140 THE FEUD OF TWO FAMILIES
Valtor Veyran entered the diner alone, the neon sign above him buzzing faintly: "Six O'Clock Diner."
"What kind of ga is Garius playing this ti?" he muttered under his breath as he stepped inside.
The waitress was silent and polite, guided him to a corner booth. As he sat down, his phone vibrated—a new ssage.
"Take the tablet nu and write."
Valtor frowned, lifting the sleek digital nu in front of him. "Write what?" he grumbled, irritation rising.
A second ssage appeared on his screen: "Write: Kill Garius Zetheris. Then pay the price."
He froze. "Kill Garius? That was the man who had taken his daughter…the sa man who asked him to co here."
For a long mont, he hesitated—then his expression hardened. "Fine," he muttered, quite happy to comply with the strange demand before tapping in the words: Kill Garius Zetheris.
The nu flickered.
A new text appeared:
"Do you want to place an assassination contract on Garius Zetheris? Y/N."
Valtor's eyes widened. "An assassination…?" He stared at the glowing prompt, then jabbed the Y button without a second thought.
"The price is fifty million Aurs. Proceed with paynt."
He slid several aur cards into the terminal. He had co ready to pay ransom, not for a kill order—but the situation was already far stranger than expected.
He decided to go along.
Monts later, the confirmation screen appeared: Transaction Complete.
He stood, ready to leave, when another ssage ca through on his phone:
"Your daughter has been released."
Valtor froze, staring at the ssage in disbelief. "Is it that easy?"
Without another word, he left the diner and rushed ho.
When he arrived, he found Eryn safe and sound, fast asleep in her room as if nothing had happened. Relief washed over him, though it was tinged with unease.
"What is this 'Six O'Clock' business?" he demanded.
An aide hurried forward with a tablet of reports. "Sir, the Six O'Clock Diner is a front—for the Order of the Cockerel."
Valtor frowned deeply. "The Order of the Cockerel? Since when has the underworld taken an interest in family rivalries?"
No one answered.
The only sound was the quiet hum of the city outside—a world that suddenly seed far more dangerous and connected than he had imagined.
-----
[The Cosplay Bar]
Coracle stood ready for his next run, his rubber suit fitted, and cockerel mask in place when Liorea and a line of cosplay drones cut him off.
"What now, Liorea? Why must you appear with a line of android cocks to stop ," he asked, annoyed.
She only smirked. "Boss, you're treating your real job like a hobby. Your hobby is now your real pre-occupation. You cannot continue like this."
"I like work and pleasure to mix," Coracle said, pulling at his mask. "If you've got sothing, spit it out. I'm in a hurry running between gigs."
Liorea's smirk vanished. "Our new aur bank's been hit—again."
Coracle's jaw dropped. "Again? We poured resources into that vault. Upgraded everything. How did they get in?" He slamd a fist against a nearby wall more to vent than to break anything.
"They got away with a hundred million aurs," Liorea said flatly.
"A hundred million?" Coracle barked. "Why was so much aurs left there? Did you not collect from the bank regularly?"
"I collect daily," she shot back. "But that day's takings were exceptional—there was big contract money."
"For who?" Coracle demanded.
"One of them is Garius Zetheris," she answered before continuing, "the other is Valtor Veyran."
Coracle's eyes narrowed. "Soone wants two patriarchs dead? There will be chaos in lrose city."
Liorea folded her arms. "So, do we honor the contract?"
Coracle chewed his lip, then let out a low chuckle. "We always honor contracts. Whether the cash's gone or not, business is business." He paused, considering.
"Who do we give the contract to?"
"The Rewind sisters," Liorea said. "They still owe you for that botched high school student job. Rewind IX didn't even report back about progress."
Coracle's laugh cracked the air with a sharp, excited sound. "Perfect…though they probably won't succeed."
"Should we send stronger assassins?" Liorea asked.
"Obviously no. Does it matter if they succeed, as long as we did our part. There is no refund for a failure… that is our company's policy… unless they top up… we are already paying this job with our own money
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