You had scoffed when you initially read the assignment brief. A bounty on the head of one of the Ten Stonehearts of the IPC? What a joke.

And yet, here you stood, pistol aimed at the head of Aventurine of Stratagems. You couldn’t say he looked particularly surprised - or offended, for that matter. He regarded your weapon with a snicker, and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Oh, darling. You can’t kill me with that peashooter. If you’re really considering this… how about a little game?”

He began to approach you slowly, and you took a step back, firing a warning shot at his feet. He raised his hands, palms open in a gesture of surrender, before continuing to cross the room in leisurely strides. Slowly, he reached into his jacket, pulling out a collector’s six-barrel revolver - refined and handcrafted. He dangled it limply from his forefinger and thumb before pressing it into your hand, a cocky grin plastered over your opponent’s face as he held the muzzle to his chest. You had admit - he had guts.

“You get three rounds. That’s it. You kill me - good for you! Walk away, pat yourself on the back, make a fortune off of my death. In fact, I encourage you to sell this-“

He said, tapping a gloved finger against a gaudy, bejewelled watch on his wrist, turning it this way and that in the light.

“Genuine Sigonian gold. It’s worth a fortune.”

You squinted at it carefully, before a pressure on your hand drew you back to the present, and you glanced down to find his finger over yours - over the trigger.

“However, if I live, you belong to me. Understand?”