breath, Mr. Valen pulled up his hood and walked out of the cathedral, the first apostle following behind him.
-------
At the same time, within the police department of District Forty Two, a familiar police chief observed a picture while sitting in his office, his eyes narrowed to slits.
This police officer was the same dark-skinned man who had appeared at the scene of Rigg's murder.
He wore the standard black short sleeve known to be worn by law enforcement, said short sleeves looked remarkably good on him.
Despite his slender frame, he looked fit and ready—paired with his shiny, bald head, it gave him a certain charm
At this moment he stared intently at the photo of a familiar sickly looking man, Mr. Valen to be exact.
His mind flashed to the hooded man from that night, and his suspicions flared anew.
Looking up at detective Harper who was standing in front of him, Richard asked, "You're sure it's him?"
"Yes he's the owner of the blood we found on the floor sir," Harper intoned, her voice bleak.
Hearing this Richard sighed, while scanning Mr. Valen's records. "Top of his class all through school, yet shit luck when it came to actually finding a job, he doesn't look like he could have anything to do with a case at this level."
"Even though it's not our case, should we go ahead and bring him in for questioning sir?" Harper asked inquisitively, to which Richard responded.
"Tell me about the body you found instead, did we confirm that he was killed by that beast?"
"Honestly sir, no man is capable of messing up a human like that," detective Harper responded before adding, "but the lab results did come back, the DNA belonged to a Skilion."
"Ok then, you can leave," Richard sighed waving Detective Harper off which puzzled her.
Looking at him strangely, the woman frowned. "Sir are you ok?"
There was a brief silence after her words, but then Richard sighed once again.
Looking out the window, he said, "I don't like what this city's becoming. Thinking about the future gives me a headache. Look at my caseload—half these murders are committed by abominations."
Detective Harper seemed to be at a loss, her expression softening as she said, "I understand what you mean sir, but I think we just have to do our parts to keep this city safe, concerning this kid sir—"
"Don't bother bringing him in, it's probably just some kid who was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Richard interrupted, his words earning him a nod from Harper who walked out of the office to give him space.