Ellis stood in the lift, waiting to arrive at her destination. Suddenly, there was a bang that shook the entire car. Ellis staggered slightly, but kept her feet anchored in place. The hatch above her head rattled slightly. A couple of seconds later, the lift stopped swaying, stabilising itself. Ellis looked up at the sound and then looked forward again, confused, furrowing her brow. Blood dripped down onto her suit. She glanced down at the bloodstain, catching the long, falling drip in her peripheral vision, and pressed a button, stopping the lift. She pressed her hand to the hatch and opened up the top. Her eyes instantly laid themselves on the corpse of the henchman. Its dead eyes stared down at her, blood running from its mouth and broken teeth. Ellis looked up and saw the lift doors above close, clanging loudly and shutting out the beam of light. Her eyes glanced at the glowing button that showed which floor she was on. Quickly pinpointing her course, she changed her destination. She held down onto one button, skipping floors. The doors opened and she walked down the corridor, seeing the double agent.

  “Miss Silver.” He greeted her, smiling. “What a pleasure.”

  “Have you seen anyone suspicious around?” She asked him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We might have a double agent lurking around here. A couple of moments ago, I discovered that one of our henchmen had been murdered.”

  The double agent's eyes widened in faux shock. It was convincing. “Christ. I’ll make sure to keep a look out. Of course, if I discover anything, I’ll inform either you or Artificis, whichever one I happen to bump into first.”

  Ellis nodded to him. “Very good. Get back to your duties.”

  The double agent nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He walked past her and along to his destination. Ellis turned her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, suspicious.

  “Hmph.” She merely said to herself, frowning for a single second, and then walked along the corridor.

  Ellis opened the doors of Artificis’ office and immediately saw that his chair was empty. The large room was quiet, with not a single sound disturbing the tranquil peace. Suddenly, a sharp metallic clink was heard, hitting porcelain, breaking the silence. Ellis turned her head, seeing her boss sitting at a large, oak dining table, eating his dinner. She closed the doors behind herself and walked up to him. His mask was pulled up, only revealing his lips and two age-old scars – a small one going across the bottom of his chin and another large slash, slicing diagonally through his mouth, splitting one corner of his lips open permanently. The pain must have been horrific. Ellis had seen those scars before but did not dare question how he had received them – some things were better left not known. Hearing the doors close, he turned his head to her and gestured with a scarred hand to the empty seat opposite him.

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  “Please, join me.” He said. “You must be famished after that match. Get the doctor to look at that cheek of yours.”

  Ellis took a plate from a cupboard and sat at the table, taking off her suit and hat, hanging them on the chair. She scooped herself the hotpot dinner from the steaming saucepan that sat on a wooden board at the edge. Artificis put a wine glass down and took the bottle of shiraz wine, poured her a portion. They both raised their drinks to one another.

  “May our enemies never bring us down, however hard they try.” Artificis said, smiling through his split lips.

  “Amen to that.” Ellis replied, returning a beautiful smile of her own, and they both clinked their glasses together, drinking an ounce. They put their drinks down and proceeded to eat their dinner.

  “There is something on your mind, my dear.” Artificis told her casually after a couple of seconds. It was like he knew that she had a thought, being able to tell from the most subtle of expressions. Even behind his tinted glasses, he could see everything as clear as day, nothing escaping from his masterful intuition. There was a reason why he was the boss.

  “I have suspicions about one of the henchmen.” She immediately explained, having nothing to hide. No secret got away from Artificis, however small or large. Sooner or later, he would find out – and when he did, it usually spelled bad news for the unfortunate victim. It wasn’t out of fear that Ellis had revealed the vital information about the suspicious minion – it was in anticipation of what was going to happen to them. Either way, it was going to be bad and she was going to enjoy every bit of it. “I fear that he may be an undercover agent.”

  Artificis did not seem the slightest bit fazed by the news of a possible intruder, his mouth neutral, his features not making the slightest movement. It was almost like it was a normal occurrence to him. There was not a single flicker of discomfort. To Artificis, the shocking news was just a mere status report that he could tuck away into his desk drawer and forget about the following day. An enemy hiding within their ranks was no cause for alarm. They were just a regular desk agent, not a high-ranking assassin. Dealing with a double agent was just another regular day at the office. The pest would be swiftly taken care of and their operations would continue without pause. The traitor was only a minor inconvenience, that was all he was. He may have had all of the information that he needed for MI5 to bring them down but he was not going to get away with it. Swallowing the portion of his dinner, Artificis said, “Do what you think is right. You are hardly ever wrong.”

  Ellis nodded to him, smiling warmly. Her hard, icy exterior seemed to break away, revealing a kind and caring persona beneath. Her emotionless, cold eyes melted, being replaced with a gentle, radiating warmness. There was still some sort of a flicker of humanity left deep in her, reserved only for Artificis. Only he was allowed to know what laid underneath all of that rage and brutality. “Thanks dad.”