"Oh, come on!" After slapping his knee, Fallon added, "Alchemist, leader of a Cult, goes toe-to-toe with Hugo and survives, and you think he's just another piece? I'm not buying it."
"Do you hear what you're saying?" Vincent brought both feet down on the ground. "Derek is so stupid he tried to battle Hugo and all he had was one half-decent wizard to help him. Who in their right mind would challenge Hugo Baylis like that? Even I was trying to avoid a direct confrontation with him."
"Didn't you fight him before getting caught?"
"Not one-on-one. As long as he had his stowaways to protect, he was distracted enough to not be at his ferocious best."
"So…" Fallon leaned in. "Could you for God's sake please get to your point!"
"He's too dumb to be carrying this all on his own." After a pause Vincent added, "The outpost was empty, Faris and Hugo were both there and I was there as well. Whoever is calling the shots wanted to remove three players in one go."
"So, is the player stupid too? Because you said it yourself just a minute ago that Derek can't compete against Hugo…"
"He wasn't expecting Hugo to give me a free pass. Had I not played the part, the wizards would have killed the kids and joined up with Derek. With the added numbers, he just might've found an edge."
Fallon stood up. "Ok, then let's cut the crap and recap," he said, hands in the pockets of his trousers as he paced up and down the room. "Derek's too stupid. We've established that. I'm not buying it, but let's roll with it for now. Xoitique remnants are at the centre of everything, fine. But there seems to be no sense to the mad race at all." He stopped and looked at Vincent. "Wanna add anything, Vee?"
With a grin on his face, the bounty hunter said, "Keepers are being attacked."
"Oh, blow me!" The host jerked a hand toward him and looked away. "I've said this a million times – Keepers aren't real! They're just covert operatives of the Eye!"
"Fine. But, whether we believe your theory or mine, someone's targeting them."
"Who?"
"Exactly. None of these. It's not Derek, it's not the Eye, not the Order, and it's not Cultists either."
"So, what… a rogue?" He looked at Vincent. "How can you be sure of that?"
"Had Derek the abilities to pull that off, he would've wiped the floor with Hugo and the rest. But he didn't. And the others… well, the Eye needs the Keepers, the Order doesn't bother, and the Cults… they worship these operatives of the Eye…"
The White Bolt kept smiling as Fallon looked away once more saying, "It doesn't make sense."
"It makes perfect sense." Vincent leaned ahead. "There's just a few pieces missing…"
Pointing at him, Fallon asked, "Any proof of your theory yet – your theory of a mastermind?"
"Could be."
"What do you mean?"
"People have been following me…"
"Where?"
"Everywhere."
Fallon waited. Vincent sighed and explained, "For the past two months, I've noticed a guy wearing a metallic grey coat appear in different places. I'm looking for a target, and there he is sipping tea across the street, I'm meeting an informant and I see him go by on a bike, I am staking out a location and he is standing up there on the balcony. Once or twice, I'd let it slide. But repeatedly?" He paused. "And it's always that same coat and I always have a hard time following his Ki. It's like it's masked but somehow without a Ki-charged spell."
Perched on the armrest of the chair, Fallon crossed his arms and looked at the bounty hunter. "Following you?" His gaze narrowed. "Did you ever confront him?"
"No. Honestly, I didn't get the chance even."
"Why not?"
"Because of so much going on in these past few months. And to be frank, he's not bothering me. He's just telling me that I'm being watched." Looking away, he added, "He just wants me to know that I'm being watched."
"W-wh-why? To what end?"
"Like I said, old friend…" Vincent looked at Fallon again. "The game's bigger than Derek or Renekom."
Before the subsequent silence could get stretched out, the bounty hunter stood up. "I'm gonna wash my hands now," he said. "Could you get me that sword to go, please?"
Fallon, still with his head bowed, finally pushed himself off the armrest. "Sure," he replied and walked out.
Several minutes later, he walked back in with a katana in hand.
"Your favourite," Fallon said.
Vincent took the sword out of the scabbard and gently ran his fingers along the blade. He swung it swiftly just once then placed it back in.
"VINOSHAN-WALA-POL," he whispered and the sword vanished.
"So, what's the plan?" asked Fallon.
Brushing his hair back with his fingers, Vincent replied, "The usual."
The host smiled as his guest began walking away but stopped just in front of the door and looked back.
"What?" Fallon asked.
Vincent waited for a few seconds before saying, "You should make yourself scarce, old friend."
The smile disappeared quickly. "Why?"
"The Eye knows I know you. They'll come asking questions."
Leaning ahead with a smirk on his face, the rich man quietly said, "They can come and fuck themselves!" As he leaned back, he added giggling, "I'll even watch…"
Vincent too smiled and dropped his head. "You have been a most admirable ally."
Fallon nodded. "You're not so bad yourself, Ee – from the alligators down under to the tongue-men in Europe, you've been helping me every step of the way."
Their partnership began with an assignment in Australia several years back. Fallon had employed the services of the White Bolt, the bounty hunter, to deal with bandits who were disturbing his business.
Vincent chuckled. "Now that takes me back."
When the bounty hunter came to deal with the bandits he realised that they were actually on the payroll of larger organizations aiming to disgrace the rich man's business empire. He stayed and cleaned the entire mess out.
"That first one took months, eh Vee?" Fallon stood arms akimbo as he smiled and shook his head. "I don't ask much now, but just keep me in the loop. If something's going down, I want to know about it beforehand… for business purposes, of course."
The White Bolt nodded and looked up. "Till we meet again…"
"Here or the other side?"
"I guess we'll find each other either way."
Ever since the mission in Australia, the two had remained allies helping keep each other's operations safe and secure.
Before he could leave though, the bounty hunter saw a black sleeveless long vest lying on the chair next to the door. "This yours?" he asked pointing at it.
The host shrugged. "Not anymore, I guess."
Vincent wore the vest and sighed. "Job's not done yet, and the road's getting thinner by the minute."
Fallon nodded. "Good luck out there," he said, smiling. "And remember, my facilities will always facilitate friends… Cha!"
With a nod, the White Bolt finally left.